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April 19, 2024
 

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Junko Fujita
For Junko Fujita's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
A backdrop of a broadly soaring stock market and signs of long-awaited wage and price growth is drawing bets that the BOJ might back away from its ultraeasy policy settings as soon as its next meeting in a week's time.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 11, 2024
Bank of Japan skips ETF buying, stoking policy speculation
It was not clear why it did not buy the listed funds even as the Topix index slid 2% — a mark that generally draws a response.
The bond sale is part of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's plan to sell ¥20 trillion of bonds to help finance projects such as developing low-cost wind power generators and airplanes that use alternative fuels.
BUSINESS
Feb 13, 2024
Japan's first sovereign green bonds expected to attract healthy demand
The financing is meant to help the nation cut greenhouse gases to zero by 2050 and become a carbon-neutral society.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 1, 2022
Japan's property market lures private equity with solid yields
Property investors worldwide are flush with cash and emboldened by stabilizing vacancy rates and rents after disruption by the pandemic, and some are setting their sights on Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 4, 2022
Japan's five-year bond yield scales zero on tighter policy expectation
Stubbornly hot inflation and more hawkishness from other major central banks has spurred bets that the Bank of Japan will need to tighten policy soon.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2021
Suga regrets having to take the flak for hosting Olympics during pandemic
The prime minister was responding to comments from an opposition lawmaker, who said Suga had been coming under attack when the host city's governor, Yuriko Koike, should be weighing in.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 23, 2020
Japan's SBI, eyeing shake-up of regional banks, may get a Suga boost
Suga has pledged to strengthen local economies and encourage regional banks to consolidate, a shake-up that many say is long overdue.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 15, 2020
Children's puppet shows help bunraku master endure coronavirus shutdown
Kanjuro Kiritake says the pandemic has left him worrying for the future of his art form.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2018
In Japan, new rules may leave short-term lodging industry out in the cold
Japan's new law on short-term lodging services was meant to ease a shortage of hotel rooms, bring order to an unregulated market, and offer more options for foreign visitors ahead of next year's Rugby World Cup and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 6, 2017
Japan's regional banks, facing demographic challenges, turn to deal-making for revenue
The grim outlook for smaller regional banks, who are suffering as the rural population shrinks rapidly, is prompting some to dive into a new, potentially lucrative line of business that until now was largely taboo: mergers and acquisitions.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 18, 2017
Abe's infrastructure reforms hit roadblock as cities balk at effort to mend Japan's aging sewer systems
Hidden beneath its streets, Japan's aging sewer pipes spotlight a challenge that has held back reforms Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is pushing to revitalize the world's third-biggest economy.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 13, 2017
Micro M&A advisers riding population trends to success
Boutique advisers specializing in micro mergers and acquisitions for mostly family-run firms are enjoying a boom as the aging, shrinking population puts the squeeze on Japan's small business landscape.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 17, 2017
Tokyo office boom fades with more space, fewer workers
Commercial property prices in Tokyo, a bellwether for the market, look to have peaked as the capital faces a glut of new offices even as the number of workers is set to decline.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2016
Japan's rural temples see the light in luxury tourism
Deep in a forest in Fukui Prefecture, a 13th century Buddhist temple where Steve Jobs once dreamed of becoming a Zen monk has teamed up with a Tokyo skyscraper builder to seek the commercial enlightenment of foreign tourist dollars.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 31, 2015
Japan's tourism boom drives real-estate developers to convert offices into hotels
The surge in tourists visiting Japan is stretching the ability of hotels to accommodate them in a sector constrained by high costs, forcing developers to think out of the box for means to quickly increase lodging options without breaking the bank.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 6, 2015
Budget hotels thinking outside the capsule
With Japan's tourist numbers and hotel prices on the rise thanks to a weaker yen, developers are getting creative with a new niche line of stylish but cheap accommodations in bunks, cabins and pods of all shapes and sizes.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 5, 2015
'Abenomics' property boost shrinks back to Tokyo
An economic rebound and loose money policy under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe briefly halted a long slide in Japan's commercial property market, but the benefits of "Abenomics" appear increasingly limited to Tokyo, leaving a moribund hinterland.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2014
Japan banker hopes for small-town encore with 'curtain call' loans
While rival banks sit on their deposits, frustrating the government efforts to reflate a stagnant economy, regional banker Takashi Tsuchiya will write you a loan to close your business or end your marriage.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 15, 2014
Michelin-starred chef fears loss of tradition
At his three-star Michelin restaurant in Tokyo, Yoshihiro Murata serves elaborate 12-course meals of delicate Japanese food. But his real passion is to make sure simple, traditional food is passed on to the next generation.
BUSINESS
Jul 12, 2007
Lone Star's acquisitions of golf courses suffering in economic recovery
The economy is so healthy it's bad for business, according to Mitsuo Hirose, who heads golf operations in Japan for John Grayken's Lone Star Funds.
No link to Nankai Trough quake seen after temblor in Shikoku
Satoshi Harada from the Meteorological Agency explains about the magnitude 6.6 earthquake during a news conference early Thursday.
Thousands evacuated as Indonesia volcano erupts
Indonesia's Mount Ruang spews hot lava and smoke as seen from Sitaro, North Sulawesi, on Wednesday.
Why hasn't Japan moved to prop up the weak yen?
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Snake on a train: Discovery of serpent delays Tokyo-Nagoya shinkansen
A Tokaido shinkansen. It is unclear whether the snake was venomous or how it ended up on the train, and there was no injury or panic among passengers.
Sex differences could be key to the successful treatment of long COVID
A new study has found that women with long COVID had significantly lower levels of testosterone compared to those who had recovered from their infection.
'House of the Owl' brings Hollywood values to Japanese TV
In the new Disney+ series “House of the Owl,” Min Tanaka (left) plays a powerful political fixer, or “kuromaku,” who has a troubled relationship with his adult children, particularly his idealistic son, played by Mackenyu.
Benefits and risks: AUKUS looks to take gamble on Japan
U.S. President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British leader Rishi Sunak deliver remarks on the AUKUS partnership, after a trilateral meeting, at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego in March last year.
Kyoto’s demon night parade lives to haunt another day
In a Kyoto long past, the "hyakki yagyō" (100 demon night parade) haunted a sleepy corner of Kyoto. Now, one enterprising monster enthusiast has won a small batttle to keep the march alive.
U.S. deploys midrange missile system in Indo-Pacific for first time
A U.S. Army Mid-Range Capability (MRC) Launcher arrives as part of the capability’s first deployment into theater on Northern Luzon, Philippines, April 8.
Unpacking the chaotic by-election in a scandal-hit Tokyo district
People listen to a campaign speech in Tokyo's Koto Ward on Tuesday.

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

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on
By Lance Henderstein

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability
Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability

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