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Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 21, 2021

Wall Street banks struggle to cash in on China hiring binge

Mediocre results show that Wall Street firms still need more time, talent, and even bigger investments, to post meaningful earnings in the world's second-biggest economy.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jun 21, 2021

Pandemic magnifies household gender roles in Japan

Latest figures show that women earn on average 44% less than men while also spending five times more time on housework and child care.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Jun 16, 2021

How Trump’s trade war built China’s first global fashion giant

Partly due to the trade war, Shein pays neither export taxes on most of its products nor U.S. import taxes, an advantage that tilts the playing field heavily against its rivals.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 14, 2021

Do free markets still beat central planning?

Is China's system really diametrically opposed to that of, say, the United States? In a word: no.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 11, 2021

SoftBank's PayPay surges ahead in Japan's digital payments race

PayPay has deployed a shoe-leather sales force of thousands to target restaurants, drugstores and supermarkets, attracting more than 3 million merchants.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 11, 2021

Google and Facebook pledged millions for local news. Was it enough?

Critics say the funding does not nearly compensate for the tens of billions of dollars publishers lost as the tech companies gobbled up the digital advertising market.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Jun 8, 2021

Big Tech watches tide turning on taxes after its years of plenty

In the current system, the likes of Facebook, Amazon.com and Google have paid effective tax rates which appeared on a long, steady march toward zero.
BUSINESS
Jun 6, 2021

Wood shortage and soaring prices threaten lumber industry in Japan

With demand rising in the United States and China, where the national economies are picking up, lumber prices have skyrocketed and Japanese firms are struggling to procure material.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jun 6, 2021

Ash Hudson: From outfitting hip-hop's icons to finding new inspiration in Japan

Albion 'Ash' Hudson's Conart streetwear brand defined the fashion of many rappers in the 1990s. His designs are now popping up on new acts such as Travis Scott and BTS.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Jun 6, 2021

Japanese gaming arcades are on their last life

Already on a downward trend, COVID-19-mandated closures are slashing profits and forcing closures of many of the country's iconic locations.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 1, 2021

COVID-19 trauma has changed economics — maybe forever

The 2008 crash triggered a rethink, but the framework in place since the 1980s emerged relatively intact. The pandemic then cast those conventions aside around the world.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 31, 2021

Hong Kong's old boys club is living on borrowed time

Blame Hong Kong's clubby world of family-controlled and male-dominated businesses. Close to a third of the city's 2,500-odd listed companies had no women on the board as of the end of 2020.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 29, 2021

Keizo Shimamoto is taking true ‘craft ramen’ nationwide

The chef may have garnered fame for his ramen burger, but he's now on a mission to revolutionize ramen quality in the United States, starting with the noodles.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional Voices: Fukushima
May 17, 2021

Fukushima firm leaves mark on students' favorite school trip souvenir

Takahashi Industry started manufacturing wooden swords soon after it was founded in 1972, and has carved out a niche in Japan's souvenir market.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 17, 2021

Apple and Microsoft’s rivalry had cooled. Now it’s back and getting testier.

At a virtual product launch in November for Apple’s Mac reboot, actor John Hodgman appeared in a nerdy, ill-fitting suit before a white backdrop. "Stop, hang on, wait, one more thing, hi, I’m a PC,” he said, reprising the popular Mac vs. PC television commercials of a decade ago that not so subtly...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 17, 2021

AT&T prepares to merge media assets with Discovery in major strategy shift

The move, to combine Discovery's reality-TV empire with AT&T's vast media holdings, would be a surprise reversal and position the new firm to take on Netflix and Walt Disney.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2021

India’s virus crisis impacting Japanese firms, clouding short-term outlook

One of the hardest-hit companies is Suzuki Motor Corp., which relies heavily on the Indian market with its Maruti Suzuki India subsidiary.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 12, 2021

After $260 billion slide, Alibaba aims to show the worst is over

Alibaba has agreed to a record $2.8 billion penalty from Beijing and vowed to change certain practices deemed anti-competitive.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 4, 2021

Biden tax rule would take billions from biggest fortunes at death

Ending the current practice of stepping up the tax basis of inherited assets and raising the capital gains tax rate would amount to the biggest curb on dynastic wealth in decades.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 28, 2021

Sony plans $1.8 billion buyback as profit misses estimates

Sony's shares have surged since a trough in March 2020, propelled by the increase in gaming and mobile activity.
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2021

With 1.1% of people vaccinated, Japan lags behind the developed world

Within Asia, Japan trails China, India, Singapore and South Korea and is only slightly ahead of lower-income nations like the Philippines and Thailand.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 28, 2021

SoftBank nears end of ¥2.5 trillion buyback, imperiling bull run

In March, shares fell even as more money was spent on re-purchases, the overall markets advanced and SoftBank's profit for the March quarter was expected to hit a record.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 27, 2021

A look at the COVID age’s wannabe platinum cards (and apps)

It is the latest status symbol. Flash it at the people, and you can get access to concerts, sports arenas or long-forbidden restaurant tables. Some day, it may even help you cross a border without having to quarantine.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 27, 2021

Global travel sector prepares for vaccine-powered revival

New variants threaten to render today's vaccines ineffective, and the U.S. has put 80% of the world's countries on a no-go list, but travel firms remain optimistic.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?