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Masahiro Kihara, the CEO of Mizuho, Japan’s third-largest lender, is expecting U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to make regulations more business friendly.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 24, 2024

Mizuho CEO sees global boom in M&A after Trump takes office

Masahiro Kihara, the CEO of Mizuho, Japan’s third-largest lender, is expecting U.S. President-elect Trump to make regulations more business friendly.
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida (left) and Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe in a news conference in Tokyo on Dec. 23
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 31, 2024

Honda likely to own majority of holding firm with Nissan

Nissan's faltering business performance could be a hurdle to the planned integration.
Economy minister Yoji Muto during a meeting on Wednesday in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 8, 2025

Economy minister calls for continued wage increases

"Now is the time to step on the accelerator on wages and investment in order to transition to a growth-oriented economy," said Yoji Muto.
Rakuten Group CEO Hiroshi Mikitani speaks during an interview at the company's headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 17, 2025

Rakuten’s Mikitani wants to sell bonds to Japanese investors

Market pricing indicates that views on Rakuten are improving after years of losses and a stretched balance sheet.
Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani says the company sees an opportunity in Japan, which has been a laggard in the adoption of digital and artificial intelligence-powered technologies.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 21, 2025

Rakuten founder defends costly mobile foray with big AI bet

Rakuten Mobile and its 8 million-plus users help train an AI poised to expand the conglomerate’s business, according to billionaire founder Hiroshi Mikitani.
TikTok boasts 170 million monthly U.S. users and has become a major driver of culture and politics among young Americans.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 24, 2025

TikTok’s possible buyers, from Elon Musk to MrBeast

There will be no shortage of interested acquirers for the popular video service, which boasts 170 million monthly U.S. users.
Vehicles parked at a General Motors complex in Silao, Guanajuato state, Mexico
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 3, 2025

Car prices face $3,000 increase in U.S. as tariffs hit auto sector

The tariffs are set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, giving manufacturers less than 48 hours to figure out what to do.
People line up outside an Apple store in Beijing.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 7, 2025

Apple’s China focus thrusts it into center of geopolitical fight

It counts China as its biggest manufacturing hub and the U.S. as its largest market, putting it at the center of an escalating geopolitical fight.
Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma and other prominent entrepreneurs met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday, in a signal of Beijing’s support for the private sector after years of turmoil.
BUSINESS
Feb 17, 2025

Xi hosts summit with Jack Ma and other private sector leaders

The meeting signals Beijing’s support for the private sector after years of turmoil.
Busan port, southeast of Seoul. Business leaders in South Korea are taking action to offset the threat posed by U.S. President Donald Trump's aggressive trade policies.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Feb 25, 2025

South Korea political turmoil pushes companies to take tariff matters into their own hands

Trump's sweeping and sometimes indiscriminate trade measures have sparked existential debate in many international capitals.
Seven & I Holdings CEO Ryuichi Isaka is stepping down from his position, the Nikkei newspaper has reported.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 3, 2025

7-Eleven owner to appoint first foreign CEO, report says

The owner's plan to take the company private to avoid being taken over by Couche-Tard collapsed last week, piling pressure on it to reconsider the $47 billion takeover proposal.
Seven & I named Stephen Hayes Dacus as its first foreign chief executive on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 6, 2025

Seven & I announces measures to fend off Couche-Tard takeover

The announcements are the latest twist in a saga that began last year when Seven & I rebuffed a takeover offer from Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard.
Aizawa Concrete employees work in the Namie factory in Fukushima Prefecture in January.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Mar 11, 2025

14 years after 3/11 disasters, Fukushima vies to become a startup hub

Part of the goal is to attract a more permanent workforce to Fukushima to support the development of the prefecture as a whole.
Climate change mitigation demands collective action from all levels of society, not just billionaires with private jets, as systemic change is necessary for meaningful progress.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 21, 2025

Billionaire’s private jet angst won’t save the world

Data center emissions in the U.S. already rival those of the domestic airline industry and are growing far quicker.
Workers at the Cosco Shipping Holding shipyard in Qidong, Jiangsu province, China, on Oct. 8, 2024
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 24, 2025

Billion-dollar U.S. levies on Chinese ships risk ‘trade apocalypse’

The levies could theoretically generate between $40 billion and $52 billion for U.S. coffers.
Billionaire Elon Musk said the value of his X social media network is $45 billion when including $12 billion of debt, describing his xAI artificial intelligence startup's purchase of X as an all-stock transaction.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 29, 2025

Musk’s xAI startup swallows up X social network in surprise deal

Elon Musk said his xAI artificial intelligence startup has acquired the X platform, which he also controls, at a valuation of $33 billion.
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 30, 2025

Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps

At a Tokyo Fail Club gathering, speakers share candid talks about ventures gone wrong, bankruptcy and depression, touting a message of persistence in the face of adversity.
Hon Hai Precision Industry, which does business as Foxconn, wants to make electric vehicles for Japanese carmakers.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Apr 10, 2025

It makes iPhones. Now Hon Hai wants to make cars for Japanese automakers.

