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Those who will be employed as teachers in Japan after completing graduate school will be exempt from repaying scholarship loans.
JAPAN / Society
May 29, 2024

Japan to waive graduate scholarship loan repayments for teachers

The policy will apply to those who pass the recruitment examinations in the current fiscal year ending in March 2025.
Shizuoka Prefecture will launch an online registration system for Mount Fuji climbers on June 10.
JAPAN
May 30, 2024

Shizuoka to launch registration system for Mount Fuji climbers in June

The use of the registration system will not be mandatory, but registration will require the viewing of a video on climbing rules and etiquette.
A residential development under construction in Shanghai in February. Problems in the property sector have had a negative impact across broad areas of China's economy.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 31, 2024

China's factory activity unexpectedly dips as property pain persists

The disappointing number adds to a series of recent indicators showing the $18.6 trillion economy is struggling to get back on its feet.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol addresses the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul on Monday as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang listen on.
EDITORIALS
May 31, 2024

A long-neglected trilateral resumes — to expected results

Revival of this trilateral has been driven by Chinese uncertainty: worries about its economy and anxiety regarding geopolitical developments.
In addition to the supply shortages, the yen's depreciation is also blamed for the recent surge in orange juice prices in Japan, which relies almost entirely on imported orange juice.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 2, 2024

Orange juice crisis hits consumers in Japan

Supply shortages have forced many Japanese makers to suspend sales of orange juice products.
Nippon Steel's proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel would give it greater access to the profitable U.S. market and further its long-term financial goals.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 3, 2024

Nippon Steel's Mori hints at selling some assets to aid U.S. Steel deal

The firm's vice chairman plans to return to the United States this week for more talks over the proposed acquisition.
Japan Post Insurance, one of the nation’s biggest life insurers, held about ¥60.9 trillion in assets as of the end of March, of which around ¥47.7 trillion were securities, mainly government bonds.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 3, 2024

Japan Post goes slow in buying longest bonds after BOJ rate hike

Japan Post forecast in April that the 30-year government bond yield will be 2% at the end of March 2025
In a boon to Saudi Arabia's government, which is seeking to fund a massive economic transformation plan, Saudi Aramco’s $12 billion share sale sold out shortly after the deal opened on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 3, 2024

Saudi Aramco’s $12 billion stock offer sells out in hours

The extent of foreign participation will be closely watched as an indicator of interest in Saudi Arabia's assets.
People walk with their luggage after a rainstorm hit Dubai, UAE, causing delays at Dubai International Airport on April 17.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 3, 2024

Airlines eye 'new frontier' of AI ahead of global summit

Aviation companies, long accustomed to thin profit margins, see AI as the newest way to boost productivity and gain a competitive edge.
A self-driving vehicle travels along a public road in Eiheiji, Fukui Prefecture, on May 25.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2024

Self-driving gets off to bumpy start in Fukui town

In the year since the service began in Eiheiji, financial and technical problems have emerged.
Support staff dispatched by power firms work to restore electrical equipment in an area hit by the Noto Peninsula earthquake in Ishikawa Prefecture.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jun 4, 2024

Major Japan power firms boost cooperation on disaster response

The electric power sector has established a framework to streamline the dispatch of support personnel and facilitate mutual aid to cover restoration expenses.
Osaka's Umeda district. The city of Osaka and Osaka Prefecture together are among four newly designated special zones for asset management businesses where companies can complete administrative procedures solely in English.
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2024

Japan designates four areas as asset management special zones

The four areas are Hokkaido and Sapporo, Tokyo, the prefecture and city of Osaka, and the prefecture and city of Fukuoka.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, meet in Tokyo in May 2022 on the sidelines of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. The coalition is now adrift and the reason for the drop-off is simple: The U.S. is preoccupied with Europe and the Middle East.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 5, 2024

Is 'the Quad' becoming a Potemkin alliance?

