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 Kazuaki Nagata

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Kazuaki Nagata
For Kazuaki Nagata's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
The results of wage negotiations between companies and labor unions are written on a whiteboard at the office of the Japan Council of Metalworkers' Unions in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 15, 2024
Japan’s labor unions win big pay raises for members
The preliminary figure for the average hike stands at a 33-year high of 5.28%, according to Japan’s largest labor organization.
Results of spring wage negotiations are written on a board at an office of the Japan Council of Metalworkers' Unions in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 13, 2024
Major Japanese firms offering solid pay hikes for second year running
Several companies met or even exceeded labor union demands, raising the possibility the Bank of Japan will adjust monetary policy soon.
A man looks at electronic boards displaying stock prices of companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo on Monday. The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei average has surged at an unexpected pace of about 20% this year
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Mar 8, 2024
A stock rally but sluggish growth: What’s the deal with Japan’s economy?
The Nikkei is benefiting from companies' strong earnings, but wider economic indicators are much less positive.
AI Medical Service's artificial intelligence-based endoscopic diagnostic support system is designed to help detect stomach cancer at an early stage.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 7, 2024
Tokyo startup looks to AI to boost gastrointestinal cancer detection
AI Medical Service thinks it can use Japan’s strengths in endoscopy to boost diagnosis of a condition responsible for 1 in 3 cancer deaths globally.
Solar panels on display at PV Expo in Tokyo on Wednesday. Japan's "transition bonds" will cover cutting-edge solar cells, as well as more controversial projects.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Mar 3, 2024
Japan wants cash for its green transition. But what are investors actually backing?
"Transition bonds" are intended to fund a wide variety of net-zero projects, but it's not clear all of them will actually help with decarbonization.
Immersive Fort Tokyo holds a ceremony on Thursday ahead of its Friday opening in Tokyo's Odaiba area.
BUSINESS
Feb 29, 2024
Immersive Fort Tokyo seeks to update theme park experience
The park could become a new landmark in the Odaiba district by the Tokyo Bay as it seeks to update the typical theme park experience.
People take photos of electronic screens showing the Nikkei average surging to its highest level ever, outside a brokerage in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Markets / ANALYSIS
Feb 22, 2024
Nikkei tops late '80s peak, but is a bubble forming?
Market watchers say gains experienced by Japanese equities are well backed by earnings this time.
An advertisement for the Nippon Individual Savings Account (NISA) at a Mizuho Bank branch, a unit of Mizuho Financial Group, in Tokyo on Jan. 31.
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Feb 19, 2024
Turning the tide? Japan warms up to becoming an asset management hub.
The beefing-up of the NISA program alongside a new policy plan by the government shows its commitment toward getting households to invest.
An electronic board displays the value of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 16, 2024
Nikkei stock index nears all-time high
The index closed at 38,487.24, up by 329.30 points and near the all-time high of 38,915 recorded in December 1989.
Mitsubishi President Katsuya Nakanishi (left), Lawson President Sadanobu Takemasu (center) and KDDI President Makoto Takahashi wear Lawson uniforms during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday to announce the carrier's plan to raise its stake in the convenience chain.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 7, 2024
KDDI to raise stake in Lawson to jointly run convenience chain
Japan's second-largest mobile carrier currently holds 2.1% of shares but will invest about ¥500 billion to increase its stake through a tender offer.
Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda speaks during a news conference in Nagoya on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 30, 2024
World No. 1 but mired in scandal: Toyota sees mixed start to 2024
Despite the steady performance of its business, the carmaker has been shaken by wrongdoing at group firms, leading to an apology from the chairman.
Rengo chief Tomoko Yoshino speaks at a forum in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 29, 2024
Pay hikes at small firms in focus at Japan’s spring wage negotiations
The decisions of such companies will play a big role in determining whether Japan can achieve a healthy wage-price cycle.
The market cap of Japan’s largest automaker reached ¥48.79 trillion ($330 billion) at the end of Tokyo stock trading on Tuesday, with Toyota shares having closed ¥9 higher at ¥2,991 after briefly reaching an all-time high of ¥3,034.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 24, 2024
Toyota’s market cap hits record high for a Japanese firm
Market participants are keeping a close eye on Japan’s top automaker amid expectations that it will post strong earnings.
BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda enters the Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 23, 2024
BOJ stands pat on policy as quake's economic impact remains unclear
Observers are watching for when the BOJ will start exiting negative rates, amid growing expectations it will likely seek normalization this year.
An Xturismo bike flies over Lake Yamanaka in Yamanashi Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 17, 2024
Japanese flying bike startup A.L.I. Technologies files for bankruptcy
The Tokyo-based startup had aimed to play a key role in an expected “air mobility society.”
Monitors at a foreign exchange dealer show the Nikkei Stock Average rising above 35,000 during morning trading in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 11, 2024
Nikkei breaches 35,000 for the first time in 34 years
Wall Street's tech-driven gains and a weakening of the yen give Japanese stocks a boost for third day in a row.
Akio Mimura, honorary chairman of Nippon Steel and head of a private panel focused on depopulation, submits the group's proposal to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 10, 2024
Japan should aim to maintain population of 80 million by 2100: panel
A group comprising academics and business leaders say a higher target than the projected 63 million is needed to maintain economic growth.
A Japan Airlines plane burning at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Tuesday evening
JAPAN
Jan 2, 2024
Five dead after Japan Airlines jet collides with coast guard plane at Haneda Airport
All 379 people on board the JAL plane exited safely but five of the six people on the coast guard plane died, with the captain sustaining serious injuries.
The entrance lobby of Accor's Mercure Tokyo Hibiya, which recently opened in the capital
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 2, 2024
Backed by tourism potential, hotels keen to cultivate Japanese market
Because Japan was slow to reopen its borders, there appears to be robust, pent-up demand to visit the country.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son speaks at the SoftBank World 2023 corporate conference in Tokyo on Oct. 4.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 31, 2023
Will generative AI speed up Japan's digital transformation?
An initially cautious attitude has given way to wider acceptance in the public and private sectors, providing a boost to digitalization efforts.

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