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August 11, 2026
 

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Mari Kiyohara
Kei Uruma, chief executive officer of Mitsubishi Electric, says his firm aims to reach a deal by September with rivals Toshiba and Rohm to combine their power semiconductor operations.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 19, 2026
Mitsubishi Electric eyes power-chip merger with Rohm and Toshiba
The move would consolidate three of the world¡¯s top suppliers of a growing segment of the electronics supply chain.
Hironobu Tamba, president of Noetra
BUSINESS
Jul 16, 2026
Japan to buy Nvidia Rubin chips to build an AI for robots
The Noetra initiative is part of a series of efforts by the government to lower its reliance on foreign technology and bolster national security.
Micron Technology¡¯s factory in Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 4, 2026
Micron breaks ground on $9 billion western Japan plant expansion
The U.S. company is building the facility to make chips such as high-bandwidth memory crucial for AI processors.
Hiroo Ota (center left), CEO of Kioxia Holdings, and others unveil Kioxia's new 3D flash memory chip at its Kitakami plant in Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture, on Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 3, 2026
Kioxia ships samples of new flash memory for AI data centers
The Tokyo-based chipmaker¡¯s latest high-density 3D flash memory chips aim to better meet AI data center needs with better efficiency and transmission speeds.
Panasonic Holdings CEO Yuki Kusumi has been revamping the business to cut costs and take advantage of global growth areas.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 1, 2026
Panasonic targets further AI growth to build on record valuation
The Japanese electronics conglomerate is attracting renewed investor attention as a beneficiary of the artificial-intelligence boom.
Kioxia Holdings has grown into Â鶹´«Ã½ most valuable company this year thanks to an AI-fueled boom for memory products.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 25, 2026
Kioxia plans new U.S. listing in spring and stock split at home
The supplier of NAND storage aims to take advantage of runaway demand for exposure to AI-related semiconductor stocks.
Nidec CEO Mitsuya Kishida faced a barrage of questions from investors about Nidec¡¯s survival during the firm's general shareholders meeting on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 18, 2026
Nidec investors vent frustrations over scandal at annual meeting
CEO Mitsuya Kishida faced a barrage of questions about Nidec¡¯s survival as well as deep skepticism about his plan to turn the business around.
Fujikura CEO Naoki Okada says the company is fielding orders from almost all U.S. hyperscalers for fiber-optic cables.
BUSINESS
Jun 9, 2026
Fujikura is raising prices on data center cables to beat outlook
The company, whose disappointing forecast triggered a selloff of Japanese tech stocks last month, is fielding orders from almost all U.S. hyperscalers for fiber-optic cables.
Toto will prepare a production environment where "we can respond to demand properly,¡± Chief Technology Officer Ryosuke Hayashi said in an interview.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 3, 2026
Toilet-maker Toto hikes capital expenditures to meet AI demand for its ceramics
The company is capitalizing on an unexpected surge in demand from chip gear makers seeking ceramics able to withstand dirt particles, corrosive materials and high temperatures.
Nidec CEO Mitsuya Kishida says the company will return to dealmaking once it recovers from scandals.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 25, 2026
Nidec boss hints at more M&A deals once scandals abate
CEO Mitsuya Kishida has underlined regaining trust as the Kyoto-based electric motor manufacturer¡¯s top priority.
Countries including Japan see the ability to control chips, data centers and AI models as directly related to national resilience in a landscape dominated by U.S. and Chinese technology.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 25, 2026
Sakura Internet eyes more spending to meet AI data center demand
The data center operator is eyeing an allocation of as much as ?20 billion to ?30 billion ($125 million to $190 million) this fiscal year, founder and CEO Kunihiro Tanaka has said.
A Kioxia semiconductor manufacturing plant in Japan
BUSINESS / Companies
May 15, 2026
Kioxia prepares U.S. shares after riding AI boom to big profit
The Tokyo-based firm¡¯s meteoric rise encapsulates the booming demand for memory as hyperscalers rush to build AI infrastructure.
TDK CEO Noboru Saito says the firm is prepared to add investments to ride the global boom in generative artificial intelligence.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2026
TDK ready to step up investment to ride AI wave
CEO Noboru Saito sees the surge of AI applications and services escalating the need for denser and more advanced energy storage.
Sony Group said Friday it expects operating profit to rise about 11% to ?1.6 trillion for the year through March 2027, broadly in line with market expectations.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 8, 2026
Sony announces $3 billion buyback as memory prices take toll
Sony¡¯s shares are down 22% this year as escalating component costs erode margins across the consumer electronics industry.
Industry minister Ryosei Akazawa speaks during the opening of a Rapidus chip analysis factory in Chitose, Hokkaido, on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 11, 2026
Japan bets ?632 billion to propel startup Rapidus into global AI chip race
The move ramps up financial support for a signature project widely regarded as a long shot.
Among older Japanese people who die, a rising number are unmarried and without close relatives.
JAPAN
Dec 8, 2025
Â鶹´«Ã½ isolated elderly leave record sums to government
In recent years, the aging population has seen soaring numbers of deaths and more people reach the end of their lives with no immediate family.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping. A high-level Japanese delegation will deliver a letter from Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to Xi this week.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 22, 2025
Ishiba pens letter to Xi as Japan aims to avoid trade crossfire
The gesture highlights Â鶹´«Ã½ desire to balance managing its relationships with China, its largest trading partner, and with the U.S., its sole formal security ally.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang answers questions from reporters after his meeting with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2025
Nvidia CEO lobbies Japan to generate more power to fuel AI
The two discussed how Japan is particularly well-positioned to develop AI, given its leadership in robotics and industrial manufacturing.
Sanrio, the owner of the Hello Kitty brand that operates two indoor theme parks, has enjoyed a 93% gain in its stock this year, as the ongoing heat and heavy rain keep visitors away from outdoor entertainment.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 4, 2024
Hello Kitty stock soars 93% as Tokyo heat sends tourists indoors
Ongoing heat and heavy rain have been key factors in keeping visitors away from outdoor entertainment facilities.
An electronic ticker at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo earlier this month
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2024
Sticky money stays in Japan while short-term players dump stocks
Foreign investors sold $5.28 billion in Japanese equities, cash and futures combined in the first week of August.
America¡¯s cyberforces grapple with cluster of deaths by suicide
The U.S. Cyber Command building (center) stands on the National Security Agency campus at Fort Meade, Maryland.
Many Indonesians named after Japanese anime characters
Some people in Indonesia are named Doraemon, the name of a lead character of the blockbuster anime series with the same title.
Yasukuni Shrine introduces ban on military attire and cosplay
People gather in front of thousands of lanterns on display at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on July 15 during the Mitama Matsuri, one of the capital's largest summer o-Bon festivals.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
People and birds find relief from the sun in Tokyo's Nakano Ward earlier this month. While experts agree that urban greening is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change, trees are becoming even more scarce in Japanese cities.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it's an ingredient.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
J. League enters new era as league kicks off first fall-spring campaign
Players from each J. League club pose during a kickoff event on Monday ahead of the start of the 2026-27 campaign.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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