The Taiwanese company's seemingly unlikely proposition — given the structure and history of Japan's auto industry — just might work.
A branch of Nomura Securities, a unit of Nomura Holdings, in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 30, 2025

Nomura’s China losses narrow as brokerage seeks turnaround

The China unit has been undergoing an overhaul after its initial ambition to grow its wealth management business veered off track during the pandemic.
People watch as Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett is seen on a screen speaking at the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders' meeting, in Omaha, Nebraska, on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 5, 2025

Warren Buffett successor inherits giant cash pile and many questions

Buffett, the 94-year-old architect and face of Berkshire Hathaway, built the firm from humble beginnings into one of the world’s most valuable enterprises.
Fuji Television Network's headquarters building in the Odaiba district of Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
May 16, 2025

Fuji Media Holdings posts net loss for first time since going public

The company's net loss follows a slew of scandals concerning its corporate culture and governance.
The Central Business District of Lagos. Japan is reasserting a commitment to do more business with Africa as it emerges from years during which its private sector was particularly risk-averse.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2025

Japan seeks to grow Africa investments to ease reliance on China

The country aims to do more business with Africa as it emerges from years during which its private sector was particularly risk-averse.
A ¥4.7 trillion ($32.4 billion) buyout bid by an entity led by Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda wasn’t formally on the agenda, but it overshadowed Toyota Industries' annual meeting on Tuesday as shareholders aired their grievances and sought clarity about the proposal.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 10, 2025

Toyota Industries shareholders question buyout at annual meeting

The Toyota group’s plan to privatize Toyota Industries has drawn sharp criticism from investors and analysts since it was announced a week ago.
Donald Trump Jr. attends a media event at Trump Tower in New York on Monday.
BUSINESS
Jun 17, 2025

Trump family launches branded mobile phone service in U.S.

The new venture stands to escalate concerns over how the president’s expanding business enterprises conflict with his government responsibilities.
An electric motor, jointly developed by Honda and Daido Steel, for hybrid cars that uses no heavy rare earth metals  is displayed at an unveiling in Tokyo in July 2016.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 23, 2025

Honda supplier rethinks China relationship as trade war bites

For Daido Steel, the trade war has meant renewing a push to build rare earth supply routes outside of China.
Hong Kong-based crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun, World Liberty Financial co-founder Zach Witkoff and Executive Vice President of the Trump Organization Eric Trump attend the TOKEN2049 conference in Dubai on May 1.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 14, 2025

Trump's $100 million crypto mystery man

A venture calling itself Aqua 1 Foundation announced last month it had bought $100 million worth of U.S. President Donald Trump’s World Liberty crypto tokens.
Mazda employees walk at the company's main plant in the town of Fuchu, Hiroshima Prefecture, on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 18, 2025

Japan voters see little hope for tariff reprieve in carmaker Mazda's hometown

The economic engine of Hiroshima Prefecture faces U.S. tariffs of 25% on cars, a dispiriting prospect for an electorate already battling inflation.
The dashboard screen of a Toyota RAV4 compact crossover vehicle at an event in May
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Jul 28, 2025

Toyota’s internal inertia stifles digital transformation effort

Inside Toyota, a group of employees are worried about the company’s future in an era when a car’s software matters just as much as its sheet metal.
Hiroyuki Goto, president of GTN. The company started after Goto personally co-signed leases for around 20 non-Japanese people, including some friends and friends of friends.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 31, 2025

GTN takes a chance on newcomers to Japan

People said GTN President Hiroyuki Goto was "a bit crazy" guaranteeing leases for foreign residents.
An overwhelming majority of Japanese firms are negative about achieving a goal of having women in 30% of executive positions by 2030, a survey shows.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 20, 2023

Firms pessimistic about hitting 30% goal for female execs by 2030, poll shows

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida set the target in June for leading companies, aiming to boost womens' management participation from 2.2% as of July 2022.

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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