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Elon Musk arrives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington to participate in the A.I. Forum in September of last year.
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2024

Elon Musk sues OpenAI and Sam Altman for violating the company’s principles

Musk sued OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, accusing them of breaching a contract by putting profits ahead of the public good.
Under the watch of Chinese President Xi Jinping, China has expanded state control of strategically critical areas from semiconductor manufacturing to quantum computing.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 5, 2024

China vows to mobilize nation as it fights U.S. for tech supremacy

The central government will increase spending on scientific and technology research by 10% in 2024.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 8, 2024

Japan Inc. set to offer bumper pay hikes, paving way for stimulus end

Economists see negotiations resulting in an average increase of around 3.9% in pay for union workers at major firms.
Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk says the Japanese public needs to know more about obesity rates before the weight-loss drug can take off in the country.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 9, 2024

Is Japan as thin as it thinks? Weight-loss drug maker says no.

In Japan, some 33% of men and 22% of women have a BMI of 25 — the crucial threshold — or more.
South Korean pop group BTS perform during the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards on April 3, 2022.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 27, 2024

Universal Music to distribute BTS and rappers in new Hybe deal

As part of the agreement, the companies will collaborate on artist promotions and marketing activities in North America.
The 2024 grand prix winner was Zerogravity, a marine activity provider with a focus on accessible tours and accommodation.
LIFE / Travel
Mar 29, 2024

Japan Travel Awards promote inclusive tourism

While currently far from a global player, the Japan Travel Awards is filling a void for recommendations on forward-looking travel-centric organizations.
Akihiro Fukutome, head of the Japanese Bankers Association, said new takeover guidelines from the industry ministry last year have helped lower psychological hurdles associated with unsolicited bids.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 1, 2024

Japan's banks less hesitant with hostile takeovers, lobby chief says

His comments offer evidence of a sea change in Japan — which once shunned hostile bids — that has helped bring it closer to Western-style dealmaking.
An Ariens Company employee works on the assembly line at the company's plant in Brillion, Wisconsin.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 5, 2024

U.S. employment boom leaves factory workers behind

There is a stark contrast between U.S. factory employment and the four-year boom in the wider job market
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Apr 10, 2024

Kishida’s U.S. trip highlights economic and political compatibility

Kishida has worked closely with Biden to enhance the Japan-U.S. alliance, with the countries labeling their bilateral ties a “global partnership.”
Workers clean argeli bark in the Ilam district of eastern Nepal. Thousands of miles away, in Japan, the bark will be used to make yen notes.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Apr 16, 2024

On Himalayan hillsides grows Japan’s cold, hard cash

One of the poorest pockets of Asia supplies a primary ingredient for the economy in one of the richest.
Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
CULTURE / Books / Longform
Apr 22, 2024

The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores

Shops without staff, shelves for rent, cafes and meetups are some of the ways the country's dwindling bookstores are trying to survive.
While some publicly traded bitcoin mining companies release details of their energy use, there is no reliable data on exactly how much electricity the industry as a whole consumes.
BUSINESS / Tech / ANALYSIS
Apr 25, 2024

Bitcoin miner environmental battles heat up in U.S.

As cryptocurrency groups work to shield mines from local regulations, U.S. President Joe Biden proposed an excise tax on bitcoin energy use.
Activist investor campaigns are becoming more commonplace in Japan as the government and the Tokyo Stock Exchange encourage companies to boost shareholder returns.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 30, 2024

Elliott Management's Sumitomo stake reflects growing activism in Japan

Elliott has built a large holding in Sumitomo after investing several tens of billions of yen in the trading house backed by Warren Buffett.
A cardboard cut-out of a cyborg is on display in the Hofburg, the former imperial palace in Vienna, during a conference on regulating autonomous weapons systems often referred as "killer robots," in the Austrian city on Monday.
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 30, 2024

AI faces its ‘Oppenheimer moment’ during killer robot arms race

Governments worldwide have taken steps to collaborate with companies integrating AI tools into defense
Advanced Micro Devices' processors and memory chips
BUSINESS / Tech
May 2, 2024

AI hardware stocks get pummeled even as big tech keeps spending

Hardware makers have seen their shares rally this year amid an arms race for artificial intelligence computing power that’s lifting sales and profits.
Optica headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Companies
May 3, 2024

Huawei secretly backs U.S. research, awarding millions in prizes

Huawei Technologies is the sole funder of a research competition that has awarded millions of dollars since its inception in 2022.
A Lamborghini Diablo SL automobile displayed at the company's event to mark the automaker’s 60th anniversary in Seoul in September 2023. While the boost in wealth among crypto investors was mostly poured into discretionary spending, a significant portion spilled into local housing markets, the researchers found.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 6, 2024

Lamborghini bros no more: Crypto is creating a new wealth effect

Study suggests that household spending out of crypto gains is more like the patterns from traditional equity investments, such as on home purchases.
Workers make pods for e-cigarettes on the production line at Kanger Tech, one of China's leading manufacturers of vaping products, on Sept. 24, 2019 in Shenzhen, China.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 9, 2024

China’s factory glut alarms the world, but there’s no quick fix

European Union leaders, who are threatening tariffs on electric cars, were the latest to scold China about overcapacity, but there are no plans to change.
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Vietnam President Vo Van Thuong in Hanoi on Sept. 11, 2023. During Biden's visit to Hanoi last year, the U.S. and Vietnam elevated ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 9, 2024

Vietnam's China ties loom large in U.S. hearing on market economy upgrade

Opponents cite Beijing's outsized influence on Hanoi while proponents argue that denial of market economy status would push Vietnam closer to its neighbor.
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen holds a news conference ahead of a meeting of Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors in Stresa, Italy, on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 26, 2024

China slammed in G7 show of unity threatening trade escalation

The Group of Seven ministers and bankers accused the world’s second-biggest economy of hurting the economies of its trade partners.
A SAIC Motor MG EXE181 concept EV during the Beijing Auto Show earlier this year.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 27, 2024

Xi’s China EV dream came true, but 10 years on, walls are going up.

China also overtook Japan as the largest auto exporter, but such achievements are also adding to tensions with the West.
While the recent trilateral summit between Japan, South Korea and China in Seoul was aimed at restarting dialogue, it yielded minimal concrete outcomes.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 30, 2024

Lessons from the Japan-South Korea-China summit

The underlying force driving the trilateral summit — which yielded little in substance — is the fact that Beijing needed these talks more than Tokyo and Seoul.
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures as he arrives back at Trump Tower after being convicted in his criminal trial, in New York City on Thursday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 31, 2024

Trump found guilty on all counts in hush money case

Prosecutors said Trump led a broader scheme to influence the election by concealing stories of his alleged sexual encounters with women.
An Nvidia Cop. Quantum-X800 InfiniBand Platform on display in Taipei on June 5. Nvidia was already the world's most valuable semiconductor firm. Now, it's become the first computer-chip company ever to hit $3 trillion in market capitalization.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 10, 2024

Big Tech is driving the S&P rally. Others will have to step up.

Part of the challenge for tech investors is the stocks are already quite expensive.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 19, 2024

Biden offers legal path to undocumented spouses of citizens

Spouses and children of citizens who have been in the U.S. for at least a decade can apply for residence without first being forced to leave the country.
The dollar’s reign has wreaked havoc across currency markets, especially in Japan where ultralow interest rates have sent the yen spiraling down more than 11% against the greenback this year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 22, 2024

Dollar winning streak extends into fifth week as yen slumps

The dollar’s reign has wreaked havoc in Japan where low interest rates have sent the yen spiraling down more than 11% against the greenback this year.
A drum sits inside the Korea Exchange in Seoul on June 13. South Korea is extending a ban on stock short selling through March 30 next year and planning harsher penalties for illegal trades.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 30, 2024

High-speed traders and short sellers face growing Asia crackdown

Recent developments show the difficulty of keeping up with increasingly sophisticated trading strategies and their market impact — challenges set to grow further with AI.
Despite her consistently low approval ratings, a recent poll showed Vice President Kamala Harris to be as formidable an opponent to Donald Trump as U.S. President Joe Biden. In a hypothetical matchup, Trump led Harris by a single percentage point, 43% to 42%.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 5, 2024

Trump allies intensify attacks on Kamala Harris as Biden replacement talk builds

They have little to lose by attacking the vice president now, so that if Harris does emerge as the nominee, she might do so in a weakened state.
A gyrotron, which is used to heat plasma for nuclear fusion reactions, developed by Kyoto Fusioneering
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Jul 7, 2024

Kyoto Fusioneering looks toward a 'Made in Japan' approach for nuclear fusion

Although it recognizes that international collaboration is key, the startup sees the country playing an integral role in the fusion ecosystem.
Secret Service agents surround former U.S. President Donald Trump after shots were fired during a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 15, 2024

U.S. Secret Service faces intense scrutiny after attempt on Trump

Blame is already being trained on the agency's director, Kimberly Cheatle, with Republican lawmakers demanding answers from her even as the FBI investigates the shooting.

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