Business May 28, 2020
Surge in cycling from coronavirus fears adds ¥604 billion to Shimano's stock
The renowned maker of cycling parts is benefitting from surging demand for bicycles as people embrace new modes of transport to avoid large crowds.
Business / Financial Markets Apr 27, 2020
Investors' escape routes limited during Japan's Golden Week holidays
The annual Golden Week holidays threaten to give investors fits when adjusting positions in response to coronavirus-related newsflow, which could heighten volatility over the next few weeks. This year’s string of spring holidays includes four closely timed official holidays — and market closures — on ...
Business / Corporate Sep 24, 2019
Coco Ichibanya restaurant chain plans to sell Japanese curry ... to India
A Japanese plan to sell curry in India all stemmed from a hungry expat looking for good food in Tokyo. It was 2015, and New Delhi native Robin Srivastava had started a two-year temporary transfer to Tokyo in the mineral and metal resources division of ...
Business / Tech Mar 5, 2019
'Minority Report' gets real as Japan startup develops AI cameras to spot shoplifters before they steal
It's watching, and knows a crime is about to take place before it happens. Vaak, a Japanese startup, has developed artificial intelligence software that hunts for potential shoplifters, using footage from security cameras for fidgeting, restlessness and other potentially suspicious body language. While AI is usually ...
Business Feb 15, 2019
Goldman sees a bargain in resilient Japanese cram school with focus on private tuition
Noriko Mori, 47, paid about ¥700,000 ($6,300) to a cram school to help her daughter prepare for a school entrance exam in Tokyo. Her daughter was six, and the entrance exam was for an elementary school. "It was expensive," Mori said. But "she passed the ...
Business Dec 5, 2018
Fast Retailing opens GU Style Studio store in Harajuku where you try, buy, but walk away with nothing
A brand-new store opened in Tokyo's Harajuku fashion district on Friday, walls lined with clothes, shoes and handbags — and with a twist: shoppers will walk away empty-handed. The GU Style Studio store — opened by Fast Retailing Co., Asia's largest clothier and the operator ...
Business / Corporate Oct 23, 2018
Philip Morris CEO expects countries to overturn e-cigarette bans
Philip Morris International Inc. expects regulators to gradually become more open to alternatives to cigarettes even after more than 27 governments have prohibited next-generation smokeless devices. "Eventually, countries will reverse gear," Chief Executive Officer Andre Calantzopoulos said in an interview in Tokyo. "I don't think ...