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A Mazda MX-30 at a dealership in the city of Hiroshima. The MX-30 is the only electric vehicle model Mazda currently sells in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Aug 28, 2023

Mazda accelerates EV shift in China, reshaping ties with suppliers

Mazda’s sales in China in the year from April 2022 halved from the previous year to 84,000 units due to a thin lineup of EVs.
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.
A consumer market in New Delhi on Dec. 12, 2023. Long-term investment in India by businesses is stagnant, and foreign money is falling, even as the government is driving growth with infrastructure spending.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 2, 2024

India is chasing China’s economy. Something is holding it back.

While money is flying into India’s stock markets, long-term investment from overseas has been declining.
Tanaka takes part in a signing ceremony for the Japan-Uruguay Investment Agreement with Uruguay's Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Luis Porto in 2015.
BUSINESS / WOMEN AT WORK
Jan 23, 2024

Why positivity is an asset in a career of PR and diplomacy

Keiko Tanaka went from an office at Nissan to the ambassador's residence in Uruguay.
Japan's service sector activity expanded in February, thanks to continued strong demand for inbound tourism.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 5, 2024

Japan's service activity grows on firm tourism

Inbound tourism is an important part of Japan's economy, with annual visitor spending exceeding ¥5 trillion for the first time last year.
Shintaro Tajima (left) and his son, Daisuke, pose in their forest in Hita, Oita Prefecture, in January. At their feet is wasabi growing in clusters.
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Mar 18, 2024

Oita forestry firm signs carbon trade deal with Line operator

LY, which operates Line and Yahoo services, will purchase 1,500 tons of carbon credit per year from Tajima Forest for 10 years.
Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch Freedom Party (PVV), speaks at an election night party in The Hague, Netherlands, on Nov. 22, 2023. The resounding victory of far-right ideologue illustrates the shift in public opinion in the Netherlands since 2022.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 27, 2024

Populism is scaring away big businesses in the Netherlands

Among the various firms uneasy with the current state of affairs in the Netherlands, tech companies are the most influential.
Hiroshima Kanon Senior High School in the city of Hiroshima opened a cafeteria serving authentic Italian cuisine in December last year after Hoyu, which had been entrusted with cafeteria operations, went bankrupt in September.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 10, 2024

Business stability screenings urged for school lunch operators

The directive followed the abrupt suspension of meal services at schools across the country by Hoyu, a cooking service company.
Average age of Japanese chief executives increased for 33 consecutive years to 60.5 last year.
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2024

Japan biz leaders' average age rises for 33rd straight year

As of December last year, the average age of company leaders stood at 60.5 years old. In 1990, the average age was 54.
In Japan, there’s a huge gap between how companies value their real estate assets on their books against what those same properties would fetch if sold in the market.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 16, 2024

Hidden billions in Tokyo real estate lure activist hedge funds

Billions in value can be unlocked by pressuring companies to sell off holdings, a tactic that activist funds are now employing.
Ticket vending machines at a Tokyo Metro subway station. Tokyo Metro's network connects with nine of the 10 busiest stations in the capital.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 22, 2024

Tokyo Metro might be too much railroad for some investors

With over 80% of its operating profit coming from carrying passengers on trains, critics are concerned about its nonrailway business.
Seven & I Holdings' 46% stake in Seven Bank could raise around ¥30 billion by the end of the current fiscal year in February.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 6, 2024

Seven & I is said to plan reducing stake in banking unit to 38%

The retailer’s 46% stake in Seven Bank could raise around ¥30 billion by the end of the current fiscal year in February.
Kwek Leng Beng, chairman of City Developments Ltd., attends a news conference in Singapore in 2019.
BUSINESS
Feb 27, 2025

Father-son feud plunges Singapore’s richest clan into crisis

At stake in the feud is control of a major slice of an $18 billion family empire spanning property development to hospitality and finance.
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 31, 2025

A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime

Since 2009, Ken Theriault has been keeping himself busy maintaining Costco's American charm and catering to the needs of the Japanese consumer as the wholesaler's boss in Japan.
Huntar Company CEO Jason Cheung adjusts some of the toys on display at his office in Union City, California, on May 8. His company manufactures toys in China for clients in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 13, 2025

Tariffs crippled U.S.-owned factory in China that made toys for Walmart

Huntar Company CEO Jason Cheung says his company would survive if tariffs come down quickly. If they don't, he'd lose everything.
A Musee Platinum hair removal salon in the city of Saitama on Monday
BUSINESS / Companies
May 19, 2025

Hair removal chain Musee Platinum owes ¥1.5 billion, say former staff

More than 2,000 former employees of the company went unpaid between January and April.
Kimihiro Matsuzaki prepares dishes at his half-century-old restaurant, Yanagi, in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Jun 2, 2025

Profitable Fukushima companies closing due to lack of successors

According to Teikoku Databank, more than a third of the companies that went out of business in the prefecture in 2024 were in the black.
For Isamu Tatsuno, the founder and CEO of outdoor gear maker Montbell, his youth was all about reaching the pinnacle. Today, he’s far more interested in enjoying the journey.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 9, 2025

Montbell founder went from a feeble boy to a renowned mountaineer

Drawing on his experience as a climber, Isamu Tatsuno planned ahead for the survival of his outdoor gear and clothing company. It paid off.
The Kyoto International Entrepreneur Community brings together local and global professionals from a range of industries, backgrounds and ages and collaborates with government-sponsored entities and nonprofit organizations.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Sep 24, 2025

Stirred, not shaken: Kyoto business platform blends local and global

Since its launch in 2018, the Kyoto International Entrepreneur Community has amassed a diverse membership and built solid relationships with local organizations.
A display shows an advertisement for betting on the New York City mayoral election, featuring New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in Times Square, in New York on Monday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 6, 2025

Wall Street girds for life under Mamdani, worries about New York City's competitiveness

Wall Street and the finance industry have had broad misgivings about Mamdani and his affordability-focused campaign.
Nomura Holdings Chief Executive Officer Kentaro Okuda
BUSINESS
Aug 2, 2023

Nomura shares tumble most in two years after profit miss

The stock dropped as much as 8.5% on Wednesday morning, the biggest daily decline since March 2021.
Umbrellas are displayed at Komiya Shoten, a company that has made handcrafted umbrellas for rain or shine for nearly a century, in Higashi-Nihombashi, Tokyo, on Aug. 3.
BUSINESS
Sep 21, 2023

Heat brings hope for handmade umbrella-maker in Tokyo

One of Tokyo's last handmade umbrella shops has weathered many storms and is now thriving, thanks to booming demand for parasols.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 2, 2023

Zero-commission services intensify brokerage competition in Japan

SBI Holding's decision to scrap commission fees for domestic stock trading threatens to undercut the brokerage industry's profitability.
A Matsumotokiyoshi drugstore in Tokyo. Matsumotokiyoshi Holdings and Cocokara Fine integrated their operations in 2021.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Oct 10, 2023

Japanese drugstores under pressure for realignment

One analyst has described realignment in the drugstore sector as "a natural course of development."
Executives were scrambling for seats for dinner with Xi or to be put on a waiting list, according to people familiar with the situation.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 15, 2023

Elon Musk among cadre of CEOs hoping to woo China’s Xi

CEO summit on the sidelines of APEC will coincide with the most challenging trade climate in a generation.
Sogo & Seibu labor union members strike in front of the flagship Seibu Ikebukuro store in Tokyo's Toshima Ward on Aug. 31.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 6, 2023

After troubled sale, prospects for Sogo & Seibu uncertain

Department store operator must develop a new template for survival under the management of an investment fund.
Sundar Pichai, Google's chief executive (right), arrives to testify at an antitrust case against Google in Washington on Oct. 30. A trio of antitrust cases on the docket threaten to reshape Google’s business and sap its profits.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 13, 2023

Google’s antitrust loss to Epic could preview its legal fate in 2024

The San Francisco case was the first test of how Google might fare in the antitrust gauntlet it faces in the United States — and the company was routed.
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.
A wafer is pictured at Semicon Taiwan in Taipei
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 30, 2023

This startup shows it won't be easy to contain China's chip industry

The story of Seida illustrates the challenges the West faces in thwarting Chinese development of advanced microchip technology.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son is a longtime investor in WeWork, sticking with the company throughout its many ups and downs.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 2, 2024

SoftBank swoops in to rescue WeWork Japan

The development comes just four months after the troubled coworking business — once valued at $47 billion — filed for bankruptcy in the U.S.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes