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Taiwan's President-elect Lai Ching-te (left) and his running mate Hsiao Bi-khim after Lai's presidential win in Taipei on Jan. 13.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 24, 2024

U.S. lawmakers arrive for Taiwan visit

The visit marks the second by U.S. officials this month and comes after Nauru unexpectedly announced that it was switching allegiance to Beijing.
In Palworld, players can explore an open world and collectible Pokemon-esque creatures, some of whom utilize a variety of weaponry to defeat opponents.
LIFE / Digital
Jan 24, 2024

Overnight smash Palworld is much more than ‘Pokemon with guns’

Instead of “Pokemon with guns,” a more apt description for Palworld would be “Pokemon, but it grew up over the last 30 years.”
Fighters loyal to the Houthis ride on the back of a pick-up truck during a military parade for new tribal recruits amid escalating tensions with the U.S.-led coalition in the Red Sea, in Bani Hushaish, Yemen on Monday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 24, 2024

Red Sea attacks could disrupt shipping for months, driving up costs

With sailors demanding double pay and insurance rates skyrocketing, shipping lines are steering clear of a waterway that normally carries 12% of seaborne trade.
The market cap of Japan’s largest automaker reached ¥48.79 trillion ($330 billion) at the end of Tokyo stock trading on Tuesday, with Toyota shares having closed ¥9 higher at ¥2,991 after briefly reaching an all-time high of ¥3,034.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 24, 2024

Toyota’s market cap hits record high for a Japanese firm

Market participants are keeping a close eye on Japan’s top automaker amid expectations that it will post strong earnings.
Carmaker Daihatsu recalled more than 320,000 vehicles and extended a factory shutdown on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 24, 2024

Daihatsu recalls 320,000 cars and extends factory halt

The Toyota-owned firm notified the transport ministry that it would recall a total of 322,700 vehicles of two models due to a door defect.
Sony terminated merger plans with Zee on Monday after more than two years of negotiations, citing alleged breaches of the terms of their agreement.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 25, 2024

India's Zee asks Sony to honor merger obligations and approaches tribunal

Zee denies Sony's claims that it had breached the terms of their agreement, which the Japanese company cited as the reason it called off the deal.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden participate in their first 2020 presidential campaign debate in Cleveland, Ohio.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 25, 2024

Wall Street maps out 2024 election as Trump vs Biden looks likely

While calculations at this stage come with caveats, expectations for politically fueled moves in asset prices around the 2024 vote are high.
Ice covers the Moskva river in downtown Moscow. The Kremlin still mostly relies on volunteers to fight its war in Ukraine, offering 210,000 rubles monthly.
BUSINESS
Jan 25, 2024

Russia’s war fuels a wage spiral that threatens army recruitment

The competition for employees has pushed wages up at a double-digit pace and made once-relatively lucrative military service less appealing.
China’s economy is facing an uphill battle filled with challenges, including a deepening housing slump, fears of a deflationary spiral and high levels of youth unemployment.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 25, 2024

China officials told Xi’s belt-tightening rules are here to stay

While President Xi Jinping has long discouraged excess, the renewed calls for austerity come as the world’s second-largest economy faces severe challenges.
Nippon Steel's plant in Kamisu, Ibaraki Prefecture. The firm submitted a cash offer to acquire U.S. Steel for $55 a share on Dec. 16.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 25, 2024

Sweetened offer in final hours clinched U.S. steel deal for Nippon

Nippon Steel executives submitted a sweetened cash offer to acquire the Pittsburgh-based company for $55 (¥8,120) a share on Dec. 16.
Protesters during a nationwide strike near the National Congress in Buenos Aires on Wednesday. Argentina's labor movement is staging a general strike that will test popular support for President Javier Milei's austerity blitz less than two months into his presidency.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 25, 2024

Thousands protest Javier Milei’s reforms months into Argentine presidency

The mass protests in Buenos Aires come as the libertarian economist attempts to slash the size of the state in a bid to tame triple-digit inflation.
Masato Kanda, vice finance minister for international affairs, is closely watching how an expected end to negative interest rates in Japan affect markets.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 25, 2024

Top forex diplomat vigilant over market impact from BOJ stimulus exit

As vice finance minister for international affairs, Masato Kanda oversees currency policy.
Former Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat was declared not guilty in his media shareholding case by Thailand's Constitutional Court on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 25, 2024

Thai court clears former PM hopeful Pita Limjaroenrat in share case

Thailand’s constitution bars politicians from owning shares in media firms to prevent platforms being abused for personal gains and to protect media freedom.
Ellie Harrell launched her dog seitai practice in late 2023 after seeing first hand how the therapy helped her own injured dog.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 27, 2024

‘My job is to provide dogs with relief from even the smallest amount of pain’

Does your dog need a back adjustment? Ellie Harrell’s salon is waiting to provide treatment.
Seiste's ¥1,650 limited-edition ice cream will be available for eat-in customers throughout the Valentine's Day period at the Matsuya department store in Tokyo's Ginza district.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 25, 2024

Tokyo department stores to offer in-store dining options for Valentine's Day

In recent years, the Feb. 14 celebration has evolved from a day of gifting sweets to a celebration of love for chocolate.
One way to cut the steel industry’s emissions is to recycle more iron and steel products than the world currently does.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 25, 2024

What steel decarbonization needs

One way to cut the industry's emissions is by recycling more iron and steel products than we currently do.
Girl group Atarashii Gakko! will be joined by two other Japanese acts, Yoasobi and Hatsune Miku, at this year's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California.
CULTURE / Music
Jan 25, 2024

Pack your bags, J-pop acts. There's a whole world of fans to meet!

Expect Ado, King Gnu and Lamp to revel in the spotlight abroad with overseas tours, while the sounds of Shibuya-kei look to make a welcome return.
The average price of a new apartment for sale in Tokyo and surrounding areas surged 29% to a fresh high of ¥81 million in 2023.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 25, 2024

Tokyo apartment prices reach record high for third straight year

Prices are expected to keep climbing in 2024 even as the economy slows and the Bank of Japan looks to abandon its negative interest-rate policy.
Core inflation in Tokyo slowed below the central bank's 2% target to hit the lowest level in nearly two years.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 26, 2024

Tokyo’s sharp cooling of inflation complicates BOJ’s policy outlook

Tokyo consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 1.6% in January, compared with 2.1% growth in December.
To mitigate China’s growing tech influence and establish a foothold in the budding artificial intelligence ecosystem, Taiwan budgeted some 17.4 billion New Taiwan dollars ($555.6 million) through 2026 to develop expertise and tools in the industry.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 26, 2024

Taiwan builds own AI language model to counter China’s influence

Taiwan is spending $7.4 million for a tool free of China’s political influence
Gross domestic product data released on Thursday showed the U.S. economy ended the year with a bang, while China is struggling under the weight of a yearslong real estate bust and its worst streak of deflation in some 25 years.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 26, 2024

U.S. extends lead over China in race for world’s biggest economy

China was expected to experience a fast recovery as it reopened its economy fully after strict COVID-19 lockdowns, but that hasn't happened.
The engine of a Honda Clarity Fuel Cell vehicle is displayed during its unveiling in Tokyo in March 2016.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 26, 2024

Honda and GM fuel cell venture launches commercial production

Fuel cell technology offers the promise of replicating the hauling power and fast refueling of heavy diesel engines in ways batteries cannot match.
Foreign tourists at a duty-free counter in a department store in Tokyo
BUSINESS
Jan 26, 2024

Duty-free sales at Japan department stores hit record high in 2023

The rise reflected the weak yen, as well as an increase in the number of foreign visitors to Japan.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson scores against the Texans during the fourth quarter of their playoff game in Baltimore, Maryland, on Jan. 20.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Jan 26, 2024

Ravens' Lamar Jackson ready for 'heavyweight fight' in AFC title game

The AFC championship showdown will determine which team advances to next month's Super Bowl in Las Vegas.
Uber Japan has started discussions with partner taxi companies aiming to introduce ride-sharing services.
BUSINESS
Jan 26, 2024

Uber Japan to launch limited ride-sharing services in April

Uber Japan's new services will only be available in areas and during times of the day deemed to face a shortage of taxis.
An arm of the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence is tapping companies and colleges to help harness rapidly developing AI technology that could provide an edge against global competitors like China. The challenge is ensuring it doesn’t open a backdoor into the nation’s top secrets or generate fake data.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 27, 2024

U.S. spies want AI as tool against China if tech can be trusted

The challenge is ensuring the rapidly developing tech doesn’t open a backdoor into the nation’s top secrets or generate fake data.
A Kubota M96S tractor is shown at the 47th Annual World Ag Expo in Tulare, California, in February 2014.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 27, 2024

Kubota hit with $2 million penalty over false 'Made in USA' claims

In addition to the penalty, Kubota will be prohibited from making deceptive claims, according to a court order filed by the U.S. Justice Department.
U.S. National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard said President Joe Biden "continues to believe very strongly that steel is an important industry, a backbone of the transition we are driving in the economy.”
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 27, 2024

Biden aides signal importance of union jobs in Nippon Steel review

Top economic aides for President Joe Biden said he aims to preserve union jobs and domestic manufacturing in the U.S. steel sector.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures to his supporters, as he departs for his second civil trial after E. Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her decades ago, outside Trump Tower in the Manhattan borough of New York City on Friday.
WORLD / FOCUS
Jan 27, 2024

Big money fails to stop Trump, again, prompting a donor reckoning

Donors have learned a hard lesson: Big money cannot win the GOP presidential nomination, at least not against Trump.
South African officials speak ahead of the International Court of Justice's ruling on emergency measures against Israel following accusations by South Africa that the Israeli military operation in Gaza is a state-led genocide, in The Hague on Friday.
WORLD
Jan 27, 2024

South Africa invokes Mandela's legacy with case against Israel

To many South Africans, the country’s outspoken advocacy on behalf of Palestinians has become a point of national pride.

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