NEWSWORTHY
WWF urges Yahoo Japan to restrict ivory trade on auction site
The Japanese arm of the World Wide Fund for Nature urged Yahoo Japan Corp. on Thursday to impose tighter restrictions on sales of ivory items on its auction site, saying it serves as a major platform for the ivory trade and encourages poaching. Among the ...
Alibaba founder Jack Ma to step down in 2019, pledges 'smooth transition'
Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma announced Monday he would step down as leader of the pioneering Chinese e-commerce giant one year from now, but insisted that a planned leadership transition would not break the company's stride. Ma will stay on as executive chairman until Sept. 10, ...
Shibuya109 eyes bigger reach through partnership with South Korea e-commerce site Cafe24
The operator of South Korea's cross-border, multilingual e-commerce platform Cafe24 and Tokyo's Shibuya109 shopping mall have joined forces to invigorate global clothing exports of the two countries' fashion brands. Cafe24 Corp. said it signed a memorandum of understanding in Seoul on Monday to partner with ...
SoftBank's Masayoshi Son in his own words — all 303,513 of them
Masayoshi Son has a lot going on these days. The SoftBank Group Corp. founder oversees the largest technology fund in history and is putting money into ride-hailing, e-commerce, digital payments, satellites, semiconductors, agriculture and cancer detection — just for starters. How to make sense of it ...
E-commerce giant Rakuten ties up with restaurant finder Gurunavi
E-commerce giant Rakuten Inc. says it has reached a capital alliance agreement with restaurant search business Gurunavi Inc. as it looks to strengthen its foothold in the growing online reservation market. Rakuten said Monday it will buy Gurunavi shares worth ¥4 billion currently held by ...
Zozotown, which swooped in as a little-known retail website and prodded once-reluctant Japanese consumers to shop online for clothes, is now facing stiff competition in the industry whose image it remade. Arriving on the scene in 2004, the site made a killing selling clothes from ...
Japan's Zozo expands made-to-order clothing service using measurement-taking bodysuit
By photographing themselves wearing the skintight polka-dot Zozosuit, users can upload their body measurements to ensure a perfect fit for the clothes they order.
Online shopping drives air freight profits higher despite protectionism fears
An explosion in e-commerce demand is buoying the air freight business, boosting profit at some major airlines despite global trade tensions and underscoring robust consumer confidence. Air freight demand is expected to rise 4 percent this year, the International Air Transport Association said at its ...
Bitcoin for otaku: Tokyo startup to launch cryptocurrency to serve communities
Cryptocurrencies may be making worldwide headlines as high volatility assets that have seen dazzling stretches of growth and stunning falls, but the CEO of Tokyo Otaku Mode Inc. believes they have a different kind of potential. Naomitsu Kodaka says cryptocurrencies can serve as cross-border digital ...
Secondhand retail redefined in Japan as online flea markets rise in value
In June, the popular online flea market, Mercari Inc., is expected to be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Mothers section, which is reserved for high-growth startup companies. According to an article in the April 18 Asahi Shimbun the value of the company's stock ...
SoftBank chief confirms deal to sell Flipkart stake to Walmart
The head of SoftBank Group Corp. said it has reached an agreement to sell its stake in Indian e-commerce company Flipkart to Walmart. SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son did not give details in confirming the deal, which was widely anticipated. He mentioned the agreement ...
With Trudeau on hand, Amazon announces it will add another 3,000 jobs in Vancouver
Online retailer Amazon, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on hand, announced Monday it will add 3,000 jobs in Vancouver, British Columbia, about 150 miles (240 km) north of its Seattle headquarters. The fields will include e-commerce technology, cloud computing, and machine learning, a statement ...
