Society

Firms on TSE forecast losses, lower profits

Oct 31 (NHK) - About two-thirds of corporations listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section are forecasting losses or a fall in profits for fiscal 2020.

SMBC Nikko Securities has analyzed the earnings reports from 236 of the companies that have announced their first-half financial results. It says 36 percent have reported gains, and 63 percent have reported losses.

Twelve percent of the companies that announced their forecasts say they expect to book a net loss, and 54 percent expect losses.

SMBC Nikko Securities strategist Yasuda Hikaru says the aviation and land transportation sectors will continue to be badly hit by the pandemic.

He says companies that are better fitted to so-called "coronavirus lifestyles" will continue to see brisk business.

Yasuda also says the key will likely be cost-cutting, improving work efficiency, searching for new ways to work, and developing new products.

Do Bears Prefer Acorns or Berries?

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Copper Thieves Target Japanese Shrines

Copper roofing panels were stolen from several shrines in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, including a city-designated cultural property, in the latest case amid a nationwide surge in copper thefts targeting shrines and temples across Japan, where soaring metal prices have fueled crimes that leave historic religious buildings damaged, exposed to the elements, and facing repair costs of millions of yen.

1200-Year-Old Temple on Miyajima Reduced to Ashes

Flames broke out on the morning of May 20th on Miyajima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture, home to one of Japan's World Heritage sites, destroying Reikado Hall near the summit of Mount Misen.

From Bento Boxes to Garbage Bags, Rising Costs Hitting Daily Life Across Japan

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Tochigi Robbery-Murder Suspect’s Wife Posted Dance Videos on Social Media

A 25-year-old woman arrested as a suspected ringleader in a robbery-murder case in Tochigi Prefecture once posted cheerful dance videos on social media and was remembered by those who knew her as an energetic and outgoing young woman.

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