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U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 23, 2024

Taking on Trump, Kamala Harris vows to draw on prosecutorial experience

The U.S. vice president has also promised to drive forward laws to protect abortion rights and ban assault rifles, and focus on rebuilding the middle class.
Bank of Japan officials are divided over whether to raise interest rates at a policy meeting next week, people familiar with the matter say.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 23, 2024

BOJ is said to see weak consumer spending complicating rate call

Weak consumer spending has prompted the government to cut its fiscal year growth forecast to 0.9%, with central bank likely lowering its projection to 0.5%.
The exchange rate for the Japanese yen against the euro (left) and the U.S. dollar is displayed at a foreign exchange brokerage in Tokyo on June 27.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 23, 2024

Citi flags possible euro-yen intervention if rate nears ¥180 level

The euro-yen pair traded as high as ¥175.43 on July 11 — a record since the common currency was launched in 1999 — before retreating.
Boxes of canned quail eggs are piled up at a warehouse in Toyokawa, Aichi Prefecture, earlier this month.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 23, 2024

Quail egg farmers struggle after schools remove item from lunches

A fatal choking incident in February involving a canned quail egg at a Fukuoka elementary school led schools nationwide to remove the item from their lunches.
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi says the Bank of Japan should more clearly show its intention to normalize monetary policy.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 23, 2024

LDP heavyweight Toshimitsu Motegi calls for clearer sign from BOJ on policy

The remarks suggest growing political frustration over the central bank’s cautious stance as low rates keep pressure on the yen while inflation outpaces wage growth.
Australian grape exports to Japan are expected to rise as Tokyo has fully opened the market for the fruit.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 23, 2024

Japan opens up its market for Australian grapes

The Australian government aims to increase the country's annual grape exports to Japan to about AU$50 million, or 2.5 times the current figure, within several years.
Samsung Electronics' headquarters in Suwon, South Korea, on June 13, 2023
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 24, 2024

Nvidia clears Samsung's HBM3 chips for use in China-market processor

Nvidia's approval of the chips comes amid soaring demand for sophisticated graphics processing units.
The Porsche booth at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition in Beijing on April 25
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 24, 2024

China’s slowdown is taking a rising toll on European profits

From luxury brands to carmakers, more trouble is coming for European businesses heavily reliant on demand in the Asian economic giant.
People visit the Volkswagen booth at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, on April 25.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 24, 2024

Volkswagen is reeling in China. Can EVs help it grow in the U.S.?

Volkswagen CFO Arno Antlitz said the company expects to continue losing China market share and hopes to merely maintain its position in Europe.
Hedwig Schreck is a third-generation Tokyoite whose grandfather first arrived in Japan from Germany in 1920 as a submarine engineer.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jul 24, 2024

Hedwig Schreck: ‘Art has always been part of my life’

A third-generation Tokyoite, the former TV producer has pivoted to teaching others about Japanese culture in her retirement.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. A Bloomberg survey showed some 14 of 48 economists predict the BOJ will raise its policy rate at the next week’s meeting.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 24, 2024

Most BOJ watchers see July rate hike risk with bond-buying cut

Survey respondents also predicted the central bank will cut bond-buying to ¥5 trillion per month starting in August.
Some economists say a sticky weak yen trend would have a negative impact on Japan's real wage growth.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 24, 2024

Yen rally could help end crushing wage decay in Japan

The Japan Research Institute anticipates real wage growth turning positive in the July-September quarter assuming ¥155 to the dollar.
The yen strengthened Wednesday to break the psychological threshold of ¥155 against the dollar, with technical indicators suggesting the momentum can continue.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 24, 2024

Yen extends advance as unwinding of global carry trades ramps up

Investors are betting on more rate hikes in Japan and the chance of further intervention by authorities to prop up the Japanese currency.
Japan had the strongest passport for six years running from 2018, before being dethroned by Singapore on the 2024 list.
BUSINESS
Jul 24, 2024

Japan loses top spot on strongest passport list to Singapore

Japan had the strongest passport for six years running from 2018.
U.S. rugby player Ilona Maher poses for a portrait during the Team USA media summit ahead of the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, at an event in New York on April 15.
BUSINESS
Jul 24, 2024

Athlete influencers compete for likes as well as medals in Paris

In years past, athletes might have needed a manager to negotiate deals with brands. Now, a company will reach out directly to strike a deal.
Run from a two-hectare plot of land in the island's north, LivFresh has been supplying major supermarkets with spinach, lettuce and other green vegetables since 2022.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Jul 24, 2024

Singapore’s homegrown farming dream is beginning to fade

Since the start of 2023, at least half a dozen large farms in Singapore have shut down or scaled back operations.
Demonstrators rally to demand a big hike in minimum wages in Tokyo last week.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 25, 2024

Japan’s minimum wage set for record ¥50 hike in major boost

While the sharp increase will be a big boost for workers, smaller firms already struggling financially will be put under further stress.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida inspects a new plant of Rapidus under construction in Chitose, Hokkaido, on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 25, 2024

Kishida vows new law for next-gen chip production

Japan has decided to provide up to ¥920 billion to Tokyo-based company Rapidus, which aims to start mass production of chips in 2027.
The Nikkei stock index fell to a three-month low on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 25, 2024

Nikkei closes at 3-month low as yen strengthens

The 225-issue average fell 3.28% to end the day at 37,869.51, its lowest close since April 25.
Honda will close a plant operated through its joint venture with Chinese state-owned automaker Guangzhou Automobile Group in October.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 25, 2024

Japan's Honda to close one China plant and halt production at another

The company's annual production capacity in China will shrink to 1.2 million vehicles from 1.49 million as a result of the stoppages.
Inspectors at the Kanto District Transport Bureau in Yokohama make calls to companies to check on the working conditions in the logistics industry earlier this month.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jul 25, 2024

Japan's 'truck G-Men' issued guidance over 700 times in first year

The government inspectors check on working conditions in the logistics sector and monitor cases involving violations until the causes are resolved.
Nakazakicho may be just a few minutes outside the major commercial district of Umeda, but it certainly doesn't feel that way.
LIFE / Travel
Jul 27, 2024

The dancer keeping Osaka’s Nakazakicho indie

Nakazakicho’s transformation is more than the success story of a small neighborhood turning the tide against inner-city decay.
A 500 series bullet train on the Sanyo Shinkansen line with the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series decoration. The aging 500 series will retire in 2027.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 25, 2024

JR West to retire 500 series Shinkansen in 2027

JR West plans to introduce new N700S Shinkansen trains after the 500 series' retirement.
A medical technician selects eggs for an in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure Paris in 2019.
WORLD / Society
Jul 25, 2024

IVF mistakes are opening a new front in the fight over reproductive rights

The $40 billion U.S. industry is expected to triple in size over the next decade as more people delay having babies until later in life.
Nissan's operating profit for the April-June period totaled ¥995 million, compared with ¥128.6 billion in the same period a year earlier.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 25, 2024

Nissan shares hammered as Q1 profit wiped out by U.S. discounts

The automaker has cut its operating profit forecast for the financial year by 17% to ¥500 billion from ¥600 billion.
Core inflation in Japan's capital accelerated for a third straight month in July, keeping alive market expectations of a near-term interest rate hike by the central bank.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 26, 2024

Tokyo inflation quickens, keeping BOJ hike option in play

Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.2% in the capital, versus 2.1% in June, the internal affairs ministry reported.
A gas blending station for testing gas and hydrogen mixtures in Germany. The energy transition in Germany became urgent after its supply of relatively inexpensive gas from Russia ended following the Ukraine war.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / EXPLAINER
Jul 26, 2024

How Germany's hydrogen economy could transform energy use

For some, Germany's bet on green hydrogen is a gamble, but for others, it is a world-leading example.
Double trailers will be allowed to run on the Hokkaido Expressway for the first time as part of measures to cope with a truck driver shortage.
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2024

Japan to open up more expressways to double trailers

The move aims to address disruptions in cargo transport services caused by truck driver shortages due to a new overtime regulation introduced in April.
With the Bank of Japan seen raising rates this year, there are heightened expectations that banks’ profitability will improve.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 26, 2024

Expectations high for Japan’s bank results to spur stock rally

Japanese lenders are set to report quarterly results that for the first time fully reflect the end of negative rates next week.
Japanese stocks are down 10% from their July peak as the yen strengthens.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 26, 2024

Yen melt-up nudges Japanese stocks into correction territory

Japan’s benchmark index is now down 10% from its July peak, meeting the textbook definition of a market correction.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years