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May 20, 2024
 

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CORPORATE

A slogan reads "Accelerate Industrial Transformation With AI" at the Microsoft booth at the Hannover Messe 2024 trade fair in Hannover, Germany, on April 22.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 16, 2024
Microsoft’s AI push imperils climate goal as carbon emissions jump
The company’s total planet-warming impact is about 30% higher today than it was in 2020.
Japanese companies are raising payouts to shareholders as the Tokyo Stock Exchange pressures firms to improve capital efficiency and valuations.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 15, 2024
Japan firms boost dividends and buybacks, aiding Topix amid TSE pressure
The moves come as the Tokyo Stock Exchange pressures companies to improve capital efficiency and valuations, and have spurred a rebound in the Topix index.
An employee at Otsuka Foods has filed a damages suit against the company with the Otsu District Court in Shiga Prefecture.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 14, 2024
Otsuka Foods whistleblower sues company for work-related depression
The man has claimed he suffered from depression after being reassigned and given little work following a report over the company's alleged wrongdoing.
The official whistleblower protection system is not well-known among workers in Japan, a survey finds.
JAPAN
May 14, 2024
Less than 40% of Japan's employees know about whistleblower protection system
The survey showed a tendency for larger companies to have more employees familiar with the system.
Sony employees simulate the physical sensations of pregnancy at the company’s headquarters in Tokyo in February. The simple power of numbers can begin to remake workplace cultures, but many Japanese women still struggle to balance their careers with domestic obligations.
JAPAN / Society
May 8, 2024
It took decades, but Japan’s working women are making progress
Employers have taken steps to change a male-dominated workplace culture. But women still struggle to balance their careers with domestic obligations.
Sumitomo headquarters in Tokyo on Tuesday
BUSINESS
May 2, 2024
Sumitomo to bolster shareholder returns in new midterm plan
Sumitomo will allocate ¥700 billion ($4.5 billion) of returns over the next three years, with a goal of total shareholder return ratio of 40%.
Tatsufumi Shibata, deputy director-general at the Financial Services Agency, is pushing for greater disclosure by companies of their cross-shareholding practices.
BUSINESS
May 2, 2024
Japan suspects firms are evading disclosure of cross-shareholdings
Some companies are thought to be masking cross-shareholdings as being owned for purely trading purposes.
Wecars President and CEO Shinjiro Tanaka (center) at a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday
BUSINESS / Companies
May 1, 2024
New firm formed to take over Bigmotor's operations
Wecars took over around 250 outlets and some 4,200 employees from Bigmotor, and its board of directors does not include former members of Bigmotor's board.
Activist investor campaigns are becoming more commonplace in Japan as the government and the Tokyo Stock Exchange encourage companies to boost shareholder returns.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 30, 2024
Elliott Management's Sumitomo stake reflects growing activism in Japan
Elliott has built a large holding in Sumitomo after investing several tens of billions of yen in the trading house backed by Warren Buffett.
The combined market capitalization of shares listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Prime section stood at roughly ¥970 trillion at the end of last month.
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2024
TSE Prime's market cap nears ¥1 quadrillion two years after shake-up
The total market capitalization of the new top tier has grown some 40% while the number of companies fell 10%.
More investors are calling on Japanese firms to abolish cross-shareholdings, a practice that has been criticized as undermining discipline in corporate governance and leading to anti-competitive behavior.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 26, 2024
Investor group calls for zero cross-shareholdings at Japanese firms
"Strategic shareholdings," where companies hold stocks in businesses they have ties with, have decreased slightly, but progress is slow.
The government, and the Tokyo Stock Exchange in particular, have been pushing for better governance among the country’s 3.7 million companies.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 25, 2024
Japan’s retail investors care about governance too, poll shows
Investors are increasingly aware of the need to hold corporate boards and executives to high standards.
An activist holds an umbrella during a Fridays for Future movement climate strike on Friday in Stockholm.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Apr 22, 2024
World's largest private firms fail to set climate targets: report
The Net Zero Tracker report compared 200 of the world's largest public and private companies.
Pressure from the Tokyo Stock Exchange has amplified the voices of fund managers calling for listed companies to increase their valuations.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 18, 2024
Improved corporate governance in Japan is paying off, Amundi says
Some of the top holdings of Amundi’s Japan target strategy include Toppan Holdings, Ricoh, Shizuoka Financial Group, Kyoto Financial Group and TS Tech.
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.
Signage for MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking in Tokyo. A coalition of climate groups filed shareholder proposals with the three banks calling for stricter board oversight of climate-related risks.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 15, 2024
Climate investors target board oversight of top Japan banks: sources
The proposal marks the first time climate groups have targeted bank boards as a way to pressure the lenders on climate change.
An Apple store in Shanghai. Apple manufactures iPads, AirPods and Apple Watches in Vietnam and suppliers for MacBooks are also investing in the country.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 11, 2024
Activists press Apple over Vietnam's detention of climate experts
Apple manufactures iPads, AirPods and Apple Watches in Vietnam and suppliers for MacBooks are also investing in the country.
A Boeing 787 Dreamliner lifts off at Paine Field in Everett, Washington.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 10, 2024
Boeing takes further blow after whistleblower alleges 787 ‘shortcuts’
Incorrect treatment of gaps between joined airframe segments could lead to "significant fatigue,” according to the former quality engineer.
Flames blaze from a chimney at Western Europe's largest liquefied natural gas plant, Hammerfest LNG, in Hammerfest, Norway, on March 14.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Apr 9, 2024
Banks made big climate promises. A new study doubts they work.
Researchers found a reduction in lending to sectors targeted under the pledges was the same as for banks that had not made the same commitment.
Daihatsu Motor President Masahiro Inoue speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 8, 2024
Toyota tightens oversight over scandal-hit Daihatsu
Daihatsu will streamline the way it reports on development and certification to its parent Toyota Motor.
America wasn’t made for walking, and it’s killing them
A 2010 study found that U.S. adults averaged 5,117 steps daily and that this was lower than the averages found in similar studies in Switzerland, western Australia and Japan.
Rare sequel to 'My Neighbor Totoro' to play at Cannes
A screening of "Mei and the Baby Cat Bus," which is being billed as a "mini-sequel" to the Studio Ghibli classic "My Neighbor Totoro," is set to take place at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday.
Japanese stripper bids to have her porn movies taken off internet
Plaintiff Miyuki Ariga (left) speaks at a news conference along with her lawyer, Yoshitomo Morohashi, after filing a lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court on Monday.
Saudi crown prince seeks soft power in game hub Japan
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomes Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, last July.
Japan survey finds 30% of student interns experience sexual harassment
The proportion of recent graduates in Japan who have worked as interns have experienced sexual harassment during their internship was 30.1%, according to a labor ministry survey, up 4.6 percentage points from the previous survey in fiscal 2020.
New Taiwan president to set tone for ties with China at inauguration
Taiwan President-elect Lai Ching-te arrives at the CyberSec 2024 Exhibition in Taipei on Wednesday.
Local theater in Japan is more than a hobby — it’s a community
Japan Times contributor Laura Pollacco (front right) was offered the role of one of her all-time favorite heroines, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bennet, in the Tokyo International Players’ production of “Pride and Prejudice.”
Can AI-generated inventions be patented? A Tokyo court says no.
The Tokyo court's ruling comes amid ongoing debates on how to regulate generative AI and is part of a transnational class action lawsuit.
Massimo Bottura: 'The Japanese let ingredients express themselves'
Italian chef and restaurateur Massimo Bottura is increasingly focusing on passing on his knowledge to chefs such as Antonio Iacoviello.
Unraveling the Japanese prose of Yukio Mishima
Author Yukio Mishima accepts the Arts Festival Award in the drama category at the 20th Arts Festival Award Ceremony on Jan. 22, 1966.

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