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July 12, 2026
 

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SoftBank said to consider buying stake in retailer Seven & i
BUSINESS / Companies
SoftBank said to consider buying stake in retailer Seven & i
The deal with PayPay would unite Japan’s dominant payments operator with its biggest convenience store operator.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mizuho targets South Korea, India hires to join top dealmaking ranks
The bank aims to become Asia’s top investment bank in as soon as five years, mainly by strengthening its equity underwriting and M&A advisory operations.
BUSINESS / Companies
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion.
Fully sealed units are stacked on top of each other at Plantx's vertical-farming facility in Tokyo's Koto Ward on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 9, 2026
World’s first fully sealed vertical-farming facility opens in Tokyo
At Plantx’s facility, light, air and water are controlled in each unit allowing the system to tailor the nutritional values and sugar content of agricultural products.
The Burj Khalifa and downtown skyline in Dubai in 2021. After a yearslong boom, UAE property markets are showing signs of strain and analysts have flagged risks to expatriate inflows and tourism-linked demand if tensions persist.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 9, 2026
Gulf-based firms set to reveal toll of Iran war in quarterly earnings
By Hadeel Al Sayegh and Federico Maccioni
The fortunes of regional economies largely depend on how reliant they are on the Strait of Hormuz that provides the only sea access to the Gulf.
Since their listing in 2024, Kioxia’s shares have surged on runaway demand for AI memory chips.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 9, 2026
Bain Capital exits Kioxia after chip deal yields big returns
By Shery Ahn and Russell Ward
A global spending spree on AI catapulted Kioxia’s shares more than 4,800% from their debut, transforming the chipmaker into one of Japan’s most valuable companies.
Rapidus plans to sell its advanced 2-nanometer chips at around the same price as those already mass-produced by TSMC, the world's largest chip foundry.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 9, 2026
Rapidus to match TSMC on 2-nanometer chip pricing, Japan firm’s president says
The Taiwanese maker’s chips are expected to be sold at around ¥3 million to ¥3.5 million per silicon wafer.
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 8, 2026
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
By Taro Fuse and Taiga Uranaka
Zentoshin, an Osaka-based credit card payment processor, filed for bankruptcy on Monday.
Human resources platform operator SmartHR had aimed for a valuation of about $1 billion and is working with banks including Daiwa Securities Group, Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley, sources have said.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 8, 2026
KKR-Backed SmartHR is said to delay Tokyo IPO beyond this year
By Yasutaka Tamura and Julia Fioretti
Sources have said timing and valuation could change due to investors’ concerns over the disruptive impacts of the artificial intelligence boom on the software-as-a-service sector.
A fire truck on burnt woodland following a wildfire in Fontjoncouse, France, in August last year
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 8, 2026
Private equity plays heat detective as climate analytics boom
By Ishika Mookerjee
Frequent record-breaking weather events are creating new threats to earnings, asset valuations and exit outcomes for portfolio companies of the world’s largest funds.

China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Sompo looks beyond insurance to focus on well-being
Sompo looks beyond insurance to focus on well-being

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