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Giappone
Governance improves at Japan Inc., but scandals show compliance remains a challenge
It’s not rare to see Japanese corporate executives bowing in apology for scandals resulting from weak governance and compliance, and then vowing to prevent a recurrence. A year after the introduction of a governance code urging companies to appoint multiple outside directors, many firms are trying to boost transparency and ...
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Giappone
New plastic resembles Japanese lacquerware; NEC says suitable for high-end cars
NEC Corp. said Wednesday it has co-developed a plastic that mimics Japanese lacquerware and may be suitable for use in luxury car interiors. NEC developed the bioplastic in collaboration with the Kyoto Institute of Technology and Yutaro Shimode, a lacquerware artist, using cellulose resin produced from non-edible plants such as ...
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Giappone
Government may tweak popular tax-free savings program to allow longer-term investments
The government is considering expanding the small-lot NISA investment program by introducing a longer-term tax break, sources said Thursday. It hopes to attrack more younger savers with the move. The Financial Services Agency intends to include the creation of such an option under the Nippon Individual Savings Accounts in the ...
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Giappone
Japan Post to sell lackluster online payments unit
Japan Post Co. plans to sell an online payments unit to information technology services firm GMO Internet Inc., sources said Thursday. Japan Post Finance Co., which offers payments services to online retailers, has struggled to win customers amid competition from rivals such as Rakuten Inc. Its clients are thought to ...
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Giappone
BOJ cornered as Japanese banks seen running out of bonds to sell
The nation’s biggest banks are running out of room to sell their government bond holdings, pushing the central bank closer to the limits of its record monetary easing. Japan Post Bank Co. and the nation’s three so-called mega-banks have almost halved their sovereign bond holdings to ¥114 trillion since March ...
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USA Giappone
Pesticide-resistant whitefly found in U.S.; crop devastation feared
A tiny, invasive whitefly that is resistant to pesticides and carries crop-devastating viruses has been found outdoors in the United States for the first time, raising concerns among fruit and vegetable growers. The Q-biotype whitefly turned up in April in the heavily manicured gardens of an affluent neighborhood in south ...
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Giappone Regno Unito
World’s largest aircraft, helium-filled airship Airlander, takes off for first time
A blimp-shaped, helium-filled airship considered the world’s largest aircraft flew for the first time Wednesday with a short but historic jaunt over an airfield in central England. Engines roaring, the 302-foot (92-meter) Airlander 10 rose slowly into the air from Cardington airfield, 45 miles (73 kilometers) north of London. A ...
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Giappone Singapore
Singapore seeks to turn labor crunch into a robot revolution
Sherine Toh says her best days at work are when none of the 600 or so staff members at Singapore’s Tung Lok Restaurants quits, though such days are rare. The Chinese restaurant group is one of the thousands of businesses struggling with a labor crunch caused by curbs on foreign ...
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Giappone
Japan’s latest fad: cosmetics that block infrared rays
Cosmetics companies are grasping at a new sales gimmick: products that block infrared rays and purportedly prevent skin damage. They cite recent research that says infrared and ultraviolet rays both cause skin aging and freckles. And consumers can’t get enough of it. Cosmetics maker Shiseido Co.’s Benefique Deep Block Essence ...
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Giappone
Ex-BOJ exec urges focusing stimulus efforts on wages not bonds
The Bank of Japan should stop its record bond purchases because the policy has failed to spur consumer prices and instead focus with the government on a wage target, according to a former central banker. While BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda’s asset purchases and negative interest rate policy have dragged down ...