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Spotify signage on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Jan. 2
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 27, 2025

Universal and Spotify ink multiyear deal

A joint statement said the two firms "will collaborate closely to advance the next era of streaming innovation."
Nippon Life Insurance will establish a new headquarters division in late March to manage its foreign businesses, and its overseas insurance and asset management departments will be absorbed into that organization, people familiar with the matter have said.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 27, 2025

Nippon Life to revamp overseas business operations after acquisitions

Japan’s biggest life insurer will establish a new headquarters division in late March to manage its foreign businesses, and absorb related departments into that organization.
Nissan’s latest crisis surfaced in November when it reported a 94% drop in first-half net income.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 27, 2025

Nissan eyes cuts without resorting to plant closures, sources say

The carmaker will focus on reducing and consolidating existing production lines both in Japan and overseas to cut costs.
A solar farm in Lennon, Michigan, in 2021. In an executive order, President Donald Trump pointedly excluded green technology like solar panels from his definition of energy.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 28, 2025

Citi analysts say Trump can’t reverse energy transition

Despite the Trump administration’s determination to shred Biden-era climate protections, there remains a "sense of optimism” that the energy transition will prevail.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a House Republican members conference meeting at Trump National Doral resort in Miami on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 28, 2025

Trump pledges tariffs ‘much bigger’ than 2.5% and on key sectors

The American president's remarks were the latest in a string of major signals that he’s preparing widespread levies to reshape U.S. supply chains.
Japan has lagged far behind other advanced economies on lists of female representation in positions of authority, and ranks 118th among 146 nations in the World Economic Forum’s gender equity rankings.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 28, 2025

JPMorgan AM Japan appoints Komatsu as first female CEO

Japan has lagged far behind other advanced economies on lists of female representation in positions of authority.
U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that he was in talks with multiple people over buying TikTok and would likely have a decision on the popular app's future in 30 days.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 28, 2025

Trump says Microsoft is in talks to acquire TikTok

Microsoft emerged as a top bidder in 2020, but the talks soon collapsed, and a divestment push by Trump ended a few months later when his first term ended.
Taxis in central Sendai. More people are becoming attracted to the job of a taxi driver as it can allow them to work flexibly.
BUSINESS / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Feb 10, 2025

Cab driving becoming an increasingly popular job in Sendai

Flexible hours and the work-at-your-own-pace environment has led to a renewed interest in taxi driving among younger people.
Many workers at small companies continue to fall behind as wages fail to keep up with inflation.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 29, 2025

Smaller Japanese companies unlikely to meet wage-increase target for 2025

For this year’s spring negotiations, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation set hike targets of more than 6% for smaller firms.
Chinese artificial intelligence app DeepSeek rocked the tech sector this month with a new AI model that appeared to rival the capabilities of U.S. giants like OpenAI, but at 
a much lower cost.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 30, 2025

Why blocking China's DeepSeek from using AI made in U.S. may be difficult

DeepSeek this month rocked the technology sector with a new AI model that appeared to rival the capabilities of U.S. giants like OpenAI, but at a much lower cost.
"As main shareholder of Nissan, Renault will consider all options based on the best interest of the group and its shareholders,” said a spokesperson for Renault, regarding a merger of Nissan and Honda.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 30, 2025

Renault seeks takeover premium from Honda for Nissan stake

Representatives for Renault flew to Japan earlier this week to voice concerns over how a tie-up may be structured, sources said.
Japanese banks are enjoying bumper earnings as they begin to benefit from rising interest rates following more than a decade of ultraeasy monetary policy.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2025

Sumitomo Mitsui profit beats estimates as rate hikes bolster earnings

Net income at Japan’s second-largest bank rose 54% from a year earlier to ¥410.8 billion for the three months ended Dec. 31, calculations show.
Takeda Pharmaceutical's headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 30, 2025

Takeda picks first female CEO of centuries-old drugmaker

Julie Kim, 54, has been running Takeda’s U.S. operations since 2022 and will assume the role of CEO in June next year, subject to shareholder approval, the company said.
Chief among the worries surrounding DeepSeek is the fact that it collects and stores data in servers in China.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 31, 2025

DeepSeek’s AI restricted by ‘hundreds’ of companies in days

Companies have worked to block access due to concerns about potential data leaks to the Chinese government and what they view as weak privacy safeguards.
Trucks wait in line at the Zaragoza-Ysleta border crossing into the U.S. on Friday in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, a day ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's order to impose tariffs on Mexican imports.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 2, 2025

Trump launches trade war with tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China

U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports and 10% on goods from China starting Tuesday.
Branded bags are displayed at a secondhand store in Tokyo in December.
BUSINESS
Feb 2, 2025

