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November 23, 2025
 

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Alice French
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Friday that Japanese businesses are focusing too much on shareholders, expressing frustration that companies are not using more capital to raise wages.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 14, 2025
Takaichi pushes back against companies' focus on shareholders
The Prime Minister's comments flicked at her frustration with firms for not using more capital to raise wages.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange building, operated by Japan Exchange Group
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 14, 2025
Japan Exchange looks at ways to curb crypto hoarding firms
The Tokyo Stock Exchange operator is exploring options including a stricter application of its backdoor listing rules and requiring firms to undergo a fresh audit.
Olympus plans to cut about 2,000 jobs, or roughly 7% of the firm’s global workforce, and overhaul its region-centric structure to improve productivity.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 10, 2025
Olympus soars most in six years on job cuts and shakeups
CEO Bob White said he plans to cut about 2,000 jobs, or roughly 7% of the firm’s global workforce.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average index briefly tumbled more than 2,000 points on Wednesday morning following a downbeat session on Wall Street fueled by fears of a bubble in the artificial intelligence sector.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 5, 2025
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slumps 4%, led by losses in tech sector
Chip-related stocks faced strong selling pressure following overnight falls in U.S. high-tech shares, amid growing caution over recent sharp gains in AI-related equities.
A Toyota plant in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture. The management-led offer to take a Toyota supplier private at ¥2,050 per share is too low and highlights shortfalls in Japan’s MBO regulations, said a portfolio manager and head of Japan equity at investment firm GMO.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 8, 2025
Toyota supplier’s management buyout plan stokes investor rebuke of Japan rules
The tension around Pacific Industrial’s MBO proposal highlights the debate over the TSE’s rules requiring companies to provide more disclosures on price fairness and procedures.
Eric Trump plans to attend a shareholder meeting of Japanese bitcoin treasury firm Metaplanet on Sept. 1, according to people familiar with the matter.
BUSINESS
Aug 22, 2025
Eric Trump to visit Japan in September amid crypto push
The U.S. President’s son plans to attend a shareholder meeting of Japanese bitcoin treasury firm Metaplanet.
Twelve months on from Aug. 5, 2024, when Japan’s stock benchmarks plummeted 12%, the broader Topix index is once again hovering near record highs.
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Aug 5, 2025
A year after Japan's stock meltdown, markets show resilience and promise
Clearer BOJ messaging, corporate reforms and a better-than-feared U.S. tariff deal has traders in Japan's markets betting against a repeat of last year's crash.
A monitor in Tokyo shows the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropping on Monday morning.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 4, 2025
Stocks in Japan slump after U.S. data spark growth worries
The broader Topix Index and the blue-chip 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average pared some of their earlier losses but closed down 1.1% and 1.2%, respectively.
An electronic board shows the broad Topix index hitting a record high on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 27, 2025
Japan investors brace for BOJ and earnings results after Trump-fueled rally
As the dust settles following the U.S.-Japan trade deal that sent markets on a wild ride, investors are questioning whether the rally was a sign of things to come.
A lack of clarity around fiscal and economic policies is likely to dim the global appeal of Japanese assets, analysts say.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 22, 2025
Japanese bonds remain vulnerable as unpopular Ishiba holds on
Benchmark 10-year bonds fell only slightly as trading resumed in Tokyo, pushing yields up by 1.5 basis points.
Analysts say the failure of Alimentation Couche-Tard’s attempt to acquire the operator of 7-Eleven stores runs counter to the broader trend in Japan's investing landscape.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 18, 2025
Couche-Tard’s failed bid for Seven and I sparks debate over foreign acquisitions
Couche-Tard's acquisition failure is seen as running counter to the broader trend in the investing landscape in Japan.
A monitor in Tokyo on Friday shows the 225-issue Nikkei average exceeding 40,000 for the first time since January.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 27, 2025
Nikkei hits 40,000 level as trade hopes fuel Japan stock rally
Exporters such as carmakers were among the biggest contributors to gains.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. Investors are shunning an auction of government debt and yields are soaring as the BOJ reduces its purchases of government bonds.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 21, 2025
Buyers recoil from Japanese bonds in warning to BOJ on balance-sheet cuts
The rout in the nation’s $7.8 trillion government bond market is most acute for longer-maturity debt.
Rakuten Group's stock dropped after the Japanese e-commerce firm reported a 19th straight quarterly loss, fueling concerns about the financial drag from its ailing mobile business.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 15, 2025
Rakuten Group shares sink on worse-than-expected quarterly loss
The stock plunged as much as 10% in Tokyo on Thursday, its biggest intraday drop since April 7.
