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The Leica museum in Wetzlar, western Germany, on March 18. The Leica camera turns 100 this year.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 7, 2025

Snappy birthday: Germany's Leica camera turns 100

The Leica 1 camera made its debut at the Leipzig Spring Fair in 1925.
In a reflection of persistent price pressure, real wages declined for a second straight month in February, falling 1.2% from a year earlier.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 7, 2025

Japan’s nominal wages rise in bright spot as outlook darkens

Nominal cash earnings for workers climbed 3.1% in February from a year earlier, with the pace accelerating from a revised 1.8% in January, the labor ministry said Monday.
Billionaire Bill Ackman — an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump — has said the new U.S. trade regime is a "mistake.”
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 7, 2025

Hedge fund billionaires denounce Trump’s tariffs as rout deepens

The widening criticism came as Trump offered no indication he was prepared to claw back a punishing trade overhaul set to begin on April 9.
Chieko Asakawa, chief executive director of Miraikan, with an AI-powered suitcase designed to assist people with visual impairments, in Tokyo's Koto Ward on Jan. 22
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 11, 2025

AI suitcase for visually impaired to be tested at expo

The device incorporates generative artificial intelligence technology, enabling it to describe the surrounding environment through voice feedback.
Kwai Chung container ports in Hong Kong earlier this month
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 7, 2025

East Asia tries a mix of measures to counter U.S. tariffs as markets suffer

U.S. President Donald Trump last week announced a raft of tariffs, with almost every country affected.
Nippon Steel’s proposal to buy U.S. Steel is being given a second national security review by U.S. President Donald Trump.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 8, 2025

Nippon Steel’s purchase of U.S. Steel to get new national security review

The order for a second review came after a call between Trump and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba over the tariffs.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 8, 2025

Trump threatens to hike China tariffs further as market plunge continues

A global trade war touched off by U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs escalated further on Monday.
A television station broadcasts U.S. President Donald Trump speaking during a Rose Garden event, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Apr 8, 2025

Frustrated world leaders wonder if Trump even wants a deal

U.S. President Donald Trump has set a high bar, telling reporters that any agreements would need to eliminate bilateral trade deficits.
A boy watches forensic investigators comb the ground for DNA evidence near airplane debris at the crash site of an Ethiopian Airlines-operated Boeing 737 Max aircraft on March 16, 2019 in Oromia region, Ethiopia.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 8, 2025

Boeing settles to avoid civil trial over Ethiopian Airlines crash

The Boeing 737 Max plane crashed just six minutes after takeoff on March 10, 2019, killing all 157 people on board.
Toyota is considering transferring some production in the key Tokai region, which is expected to be hit hard in a Nankai Trough earthquake, to the Tohoku and Kyushu regions.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Apr 8, 2025

Japanese makers rush to mitigate possible Nankai Trough earthquake damage

The government is calling on manufacturers to diversify their production bases and suppliers to mitigate the risks.
People walk past an NBA fan store in New York on July 8. The NBA has said it is "exploring" the creation of a professional basketball league in Europe.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Apr 8, 2025

Why is the NBA eyeing Europe?

For several years now, the NBA has wanted to plant its flag on European soil.
Japan is facing challenges with Donald Trump's new tariffs and is considering increased purchases of U.S. goods, negotiating tariff reductions and expanding auto production in the U.S. to reduce the trade deficit and avoid further economic tension.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 8, 2025

What is Japan's play on Trump's tariffs?

Japan had expected some consideration for being the largest source of foreign direct investment in the U.S. from 2019 to 2024, with total investment of around $860 billion.
Brine pools at the Atacama salt flat in Antofagasta region, Chile, in 2023. Local Chilean Indigenous communities are pushing for greater control over lithium extraction in the country just as the government plans to raise production.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Apr 8, 2025

As Chile revs up lithium plans, Indigenous people demand more control

Mining companies describe a potential system as "unprecedented" in Chile, adding that it would comply with international treaties on Indigenous rights.
Traders work on the floor of the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) area of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Friday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 9, 2025

Market calm is shattered as abrupt selloffs roil Wall Street

As recession fears build, markets have continued to flash warning signs.
Shipping containers on the outskirts of Houston on Tuesday. China has vowed to "fight to the end" after Donald Trump further ramped up tariffs.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 9, 2025

Trump tariffs take effect, hiking trade levies to a 100-year high

The latest tariffs push levies imposed on China this year to as high as 104%, along with import taxes on roughly 60 trading partners that run trade surpluses with the U.S.
A man walks past an electronic board showing the numbers of the Nikkei stock average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in the Japanese capital on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 9, 2025

Japan's Nikkei down nearly 4% at close

The Nikkei 255 index of shares ended the day down 3.93% at 31,714.03. The yen came off earlier highs to trade at ¥145.27 per dollar, up 0.7%.
With Trump's tariffs, countries with lower labor costs like China will continue to outcompete the United States and gain stronger footholds in global markets.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 9, 2025

Trump’s tariffs will accelerate America’s economic decline

Trump’s critics rightly point out that the tariff will raise U.S. car prices, but that is just one of its many drawbacks.
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 2.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 9, 2025

A conversation of the deaf after Trump’s tariffs

Trump likes win-win scenarios, but his version is different from those of his trade partners.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he attends the National Republican Congressional Committee dinner in Washington on Tuesday. Trump allowed new tariffs — including a 24% levy on Japan — to go into effect as scheduled on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 9, 2025

Trump's tariff gambit leaves Asia stunned and scrambling

Tariffs take time to actually affect prices and trade flows, but financial markets are already responding to the possibility of severe economic dislocation.
The U.S. Justice Department is disbanding its National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, a memo has shown.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 9, 2025

U.S. Justice Department disbands crypto enforcement team

Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. government has been reversing course on crypto.
Bento boxes and other food items attract visitors at the Sera roadside station in Hiroshima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Apr 21, 2025

10 years on, Hiroshima-Shimane highway boosts logistics and tourism

The Chugoku Yamanami Highway has played a crucial role in regional development since its full opening in 2015.
The U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works facility in Pennsylvania
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 9, 2025

U.S. Steel says activist investor now in favor of Nippon Steel deal

Ancora Holdings owns less than a 1% stake in the company.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda said Wednesday the central bank's stance is to conduct policy appropriately by carefully assessing the remaining uncertainties surrounding tariffs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 9, 2025

BOJ's Ueda conveys wait-and-see stance on U.S. tariffs

He suggests the central bank will see how the tariff measures evolve before assessing the potential impact, and any required response.
Foreign residents who fail to renew their residential statuses before their expiry may find that they won’t be able to withdraw cash from their bank accounts.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 9, 2025

Banks freeze withdrawals for foreign nationals upon expiration of visas

The move is part of a government initiative to combat scams and fraud, the Financial Services Agency says.
Shipping containers at a port in Nanjing, in eastern China's Jiangsu province, on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 9, 2025

China raises tariffs on U.S. goods to 84% as trade war escalates

China’s move came hours after Trump's sweeping measures went into force, taking the cumulative rate announced this year to 104%.
U.S. President Donald Trump looks on after signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday in Washington.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 10, 2025

Tokyo cheers Trump’s tariff U-turn with second-biggest market gain ever

The news of Trump’s 90-day pause on “reciprocal tariffs”was welcomed by Japan and its markets, with the 225-issue Nikkei stock average up more than 9% on Thursday.
The Nikkei stock index jumped on Thursday morning following U.S. President Donald Trump's pause on reciprocal tariffs.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 10, 2025

Japan stocks rebound more than 9% after Trump's tariff reversal

The Nikkei 225 index closed up 9.12% on Thursday after the U.S. president announced a 90-day pause on the most onerous new tariffs on imports.
A screen displays the Dow Jones Industrial Average and other final trading numbers after the closing bell on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 10, 2025

'Magnificent Seven' stocks ride again as Trump pauses tariffs

The stocks amassed more than $1.5 trillion in market value on Wednesday, easing pressure on tech giants that had tumbled in recent sessions.
The White House says U.S. President Donald Trump "has a spine of steel and will not break.”
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 10, 2025

Trump shock pushes U.S. and China toward decoupling cliff edge

Trump's 120% tariffs on Chinese goods and Beijing’s determination to fight back in kind mean a seismic cleavage is rapidly becoming a reality.
A Buddha statue is surrounded by debris on the outskirts of Mandalay, Myanmar, following the devastating March 28 earthquake. A lack of internet access is severely impeding disaster response in the country.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 10, 2025

In Myanmar, internet shutdowns hinder earthquake aid response

Communications have been under control of the military junta since it violently seized power from a democratic government in 2021.

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Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.