Black Friday blowout: Japan retailers embracing U.S. shopping period
Japanese retailers started embracing Black Friday — which falls the day after U.S. Thanksgiving and marks the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season in a growing number of countries — around 2016. Friday is the start of this year’s Black Friday sales period and major brands and retailers across the country are once again launching sales campaigns to lure customers to their stores and websites.
Amazon Japan, for example will set up a special landing page on its site from Friday through Dec. 2, with discounts on hundreds of thousands of products, from clothes and food to home appliances.
Meanwhile, Rakuten Ichiba, an online shopping site operated by Rakuten Inc., rewarded customers who shopped on its site from Nov. 18 until Tuesday (Nov. 23) with extra points. It also introduced some products via a live streaming event, giving out coupons to customers who watched the video.
Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. started its Black Friday campaign exclusively for online shoppers from Nov. 10 through Monday (Nov. 29). The department store launched its first Black Friday campaign last year to reach out to customers who were not comfortable visiting brick and mortar stores due to the pandemic. When it comes to sales of high-end items, store clerks have been approaching customers via its app.
More firms avoid using Johnny & Associates entertainers for their ads
NHK - Sep 23
A survey by a private research firm in Japan has found an increasing number of listed companies are severing ties with talent agency Johnny & Associates over reported sex abuse by its late founder.
Bank of Japan holds pat on monetary policy
NHK - Sep 22
Policymakers at the Bank of Japan have decided to leave the central bank's easing program unchanged as they wrapped up their two-day meeting on Friday.
Japan's Ghibli anime studio to be acquired by Nippon TV
Nikkei - Sep 21
Nippon Television Holdings will acquire Studio Ghibli -- the globally acclaimed anime house known for smash hits like "Spirited Away" and director Hayao Miyazaki -- through subsidiary Nippon TV, the company announced on Thursday.
Toshiba is set to delist in Japan after 74 years as part of $14 billion deal
CNN - Sep 21
Toshiba said on Thursday that a $14 billion tender offer from private equity firm Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) had ended in success — a deal which paves the way for the embattled industrial conglomerate to go private.
Japan McDonald's to reduce deliveries to cope with looming '2024 Problem'
News On Japan - Sep 21
Japan McDonald's will reduce the frequency of delivering ingredients and supplies from its logistics warehouses to its stores by 20% starting next month.
Hearings begin in Carlos Ghosn's $1 billion lawsuit against Nissan
The National - Sep 20
Judicial hearings on the $1 billion lawsuit that Carlos Ghosn has filed against Nissan, the auto company he used to head, have begun, with lawyers from both sides meeting the judge charged with overseeing the case in Beirut.
Land prices in Japan up for 2nd year
NHK - Sep 20
Average land prices in Japan have risen for a second straight year. Reinvigorated social and economic activity spurred by easing pandemic concern drove the increase.
SoftBank Group to gain $5.12 billion proceeds from Arm IPO
Kyodo - Sep 20
SoftBank Group Corp said Tuesday that it will receive $5.12 billion in proceeds from the initial public offering of Arm Holdings Plc, a British chip designer under the Japanese conglomerate, by the end of September.
China's imports of Japanese seafood drop by 67% in August
NHK - Sep 19
China's imports of Japanese seafood fell by two-thirds in August from the same month last year, as Beijing halted all such imports following the release of treated and diluted water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Insanely evil Japanese company implodes overnight
Japanalysis - Sep 19
What happens when an egotistical trust fund baby becomes Vice President of his dad's $1B company? Watch and find out. BIG MOTOR!
Bank of Japan unlikely to start tightening policy this year, ANZ says
Bloomberg - Sep 19
Richard Yetsenga, chief economist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., discusses policies of central banks including the People's Bank of China and the Bank of Japan.
The mood in Japan has changed: Daiwa Securities's Tashiro
Bloomberg - Sep 18
The mood in Japan has changed and the deflationary times we’ve experienced for so long that people are more optimistic than before.”
Japan's dairy farming isn't faring well
East Asia Forum - Sep 16
Japan's dairy farmers are facing a tough financial situation. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), the number of dairy farmers in the country declined by 5.3 per cent - faster than the average rate of 4 per cent - over the past 10 years.
SoftBank's Arm soars nearly 25% in market debut to $65 billion valuation
Reuters - Sep 15
Shares in SoftBank's Arm Holdings (ARM.O) soared almost 25% above their offer price in their Nasdaq debut on Thursday, valuing the British chip designer at $65 billion in its return to the public markets after seven years.
Mazda takes pre-orders in Japan for MX-30 with rotary engine
NHK - Sep 15
Mazda Motor has started taking orders from its customers in Japan of a plug-in hybrid version of the MX-30, which uses a rotary engine.
Seven-Eleven phases out toothpicks
News On Japan - Sep 13
Convenience store giant Seven-Eleven has removed toothpicks from its disposable chopstick wrappers.