Capsules of Takeda Pharmaceutical's Prevacid heartburn drug. The company's share price dropped by over 5% on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a plan to order a cut in U.S. prescription drug costs.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 12, 2025
Asian pharma stocks tumble on Trump signal to cut U.S. drug prices
The U.S. president's social media post put pressure on drug-related stocks on worries their profits will take a hit if they have to reduce prices in the U.S.
Environmental, social and governance funds are increasingly looking to Japan, as efforts to boost diversity are coming amid a regulatory and government push for better corporate governance.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 11, 2025
Trump’s DEI rollback gives Japan a chance to draw ESG inflows
Japanese firms have long lagged behind their Western peers on gender equality, but the U.S. crackdown on diversity may give them a chance to shine.
Japan’s stocks plunged after U.S. President Donald Trump slapped the nation with a 24% levy as part of tariffs on trading partners worldwide.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 3, 2025
Japan’s stocks slump on Trump’s 24% tariffs and stronger yen
The Topix Index fell 4% to 2,544.41 as of 9:12 a.m. Tokyo time, while the blue-chip Nikkei declined 4.1% to 34,281.76.
The stakes are high for the unveiling of the Switch 2 console on Wednesday, with the stock trading near its priciest level in seven years.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 2, 2025
Stakes are high for Switch 2 after Nintendo’s stock valuation surges
The company's stock is trading near its priciest level in seven years ahead of a reveal of the new console's details.
Capital gains on direct Bitcoin purchases are subject to taxes of up to 55% in Japan, making investing in stock proxies like Metaplanet via the Nippon Individual Savings Account program a cheap and convenient option for small-scale and first-time buyers.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 10, 2025
Bitcoin hoarder’s stock soars 4,000% in Japan on crypto rally
Shares of Metaplanet are up more than 4,000% over the past 12 months, the largest gain among all Japanese equities in that period.
Nintendo Switch controllers for sale at a game shop in Tokyo on Jan. 16.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 1, 2025
Mario Kart may help Nintendo rally outlast flight from AI tech
The Mario Kart creator’s focus on success in games, while leveraging its intellectual property into movies and theme parks, makes it look like a safe bet for tech investors.
Japanese court orders Cloudflare to pay ¥500 million over manga piracy
Cloudflare has been ordered to pay ¥500 million after four major publishing firms accused the firm of copyright infringement for its role in hosting sites that distribute pirated copies of manga titles.
Japan plans higher visa fees for foreign residents
Along with planned higher fees for foreign residents to stay, Japan is looking to raise the ¥3,000 single-entry visa fee for inbound tourists to Western standards in the next fiscal year.
Two men suspected of smuggling 1 ton of gold into Japan from South Korea
U.K. gold bullion bars and coins are displayed at Baird & Co. in Hatton Garden in London.
Takaichi rejects China's demand to retract Taiwan remarks
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has rejected China's demands for her to retract her comments on Taiwan, saying Tokyo's stance on a major regional security crisis remains unchanged.
Japan set to lean on U.S. allies for support if China escalates
U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo, on Oct. 28.
Japan plans higher visa fees for foreign residents
Along with planned higher fees for foreign residents to stay, Japan is looking to raise the ¥3,000 single-entry visa fee for inbound tourists to Western standards in the next fiscal year.
First foreign president of Hosei University looks abroad for change
Hosei University President Diana Khor, who herself was an international student, aims to encourage students to look outward and cultivate a global mindset.
Japanese companies advised to change mindset about investment in Africa
Bernard Laurendeau, chief of Enkopa Lab Japan, in Tokyo last month
Munetaka Murakami headlines quartet looking to move to MLB via posting system
The Swallows' Munetaka Murakami has 246 career home runs in eight NPB seasons.
The reality of human trafficking in Japan
A view of Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward at night. Last year in Japan, 66 people were put in protective custody as victims of human trafficking. Among them, 58 — including all 41 minors — were Japanese nationals. International pressure to act on human trafficking led Japan to make efforts to crack down on the crime, such as a tightening of conditions in 2005 for entertainer visas.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Juzo Itami’s “Tampopo” was released Nov. 23, 1985, and though it wasn’t a hit at the time, it has gained a cult following in the years since.
Eat, slurp, love: 'Tampopo' turns 40
By Weiwen Lin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.

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