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May 21, 2026
 

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Kazuaki Nagata

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Kazuaki Nagata
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group President and Group CEO Toru Nakashima in 2025. Nakashima believes that Japan must make better use of medical resources.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 19, 2026
SMFG, Fujitsu and SoftBank forming medical alliance to help contain costs
As Japan faces another wave of retirees, technology might help keep the nation fit and control healthcare spending.
Anis Uzzaman, founder and CEO of Pegasus Tech Ventures, in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Tech
May 18, 2026
Japan¡¯s startup story is just beginning, venture capitalist says
Anis Uzzaman says the country is making the right moves, while the mindset in the business is changing.
While Nissan held a shareholder meeting in 2025, protesters distributed leaflets.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 15, 2026
Japan could soon tighten rules for shareholder proposals
The threshold for forcing the acceptance of proposals is now just 30,000 shares.
Honda Motor CEO Toshihiro Mibe reports the automaker¡¯s first full-year loss ever as a public company.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2026
Honda takes $10 billion hit on EVs and posts net loss
The automaker is canceling models, moving toward hybrids and making a push in India.
James Buchanan, managing director, South Asia, Walton Global, says there has been ¡°a huge demand for alternative real estate investments.¡±
BUSINESS / Markets
May 13, 2026
Walton offers Japanese investors a hedge with exposure to U.S. land assets
Its 360-square-kilometer property portfolio might provide stability regardless of what the public markets do.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at the Ministry of Finance in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy
May 12, 2026
Japan and the U.S. in sync on the yen, Katayama says
The finance minister has stopped short of saying that the two countries are engaged in coordinated intervention in the currency market or that they are planning a joint response.
Stocks traded in Tokyo hit a record high on Thursday and then held most of those gains on Friday.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 8, 2026
Japanese stocks steady near historic highs as tech and war weigh on sentiment
The Nikkei 225 stock average retreated from the record hit Thursday, clawing back some of the loss late in the day as companies started to release earnings reports.
The yen was back in ?150-to-the-dollar territory after reports of intervention by the Japanese government.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 1, 2026
Japan mum on yen intervention, heavy on jawboning, ahead of long holiday weekend
Multiple reports say that the government did seek to prop up the currency, and traders are bracing for another round.
The yen is trading at levels last seen in July 2024.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 30, 2026
Yen, Japanese government bonds and Tokyo stocks decline as oil prices spike
The Japanese currency is at its weakest since July 2024 and at levels that could trigger intervention.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. Expectations of a rate increase cooled over the past few weeks in part due to the absence of clear signals from BOJ officials.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 28, 2026
Three dissents at BOJ policy board meeting suggest hawkishness ahead
The war in Iran was a factor in keeping the policy rate at 0.75% at the April meeting.
BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda, pictured here in March, said last week that the Iran war could fuel inflation while also potentially being a drag on growth.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 24, 2026
Bank of Japan set to hold rates steady, with Iran war a factor
Forecasts have changed significantly in recent weeks as conflict continues and the price of oil remains high.
Japan's benchmark index hit a new high shortly after stocks started trading in Tokyo on Thursday morning.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 23, 2026
Nikkei 225 hits record and breaks 60,000 for the first time
The benchmark retreated from the new high and ended the day down as some investors questioned the tech-fueled rally.
Shoji Terayama, co-CEO of ACSL, at the company¡¯s headquarters last month
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 17, 2026
Japanese drone maker notes tailwind as demand jumps and China frozen out of U.S.
Escalating geopolitical tensions might present opportunities for Japanese companies in a market long dominated by China's DJI.?
Olivier Blanchard, former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, speaks at a meeting of the Japanese government¡¯s Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy at the Prime Minister¡¯s Office in Tokyo, on March 26.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 16, 2026