Secondhand shops rush for branded goods in Japan

Some operators have partnered with department stores, while others have use AI to determine the value of vintage luxury goods.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference as Ottawa responded to U.S. President Donald Trump's order to impose tariffs on Canadian imports, in Ottawa on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 2, 2025

‘Complete betrayal’: Canada reels as Trump tariffs rattle major trading relationship

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, speaking on a bitterly cold night in Ottawa, said Trump’s move left his government with no choice but to respond forcefully.
A sign that reads ''Buy Canadian Instead'' is displayed after the top five U.S. liquor brands were removed from sale at B.C. Liquor Stores, as part of a response to U.S. President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on Canadian goods, in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 3, 2025

Trump says Americans could feel 'pain' in trade war with Mexico, Canada and China

Wall Street and Washington's largest trading partners signaled hope that the trade war would not last long.
Japanese workers are increasingly job-hopping from one full-time position to another.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 3, 2025

Job-hopping Japanese workers push salaries higher

Job mobility in Japan has traditionally been low due to lifetime employment arrangements and strong labor laws.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son (right) and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at an event on Monday to pitch AI for businesses in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 3, 2025

SoftBank forms joint venture with OpenAI in enterprise play

SoftBank and OpenAI said that the joint venture will help large Japanese enterprises in the adoption and training of Cristal intelligence in order to improve their businesses.
While Fuji Media Holdings is known for its iconic sphere-and-lattice headquarters in the Odaiba district near Tokyo Bay, it also owns office buildings, condominiums, hotels, nursing homes, logistic facilities, resorts and even two aquariums.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 4, 2025

Fuji Media’s crisis entices investors betting on changes

It may come as a surprise that Fuji Media’s shares have surged 45% this year, making it the best-performing stock on the benchmark Topix index.
The Yangshan Deepwater Port in Shanghai on Jan. 20. China's Finance Ministry said it would impose levies of 15% for U.S. coal and LNG and 10% for crude oil, farm equipment and some autos.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 4, 2025

China hits back with tariffs on U.S. goods after Trump imposes new levies

Trump on Monday suspended his threat of 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada at the last minute, but there was no such reprieve for China.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is greeted by Kakao CEO Chung Shi-na during a press conference to announce partnerships on AI services in Seoul on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 4, 2025

OpenAI to deepen services within South Korea’s largest chat app

"We are particularly interested in AI and messaging," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told a press conference he held with Kakao CEO Chung Shi-na in Seoul.
French President Emmanuel Macron. Tech players from around the world will gather in France for an AI summit next week.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 4, 2025

France pitches AI summit as 'wake-up call' for Europe

Players from across the sector and representatives from 80 nations will gather in the French capital.
MUFG virtually reached its full-year profit goal with a quarter to spare, earning a record ¥1.749 trillion in the first nine months.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 4, 2025

MUFG profit soars in bumper earnings season for Japan banks

Japanese banks are benefiting from rising interest rates following more than a decade of ultra-easy monetary policy.
Panasonic, whose sprawling operations include hairdryers, PCs and lithium-ion batteries used by the likes of Tesla, will restructure or streamline businesses with low growth potential, according to a statement released on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 4, 2025

Tesla supplier Panasonic to cut costs to support shift into AI

One target may be the company’s long-standing TV operations.
China said on Tuesday it would impose tariffs on imports of U.S. energy, vehicles and equipment, firing a return salvo in an escalating trade war between the world's two biggest economies.
BUSINESS / Economy / EXPLAINER
Feb 4, 2025

Where things stand in China-U.S. trade tensions

China has made good on its threats to retaliate in the escalating trade war with the United States, imposing tariffs on American imports of energy, cars and machinery parts.
While it's unclear whether U.S. President Donald Trump will follow through with his promised 25% levies on Mexico and Canada after agreeing to a 30-day pause on Monday, the blowback would be profound for Nissan.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Feb 4, 2025

Trump tariffs will only add to the pain for hard-hit Nissan

The blowback from potential tariffs on Mexico and Canada would be profound for Japan's No.3 carmaker, which is struggling to turn itself around.
Cargo containers await loading onto ships at the port of Tianjin, China, on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 5, 2025

Xi’s careful reply to Trump tariffs shows China has more to lose

The shift reflects both Xi’s success at diversifying imports away from the U.S. since Trump’s first term, as well as China’s more precarious economic situation.
Next Generation Technology Group acquires companies in need of future leadership with competitive technologies and high margins, said Eiichi Arai, the Tokyo-based firm’s CEO.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 5, 2025

Tokyo’s first listing of the year soars in trading debut

The shares climbed as much as 58% to ¥3,165 in early trading in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years