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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.
Kazuhiro Nomura, president of BK Japan Holdings, which operates Burger King in Japan
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 21, 2025

Big burgers and bigger ambitions for Japan's Burger King

The fast-food chain has grown fourfold in just six years.
The Burj Khalifa skyscraper (center left) and the Dubai skyline on Aug. 7
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2025

Less tax, more luxury: millionaires flock to Dubai

The tightly-policed UAE has molded itself into a magnet for the wealthy, offering economic and political stability with an easygoing business environment.
A worker operates machinery at a sawmill in Sundsvall, Sweden
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 26, 2025

Tariff uncertainty leaves European companies with tough decisions

There are difficult conversations with American customers about pricing and hard choices to be made about where to invest in.
The Moscow City business center during sunset in Moscow on Thursday
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 29, 2025

Russia’s economy poised to grow slower than even tepid estimates

GDP expanded by just 1.1% over the first seven months of the year, according to data from the Economy Ministry.
Then-Nestle CEO Laurent Freixe speaks during a panel session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 22. Freixe was fired this week over an undisclosed romantic relationship with a subordinate.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 3, 2025

From Coldplay kiss cam to Nestle, office romances are costing CEOs their jobs

The firing of Nestle CEO Laurent Freixe this week puts the spotlight on office relationships, and their ubiquity.
A Homeland Security Investigations police officer watches over workers during a federal search warrant at a company in Ellabell, Georgia, on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 8, 2025

U.S. migrant raid jolts South Korea and stirs investor anxiety

The raid came shortly after a White House summit between the presidents of both countries where Korean companies pledged to up U.S. investments.
Nvidia's support offers Intel a new chance after years of turnaround efforts failed to pay off, and triggered a 23% jump in the U.S. chip manufacturer's shares.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 19, 2025

Nvidia takes $5 billion stake in struggling chipmaker Intel

The two companies also plan to jointly develop PC and data center chips.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group is considering increasing its stake in Jefferies Financial Group as the Japanese lender deepens ties with the U.S. investment bank.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 19, 2025

Sumitomo Mitsui mulls raising stake in Jefferies to 20%

The two firms are also in discussions to merge parts of their equities businesses in Japan, potentially through the establishment of a joint venture.
Japan has many positive qualities for German companies, but the market does face some challenges, such as talent acquisition and retention, particularly as demand for skilled workers grows, a survey by the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan showed.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 22, 2025

German companies choosing Japan as Asia manufacturing hub: survey

The country is valued for its stability, affordability and proximity to other major markets, according to the survey by the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan.
The Bank of Japan is likely to raise rates by the end of this year or early next year.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 1, 2025

Japan's tankan survey suggests rate increase sooner rather than later

Corporate sentiment improved as tariff uncertainty lessened following an agreement with the U.S.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is strengthening its focus on business catering to the rich, as a bullish Japanese stock market and recovering real estate prices have pushed up the number of such clients in recent years.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 3, 2025

MUFG is hiring more bankers in Japan wealth management push

MUFG is targeting clients with at least ¥300 million in total assets. The bank estimates that about 300,000 of its account holders fit that description.
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda's ¥4.7 trillion buyout plan for Toyota Industries is delayed due to slower-than-expected antitrust reviews overseas.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 7, 2025

Toyota Industries $31 billion buyout plan faces antitrust delays

The regulatory hurdle could be the first of many as Toyoda attempts to tighten his family’s grip on Toyota in a deal that would rank among the biggest buyouts on record anywhere.
Under new CEO Stephen Dacus, Seven & I Holdings is reshaping itself by selling weaker assets, buying back ¥2 trillion worth of shares and betting on growth in Japan and the U.S.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 9, 2025

Seven & I struggles to win back investors after failed takeover

Seven & I sits at a crossroads as it seeks to reassure investors it can thrive without a foreign takeover.
Ambassadors for French cosmetics group L'Oreal at the end of a show during Paris Fashion Week on Sept. 29. L'Oreal is set to acquire Kering's fragrance line Creed, as well as rights to develop fragrance and beauty products under Kering's fashion labels under a 50-year exclusive license.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 20, 2025

Kering to sell beauty unit to L'Oreal for $4.66 billion to cut debt, refocus on fashion

New Kering CEO Luca de Meo is moving to refocus the luxury group on its core fashion business.
Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
BUSINESS / Companies / Longform
Nov 3, 2025

