Japan

SoftBank Seen Posting Bruising Vision Fund Loss on Tech Sell-Off

Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp is set to report a bruising loss at its Vision Fund investment unit on Thursday, analysts said, after investors sold off the high-growth stocks favoured by the fund with questions about their earnings potential. With the technology investor poised to post full-year earnings, comments from founder and Chief Executive Masayoshi Son […]

Japan PM to Discuss Defence, Customs Deals on Thailand Trip

Japan is expected to announce a new defence agreement among several deals with Thailand on Monday during a visit by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the last leg of his three-nation tour of Southeast Asia. The agreement, details of which have yet to be disclosed, would facilitate transfers of defence hardware and technology from Japan to […]

Honda to Spend $64 Billion on R&D as it Revs up Electric Ambitions

Japan’s Honda Motor Co Ltd said on Tuesday it plans to spend $64 billion on research and development over the next decade, laying out an ambitious target to roll out 30 electric vehicle models globally by 2030. Its goals also include producing some 2 million electric vehicles a year by 2030. The strategy marks a […]

Japan to Revise Foreign Exchange Law to End Crypto Loophole for Sanctions on Russia

Japan will revise its foreign exchange law to prevent Russia from evading Western financial sanctions following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine through cryptocurrency assets, top government officials said on Monday. The government will submit a revision of the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act to the current parliament session to strengthen protections against potential sanction-busting by […]

Toshiba Faces Unclear Future After Shareholders Knock Back Two Rival Proposals

Toshiba Corp shareholders on Thursday voted down competing proposals – one presented by management and the other backed by activist shareholders, leaving the future direction of the embattled Japanese conglomerate uncertain. Management’s plan to spin off Toshiba’s devices unit and the separate call to seek buyout offers had both failed to gain the required 50 […]

Sounding Alarm on China, Japan and U.S. Vow to Collaborate More on Defense

The United States and Japan on Friday voiced strong concern about China’s growing might and pledged to work together to push back against attempts to destabilize the region, including against emerging defense threats. The comments from the two allies, in a joint statement that followed a virtual “two-plus-two” meeting of their foreign and defence ministers, […]

Japan Cabinet OKs record defense budget amid Taiwan concerns

Japan’s Cabinet approved a record 5.4 trillion yen ($47 billion) defense budget for fiscal 2022 on Friday that includes funding for research and development of a new fighter jet and other “game-changing” weapons as Japan bolsters its defense capabilities in response to China’s growing military might and its tensions with Taiwan. The 1.1% budget increase […]

China-U.S. cold tech war spills over to Japan’s chip shortage

Japan’s global chip manufacturing thrown is finally usurped as it fears U.S.’s tactics of pouring billions of dollars to deflect from China’s overtake of Japan’s semiconductor industry. The time has come, after three long decades overwhelmed with success in the chip manufacturing industry, Japan’s industry ministry announced that the nation’s share of the world’s chip […]

Japan's SoftBank back in the black as investments improve

Japanese technology company SoftBank Group Corp. said Monday it restored its profitability in the last quarter as its investments improved in value. The Tokyo-based company reported a 627 billion yen, or about $6.1 billion, profit in July-September, compared with a loss of 700 billion yen in the same quarter of 2019. SoftBank said its quarterly […]

Remote working pushes digitization solutions forward in Japan

The shift to telework, video conferences, social distancing and reduction of high-density work settings, are all measures taken by companies to help mitigate the transmission of Coronavirus. This change in work life has also encouraged the digitization of businesses. For many companies in Japan, work from home measures will stay in place for better operational […]