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May 04, 2024
 

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Masumi Suga
For Masumi Suga's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Oct 13, 2017
Kobe Steel cheating scandal driven by competition to improve metals, especially for automakers
Behind the scandal engulfing Kobe Steel Ltd. over the falsification of data for some of the materials it supplied is a harsh reality for Japanese steel companies: the need to provide higher and higher quality metals to compete.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 10, 2017
Kobe Steel's admission over falsified data sends shock waves through manufacturers across Japan
Revelations renew concerns about the integrity of Japanese manufacturers, and follow scandals involving rupturing Takata air bags and unauthorized inspections at Nissan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 16, 2017
Squeezing paper from a stone: an entrepreneur's approach to ease deforestation
Stone tablets were one of the earliest writing tools used by man before paper. One entrepreneur now plans to take things full circle by making paper out of stone.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 30, 2017
Steel giant trying to get with it in Shibuya to woo young Japanese talent
Convincing teenagers in Japan that working for a giant 116-year-old manufacturer is a sexy career choice seems like a tough sell. It's even more difficult if the target audience can't figure out the company's name.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 28, 2016
Paper made from stone tempts Japan's top printer to invest
The nation's biggest printing company is funding a startup that makes paper out of rock, in a bid to diversify into new materials and as environmental concerns push companies to seek more sustainable products.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 11, 2016
Nippon Steel's tough year raises threat of Japan trade barriers
A difficult year just keeps getting tougher for Japan's steelmakers, raising the possibility that the world's second-biggest producer could join the ranks of nations that have raised trade barriers to cheaper imports.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2016
Japan plans to search for, mine metals deep beneath the ocean
As deep as 1,600 meters under water and 1,500 km from Tokyo, work has begun on the new hunting ground for metals in Japan, a country so devoid of natural resources that most of what it needs has to be imported.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 5, 2016
Steel king NSSMC cedes crown to Arcelor as yen soars
Japan's biggest steel maker is top of the pile no more, as a resurgent yen hands a competitive advantage to overseas rivals amid an unprecedented global glut.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 3, 2016
Skymark may fly international routes after restructuring, chairman says
Bankrupt carrier Skymark Airlines Inc. is weighing the possibility of starting overseas flights and is set to unveil a business plan by April as part of its turnaround, Chairman Nobuo Sayama said.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 27, 2015
Nippon Paper to invest in nanofiber to head off challenges to print
Nippon Paper Industries Co. plans to build a factory to mass produce a high-strength, low-weight material known as nanofiber as soon as next year, part of a push to bolster revenue as Japan's shrinking population and the shift to online content threatens sales of newspapers and books.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 11, 2015
Mitsui, GE sign cost-cutting mining pact as prices tumble
Mitsui & Co., Japan's largest trader of iron ore and oil, will partner with General Electric Co. in exploring ways to cut costs on mining operations amid the decline in commodity prices.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2015
Despite pressing need, Japan continues to grope for nuclear waste site
Welcome to Japan, land of cherry blossoms, sushi and sake, and 17,000 metric tons of highly radioactive waste.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 30, 2015
Komatsu CEO says sluggish construction sales show worsening China slump
Komatsu Ltd.'s customers in China are reluctant to buy construction equipment because they are unsure when building projects will start, underscoring the challenges the Japanese supplier and its peers face in a market that is cooling more than expected.
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2014
Volcanoes may be next obstacle for Japan's atomic power industry
The deadly volcanic eruption of Mount Ontake over the weekend may strengthen the argument of activists campaigning to keep the country's 48 reactors shut.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 25, 2014
Hitachi CEO open to deeper ties, merger talks with Mitsubishi Heavy
Hitachi Ltd.'s chief executive officer said he's open to deeper ties, which could include merger talks, with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., after the equipment makers failed in their bid for Alstom SA's power business.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 25, 2014
Kawasaki to take on Korean rivals with LNG tankers made in China
Shipbuilder Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. plans to construct gas carriers abroad as it strives to lower costs and take back market share from Korean rivals.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Apr 14, 2014
Renewables get raked over coals under Abe
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is pushing the coal industry to expand sales at home and abroad, undermining hopes among environmentalists that he'd use the Fukushima nuclear disaster to switch the nation to renewables.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2014
Reactors still feared despite new rules
The cost of restarting Japan's nuclear power plants: ¥1.3 trillion and counting.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 2, 2014
Komatsu bets on local concrete boom as global mining sales falter
Construction equipment maker Komatsu Ltd. expects spending on disaster reconstruction and prevention, as well as preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, to boost earnings in its home market.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 17, 2013
Tepco bonds a safe bet now: Nomura
Nomura Holdings Inc. is urging investors buy Tokyo Electric Power Co. bonds after a report that the government plans to cap the utility's cleanup costs at the wrecked Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Biden calls ally Japan ‘xenophobic’ along with rivals China and Russia
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in Syracuse, New York, on April 25.
Yen swings stir talk that Japan is in the FX market once again
An electronic screen in Tokyo displays the yen exchange rate against the U.S. dollar and the graph showing its recent swings, on Thursday.
Harajuku strives to reclaim its former glory — and surpass it
Laforet Harajuku, which celebrated its 45th anniversary last year, has been a witness to the district's evolution over the years.
Weak yen fattens tourist wallets in Japan
People visit the Ameya Yokocho market in Tokyo's Ueno district during the Golden Week holiday on Tuesday.
Japan's May 1 intervention may have cost ¥3.66 trillion, BOJ data suggests
An electronic screen displays a graph showing Japanese yen exchange rates surging against the dollar amid signs of intervention by authorities, in Tokyo on Thursday.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces
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