Search - business

 
 
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday.
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2024

Japan to hold regular economic security talks with U.K. under two-plus-two model

The talks are set to focus on improving growth and advancing bilateral cooperation in trade and economic security.
The Fugaku supercomputer at Riken Center for Computational Science in Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 19, 2024

Japan's Fugaku supercomputer takes top spot in two rankings for 10th time

Fugaku marked better performance than in the previous rankings, in May, following an improvement to its software.
Armed police stand guard as a prison van arrives at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts building, ahead of the sentencing of 45 convicted pro-democracy activists charged under the national security law, in Hong Kong on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 19, 2024

Hong Kong jails 45 democracy activists in landmark trial

The ruling, which critics have said tarnishes Hong Kong's role as a global financial hub, comes as the city is hosting an international financial summit.
Prices will increase for about 60% of Sukiya menu items starting Nov. 22 due to a recent rise in the price of Japanese rice, the fast-food restaurant operator Zensho Holdings said in a statement Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 19, 2024

Sukiya operator Zensho sees shares rise ahead of beef-bowl meal price hike

Prices will increase for about 60% of Sukiya menu items starting Nov. 22 due to a recent rise in the price of Japanese rice, the company said Monday.
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 19, 2024

Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys

Japanese investors sold a record $61.9 billion of the securities in the three months ended Sept. 30.
Nippon Steel has accused critics of the U.S. Steel deal of making inaccurate comments about the transaction.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 19, 2024

Nippon Steel claims union 'misinformation' in battle for U.S. Steel

Vice Chairman Takahiro Mori has reiterated commitments made by Nippon Steel, which include maintaining U.S. Steel’s blast furnace operations.
Former economic revitalization minister Daishiro Yamagiwa has been named the new head of the Liberal Democratic Party's group that promotes semiconductors.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 19, 2024

Former minister Daishiro Yamagiwa named to lead LDP semiconductor group

Appointment follows pledge by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba of more than ¥10 trillion in fresh public support for chip and artificial intelligence sectors.
Media mogul Jimmy Lai leaves Mong Kok police station after being released on bail in Hong Kong on Aug. 12, 2020.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 20, 2024

After years in a Hong Kong jail, Jimmy Lai has his say in court

The media mogul said his now-shuttered newspaper, Apple Daily, represented the freedoms that people in the city valued.
A lobby lounge of a luxury hotel inside Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioicho in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 20, 2024

Blackstone nears $2.6 billion deal to buy Seibu’s Tokyo complex

Any sale around that amount would make it one of the most expensive single real estate transactions in Japan.
The National Consumer Affairs Center reported 1,997 consultations about water dispensers nationwide last fiscal year — an increase 1.4 times that of the previous year.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2024

Misleading water dispenser contracts in Japan lead to surge in inquiries

The National Consumer Affairs Center reported 1,997 consultations nationwide last fiscal year — an increase 1.4 times that of the previous year.
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2024

Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project

The nations also reiterated their “unwavering commitment” to seeing the next-generation supersonic jet take to the sky by 2035.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda gives a speech in Nagoya on Monday. Ueda's signaling remains vague and noncommittal, further muddying the outlook for December.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 20, 2024

Dithering in December could cost Bank of Japan yen stability

For some analysts, the central bank is all but certain to raise rates next month, though others think it might be too early.
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 20, 2024

Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas

It would be hard to paint Ishiba's trip as a success, with the prime minister committing a series of diplomatic faux pas.
A post-election analysis by the polling company Blueprint discovered that the top reason why American swing voters eventually supported Donald Trump over Kamal Harris was culture (+28) followed by inflation (+23).
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 20, 2024

It’s too soon to say wokeism is dead

The Republicans ran the most unwoke man in America for the presidency, Donald Trump, and were amply rewarded for it.
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2024

Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record

Travelers spent ¥5.86 trillion in Japan through September of this year, preliminary figures show, eclipsing the ¥5.3 trillion they spent in all of 2023.
Sony Group headquarters in Tokyo, on Jan. 31, 2023
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2024

Japanese publisher Kadokawa shares roar on Sony buyout report

Early afternoon Kadokawa shares were up 15.91% to ¥4,341 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Rengo chief Tomoko Yoshino speaks at a news conference in Tokyo in October.
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2024

Union chief calls for Ishiba to step up wage hike efforts

Rengo's Tomoko Yoshino was keen to emphasize that wage gains have to spread more to workers at smaller firms.
Funding for the proposed buyout of Japan's Seven & i Holdings by its founding family will be finalized by the end of December, sources say.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 21, 2024

Seven & I buyout funding to be finalized by next month, sources say

The retailer is caught in a three-way tug-of-war between a foreign suitor, its founding family and company management.
NVIDIA's founder and CEO Jensen Huang delivers a keynote address in San Jose, California, on Mar. 18.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 21, 2024

Nvidia's AI chip demand still booming but slowing sales worry investors

The company is in the middle of launching its powerful Blackwell artificial intelligence chips, which will weigh on gross margins initially but improve over time.
The Italian team celebrates after winning the Billie Jean King Cup over Slovakia on Wednesday in Madrid.
TENNIS
Nov 21, 2024

Brilliant Paolini leads Italy to fifth Billie Jean King Cup title

A year after Italy suffered a heartbreaking defeat to Canada in the decider, the charismatic Paolini demolished her Slovakian opponent to clinch the title.
Nissan Motor slashed its earnings outlook earlier this month and said it would cut 9,000 jobs and a fifth of its manufacturing capacity.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 21, 2024

Hedge fund Effissimo stirs speculation with its stake in Nissan Motor

News of the investment sent Nissan’s shares soaring 13% on Nov. 12.
Hyundai's Thierry Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe compete during an event in Finland last year.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 21, 2024

'Sport will have the last word' as World Rally title goes down to the wire in Japan

The only certainty about this year's World Rally Championship is that a Hyundai driver will take the title.
A former Nomura Holdings employee has been charged on suspicion of robbery, attempted murder and arson of an inhabited building, the firm said in a statement on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 21, 2024

Nomura ex-employee charged with attempted murder

The former employee was charged on suspicion of robbery, attempted murder and arson of an inhabited building, the brokerage said.
Chipmaker Kioxia, formerly Toshiba Memory, is reportedly targeting a December IPO.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 21, 2024

Chipmaker Kioxia to receive market listing approval, sources say

Bain-backed Kioxia will have a market value of about ¥750 billion ($4.84 billion) based on the indicative price for its initial public offering.
Gautam Adani has been charged in the U.S. with paying hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes and hiding the payments from investors.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 21, 2024

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani charged in U.S. with bribery

The billionaire chair of Indian conglomerate Adani Group has been indicted in New York over his role in a $265 million bribery scheme.
A Honda electric vehicle at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition in April. Honda is investing ¥43 billion ($277 million) in an all-solid-state battery production line in Tochigi Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 21, 2024

Honda hopes to double EV driving range with solid-state batteries

Such batteries will replace liquid-state lithium-ion batteries currently in use, Honda R&D chief Keiji Otsu says.
A rocket is launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to put an experimental space plane into orbit for the U.S. military. Washington is adopting a multipronged strategy to address security threats in space.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Nov 21, 2024

Biden’s track record in boosting U.S. space security

Japan needs to keep working with the U.S. to ensure growing threats from China and Russia in the space domain are met with the necessary security measures.
Japan's core inflation held above the Bank of Japan's 2% target in October, keeping pressure on the central bank to raise its still-low interest rates.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 22, 2024

Inflation held above BOJ target in October, supporting winter rate hike

Food companies raised the prices of 2,911 items, with processed food prices increasing by 3.8% while rice prices rose 60%.
Linda McMahon speaks during an event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in July.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Nov 22, 2024

Trump’s education secretary pick named in sexual abuse lawsuit

The suit says Linda McMahon and her husband were aware of credible abuse accusations against their ringside announcer and ring crew chief but tolerated him anyway.
British-born Daniel Calvert earned his third Michelin star last month — a stunning achievement considering his restaurant, Sezanne, has only been open for just over three years.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 24, 2024

Tokyo’s newest three-star chef wants ‘harmony across every detail’

Daniel Calvert has managed to reach the pinnacle of the culinary world just three years after opening fine French dining restaurant Sezanne.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’