Used Louis Vuitton bags propel pawn-shop startup to IPO

Shares of SOU opened for trading in Tokyo Thursday at 4,100 yen a share, 24 percent higher than the IPO price of 3,300 yen. Japan’s resale market for luxury brand goods is worth almost 200 billion yen, according to a government report. Yahoo Japan Corp ... ( read original story ...)

Used Louis Vuitton Bags Push Japan Pawn-Shop Startup to IPO

Shares of SOU opened for trading in Tokyo Thursday at 4,100 yen a share, 24 percent higher than the IPO price of 3,300 yen. Japan’s resale market for luxury brand goods is worth almost 200 billion yen, according to a government report. Yahoo Japan Corp ... ( read original story ...)

‘Made in Japan’ takes a bruising from recent scandals

Recent scandals have dealt a serious blow to Japan's reputation for quality. Repairing that reputation will take not only cooperation between management and workers, but also a new way of thinking about quality among both companies and customers. ( read original story ...)

Antitrust watchdog investigates Amazon Japan

The regulator intends to clarify the details of the payment procedures. Amazon Japan said it is "fully cooperating" with the investigation. In February, Nikkei reported that Amazon Japan was seeking payments from its suppliers to cover the cost of sales ... ( read original story ...)

Nikkei rises in choppy trade; pension fund buying seen

TOKYO, March 22 (Reuters) - Japan’s Nikkei share average rose on Thursday morning in choppy trade despite the yen’s rise, with traders seeing pension funds and retail investors scooping up recently battered stocks with attractive valuations. ( read original story ...)

Japan gets its way at G20 on warning against recent market rout

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Japan’s calls to add a warning against recent market volatility were reflected in the G20 finance leaders’ communique, its vice finance minister said in a sign of Tokyo’s concern over the risk of another yen spike that could ... ( read original story ...)

WeWork puts in overtime to expand Japanese operations

"We are examining opportunities in other large cities in Japan, including Osaka, Yokohama and Fukuoka," said Takahashi in an interview with the Nikkei Asian Review. Unlike other parts of Asia where the rising numbers of startups and entrepreneurs are ... ( read original story ...)

Japan is 2 years away from a solar power revolution

In developing the cells, Panasonic and Sekisui Chemical received help from the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), which is affiliated with Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Solar power generation has grown ... ( read original story ...)

Japan’s Denso to pour $282m into OLED maker

TOKYO -- Japanese autoparts maker Denso is investing 30 billion yen ($282 million) in JOLED, a spinoff of Sony's and Panasonic's display businesses, hoping to catch up with the South Korean competition in automotive panels. Denso will take a roughly 15% ... ( read original story ...)

Japan to fuel space startups with nearly $1bn funding pool

TOKYO -- Japan aims to speed space startups toward the final frontier by offering monetary aid from a pool of 100 billion yen ($940 million), as well as creating a human resource hub and weighing a legal path for commercial development on the moon. ( read original story ...)

Japan Tourism Corporation to launch IPO in South Korea in April

JAPAN/SOUTH KOREA. Travel retailer Japan Tourism Corporation (JTC) has announced that its shares will be listed on South Korea’s KOSDAQ market in early April, according to Yonhap News Agency. The Beppu, Japan-headquartered company received approval from ... ( read original story ...)

Japan logs goods trade surplus of 3.4 billion yen in February

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan posted a goods trade surplus of 3.41 billion yen ($32.1 million) in February amid continued strength in exports, but rising energy imports weighed on the black ink, government data showed Monday. The trade surplus came as exports ... ( read original story ...)

Japan-led Turkish nuclear plant project mired in cost overruns

TOKYO -- A Japan-led nuclear power plant project in Turkey looks to cost more than twice as much as initially projected, highlighting challenges for Tokyo's push to export Japanese infrastructure. The Japanese and Turkish governments agreed on the public ... ( read original story ...)