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TOKYO - Armed policemen patrol streets on the way to school, education officials draw up safety maps and young students carry alarms to call for help in an emergency. A [...]

A United Kingdom Financial Services Authority investigation into alleged insider trading has resulted in the arrest in London of an employee of investment bank Mizuho International PLC. The employee has been suspended by the company and it appears that he was acting on his own.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange is looking into possible insider trading as some suspicious securities trades have come to light, particularly involving companies that have recently announced plans for fund raising.

The article discusses questions surrounding electric-car maker Telsa Motors Inc.'s plans to invest $5 billion in a new factory to produce batteries in the U.S. Southwest. Chief executive Martin Winterkorn of automobile manufacturer Volkswagen AG says his company has plenty of battery suppliers. Battery consultant Sam Jaffe of Navigan Research observes that clients he works for don't understand Tesla chief executive Elon Musk's desire for such a large factory.

The article discusses plans unveiled on February 26, 2014 by electric-car maker Tesla Motors Inc. to build a new plant costing up to $5 billion to manufacture lithium-ion batteries. Tesla said it was evaluating several sites for the factory, which could create as many as 6.500 new jobs. Tesla chief executive Elon Musk said his company would have an unidentified partner in constructing the facility. Financing would include a $1.6 billion bond issue.

The article discusses a restructuring announced by chief executive Kazuo Hirai of consumer-electronics producer Sony Corp. on February 6, 2014. Hirai said Sony would sell its Vaio personal-computer business to investment company Japan Industrial Partners Inc., and relocate its television business in a separate subsidiary. The moves will eliminate 5,000 jobs.

The article discusses rising home prices and increased real-estate activity in Japan, which some economists say could boost the nation's economy by prompting consumers to become less risk averse and more inclined to spend rather than save. Sales of new condominiums in the city of Tokyo rose 31% during an eight-month period in 2013. Helping to fuel sales is a desire among buyers to purchase new homes before a sales tax they are subject to rises in April 2014.

The article discusses price declines among ultra high-definition televisions (UHDTVs) as of January 2014. Topics include consumer demand, television production in China, consumer electronics companies such as Sony Corp., Chinese consumers, Chinese television exporting to North America, and ultra high-definition television content.

The article discusses controversy in Japan over false advertising for foods served in restaurants. On November 7, 2013 executive Yoji Honda of Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores Co. publicly apologized for shrimp and chestnuts served in his company's restaurants that did not have the provenance claimed for them. The Hotel Okura and coffeehouse chain Komeda Coffee are among other firms that have publicly acknowledged similar mistakes.

The article discusses improprieties at Japanese banking company Mizuho Bank Ltd. In September 2013 Japan's Financial Services Agency claimed Mizuho had made loans to persons who are members of criminal syndicates and ordered the bank to strengthen its operations. Mizuho chief executive Yasuhiro Sato has acknowledged the problem and apologized.

The article reports that Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis is being investigated after Japanese researchers retracted studies following allegations that the studies' data were altered to produce inaccurate results. Topics include the pledge of several Japanese hospitals to stop prescribing Novartis heart medicine Diovan, Novartis' response to the investigation, and how the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to handle the Novartis research.

The article discusses expectations among stock and currency traders in Japan that bad economic news will accompany or soon follow Friday evening broadcasts in that country by the Nippon Television Network Corp. of movies from film studio Studio Ghibli. Figures show that since January 2010, the U.S. dollar has fallen relative to the Japanese yen in 18 of 24 trading sessions that immediately followed a Ghibli film.

The article looks at economic policy and economic conditions in Japan as of May 2013, focusing on policies that have lowered the foreign exchange value of the yen currency. It notes Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has promoted monetary policies aimed at reversing the country's economic stagnation. It discusses the benefits of reducing the yen's value, including promoting exports and combating deflation.

The article discusses how the declining value of the Japanese yen against the U.S. dollar has increased the value of gold in Japan, leading to more Japanese families selling their gold objects to convert such assets into cash. It notes increased activity at Japanese gold and jewelry stores such as Goldplaza and Tanaka Kinzoku Jewelry on April 9, 2013. The price of gold trading on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange is also covered.

The article illustrates the difficulty private-equity firms encounter investing in Japanese businesses by describing KKR & Co.'s abortive effort to invest in Japanese chip producer Renesas Electronics Corp. KKR offered to invest $1.2 billion in Renesas, which eventually accepted a proposal led by fund company Innovation Network Corp. of Japan after being pressured to do so by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

The article discusses resolution of a scandal at Japanese camera maker Olympus Corp. that involved executives hiding large investment losses over the course of several years. Some foreign investors are upset with plans by consumer-electronics firm Sony Corp. to buy an 11% share of Olympus. Rather than a capital infusion, what they say Olympus needs most is new management and cost reductions. INSET: Where Are They Now / Major Players in the Olympus Scandal.

The article examines the reasons for stricter government enforcement of insider-trading policies in Japan. Topics include an investigation into Japanese stock brokers Nomura Holdings and Daiwa Securities Group's insider trading practices, why most Japanese insider trades are committed by lower-level employees rather than executives, and a case study of stock corruption at investment advising firm Japan Advisory.

The article discusses a trend among Japanese firms acquiring companies as of May 30, 2012. Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp. announced an agreement to purchase U.S. grain handler Gavilon Group LLC on May 29, 2012. Japan Tobacco Inc. offered to buy Belgian loose-leaf tobacco manufacturer Gryson NV and Japanese drug company Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. announced it would buy a Brazilian drug maker in May 2012.

The article reports that Japan's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC) raided the offices of asset-manager AIJ Investment Advisors Co., which has been accused of losing $1.3 billion in client money. The SESC claims AIJ had been generating and hiding trading losses on futures and options contracts for nearly a ten-year period beginning in April 2002, and says it will try to get a criminal complaint filed against top AIJ executives.

The article focuses on the Japanese asset-management company AIJ Investment Advisors Co. It is reported financial regulators halted the firm's operations after finding it had lost most of the $2.3 billion in pension fund assets it managed as of December 31, 2010. It is also reported that the credit ratings agency Rating & Investment Information Inc. had warned in 2009 that the firm's stable rate of return was an indication of potential fraud.

The article reports that Japanese camera maker Olympus Corp. admitted it used a series of acquisitions to conceal losses it incurred on investments dating back to the 1990s. Olympus said it was firing vice president Hisashi Mori, and that corporate auditor Hideo Yamada was considering resigning. Olympus is being investigated by both the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The article discusses the impact on tourism in Japan of an earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear-power accident that struck that nation in March, 2011. Both Japan Airlines Corp. and All Nippon Airways Co. report a decline in foreign travelers to Japan. Some observers believe coverage of the March events in foreign media has scared away tourists.

The article reports that Nikesh Arora, president of SoftBank Corp. will buy 658 million dollars worth of shares in the Japanese telecoms and internet group.

An obituary for Satoru Iwata, chief executive officer of consumer electronics company Nintendo, is presented.

The article discusses the introduction of Sony Corp.'s Walkman, aka the ZX1, in 2014, compares it to other high-quality portable audio players on the market, and explains Sony's target audience.

The article discusses the claim that more than 100 shareholders and former employees of the Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. (Takeda) in Japan have written to the company's board of directors to express their apparent opposition to Takeda's plan to name Frenchman Christophe Weber as its next president.

The article reports that the engineering company Hitachi Ltd. will join the engineering companies Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Siemens AG in submitting a three-way bid for the energy assets of the engineering company Alstom SA as of June 2014.