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BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 22, 2016

Japan Post to fight negative rates with shift to risk assets

Japan Post Holdings Co. will shift more of its $2.6 trillion investment portfolio to riskier assets to boost profitability as negative interest rates shrink income from government bonds.
BUSINESS
Apr 13, 2016

Yen bruises Hong Kong retailers that sell Japanese products

Times are tough for Hong Kong retailers. And even worse for those with links to Japan.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 9, 2016

Japan's financial regulator warns of 'problematic' investment vehicles

The nation's financial regulator is concerned that banks and securities companies are selling complex funds that charge high fees to individuals who may not understand the risks, and it is talking to the firms about whether the sales are appropriate.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 9, 2016

U.S. gun industry wants looser rules on silencers

The U.S. gun industry is trying to shake off the Hollywood hit-man image of the gun silencer and re-brand it as a hearing-protection device in a campaign to roll back regulations that date to the 1930s.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 15, 2016

Strong yen is a brake on Japanese carmakers' profits

Japanese automakers may have run out of the fuel that has driven profits higher for the past four years: the weaker yen.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 25, 2016

BOJ-fueled Tokyo property boom pricing average earners out of housing market

Rich buyers taking advantage of record low borrowing costs have pushed prices in Tokyo beyond the reach of many ordinary buyers, taking the wind out of property sales.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 21, 2016

Where to find China's latest crop of shoppers

China's vast number of rural consumers are starting to make themselves felt in the realm of e-commerce.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jan 18, 2016

Promise of clever children in year of monkey may boost births in China

Those born in the year of the monkey are said to be crafty, clever and charming. That has spurred some couples in China to delay parenthood until the less-auspicious sheep year ends — a balm for companies offering fertility products and obstetric services.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 15, 2016

As clock ticks down on sanctions, oil-laden Iran tankers set to head for India and Europe

With Iran poised to resume usual business ties with the world under a historic nuclear deal, Tehran is set to target India, Asia's fastest-growing major oil market, and old partners in Europe with hundreds of thousands of barrels of its crude.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 14, 2016

As fortunes fade at home, drug giant Takeda eyes greener shores overseas

One balmy summer evening last year, some of the most prolific biotech and scientific minds of Boston came together.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 9, 2016

Japan policymakers fearful of constantly dodgy data

Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida joked almost 70 years ago that if Japan had kept better data, it might never have started a war with the U.S. His grandson, Finance Minister Taro Aso, worries about flawed statistics that could mislead economic policymakers today.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 27, 2015

Does the future of Japanese music depend on streaming services?

When music consultant Mikiro Enomoto asked a class of Kyoto Seika University students how they listened to new music last year, he reckons 80 percent of them mentioned YouTube or YouTube-linked sites. When he asked the same question to this year's class, almost all of them said they don't bother looking...
EDITORIALS
Dec 15, 2015

The consumption tax mess

It's questionable whether the government's plan to introduce a lower tax rate on food products is the best way to help lower-income households.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 12, 2015

Dow, DuPont agree on $130 billion merger

Chemical titans DuPont and Dow Chemical Co. have agreed to combine in an all-stock merger valued at $130 billion in a first step toward breaking up into three businesses, a move that pleased activist investors and could trigger more consolidation.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Dec 10, 2015

Yahoo weighs spinoff of Web units, not ditching Alibaba stake

Yahoo Inc. is changing course. Again.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 27, 2015

Cannabis-infused joe becoming popular drink-of-the-day

It was during an endless drive home from a camping trip in eastern Washington state that entrepreneur Adam Stites came up with his latest product. "What would happen if I infused heavy cream with cannabis, then mixed it with my coffee?" he mused. ("My van doesn't go very fast, so I have a lot of time...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 26, 2015

Suzuki aims to take some Maruti turf in India

After trust issues doomed Suzuki Motor Corp.'s alliance with Volkswagen AG, the Japanese carmaker now has to win over shareholders skeptical of plans for its crucial partnership with India's largest carmaker.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 20, 2015

Namie Amuro returned to form this year with '_genic'

Ten years ago, Namie Amuro's star appeared to be fading fast. The pop singer's massive popularity in the 1990s helped cement the rise of sleek J-pop, but by 2005, sales of her albums and singles were starting to come back to Earth. Worse still, the former "Queen of J-pop" was seemingly being lapped by...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 11, 2015

Japan's lost decade has lesson for those dreading China slowdown

When Japan's economy downshifted dramatically in the 1990s, the rest of the world managed to do just fine. Now, as China suffers a sustained slowdown, there's a group of economists who say the same may well happen again.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 30, 2015

Sharp's vision for recovery blurred as it posts further losses

Electronics-maker Sharp Corp.'s recovery seemed on the blink Friday as it posted a ¥25.1 billion operating loss and ¥83.6 billion net loss for the first half of fiscal 2015. The news came days after Sharp sharply reduced its expectations for the period ahead.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 30, 2015

Retailers far from spooked as Japan's interest in Halloween grows

With Halloween conveniently falling on a Saturday this year, retailers are hoping to further capitalize on an event that by one estimate will generate ¥122 billion in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 29, 2015

Tepco second-quarter profit slides amid lower electricity use

Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, reported a 26 percent decline in second-quarter operating profit due to fuel-price adjustments, as its users consumed less energy.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan