Search - business

 
 
The Nikkei stock market rally has paused, but the market has an upside potential toward the end of the year, according to Allianz Global Investors.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 22, 2024

Allianz says Japanese stocks will defy geopolitics and yen volatility

The asset manager expects support from solid corporate fundamentals and the long-term outlook for artificial intelligence.
Japanese startup Turing plans to unveil a self-driving car with at least 30 minutes’ driving range next year and develop a fully autonomous car by 2030.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 22, 2024

An AI star seeks to bring self-driving cars to Japan by 2030

The mind behind an AI algorithm that beat a shogi master now has his sights set on a fully self-driving vehicle by 2030.
A submerged street after heavy rains in Qingyuan, in China's southern Guangdong province, on Sunday
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Apr 22, 2024

Unseasonal floods batter 'factory floor of the world' in China

As home to factories crucial to the world, China's Guangdong province has prepared for floods — but not on this scale.
Wind turbines off the coast of Zhunan Township, Taiwan. Misguided policies threaten to sink outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen’s hopes of achieving his renewable energy targets.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 18, 2024

Taiwan’s wind power ambitions are in peril

Misguided policies threaten to sink outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen’s renewable energy targets, putting a lot on the incoming administration's plate.
A computer-generated image shows redevelopment plans for the former site of the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 22, 2024

Tsukiji 2030s: A stadium, culinary center and transportation hub

Massive redevelopment plans for the former site of Japan's world-famous fish market aim to turn the waterfront land into the new face of Tokyo.
The Fair Trade Commission took an administrative action against Google for using tactics that limited Yahoo Japan’s ability to compete in targeted search ads.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 22, 2024

Japan watchdog says Google hurt local rival’s ability to compete

From 2015 to 2022, Google blocked Yahoo Japan from technology needed to receive targeted ad revenue from searches on mobile devices, the FTC said.
The new V Point reward point program will have a combined number of 154 million subscribers from its two former programs, the largest in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 23, 2024

New 'V Point' program launched after merger

The combined number of subscribers to the two former programs was 154 million, the largest in Japan.
The dollar's resurgence has come on the back of a slew of signs that the U.S. economy avoided the slowdown many anticipated.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 23, 2024

U.S. dollar’s extended reign delivers stark wake-up call to markets

Global investors are talking about "U.S. exceptionalism” after a predicted slowdown to the nation's economy didn't transpire.
About 60% of small and mid-sized companies plan to raise wages in fiscal 2024, a government survey shows.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 23, 2024

70% of Japan companies to raise pay-scales in FY 2024

Survey results showed that about 40% of firms were struggling with labor shortages even after raising wages.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda hasn’t ruled out responding to exchange rates with a policy move if the impact on prices is seen to be "non-negligible.”
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 23, 2024

BOJ to hold rates with focus on hawkish signals to buoy yen

Gov. Kazuo Ueda and his fellow board members are set to keep the short-term rate around 0% to 0.1% at the end of their two-day policy meeting.
Yum China, which operates KFC and Pizza Hut, plans to add more than 5,000 outlets by 2026 with more than 50% of them outside megacities.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Apr 23, 2024

China’s small towns thrive as more opt out of demanding megacity life

As an economic downturn in China’s biggest cities prompts layoffs and competition for remaining posts, many are finding a better quality of life elsewhere.
An employee prepares to place a mortar into a box at an arms production facility in an undisclosed location in Ukraine.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Apr 23, 2024

Cash shortages and attacks take toll on Ukraine's growing arms sector

Firms are struggling to fund production and secure long-term deals, and all are concerned about being targeted in intensifying Russian missile strikes.
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki speaks during a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok on the sidelines of IMF and G20 meetings in Washington last week.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 23, 2024

Tokyo issues strong warning on yen intervention as currency dips further

Comments by Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki came after the dollar rose to ¥154.85, its strongest levels against the Japanese currency since 1990.
Tesla remains the dominant EV maker in the U.S. market, but its earnings have been under pressure for several quarters.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 24, 2024

Tesla speeding up release of cheaper cars after sales miss

The maker of electric vehicles plans to release more affordable models by the end of this year or in early next year.
People backing Ukraine gather outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Tuesday. The Senate on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to approve a long-stalled $95 billion package of aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 24, 2024

Congress passes Ukraine aid bill in boost to Kyiv — and Taipei — after long delay

The package, which had been delayed amid objections from Republican hard-liners, could be signed into law as soon as this week.
Chinese President Xi Jinping. Ever-growing tensions in the South China Sea all point to an uncomfortable truth for Southeast Asian nations, as well as the U.S.: In this standoff, China is winning.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 24, 2024

Xi’s armada is winning the battle for energy in South China Sea

China’s increasingly assertive stance has sparked a flurry of diplomatic and military efforts aimed at countering Beijing’s footprint.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump and Taro Aso, vice president of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, in New York on Tuesday. The Japanese government’s top spokesman on Wednesday played down the meeting as one conducted "in the capacity of one lawmaker" and “without the government’s involvement.”
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 24, 2024

Japan's former PM Aso meets Trump for talks on security and economy

The visit highlights behind-the-scenes moves by Tokyo to cultivate ties with the Trump camp ahead of November’s U.S. presidential election.
An electronic board in Tokyo showing the yen-dollar rate on Wednesday
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 24, 2024

Japan ‘very close’ to yen intervention, former top currency official says

Market reaction to U.S. data could encourage Japanese authorities to act about the yen, according to Mitsuhiro Furusawa.
A terrace of one of the rooms of the Grand Chateau hotel building located in Tokyo DisneySea's new "Fantasy Springs" area in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 24, 2024

Hotel at new Tokyo DisneySea area shown to press

The minimum overnight fee for the hotel's two buildings is ¥66,000 for rooms at the Fantasy Chateau and ¥341,000 for those at higher-end Grand Chateau.
Despite the potential benefits AI might have for bank customers, like finding the best interest rates, there are concerns about the destabilizing effects it may have on financial stability.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 24, 2024

Generative AI is coming for your bank. Maybe.

Tech investors reckon that supersmart agents will soon upend the business model of traditional banks, but there are caveats.
The rate of the yen against the U.S. dollar is displayed in the trading room at foreign exchange brokerage Gaitame.com in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 25, 2024

Yen inches closer to intervention point as BOJ meeting starts

For the first time in over 30 years, the yen weakened beyond ¥155 per dollar, sending traders on the alert for possible intervention.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 25, 2024

South Korea’s economic growth beats forecast as exports rise

South Korea's gross domestic product advanced 1.3% in the three months through March, easily outpacing economists’ consensus for a 0.6% expansion.
Exporters will be helped both by the stronger dollar, and also by their exposure to the U.S. economic resilience.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 25, 2024

Dollar wrecking ball forces investors to seek cover in exporters

Those with significant dollar earnings are set for a windfall, with major beneficiaries including heavyweight Asian chipmakers.
Shintaro Wakiyama, mayor of Genkai, Saga Prefecture, speaks to reporters last week.   Jiji
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2024

Saga town committee to OK petition to accept nuclear waste survey

The mayor of Genkai, Shintaro Wakiyama, has taken a cautious stance on the issue.
The planned extension of the Hokkaido Shinkansen to Sapporo will be delayed until after fiscal 2030 due to difficulties relating to tunnel construction, according to sources.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2024

Hokkaido Shinkansen extension to be delayed beyond fiscal 2030

According to sources, tunnel construction for the section has proven challenging.
Masahiro Moro, CEO of Mazda Motor, speaks next to EZ-6 electric vehicles during the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 25, 2024

Nissan and Mazda roll out new models for China as they aim for comeback

The models, including some concept cars, were introduced at the Beijing Auto Show.
The government, and the Tokyo Stock Exchange in particular, have been pushing for better governance among the country’s 3.7 million companies.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 25, 2024

Japan’s retail investors care about governance too, poll shows

Investors are increasingly aware of the need to hold corporate boards and executives to high standards.
People observe a moment of silence for the victims of a JR Fukuchiyama Line train crash in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, Thursday morning on the 19th anniversary of the accident.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2024

Victims of JR West train crash mourned 19 years on

The president of JR West and other officials observed a moment of silence at 9:18 a.m., the time of the crash, which killed 106 passengers.
Toyota's annual global sales topped 10 million units in 2023 for the first time.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 26, 2024

Toyota sets records for output and sales as scandals fail to dent demand

Global sales increased 5% from a year earlier to 11.1 million units, new data shows, exceeding 10 million for the first time.
The Mount Holland lithium mine is a glimpse of the future of what Western Australia hopes will be a new, greener stage of development.
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2024

On lithium’s frontier, miners are betting on a greener second act

Despite weak prices for the metal deemed critical to energy transition, they are gearing up for a rebound in demand for batteries and electric vehicles.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji