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OpenAI said it fired chairman Sam Altman after it concluded that he was not candid with the company's board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 21, 2023

Profit, not progress, animates the tech world

Reliable sources said Altman's firing came amid difference in views about the speed at which OpenAI should push its artificial intelligence.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 21, 2023

Japan to ban marijuana-derived substance found in gummy candies

An expert panel at the health ministry decided to officially add the HHCH synthetic compound to a drug list, with the ban taking effect from Dec. 2.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has been meeting with Japanese buyers, as well as overseas suppliers, to urge the signing of more long-term LNG contracts.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 21, 2023

Japan urges LNG buyers to sign long-term deals for fuel security

The push is meant to insulate Japan from future supply shocks, as well as potentially harsher sanctions against Russian fuel exports.
A wind turbine and an electricity pylon in Finedon, Britain. Developers can no longer use financial modeling that assumes gas power plants are used constantly throughout their 20-year-plus lifetime, analysts said.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 21, 2023

Giant batteries drain economics of gas power plants

Batteries that ensure stable power supply are becoming cheap enough to make developers abandon scores of projects for gas-fired generation worldwide.
Despite being a global leader in more costly offshore wind production, the number of new turbines going up in the English countryside has been at a virtual standstill for nearly a decade.
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2023

Winds of change? The bid to revive England's onshore sector

The number of new turbines going up in the English countryside has been at a virtual standstill for nearly a decade.
A bottle of Suntory Holdings' Yamazaki 25 Year Old whisky at the company's distillery in Shimamoto, Osaka Prefecture, in October
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 22, 2023

Suntory to more than double the price of some alcoholic beverages

The company said that the price increases are designed to help improve the quality of its products and enhance production facilities.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. The central bank has yet to step into the real estate investment trusts market this year, after purchases every year since 2010 to help lower risks in the property market.
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2023

BOJ pulls back from risk asset buying in sign of normalization

The lack of buying comes amid simmering speculation that the Bank of Japan will scrap its negative interest rate and control of government bond yields.
With the 225-issue Nikkei stock average up by 28% this year and trading near its highest level since 1990, foreign investors who have plowed more than $35 billion into Japanese stocks in 2023 after years of shying away are seen as especially demanding.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 22, 2023

‘Tourist investors’ punish Japan’s earnings misses

Traders relatively new to the market with unrealistically high expectations have exited positions due to nervousness.
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2023

Manga artists and taxi drivers hit as tax frustrations mount

About 4.6 million businesses that were previously exempt from paying sales tax have been impacted by a new invoice system.
Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 22, 2023

OpenAI restores Sam Altman as CEO after his tumultuous ouster

In addition to Altman's return, the company agreed to partly reconstitute the board of directors that dismissed him.
Actor Joaquin Phoenix (left), actress Vanessa Kirby and director Ridley Scott arrive for the U.K. premiere of the movie "Napoleon" in London on Nov. 16.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 20, 2023

Ridley Scott’s ‘Napoleon’ and our need for historical heroes

The new movie Napoleon' reignites the debate on the role of great individuals in history
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is exploring more investments in mid- and late-stage tech startups, seeing room for expansion into a field that historically was shunned by relatively conservative giant lenders.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 22, 2023

Top Japanese bank builds startup fund as policy push lures lenders

Mars Growth Capital, co-run by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, now has around 40 to 50 potential investment deals for its recently launched equity fund.
Pedestrians walk past stores in the Koenji district in Tokyo on Oct. 29.
BUSINESS
Nov 23, 2023

Personal shopping services in Japan buoyed by weak yen

Shoppers who cannot physically be in Japan are outsourcing their hunt for bargains to remote shopping services.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, speaks during WSJ Tech Live Conference in Laguna Beach, California on Oct. 17.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 23, 2023

OpenAI researchers spoke of risky discovery before CEO ouster

The previously unreported letter and AI algorithm were key developments before the board's ouster of Sam Altman.
COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber addresses delegates during the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi on Sept. 5.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 23, 2023

Sultan al-Jaber: the UAE oil boss steering COP28

Climate funding has caused divisions between developed countries held largely responsible for global warming and poorer countries most vulnerable to it.
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban delivers a speech in Budapest on Nov. 18, after he was re-elected leader at the congress of the governing right-wing Fidesz party.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 23, 2023

Inside Viktor Orban’s $1 billion academy for future nationalists

The academy has become a training ground for the next generation of Orban disciples to ensure the nationalist forces are replenished.
Mizuho Financial Group is seeking to establish a securities company in China.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 23, 2023

Japan's Mizuho applies to set up securities company in China

The application comes as the bank is hoping to tap China's lucrative capital markets fee pool, the largest after the United States and Europe.
Ecuador's new President Daniel Noboa gestures to the crowd from the balcony of Carondelet Palace after being inaugurated at the National Assembly, in Quito, Ecuador, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 24, 2023

New Ecuadorian president Daniel Noboa pledges reforms

The country is facing deep economic challenges that have pushed thousands to migrate.
Core consumer prices in Japan rose 2.9% in October from a year earlier, staying above the Bank of Japan's 2% target for the 19th straight month as products seeing price hikes continued to broaden.
BUSINESS
Nov 24, 2023

Japan inflation quickens, clouding price outlook for BOJ

A weak yen has been a key driver behind high import costs, as it has stayed near a 33-year low against the dollar in recent months.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks during the opening session of the Global Food Security Summit in London on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 24, 2023

The economy, stupid? Sunak's 'only' chance of re-election

Several resets have failed to claw back support from a resurgent Labour opposition, meaning his party's fortunes hinge on a British economic recovery.
Kashmiri journalists protest against internet blockade put by India's government in Srinagar in October 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 24, 2023

Internet out: India deploys shutdowns in name of security

Some blackouts last hours, others days. Some stretch for months.
Hidenori Izaki, one-time winner of the World Barista Championship, brings coffee to new heights at Cokuun.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 26, 2023

Tasting the 'Zen of coffee' at speakeasy-esque Cokuun

Drawing inspiration from fine dining and tea ceremony, Hidenori Izaki brews coffee with exceptional hospitality and speakeasy-style mystique.
The undulating structure of the Garden Plaza in Azabudai Hills in Tokyo is designed to showcase diverse greenery as well as act as an antidote to boxlike architecture.
BUSINESS
Nov 24, 2023

In photos: Tokyo’s new 'city within a city'

Mori's new Hills complex aims to challenge the traditional vision of hard-edged city living with beveled curves and green terraces.
Billionaire Elon Musk, owner of the X social media platform, pauses during an event with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London on Nov. 2.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 25, 2023

X may lose up to $75 million in revenue as advertisers pull out

Scores of brands have pulled their ads after owner Elon Musk’s endorsement of an antisemitic conspiracy theory.
Sodium — found in rock salts and brines around the globe — has the potential to make inroads into energy storage and electric vehicles because it’s cheaper and far more abundant than lithium.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 27, 2023

Salt in batteries: Shift may herald another shakeup

Sodium has the potential to make inroads into energy storage and electric vehicles because it’s cheaper and far more abundant than lithium.
A hydrogen storage tank and loading system at a liquefied hydrogen receiving terminal in Kobe
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 27, 2023

U.K. concerned about Japan’s co-firing plans to curb emissions

The move 'prolongs the life of coal plants and leads to emissions,' said the head of climate change and energy at the British Embassy in Tokyo.
Lee Kyeong-sig, who runs a dog meat farm, feeds dogs in cages in Hwaseong, South Korea, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Nov 27, 2023

South Korea's canine farmers protest proposed ban on dog meat

Despite its declining popularity and opposition from animal rights activists, previous attempts to ban dog meat have failed because of industry protests.
The best season for Australian mangoes is from November to February, different from that of rival producers in the opposite hemisphere.
BUSINESS
Nov 27, 2023

Australia keen to boost mango exports to Japan after curbs eased

The Australian mango season is different to that of rival producers in the opposite hemisphere.
Akina Shu has visited around 50 countries as a speaker and ambassador on the digital nomad lifestyle since 2020.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Nov 27, 2023

Japan is enticing for digital nomads, but visa hurdles remain

While the country does not offer a digital nomad visa, the government is working on introducing one sometime in 2024.
Former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga says Japanese firms' clean energy technology can speed up the country’s efforts to curb emissions.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 27, 2023

Japan’s tech leaders accelerate its climate actions, ex-PM says

Japan’s companies were once at the cutting edge of green technology but have been surpassed by Chinese producers.

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