
ASICS to bring Onitsuka Tiger brand back to US in 2027
MUNEMASA HORIO
KOBE, Japan -- Japanese sporting goods maker ASICS plans to bring its luxury brand Onitsuka Tiger back to North America as early as 2027 in light of expanding profits in Asia and Europe, the company announced Monday.
ASICS previously operated Onitsuka Tiger stores in the U.S. but closed them in 2023. Currently, North America sales are handled through cross-border e-commerce from Japan.

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Yomiuri Shimbun
24 minutes ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan PM Ishiba says Japan, U.S. Cannot Keep Going Along Parallel Lines Forever on Tariffs
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said, '[Japan and the United States] cannot keep going along parallel lines forever' on tariff negotiations, at a press conference in Tokyo on Monday. 'I said, 'investment rather than tariffs,' and we are making various efforts to gain understanding [from the U.S.],' he added. As the Aug. 1 deadline for the U.S. imposing its 25% 'reciprocal tariff' on Japanese imports is approaching, economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa plans to visit the United States as early as this week for an eighth round of tariff negotiations.


Japan Today
an hour ago
- Japan Today
Ishiba vows to stay on as PM after bruising election defeat
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a press conference at the headquarters of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Tokyo on Monday. By John Geddie and Tim Kelly Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba vowed to remain in office on Monday after his ruling coalition suffered a bruising defeat in upper house elections, prompting some of his own party to deliberate his future as the opposition weighed a no-confidence motion. The embattled premier told a news conference he would remain in office to oversee tariff talks with the United States and other pressing matters such as rising consumer prices that are straining the world's fourth largest economy. Analysts say his days may be numbered, having also lost control of the more powerful lower house in elections last year and shedding votes on Sunday to opposition parties pledging to cut taxes and tighten immigration policies. "The political situation has become fluid and could lead to a leadership change or the reshuffling of the coalition in coming months, but Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will likely stay to complete the tariff negotiations with the U.S. for now," said Oxford Economics' lead Japan economist Norihiro Yamaguchi. Facing a voter backlash over rising consumer prices, investors fear his administration will now be more beholden to opposition parties advocating for tax cuts and welfare spending that the world's most indebted country can ill afford. Markets in Japan were closed for a holiday on Monday, although the yen strengthened and Nikkei futures rose slightly, as the election results appeared to be priced in. Yields on Japanese government bonds sold off sharply ahead of the ballot as polls showed the ruling coalition - which had been calling for fiscal restraint - was likely to lose its majority in the upper house. Adding to the economic anxiety, Ishiba's lack of progress in averting tariffs set to be imposed by its biggest trading partner, the United States, on August 1 appears to have frustrated some voters. "Had the ruling party resolved even one of these issues, it (its approval rate) would have gone up, but we didn't feel anything and it seems like the U.S. would continue to push us around," Hideaki Matsuda, a 60-year-old company manager, said outside Tokyo's bustling Shinjuku station on Monday morning. Japan's chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa departed for trade talks in Washington on Monday morning, his eighth visit in three months. POPULIST POLITICS Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has ruled Japan for most of its post-war history, and coalition partner Komeito won 47 seats, short of the 50 seats it needed to ensure a majority in the 248-seat upper chamber in an election where half the seats were up for grabs. The leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party (CDPJ), Yoshihiko Noda, said on Sunday he is considering submitting a vote of non-confidence in the Ishiba administration as the result showed it did not have voters' trust. The CDPJ returned 22 seats in the ballot, finishing second. Some senior LDP lawmakers were also quietly voicing doubts over whether Ishiba should stay, according to local media reports on Monday. Among them was former Prime Minister Taro Aso, leader of a powerful faction within the ruling party, who said he "couldn't accept" Ishiba staying on, Japan's TV Asahi reported. Senior party members including Aso met on Sunday evening to discuss whether Ishiba should resign, Sankei newspaper reported. The far-right Sanseito party clocked the biggest gains of the night, adding 14 seats to one elected previously. © Thomson Reuters 2025.


Japan Today
an hour ago
- Japan Today
Opposition parties to press Ishiba on consumption tax cut
Shigeru Ishiba, Japan's Prime Minister and president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), walks before a board with few red paper roses showing elected candidate at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo, Sunday, July 20, 2025. (Franck Robichon, Pool Photo via AP) Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba remains opposed to a consumption tax cut, but opposition parties are expected to intensify calls for such measures after gaining more seats in Sunday's House of Councillors election. Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, suffered a major setback in the upper house election, as the ruling bloc proposed cash handouts to address inflation as a key pillar of its campaign pledges. Opposition forces have pledged to reduce or abolish the consumption tax, currently set at 10 percent for most goods and services and 8 percent for food and beverages. With households continuing to struggle with rising prices for rice and daily necessities, how to tackle inflation emerged as the central issue in the upper house race. The election results indicated voter support for opposition parties' proposals, with a Kyodo News exit poll showing that 72 percent of respondents favored a consumption tax cut, compared with 22 percent who preferred cash payouts. Speaking on a television program after the polls closed, Ishiba reiterated that the consumption tax is a key source of revenue for medical and other social security programs, adding, "What will happen if the state's finances deteriorate further?" "We struggled to show the public that we were proposing policies for the people, not for the sake of our political parties," he said. However, the ruling coalition, which already lost its majority in the House of Representatives, or lower chamber, in the October election, may now have to pay greater attention to opposition demands to ensure the smooth passage of bills, potentially prompting debates over the consumption tax and government spending. In the run-up to the election, financial markets reacted to projections of a ruling bloc setback, amid concerns that opposition gains could lead to looser fiscal policy and further worsen Japan's already poor fiscal health. Long-term Japanese government bond yields are on the rise on concerns over potential increases in fiscal spending, with the benchmark 10-year yield rising to 1.595 percent on July 17, the highest level since 2008. Japan's combined central and local government debt is projected to reach 1,330 trillion yen ($9 trillion) by the end of March next year, equivalent to 211 percent of the country's gross domestic product, according to the Finance Ministry. The election outcome may also complicate the Bank of Japan's efforts to normalize its monetary policy after ending its unorthodox monetary easing framework, economists say. The central bank may be forced to keep interest rates on hold if Ishiba is replaced by a successor who favors aggressive monetary easing, economists say. © KYODO