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U.S. President Donald Trump announces tariffs on several countries during a press conference on April 2.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 21, 2025

World’s economic chiefs to face Trump’s trade war in Washington

Finance chiefs want an off-ramp from the worst global trade crisis in a century. This week they’re heading toward its epicenter.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at a parliamentary committee session in Tokyo on Monday, during which U.S. tariffs were discussed.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 21, 2025

Tokyo insists defense issues and tariff talks must remain separate

Mixing the two risks distorting the essence of each issue, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba says.
Steve Holland helped Marinos reach the quarterfinals of the Asian Champions League Elite, but poor league results led to the end of his tenure with the club.
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 21, 2025

Steve Holland runs out of time at Marinos amid poor results and bad breaks

The 54-year-old was dismissed on April 18 with the club languishing in the lower reaches of the J1 table.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang answers questions from reporters after his meeting with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2025

Nvidia CEO lobbies Japan to generate more power to fuel AI

The two discussed how Japan is particularly well-positioned to develop AI, given its leadership in robotics and industrial manufacturing.
A monitor displays stock market information on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 22, 2025

U.S. assets slump again as Trump sharpens attack on Fed chief

Trump called Jerome Powell a 'loser' for not cutting interest rates, underscoring questions about whether the U.S. President will try to fire Powell.
In the 12 months to March 31, the average price of new condominiums in Tokyo's 23 wards rose 11.2% year on year to ¥116.32 million ($824,500), hitting a record high for the fourth consecutive year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 22, 2025

Central Tokyo condo price tops ¥100 million for second straight year

Prices averaged ¥116.32 million ($824,500) in fiscal 2024, up 11.2% from the previous year.
The Google logo at CES 2024, an annual consumer electronics trade show, in Las Vegas in 2024.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 22, 2025

Google could use AI to extend search monopoly, DOJ says as trial begins

The search giant argues that subjecting it to the DOJ's proposed remedies "would hold back American innovation at a critical juncture."
The Japanese economy remains on a gradual recovery trend, the Finance Ministry said, while leaving its economic views unchanged for all of the country's 11 regions.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 22, 2025

Japan's Finance Ministry maintains economic view while warning of risk

Many manufacturers expressed concern about the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs on production, according to the ministry.
Members of the clergy celebrate Mass in memory of Pope Francis, following the death of the pontiff, at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, in La Paz, Bolivia, on Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 22, 2025

A conclave to test Pope Francis’ legacy

Francis unraveled many knots after his elevation in March 2013, leaving the question of whether he did enough to secure his legacy now that he’s passed.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba receives a gift from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the start of their meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 22, 2025

Nvidia CEO urges LDP to build up Japan’s AI infrastructure

Japan has pledged to increase government and corporate funding in AI to over ¥50 trillion ($350 billion) in the next 10 years.
The yen strengthened dramatically this month — hitting ¥139.9 to the dollar on Tuesday — and could become a topic of conversation in trade talks between the United States and Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 22, 2025

Yen on the march as Plaza Accord 2.0 debate grows

The U.S. has claimed that Japan's currency is undervalued, with some in the administration of President Donald Trump calling for a Plaza Accord 2.0.
 Toyota Motor and Daimler Truck are expected to finalize the merger agreement as early as May.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 22, 2025

Toyota and Daimler near merger of truck units, report says

The two auto groups aim to establish a holding company for the truck units and list it on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Prime market in April 2026.
A man sprays paint graffiti against Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on a Tesla showroom in New York on Tuesday in this screen shot taken from video.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 23, 2025

Musk to reduce White House role as Tesla profits plunge

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he would cut back "significantly" the time he devotes to the Trump administration from next month.
U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell holds a news conference following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on interest rate policy in Washington last September.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 23, 2025

Trump says he has no intention of firing Fed chief Jerome Powell

Trump’s National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett on Friday said the president was studying the question of whether he’s able to sack Powell.
U.S. Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent says a de-escalation between the U.S. and China will come in the very near future.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 23, 2025

Bessent expects tariff standoff with China to deescalate

The U.S. Treasury secretary is optimistic that tensions could cool in the coming months but cautioned that a larger deal could take longer.
A farmhand prunes trees on a 4-year-old cocoa plantation, replanted after swollen shoot disease, in Enchi, Ghana, on March 4.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 23, 2025

Cocoa crunch isn’t over yet as top growers struggle with supply

Africa’s cocoa heartland has long grappled with blight and aging trees, leaving farms vulnerable as severe weather hammered crops in recent years.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attends a meeting of the Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias Task Force, at the Justice Department in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 23, 2025

Hegseth delivers what Trump wants but with unwanted controversy

Hegseth has done most everything so far that Trump hoped he would — and for now, that’s been enough to keep Trump on Hegseth’s side.
Milled rice at a rice mill in Nakhon Pathom province, Thailand
BUSINESS
Apr 23, 2025

Trump tariffs threaten to pile more pain on Thailand's rice sector

Thailand is among the Southeast Asian nations hardest hit by Trump's proposed measures, facing a 36% tariff on goods unless ongoing negotiations are successful.
MUFG Bank, a unit of the nation’s biggest banking group, is among firms that recently scrapped a clerical job category that consisted almost exclusively of women, a sign that the financial sector is finally getting more serious about reducing gender inequalities.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 23, 2025

Top Japanese firms scrap employment system that held women back

Abandoning the clerical job category may increase opportunities for women to advance to more senior positions.
The United Steelworkers union headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 23, 2025

Union tells Bessent risks of Nippon Steel deal are too great

The United Steelworkers said the risks cannot be overcome in any scenario in which Nippon Steel exercises influence over U.S. Steel’s decision-making.
Japan has started discussing specific measures to expand liquefied natural gas imports from the United States to reduce its trade surplus, as demanded by Washington.
BUSINESS
Apr 23, 2025

Japan mulls expanding imports of LNG from the U.S. for tariff negotiations

In 2024, Japan imported ¥542.6 billion of LNG from the U.S.
Former Foreign Minister Taro Kono
BUSINESS
Apr 23, 2025

Japan must correct Trump’s false data for trade talks, says Kono

Kono said matters related to regional security shouldn’t be discussed as part of the trade talks, nor should the question of how best to manage relationships with China.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a campaign rally in Laval, Quebec, Canada, on Tuesday. Carney was the subject of at least 16 books published in March and listed on Amazon, according to a review of the site on April 16.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 23, 2025

AI floods Amazon with strange political books before Canadian election

The development adds to concerns about how new technologies are affecting the information voters receive during the election campaign.
Japan has walked a delicate path — taking steps to hedge its dependence on China while distancing itself from the politics of Washington.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 23, 2025

Trump’s trade war with China puts Japan in a tight spot

Japan had long maintained deep economic ties with both China and the United States. Recent trade tensions may challenge that approach.
Pope Francis was known for his strong environmentalism, highlighted by his influential 2015 encyclical calling for global climate action.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 23, 2025

The next pope will help decide the planet’s fate

As much of the world retreats from climate activism, the Vatican has a chance to stand out by choosing another vocal environmentalist to lead 1.4 billion Catholics.
A restaurant owner pours California-grown Calrose rice into a rice cooker at his restaurant in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 23, 2025

Japan weighs using U.S. rice imports as tariff negotiation tool with Trump

The government hopes an import quota will give them more cards to play in tariff negotiations with the U.S.
Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa last week at Haneda Airport. The chief tariff negotiator believes the gap between the United States and Japan on trade issues remains wide.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 23, 2025

Mood shifts to measured optimism in U.S.-Japan trade dispute

Japan has so far engaged in a charm offensive aimed at staying onside while politely poking holes in the president's arguments and expectations.
An attendee plays with the Nintendo Switch 2 gaming device at a media event in Tokyo on April 3.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 24, 2025

Nintendo says demand for Switch 2 console in Japan is overwhelming

"We have received 2.2 million applications for the lottery sale at our official online store for customers in Japan alone," said Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa.
Elon Musk confirmed plans on Tuesday to reduce his government time commitment to one or two days a week to focus on his battered car company Tesla.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 24, 2025

Trump's Cabinet ready to take back power with Musk stepping back, sources say

Elon Musk plans to reduce his government time commitment to one or two days a week to focus on his battered car company, Tesla.
A tourist sits on the banks of Dal Lake with her belongings as she waits for transport to leave for Srinagar airport, following a suspected militant attack near south Kashmir’s scenic Pahalgam, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 24, 2025

Kashmir killings shatter Modi's tourism success in troubled region

Tuesday's attack by suspected militants has left panicked tourists seeking an early exit at the start of the busy summer season.

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