Business Jan 20, 2021

Desperate restaurants defy Japan’s virus curbs to stay open late

While many restaurants in Tokyo are following the requests in return for subsidies, others are starting to break ranks.

Business Jan 14, 2021

Uniqlo owner’s stock hits record as shoppers go casual in pandemic

Operating profit rose 23% to ¥113.1 billion ($1.1 billion) in the three months ended Nov. 30, according to a company statement released Thursday.

National Dec 23, 2020

Japan's bitter vaccine history creates hurdle in COVID-19 fight

Japan has one of the lowest rates of vaccine confidence in the world, according to a Lancet study, which found that fewer than 30% of people strongly agreed that vaccines were safe.

Business / Corporate Oct 16, 2020

Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing's profits up on China and Japan sales

Analysts say Fast Retailing is in a position to recover faster compared with its peers, given its emphasis on affordable, basic clothing suitable for working from home.

Business / Corporate Oct 7, 2020

Japan’s NTT eyes asset sales after $40 billion Docomo buyout

The merger will help the Tokyo-based telecommunications giant keep up share buybacks and invest aggressively overseas, CEO Jun Sawada said in an interview Tuesday.

Business / Corporate Oct 1, 2020

Japan brewers bet on tax cut to revive pandemic-hit sales

As of Thursday, the government is starting to bring taxes of different varieties of alcoholic products more in line with each other.

National | FOCUS Aug 7, 2020

Travel during the Bon holiday? Japan can’t get a straight answer

With national and local officials giving conflicting signals over the risk of making trips, the holiday threatens to boost the spread of the pandemic.

Business / Economy Jul 27, 2020

Pandemic forces digital change on Japanese companies

The coronavirus pandemic may be a drag on economies across the globe, but in Japan it’s bringing long-overdue changes in work habits and tools. About 90 percent of refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co.’s nonmanufacturing employees have worked from home. Department store chain Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. ...

Business / Corporate Jun 12, 2020

Shiseido looks to China's online model for post-pandemic growth

Measures to control the virus have melted away social norms like putting on makeup in the morning or spritzing on perfume before a night out.

Business May 21, 2020

No pause in coronavirus trial for Avigan, Japan's lead researcher says

The lead researcher in the coronavirus trial for flu drug Avigan says it’s too early to make a call on whether it works and shrugged off negative reports about the interim results, saying patients are still being enrolled. The final results of the trial for ...