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Japanese household spending in April showed the first year-on-year increase since February last year, marking rises in such categories as education, rent and clothing.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 7, 2024

Japan’s households boost outlays for first time in 14 months

Real outlays rose 0.5% in April from a year ago, marking the first increase since February last year.
Kenji Iikura (right), head chef at Akasaka Tantei, and manager Hibiki Kitazawa pose with Okinawan cuisine served at the restaurant in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Jun 17, 2024

How a Michelin-star Okinawan restaurant made a V-shaped recovery

A return to its roots — and Okinawan flavors — struck a chord with new and returning customers.
Korean skincare routines tend to be more complex than Japan’s counterpart beauty industry of “less is more,” making K-beauty something of a sweet spot between Japan and the West.
LIFE / Style & Design
Jun 9, 2024

K-beauty or J-beauty? The two 'are not so different these days.'

In early 2024, imports of Korean beauty products to Japan topped French cosmetics for the first time.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. More than half of the 50 economists surveyed predict the central bank will decide next week to slow the pace of bond buying.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 7, 2024

Majority of BOJ watchers expect cut in bond buying next week

Some 54% of 50 economists said the bank will slow the pace of bond buying from around ¥6 trillion per month at the policy board gathering.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addresses a panel discussing active cyberdefense at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2024

Kishida wants active cyberdefense bill to be drawn up swiftly

The government hopes to submit the envisaged legislation as soon as the next parliamentary session.
Bharatiya Janata Party supporters celebrate after India's general election results in New Delhi on Tuesday. The BJP emerged with 240 seats, making it the single largest party in the assembly, but well short of the 272 seats it needs for a majority.
EDITORIALS
Jun 7, 2024

India’s election humbles Modi and his party

Even as Prime Minister Modi and the BJP claimed a historic third term, voters recognized the need for moderation in some of its policies.
China isn’t worried that Hyundai and other South Korean firms will outcompete locals. However, their presence ensures a continued supply of production factors: equipment, chemicals and labor.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 7, 2024

Why China wants South Korea to stay open

Countries push for free trade when they have an edge. Beijing knows it.
The head of the Bank of Japan has ruled out using monetary policy to directly influence exchange-rate moves, but signaled the chance of raising rates if the weak yen pushes up inflation more than expected.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 7, 2024

Japan growth strategy panel calls for vigilance to weak yen impact

The call reflects the government's growing concerns about a weak yen.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida answers questions during a Lower House committee session on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 7, 2024

Japan maintains goal of primary budget surplus from 2025 to 2030

The plan will be reflected in the annual economic and fiscal policy guidelines that the central government aims to adopt at a Cabinet meeting by the end of this month.
Suzuki's eVX electric vehicle at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo last October
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 7, 2024

Suzuki to stop making cars in Thailand to focus on EV shift

The 12-year-old plant in Thailand’s Rayong province, southeast of Bangkok, has an annual production capacity of 60,000 units.
Takahiro Mori, the key negotiator for the U.S. Steel deal, is attempting to close the deal amid growing regulatory scrutiny and political opposition.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2024

Nippon Steel executive sees positive reaction from U.S. Steel workers

Takahiro Mori, the key negotiator for the U.S. Steel deal, is attempting to close the deal amid growing regulatory scrutiny and political opposition.
The government is set to start discussing the idea of extending public health insurance coverage to include childbirth from fiscal 2026.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2024

Japan to discuss public insurance coverage of childbirth

The average of childbirth costs across Japan stood at some ¥482,000 in fiscal 2022.
A Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. facility under construction in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2022. Washington aims to strengthen domestic chip manufacturing as it engages in a trade war with China.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jun 9, 2024

Does economic security undermine the benefits of interdependence?

While economic security concerns are not new in the U.S., coercive methods are. These risk undermining the rules-based international order and its global appeal.
A Saudi Aramco logo outside an oil storage tank at the Juaymah tank farm at the firm's Ras Tanura oil refinery and terminal at Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia, in October 2018
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 10, 2024

Saudis said to hand about 60% of Aramco offer to foreign investors

The firm's stock sale generated strong demand from the U.S. and Europe, sources said.
Transport ministry officials enter Mazda's headquarters in Fuchu, Hiroshima Prefecture, on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 10, 2024

Honda and Mazda headquarters inspected over vehicle test fraud

The transport ministry last week searched the head offices of Toyota, Yamaha and Suzuki.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 10, 2024

Investors brace for volatility as BOJ seeks to cut bond buying

The Bank of Japan bought only ¥4.5 trillion of government bonds last month, the lowest amount since March 2013.
People walk in front of a BYD Auto company and Autotorino store in Milan on March 20.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 10, 2024

European nations compete for Chinese EV factories as EU weighs tariffs

Chinese EV makers want to set up in Europe to build their brands and save on shipping and potential tariffs.
Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks during Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference in Cupertino, California, on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 11, 2024

Apple's AI push could reinvigorate iPhone sales as customers look to upgrade

Facing choppy consumer spending and resurgent tech rivals, Apple has looked to AI as a way to invigorate its loyal fan base.
A health worker prepares a dose of the Covishield vaccine, co-developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, and manufactured by Serum Institute of India.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 11, 2024

World’s largest vaccine maker sees demand doubling in five years

Serum Institute of India plans to double its vaccine production to 3 billion doses annually over five years, expecting a surge in demand as global health budgets rise.
The Bank of Japan is expected to discuss cutting bond purchases at a two-day policy meeting ending Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 11, 2024

BOJ expected to weigh bond buying cuts as rate hike timing nears

A paring back of bond purchases would mark the BOJ’s first clear step toward quantitative tightening after pivoting away from its massive stimulus program in March.
The Dior investigation focused on four suppliers employing 32 staff who worked in the surroundings of Milan, two of whom were immigrants in the country illegally while another seven worked without the required documentation.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 11, 2024

LVMH's unit put under court administration in Italy over labor exploitation

A probe alleged that the Italian subsidiary, which makes Dior-branded handbags, had subcontracted work to Chinese-owned firms that mistreated workers.
Carlyle will probably announce another two or three transactions in Japan this year, the fund's co-head of the Japan buyout advisory team says.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 11, 2024

Carlyle sets sights on 300 Japanese businesses as PE deals boom

Carlyle, which has been operating in Japan since 2000, has made more than 40 private equity investments locally.
Migrant workers harvest and package vegetables in a greenhouse in Gasan-myeon, South Korea, in December 2023. Though a shrinking population makes imported labor vital, migrant workers routinely face predatory employers, inhumane conditions and other abuse.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jun 11, 2024

South Korea accused of 'human trafficking' with seasonal worker program

Filipino workers say brokers charge excessive fees to find them back-breaking work, confiscate their passports and documents, and cheat them out of wages.
Glen Fukushima, former deputy assistant to the U.S. Trade Representative for Japan and China, is interviewed in New York last week.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 11, 2024

U.S. Steel buyout may be approved if Biden reelected, former U.S. official says

Pennsylvania, where U.S. Steel's headquarters is located, is regarded as one of the swing states that will decide the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.
Bankruptcies rose especially among restaurant operators amid labor shortages and rising labor costs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 11, 2024

Japan corporate bankruptcies surge above 1,000 in May

The latest result came as many companies struggle with rising prices, as well as labor shortages mainly in the service sector.
Naoki Okamura, chief executive officer of Astellas Pharma, speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 11, 2024

Astellas seeks green light for eye drug Izervay in Europe and Japan

The drugmaker is in discussions with Japanese regulators about whether clinical trials for local patients are needed, Chief Executive Naoki Okamura said.
Soldiers stand at attention on the day German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier attends a Bundeswehr training exercise in Munster, Germany, on April 18.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 11, 2024

Infighting over budget imperils Germany’s defense upgrade

Uncertainty is growing about how to achieve a key spending goal when topped-off funds are exhausted in 2028.
African National Congress President Cyril Ramaphosa arrives ahead of the National Executive Committee meeting in Johannesburg last Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 11, 2024

South African parties straddle opposing visions to build unity government

Efforts to form a broad-based unity government are set to test Nelson Mandela's 1994 aspiration for a "rainbow nation at peace with itself."
Toyota Industries holds its shareholders meeting in Takahama, Aichi Prefecture, on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 11, 2024

Scandals and profitability in focus as Japan firms hold shareholders meetings

The strong interest in compliance follows a string of testing fraud scandals at automakers, while the focus on profitability has led to a flurry of shareholder proposals.
Between November and May, five major incidents involving Japan Airlines aircraft were reported, prompting the transport ministry to issue the airline a stern warning and conduct an on-site inspection at its facilities late last month.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 11, 2024

JAL vows to raise crew safety awareness following emergency probe

The airline promised to implement measures to prevent a recurrence of recent months' safety lapses in order to regain the trust of passengers.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past