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A harvest at a palm oil plantation in Khammam, India, in 2022
BUSINESS
Oct 1, 2023

Aging trees show a crisis looms for the world’s everything oil

Malaysia and Indonesia provide 85% the world's most versatile edible oil — but their trees are growing old, and replacing them is expensive.
Yvie Oddly poses in front of Eagle Tokyo Blue, a Ni-chome bar instrumental in organizing many events around the Japan visits of "RuPaul's Drag Race" stars.
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 2, 2023

A 'Drag Race' tour brings inspiration and profits

When the competitors of "RuPaul's Drag Race" come through Tokyo, the local scene gets a major boost.
Johnny & Associates' outgoing head Julie Keiko Fujishima and its new chief, Noriyuki Higashiyama, bow to express their apology during a news conference in Tokyo last month.
BUSINESS
Oct 1, 2023

Johnny's looks toward a revamp as it seeks to salvage tarnished brand

Recent attempts to distance the agency from the long shadow of its namesake have been met with public backlash.
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev prior to a meeting in Brussels on May 14
WORLD / Politics
Oct 1, 2023

In taking Karabakh, Azerbaijan's president avenged his father

A confluence of factors had convinced Ilham Aliyev, 61, that the time was right to do something his father couldn't.
Striking writers and actors stage a solidarity march through Hollywood on Sept. 13.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 1, 2023

The Writers Guild had a PR strategy like no other

So how did the Writers Guild union do it? First and foremost, it’s impossible to overstate the importance of social media in the equation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine, during Defenders of Ukraine Day in Kyiv on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 2, 2023

Ukraine left out in cold by U.S. shutdown deal

Biden says the U.S. must help Ukraine stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin, warning that a failure to do so could embolden other autocrats.
Akinori Ishii, of startup Tsubame Industries Co., sits inside the cockpit of ARCHAX, a giant human-piloted robot developed by him and CEO Ryo Yoshida, in Yokohama on Sept. 27.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 2, 2023

Japan startup develops 'Gundam'-like robot with $3 million price tag

The 3.5-ton robot has two modes: the upright "robot mode" and a "vehicle mode" in which it can travel up to 10 kilometers per hour.
A shopper browses among winter coats at a department store in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 2, 2023

Winter clothes pile up as warm weather threatens holiday shopping

With temperatures expected to start off warm, stores carrying winter clothes could find themselves loaded with inventory at the end of the season.
Bank of Japan board members discussed progress toward their inflation target and the need to put together an exit strategy in their September policy meeting.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 2, 2023

BOJ board members see price goal progress and need to plan exit

The comments are likely to strengthen expectations among BOJ watchers that the central bank will adjust policy in early 2024.
Japan bought yen in September 2022, its first foray in the market to boost its currency since 1998, after a Bank of Japan decision to maintain an ultraloose monetary policy drove the yen as low as ¥145 per dollar.
BUSINESS / Markets / EXPLAINER
Oct 2, 2023

What intervention by Japan to stem yen weakness could look like

Aside from verbal intervention, the government has several options to stem what it considers excessive yen falls.
Michael Andretti, the son of 1978 Formula One champion Mario, first applied for his team to join Formula One in early 2022.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Oct 3, 2023

FIA approval moves Michael Andretti a step closer to Formula One

The son of 1978 Formula One world champion Mario had been seen as the clear frontrunner from as many as seven initial expressions of interest.
An employee prepares tables and chairs outside a restaurant in Bucharest, Romania.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 3, 2023

EU membership supercharged Romania. Ukraine faces a tougher task.

Romania’s accession offers lessons that can help Kyiv along the way and offer an indication of the potential rewards.
A man walks toward Sankore mosque, also known as the former University of Sankore, in Timbuktu, Mali
WORLD / Politics
Oct 3, 2023

Mali in meltdown as militants advance and U.N. withdraws

The violence risks adding instability to a region already reeling from military coups in neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 4, 2023

Yen rebounds from ¥150 to dollar as Japan mum on intervention

The yen quickly strengthened to ¥147.30 against the dollar, with its swift recovery sparking chatter that a quiet intervention had occurred.
A Delta spokesperson said the "small number” of engines involved account for less than 1% of the more than 2,100 power plants on its mainline fleet.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 4, 2023

Delta says some aircraft flew with uncertified engine parts

The disclosure indicates the extent to which uncertified components linked to a British distributor have been sold globally.
KitKat-maker Nestle has pledged to increase sales of products that have a Health Star Rating of 3.5 or above by around 50% in the eight years through 2030, but investors say that isn't enough.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 4, 2023

Nestle isn’t doing enough to sell more nutritious food, investors say

Obesity is a growing health crisis in much of the world and food companies have been under pressure to make their portfolios healthier.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 4, 2023

JGB yields hit fresh multiyear highs despite BOJ intervention

The benchmark 10-year JGB yield hovered around 0.78%, its highest since September 2013, after having fallen slightly the previous day.
Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive officer of SoftBank Group, speaks during the SoftBank World event in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 4, 2023

SoftBank’s Son tells Japan: Adopt AI or get left behind again

Japan, which largely missed the initial wave of growth from the internet, can’t afford to lose another three decades, SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son said.
A woman (Yoko Maki) haunted by the trauma of her husband’s unexplained disappearance hires a detective to find answers in Rikiya Imaizumi’s “Undercurrent.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 5, 2023

‘Undercurrent’: All is not lost in cathartic drama

Yoko Maki and Arata Iura deliver committed performances in Rikiya Imaizumi’s introspective film about people who vanish for inexplicable reasons.
A prescription injector for Ozempic, a weight loss drug
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 4, 2023

Ozempic cuts alcohol cravings. Liquor companies aren’t ready.

A survey conducted by Morgan Stanley’s AlphaWise research unit found that people consumed 62% less alcohol while taking weight loss drugs.
The average price for a new condominium in central Tokyo rose 60% to a record ¥129.6 million ($865,000) in the first half of this year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 4, 2023

Surging Tokyo property prices squeeze out young professionals

The average price for a new condominium in central Tokyo rose 60% to a record ¥129.6 million ($865,000) in the first half of this year.
Fujitsu and Riken say they have developed Japan's second quantum computer.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 5, 2023

Fujitsu and Riken develop Japan's second quantum computer

The 64 qubit quantum computer from Fujitsu and state-backed Riken will be integrated with a 40 qubit quantum computer simulator.
Soy farming has seldom been synonymous with sustainability, but more farmers in Brazil are working to regenerate depleted land instead of expanding the agricultural frontier.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Oct 5, 2023

Can Brazil's farmers grow more soy without deforestation?

Deforestation is fueling climate change impacts including harsher heat, drought and floods.
A specialist removes a Kirin 9000s chip fabricated in China by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. from a Huawei Mate X5 foldable smartphone in Ottawa on Sept. 19.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 5, 2023

Taiwan to probe suppliers helping Huawei with China chip plants

A news report this week identified four firms working on chip plants backed by Huawei in China.
An image of an immersive attraction at Immersive Fort Tokyo slated to open next spring in Tokyo's Odaiba area.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 5, 2023

New immersive theme park to open in Tokyo’s Odaiba

The new facility, to be called Immersive Fort Tokyo, will feature 12 immersive attractions along with six shops and restaurants.
French President Emmanuel Macron arrives to greets Finland's Prime Minister at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 5, 2023

With subtler engagement, Macron refashions himself as EU linchpin

In areas ranging from defense to industrial policy, officials familiar with Europe's inner workings say Macron is calling the shots as rarely before.
LeanIn.Org founder Sheryl Sandberg
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 5, 2023

Women are asking for promotions, but men keep getting them

Women want to be leaders in the workplace, but employers are still passing them by in favor of their male counterparts.
Japan's real wages in August declined for a 17th straight month, as persistent price hikes continued to outpace salaries.
BUSINESS
Oct 6, 2023

Japan's slower-than-forecast wage growth supports BOJ caution

Nominal cash earnings for workers rose 1.1% from the previous year, matching the revised figure from the previous month.
The Safran logo outside the company's headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 6, 2023

Hunt for suspect jet engine parts spurs call for regulation

False documentation could allow the sale of old or unsafe aircraft parts as new, raising safety concerns
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. BOJ officials responded in July to upside risks to inflation by essentially raising the upper limit for 10-year bond yields, in the first surprise move under Gov. Kazuo Ueda.
BUSINESS
Oct 6, 2023

BOJ may review easing and guidance this month, ex-official says

The central bank faces a recent rise in yields, the yen’s slide and inflation consistently coming in stronger than expected.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight