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An event featuring maiko (young female entertainers) is held at the Hotel Seiryu Kyoto Kiyomizu in the city of Kyoto.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2025

Experiential tourism key to driving inbound spending in Japan

The consumption patterns of visitors to Japan have been shifting as their enthusiasm for purchasing luxury items appears to be waning.
Representatives of four major nonlife insurance companies receive a notice from the Japan Fair Trade Commission regarding a cease and desist order, on Oct. 31, 2024, in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Jul 22, 2025

Scandals put Japanese nonlife insurers' business model at a crossroads

A series of recent scandals has brought to light deeply entrenched and problematic business practices within the industry.
U.S. President Donald Trump hosts Jensen Huang, chief executive of computer chip maker Nvidia for an event to discuss U.S. technology investments at the White House in Washington on April 30.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 22, 2025

As Trump courts a more assertive Beijing, China hawks are losing out

The Trump administration has dialed back aggressive measures against China and reversed its position on technology controls as the president angles for a Chinese trip.
A worker places blank guitar picks into a tray at D'Addario's production facility in Farmingdale, New York, on July 10.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 23, 2025

Inside a U.S. guitar string-maker's strategy to navigate the trade war

While the company makes nearly all its music accessories in the U.S., its supply chain and distribution are global, with its biggest foreign market being Japan.
U.S. President Donald Trump gestures after signing executive orders in Washington on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 24, 2025

Trump says Tokyo agreed to buy U.S. defense gear, but questions remain

Touting the surprise trade agreement with Japan, the U.S. president claimed that Tokyo agreed to buy billions of dollars in defense equipment.
Tokyo Electron is seeing slower-than-expected recovery in demand from producers of logic chips.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 1, 2025

Tokyo Electron cuts outlook on canceled logic chip tool orders

The Tokyo-based company now sees operating income of ¥570 billion in the year to March, down from a previous forecast of ¥727 billion.
A staff inspects a distillation pot still at Suntory's new Osaka Spirits & Liqueurs Craft Distillery, which will focus on gin production and help Suntory capture a bigger slice of the fast-growing gin market.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 3, 2025

With a new distillery, Suntory makes a spirited move on gin market

Currently in operation, the high-tech facility in Osaka will open to the public next year with a focus on its popular Roku gin variants.
The Nippon Steel logo is displayed at the company's East Nippon Works Kimitsu Area plant in Kimitsu, Chiba Prefecture, in May.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 2, 2025

Nippon Steel swings into quarterly loss

The Japanese steelmaker said Friday that it had posted a consolidated net loss of ¥195.8 billion for the fiscal first quarter, against the year-before profit of ¥157.5 billion.
This year, Fuji Rock Festival's ticket sales were the strongest they have been since the COVID-19 pandemic, with overseas ticket buyers accounting for roughly 10% of all sales.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 4, 2025

From far and wide, overseas visitors flock to Fuji Rock

From Singapore to Greece to Michigan, fans came to Japan not just for the music, but for the nature, the relaxed atmosphere and the freedom to dance into the early hours.
A monitor in Tokyo shows the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropping on Monday morning.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 4, 2025

Stocks in Japan slump after U.S. data spark growth worries

The broader Topix Index and the blue-chip 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average pared some of their earlier losses but closed down 1.1% and 1.2%, respectively.
Mazda Motor posted a consolidated net loss of ¥42.1 billion ($286 million) for the three months to June, its first loss in the fiscal first quarter since 2020.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 6, 2025

Mazda swings to net loss in April-June

The automaker posted a consolidated net loss of ¥42.1 billion for the period as a result of steep U.S. tariffs and a stronger yen.
Honda said its net profit halved in the first quarter because of U.S. tariffs, but upgraded its annual profit forecast after Tokyo finally hammered out a trade deal with Washington.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 6, 2025

Honda raises annual profit guidance despite U.S. tariff impact

The upward revision to operating profit was because of the tariff level and foreign exchange outlook, according to Honda.
The logo of Nvidia is seen during the annual Computex computer exhibition in Taipei on May 30, 2017.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 11, 2025

Nvidia and AMD to pay U.S. 15% of China chip revenue, says report

The Trump administration had frozen the sale of some advanced chips to China earlier this year as trade tensions spiked between the world’s two largest economies.
Wind turbines beyond an array of solar panels on the hillside in the Canical district of Madeira, Portugal, on Feb. 9, 2023. Renewables are now among the cheapest forms of electricity, especially after an energy crunch and the Ukraine war bolstered gas, oil and coal.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Aug 11, 2025

Hedge funds flip on green energy and start betting against oil

The outlook for solar and wind stocks is starting to improve.
An Apple store in New York
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 14, 2025

Apple plots expansion into AI robots, home security and smart displays

A tabletop robot that serves as a virtual companion, targeted for 2027, is the centerpiece of the AI strategy.
Nissan workers walk outside its Oppama plant in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture. Nissan plans to shut the plant by the end of fiscal 2027.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Aug 18, 2025

A factory town in crisis shows Japan’s fading manufacturing era

Nissan directly employs almost 10% of Oppama’s 29,700 residents, but its factory is set to shut down by 2028.
Actors in period costume pose on a re-creation of a Tudor wine fountain at Hampton Court Palace in Surrey, England, in April 2010. England’s recent wine boom is hitting limits due to scale, costs and competition.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2025

England’s sparkling wine is losing its fizz

It really doesn’t help having higher taxes now measured on alcohol content. The going is only getting tougher for fledgling startups.
Rice retailed for an average ¥3,737 per 5-kilogram bag at about 1,000 supermarkets nationwide from Aug. 4 to 10, up ¥195 from the previous week and around 1.4 times the value a year earlier, according to the agriculture ministry.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 19, 2025

Rice prices climbed in early August as stockpile release slowed, data shows

Retail prices averaged ¥3,737 per 5-kilogram bag from Aug. 4 to 10, up ¥195 from the previous week and around 1.4 times the price a year earlier.
A Shein distribution center in Whitestown, Indiana, on April 8. Shein and other e-commerce sites originating from China are believed to have taken advantage of duty exemption systems of other countries to export goods of modest value in small lots.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 21, 2025

Duty exemptions for low-value imports face review amid exploitation

An expert panel at the government's Tax Commission has noted that overseas sellers of inexpensive goods effectively exploit tax exemption systems for small-ticket item imports.
Workers carry solar panels to install them at a solar farm in the desert in Lingwu, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China, in April.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2025

The world’s biggest polluter is cleaning up its act

Coal output is still climbing, but China’s clean power surge means much of it now sits in stockpiles rather than fueling growth.
Under a new agreement, the U.S. will receive 433.3 million shares of common stock — representing 9.9% of the fully diluted common shares in Intel — according to a statement from the company.
BUSINESS
Aug 23, 2025

U.S. takes nearly 10% Intel stake, clinching unorthodox deal

Under the agreement, the U.S. will receive 433.3 million shares of common stock — representing 9.9% of the fully diluted common shares in the firm.
Mercedes-Benz Japan opens its first 150-kilowatt fast-charging station in a park in Chiba in July.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Aug 25, 2025

Foreign EVs hit Japan alongside fast-charging network push

As Japanese automakers remain reluctant to shift away from popular hybrids, foreign rivals are challenging the status quo.
An advertisement for McDonald's new protein slice is displayed on an ordering kiosk at a McDonald's restaurant in Bengaluru, India
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Aug 26, 2025

In protein-deficient India, McDonald's, Bollywood and cricket fuel wellness craze

McDonald's has joined India's biggest dairy Amul, startups and a company backed by Bollywood superstar to unleash a marketing blitz with celebrity chefs pushing protein as crucial.
Containers at a dock at the Port of Cape Town in Cape Town in 2024. China’s exports to Africa so far in 2025 are more than in the whole of 2020 and on track to exceed $200 billion for the first time.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 27, 2025

China is pouring exports into Africa faster than anywhere else

China’s exports to Africa so far in 2025 are more than in the whole of 2020 and on track to exceed $200 billion for the first time.
The ByteDance logo at the company's office building in Shanghai in 2023. The company plans to offer to buy back current employees shares at a price 5.5% higher than it offered in a previous repurchase program about six months ago.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 28, 2025

TikTok owner ByteDance sets valuation at over $330 billion in planned buyback

The latest buyback at a higher valuation will come as ByteDance consolidates its position as the world's largest social media company by revenue.
A robot serves as a porter at Mita Garden Hills, a large apartment in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 31, 2025

Robots increasingly used in Japan to enhance business efficiency

As the country needs to address labor shortages urgently, companies and workers are exploring how robots and humans can work together better for business efficiency.
Tourists order sushi using an interactive touchscreen at a Sushiro restaurant in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 1, 2025

Growth overseas aids sushi chain Sushiro amid rice inflation at home

Osaka-based chain has been able to avoid across-the-board price hikes at its Japanese restaurants to offset volatile rice costs that have nearly doubled from a year ago.
A street in Naha in August. In entertainment districts in southern Okinawa, a drug known as "laughing gas vape" is being abused at nightclubs and bar. Now, some establishments have put up warning notices.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Sep 22, 2025

Abuse of 'zombie cigarettes' among Okinawa youths raises alarm

"Laughing gas vape," inhaled using devices resembling e-cigarettes, can cause its users to lose control.
The latest version of Tamagotchi, called Tamagotchi Paradise, is awarded the best digital toy at Tokyo Toy Show on Aug. 28.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 2, 2025

Tamagotchi hatches 100 million shipments worldwide thanks to ’90s nostalgia

Fueled by nostalgia and "kidults," the Tamagotchi boom shows no sign of slowing.
A staff member works in the lab of Hobum Oleochemicals, a manufacturer that develops sustainable chemical raw materials derived from renewable plant oils, in Hamburg, Germany, on Aug. 25.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 4, 2025

Trump's tariffs threaten to choke European chemicals recovery

The sector has been grappling in recent years with high production costs after gas and power prices soared following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Longform

Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.
Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?