Search - business

 
 
Recent research suggests that within developed countries, the old positive relationship between status and fertility is re-emerging.
COMMENTARY
Apr 3, 2024

The wealthy are starting to have more babies than the poor again

After a century during which higher income and status meant fewer children, the current trend is potentially a momentous change.
Last December, Nintendo postponed the Splatoon Koshien finals and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe World Championship, as well as cancel Nintendo Live Tokyo, citing threats leveled at both attendees and personnel.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 4, 2024

Ibaraki man arrested over death threats sent to Nintendo

The man allegedly sent 39 messages through an inquiry form on Nintendo's official website, threatening to kill people at the gamemaker's events.
Yuki Tsunoda attends a promotional event ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix, in Tokyo on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 5, 2024

Japan favorite Tsunoda looks to shift career into higher gear at Suzuka

Without a race seat yet for 2025, the driver's future is up in the air.
Migrant workers from Tajikistan in an apartment shared by 18 people in Moscow in May 2020. The main suspects in the deadly assault are from Tajikistan. Now many other Tajiks, who fill jobs in Russia’s wartime economy, are being deported and harassed.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 6, 2024

In Moscow attack, a handful of suspects but 1 million Tajiks under suspicion

Many Tajiks who fill jobs in Russia’s wartime economy are being deported and harassed.
Flames blaze from a chimney at Western Europe's largest liquefied natural gas plant, Hammerfest LNG, in Hammerfest, Norway, on March 14.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Apr 9, 2024

Banks made big climate promises. A new study doubts they work.

Researchers found a reduction in lending to sectors targeted under the pledges was the same as for banks that had not made the same commitment.
U.S. President Joe Biden waves with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife, Yuko, as first lady Jill Biden looks on at the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 10, 2024

Kishida kicks off state visit to U.S., with allies set for 'historic' defense upgrade

The state visit, which will include all the trimmings — including a swanky gala banquet — will be the culmination of years of deepening cooperation.
Discomfort and life lessons ensue after a 60-something-year-old man (Shofukutei Tsurube, center) marries a much younger woman (Ayami Nakajo, left) while living with his 39-year-old daughter (Noriko Eguchi) in “Amalock.”
CULTURE / Film
Apr 11, 2024

‘Amalock’: Family comedy plays questionable age gap for laughs

Noriko Eguchi delivers a relatable performance as a woman who is disconcerted by her father’s marriage in Kazuhiro Nakamura’s film.
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani during a spring training game on March 12.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 15, 2024

Ohtani’s dizzying three weeks end in exoneration by authorities

At times, baseball’s biggest star seemed in danger of being tainted by a gambling scandal, before his longtime interpreter was charged with fraud.
Canada has become ground zero for Facebook's battle with governments regarding laws that force internet giants to pay media companies for links to news published on their platforms.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 15, 2024

When Facebook blocks news, studies show the political risks that follow

The blocking of news links has led to changes in the way Canadian Facebook users engage with information about politics, two unpublished studies found.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses supporters during an election campaign rally in Pushkar, India, on April 6, ahead of the country's upcoming general election starting Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 15, 2024

For Modi, the Indian election is less about winning and more about by how much

For Indian leader Narendra Modi, an upcoming parliamentary election is less about winning and more about by how much.
As well as its successes through director Hayao Miyazaki (right), Studio Ghibli has been equally successful with its business and marketing acumen, which are led by producer Toshio Suzuki (left).
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Apr 18, 2024

Cannes announces honorary Palme d’Or for Studio Ghibli

This marks the first time the honorary award is going to a group instead of an individual.
South Korean officials count ballots following a parliamentary election on April 10. President Yoon Suk-yeol’s conservative bloc is set for a major setback in a vote for a new parliament, exit polls showed, likely meaning he will be in a weak position for the remaining three years of his term and face political gridlock.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 18, 2024

Billionaire families lose hope for tax cut after Korean vote

South Korea’s regular maximum inheritance levy of as much as 50% is the second-highest among members of the OECD, after 55% in Japan.
Sunrockers fans at a game in Tokyo in March.
BASKETBALL / B. League
Apr 20, 2024

'Mr. Incredible' and Japan’s improbable bid to compete with the NBA

Japan is a latecomer to basketball’s global expansion, but it has stratospheric expectations for its future.
The "style architect" for Jay-Z since 1994, June Ambrose sees influences of her work across the Japanese fashion landscape.
LIFE / Style & Design
May 1, 2024

June Ambrose: ‘Cultural appropriation is the best form of flattery’

Ambrose has been Jay-Z’s designated “style architect” since the billionaire started Roc-A-Fella Records back in 1994.
An activist holds an umbrella during a Fridays for Future movement climate strike on Friday in Stockholm.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Apr 22, 2024

