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China is on track for a record trade surplus that could reach almost $1 trillion this year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 25, 2024

Chinese exports to hit record this year before second Trump term

Exports already started off this quarter with the fastest growth since July 2022.
Fujikura's headquarters in Tokyo's Koto Ward. The company's share price has surged by more than 400% this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 25, 2024

AI boom makes 139-year-old cable maker Japan’s hottest stock

Fujikura, which makes narrow wire cabling, is the best performer on the Nikkei stock index this year due to a boom in demand for data centers.
Eriko Nakamura (left) and Ryo Narita play star-crossed lovers in Shinzo Katayama’s hallucinatory romp through past and present, dreams and reality.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 28, 2024

The mind-bending melancholy of ‘Lust in the Rain’

Shinzo Katayama’s hallucinatory film boldly explores both the absurdities of wartime violence and the erotic psyche.
Wall Street is rotating out of the chip sector, put off by stretched valuations and trade war-related risks under Donald Trump.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 27, 2024

Software is in, chips are out as traders position for Trump era

Software has been on an upswing given its lower exposure to tariff risks, and as the tailwind from AI looks set to shift from infrastructure to services.
Scale is becoming important even for distributors like Macnica Holdings, which sells chips made by the likes of Intel’s Altera.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 27, 2024

Japan’s top chip distributor eyes acquisitions in China and India

Macnica Holdings is eyeing an overseas acquisition to better hold its own against bigger competitors.
Two glasses of alcohol-free wine are pictured in a bar in Frankfurt on Nov. 20.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 27, 2024

German family winery taps into zero-alcohol trend

The company produces about 17 million bottles of alcohol-free wine a year, with sales up by around 35% annually.
Packages move along a conveyor belt at an Amazon warehouse
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 27, 2024

Japan investigating Amazon for allegedly bullying other businesses

Tactics allegedly employed by the retailer involve the squeezing of business partners in exchange for visibility.
Cafe N°_5's take on the Dubai chocolate craze that has been circulating on social media over the past few months is a mix of bitter and sweet.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 28, 2024

Tokyo’s take on that viral chocolate from Dubai

Scarce and pricey, Dubai chocolate is winning over Japanese fans thanks to a few flavor modifications.
Vehicles pass in front of an Exxon service station in Bethesda, Maryland, on Monday. Material stolen from the company's critics in a hack-and-leak operation continues to be used today to counter litigation claiming the oil giant misled the public and its investors about the risks of climate change.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 28, 2024

Exxon lobbyist probed over hacked papers that disrupted climate lawsuits

The stolen material continues to be used today to counter litigation claiming the oil giant misled the public and its investors about the risks of climate change.
Former Olympus Chief Executive Stefan Kaufmann was indicted over alleged violations of law concerning controlled substances.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 28, 2024

Former Olympus CEO indicted on suspected violation of drug laws

Stefan Kaufmann was forced to resign last month after the allegation surfaced that he bought illegal drugs.
Unitika President Shuji Ueno attends a news conference in Osaka on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 29, 2024

Unitika announces withdrawal from textile business

Its textile division has been struggling in recent years due to intensifying competition with Chinese and other rivals.
The Adani Group headquarters in Ahmedabad, India
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 29, 2024

Japanese banks stick with Adani as Jefferies and Barclays review ties

Gautam Adani and others have been charged with plotting a $250 million scheme to bribe India government officials to win solar energy contracts.
Commercial buildings in the Shibuya area of Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 29, 2024

Consumer inflation speeds up amid BOJ rate hike speculation

Overall inflation sped up to 2.6%, as food prices also pushed up the gauge, also outpacing economist expectations.
In an interview in Tokyo with the BBC that was published on Thursday, Fast Retailing CEO Tadashi Yanai said the company does not source cotton from China's Xinjiang region.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 29, 2024

Uniqlo criticized in China after CEO says retailer does not use Xinjiang cotton

Tadashi Yanai, the CEO of Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing, said it does not source cotton from the region, which has faced allegations of forced labor.
U.S. President Joe Biden with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in July 2022.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 30, 2024

Saudi Arabia abandons pursuit of U.S. defense treaty over Israel stalemate

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has again made recognition of Israel conditional on it taking concrete steps to create a Palestinian state.
Guards raise Taiwan's national flag on Democracy Boulevard at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 30, 2024

U.S. approves $385 million arms sale to Taiwan

The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of spare parts for F-16 jets and radars to the democratic island.
Ottawa's Zoe Boyd battles Boston's Loren Gabel during a Professional Women's Hockey League game in Ottawa in January.
MORE SPORTS / Ice Hockey
Nov 30, 2024

Fans flocking to PWHL as women's league returns for second season

Buzz is growing around the top-flight North American league as it enters its second season.
An outdated lineup, elevated spending on sales incentives and a lack of hybrids in North America has led Nissan to slash jobs and production.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 30, 2024

Nissan CFO set to step down as carmaker faces raft of challenges

The change follows an announcement last month that the company will eliminate 9,000 jobs and cut a fifth of its manufacturing capacity.
Rachel Accurso, in character as the internet personality Ms. Rachel, in New York on Nov. 4.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 30, 2024

Ms. Rachel’s improbable journey from toddler whisperer to holiday toy sensation

A series of toys depicting children’s YouTube sensation Ms. Rachel is quickly becoming one of the hottest holiday gifts.
Although years have passed since the dramatic arrest and ouster of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn, Nissan remains mired in management upheaval.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 2, 2024

Nissan shares up after news that chief financial officer will step down

The stock gained as much as 1% in early morning trading, though the shares are still down almost 35% this year.
Ken Kutaragi, the creator of Sony's PlayStation, speaks at the annual Tokyo Game Show in the city of Chiba in September.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 2, 2024

Father of PlayStation says 'everyone told us we would fail'

With revolutionary 3D graphics and titles like "Tomb Raider" and "Metal Gear Solid," the device first hit shelves on Dec. 3, 1994.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te speaks by phone with former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, during his visit to Honolulu on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 2, 2024

Taiwan's Lai talks 'China threats' with ex-U.S. House Speaker Pelosi

The pair discussed among other things "China's military threats toward Taiwan," a presidential spokesperson said, describing the 20-minute call as "warm and amicable."
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger delivers a speech at the COMPUTEX forum in Taipei on June 4. When Gelsinger met with the Intel board last week, he was given the option to retire or be removed.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 3, 2024

Intel CEO forced out by board frustrated with slow progress

Whoever replaces Pat Gelsinger will face the same set of problems he was brought in to fix, including the fallout from decisions made by his predecessors.
Funai Electric Chairperson Yoshiaki Harada holds a news conference in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 3, 2024

Funai's chairman files for its court-led rehabilitation

The court decision came after one of the company's directors filed a "quasi-voluntary bankruptcy" petition in late October.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te delivers a speech in the Marshall Islands' parliament in Majuro on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 3, 2024

Taiwan's Lai kicks off Marshall Islands visit as China fumes

The trip follows a stopover in the U.S. during which he discussed "China's military threats" toward Taiwan with former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Beijing has banned the export of gallium, germanium and antimony to the U.S.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 4, 2024

China dials up U.S. trade tension with tit-for-tat metals export ban

The targeted metals are used in everything from semiconductors to satellites and night-vision goggles.
A grapnel, used to retrieve cables, on the deck of the Leon Thevenin in Cape Town on April 30. In a wireless world, it is easy to forget the all-too-real cables that snake across the turbulent ocean floor — until they snap.
WORLD
Dec 4, 2024

When undersea cables break, a wireless world’s vulnerability is exposed

Landslides, a ship dragging its anchor, military skirmishes and sabotage can all damage cables.
The Topix and the yen have been largely moving independently over the past two months, shifting away from Japanese stocks’ past tendency to rise on a weaker yen.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 6, 2024

Cheap yen boost for Japan’s stocks shrinks to nil on hawkish BOJ

The Topix and the yen have been largely moving independently over the past two months.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te speaks during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday for a new government facility in Palau that Taipei helped fund.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 6, 2024

Taiwan's Lai says he is 'confident' of deeper cooperation with Trump

Trump caused jitters during his campaign by suggesting Taiwan should pay the United States for its defense.
There has been intense speculation about the possibility of China launching military drills in response to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te's Pacific tour last week that included two stopovers on U.S. soil.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 9, 2024

Taiwan on high alert after China's military restricts airspace

There has been speculation about the possibility of China launching military drills in response to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te's Pacific tour last week.

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb