Tag - japanese

 
 

JAPANESE

Katsunori Tanaka, an ex-Goldman Sachs analyst who now heads hedge fund Ariake Capital, is betting big on Japan's smaller regional banks.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 25, 2025
Ex-Goldman analyst’s hedge fund reaps 300% returns on small Japan banks
Katsunori Tanaka spent years at Goldman Sachs scrutinizing Japan’s biggest banks. Now at Ariake Capital, he obsesses over much smaller regional lenders.
Johan Leutwiler checks a sword he made at his workshop studio in the Kui district of Mihara, Hiroshima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Mar 24, 2025
Japan's first foreign swordsmith opens workshop in Hiroshima Prefecture
Johan Leutwiler hopes to promote the charm of Japanese swords following the completion of his five-year apprenticeship.
An expanded multilevel pond and devices spraying cold mist have been installed at the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum to protect against the dangers of warming summers on the institution's trees.
LIFE / Travel
Mar 24, 2025
World’s first public bonsai museum reopens after renovations
After a five-month refurbishment, the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum believes it’s better suited to care for its trees during intensifying summers.
A Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry government building in Kasumigaseki, an area of Tokyo where the central government ministries are clustered
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2025
Japan should look at larger companies to set public servant pay: panel
Until 2005, the government looked at companies with at least 100 employees to decide their workers' salaries.
Officials of the National Public Safety Commission inspect the Kabukicho area of Shinjuku, Tokyo, in June 2024, as crimes committed by unscrupulous host clubs have surfaced.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Mar 24, 2025
Crimes by 'tokuryu' anonymous groups pose serious issue in Japan
Police have made capturing the ringleaders a top priority but are struggling in their investigations, largely due to the criminals' use of highly encrypted communication apps.
The Tokyo District Court is expected to present its decision regarding the dissolution the Unification Church on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 23, 2025
Tokyo court may decide on Unification Church dissolution on Tuesday
The fatal shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shed light on the Unification Church's controversial practices.
"Udo" (Japanese spikenard) is one of the many vegetables that reach their peak of flavor right as spring comes around.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Washoku Essentials
Mar 23, 2025
Now is the time to discover this Japanese mountain vegetable
At its most flavorful now, the oddly shaped Japanese spikenard adds a juicy and crisp element to salads.
The peculiar combo of curry with green tea over rice topped with a pork or chicken cutlet is Haraiso Sparkle's signature dish.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 23, 2025
At Osaka's Haraiso Sparkle, curry with a side of city pop
What began as a simple spice curry shop has now morphed into an offbeat, funky eatery.
At the inauguration of a factory owned by Japanese power electronics manufacturer TMEIC in Tumakuru, India, in 2017. Although Japanese companies have become a significant presence in India, the flow of fresh investment has slowed down.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 23, 2025
Japan-India business ties can go the extra mile
After remarkable growth, Japan-India business ties are plateauing. Companies on both sides need help from their governments to promote more understanding and, hence, opportunities.
Shunbaisai Hokuei's tetraptych from the series "108 Heroes of the Theater Suikoden"
CULTURE / Books
Mar 22, 2025
Osaka’s kabuki fan culture fueled an elusive figure of the ukiyo-e scene
In his new book, John Fiorillo partly lifts the veil on Shunbaisai Hokuei, who dominated the ukiyo-e art world in the Kamigata region during the early 19th century. 
The Tokyo District Court on Friday ordered major ad firm Tokyu Agency to pay a fine of ¥200 million for bid-rigging over the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 21, 2025
Tokyu Agency fined ¥200 million in Tokyo Games bid-rigging case
In the same case, former Tokyu Agency director Mitsuo Yasuda, 62, was given a prison sentence of one year and six months, suspended for three years.
Shinobu Yamagishi, the former president of Osaka-based real estate company Pressance, speaks during a news conference on Friday.
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2025
Osaka court rejects damages suit over coercive interrogations
Shinobu Yamagishi, 62, the former president of Osaka-based real estate company Pressance, was seeking about ¥700 million in damages.
Orix Buffaloes pitcher Taisuke Yamaoka speaks to reporters in the city of Osaka on Friday for the first time since he was reported to have participated in a poker tournament run by a foreign casino website.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 21, 2025
Cabinet approves strategy to battle illegal online casinos
A National Policy Agency survey released earlier this month showed that nearly 3.37 million Japanese are estimated to have used overseas online casinos to illegally gamble.
A Self-Defense Forces officer speaks during a news conference Friday at the Tokyo District Court over a power harassment lawsuit he filed against the state earlier in the day.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 21, 2025
SDF officer sues the state over alleged power harassment
The officer is seeking more than ¥14 million in damages after being transferred to a post completely different from his field of expertise, which led to mental illness.
Wages are set for another big increase this year as annual negotiations secure generous agreements.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 21, 2025
Japanese wages likely to rise more than 5% again this year
The average wage increase is key for the central bank, which is counting on steady raises as it ends a decadeslong experiment in ultraloose monetary policy.
An economic dialogue between Japan and China will take place in Tokyo on Saturday, the same day as a meeting among top diplomats of the two countries plus South Korea.
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2025
Japan and China set for economic talks as U.S. tariff pressure rises
The scale and proximity of the Chinese market means it is in Japan’s interest to maintain stable relations despite ongoing tensions.
Citizens’ holdings of cash in the three months ended in December was down 3.4% from a year earlier in the biggest drop in the data going back to 1998.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 21, 2025
Japan’s households slash cash at record pace as inflation bites
The decline mostly likely reflects the wider adoption of cashless consumption as well as a rise in nominal consumer spending due to inflation.
The Saitama Prefectural Police will trial polo shirt-type uniforms with high breathability from May to help officers bear the scorching heat in summer.
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2025
Police in Japan to abolish skirts in uniforms in April
The move reflects the fact that a vast majority of female police officers already opt to wear pants.
The Fukuoka Prefectural Police Headquarters. Between October 2022 and late September 2023, a Chinese couple developed about 2,300 square meters of land owned by 21 individuals without their consent and opened a campsite, according to police.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 21, 2025
Chinese couple arrested for opening campsite at historic Fukuoka ruins
A city official first spotted prefab huts erected at the castle ruins around October 2022 and demanded their removal, but the couple refused to comply, according to police.
While headline inflation cooled in February, underlying price pressure remains steady, raising concerns for households as real wages remain stagnant.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 21, 2025
Japan’s inflation slows less than expected, backing BOJ hikes
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 3.0% from a year ago in February, decelerating from a 3.2% pace in January.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’