Business / Corporate Mar 19, 2020
Operator of Muji stores fined for dodging ¥7.5 billion in tax
The operator of the Muji-brand goods store chain failed to pay ¥7.5 billion ($69 million) in income tax in the three years through February 2017, sources close to the matter said Wednesday. The Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau has judged that Ryohin Keikaku Co. transferred income ...
Business / Corporate Feb 8, 2020
Retailers are expanding outlet suspensions in China amid the unfolding coronavirus crisis, with about half of the Uniqlo apparel and Muji household goods stores there being shut. Fast Retailing Co. has closed about 370 of its 750 Uniqlo outlets in China, up from about 160 ...
Art Aug 20, 2019
Minimalism: Not as straightforward as it seems
by John L. Tran
It's 100 years since the Bauhaus art and design school first opened in Weimar, Germany, and the new Muji flagship store in Ginza is as good a venue as any to hold an anniversary exhibition celebrating the values of simple, affordable modernist design.
Business / Corporate Jul 17, 2019
First on-campus Muji store to open at university in Tokyo
by Masumi Koizumi
The first on-campus Muji store will open on Thursday at the Musashino Art University in Tokyo, featuring a selection of the brand's regular daily merchandise, a cafe and a workshop. Masaaki Kanai, chairman of Ryohin Keikaku Co., gives a speech at a new Muji store ...
Business Oct 3, 2018
Eyeing Brexit cliff edge, Japan waves goodbye to U.K. as 'gateway to Europe'
After a February meeting between U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May and 19 Japanese business chiefs, Tokyo's ambassador to Britain warned what might happen if Brexit took an unfavorable turn for foreign investors. "No private company can continue operations" in the U.K. if it becomes unprofitable, ...
Business / Corporate Sep 5, 2018
The retailer of Muji products is considering moving its European headquarters out of the U.K. because of Brexit, in what would be at least the second such shift by a Japanese company. Ryohin Keikaku Co., which sells everything from furniture to kitchenware under the Muji ...
Business May 24, 2018
China fines Muji for packaging that lists Taiwan as a country
Retailer Muji has been fined 200,000 yuan ($31,300) in Shanghai for using packaging that lists Taiwan as a country, underscoring China's growing sensitivity to how companies refer to the self-ruled island. This marks the second time Muji has been hit by such criticism from China ...
National Jan 31, 2018
The central government has communicated its concerns to Beijing over an order to scrap Tokyo-based retailer Muji's catalogs that contained maps that did not show the Senkaku Islands, the top government spokesman said Wednesday. "There is no territorial dispute to be settled over the Senkaku ...
Style & Design Jan 28, 2018
Eat, sleep and shop at Muji Hotel
by Danielle Demetriou
It all feels faintly familiar. There are the neutral textiles, the pale wood furniture, the green plants, the clean-lined gadgets and an aesthetic that is as calming as it is minimal. In short, it's identical to the interior of a Muji store — except here, ...
Books / Reviews Dec 16, 2017
Paul Roquet's 'Ambient Media' analyzes the importance of experiential atmosphere in society
by Chelsea Szendi Schieder
University of Minnesota Press"Reading the air" (judging the atmosphere of a situation) is considered a crucial social skill in Japan. Paul Roquet's dense work on ambient media invites the reader to analyze the air of the modern city and its media in a new ...
Lifestyle Aug 13, 2017
Reconstructing the Japanese house
by John L. Tran
After very successful runs in Rome and London, "The Japanese House: Architecture and Life after 1945," an exhibition of maquettes, photographs, plans and drawings, is now in the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. For providing an extensive look at varied and eclectic forms that ...