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Colombian President Gustavo Petro waves to supporters during a May Day (Labor Day) rally in Bogota on May 1.
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2025

Colombia moves to join China's Belt and Road

Until now, Colombia has been one of the United States' closest and most steadfast trade and security partners in Latin America.
Takeshi Hakamada, founder and CEO of Ispace, says his primary interest in space development is not to abandon Earth, but to protect it.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 7, 2025

'Big picture thinker': Ispace CEO Hakamada on reaching the moon and dreaming of starships

CEO Takeshi Hakamada envisions a distant future where humans live and work on the moon — just don't ask him to visit.
The global shipping industry is also contending with U.S. measures beyond the barrage of levies.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 7, 2025

World’s trade superhighway feels strain from U.S.-China decoupling

Among signs of disruption are plunging fees, fewer services and a pall of uncertainty over what for decades has been one the main maritime highways of the global economy.
Former sekiwake Toyonoshima and Airi Hisano train at Tachihi Sumo Club on May 1.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
May 7, 2025

Former sekiwake Toyonoshima is new head coach at innovative women’s club

Detailing how she struggled with injury over the past few years, Airi Hisano said she had considered retirement before being approached to join the club.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is planning to set up an online bank to lure younger customers heavily relying on smartphones.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 7, 2025

Mitsubishi UFJ to set up online bank in fiscal 2026

The major Japanese financial group aims to lure younger customers who heavily rely on smartphones.
In South Korea, where presidents are increasingly investigated, impeached or imprisoned, the judiciary has become a well-known pathway to political power.
COMMENTARY / World
May 7, 2025

Is the judiciary the weakest link in South Korea’s democracy?

It’s not unusual for lawyers to pursue personal political ambitions during their careers in democracies. But in South Korea, this has reached a level not seen elsewhere.
Japan's Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa speaks to the press upon his arrival at Haneda Airport on April 18. He has said that all tariffs need to be reconsidered by the United States.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 7, 2025

U.S. and Japan remain far apart on tariffs

While both sides have said they will aim for a deal as soon as possible, they have also indicated that they aren't in a rush for a swift settlement.
Former Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda speaks during an interview in Tokyo on April 28.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 7, 2025

Ex-BOJ Gov. Kuroda urges calm response to Trump tariffs

"It's better not to be worked up by every little thing, but to sit down and respond," Kuroda said, referring to frequent changes in U.S. tariff policy.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo. Recent market turmoil drove investors to the yen as a haven asset, meaning foreign investors that put money into shares of Japanese importers will reap two benefits at once: yen gains and improved earnings at these businesses.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 7, 2025

Top-performing Orbis fund doubles holdings in Japanese stocks

Japanese stocks made up 24% of the $3 billion Orbis International Equity fund as of end-April, up from just 10% four months earlier.
Since U.S. President Donald Trump's return to the White House, the greenback is down more than 9% against a basket of major currencies as investors pull back from owning U.S. assets.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 8, 2025

Ukraine considers shift from dollar to euro amid geopolitical realignments

"This work is complex and requires high-quality, versatile preparation," Central Bank Gov. Andriy Pyshnyi said.
A semiconductor wafer is magnified through the lens of a microscope in Seoul on April 30. A rule introduced by former U.S. President Joe Biden to restrict the export of sophisticated chips has been described as "unenforceable."
BUSINESS / Tech
May 8, 2025

Trump administration to rescind and replace Biden's AI chip export curbs

A spokeswoman for the Department of Commerce said the rule is "overly complex" and "unenforceable."
The number of passengers on shinkansen and other express trains during Golden Week increased 3% from a year earlier to over 13 million, data from six Japan Railways group companies showed Wednesday.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2025

JR express train passengers during Golden Week up 3%

The result is believed to reflect the impact of the 2025 World Exposition in the city of Osaka, as well as demand from foreign visitors.
U.S. President Donald Trump takes questions from the media at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 8, 2025

Trump administration to announce trade deal with Britain

The agreement would be the first deal announced since Trump imposed stiff tariffs on dozens of U.S. trading partners.
Akio Toyoda’s $42 billion plan to buy Toyota Industries is one of the examples in a recent wave of management buyout ambitions in Japan.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2025

Japan’s tycoon families seek buyouts to evade investor pressure

The desire to delist stems from mounting pressure public companies face from investors and the threat of being acquired.
Toyota CEO Koji Sato announces the firm's financial results during a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 8, 2025

Toyota cites tariffs as it forecasts 35% drop in 2025-26 net profit

Carmakers have been among the hardest-hit by Trump's multipronged assault on free trade.
An attendee plays Mario Kart World during the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience event in London in April.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 8, 2025