Despite its initial promise, "the Quad" coalition now appears to be losing momentum, posing significant security risks.
People enter the Fantasy Springs area that opened Thursday at Tokyo DisneySea in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 6, 2024

Tokyo DisneySea's 'Fantasy Springs' area opens

Visitors require a free Standby Pass or paid Disney Premier Access, along with a DisneySea ticket, to access the new area.
A solar farm in Switzerland. Solar power is leading the power’s sector’s transformation, with investment in the area set to reach $500 billion this year.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Jun 6, 2024

Clean energy spending set to reach twice that on fossil fuels, IAEA reports

Nonetheless, continued spending on coal, gas and oil remains at a level that’s too high to conform with global climate goals.
Postage rates for sealed letters and other documents are expected to be raised by 30% as early as October, the first rise in 30 years aside from when prices increased along with consumption tax hikes.
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2024

Postage rate hikes seen denting New Year's card tradition in Japan

The tradition of sending New Year's greetings on postcards began in 1873 with the introduction of postcards.
Suzuki's eVX electric vehicle at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo last October
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 7, 2024

Suzuki to stop making cars in Thailand to focus on EV shift

The 12-year-old plant in Thailand’s Rayong province, southeast of Bangkok, has an annual production capacity of 60,000 units.
Indonesian gymnast Rifda Irfanaluthfi practices at the gymnastics training center in Jakarta on May 16.
OLYMPICS / Gymnastics
Jun 8, 2024

Indonesia's first Olympic gymnast encourages others to 'dream higher'

Rifda Irfanaluthfi's feat is even more impressive considering Indonesia does not yet have a national training center for gymnastics
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz delivers a joint press conference with Chile's president after talks at the Chancellery in Berlin on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 11, 2024

Scholz heading for another election rout in eastern Germany

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his allies in government have little choice now but to go into survival mode.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2024

Japan to stick to goal of primary budget surplus next fiscal year

The government will also continue to try to lower the ratio of debt to gross domestic product, a draft of annual policy guidelines for budget planning said.
The corporate goods price index rose 2.4% in May from a year earlier, driven by higher prices for utilities, petroleum and chemical goods as well as nonferrous metals.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 12, 2024

Japan's wholesale inflation rose in May, complicating BOJ rate outlook

Price rises driven by cost pressures could cool consumption, and dampen the chances of achieving the demand-driven inflation the central bank is seeking to foster.
A display of unmanned systems during a presentation of drone military hardware of the Unmanned Systems Force of the Ukraine Armed Forces in Kyiv on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Jun 12, 2024

G7 to announce ‘new steps’ on frozen Russian assets, U.S. says

The development indicates that leaders have all but agreed on a political deal to announce a loan of roughly $50 billion.
People wade through a flooded road in Balagtas, Bulacan province, Philippines, on July 29, 2023.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 12, 2024

Hell or high water: Filipino schools lashed by climate extremes

The state weather bureau has said the country is likely to experience more tropical cyclones in 2024 due to the potential return of the La Nina weather phenomenon.
In 2023, 15.4% of China's population was over 65, a demographic milestone that typically slows economic growth.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 12, 2024

Is China too old to get rich?

By 2023, 15.4% of China's population was over 65, a demographic milestone that typically slows economic growth.
Police officers patrol on the Trocadero square in front of the Olympic rings displayed on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic games in Paris on June 7.
WORLD
Jun 13, 2024

Paris Olympics crowd scans fuel AI surveillance fears

Campaigners worry AI surveillance could become the new normal.
A BYD Atto 3 electric SUV on the streets of Frankfurt, Germany, on Feb. 21, 2023
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 13, 2024

EU hits Chinese EVs with tariffs, drawing rebuke from Beijing

The move comes less than a month after the U.S. announced plans to quadruple duties for Chinese EVs.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida listens to voters in the city of Kumamoto in April. Liberal Democratic Party politicians are afraid that Kishida's unpopularity could seal their own fates when they stand for local elections.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 13, 2024

Calls for Kishida to step down growing among local LDP chapters

They blame their party’s unpopularity on him over the way he handled the kickbacks scandal and the political funds bill aimed at toughening up rules in its wake.
"Doctor Yellow" inspection trains are set to be retired by 2027 due to their aging.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2024

'Doctor Yellow' test shinkansen trains set for retirement

JR Central and JR West currently own one Doctor Yellow train each.
Wins by conservative parties and losses by their leftist green opponents in the EU elections reflect broader trends of political polarization and nationalism not only in Europe, but also the world. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 13, 2024

Impact of EU elections on global politics and Japan's foreign policy

Japan is concerned about the rise of right-leaning parties that might undermine support for Ukraine and send signals to revisionist powers like China.
Recently, Japan designated Hokkaido Prefecture (including its capital, Sapporo), Fukuoka, Tokyo and Osaka as special zones for financial and asset management businesses. Kumamoto Prefecture was also named a national strategic zone for semiconductors.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 14, 2024

International social infrastructure key to Japan’s high-tech future

Across the globe there is an ongoing search for talent, especially in high-tech sectors, and Japan is no different.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji