Japan's technology giants faced down disaster – but the new enemy is doubt - The Guardian

The Guardian

Japan's technology giants faced down disaster – but the new enemy is doubt The Guardian "Japanese companies cannot keep doing what they have been doing," says Hiroshi Mikitani, the founder of e-commerce giant Rakuten. His company, which is worth more than £7.6bn, is not a household name in the UK yet, although many Britons are now ... and more »

Expert lessons ahead

Geraldton Karate Academy is gearing up for international company as Japanese karate instructor Takahashi Shihan makes his way to Geraldton.

Corporate banker in Japan: 'I don't see much innovation coming out of the UK' | Joris Luyendijk

A vice-president of a major western bank in Tokyo compares the banking cultures of Japan and the west • This monologue is part of a series in which people across the financial sector speak about their working lives We are meeting in the centre of Tokyo on a Saturday in January. Casually dressed for the weekend, he is a slender man in his early 30s with a fashionable haircut. He orders pasta ...

Japan's technology giants faced down disaster – but the new enemy is doubt

Industrial recovery from the tsunami has been remarkable, but the competition from Korea's burgeoning electronics industry is becoming relentless The circuit board of skyscrapers in Tokyo's tech district glints in the winter sunshine, with the Sony Technology Centre seemingly reaching up to the sky. It stands proudly alongside the other titans of Japan Inc such as Panasonic in the Shinagawa ...

Current account surplus hits lowest level in 15 years

The current account surplus shrank to its smallest level in 15 years in 2011, largely affected by slowing exports on the stronger yen and global economic downturn amid the sovereign debt crisis in Europe, the government said Wednesday. The balance, the widest gauge of international payments by a country covering goods and services trade as well as capital investment, dropped 43.9 percent from ...