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The average figure of winter bonuses agreed on by labor unions and employers stood 4.93% higher than a year earlier.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 17, 2025

Major Japanese firms pay record winter bonuses

The average went up year on year in 18 of 21 industry sectors.
The TikTok logo is displayed on a mobile phone next to the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Friday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 18, 2025

TikTok says it will go dark Sunday in U.S. without assurance from Biden

The statement came hours after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a law banning TikTok on national security grounds if its Chinese parent company does not sell it.
Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas (left), chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, speaks with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell prior to the start of the International Monetary and Financial Committee plenary session at the IMF and World Bank's 2024 annual spring meetings in Washington last April.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 18, 2025

IMF keeps Japan's 2025 growth outlook intact

The IMF left its outlook for Japan for 2025 and 2026 unchanged from its previous October projection at 1.1% and 0.8%, respectively.
Customers carry shopping bags outside a supermarket in Tokyo. A new survey has found that more people are feeling the pinch from higher prices compared with a year ago.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 18, 2025

Over 95% in Japan feel impact of higher prices: BOJ survey

The survey also showed that 85.7% of respondents think prices will rise over the next year, up from 85.6%.
Then-Rep. Brandon Williams, a Republican from New York, during a House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing in Washington last May
WORLD / Politics
Jan 18, 2025

Trump picks one-term congressman to manage U.S. nuclear arsenal

Brandon Williams represented a New York congressional district for one term, but little is known about his experience in the management of atomic weapons.
Asylum seekers line up before crossing to the U.S. for appointments at El Chaparral crossing port in Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico, on Monday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Jan 18, 2025

Gangs cash in on desperation of U.S.-bound migrants

As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office next week, gangs are using threats and extortion to exploit migrants trying to arrive in time.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba poses for a photo with Dimitri Kerkentzes (second left), visiting secretary-general of the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions, at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 18, 2025

Ishiba vows to make Osaka Expo a success

"We will do our best to communicate (the attractions of) not only Osaka but also Japan as a whole to the world," Ishiba also said.
Yanaha Island in Okinawa Prefecture as seen from a ferry.
JAPAN
Jan 18, 2025

Chinese buyer of Okinawa island to make visit in summer

The woman is reportedly preparing a trip to the island for employees of a company she runs in July or August.
Daiichi Sankyo's headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2025

AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo win U.S. approval for breast cancer drug

The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug for patients with advanced breast tumors whose cells bear a certain genetic signature.
After months of legal tussles, the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law that would ban TikTok in the name of national security.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 19, 2025

TikTok shuts down U.S. access as Trump seeks app's reinstatement

Only months after overwhelmingly backing the law, lawmakers are now fretting about the ban, with all eyes on whether Trump can swoop in and find a way to save the app.
An employee at an auto parts maker in Ota, Gunma Prefecture. The automotive industries, which give fewer days off than other sectors do, are falling behind in the recruitment of new workers.
BUSINESS
Jan 19, 2025

Japan auto unions aiming to get five more days off in 2025

The number of nonworking days in the automotive industries has not increased in recent years and lags behind other sectors.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jan 19, 2025

Democrats search for economic policy lessons as Trump takes office

Scarred by the 2007-09 recession, the Biden administration bet big on the labor market. The bet worked but not exactly as they hoped.
People attend a New Year's celebration in Wuhan, China, on Jan. 1.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 19, 2025

Wuhan keen to shake off pandemic label five years on

There is nothing to mark the location of the world's first COVID-19 lockdown — in fact, there are no major memorials to the lives lost to the virus anywhere in the city.
World Bank Deputy Chief Economist Ayhan Kose says there is room for the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 19, 2025

Japan likely to see 'healthy growth' through 2026: World Bank exec

In its economic forecast released Thursday, the World Bank predicted Japan's gross domestic product will grow a real 1.2% in 2025 and 0.9% in 2026.
Woodworkers check phones during a blackout at an industrial complex in Tehran on Dec. 18.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 20, 2025

Blackouts in Iran leave industry in tatters

The regime is bracing for a harder road ahead, with incoming U.S. President Donald Trump pledging pressure and preparing sanctions.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval of novel breast cancer treatment by Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca led Daiichi Sankyo's shares to post the largest intraday gain since August on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 20, 2025

Daiichi Sankyo rises most in five months on cancer drug approval

Datroway, developed with AstraZeneca, has been approved for patients with advanced breast tumors.
A dairy farming facility in Bengaluru, which Akiba Bokujo Holdings is expected to operate
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 20, 2025

Japanese dairy farm operator targeting India

Akiba Bokujo Holdings has partnered with an Indian IT startup to procure feed, raise dairy cows and produce products.
Although direct Chinese exports to the U.S. have shrunk a little in importance over the past four years, the world’s largest economy is still the most important source of final demand for China.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 20, 2025

China faces Trump’s return just as reliance on exports soars

China’s record trade surplus of nearly $1 trillion last year was equivalent to more than 5% of its gross domestic product.
Donald Trump speaks at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tennessee, on July 27, 2024.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 20, 2025

Cocktails and Snoop Dogg — crypto industry celebrates Trump inauguration

The crypto gala marks a stunning turnaround for an industry that has been in the Biden administration's crosshairs.
Core machinery orders, excluding orders for ships and power equipment, totaled ¥899.6 billion ($5.77 billion) in November, the Cabinet Office said.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 20, 2025

Japan's core machinery orders up 3.4% in November

Orders totaled ¥899.6 billion ($5.77 billion), the Cabinet Office said, marking a second consecutive month of growth.
Curtis Sparrer, founder of the public relations agency Bospar, sits at his desk in his apartment in San Francisco on Jan. 9.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 20, 2025

In the U.S., remote workers don't want to head back to the office

The question of remote work or working in an office has become increasingly political.
Fuji TV President Koichi Minato speaks at a news conference on Friday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Media
Jan 20, 2025

What went wrong at Fuji TV's news conference on allegations against Nakai?

The broadcaster, which imposed various restrictions for the event that included denying access to many media agencies, ended up worsening the scandal.
The surge in share buybacks followed a request by the Tokyo Stock Exchange in March 2023 that listed companies put more focus on improving capital efficiency.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 20, 2025

Listed Japanese firms' share buybacks hit record in 2024

The increase has been attributed to accelerated corporate efforts to improve capital efficiency and pressure from activist shareholders.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic hits a return against the Czech Republic's Jiri Lehecka during their men's singles match on Day 8 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on Sunday.
TENNIS
Jan 21, 2025

Djokovic and Alcaraz square up in Australian Open blockbuster

Djokovic is looking for his 100th tournament title and a record 25th Grand Slam crown.
Rae Burrell (left) of the Vinyl battles for possession with Lexie Hull and Angel Reese of the Rose in an Unrivaled 3-on-3 basketball game in Miami on Friday.
BASKETBALL
Jan 21, 2025

Unrivaled could teach the NBA how to win back its fans

The new league plays a fast-paced, free-flowing version of basketball that empowers players to show off their skills.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba entering the Prime Minister's Office on Monday
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2025

Japan to disclose names of malicious AI businesses

The planned legislation on dealing with the risks of AI and boosting Japan's international competitiveness on the technology is not expected to include penalties.
Amid severe labor shortages, the Japan Federation of Service and Tourism Industries Workers' Unions will emphasize the importance of improving working conditions to realize a medium-term annual salary target of ¥5.5 million for industry workers age 35.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 21, 2025

Service and tourism workers to seek 6% pay hike in wage talks

The Japan Federation of Service and Tourism Industries Workers' Unions hopes to secure a medium-term annual salary target of ¥5.5 million for industry workers age 35.
The country's net assets, or the value of properties, cash, deposits, stocks and other assets in the country minus that of loans and other debts, totaled ¥4,158.4 trillion at the end of 2023, up 4.1% from a year before, a Cabinet Office estimate showed Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 21, 2025

Japan's national wealth hit record ¥4 quadrillion at end of 2023

Of the total, households accounted for a record ¥2.97 quadrillion, up 3.7%, marking the fifth consecutive year of growth.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks during a news conference in Mexico City on Jan. 13.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 21, 2025

How Mexico is readying for Trump’s promised mass deportations

The country has launched a panic app for those detained and lined up more than 2,600 lawyers and nearly 2,200 consulate workers.
An offshore wind farm near Nysted, Denmark. Orsted constructed the world’s first offshore wind farm in Denmark in the early 1990s and has since built up a portfolio of projects around the world.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 21, 2025

Orsted takes $1.7 billion hit as Trump slams offshore wind

The setback is the latest in a long series of issues for Denmark’s Orsted, one of the world’s biggest developers of wind farms at sea.

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.