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Data center development is time-consuming and complex — requiring a mix of expertise around real estate, technology, local regulations and environmental requirements. Asia’s highly fragmented market makes navigating these factors even more onerous.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 15, 2024

Global investors plow into Asia data centers on AI boom

Asia is becoming the latest hunting ground for investors in data centers, as companies bet on the region’s growing computing and data storage needs.
Toyota's hybrid RAV4 Prime at an auto show in Los Angeles in 2019
BUSINESS
Feb 2, 2024

Toyota to outshine rivals as more consumers opt for hybrids amid EV slowdown

Toyota is expected to offer an upbeat outlook when it reports its earnings on Tuesday, helped by its heavy reliance on hybrids.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 14, 2024

Yen's slide past ¥150 per dollar prompts stern warnings from Japan

The yen has tumbled more than 6% versus the dollar so far in 2024.
Pedestrians in Piazza Cordusio in Milan. Europe's fertility rate has been stuck around 1.5 births per woman for the past decade.
WORLD / Society / ANALYSIS
Feb 16, 2024

How Europe can dodge a birth rate hard landing

Europe's fertility rate has been stuck around 1.5 births per woman for the past decade, far short of the 2.1 needed to maintain population levels.
Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks at the China Development Forum 2024 in Beijing on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 26, 2024

Western business leaders help China challenge economic slump fears

Global executives are keen to show interest in participating in China's giant market despite deepening political tensions and moves to favor local firms.
A monitor shows the yen's sharp decline to  ¥158 to the dollar on Saturday morning in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 27, 2024

Yen drops beyond ¥157 per dollar as BOJ keeps key rate unchanged

Japan’s currency weakened as much as 1.4% on the day and touched a session low of ¥157.79 per dollar in afternoon trading in New York.
Japan's vice minister of finance for international affairs, Masato Kanda, poses for a photograph during an interview at the Finance Ministry in Tokyo in January 2022.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 30, 2024

Japan forex authorities ready '24 hours,' top currency diplomat Kanda says

Masato Kanda again declined to comment on whether the Finance Ministry had intervened to prop up the yen a day earlier.
An electronic screen displays a graph showing Japanese yen exchange rates surging against the dollar amid signs of intervention by authorities, in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 3, 2024

Japan's May 1 intervention may have cost ¥3.66 trillion, BOJ data suggests

The yen was at around ¥157.55 per dollar when it suddenly spiked, strengthening as far as ¥153 over the next half hour.
Shunichi Suzuki, Japan's finance minister
BUSINESS / Markets
May 4, 2024

Japan’s finance minister keeps traders guessing on yen intervention

The comments came days after Japanese authorities apparently entered the market to support the yen on two occasions this week.
French President Emmanuel Macron, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen walk after their meeting in Paris on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 7, 2024

Xi bristles as Macron and von der Leyen urge China to do more on Ukraine

The Chinese president also rejected what he described as attempts to use the Ukraine conflict to smear a third country or stoke a new Cold War.
Employees work on a production line at an automotive plant producing electric cars near Ningbo, China. The U.S. is set to announce new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and other goods as early as next week, according to people familiar with the matter.
BUSINESS
May 11, 2024

Biden set to hit China EVs and strategic sectors with tariffs

The decision, which could come as early as next week, represents one of Biden’s biggest moves in the economic race with China.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about new actions to protect American workers and businesses from China's "unfair" trade practices, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
May 15, 2024

Who’s toughest on China? Biden’s tariff tactic ups ante as election looms.

U.S. president is seen to be trying to "outtrump Trump" to appeal to voters who worry about geopolitical competition or hold anti-China sentiments.
Foreign private credit funds are focusing on Japanese investors as they move more money into higher-paying assets.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 29, 2024

Private credit chases Japan’s trillions as inflation spurs shift

Private credit funds are betting that inflation will prompt investors to channel more money into riskier overseas investments.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo on June 12
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 24, 2024

Yen nears lows as Bank of Japan leans dovish

The BOJ has suggested in recent weeks that it might not hurry in tightening monetary policy, unsettling the market.
Toyota has been looking to cash in on stakes in affiliates as it steps up development and production of battery-powered vehicles.
BUSINESS
Jun 27, 2024

Toyota and affiliates to offload some $1 billion in Aisin shares

Toyota Motor and two affiliates will divest at least 12.5% of supplier Aisin
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. Many analysts say the central bank would want to avoid rushing policy moves as policymakers probably don’t want to be seen as being forced to act to boost the currency.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 12, 2024

