Business
Custom Media launches new free service for SMEs and entrepreneurs
Custom Media has launched Connect, a new dedicated digital marketplace offering SMEs, entrepreneurs, independent businesses and other local companies in Japan much-needed free visibility and valuable promotion to audiences that they may not have been able to connect with previously to help all of us get through this uncharted economy.… Read
Virus breaks the mold for telework in office-bound Japan
The longstanding stereotype of Japan's office-bound "salaryman" is being tested as companies cautiously embrace working from home in a bid to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Japan's government has for years been trying to encourage firms to implement "flexible working patterns", hoping that less demanding office hours will help… Read
Companies cancel welcome ceremonies for new recruits
Sony Corp and other Japanese companies on Wednesday canceled ceremonies that traditionally welcome new job recruits, customarily held April 1. Last week, the Japanese electronics and entertainment company ordered all of its 20,000 employees in Japan to work from home, including the new hires. Sony Chief Executive Kenichiro Yoshida sent… Read
Japan business sentiment negative for first time since 2013: survey
Confidence among Japan's biggest manufacturers has plunged into negative territory for the first time in seven years, a key survey showed Wednesday as the coronavirus pandemic hits demand and disrupts production. The Bank of Japan's March Tankan business survey -- a quarterly poll of about 10,000 companies -- showed a… Read
Virus slump expected to rival big recessions in history
The coronavirus-related recessions around the world are going to be bad — and for some of the world's major industrial nations the worst that anyone alive has experienced, according to analysts at Deutsche Bank. In a wide-ranging report using data that in parts goes back 800 years, Jim Reid and… Read
China March factory activity unexpectedly expands
Factory activity in China unexpectedly expanded in March after contracting sharply to a record low, but the rapid global spread of the coronavirus is expected to keep businesses and the overall economy under heavy pressure as foreign demand slumps. China's official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 52 in March… Read
Could coronavirus bailouts make economies greener?
Two weeks into a growing coronavirus outbreak, Lucy Vinis, the mayor of the Oregon city of Eugene, has plenty to worry about - from how to protect the community's homeless population to how to keep services functioning in the face of uncertainty. COVID-19, she said, feels like a slow, invisible… Read
Japan's Feb jobless rate flat at 2.4%; virus impact yet to appear in data
Japan's unemployment rate in February was unchanged from the previous month at 2.4 percent, remaining low due to the country's labor shortage, with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic yet to appear in the data, government figures showed Tuesday. Separate data from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare… Read
Industrial output in Japan edges up in February with supply disrupted by virus
Japan's industrial output in February edged up 0.4 percent from the previous month as a recovery from a powerful typhoon last year was undermined by supply chain disruptions caused by the novel coronavirus, government data showed Tuesday. The seasonally adjusted index of production at factories and mines stood at 100.2… Read
Sony Bank launches new English online banking service
Sony Bank Incorporated on Monday announced the launch of a new English-language online banking service, aiming to provide foreign residents in Japan with a seamless, hassle-free way to open a bank account and conduct everyday banking in English. As of June 2019 (1), the number of foreign residents in Japan… Read
