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COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
May 15, 2012

Supreme Court knocks down discipline of mentally ill employee

Can a company discipline an employee for taking absence without leave if that worker could be suffering from mental illness? Just a few weeks ago, on April 27, the Supreme Court ruled against Hewlett-Packard Japan Ltd. in a case that posed precisely this question. The verdict illustrates the courts'...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Mar 28, 2012

Japan gets new Android gadgets

I expect you've heard about as much as you can take regarding Apple's third-generation iPad over the past few weeks. It's an undeniably improved offering over the iPad 2, which itself is now a tempting buy at its new discounted price. But while the iPad is still the clear leader in the tablet space,...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LABOR PAINS
Mar 27, 2012

A promise of employment is binding, Supreme Court ruled in late 1970s case

The coming of spring brings with it the sight of young women and men clad in black or navy suits, all carrying the same type of bag and sporting the most austere, no-nonsense hairdo and makeup, scurrying down the streets of metropolises around Japan. From a distance you'd be forgiven for thinking these...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2012

Auto sector took early charge in efforts to get Tohoku back on its feet

As the surge of water smashed through the factory wall near Sendai Airport a year ago, Takumi Tanaka held on to an air hose to stop being swept away. Four days later, he was back at the shattered auto parts plant, groping through meter-thick mud studded with uprooted trees.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2012

Mitsui Fudosan eyes expanding trust

Mitsui Fudosan Co., the nation's biggest developer by sales, said it plans to triple the size of its private real estate investment trust in three years as the company seeks to tap Japanese pension funds.
COMMENTARY
Feb 27, 2012

Tradeoff in nuclear power

Trade and industry minister Yukio Edano was quoted by a major vernacular paper earlier this year as saying that the government is contemplating changing the policy of promoting nuclear power generation as a national project in which operations are entrusted to private sector electric power companies....
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Feb 18, 2012

Nagoya aid for tsunami-hit city starts to pay off

A shiitake grower farmer in disaster-hit Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, is working to cultivate a sales channel in the Chubu region, while a Nagoya-based civil engineering company launches an office near the Tohoku city.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 3, 2012

Honda surprises with gain in resurgent U.S.

Honda Motor Co. ended eight months of shrinking U.S. sales with an unexpected January gain as recovering auto demand also buoyed growth for Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and Hyundai Motor Co.
BUSINESS
Jan 28, 2012

Nintendo losses could triple as 3DS sales sink

Nintendo Co. has more than tripled its full-year loss forecast as the success of Apple Inc.'s popular devices has eroded demand for the company's 3DS handheld player.
COMMUNITY
Jan 21, 2012

Aussie takes slippery slope to Hokkaido

Matt Dening, 44, grew up on sunshine in a small beach town south of Sydney. Like most Australian youths, Dening played "all the regular sports — swimming, cricket, rugby — but not really well."
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 6, 2012

Toyota's U.S. sales top estimates as Kia surges

Toyota Motor Corp.'s December sales gain beat analysts' estimates and Kia Motors Corp. had the biggest increase among Asia-based brands, capping the U.S. auto industry's best year since 2008.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Dec 23, 2011

New Japan Pro-Wrestling hits 40

High-impact slams, chokeholds and daredevil feats of athleticism aren't the usual way to celebrate a 40th birthday, but that's how New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) will be spending its big day.
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2011

Toyota Tsusho to supply LNG project

Trading house Toyota Tsusho Corp., part-owned by Japan's biggest automaker, will sell coal-bed methane to the world's first liquefied natural gas project to use the fuel, company officials said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2011

Sony's buying binge said wrong ploy to beat Apple

Sony Corp. Chief Executive Officer Howard Stringer has announced acquisitions worth $8.4 billion this year to bolster phones and content. That may not be enough to turn around a company heading for a fourth consecutive loss.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2011

Revamped Camry facing tough competition

Toyota Motor Corp. was already counting on the revamped Camry to spark a U.S. sales rally. The carmaker's flagship model is now under additional pressure as a stronger currency and Thailand's floods cut into profit.
BUSINESS
Dec 10, 2011

Toyota profit forecast stung by Thai floods

Toyota Motor Corp., poised to lose its crown as the world's largest carmaker this year, has cut its profit forecast 54 percent after Thailand's worst floods in almost 70 years disrupted production.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 4, 2011

Mass media not clean in soap-allergy controversy

Two weeks ago, the health ministry announced that at least 471 people have suffered severe allergic reactions related to the use of a facial soap called Cha no Shizuku. Sixty-six of these people have also been hospitalized. In May, Yuuka, the direct sales company that markets the soap, started recalling...
BUSINESS
Dec 3, 2011

Toyota logs first gain in U.S. sales since April

Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co., Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. delivered more vehicles in the U.S. than analysts estimated as demand climbed to the highest point this year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 11, 2011

'Sarariman Neo Gekijoban (Warai) (Japanese Salaryman Neo)'

These are hard, uncertain times, especially for young Japanese who have failed to get the right degree from a prestigious university and the right job with a big-name company. If they can find work at all, it is often well below expectations for the rising generation of that onetime economic powerhouse,...
BUSINESS
Nov 10, 2011

Softbank, Alibaba seeking partners to take over Yahoo

Softbank Corp. and China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. are talking with private-equity funds about making a bid for all of Yahoo Inc. without the company's blessing, sources said.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 8, 2011

More diversity in workforce touted as recipe for success

To achieve success both domestically and internationally, Japanese companies need to develop a strategic mind-set that allows employees from various backgrounds — regardless of gender, nationality or age — to build their skills and confidence and apply them to their jobs, according to speakers at...
BUSINESS
Oct 29, 2011

Sony pulls trigger on Ericsson venture purchase

Sony Corp. has agreed to buy Ericsson AB's 50 percent stake in their 10-year-old mobile phone venture to integrate the smartphone business with its gaming and tablet offerings.
BUSINESS
Oct 29, 2011

Nintendo predicts first annual loss on yen woes, 3DS disappointment

Nintendo Co., the world's largest maker of video game machines, forecast its first annual loss on record amid the yen's surge to a new postwar high and weaker than expected sales of the new 3DS console.

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building