Takaichi¡¯s economic ambitions meet interest-rate realities and doubts about debt
The math is looking less favorable with the war in the Middle East fueling inflation and the BOJ ready to make a move.
SoftBank Group is one of the few Japanese companies that regularly issue corporate bonds.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 9, 2026
Japan wants to transform its sleepy corporate bond market
The hope is to make it a source for much-needed growth capital and provide more avenues to funding.
A Honda car outside the Honda headquarters in Tokyo. The company is expected to report an annual loss for the last fiscal year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 3, 2026
Honda needs a big pivot, and maybe a partner, after big EV-related losses
Brand power and a solid reputation will help as it undertakes an overhaul, with a likely shift toward hybrids.
Shigeru Aizawa, head of employee benefits in the empowerment division at Tokyo-based Freee
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 27, 2026
Shadow raises pitched as option for cash-strapped Japanese companies
Benefits, discounts and freebies can increase compensation without triggering a big tax hit for employees and employers.
Tim Rowe, the founder and executive chair of Cambridge Innovation Center, at CIC Tokyo on March 6.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 25, 2026
Global startup hub chief calls for more government support from Japan
The founder of Cambridge Innovation Center said boosted policy support is key to reach the country's goal of ?10 trillion a year in investments by 2027.
BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 19, 2026
BOJ stands pat amid growing Middle East uncertainty
The decision to maintain its policy rate at 0.75% was widely expected by the market and central bank watchers.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo in January.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 17, 2026
BOJ likely to sit tight as Middle East conflict clouds economic outlook
Though a rate hike is unlikely this month, if the yen¡¯s depreciation continues, pressure on the bank to act will likely grow at the next meeting in April.
Female death row inmate sues Japan government over 24/7 surveillance
Tokyo Detention House guidelines dictate that CCTV surveillance can be used when detainees are at risk of suicide or self-harm, or when there is concern they may try to escape.
Almost half of foreign residents have experienced discrimination: government survey
Japan¡¯s foreign resident population rose 9.5% to a record 4.12 million at the end of 2025, topping 4 million for the first time, according to data from the Immigration Services Agency.
¡®There was no village¡¯: Japan¡¯s troubling pattern of family murder-suicides
Akiko Hashiguchi is one of the few people in Japan to publicly share her personal experience with muri shinj¨± under her own name. She has since been involved in parents¡¯ support work and advocacy around developmental disorders.
Japan arrests Americans over stunt at baby monkey Punch¡¯s zoo
Visitors gather in the rain to catch a glimpse of Punch the monkey at Ichikawa City Zoo in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, in April.
Visitors to Japan down 5.5% in April
Japan Tourism Agency chief Shigeki Murata has emphasized that the government will work on implementing "strategic promotions to attract visitors from more countries and regions."
¡®There was no village¡¯: Japan¡¯s troubling pattern of family murder-suicides
Akiko Hashiguchi is one of the few people in Japan to publicly share her personal experience with muri shinj¨± under her own name. She has since been involved in parents¡¯ support work and advocacy around developmental disorders.
Before city pop went global, there was Anri
Anri says younger overseas listeners first surprised her during a 2023 performance in Los Angeles, where most of the audience was in their 20s. Nearly five decades after her debut, songs such as ¡°Last Summer Whisper¡± and ¡°I Can¡¯t Stop the Loneliness¡± continue finding new fans.
Trump says ¡®nothing¡¯s changed¡¯ on Taiwan. But his words belie a big shift.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press aboard Air Force One en route to the U.S. following his official visit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, on Friday.
Japan¡¯s new emissions trading program: Key climate tool or paper tiger?
A production line at a Nippon Steel plate rolling mill in Kimitsu, Chiba Prefecture, in May 2025.
For all its nonsense, ¡®Mystery Arena¡¯ is weirdly entertaining
Afro-wigged host Momotaro Kabayama (Toshiaki Karasawa) presides over the eponymous game show in Yukihiko Tsutsumi¡¯s ¡°Mystery Arena.¡±

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Anri says younger overseas listeners first surprised her during a 2023 performance in Los Angeles, where most of the audience was in their 20s. Nearly five decades after her debut, songs such as ¡°Last Summer Whisper¡± and ¡°I Can¡¯t Stop the Loneliness¡± continue finding new fans.
Before city pop went global, there was Anri
By Patrick St. Michel

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