Latest news with #Tamura
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Potty wars! Japan's popular toilet makers set aim on a new target...the American bottom
A popular Japanese bidet company has its sights set on the U.S. bottom. Toto, which makes the Washlet – or bidet – has seen a dramatic increase in popularity of its products in America, all thanks to social media, The New York Times noted. When the company launched its new kind of toilet seat in the 1980s featuring a small wand that sprays water, the innovation received a cold reception overseas in America. Americans, however, have more recently warmed to the idea of the Washlet, in part, because of the Covid-19 pandemic. At a time when everyone was panic-buying and toilet paper was a hot commodity, Americans in need turned to Toto's Washlet, according to the report. The company's profits in America have grown more than eightfold over the past five years, and they hope to keep the momentum, the company's president, Shinya Tamura, told the Times. 'I could have never imagined how popular Washlets would become overseas,' Tamura said, noting that the product took a moment to become popular in Japan, too. When the company first brought its Washlets to America in 1989, it was tough to advertise, Tamura said, recalling immense backlash over a 2007 Times Square billboard displaying a row of naked backsides. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Toto mainly sold Washlets through word-of-mouth marketing. The company's annual sales in America were below $300 million in the late 2010s, less than half of what it made in China at the same time. An industry report last year also showed that more than two in five renovating homeowners in the U.S. were choosing to install specialty features, such bidets - which shoot water up a person's backside to clean instead of using traditional toilet paper. The product was modeled after a bidet-like device used for medical purposes in the U.S. in the 1960s. When launched in Japan in 1980, it had washing and drying functions, as well as a heated seat. However, over the years, more features have been added, such as deodorizing and automatic flushes. Now, the company has been left scrambling in response to President Donald Trump's tariffs, Tamura told the Times in an interview published Thursday. Toto manufactures most of the bidets it sells in the U.S. in Thailand and Malaysia, countries Trump threatened to hit with additional tariffs before a U.S. trade court struck down most of his levies on Wednesday. However, if the tariffs are imposed, Toto would likely have to raise its prices – at least for American customers, Tamura said. 'Even with tariffs, the United States will be the biggest growth market for us,' Tamura said. The company hopes to more than double its Washlet sales in the U.S. by the end of 2027. Right now, similar style bidets only account for about 2.5 percent of American toilets, according to the report. Another goal for Tamura is to win over New Yorkers. He told the Times: 'As revenge, I kind of want to try Times Square again.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Tokyo Reported
17-05-2025
- Tokyo Reported
Brazilian pair suspected in theft of 60 luxury vehicles
GUNMA (TR) – Law enforcement has arrested two Brazilian nationals who are suspected in the theft of dozens of luxury vehicles in the Kanto region dating back to last year, reports the Sankei Shimbun (May 14). At around midnight on June 24 last year, Mitsuharu Marcelo Tamura, 52, and Vinicius Himuro, 29, are suspected of working together to steal a Toyota Land Cruiser worth about 5 million yen from a parking lot in Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture. Both suspects live in Gunma. Upon his arrest on suspicion of theft on Wednesday, Tamura declined to comment. However, Himuro admitted to the charges. 'Tamura took the stolen car,' he said. Mitsuharu Marcelo Tamura (X) 'Used some kind of machine' Tokyo Metropolitan Police and Gunma Prefectural Police are conducting a joint investigation. According to police, Tamura was the main perpetrator. Meanwhile, Himuro drove to the crime scene and kept watch. The involvement of the two men emerged after an examination of security camera footage and other sources. Himuro stated that he 'used some kind of machine' to carry out the crime. Police suspect it was a so-called 'CAN Invader' (Controller Area Network). The palm-size device allows thieves to bypass the latest anti-theft technology. Police believe Tamura is the leader of a crime ring that was behind the theft of approximately 60 luxury vehicles in Tokyo and seven prefectures, mainly in Kanto, since April last year. The value of the stolen vehicles totals around 210 million yen, police said. The arrest of Himuro is his first. However, Tamura has been accused in at least two other cases, including the theft of a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado worth approximately 4 million yen from a parking lot in Tochigi City, Tochigi Prefecture on January 7 of this year.
Japan Today
07-05-2025
- Japan Today
Woman gets suspended sentence for helping daughter hide severed head
A Japanese court on Wednesday sentenced a woman to 14 months in prison, suspended for three years, for helping her daughter hide the head of a man, who was allegedly murdered and decapitated in Sapporo in 2023. Hiroko Tamura, 62, had pleaded not guilty to aiding in the abandonment of the corpse and allowing her daughter to film an act of desecration during her trial at the Sapporo District Court. Her daughter Runa faces murder and other charges for allegedly killing and beheading the man. In handing down the ruling, Presiding Judge Shiro Watanabe said Tamura's role was not insignificant, given that she was in a position where she was able to stop her daughter's actions. But the judge granted Tamura a suspended sentence, as her involvement "was limited to allowing the head to be hidden after it had already been brought home." Runa allegedly stabbed the 62-year-old man in the neck at a hotel in the Susukino entertainment district sometime between July 1 and 2 in 2023, then beheaded him and took the head home in a suitcase. Prosecutors demanded an 18-month prison term for Tamura, saying she played a significant role in the crime by providing a place to hide the head and abetting her daughter in concealing and damaging it. According to the ruling, Tamura allowed Runa to hide the victim's head at their home between July 3 and 24 and consented to her daughter filming an act of desecration, in which she further damaged the head. Tamura's defense counsel had argued that she was not legally liable for Runa's actions, saying the abandonment of the body had been completed when the daughter brought the head home. An appeal was filed following Wednesday's ruling. Tamura's husband Osamu, a 61-year-old psychiatrist, was sentenced in March to 16 months in prison, suspended for four years, for aiding his daughter in the abandonment and desecration of the head. © KYODO
Kyodo News
07-05-2025
- Kyodo News
Woman gets suspended term for aiding daughter hide severed head
KYODO NEWS - 1 hour ago - 19:39 | All, Japan A Japanese court on Wednesday sentenced a woman to 14 months in prison, suspended for three years, for helping her daughter hide the head of a man, who was allegedly murdered and decapitated in Sapporo in 2023. Hiroko Tamura, 62, had pleaded not guilty to aiding in the abandonment of the corpse and allowing her daughter to film an act of desecration during her trial at the Sapporo District Court. Her daughter Runa faces murder and other charges for allegedly killing and beheading the man. In handing down the ruling, Presiding Judge Shiro Watanabe said Tamura's role was not insignificant, given that she was in a position where she was able to stop her daughter's actions. But the judge granted Tamura a suspended sentence, as her involvement "was limited to allowing the head to be hidden after it had already been brought home." Runa allegedly stabbed the 62-year-old man in the neck at a hotel in the Susukino entertainment district sometime between July 1 and 2 in 2023, then beheaded him and took the head home in a suitcase. Prosecutors demanded an 18-month prison term for Tamura, saying she played a significant role in the crime by providing a place to hide the head and abetting her daughter in concealing and damaging it. According to the ruling, Tamura allowed Runa to hide the victim's head at their home between July 3 and 24 and consented to her daughter filming an act of desecration, in which she further damaged the head. Tamura's defense counsel had argued that she was not legally liable for Runa's actions, saying the abandonment of the body had been completed when the daughter brought the head home. An appeal was filed following Wednesday's ruling. Tamura's husband Osamu, a 61-year-old psychiatrist, was sentenced in March to 16 months in prison, suspended for four years, for aiding his daughter in the abandonment and desecration of the head. Related coverage: Father cleared of aiding daughter in Sapporo beheading murder Father pleads not guilty to aiding daughter over Sapporo beheading Woman, parents indicted over Sapporo hotel beheading murder
Kyodo News
07-05-2025
- Kyodo News
Woman gets suspended term for aiding daughter hide severed head
KYODO NEWS - 34 minutes ago - 19:39 | All, Japan A Japanese court on Wednesday sentenced a woman to 14 months in prison, suspended for three years, for helping her daughter hide the head of a man, who was allegedly murdered and decapitated in Sapporo in 2023. Hiroko Tamura, 62, had pleaded not guilty to aiding in the abandonment of the corpse and allowing her daughter to film an act of desecration during her trial at the Sapporo District Court. Her daughter Runa faces murder and other charges for allegedly killing and beheading the man. In handing down the ruling, Presiding Judge Shiro Watanabe said Tamura's role was not insignificant, given that she was in a position where she was able to stop her daughter's actions. But the judge granted Tamura a suspended sentence, as her involvement "was limited to allowing the head to be hidden after it had already been brought home." Runa allegedly stabbed the 62-year-old man in the neck at a hotel in the Susukino entertainment district sometime between July 1 and 2 in 2023, then beheaded him and took the head home in a suitcase. Prosecutors demanded an 18-month prison term for Tamura, saying she played a significant role in the crime by providing a place to hide the head and abetting her daughter in concealing and damaging it. According to the ruling, Tamura allowed Runa to hide the victim's head at their home between July 3 and 24 and consented to her daughter filming an act of desecration, in which she further damaged the head. Tamura's defense counsel had argued that she was not legally liable for Runa's actions, saying the abandonment of the body had been completed when the daughter brought the head home. An appeal was filed following Wednesday's ruling. Tamura's husband Osamu, a 61-year-old psychiatrist, was sentenced in March to 16 months in prison, suspended for four years, for aiding his daughter in the abandonment and desecration of the head. Related coverage: Father cleared of aiding daughter in Sapporo beheading murder Father pleads not guilty to aiding daughter over Sapporo beheading Woman, parents indicted over Sapporo hotel beheading murder
