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The Nippon Steel logo is displayed at the company's East Nippon Works Kimitsu Area plant in Kimitsu, Chiba Prefecture, last month.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 14, 2025

Trump gives formal blessing to Nippon Steel's $14.8 billion bid for U.S. Steel

The approval capped a tumultuous 18-month effort by the companies, beset by union opposition and national security reviews.
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking will be one of the funding sources for a wealth management joint venture by Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and SBI Holdings.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 16, 2025

Sumitomo Mitsui and SBI to launch wealth management joint venture

Policymakers in Japan are encouraging individual investors to put more of their money in riskier assets such as equities.
A man checks a mainboard at an assembly line to produce ventilators at a Vsmart factory outside Hanoi in 2020.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 16, 2025

U.S. pushes Vietnam to decouple from Chinese tech, sources say

Local firms have expressed a general willingness to adapt, but many warned that instant changes "would destroy business."
People shop at a covered market in Suva, Fiji, on Sept. 5.
BUSINESS
Jun 17, 2025

Pacific Islands should boost women's participation in work, says World Bank

Six countries did not have paid parental leave, often forcing women to leave the labor force when they started families, a report said.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters after holding talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday on the sidelines of the Group of Seven leaders' summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 18, 2025

Trump calls Japan 'tough' trade negotiator and complains EU not being fair

U.S. President Donald Trump also said there was still a chance of a trade deal between Washington and Japan.
Shareholders arrive at Toyota's annual shareholders' meeting on June 12 in the city of Toyota, Aichi Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 18, 2025

Record demands from activist investors driving focus on governance and efficiency

The country’s jammed annual general meeting season matters more than ever this year as investors seek signs that Japanese stocks can get out of a rut.
The Financial Services Agency headquarters in Tokyo. The regulator has called on regional banks to disclose the amount and market value of their high-yield loans backed by government bonds.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 19, 2025

Regulator to ramp up scrutiny of banks’ repackaged JGBs

A senior official at the Financial Services Agency called on lenders to disclose the amount and market value of their holdings, sources said.
Unicharm and Toyota Tsusho will together launch a company called Sofy East Africa in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi in December to manufacture and sell sanitary products.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 19, 2025

Unicharm and Toyota Tsusho to set up sanitary goods joint venture in Kenya

The two companies aim to launch the new company, Sofy East Africa, in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi in December.
Many Japanese firms are delisting their shares from the Tokyo Stock Exchange under the  bourse’s broad push to make the market more appealing for foreign investors by ensuring that listed companies offer high shareholder returns.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 19, 2025

Japan firms exit Tokyo exchange at record pace in delisting rush

If firms continue to exit the TSE at this pace, the figure for 2025 will exceed last year’s annual record of 94 companies.
Nippon Steel Chairman and CEO Eiji Hashimoto leaves a news conference, at which he discussed the acquisition of United States Steel, on Thursday
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 19, 2025

Nippon Steel completes U.S. Steel acquisition after 18-month slog

The firm now owns all the stock of the American steel-maker, other than a "golden share" that gives the U.S. government a degree of control
Iyogin Holdings is ready to jump back into buying Japanese government bonds once a rise in yields runs its course.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 20, 2025

Rural bank plans its return to Japan bonds after winning on Nvidia

Once yields become attractive enough, Japanese government bonds could make up as much as half of the bank's portfolio.
Economic losses in Japan stemming from workers' mental or physical disorders, linked to lower labor productivity, represent about 1% of the country's nominal gross domestic product for 2024.
BUSINESS
Jun 20, 2025

Annual economic losses from workers' health issues reach ¥7.6 trillion

The losses, linked to lower labor productivity, represent about 1% of the country's nominal gross domestic product for 2024.
Shareholders enter a venue of Honda's annual general meeting in Tokyo on Thursday. Companies are seeking to build shareholder support as activists inundate them with an unprecedented number of proposals.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 23, 2025

Japanese companies offer gifts to boost their ranks of loyal retail investors

A survey by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank showed 11% of firms gave out gifts at shareholder meetings in 2024, up from 4% in 2021.
Taiyo Holdings Chief Executive Officer Eiji Sato
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 23, 2025

Japan activist clout shown in shareholder rejection of Taiyo CEO

Voting out a company’s CEO candidate, something that doesn’t happen often in Japan, is another sign of how activist investors are pushing to change company policies.
Japanese companies are rushing to protect their employees and brace operations in the Middle East for the fallout from U.S. strikes on Iran.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 23, 2025

Japan’s banks pull staff from Middle East after U.S. strikes Iran

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group has started to pull staff out of locations including Dubai, and halted unnecessary travel in and out of the region.
Tokio Marine has made a string of big acquisitions in the U.S. in recent years to make up for limited growth prospects at home.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 24, 2025

Tokio Marine hunts for deals abroad and sees room for growth in U.S.

The insurer has the capacity for more deals overseas after generating record profits by selling shareholdings worth tens of billions of dollars.
A large banner against Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on the ground in St. Mark's Square, ahead of the expected wedding of Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, in Venice, Italy, on Monday
BUSINESS
Jun 24, 2025

Jeff Bezos's gala wedding in Venice draws criticism from locals and activists

Some Venetians see the celebration as the latest sign of the brash commodification of a beautiful but fragile city long overrun with tourism and depopulating.
A teller sorts U.S. banknotes inside the cashier's booth at a foreign exchange bureau in downtown Nairobi in 2024.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 24, 2025

Under shadow of Trump warning, Africa pioneers non-dollar payment systems

The move by Africa to create payments systems that do not rely on the greenback mirrors a push by China to develop financial systems independent of Western institutions.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s chief tariff negotiator (left), meets with Nippon Steel Chairman and CEO Eiji Hashimoto.
BUSINESS
Jun 24, 2025

Japan needs a big, beautiful trade deal with the United States

A creative solution along the lines of the U.S. Steel "golden share" has been suggested.
The building housing the headquarters of Daiwa Securities Group in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 25, 2025

Daiwa plans $690 million real estate fund as Japan market booms

Daiwa will target Japanese rental housing and hotels, assets that tend to be better insulated from inflation compared with other sectors, at a time when consumer prices are rising.
A worker moves a shipping container at Felixstowe port in Felixstowe, U.K.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 25, 2025

Pressure for Trump trade deals ramps up with two weeks to go

As of July 9, exporting nations without a bilateral accord in place will face Trump’s so-called "Liberation Day” tariffs that are much higher than the current baseline 10% level.
In addition to prepaid transportation integrated circuit (IC) cards, such as Suica and Pasmo, a growing number of railway operators are introducing contactless credit card payments.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2025

Railway firms diversify ticket gate access methods

A growing number of railway operators are introducing contactless credit card payments.
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani arrives for a news conference at Astoria Park in New York on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 26, 2025

Wealthy fear ‘hot commie summer’ after Democrat outsider wins mayoral primary

Voters across racially and economically diverse neighborhoods embraced Zohran Mamdani, shocking the Democratic establishment.
Pat Gelsinger (left), former Intel CEO and general partner at Playground Global, and Peter Barrett, co-founder and general partner of Playground, in Tokyo on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 27, 2025

Former Intel CEO Gelsinger has some advice for Japan's Rapidus

He encourages the chipmaker to distinguish itself in some way from TSMC.
Major department stores are doing their best to cater to foreign customers, but it’s unclear if it will lead to more sales.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 27, 2025

Department stores' tax-free sales drop as tourists' shopping patterns change

Greater foreign tourist diversity has led to a change in shopping priorities, the executive of the Japan Department Stores Association said.
"We have access to cutting-edge wafers, and our ability to provide cutting-edge process technology will become overwhelmingly faster than Chinese makers,” said Tokyo Electron CEO Toshiki Kawai.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 27, 2025

Tokyo Electron shrugs off fears of Chinese rivals catching up

Technology at the company is advancing faster than its Chinese rivals’ due in part to close collaboration with contract chipmakers.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to members of the media after a Senate Republican policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 28, 2025

Tariff deals could be wrapped up by Sept. 1, Bessent says as talks pick up

The U.S. Treasury chief did not mention any changes to a July 9 deadline for countries to reach deals with the United States or see tariffs spike higher.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney take part in an arrival ceremony during the Group of Seven leaders' summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, on June 16.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jun 29, 2025

Trump turns on ‘nice’ Mark Carney with Canadian tech tax ultimatum

The tax became law while Justin Trudeau was still in power and had prompted warnings of U.S. retaliation but Carney went ahead anyway.
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington in April.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 1, 2025

Trump floats Japan tariff as top adviser says deals to come after July 4

The U.S. president cited what he said was Japan's unwillingness to accept U.S. rice exports, the latest round of brinkmanship before a July 9 deadline for higher tariffs.
Ginza Onodera's frozen sushi can be thawed with running water.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 1, 2025

Freezing tech allows luxury sushi to reach anywhere in Japan

Ginza Onodera has been working on the freezing method for about three years in cooperation with DayBreak, a special freezing technique developer in Tokyo.

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person