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Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said that the situation surrounding Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel has improved under U.S. President Donald Trump.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 18, 2025

Ishiba questions the politics of Nippon Steel-U.S. Steel deal rejection

The "unjust political interference” was difficult to understand, the prime minister said, but he indicated that the situation has improved under Trump.
Sapporo beer
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 18, 2025

Activist fund criticizes Sapporo after ‘acquisition failures’

The Singapore-based investment fund censured the management over "impairment losses on all of its overseas alcoholic beverage acquisitions.”
Murata Manufacturing President Norio Nakajima
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 19, 2025

IPhone parts maker Murata eyes supply chain shift toward India

The company sees growing demand in India and is running simulations for what it would take to dial up its pace of investment there.
Norinchukin Bank Chief Executive Officer Kazuto Oku
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 19, 2025

Norinchukin CEO plans to resign after massive bond losses

Norinchukin reported wider losses this month as it boosted investments in riskier leveraged loans and sought additional capital.
Rail wagons loaded with iron ore move along a rail track at Rio Tinto's rail yard operations in Karratha, Western Australia.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 19, 2025

Mitsui to buy stake in Australian iron ore mine for $5.3 billion

The move is a bet that the global steel industry will need high-quality raw materials to support its push to go green.
After U.S. President Donald Trump said he plans to impose tariffs of 25% on automobile imports to the United States, Japanese automakers are cautiously looking for ways to handle the situation.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 19, 2025

Major Japanese automakers wary of Trump tariffs

The U.S. president says he plans to impose tariffs of 25% on automobile imports to the U.S., though he has not said which countries would be subject to them.
Resonac Holdings CEO Hidehito Takahashi
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 19, 2025

Resonac explores deal structures for possible JSR takeover

A deal would be a key step in the chemicals maker’s ambition to corner the Japanese artificial intelligence semiconductor materials market.
The scramble to take Fuji Soft private is rooted in the value of the software company’s trove of human resources and real estate.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 20, 2025

KKR wins control of $4.4 billion Fuji Soft after Bain clash

KKR aims to acquire the remaining shares in the software company through a squeeze-out process.
Some 61.9% of over 11,000 surveyed companies intend to pledge pay increases as part of annual wage negotiations culminating in March, according to a survey by Teikoku Databank.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 20, 2025

Record percentage of Japanese firms plan wage hikes, survey shows

Some 61.9% of over 11,000 surveyed companies intend to pledge pay increases as part of annual wage negotiations culminating in March.
Nissan in recent weeks has been searching for a strategic partner in the tech industry, with some board members suggesting Tesla and Apple as ideal targets, the Financial Times reported.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 21, 2025

Japan seeks Tesla investment in Nissan as Foxconn approaches Honda

Taiwan's Foxconn has reportedly proposed forming a partnership with Honda, aiming for a framework that would also include Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors.
Visitors listen to a keynote address at Consensus, a cryptocurrency event in Hong Kong on Feb. 15.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 23, 2025

Hong Kong and Singapore lead Asia's drive to cash in on crypto boom

Bitcoin recently hit a record of close to $110,000 while others have also rallied on the back of Trump's pro-crypto promises.
U.S. President Donald Trump has in recent days rolled out a memorandum telling a key government committee to curb Chinese spending on tech, energy and other strategic American sectors.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 24, 2025

Trump targets China with biggest salvo so far in second term

In recent days, U.S. President Donald Trump has rolled out a memorandum telling a key government committee to curb Chinese spending on tech, energy and other strategic sectors.
There’s keen interest in the market on whether Japan’s regional banks will pour back into benchmark 10-year notes, whose yields jumped to the highest levels since 2009 in Tokyo trading on Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 25, 2025

One of Japan's top regional banks holds JGB buying on bet rates to climb

There’s keen interest in the market on whether Japan’s regional banks will pour back into benchmark 10-year notes.
Warren Buffett's plans to increase holdings in Japanese trading houses are seen as a stamp of approval for the undervalued sector.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 25, 2025

Buffett’s fervor for Japan trading firms sparks share rally

Buffett praised Japan’s trading firms for increasing dividends when appropriate and for being less aggressive in their executive pay than U.S. counterparts.
An Apple store in Walnut Creek, California, on Monday. Apple Inc. Apple investors rejected a proposal to end the iPhone maker’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, but CEO Tim Cook some some adjustments may occur.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 26, 2025

Apple to keep DEI efforts, though some adjustments possible

The proposal to abolish DEI efforts came after competitors like Meta and Google have started winding down such programs.
A 7-Eleven convenience store, operated by Seven & I Holdings, in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 26, 2025

Seven & I buyout talks stall over management control

The founding Ito family and Itochu have yet to reach consensus on the composition of the board of the post-buyout entity, sources said.
A drone to shoot videos from the sky of customers at tourist spots, in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on Wednesday
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2025

Japanese firms to offer drone video-shooting services for tourists

The three companies plan to launch the services at a national park on Shodo Island in Kagawa Prefecture on Aug. 1.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food in the capital rose 2.2% in February from a year earlier, the internal affairs ministry said Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 28, 2025

Tokyo inflation slows slightly more than expected on subsidy impact

Consumer prices excluding fresh food in the capital rose 2.2% in February from a year earlier, according to the internal affairs ministry.
Toshinori Yashiki, director-general of the Financial Services Agency’s strategy development and management bureau, speaks during an interview on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 28, 2025

Japan to crack down on booming market for JGB-backed loans

The Financial Services Agency will scrutinize banks that have increased purchases of Japanese government bonds that are repackaged into loans over the past year.
The roll-out of accent translation is part of a bigger push by Teleperformance to invest up to €100 million ($104 million) in AI partnerships this year.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 1, 2025

Teleperformance uses AI to ‘neutralize’ Indian accents among staff

The roll-out of accent translation is part of a bigger push by Teleperformance to invest up to €100 million ($104 million) in AI partnerships this year.
Shoppers walk through a shopping area in Shanghai. China's household spending is less than 40% of annual economic output, some 20 percentage points below the global average.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Mar 1, 2025

China urged to think big, go hard on reviving battered consumption

With China's consumer support focusing on subsidies rather than reforms, pressure is growing on Beijing for policies with a longer-term impact.
The government plans to make it easier for urban workers to get side jobs in regional areas.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 2, 2025

Government to help regional firms hire urban workers for side jobs

The subsidies are part of a program that matches corporate workers with struggling small and midsize companies in regional areas.
An image of the next-generation E10 bullet train that is expected to be put into commercial service between Tokyo and the Tohoku region in fiscal 2030
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 5, 2025

JR East to develop E10 series shinkansen train

JR East aims to put the next-generation shinkansen series into commercial service in fiscal 2030, with each E10 train having 10 cars.
The health ministry issued a business improvement order to a medical clinic in Fukuoka, saying a range of stem cell treatments it offers violate the law on the safety of regenerative medicine.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 5, 2025

Fukuoka clinic issued business improvement order over stem cell treatments

The clinic offers various stem cell treatments without the prior submission of its plans to the authorities, the health ministry said.
Bank of Japan Deputy Gov. Shinichi Uchida
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 5, 2025

BOJ’s deputy chief hints at more rate hikes, without rushing

The remarks come as BOJ watchers look for hints that the next upward move could come earlier than the view that projects the move will come in the summer.
"It is an expanding field. We need more people,” said Kaoru Onishi, head of the global product division at Nissay Asset Management.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 6, 2025

Nissay Asset ramps up hiring as alternative investment booms

Japanese asset managers are trying to boost returns at a time when policymakers are encouraging households to shift their savings to investments.
U.S. President Donald Trump is exempting automakers from newly imposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada for one month, the White House said Wednesday, as a temporary reprieve following pleas from industry leaders.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 6, 2025

Trump’s tariff pause cheered globally and watched closely in Tokyo

The U.S. president is delaying 25% tariffs on cars from Mexico and Canada and might consider carve-outs for agricultural imports from those countries.
Rengo says its member unions have demanded an average wage increase of 6.09% this year, up from last year’s 5.85%.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 6, 2025

Japan’s biggest union group demands highest wage hike since 1993

Member unions of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation are seeking an average wage increase of 6.09% this year, up from last year’s 5.85%.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in December 2019
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 7, 2025

'Psychodrama' tariff negotiations frustrate Mexico and Canada

The on-again, off-again tariffs and the high-level discussions surrounding them have exasperated negotiating teams, sources say.
Qianmen street, Beijing, in March 2023. Though the immediate shock has passed, COVID-19's legacy continues to reshape global economies and markets.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 8, 2025

Five years on, the economic impact of COVID-19 lingers

Though the immediate shock has passed, COVID-19's legacy continues to reshape global economies and markets.

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