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Keiko Ujikane
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2022
Tumbling yen spells inflation opportunity for Bank of Japan
The cost-push inflation the weaker yen is amplifying likely offers Japan its best chance to secure stable inflation in years.
BUSINESS
Sep 29, 2021
Japan’s GPIF, world’s top pension fund, won’t invest in China’s sovereign debt
As Chinese debt is being added to the FTSE Russell global bond index, the Japanese fund will instead use a version of the World Government Bond Index that excludes Chinese government bonds.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 25, 2019
Fear of retirement poverty drives Japanese to private pensions
Japanese households are rushing to private retirement products after a government report fueled fears that the national pension system won’t be enough to support them during old age.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 24, 2019
House-flipper takes advantage of Japan’s 8 million-plus empty homes
More than 8 million homes lie abandoned across Japan, a symptom of the declining population and people’s migration to major cities.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 18, 2019
Hundreds of firms may be demoted in Tokyo Stock Exchange shake-up
As part of an effort to streamline markets and attract more investors, the Tokyo Stock Exchange may demote about a third of its largest listed companies and cut down the bourses it operates to three from four, according to media reports.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 31, 2018
Goldman Sachs to failed manga artist to startup queen: Akiko Naka’s unique path to success
By the age of 34, Akiko Naka has already experienced more career-wise than most people do in a lifetime.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 22, 2018
Japan’s shogi champ makes all the right moves as AI startup hits stratosphere
Takahiro Hayashi won his first nationwide title in shogi while still in high school and by the age of 22 he was the world amateur champion. His coaches were urging him to turn pro.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2018
Confused by the stock market? Japanese cosmetics firm suggests analyzing eyebrows
With Japan’s stock market having slipped away from strategists’ targets set at the start of the year, investors seeking alternative analysis could consider studying eyebrows.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 28, 2017
As dark pool action grows in Japan, top exchange lobbies for action
The Tokyo Stock Exchange is worried about Japan going dark.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 1, 2017
Japan’s biggest IPO of the year may deliver almost 30% gain within a year
Shares in SG Holdings — operator of Japan’s second-largest parcel delivery company by volume, Sagawa Express — could rise in value by as much as 27 percent within a year after its debut this month, as investors bet on solid earnings helped by logistics services at home and abroad.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 27, 2017
As Abe pushes for structural reform, old Japan Inc. culture fights back
While Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s vaunted third arrow — structural reforms — has generally been rated as unsuccessful, his administration has received high praise from Japan analysts for shaking up the country’s corporate management system.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 20, 2017
Volatility returns to Tokyo markets
Bryan Goh says there’s no clear reason why Japanese stocks suddenly started falling after a turbocharged rally sent them to their highest in a quarter century.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 29, 2017
Foreign investors bet big on Japan stocks right before Abe’s snap election call
In the two weeks before Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called a snap election, foreign investors using the futures market — which are often hedge funds — suddenly turned hugely positive on Japanese shares.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Aug 22, 2017
Prime time in worker-scarce Japan for investing in service robots
Faced with their worst labor shortage in decades, Japanese service companies are finally turning to labor-saving technology, an investment that could lift the sector’s woeful level of productivity and allow them to raise wages.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 23, 2017
Fintech firm uses credit card data to fix holes in Japan’s consumption figures
Private consumption is 56 percent of Japan’s GDP, so understanding where people are spending and what they’re buying is essential to have a clear picture of what’s going on in the world’s third-biggest economy. That’s true not just for the government, but also for businesses and people.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2017
Automated factories can’t solve Japan’s productivity paradox
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has cut the number of workers on its turbocharger production lines west of Tokyo by more than 80 percent, as manufacturers from carmakers to electronics producers push further into automation.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2017
Millennial movers revive Japanese mountain towns amid depopulation
High-speed broadband. An award-winning brewpub built with recycled materials as part of a “zero waste” mission. An artist-in-residence program. Organic pizza from a wood-fired oven.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 24, 2017
Ex-economy chief Amari feels Trump misunderstands TPP
The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, which U.S. President Donald Trump backed his country out of on Monday, is actually the best way to achieve the fair trade in Asia that he promised American voters, former Japanese economy minister Akira Amari has said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2016
Amamiya, aka ‘Mr. BOJ,’ shapes central bank policy behind the scenes
Masayoshi Amamiya is viewed as so essential to operations at the Bank of Japan that he’s known inside the central bank as “Mr. BOJ.”
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 12, 2016
Japan’s consumers proving more resilient than thought, restyled GDP readings show
Decades of economic stagnation have taken a toll on Japan’s consumers, who went from being big spenders before the bubble economy imploded in the 1990s to masters of thrift today.

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival