For Jason Clenfield's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Can Carlos Ghosn beat the rap? With a trial looming this year on charges of aggravated breach of trust and filing false statements to regulators regarding ¥9 billion in deferred income, the former chairman of Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA needs a new strategy. ...
How could one of the world's most visible employees go about hiding billions of yen worth of salary and benefits paid to him by one of the world's biggest companies, without the company knowing it? Two weeks after Tokyo prosecutors arrested Carlos Ghosn for allegedly ...
Norihisa Tomiyasu opened his first mortuary in 1997 aiming to clean up a profession he says deserved its bad reputation for exploiting people's grief and overcharging them at some of the most fraught moments of their lives. "The industry was so backward," he says. "I ...
Embarrassed by the recall of thousands of kitchenware pots after they appeared to leach lead when heated, discount-furniture king Akio Nitori took an unusual step. He hired a team of auto industry engineers to revamp the quality assurance and testing division. Ten years later, every ...
Shinto elders at the centuries-old Unesco World Heritage Site of Shimogamo Shrine upset neighbors when they bulldozed a swath of old Kyoto forest to build an apartment complex with units selling for more than $2 million apiece. "They should call it the Shimogamo Corporation," says ...
Corporate Japan achieved a rare feat in the fiscal year that ended last week. None of its almost 4,000 publicly-traded firms filed for bankruptcy protection. Yet that's no reason to celebrate, according to analysts who see easy credit conditions standing in the way of a ...
Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. has upped the ante against its casino rivals to win the chance to build a casino resort in Japan, declaring there's no limit on how much the company is prepared to invest. "This opportunity is priceless and we'll spend whatever it ...
If you want to understand why Toshiba is about to report a multi-billion dollar writedown on its nuclear reactor business, the story begins and ends with a onetime pipe manufacturer with roots in the swamp country of Louisiana.
Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. wants to grow its overseas business to about a third of sales with more acquisitions as the nation's largest brewer seeks to offset a falling beer market at home. Further acquisitions would follow the company agreeing to buy about $11 billion ...
Ambition matters more than brains in Shigenobu Nagamori's world. As chief executive officer of Japanese motor maker Nidec, Nagamori is known for his eccentric management style. Prospective employees have faced off against each other in eating and shouting competitions; new hires at headquarters in Kyoto ...
