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July 12, 2026
 

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Aya Wagatsuma
Nidec founder Shigenobu Nagamori in 2023. Nagamori instilled a hard-charging corporate culture at the company, demanding results pegged to ambitious, and at times unrealistic, targets.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 13, 2026
Nidec shares tumble after product quality issues compound bookkeeping scandal
The Kyoto-based world’s largest maker of precision motors said the issues involved changes made to materials, processes and designs without approval.
An oil tanker docked at an oil refinery in Yokohama. Japan is feeling the pain of the war in Iran acutely as it imports more than 90% of its crude oil from the Middle East.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 27, 2026
Investors game out stagflation risk in Japan as oil prices rise
Global funds including Allianz Global Investors and Amundi are already hedging against stagflation with the Iran conflict nearing the one-month mark.
A screen displays share prices inside the Kabuto One building in Tokyo, Japan.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 26, 2026
Fidelity fund beating 96% of peers likes Japan’s AI-linked firms
Surging share prices of memory chipmakers have opened the way for less pricey stocks of smaller firms like Fujibo who have businesses that are essential for AI.
Stocks in Japan have become very expensive, encouraging firms to conduct stock splits to make their shares more accessible to individual investors.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 10, 2025
Surging share prices in Japan lead to wave of stock splits
Stocks have become so expensive that the median minimum amount that Japanese investors need to buy shares is 10 times higher than in the United States.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average index briefly tumbled more than 2,000 points on Wednesday morning following a downbeat session on Wall Street fueled by fears of a bubble in the artificial intelligence sector.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 5, 2025
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slumps 4%, led by losses in tech sector
Chip-related stocks faced strong selling pressure following overnight falls in U.S. high-tech shares, amid growing caution over recent sharp gains in AI-related equities.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks at a news conference following the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 2, 2025
China hits out at Takaichi for meeting Taiwan’s presidential adviser
A number of other issues continue to test ties between Beijing and Tokyo, including China’s increasing military activity around a disputed cluster of islands.
Nidec's Qingdao Industrial Park in China. The Tokyo Stock Exchange has designated Nidec as a "security on special alert" for a possible delisting.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 28, 2025
Nidec faces delisting risk as Tokyo Stock Exchange boosts scrutiny
The move by the exchange may deal another blow to Nidec’s shares, which have tumbled roughly 20% since the start of September as its accounting issues came to light.
Sanae Takaichi, newly elected leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, speaks during a news conference at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 5, 2025
Takaichi’s win to support Japanese stocks but weigh on yen and bonds
Bank stocks will likely struggle on expectations rate hikes will be pushed back, while domestic demand and small-cap shares may get a “significant tailwind,” experts say.
Despite political uncertainty in Japan, investors in the stock market are banking on an economy that is finally gaining momentum after years of stagnation.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 29, 2025
Japanese stocks tipped to extend record rally after trade deal
The Nikkei Stock Average is projected to rise an average of 10% over the next 12 months from its most recent record high of 43,714.31.
Twelve months on from Aug. 5, 2024, when Japan’s stock benchmarks plummeted 12%, the broader Topix index is once again hovering near record highs.
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Aug 5, 2025
A year after Japan’s stock meltdown, markets show resilience and promise
Clearer BOJ messaging, corporate reforms and a better-than-feared U.S. tariff deal has traders in Japan’s markets betting against a repeat of last year’s crash.
Japanese trading companies' shares gained following comments from Warren Buffett at the Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting that he expects his company to hold the shares for 50 years or more.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 4, 2025
Buffett inspires retail investors to bet on Japan trading houses
Japanese trading companies shares gained following comments from Warren Buffett that he expects his company to hold the shares for 50 years or more.
Japan’s stocks plunged after U.S. President Donald Trump slapped the nation with a 24% levy as part of tariffs on trading partners worldwide.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 3, 2025
Japan’s stocks slump on Trump’s 24% tariffs and stronger yen
The Topix Index fell 4% to 2,544.41 as of 9:12 a.m. Tokyo time, while the blue-chip Nikkei declined 4.1% to 34,281.76.
Takeover bids in Japan are expected to reach a record this year amid growing pressure on companies to boost shareholder returns.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 4, 2025
Japan small-cap fund tops rivals with stocks few analysts cover
The NicheJungle Japanese Orphan Companies SDG Fund has exited positions in 20 companies at a profit, with half of these firms taken over since the fund’s 2022 launch.
Toyota’s announcement to hand out perks to its shareholders comes as some Japanese firms begin reintroducing perks to attract retail investors.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 4, 2025
Toyota to hand out shareholder perks to entice retail investors
Some Japanese firms have begun reintroducing perks to attract retail investors, a practice that has drawn criticism from some global funds.
Analysts warn that the emergence of DeepSeek’s low-cost, open-source large language models might cool the artificial intelligence frenzy and thus cap SoftBank's investment performance.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 14, 2025
Bears circle SoftBank as DeepSeek clouds outlook for Stargate
DeepSeek’s low-cost AI model is begging the question of whether such massive spending on Stargate is even necessary.
Analysts believe the strength of the Japanese economy will help to push up domestic stocks, despite pressure from likely interest rate hikes from the Bank of Japan and uncertainty caused by Donald Trump’s presidency in the U.S.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 6, 2025
Japan stocks look set for new highs in 2025 on earnings and reforms
Analysts see better corporate earnings as the country transitions to a growth economy from a deflationary one.
A Nissan dealership and a Honda dealership in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 30, 2024
Nissan shares fall, pressured by Honda deal concerns
The stock fell as much as 6.7% on Monday in Tokyo. The carmaker’s shares had soared more than 60% since Dec. 17, a day before news of the deal broke.
Fujikura's headquarters in Tokyo's Koto Ward. The company's share price has surged by more than 400% this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 25, 2024
AI boom makes 139-year-old cable maker Japan’s hottest stock
Fujikura, which makes narrow wire cabling, is the best performer on the Nikkei stock index this year due to a boom in demand for data centers.
Players on Nintendo Switch game consoles. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund is reportedly weighing deploying more capital to Nintendo and its sector peers.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 7, 2024
Nintendo jumps after Saudi fund expresses interest in bigger stake
The Saudi government is keen to mold the kingdom into a global gaming industry player and diversify its oil-heavy portfolio.
An electronic quotation board shows the Nikkei stock average dropping more than 1,500 points on Wednesday, weighed down by falls on Wall Street following lackluster manufacturing data.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 4, 2024
Japanese stocks tumble amid U.S. tech selloff
Some analysts see Wednesday’s drop as a temporary reaction than a start of another meltdown.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

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