Nintendo gives conservative sales outlook for Switch 2 amid tariff concerns

The Kyoto-based company expects to ship just 15 million units of the new console in the year to March, shy of the 16.8 million average estimated by analysts.
Akira Shimada, CEO of NTT, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2025

NTT to launch $16.5 billion tender offer for NTT Data in AI push

Japan’s biggest telecom operator is launching a tender offer of ¥4,000 per share for all stock it doesn’t own in NTT Data.
A supermarket in Chiba. Politicians in Japan might cut the consumption tax to help households and the economy.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 8, 2025

Economists debate consumption tax cut as Japanese politicians warm to idea

Japanese politicians are considering the possibility of lowering the consumption tax to stimulate the economy in the face of U.S. tariffs.
Officials from the 15 hotel companies had met once a month to exchange information about room occupancy rates, average room prices and room reservations, according to the FTC.
JAPAN
May 8, 2025

15 hotel operators in Tokyo warned over possible price-fixing

Officials from the 15 companies had met once a month to exchange information about room occupancy rates, average room prices and room reservations, according to the FTC.
U.S. President Donald Trump disembarks from Air Force One upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
May 9, 2025

Trump presses Russia for unconditional 30-day Ukraine ceasefire

U.S. President Donald Trump pressed Moscow to accept a 30-day unconditional ceasefire, with any breaches punishable by sanctions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping shake hands during a welcoming ceremony before their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
May 9, 2025

'Friends of steel': Xi and Putin pledge to stand together against U.S.

At talks in the Kremlin, the two leaders cast themselves as defenders of a new world order no longer dominated by the U.S.
Bill Gates, who pledged on Thursday to give away almost his entire personal wealth in the next two decades and said the world's poorest would receive some $200 billion via his foundation, during an interview in New York City, on Thursday
BUSINESS
May 9, 2025

Bill Gates says Musk is 'killing' world's poorest children by cutting aid

Bill Gates has pledged to give away $200 billion via his charitable foundation by 2045.
A deceased family patriarch and his grandson (Ginjiro Nishimoto, left) switch bodies in “My Edison.”
CULTURE / Film
May 9, 2025

‘My Edison’: Family-made sci-fi comedy is a real charmer

Gaku Kawasaki’s feel-good indie flick with a touch of “Freaky Friday” is a heartfelt reminder that it’s never too late to live out your dreams.
According to earnings reports released by Thursday, net profit is forecast to fall 47.7% to ¥250 billion at Nippon Yusen K.K., 60% to ¥170 billion at Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and 67.3% to ¥100 billion at Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 9, 2025

Three major Japan shipping firms expect sharp falls in profit

The companies are projecting a drop in the transport of autos and other goods due to U.S. tariff measures.
A Nissan plug-in hybrid truck at the Shanghai Auto Show last month. Nissan is looking to invest in its China operations and use the nation’s intensely competitive market to accelerate its development of electric vehicles.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 9, 2025

Nissan drops plan for Fukuoka battery plant to focus on recovery

The carmaker has abandoned plans to build a battery plant in Fukuoka Prefecture to focus on rescuing itself from a deepening financial crisis.
Nidec has decided to withdraw a ¥257 billion ($1.8 billion) unsolicited tender offer for machine tool maker Makino Milling Machine, bowing to strong resistance from its target.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 9, 2025

Nidec withdraws its $1.8 billion hostile takeover bid for Makino Milling Machine

Makino had previously threatened to block the takeover by granting stock acquisition rights to existing shareholders.
The Tokyo District Court on Friday handed suspended prison sentences to Keito Hosomichi, 27, and his 58-year-old father, Masato, after finding them guilty of violating the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 9, 2025

Former Tokyo Stock Exchange employee and father convicted of insider trading

Keito Hosomichi, 27, passed along confidential corporate information to his father, who then profited by investing in the shares of three companies.
Household spending in fiscal 2024 dropped 0.1% from the previous year in price-adjusted real terms, down for the second straight year, according to the internal affairs ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 9, 2025

Japan household spending slides 0.1% in FY2024

The decrease reflects sustained inflation, which is making people more budget-minded on food.
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone plans a buyback of shares from May 12 through March 31, a move it says is geared toward raising capital efficiency and boosting shareholder returns.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 9, 2025

NTT announces ¥200 billion buyback in capital efficiency push

The buyback from May 12 through March 31 is geared toward raising capital efficiency and boosting shareholder returns, the company said.
Hoshoryu (right) practices against Kotozakura at Ryogoku Kokugikan on May 2.
SUMO
May 9, 2025

Hoshoryu dominates rivals in practice, but real test awaits at May Basho

Sumo is a sport where practice results are unreliable if taken as a predictor of future success.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past