National / Social Issues | Regional Voices: Hiroshima Nov 29, 2021
Experts claim that companies in rural areas must create a welcoming environment for sexual minorities in order to attract new hires.
Business Jan 12, 2019
Rising labor costs biggest threat to Japanese firms in Asia: survey
Rising labor costs and shortages of skilled labor are the largest downside risk to Japanese firms operating in Asia, with 76 percent of respondents to an NNA survey calling them their top concerns. Among the 630 respondents at Japanese companies in East Asia, Southeast Asia, ...
Business / Corporate Dec 10, 2018
The number of corporate bankruptcies nationwide in November rose 6.1 percent from a year earlier to 718, up for the first time in three months, Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd. said. Total liabilities left by failed companies fell 16.7 percent to ¥121.279 billion, dropping for the ...
Business / Economy | ANALYSIS Aug 24, 2018
Japanese firms face tough choices as U.S.-China trade war drags on
by Cory Baird
The companies must either make massive changes to how their products are assembled or bide their time until a compromise is reached.
Business / Economy Aug 14, 2018
80% of major Japanese firms expect domestic economy to grow in 2018
Over 80 percent of major companies expect the economy to grow toward the end of this year, but most do not see the expansion lasting beyond the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, according to a recent Kyodo News survey. Around 82 percent of the 113 companies surveyed ...
Business Jul 23, 2018
Government-led campaign hopes to ease 2020 Tokyo Olympic traffic by promoting telecommuting
A government-led campaign began Monday to encourage more companies to introduce telecommuting, with hopes that letting employees work away from the office could help ease traffic congestion during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. Around 2,000 companies and organizations are expected to join the "Telework ...
National Mar 8, 2018
Majority of job-seeking university students put off by AI-powered candidate screening
by Shusuke Murai
As more companies turn to artificial intelligence to discover new talent, a recent survey has shown that a majority of job-seeking university students don't want their abilities judged by the technology. About 67.5 percent of 1,258 university and graduate students slated to graduate in March ...
Business Jan 17, 2018
Japan firms in Thailand plan to raise wages by 4.4% on average this year
Japanese companies operating in Thailand are considering raising wages by an average 4.4 percent this year, according to an annual survey by NNA. Of 403 Japanese companies surveyed, 305 firms, or 75.7 percent, plan to implement wage hikes for workers and those in managerial positions. The ...
Business Dec 5, 2017
Japan looking to fuel 'productivity revolution' by doubling growth in labor productivity
The Abe administration will aim to double labor productivity growth to 2 percent in the three years through 2020 from 0.9 percent, the average for the five years through 2015, according to informed sources. The government is set to include the target in a package ...
Business / Economy Dec 1, 2017
Investment by Japanese firms rises 4.2% on year in July-September
Capital spending by Japanese companies rose 4.2 percent from a year ago in the July-September period, the Finance Ministry said Friday, reinforcing the view that the economy remains on a moderate recovery trend. Business investment by all nonfinancial sectors on plants, equipment and other purposes ...
Business Oct 5, 2017
Japanese firms operating in Thailand plan bigger wage increases
More Japanese companies in Thailand are implementing increased relative wage hikes this year on the back of an improving economic outlook in the Southeast Asian country. A new survey by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce, Bangkok, shows that 26.7 percent of manufacturers are offering larger ...
Business / Economy | FOCUS Sep 28, 2017
Japan's social security burden frustrates BOJ's inflation, spending efforts
by Toru Fujioka and Masahiro Hidaka
Japanese companies are paying more for employees these days. Problem is, the money is going toward social security payroll taxes instead of wages, adding to the frustrations of Bank of Japan policymakers seeking higher wages and stronger inflation. While businesses haven't raised salaries much, their ...