The second life of Japan's net cafes

Once symbols of urban solitude, these spaces are finding new purpose as coworking hubs for a changing, wired generation.
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.
Elon Musk has changed Twitter's logo, replacing its signature blue bird with a stylized X as part of the billionaire's vision of transforming the 17-year-old service into an "everything app."
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 25, 2023

Twitter turning into X is set to kill billions in brand value

Musk’s move wiped out anywhere between $4 billion and $20 billion in value, according to analysts and brand agencies.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 25, 2023

Bigmotor chief to resign in wake of repair fraud scandal

Employees were found to have intentionally damaged the vehicles of some customers in order to charge excessive repair fees and make fraudulent insurance claims.
Nissan Motor has finalized plans to invest in Renault’s electric-vehicle venture Ampere, capping months of negotiations to rebalance the troubled automotive alliance.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 26, 2023

Nissan to invest $663 million in Renault EV unit as alliance rejigged

The deal caps months of negotiations aimed at rebalancing the troubled automotive alliance.
In the international market, a larger number of airlines went bankrupt compared to domestic fliers due to the pandemic, with low-cost, long-haul carriers getting hit particularly hard.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 28, 2023

Post-pandemic travel boom is running out of steam

Fare promotions and other signs of weakening domestic demand show business is leveling out for airlines after post-COVID-19 boom.
More than 30 samples of drugs made by Synokem, including generic abortion pills, have failed quality tests conducted by Indian regulators and public health researchers since 2018.
BUSINESS
Aug 3, 2023

Global abortion pill provider buys from maker with poor quality record

More than 30 samples of drugs made by Delhi-based Synokem Pharmaceuticals have failed quality tests conducted by Indian regulators.
Tom Malian on Monday at his business, Toluca Lake Dry Cleaners, in Burbank, California near the Warner Bros. and Disney studios. His business has taken a severe blow since Hollywood went on strike. Film and TV production ground to a halt 100 days ago when writers downed their pens, before being joined on the picket lines in mid-July by actors.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 9, 2023

Los Angeles subdued as Hollywood double strike hits 100 days

Despite its sprawling size, the city is almost as much a company town as any in America dominated by a single industry.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off with a payload of 21 Starlink satellites from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Feb. 27.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 18, 2023

Starlink lifts off in Asia as satellite internet race heats up

Elon Musk's company has carved out a niche and an opportunity through the region's natural disasters and the vast sweep of its archipelagoes and islands.
A Saudi Aramco oil tank at the Ras Tanura refinery and terminal in Saudi Arabia
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 27, 2023

U.N. experts challenge Saudi Aramco over climate change

The largely state-owned enterprise plans to ramp up national oil production capacity to 13 million barrels per day by 2027.
Gigi Chao, vice chair of Cheuk Nang Holdings, in Hong Kong on July 19
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 31, 2023

More LGBTQ rights could help Asian financial hubs draw global talent

In Japan, the only Group of Seven nation without legal protection for same-sex unions, corporations are seen as a key driver for change.
Disney and cable giant Charter Communications are negotiating over how much Charter will pay Disney to carry its channels.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 6, 2023

Behind the Disney-Charter dispute over the future of TV

Media companies are trying to build profitable streaming services while cable providers feel like they're subsidizing a business that cannibalizes them.
Mizuho Financial Group has been expanding its presence in the United States to tap the world’s biggest fee pool, becoming one of the four global investment banks leading Arm's IPO.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 8, 2023

Mizuho's SoftBank ties boost Wall Street ambitions via Arm IPO

The bank has been expanding its presence in the U.S. to tap the world’s biggest fee pool, even as deals slump globally following the pandemic.
Rachel Culin, a disenchanted Toyota owner, standing between her Toyota Prius and new Chevy Bolt at her home in Mesa, Arizona. The world’s largest carmaker dominates the sales of hybrid cars but has been slow to sell all-electric vehicles, alienating some customers and hurting sales.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 8, 2023

Toyota, a hybrid pioneer, struggles to master electric vehicles

The world’s largest carmaker dominates the sales of hybrid cars but has been slow to sell EVs, alienating some customers and hurting sales.
An autonomous truck in Stack AV’s test fleet
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 8, 2023

SoftBank backs autonomous trucking firm started by ex-Ford execs

The new firm, named Stack AV, is led by three executives who previously ran Argo AI, the self-driving operation that Ford and VW shut down last year.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years