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May 31, 2025
 

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Kazuaki Nagata

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Kazuaki Nagata
Takanori Nishiyama, Japan manager of Keeper Security. Password managers can help thwart phishing attacks.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
May 30, 2025
Online brokerage account hijacks in Japan highlight need for login vigilance
Portfolios are being commandeered to manipulate the market for the benefit of the hacker.
Seven & I hopes to focus more on its 7-Eleven convenience stores.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
May 28, 2025
Seven & I’s move away from banking leaves market wondering
7-Eleven's ATMs are an important part of the convenience store operator's business.
A lot at a Nissan plant in Mexico. The company may have overextended itself during the Ghosn era.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
May 20, 2025
Nissan’s troubles might go all the way back to Ghosn 
Some analysts argue that aggressive expansion by the iconoclastic executive left the company overextended.
Cars on display at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama on Tuesday. The automaker posted a massive annual net loss and confirmed that it plans to cut thousands of jobs worldwide.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2025
Japanese automakers looking at a ¥1 trillion hit from Trump tariffs 
No matter what happens, they expect the new levies to cost them a lot.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange building in Nihonbashi. The exchange wants companies to lower the entry cost of investing in their shares.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 14, 2025
Tokyo Stock Exchange wants stocks to be affordable for the average investor
Attracting more small investors could help reduce volatility due to the introduction of a wider range of investment strategies.
Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa in Tokyo as the company releases its results
BUSINESS / Companies
May 13, 2025
Nissan gets ‘wake-up call’ with $4.5 billion annual net loss
The company plans more than 10,000 job cuts globally in addition to the 9,000 cuts announced previously.
A supermarket in Chiba. Politicians in Japan might cut the consumption tax to help households and the economy.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 8, 2025
Economists debate consumption tax cut as Japanese politicians warm to idea
Japanese politicians are considering the possibility of lowering the consumption tax to stimulate the economy in the face of U.S. tariffs.
Phillip Vincent (right), Japan CEO of Plug and Play, and Ma Jingqian, head of ventures, at Plug and Play's Tokyo office, last month
BUSINESS / Companies
May 5, 2025
Plug and Play wants to help Japanese startups go global
The Japanese government is aggressively supporting startups, and large companies are seeking more opportunities to bet on entrepreneurs.
The Bank of Japan has been signaling caution in the face of uncertainty.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 1, 2025
Bank of Japan holds rates as expected but surprises with growth forecast cut
The policy board made no adjustment to the short-term policy rate, currently 0.5%, at a two-day meeting that concluded Thursday.
Tesla's store in Tokyo's Shibuya district. While sales of American cars in Japan appear to be shrinking, Tesla's presence in the country is growing.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 28, 2025
Counting the reasons why there are so few American cars in Japan
One reason is size, with American cars tending to be larger and not generally suited for driving in busy cities with many narrow roads, such as Tokyo.
The yen strengthened dramatically this month — hitting ¥139.9 to the dollar on Tuesday — and could become a topic of conversation in trade talks between the United States and Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 22, 2025
Yen on the march as Plaza Accord 2.0 debate grows
The U.S. has claimed that Japan's currency is undervalued, with some in the administration of President Donald Trump calling for a Plaza Accord 2.0.
The head of Godzilla, a Japanese monster movie character, is seen on a building of Toho Cinema in Tokyo. Toho is one tariff-defensive stock being recommended by brokers.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 18, 2025
Tokyo stock picker advises Trump-proofing portfolios with Godzilla creator Toho
Investor sentiment may favor Japanese companies that continue to issue earnings forecasts, especially during this period of uncertainty and market volatility.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda at a news conference in January. He has been in the top position for two years.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 11, 2025
After two years in top job, BOJ's Ueda faces his biggest challenge yet 
Communication will be more crucial from now on, as the economic outlook will be more uncertain than ever because of the U.S. tariffs.
Hon Hai Precision Industry, which does business as Foxconn, wants to make electric vehicles for Japanese carmakers.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Apr 10, 2025
It makes iPhones. Now Hon Hai wants to make cars for Japanese automakers.
The Taiwanese company's seemingly unlikely proposition — given the structure and history of Japan's auto industry — just might work.
Kwai Chung container ports in Hong Kong earlier this month
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 7, 2025
East Asia tries a mix of measures to counter U.S. tariffs as markets suffer
U.S. President Donald Trump last week announced a raft of tariffs, with almost every country affected.
Japanese stocks have been falling for two days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a new round of tariffs. This picture was taken on Thursday, the first trading day in Tokyo after the U.S. president's announcement of the tariffs.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 4, 2025
Tokyo stocks fall for another day as reality of Trump tariffs sets in
Some analysts say financial markets will likely be volatile in the short term, but their longer-term outlook remains optimistic.
Rapidus is gearing up to mass produce semiconductors using 2-nanometer processes in 2027, which on paper would match Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 2, 2025
Rapidus begins pilot production of 2-nanometer chips in Hokkaido
The 2-year-old company aims to mass produce the next-generation semiconductors — vital for technologies such as artificial intelligence and autonomous driving — in 2027.
The Bank of Japan's tankan survey indicates that large business are still positive on their prospects.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 1, 2025
Japanese businesses maintain optimism ahead of looming tariff storm
In the BOJ's latest tankan survey, the headline index for big manufacturers was 12, which indicates confidence in the business outlook.
Japanese stocks declined on Monday as auto and electronics shares were hit hard.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 31, 2025
Japanese stocks fall about 4% ahead of Trump's 'Liberation Day'
Traders and analysts are expecting a week of volatility as the U.S. tariff situation becomes clearer and waivers, if any, are granted.
Yields on Japan's 10-year government bonds have risen at a fast pace since the Bank of Japan ended its negative-rate policy last year and started to tighten.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 25, 2025
Japan bond rout signals era of ultralow rates might really be over  
For the first time in 16 years, yields on Japanese 10-year government bonds have jumped 50 basis points since November to above 1.5%.
Lessons from India-Pakistan war: Were China's arms overrated?
A Chinese J-10B fighter jet is put on display at the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, China, in October 2016. The short May conflict between India and Pakistan became a live trial for Chinese arms, exposing vulnerabilities in its fighter aircraft and air defense systems.
Chinese parents are fueling Tokyo’s education race
More Chinese families are clustering in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, a district renowned for having the finest educational environment in Japan.
Halt of U.S. visa process puts Japanese students' futures in question
People hold up signs during a rally in support of international students at the Harvard University campus in Boston on Tuesday.
Japan Post launches 'digital address' system
Under the "digital address" system launched by Japan Post, users can input seven-digit combinations of numbers and letters on online shopping and other websites, and their addresses will automatically appear on the sites.
Trump's tariffs to remain in effect after appeals court grants stay
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on tariffs at the White House in April.
Hegseth to face questions on U.S. commitment at top Asian defense conference
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivers remarks at the National Memorial Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on Monday.
Songs, stars and strategy: Japan debuts its newest awards ceremony
Rock band Mrs. Green Apple performed an emotional rendition of hit song “Darling” on the final night of the Music Awards Japan.
Eagle nest discovery sparks opposition to megasolar project
The white-tailed eagle's wintering grounds include Hokkaido, northern Honshu, the Russian coast, the southern Kamchatka Peninsula and the Kuril Islands.
Fighters already showing last season's playoff run was no fluke
Fighters starter Hiromi Ito pitches against the Hawks in Fukuoka on April 29.
A moving meditation: Finding serenity in tea ceremony across space and time
Drawn to tea ceremony while volunteering at a Japanese garden in Phoenix, Arizona, Michele Laudig (right) came to learn a “common language of movement and ritual” that brought her into new communities in New York City and Tokyo.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction equipment sits idle in a park near Shiba Toshogu shrine in Tokyo's Minato Ward. While Japan has a history of treating its trees with reverence, green coverage is said to be lacking in most of the major cities.
Do Japan's trees no longer occupy the sacred space they used to?
By Eric Margolis

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