Business | Page 3

NTT pulls plug on office life
NHK - Jun 19
Japan's telecom giant NTT is preparing to introduce a dramatic change in its office culture. From July, employees will be allowed to work from home anywhere in Japan, and any visits the office will be deemed business trips.

Japanese whisky fetches $600,000 in NY auction
NHK - Jun 19
A bottle of Japanese whisky has fetched 600,000 dollars in a New York auction.

Japan central bank maintains policy interest rate at minus 0.1%
ICIS - Jun 17
Japan’s central bank decided Friday to maintain its key interest rate at minus 0.1%, defying aggressive hikes by peers in the US and Switzerland, citing some economic weakness stemming from the pandemic and high commodity prices.

Operator of major restaurant review site Tabelog ordered to pay damages
Japan Today - Jun 17
A Japanese court on Thursday ordered the operator of Tabelog, a popular restaurant review website, to pay about 38.4 million yen in damages to a Korean barbeque chain, judging that its rating algorithm is unfairly designed for chain outlets.

Japan posts biggest trade deficit in more than 8 years for May
Nikkei - Jun 16
Japan ran its biggest single-month trade deficit in more than eight years in May as high commodity prices and declines in the yen swelled imports, clouding the country's economic outlook.

Premium watermelon fetches about $4,500 in season's first auction
NHK - Jun 14
A premium watermelon from northern Japan has fetched 600,000 yen, or about 4,500 dollars, in the season's first auction.

Amazon Japan delivery drivers form union, claiming overwork
Japan Today - Jun 14
A group of 10 people working as freelance delivery drivers for Amazon.com Inc's Japan unit have unionized and handed over a letter to the online shopping giant's Tokyo headquarters demanding that their poor working conditions be corrected, union members said Monday.

How the global cost-of-living crisis could affect Japan
BBC - Jun 13
People globally are facing a cost-of-living crisis, but in Japan shoppers have been used to decades of stable or falling prices. The country now faces rising prices, which is a big deal, partly because people's wages haven’t gone up since the 90s.

Niseko hotels see reservations rising, but struggle to hire foreign staff
Nikkei - Jun 12
With the Japanese government recently deciding to ease entry restrictions for overseas tourists, Chitose Airport near Sapporo is preparing to welcome visitors again. And Niseko, a major winter resort two and a half hours' drive west, is taking more reservations for the upcoming ski season.

Low IT pay stifles Japan's digital transformation
Nikkei - Jun 12
TOKYO -- Japanese companies face a serious shortage of skilled tech professionals as rigid seniority systems prevent them offering the kind of pay and packages likely to lure younger IT engineers and other experts.

Japan edges closer to intervention in yen
kitco.com - Jun 11
Japan's government and central bank said on Friday they were concerned by recent sharp falls in the yen in a rare joint statement, the strongest warning to date that Tokyo could intervene to support the currency as it plumbs 20-year lows.

High grain prices prompt Japan farmers to grow wheat rather than rice
Kyodo - Jun 11
More Japanese farmers are planning to lower their rice production and switch to wheat and soybean this year amid rising grain prices caused by Russia's war in Ukraine, according to a government survey.

Shiseido shifts focus to quality products that are made in Japan
Asahi - Jun 11
Cosmetics giant Shiseido Co. is relocating its production facilities back to Japan in seeking to win customers with a “made-in-Japan” brand.

Sushiro ordered to take action on deceptive advertising
Japan Times - Jun 10
The Consumer Affairs Agency ordered on Thursday the operator of conveyor-belt sushi chain Sushiro to take action to prevent the recurrence of deceptive advertising for eye-catching dishes.

Philippines asks Japanese retailers to raise banana prices
Nikkei - Jun 09
The Philippines is seeking to raise its banana prices in its largest export market, Japan, as rising production and logistics costs weigh on the Southeast Asian country's farmers.

BOJ chief apologizes for remark on price hikes
NHK - Jun 08
Bank of Japan Governor Kuroda Haruhiko has apologized for saying that households are becoming more tolerant of higher prices.