World's largest private firms fail to set climate targets: report

The Net Zero Tracker report compared 200 of the world's largest public and private companies.
Shohei Ohtani has been appointed as the new technology ambassador for Rapsodo, the company announced Monday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 22, 2024

Shohei Ohtani signs deal with sports technology company Rapsodo

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani has signed a deal to become the technology ambassador for Rapsodo, the company announced on Monday.
Former U.S. president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives to court on the first day of opening statements in his trial in New York on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 23, 2024

On first day of Trump hush money trial, prosecutors say he corrupted 2016 election

New York prosecutors said on the first day of Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial that the former president corrupted the 2016 election.
Digital platforms have been flooded with disinformation, allowing foreign countries to conduct influence operations and leading to widened social divides.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Apr 28, 2024

How democratic states are regulating digital platforms

Some platforms have been flooded with disinformation, allowing foreign countries to conduct influence operations.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump leaves the Manhattan Supreme Court on the sixth day of the hush-money trial against him on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 24, 2024

Ex-tabloid CEO says he bought and killed stories about Trump affairs

The National Enquirer's ex-CEO said he deliberately didn't publish stories about Donald Trump's affairs to help the former president's 2016 election.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida rides on a forestry processor during an inspection of afforestation in Hitachiomiya, Ibaraki Prefecture, in October.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2024

Japan groups eye online market to promote use of domestic lumber

The process of reforestation has faced obstacles, primarily stemming from the considerable burdens placed on forest owners.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting in St. Petersburg on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 28, 2024

Putin’s war will soon reach Russians’ tax bills

The move reflects both the burgeoning costs of his war in Ukraine and the firm control he has over the Russian elite.
The processing plant and warehouse of Minamidani Yoshie Shoten in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, are seen damaged due to cracks on the ground left behind by the New Year's Day earthquake.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 29, 2024

Wajima market's youngest stallholder taps crowdfunding to preserve heritage

A woman is looking to revive her family's fish sauce business and preserve the culinary heritage of her hometown in the wake of the Noto Peninsula quake.
A pack of dietary supplements designated by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical as a functional food.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 30, 2024

Japan panel reviewing 'functional foods' label system

The system has been criticized for leaving it entirely up to functional food makers to guarantee the safety of their products.
Masayuki Fukasawa (left), chief editor of Diario Brasil Nippou, and Kimiko Aso, of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, in Sao Paulo in April
JAPAN / Society
May 1, 2024

Brazil's last Japanese-language newspaper innovates to stay in print

Behind the difficulties facing Diario Brasil Nippou is declining numbers of subscribers, but the daily hopes to stay afloat by stressing its cultural role.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
JAPAN / Politics
May 1, 2024

Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip

Widespread use of biomass as car fuel makes Brazil an ideal import partner for Japan.
U.S. President Joe Biden makes an appearance at an infrastructure construction project in Woodstock, New Hampshire, in November 2021.  Bridges and sewage systems may seem unglamorous, but common assets such as these will form the basis of economic growth for years to come.
COMMENTARY / World
May 1, 2024

The West’s new infrastructure imperative

A dim future awaits any society that allows its infrastructure to degrade and underinvests in new needs.
Senator Tim Scott (center), a Republican from South Carolina, speaks during a campaign event with former U.S. President Donald Trump, (left), and Doug Burgum (right), governor of North Dakota, in Laconia, New Hampshire, in January.
WORLD / Politics
May 3, 2024

Trump auditions VP picks before wealthy donors in Palm Beach

Trump’s running mate may have to take on an unusually large amount of campaigning if his legal troubles prevent him from keeping a robust travel schedule.
Much like other hot spots across Okinawa, Onna has diligently strived to captivate both domestic and international tourists, while at the same time grappling with the environmental strain induced by the influx of visitors.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
May 5, 2024

As visitors surge, Japan seeks ways to make tourism eco-friendly

A record tourism boom has raised concerns over the enormous stress visitors put on the environment.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivers a speech during a welcoming ceremony hosted by an organization of Nikkei immigrants from Japan and descendants in Sao Paulo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 5, 2024

Kishida meets with Brazilians of Japanese descent

At 2.7 million, Brazil has the world's largest community of Nikkei — immigrants from Japan and their descendants.
Tourists pose in front of a convenience store with Mount Fuji on Friday in the town of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture. Local residents are upset over littering, overcrowding and the inconvenience caused by the visitors.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 7, 2024

Thanks, tourists. Views of Mount Fuji are now blocked.

Japan needs better long-term strategies to manage tourism sustainably.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami