Market Opportunities & Business Tips

How Much Does Corporate Governance Matter in Japan?

September 2006 -- One aspect of Japan's new Corporation Law seeks to strengthen corporate governance in Japan. But to investors, how much does corporate governance matter?

The Skinny on Triangular Mergers in Japan

September 2006 – Next May, foreign-affiliated companies in Japan will be allowed to engage in triangular mergers—that is, using shares of their parent companies to engage in mergers and acquisitions of...

New Corporation Law to Grow Market for Professional Services, Improve Landscape for Investors

September 2006 – The reforms to Japan's Corporate Laws that went into effect this past May are expected to increase demand for professional services, such as cross-border legal, accounting, consulting and proxy voting services, while providing...

Foreign firms find revenue streams responding to changes in Japan's financial sector

June 2006 -- Over the last decade, a number of changes in Japan's financial sector have led a stream of foreign companies to take their businesses to Japan or expand upon existing Japan operations...

Japan is the world’s most concentrated source of revenue for luxury brands

May 2006 – No other country in the world is as concentrated a source of revenue for so many luxury brands as Japan. Here, a population not even half as large as that of the United States consumes an incredible...

Starbucks’ green tea success with Japanese consumers leads to worldwide popularity

April 2006 -- In an exclusive interview with JETRO, Christine Day, president of the Asia-Pacific region for Starbucks Coffee Company, and Martin Coles, president of Starbucks Coffee International, shared about the...

Retail

Valued at over 110 trillion yen in 2003, Japan's retail market is the second largest in the world with sales second only to those of the United States when compared to...

Spotlight Interview: John Kakinuki on the progress of Japan's intellectual property rights system

December 2005 -- John Kakinuki, partner at Baker & McKenzie in Tokyo, spoke to JETRO about the significant progress Japan has made in the last ten years in protecting the intellectual property rights (IPR) of...

U.S. law firms anticipate growing demand for their services in Japan

December 2005 -- The latest amendment to the Foreign Lawyers Law took effect this past April, allowing foreign and Japanese law firms to form official partnerships and practice in a more integrated way. As a result, more Japanese firms...

Gracenote - Hitting the Right Note in Japan

The explosive growth in popularity of digital media is opening up new opportunities for synergy and collaboration between American and Japanese technology companies. One company that’s...