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July 12, 2026
 

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Kanoko Matsuyama
Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing will raise base salaries for new graduates in Japan as the country’s workers grapple with inflation.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 22, 2025
Uniqlo’s owner boosts new graduate pay as Japan faces inflation
Annual pay will grow by about 12% to ¥5.9 million ($37,400) starting in March for university graduates in management-track programs.
A 7-Eleven store in Chicago. Seven & I’s success in making food central to its Japan business should help improve U.S. prospects, Seven & I Holdings CEO Stephen Dacus says.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 22, 2025
Seven & I’s IPO of U.S. arm hinges on faster turnaround, CEO says
The timing of an initial public offering will depend on execution and the market, says Stephen Dacus, who took over as head of the company six months ago.
Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune disorder that causes rashes marked by itchy, scaly rashes and afflicts more than 125 million people worldwide.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2025
Takeda’s psoriasis pill developed with AI assistance succeeds in trials
If approved, zasocitinib would stand out as one of the first drugs discovered with the help of artificial intelligence.
Asahi Group Holdings said its monthly beer sales in November were down over 20% in Japan from a year earlier, a sharper decline than the nearly 10% drop seen in October.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 10, 2025
Asahi’s beer sales worsen in November as hack disruption lingers
Asahi aims for its supply chain to be largely restored by February after the September ransomware attack shut down key internal systems.
A street leading to the Tsutenkaku tower in Osaka's Shinsekai district. Local reports and social media posts point to thinner crowds in Shinsaibashi and Shinsekai, once favorite haunts for Chinese groups.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2025
Osaka tourism endures heavy hit as China-Japan tensions simmer
China bookings for Osaka-bound flights for winter and early spring departures are down 55% to 65% — a sharper drop than the nationwide average.
Tourists from China in the Ginza shopping district in Tokyo on Nov. 22
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2025
China travel warning deals blow to Matsuya Ginza tax-free sales
The slump in inbound spending underscores how diplomatic tensions between China and Japan since mid-November are weighing on retail sales.
As of Nov. 10, a total of 11,045 employees at publicly listed companies in Japan have been targeted for early retirement this year, the highest since 2021, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 14, 2025
Profitable firms cut jobs as activist investors and TSE seek stronger returns
A wave of voluntary and early retirement programs in Japan that overwhelmingly target employees age 50 and above is on track to hit a four-year high.
Yoshinoya CEO Tetsuya Naruse says the firm's China business is now on track to report a record profit this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 13, 2025
Yoshinoya predicts record China profit on new recipes
The beef bowl chain redesigned menus, offering items with vegetable toppings and expanding combo sets, to enhance value without sacrificing margins.
Kohei Matsuo serves a glass of Asahi Super Dry in a Maruefu glass at Bier Reise ’98 in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 11, 2025
Cyberattack leaves Asahi struggling as rival brewers gain ground
The ransomware attack on Asahi Group Holdings disabled its internal system that handled all orders and shipments online.
Olympus plans to cut about 2,000 jobs, or roughly 7% of the firm’s global workforce, and overhaul its region-centric structure to improve productivity.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 10, 2025
Olympus soars most in six years on job cuts and shakeups
CEO Bob White said he plans to cut about 2,000 jobs, or roughly 7% of the firm’s global workforce.
The Olympus Ishikawa research development facility in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 9, 2025
Olympus cuts jobs, streamlines operations under new leadership
The company is moving to a leaner, divisional model, with a planned target of 3% annual sales growth by fiscal 2027.
Packaged meals for sale at a Trial Go store in Tokyo on Friday
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 7, 2025
Discount chain takes aim at 7-Eleven in Japan with $2 tonkatsu
Discount-store chain operator Trial Holdings is mounting a challenge to Japan’s convenience store giants, betting that compact, low-cost outlets can attract shoppers in Tokyo.
Takeda's dengue vaccine shows seven years of strong protection against infection and hospitalization, marking the longest efficacy reported to date.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 4, 2025
Takeda’s dengue vaccine shows long-lasting protection
The results bolster confidence in Takeda’s two-dose regimen, especially as countries grapple with record dengue outbreaks fueled by climate change.
A cyberattack on Askul, a seller of office supplies, is disrupting major Japanese retailers' e-commerce and logistics operations.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 21, 2025
Japan retailers halt online sales after cyberattack cripples supplier operations
The disruption, coming weeks after one suffered by brewer Asahi Group Holdings, will raise questions about the vulnerability of Japan’s e-commerce infrastructure.
The founder of Fast Retailing, which owns Uniqlo, and Chief Executive Officer Tadashi Yanai is seeking to eventually reach annual sales of ¥10 trillion and turn the business into a global apparel maker.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 9, 2025
Uniqlo’s owner sees stronger profit and sales in current fiscal year
Fast Retailing said revenue and profit jumped significantly in the U.S. during the June-August quarter even when the impact of U.S. tariffs set in.
Under new CEO Stephen Dacus, Seven & I Holdings is reshaping itself by selling weaker assets, buying back ¥2 trillion worth of shares and betting on growth in Japan and the U.S.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 9, 2025
Seven & I struggles to win back investors after failed takeover
Seven & I sits at a crossroads as it seeks to reassure investors it can thrive without a foreign takeover.
An Asahi brewery in Moriya, Ibaraki Prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 6, 2025
Asahi resumes beer supplies in Japan after crippling cyberattack
Some parts of the system are still shut and the company is processing orders manually to prioritize its supply framework.
Takeda Pharmaceutical’s experimental narcolepsy drug shows significant improvement in late-stage trials, potentially targeting the root cause of the disorder.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 9, 2025
Takeda nears first therapy for root cause of narcolepsy
Patients who took the drug, called oveporexton, for 12 weeks experienced increased daytime alertness and an overall improvement in quality of life.
Tourists order sushi using an interactive touchscreen at a Sushiro restaurant in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 1, 2025
Growth overseas aids sushi chain Sushiro amid rice inflation at home
Osaka-based chain has been able to avoid across-the-board price hikes at its Japanese restaurants to offset volatile rice costs that have nearly doubled from a year ago.
Seven & I Holdings' market value dipped below Aeon for the first time in two decades, as shares in the operator of 7-Eleven stores languish after Alimentation Couche-Tard abandoned its bid for the company.
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2025
Seven & I value eclipsed by Aeon as revamp struggles to impress
Aeon, Japan’s second-biggest grocery conglomerate, reached a market capitalization of ¥5.19 trillion ($35.2 billion) at the close of trading in Tokyo on Thursday.
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’

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The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
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