Yen jump eases pressure on BOJ to tighten its policy, analysts say

If the Bank of Japan raised interest rates and announced fewer bond purchases, it could risk being seen as only driven by the volatile yen.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speak to reporters in Berlin on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 13, 2024

Japanese and German leaders deepen ties with new economic security framework

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and German Chancellor Olaz Scholz agreed on the new mechanism during the Japanese leader's first visit to the country as PM.
An electronic screen displays a graph showing yen exchange rates surging against the U.S. dollar amid an alert to the possibility of intervention in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 16, 2024

Japan keeps up yen warnings as two-day intervention suspected

Bank of Japan data released on Tuesday suggested Tokyo may have spent ¥2.14 trillion ($13.5 billion) intervening on Friday last week.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda attends a news conference after the central bank's policy meeting, in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 1, 2024

BOJ’s sudden hawkishness attributed to yen defense

Economists believe political pressure may have had something to do with the central bank’s shift in stance.
Circle K owner Alimentation Couche-Tard’s initial $14.86-a-share proposal, seen as cheap at only 20% above Seven & I’s share price, may fail without a higher bid.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 19, 2024

How 7-Eleven can get a big price from Circle K

Alimentation Couche-Tard’s initial $14.86-a-share proposal, seen as cheap at only 20% above Seven & I’s share price, is unlikely to succeed without a higher bid.
Tokyo Metro will aim to raise $2.25 billion — making it the largest IPO in Japan for six years.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 20, 2024

Tokyo Metro and Rigaku set stage for $3 billion Japan IPOs as listings gather pace

Tokyo Metro's indicative price of ¥1,100 per share would raise ¥319.55 billion ($2.25 billion), giving the company a market value of ¥639.1 billion.
Toshiki Kawai, chief executive officer of Tokyo Electron
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 27, 2024

Tokyo Electron prepares for India expansion as Modi lures chipmakers

India is amping up efforts to attract international electronics companies and chipmakers to set up facilities within its borders.
Attendees stand in front of the Google Play booth during the Tokyo Game Show in September 2018 in Chiba.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 8, 2024

Google Play must allow rival Android app stores, judge rules

Epic Games argued that Google Play rules and fees stifled competition and blocked app marketplaces launched by developers.
The prospect of the yen's further depreciation is prompting strategists to warn of increased intervention risk near the ¥150 level, or the 200-day moving average of ¥151.25.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 15, 2024

Intervention back on investors’ radars as yen weakens against dollar

The yen had its worst loss against the dollar since 2009 in the five days through Oct. 4.
The Bank of Japan’s historic shift this year from radical monetary easing to two interest-rate hikes has sparked volatility in the nation’s securities market as investors speculate on the BOJ’s next move.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 17, 2024

Japan Post Insurance markets chief sees Nikkei setting new records after votes

The Nikkei's all-time high, set in July, will probably be "just a passing point,” said Kenichi Kuga, head of global equity and fixed income investment.
Stock data is displayed in the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai in August.
BUSINESS / Markets / ANALYSIS
Nov 1, 2024

Investors take cover in Asia ahead of U.S. election

Money managers are looking to make bets in India or China that stand to gain regardless of who becomes president. 
Many on the Bank of Japan board highlighted the need to scrutinize market developments in determining whether the economy can weather higher borrowing costs, a summary of opinions from October meeting shows.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 11, 2024

BOJ divided on rate hike timing, October summary shows

Many highlighted the need to scrutinize market developments, particularly yen moves, in determining whether the economy can weather higher borrowing costs.
The Bank of Japan's policy review next month will be its first attempt to take a deeper, analytical look at the drawbacks of prolonged monetary easing.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Nov 19, 2024

BOJ to bid farewell to stimulus era and justify rate hikes in policy review

The review will be the central bank's first attempt to take a deeper, analytical look at the drawbacks of prolonged monetary easing.
Korea Zinc Chairman Yun B. Choi, a grandson of a co-founder, last week agreed to scrap a controversial plan to issue new shares in the zinc refiner to help fend off a takeover attempt.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 21, 2024

Korea Zinc takeover battle tests Seoul's resolve on tackling 'Korea discount'

South Korean firms tend to have lower valuations compared to their overseas peers due to low dividend payouts and the dominance of family-run conglomerates.
Masato Kanda, former vice finance minister for international affairs, will start his role as Asian Development Bank's president in February.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 6, 2024

Incoming ADB chief Kanda keeping eye on U.S. policy as Trump return looms

Any changes in tariffs, taxes and immigration restrictions in the U.S. could have a major impact on Japan and other Asian economies, he notes.

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A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami