1. Fuji TV has announced the resignations of President Minato Koichi and Chairman Kanoh Shuji. The Japanese broadcaster has been implicated in a major scandal involving TV personality Nakai Masahiro. The scandal surfaced last month when weekly magazines reported that a Fuji TV employee was involved in trouble that occurred between Nakai and a woman. Nakai was a member of the now-disbanded pop idol group SMAP.
2. Japan department store sales exceeded pre-pandemic levels for the first time last year, helped by demand from a surge in overseas visitors. The Japan Department Stores Association says total sales for 2024 came in at more than 5.7 trillion yen, or about 37 billion dollars. That’s up 6.8 percent from the previous year in yen terms. It also exceeds the pre-COVID 2019 level by 3.6 percent.
3. An NHK survey shows a majority of major companies in Japan expect moderate growth in the economy in 2025. They cite a likely recovery in consumer spending on the back of wage increases. NHK conducted the survey of 100 businesses in December and January, with 95 responding. Most of those expecting growth pint to spending by individuals. This is based on the belief that spring wage talks between unions and companies will result in higher salaries, as they did last year.
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