Japan inflation ticks up in April as oil prices rebound

Japan's core consumer price index climbed to a two-year high in April of 0.3 percent, as costs for energy rose. Economists said the increase reported Friday was not likely to persist and that prices for imported consumer goods actually fell. Inflation has ... ( read original story ...)

Nikkei slips as yen edges up, but poised for weekly gains

Stronger yen offsets effect of record closes on Wall Street * Nikkei heavy ahead of 20,000-point level - strategist TOKYO May 26 Japan's Nikkei share average remained solidly on track for a winning week on Friday, underpinned by record closing highs on ... ( read original story ...)

Japan’s Mizuho diving into fintech

The Japanese megabank's recently installed chief digital innovation officer, Daisuke Yamada, will head the affiliate. Mizuho "is finished studying, and moving on to practical application" of fintech, President Yasuhiro Sato said. The new entity ... ( read original story ...)

Japan lender Mizuho to launch fintech venture

Daisuke Yamada, Mizuho's chief digital innovation officer, said the challenges were cultural as well as technological, as truly new business models required a break from Japanese banks' conservative, overly risk-averse attitudes. For that reason ... ( read original story ...)

Tokyo shares advance in morning tracking strong U.S. stocks

TOKYO, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo shares rose Thursday morning with market confidence boosted by the strong U.S. stocks overnight. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 106.12 points, or 0.54 percent, from Wednesday to 19,849.10. The broader Topix index of ... ( read original story ...)

Foreigners detained in Japan stage hunger strike to stay

Miyasako said in a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Tokyo. They have since recovered. Immigration officials say such people simply need to leave Japan. "The decision has been made that they are to return and so we keep talking to them ... ( read original story ...)

Sendai-based upstart taking on big Osaka appliance makers

OSAKA – Iris Ohyama, based in Sendai, is taking on Osaka Prefecture’s more established home appliance makers, including Panasonic and Sharp, in the battle for consumers’ hearts and wallets. Iris joined the home appliance market in 2009 and its ... ( read original story ...)

Nikkei edges up after yen softens, SoftBank surges

TOKYO, May 25 Japanese stocks edged up on Thursday as investors bought ... a near two-week high of 8,894 yen and contributed to a hefty 31 positive points to the Nikkei after Bloomberg reported that the company had built a $4 billion stake in Nvidia. ( read original story ...)

Nikkei, TV Tokyo, TBS, others team on video streaming

Nikkei and TV Tokyo will contribute economic news ... The partners also intend to seek content from other media companies in and outside Japan to enrich the lineup. New technologies such as artificial intelligence may be used to analyze viewing data ... ( read original story ...)

Japan’s Kajima, Obayashi branching out beyond construction

TOKYO -- Armed with growing war chests amid a construction boom, Japan's general contractors are expanding their horizons to ensure growth even after building demand slows following the 2020 Olympics here. Kajima is allocating 20 billion yen ($179 million ... ( read original story ...)

Japan’s TBS and Nikkei Head Video Platform Launch

Six of the biggest media companies in Japan are to launch a new video platform. It will be specifically targeted at smartphone users. Called Premium Platform Japan, the new venture will launch in July and begin pay-streaming services in April of next year. ( read original story ...)