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April 25, 2024
 

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Kana Inagaki
For Kana Inagaki's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
JAPAN
May 24, 2010
Doraemon to make 3-D debut at Expo
Fans of Doraemon wanting to see video of the robot cat in 3-D for the first time will have to travel to the Shanghai World Expo in June.
BUSINESS
Apr 9, 2010
Car industry braces for further shakeup
YOKOHAMA — With Nissan Motor Co. and its French partner Renault SA looking to expand their clout through a new cross-sharing deal with Germany's Daimler AG, the big question is: who is next in the realignment of the global auto industry?
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2010
Challenges still looming large for bankrupt JAL
More than a month after Japan Airlines Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection, the initial sense of panic has been replaced by one of seeming calmness as the operations of the nation's biggest carrier continue without disruption.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2010
Toyota president sidesteps issue of Prius recall
Just when it seemed like the head of Toyota Motor Corp. would keep a low profile until the firm's recall troubles wind down, President Akio Toyoda made a surprise public appearance and offered a solemn apology to anxious consumers.
BUSINESS
Feb 2, 2010
New boss: JAL won't go budget, regional
Japan Airlines Corp. will not relegate itself to a regional or low-cost carrier even as the once-proud flagship sharply streamlines its operations under a court-led turnaround plan, its new president said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 27, 2010
JAL intervention to 'leave stain on Japanese history,' Takenaka warns
The government intervention into the affairs of Japan Airlines Corp. will "leave a stain on Japanese history" and risk crippling the nation's aviation industry, according to former economic and fiscal policy minister Heizo Takenaka.
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2010
Low-cost 'fast fashion' trend here to stay
"Fast fashion" undoubtedly became the buzzword of 2009 as Japan's deflation-hit economy drove consumers away from luxury brands and toward cheap but high-quality apparel.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 21, 2009
Hopes high as Windows 7 debuts
As Microsoft Corp. prepares for the upcoming release of its Windows 7, Japanese manufacturers of personal computers are hoping the latest operating system will be the long-awaited silver bullet for a market hammered by eroding prices and flagging demand.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 15, 2009
Legal barriers loom for fuel-cell auto technology
The recent buzz over hybrids and electric cars has overshadowed the massive investments global auto giants are making in fuel-cell vehicles — another near-reality dream car that some believe promises an ultimate zero-emissions society.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 29, 2009
Honda has no regrets about F1 exit, still treading on thin ice: CEO
With Honda Motor Co. profiting on strong sales of its hybrid and compact cars and its former Formula One team inching closer to a championship, some racing fans might be asking "what if" about the automaker's painful decision to exit the sport.
BUSINESS
Sep 24, 2009
Nissan touts focus on zero-emission EV strategy
The tougher emissions reduction goal of the new government has rattled the domestic auto industry, but Nissan Motor Co.'s Chief Operating Officer Toshiyuki Shiga said the company can make a large contribution to achieving it with its zero-emission strategy centering on electric vehicles.
BUSINESS
Sep 15, 2009
Lehman viewed as tipping point
When U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. collapsed last September, Japan was jolted awake from decades of lassitude as the offshore crisis nearly crippled the global financial system.
BUSINESS
Aug 6, 2009
Companies put good face on bad results
Electronics and auto giants moved fast to trim huge losses in the first quarter, turning out positive surprises that may have muzzled concerns they were heading into another "lost decade" like the one Japan slid into in the 1990s.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 28, 2009
Kirin seeks quick Suntory merger
Kirin Holdings Co. will speed up merger talks with Suntory Holdings Ltd. in a bid to secure its footholds in Asia and Oceania as growth opportunities dwindle in the home market, Kirin President Kazuyasu Kato said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 19, 2009
Electric car competition about to heat up
Japanese automakers need to keep improving their electric vehicles to maintain their global competitive edge as new rivals in China and South Korea enter the race for energy-efficient cars, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. President Osamu Masuko said.
BUSINESS
May 20, 2009
Businesses fret outbreak's impact
Many Japanese companies had hardly finished announcing their dismal earnings results in March when a new economic threat began to emerge — a flu epidemic that would strike the nation with alarming speed.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 23, 2009
Honda takes hybrids in new direction
FUKUCHIYAMA, Kyoto Pref. (Kyodo) Back in the early 1970s, Honda Motor Co. both impressed and shocked the global auto industry by becoming the first automaker in the world to develop an engine that complied with stringent U.S. emissions controls at the time.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 7, 2009
Tokyo luxury inns brace for slide
Bruised by the fallout from the global financial turmoil and signs the tourism industry is shrinking, international luxury hotels in Tokyo are trying to diversify their slim guest portfolios to weather the current crisis.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2008
Real estate faces another major downturn
Nearly two decades ago, Japan experienced the burst of an asset-inflated bubble economy that shattered the myth that property prices can continue to soar on the back of a roaring boom in the real estate industry.
BUSINESS
Oct 2, 2008
Japan Inc. in payback mode on Wall Street
Just as the economy was about to lapse into a recession, banking giants staged a stunning comeback with a frenzied series of investments into the cash-strapped U.S. financial sector.
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.
Over 40% of Japan's municipalities at risk of vanishing, study finds
Of 1,729 local municipalities nationwide, 744 have been identified as being at risk of disappearing.
Tokyo issues strong warning on yen intervention as currency dips further
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki speaks during a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok on the sidelines of IMF and G20 meetings in Washington last week.
Princess Aiko makes debut at imperial garden party
Princess Aiko attends an imperial garden party in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Japan's former PM Aso meets Trump for talks on security and economy
Former U.S. President Donald Trump and Taro Aso, vice president of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, in New York on Tuesday. The Japanese government’s top spokesman on Wednesday played down the meeting as one conducted "in the capacity of one lawmaker" and “without the government’s involvement.”
New workers name Shohei Ohtani as 'dream boss' for two years running
Shohei Ohtani has been overwhelmingly voted as the “dream boss” for people who started working in April, according to a survey.
A craft beer crawl through Tokyo’s top bars, brewpubs and dives
If all you drink is Asahi, Sapporo and Kirin, you're depriving yourself of some of the best craft beer Tokyo has to offer — and there sure is a lot of it out there.
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.
Tsukiji 2030s: A stadium, culinary center and transportation hub
A computer-generated image shows redevelopment plans for the former site of the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo.
Hearing the impact of climate change in Okinawa, one bird call at a time
Toshihiro Kinjo (center), a research support technician at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, inspects an audio recording device in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, on April 3 as Masako Ogasawara, a research support specialist at OIST, looks on.

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

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

A young restaurant leads the way in Karuizawa
A young restaurant leads the way in Karuizawa

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