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Some regional smaller firms have decided to prioritize raising pay to retain or hire workers, even if they have not been earning sufficient profits, the Bank of Japan has said.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 8, 2024

Bank of Japan sees wage hikes spreading across economy

The optimistic assessment may heighten the case for the central bank to raise interest rates as soon as its next meeting on July 30 and 31.
French President Emmanuel Macron and French First Lady Brigitte Macron leave after voting in the second round of French parliamentary elections at a polling station in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, France, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 9, 2024

France in limbo after Macron gamble deepens political deadlock

No political party wields an outright majority after the French election, and no obvious candidate for prime minister has emerged.
Rescuers work at Ohmatdyt Children's Hospital, which was hit by Russian missile strikes in Kyiv on Monday.
WORLD
Jul 9, 2024

Russian missiles kill 36 and hit a children's hospital, Ukraine says

The Ukrainian government proclaimed a day of mourning after one of the worst air attacks of the war.
A man watches a large screen showing news coverage of Chinese President Xi Jinping meeting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Beijing on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 9, 2024

Orban’s shuttle diplomacy angers EU and whiplashes allies

The Hungarian prime minister made trips to Moscow and Beijing after his country took over the EU's rotating presidency on July 1.
The Consumer Affairs Agency is advising people to ignore unfamiliar payment requests over the phone, even if a major company is named.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 9, 2024

Beware of overseas number phone scams, Japan’s consumer watchdog warns

Scammers claiming to be telecommunications company NTT demanding “unpaid fees” have duped victims into making substantial payments amounting to millions of yen.
Protesters hold a giant French flag on the statue of Marianne as people gather at the Place de la Republique, after partial results in the second round of the early French parliamentary elections, in Paris on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 9, 2024

Debt and political deadlock keep investors nervous after French election

At the center of the euro project and the bloc's second biggest economy, France, still faces a hung parliament and taxing negotiations to form a government.
A bull statue stands outside the Shenzhen Stock Exchange building in Shenzhen in September 2019.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 9, 2024

China’s plenum promises cues for commodity bulls and bears

China is the world’s biggest importer of commodities and its dominant supplier of clean energy, so decisions taken in Beijing ripple across the world.
Tea garden workers pluck tea leaves inside Durgabari Tea Estate on the outskirts of Agartala, India, in 2017.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 9, 2024

India's tea prices soar as extreme weather slashes output

The price rise could support the beleaguered Indian tea industry, which has been struggling with rising production costs.
An electronic board in Tokyo shows the Nikkei stock index's new closing high on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 9, 2024

Japan's Nikkei marks record closing high as chip-related shares rally

The Nikkei closed 1.96% higher at 41,580.17, after rising as much as 2.4% to a record intraday high of 41,769.35.
Japan's excessive dependence on certain countries for chip imports is a risk to supply networks, government white paper has warned.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 9, 2024

Government white paper flags Japan's risks of import dependencies

The paper stressed the importance of import source diversification, to prevent excessive dependence that poses a risk to supply networks.
Omoide Yokocho in Shinjuku, Tokyo. According to data recently published by Mercer, Tokyo fell 30 places from 2023 and is now the 49th most expensive city in the world, just ahead of Houston.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 9, 2024

Tokyo is cheaper to live in than San Juan, according to global survey

The capital fell a full 30 places from 2023. It was No. 3 in 2020 and No. 1 as recently as 2012.
If implemented, the autonomous freight lanes would reduce congestion by up to 35,000 vehicles per day.
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2024

Transport ministry eyes autonomous lanes to ease freight crisis

The lanes would allow the transportation of small parcels between cities using unmanned carts, and help ease a driver shortage in the logistics sector.
A woman carries a young patient outside after a Russian missile strike on the Ohmatdyt Children's Hospital in Kyiv on Monday.
WORLD
Jul 10, 2024

Kyiv hospital took a direct hit from a Russian missile: U.N. analysis

Ukraine flew its flags at half mast in a national day of mourning to mark the deaths of 44 people across the country from Monday's air attacks.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 10, 2024

Japan’s megabanks are said to seek deep cuts to BOJ bond buying

The bank’s ¥585 trillion bond stockpile exceeds the world’s fourth-largest economy, making bond players watchful for the BOJ’s next move.
Tokyo police have arrested a 27-year-old woman for posting online personal information of a professional baseball player along with violent messages.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 10, 2024

Ex-Nippon Life staffer arrested over leak of Giants player's information

The suspect, Satomi Amano, has denied the charges, claiming she doesn't remember her actions due to having made “so many posts.”
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games' opening ceremony, which will be held outside of a stadium for the first time in history, has attracted a lot of interest from Japanese fans.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 10, 2024

Japan fans shun pricey Olympics tickets even as top-tier packages sell out

Travel agencies report a noticeable drop in demand for Paris Olympics tours amid a weakening of the yen and the introduction of a new booking system.
A conceptual design of a potential Hokkaido Spaceport (HOSPO). HOSPO is aiming to become one of Japan’s major domestic spaceports for launching satellite-equipped rockets and spacecraft as well as for the aerospace industry to conduct research and development.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Jul 22, 2024

Small Hokkaido town looks to the stars for future growth

Taiki, population 5,300, is home to what is billed as Asia’s first privately operated spaceport — Hokkaido Spaceport.
Olympic rings are displayed on Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris ahead of the city hosting the 2024 Olympic Games. One way of reducing the carbon emissions of mega sporting events is to limit the attendance of spectators traveling by air.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 10, 2024

Only locals should be allowed to attend the Olympics

The single best way of reducing the carbon emissions of an Olympics? Limiting ticket sales to locals. Evidence from the Tokyo Games shows how far-reaching the impact is.
BUSINESS
Jul 10, 2024

Tokyo residents seek to block building of massive data center

Residents of Akishima are concerned the center will threaten wildlife and cause pollution among other issues.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the 2024 NATO Summit in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 11, 2024

NATO allies gloomy on Biden’s prospects seek out Trump circle

Leaders at the alliances summit watched Biden's every move for another gaffe that would further undermine his electoral hopes.
Electronic waste — also known as e-waste — from computers in a junk shop in Metro Manila, Philippines
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 11, 2024

U.N. warns digital economy drive is damaging the environment

The U.N. agency called for sustainable strategies to counter the growing environmental toll digitalization creates, particularly in developing countries.
From a Michelin-star kitchen in Italy to a central-Tokyo gelateria, Masako Minaguchi of Gelato MinNa believes doing what you love should always be a priority.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jul 11, 2024

Masako Minaguchi: ‘Gelato is full of possibilities’

From a Michelin-star kitchen in Italy to a central-Tokyo gelateria, this foodie believes doing what you love should always be a priority.
The Government Pension Investment Fund's holdings of government bonds increased 25% to ¥50.3 trillion in fiscal year ended in March.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 11, 2024

Japan’s public pension fund steps up as BOJ mulls bond cuts

The BOJ is expected to release a plan to substantially reduce its debt buying at the next policy decision later this month.
Japan's core machinery orders unexpectedly fell for a second straight month in May.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 11, 2024

Japan's key capex gauge falls again, clouds outlook for durable growth

The volatile leading indicator of capital spending fell 3.2% month-on-month in May, following a 2.9% drop in April.
The Nikkei stock average hit another record high on Thursday, rising above the 42,000 level for the first time.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 11, 2024

Japan's Nikkei average hits record high, topping 42,000 on Wall Street gains

The 225-issue average went on to secure a third consecutive record high close this week, after an overnight rally in U.S. stocks boosted investor sentiment.
An empty street in Fukiya, Okayama Prefecture. Japan may be both experiencing overtourism in some places and witnessing the opposite in others.
JAPAN
Jul 11, 2024

Japan doesn't have too many tourists, statistics suggest. It just feels that way.

The country received 0.2 tourists per capita in 2023, compared with France's 1.5, Greece's 3.4, Portugal's 2.5 and Spain's 1.8.
When Microsoft took a non-voting, observer position on OpenAI's board in November, it triggered unease among antitrust watchdogs in the European Union, Britain and the United States over how much control it exerts over the artificial intelligence startup.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 11, 2024

Microsoft ditches OpenAI board observer seat to avert antitrust scrutiny

The move comes amid concerns among British and U.S. antitrust watchdogs over Microsoft's influence over OpenAI and the latter's independence.
People attend a seminar, hosted by Daiwa Securities, on the new NISA tax-free investment program last November. Retail investors in Japan have been favoring international investments as they deploy funds held in their fast-growing NISA accounts.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 11, 2024

Yen takes hit as ¥1 trillion flows abroad monthly after NISA tweak

Many taking advantage of changes to the rules for Japan's tax-free savings accounts have been shifting their savings to international investments.
The members of Glay — (from left) Jiro, Teru, Takuro and Hisashi — are celebrating 30 years of rocking out as a band.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 12, 2024

Glay celebrates three decades of rock greatness

The band's 12-month-long Glay Expo takes the idea of a concert tour to the next level for the anniversary of its major label debut.
Located in Yokohama's chic Minato Mirai neighborhood, the Kahala Hotel & Resort opened in 2020 but still has the feeling of a newly launched accommodation.
LIFE / Travel
Jul 13, 2024

The paradox of a five-star Hawaiian-themed hotel in Yokohama

What manner of overseas tourist would come all the way to Japan just to stay at a Hawaiian-themed hotel?

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.