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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.
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.
People walk past the Trump Building after a ruling against former U.S. President Donald Trump ordering him to pay $354.9 million and barring him from doing business in New York state for three years, in New York City on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 17, 2024

Trump keeps New York empire intact as judge rescinds asset-sale order

Former U.S. President Donald Trump was banned from doing business in New York for three years and ordered to pay $354 million for lying about his wealth.
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2024

Japanese companies maintain suspended operations in Russia: survey

Japan has kept stakes in some energy projects as a matter of energy security.
Buildings in the business district in Singapore. The city state hosted regional headquarters for 4,200 multinational firms in 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 22, 2024

Even China’s giants are picking Singapore over Hong Kong

The city state hosted regional headquarters for 4,200 multinational firms in 2023.
Citigroup is betting that Japan’s bond market revival will gather steam after the Bank of Japan's rate hike.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 4, 2024

Citigroup sees ‘exciting market’ for Japan bonds after BOJ move

"Normalization has started, so we foresee a lot of activity going forward”
French President Emmanuel Macron during an interview on the fringes of the Choose France summit in Versailles, France, on Monday
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2024

Macron puts French banks in play with plan to transform Europe

Macron has been trying to persuade his EU partners to embrace reforms that he says would turn the bloc into a more united and powerful economic force.
A worker at Sakai Seisakusyo prepares to transport metal rods at its factory in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture, on July 8.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Jul 16, 2024

Japan finds a 'stealth' cure for zombie businesses: Let them fail

The shift in thinking is a clear departure for a country that has typically sought to avoid bankruptcies and protect existing jobs at the cost of productivity.
The Nomura Securities headquarters in Tokyo. Net income tripled from a year earlier to ¥68.9 billion ($446 million) in the three months ended June 30, the company said.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 30, 2024

Nomura profit triples on jump in wealth management and trading

Net income tripled from a year earlier to ¥68.9 billion ($446 million) in the three months ended June 30, the company said.
Commuters take a subway home at Sungsu station in Seoul on July 15.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 6, 2024

Declaring ‘crisis,’ South Korean firms tell managers to work more

In South Korea, the five-day workweek is only a generation old, introduced by labor laws in 2004.
Japanese firms' capital expenditure rose 1.9% in the three months through June from the previous quarter.
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2024

Japan’s firms lift outlays in sign of modest domestic demand

Capital expenditure on goods excluding software rose 1.9% in the three months through June from the previous quarter.
The student lounge in the senior school building at the GEMS World Academy in Dubai
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 16, 2024

Expats paying $33,000 school fees fuel rise of Dubai billionaire

Founded by Indian-born Sunny Varkey, GEMS Education caters to every price point, starting at as little as $3,900 a year.
Flowers are laid in front of a Japanese school in Shenzhen last Friday. A Japanese boy who was on his way to the school was fatally stabbed last week.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 25, 2024

Expat safety seen as a must for Japanese firms to keep doing business in China

Business leaders have underlined the duty of a host country to foreign firms in the wake of a fatal stabbing of a Japanese schoolboy in Shenzhen.
For years, Seven & I has faced calls from investors to focus more on its convenience-store business.
BUSINESS
Oct 3, 2024

7-Eleven owner seeking to sell off part of stake in banking unit

The sale of part of its stake in Seven Bank would intend to show Seven & I Holdings is willing to focus more on its core 7-Eleven business.
Seven & I Holdings essentially unveiled a plan to split in two.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 11, 2024

Seven & I to split in two to fend off Couche-Tard takeover bid

The big question is if the move will be enough to win over any investors warming to Couche-Tard’s approach.
The success of Seven & I's major restructuring plan depends on the retailer's ability to roll out a new store format in Japan, and improve profit margins overseas, analysts say.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Oct 15, 2024

7-Eleven's turnaround plan requires heavy lifting to stop takeover bid

Much depends on the retailer's ability to roll out a new store format in Japan and improve profit margins overseas.
The headquarters of HSBC in the Canary Wharf financial district in London
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 23, 2024

HSBC revamp by new CEO Elhedery stumps staffers and investors alike

The firm's new CEO just unveiled the biggest overhaul of the company in at least a decade, but it was missing some key details for employees and investors.
Unattended picket signs are piled up outside a Boeing facility in Seattle on Monday, after unionized workers voted to end their strike.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 6, 2024

Boeing CEO in battle to mend rifts after bitter strike ends

The strike exposed divides that run right through the company.
Packages move along a conveyor belt at an Amazon warehouse
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 27, 2024

Japan investigating Amazon for allegedly bullying other businesses

Tactics allegedly employed by the retailer involve the squeezing of business partners in exchange for visibility.
The departure of Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger opens the possibility of fresh deal talks.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 4, 2024

Intel’s CEO departure opens door to new deal discussions

The CEO's departure is also an opportunity for suitors to take another look at acquiring some or all of Intel.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear