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The U.S. federal prosecutors' indictment of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani over an alleged bribery plot last week has sent ripples across the globe.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 26, 2024

Japan’s SBI follows Nomura in disclosing Adani funds exposure

The moves underscore how U.S. federal prosecutors’ indictment of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani over an alleged bribery plot has sent ripples across the globe.
The tech giants behind Google and Facebook are asking the Australian government to postpone a ban on most forms of social media for children under the age of 16.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 26, 2024

Google and Meta urge Australia to delay bill on social media ban for children

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's center-left government wants to pass the bill into law by the end of the parliamentary year on Thursday.
The labor ministry will urge companies to take action against the practice of forcing employees to buy their own products to meet sales quotas.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 26, 2024

Japan steps up measures against firms forcing workers to buy own products

The labor ministry will define such practices as a form of power harassment and require companies to take action when they occur.
Sanae Takaichi (left) celebrates Shigeru Ishiba’s victory in becoming the head of the Liberal Democratic Party along with then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo in September. Takaichi appears to be the only woman in any party who is close to breaking the glass ceiling to become the nation’s first female leader. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 26, 2024

The derailing of potential female prime ministers

Sanae Takaichi stands as the closest woman to breaking the glass ceiling and becoming Japan's first female prime minister.
In developing Asia, where coal dominates and imported liquefied natural gas is expensive, natural gas remains limited in electricity grids.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 24, 2024

Gas got America off coal. Now, it's coming for Asia's oil.

It can work in concert with carbon-free energy to break the hold of the dirtiest sources of power.
Global beef consumption has slowed and the carbon footprint of the global cattle herd may already be declining.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 26, 2024

Peak beef could already be here

Global beef consumption has slowed and the carbon footprint of the global cattle herd may already be declining.
A Facebook "military interest" page that misrepresented old photos and videos of army operations to falsely claim that Washington was helping its ally Manila prepare for war.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 26, 2024

Philippines-China tensions trigger money-making disinformation

Clashes between the two countries in the South China Sea are being manipulated online by disinformation networks for profit, an analysis has found.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump attends a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket, in Brownsville, Texas, on Nov. 19.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 27, 2024

Trump names trade envoy and top economic advisor to fill policy team

The U.S. president-elect named Jamieson Greer his trade representative and picked Kevin Hassett as his top economic adviser.
Wall Street is rotating out of the chip sector, put off by stretched valuations and trade war-related risks under Donald Trump.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 27, 2024

Software is in, chips are out as traders position for Trump era

Software has been on an upswing given its lower exposure to tariff risks, and as the tailwind from AI looks set to shift from infrastructure to services.
Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan looks on at a court in Ho Chi Minh City on Nov. 4.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Nov 27, 2024

Vietnam mogul told to refund missing billions to overturn death sentence

Truong My Lan, 68, is appealing her death sentence after being convicted in April of embezzling $12.3 billion from Saigon Commercial Bank.
Alimentation Couche-Tard CEO Alex Miller said on Tuesday the Canadian retailer remains persistent in its efforts to pursue a deal with Seven & I Holdings.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 27, 2024

Couche-Tard not giving up on bid to acquire 7-Eleven owner

The commitment comes despite a new management buyout proposal from the founding family of Seven & I Holdings valued at about $59 billion.
U.S. President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump meet in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Nov. 13.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 27, 2024

Trump team signs transition agreement with Biden White House after delays

Under the agreement, Trump's team avoided signing a government ethics pledge, saying it has its own ethics plan.
Chinese police have signed cooperation agreements with countries across Asia, Latin America, the Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa, offering embedded officers, training, joint patrols and exporting security equipment, especially to developing economies.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 13, 2024

China’s cops are coming to a city near you

When asked about covert overseas police outposts, China either denies their existence or claims they are service centers for overseas citizens.
A communications ministry panel did not make a clear judgement on the Liberal Democratic Party's proposal of abolishing the law restricting NTT's business.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 27, 2024

Panel defers decision on scrapping Japan's NTT law

In its final report, the panel concluded it was appropriate for the Japanese government to maintain its obligation to hold at least one-third of NTT shares.
“What Divides Us" producer Cannon Hersey says his grandfather, who wrote about the aftermath of nuclear destruction in Hiroshima, never spoke about what he had seen while working with Japanese minister Kiyoshi Tanimoto to preserve the stories of survivors.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 27, 2024

‘What Divides Us’ producer honors grandfather’s Hiroshima reportage

The feature film centers on the bond between a Japanese minister and an American journalist who worked together to document the aftermath of nuclear destruction.
Keith Kellogg, then-national security adviser to then-U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, speaks during a press briefing on Sept. 22, 2020, in the White House in Washington.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 28, 2024

Trump picks Keith Kellogg as envoy for Ukraine and Russia

The retired general is a longtime adviser who’s supported the president-elect's aims of ending the war swiftly, including by potentially cutting off military aid to Kyiv.
BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda says that growing latent losses "would not hinder (the central bank's) ability to manage policy."
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 28, 2024

Bank of Japan's latent losses on JGBs hits record ¥13.66 trillion

JGB prices fell after the central bank ended its negative interest rate policy in March and raised interest rates in July.
Refining sources in Asia and analysts have said they expect to see more Canadian and Mexican oil heading to Asia if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump imposes planned tariffs.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 28, 2024

Asia likely to benefit from cheaper Canadian and Mexican oil if Trump imposes tariffs

Two sources familiar with Trump's plan say that oil would not be exempted from potential tariff hikes on imports from Canada and Mexico.
Workers install solar panels at the Khavda Renewable Energy Park of Adani Green Energy in the village of Khavda, in India, on April 12.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 28, 2024

Adani allegations cast light on barriers to India's ambitious solar drive

India's states are unprepared for a rapid rise in renewable generating capacity, lack adequate transmission infrastructure and storage.
A wafer on display at the Semicon China expo in Shanghai on March 20
WORLD / Politics
Nov 28, 2024

U.S. readies China chip curbs that stop short of earlier proposals

American chip equipment makers have warned that tougher measures would bring catastrophic harm to their business.
Motohisa Furukawa, Democratic Party for the People tax chief, says the Bank of Japan is unlikely to move so quickly in raising rates that the move would have a detrimental impact on public borrowing costs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 28, 2024

BOJ rate hike unlikely to derail budget planning, DPP tax chief says

Democratic Party for the People tax chief Motohisa Furukawa says it is "unthinkable” that the Bank of Japan will hike rates rapidly.
The Yomiuri 333 index will offer a new benchmark for Japanese stock performance.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 28, 2024

New stock index — the Yomiuri 333 — coming to the Japanese market

The newspaper publisher said a distinguishing characteristic of the new index is that it will equally weight each stock in calculating the value.
Fentanyl pills found by officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration in New York on Oct. 4, 2022
WORLD / Politics
Nov 28, 2024

Trump places high-risk, high-reward bet on tariffs to stem fentanyl

The U.S. president-elect has vowed to impose tariffs on China and Mexico unless they stem the flow of fentanyl and migrants across the U.S. border.
Former Olympus Chief Executive Stefan Kaufmann was indicted over alleged violations of law concerning controlled substances.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 28, 2024

Former Olympus CEO indicted on suspected violation of drug laws

Stefan Kaufmann was forced to resign last month after the allegation surfaced that he bought illegal drugs.
Rengo President Tomoko Yoshino speaks at the organization's central committee meeting in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 28, 2024

Rengo to demand wage hike of 6% or more for smaller firms in 2025

Rengo set a higher goal for small and midsize businesses to rectify wage gaps with larger companies.
Toyota's global sales, including that of subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor and Hino Motors, rose 0.4% in October compared with last year, the first uptick in three months.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 28, 2024

Toyota’s sales and output plateau on downturn in Japan and China

The world’s biggest carmaker has seen sales and output fall throughout the year as Japanese carmakers struggle to compete in China.
SoftBank is unhappy that Moody's continues to issue ratings on the company.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 28, 2024

SoftBank blasts Moody’s for unsolicited ratings

It says it is considering legal action against the agency, which has continued to publish unsolicited ratings of the company over the past several years.
Hiroshi Kurosaki’s Netflix series “Beyond Goodbye” centers on a woman (Kasumi Arimura, left) who discovers her dead lover’s heart saved the life of a quiet pianist (Kentaro Sakaguchi).
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Nov 29, 2024

Hiroshi Kurosaki looks beyond Japan for heart-wrenching drama

The director’s Netflix series relies on lush visuals and truths about love and loss to appeal to an overseas audience.
Customers enter Aeon's Shinagawa Seaside store in Tokyo for a Black Friday sale in 2022.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 29, 2024

Master this double negative to better express your Black Friday urges

What better time to learn how to say you can't resist a deal than on a weekend of discounted shopping.
Masato Kanda, then the foreign ministry's vice minister for international affairs, speaks during a news conference in Sao Paulo in February.
BUSINESS
Nov 28, 2024

Former top Japanese currency diplomat Masato Kanda chosen as next ADB chief

Masato Kanda will be tasked to navigate the ADB through fresh challenges such as helping Asia reduce poverty and mitigate risks from climate change.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes