Search - new

 
 
Hiroki Totoki had taken up more of the leadership burden at Tokyo-based Sony two years prior, when he added the titles of president and chief operating officer to his role as chief financial officer.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 29, 2025

Sony names finance chief Hiroki Totoki as its next CEO

Kenichiro Yoshida, the outgoing CEO, will remain as chairperson of the board.
Though vegan restaurants have been on the upswing since 2017, Japanese vegans still lack a wide variety of options.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Jan 29, 2025

In meat- and fish-loving Japan, veganism is making a comeback

Tourism, climate goals and animal rights concerns are sparking a plant-based renaissance in a country famous for sushi and pork ramen.
Hoshoryu (front, second from left) celebrates after being promoted to yokozuna on Wednesday in Tokyo.
SUMO
Jan 29, 2025

Sumo’s newest yokozuna is all smiles — but major challenges await

For all the feel-good energy that has surrounded Hoshoryu the past few days, the Mongolian will need to take his sumo to another level if he is to last in the rank.
With China's growing military threat against Taiwan, experts argue that real deterrence — such as increased training ties with Japan, the U.S. and other nations — may be necessary to prevent an invasion and protect regional stability.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 29, 2025

How to secure Taiwan as drumbeats of a looming invasion grow louder

It is high time to get creative for real deterrence to protect the democratic island.
Economic coercion has become a prominent tool in global geopolitics, with both China and the U.S. relying on it to pursue their policy goals, and more so with Donald Trump now in office.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 28, 2025

When big countries wave their big economic sticks

There is no agreed definition of economic coercion under international law; like pornography, we know it when we see it.
Members of the popular Japanese pop group SMAP, including scandal-plagued Masahiro Nakai (right), perform in Beijing in September 2011.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 29, 2025

A pop-star sex scandal shows the death throes of old Japan

As the leader of a now-defunct boy band SMAP, the 52-year-old Nakai has been a ubiquitous mainstay in Japanese life for decades.
U.S. surfer John John Florence rides a wave during a practice session earlier this month off the north shore of Maui, Hawaii.
MORE SPORTS / Surfing
Jan 29, 2025

Absent champions, fresh venues in focus as surfing's world tour begins

Hawaii's John John Florence, who won his third world title last year, is taking the year off tour but will compete as a wildcard at the season opener in Hawaii.
Rock patterns formed by crystalized minerals along the Dead Sea shore near Kibbutz Ein Gedi in eastern Israel on Dec. 30. The Dead Sea, nestled where Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian territory meet, has famously been dying for years.
ENVIRONMENT
Jan 29, 2025

Dead Sea an 'ecological disaster,' but no one can agree how to fix it

Tackling cross-border environmental issues is no longer a priority for governments in the region.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 30, 2025

Trump reverses spending freeze order that sparked chaos

The abrupt move — only two days after the freeze was first announced — quickly drew parallels to the chaotic policy rollouts that unfolded during Trump’s first administration.
Manchester City's Savinho celebrates after scoring against Club Brugge during their Champions League match at Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Jan 30, 2025

Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain stay alive in Champions League

On a dramatic night in which only two of the closing 18 matches were dead rubbers, Man City got the win it needed to avoid an embarrassing exit.
Relatives of people who died in Spain's disastrous floods, as well as protesters, demonstrate against Valencia's regional leader, demanding his resignation for his handling of the emergency, in Valencia, Spain, on Dec. 29.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 30, 2025

Chinese online operation called for toppling Spain's government: report

The online operation from China, called Spamouflage, has been operating in several countries since 2017, online analysis outfit Graphika said.
A protester holds a flag as he shouts slogans during a demonstration to mark the anniversary of Myanmar's 2021 military coup, outside the United Nations office in Bangkok, on Feb. 1, 2024.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 30, 2025

Risk of violence escalates in Myanmar's civil war as election looms

With many forces opposing the junta and the election, tensions are set to rise ahead of the ballot.
Chinese artificial intelligence app DeepSeek rocked the tech sector this month with a new AI model that appeared to rival the capabilities of U.S. giants like OpenAI, but at 
a much lower cost.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 30, 2025

Why blocking China's DeepSeek from using AI made in U.S. may be difficult

DeepSeek this month rocked the technology sector with a new AI model that appeared to rival the capabilities of U.S. giants like OpenAI, but at a much lower cost.
Customers walk past an Apple logo inside an Apple store in New York in 2018.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 30, 2025

Apple and SpaceX link up to support Starlink network on iPhones

In an under-the-radar move, the latest iPhone software update now supports Starlink satellite technology.
Nissan said Wednesday that it will move to a single shift from mid-April at one production line in each of two U.S. factories, and seek an unspecified number of voluntary buyouts or early retirements.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 30, 2025

Nissan plans job and output cuts at U.S. vehicle assembly plants

Nissan has pledged to cut 9,000 jobs globally and reduce production capacity by 20%.
The Bank of Japan's phasing out of its fund-provisioning program underscores Gov. Kazuo Ueda’s determination to slowly but steadily proceed with the normalization of policy after more than a decade of radical monetary easing.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2025

BOJ to shrink balance sheet by around ¥77 trillion with end of loan program

All outstanding loans from the central bank's fund-provisioning program to stimulate bank lending are expected to be wiped off its books by March 2028.
Nippon Ishin no Kai leaders Hirofumi Yoshimura (left) and Seiji Maehara attend the party's executive meeting in the city of Osaka in December.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 30, 2025

Shared concerns could bring LDP and Nippon Ishin together on 2025 budget

Nippon Ishin's challenge is to get the LDP to secure free high school education and ensure support for the financially troubled Osaka Kansai Expo.
"As main shareholder of Nissan, Renault will consider all options based on the best interest of the group and its shareholders,” said a spokesperson for Renault, regarding a merger of Nissan and Honda.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 30, 2025

Renault seeks takeover premium from Honda for Nissan stake

Representatives for Renault flew to Japan earlier this week to voice concerns over how a tie-up may be structured, sources said.
The Deepseek and Alibaba app icons. Alibaba released a new version of its Qwen 2.5 artificial intelligence model on Wednesday, stating it surpasses the highly acclaimed DeepSeek-V3.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 30, 2025

Alibaba releases AI model it says surpasses DeepSeek-V3

The unusual timing of the release points to the pressure Chinese AI startup DeepSeek's meteoric rise in the past three weeks has placed on domestic competition.
Debris at the site of a deadly plane crash in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Thursday.
WORLD
Jan 31, 2025

Investigators seek to salvage aircraft after deadly Washington crash

Authorities have recovered black boxes but have not yet pinpointed a reason for the collision between the regional jet and a U.S. Army helicopter.
An ocean vista at a resort in Thailand on Dec. 26
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2025

'The White Lotus' is already driving a travel boom in Thailand

Ahead of the HBO show’s third season premiere, Thai tourism authorities, hoteliers and travel agents are readying for a surge in visitors.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 30, 2025

Trump’s nine-hour economic war on Colombia rattles markets

Trump’s more strategic than his first term, and governments across the globe are in a weaker position after their budgets were upended by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The koji room at Fukuwagura brewery in Mie Prefecture, where metals such as stainless steel, which are easy to manage for hygiene, are widely used
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jan 30, 2025

Japanese food makers step in to preserve sake breweries' legacy

The initiatives by food companies coincide with a growing recognition of traditional sake-making techniques.
The rush to curry Trump’s favor makes clear just how much global leaders learned their lesson from his first term.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 30, 2025

Trump’s transactional foreign policy leads to flurry of pledges

The rush to curry Trump’s favor makes clear just how much global leaders learned their lesson from his first term.
Workers construct an array of solar panels for a floating photovoltaic solar energy farm near Cottbus, Germany, in August 2024.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 30, 2025

Red tape and rare earths: EU 'compass' charts economic future

The publication of the "competitiveness compass" aims to mark a change of tack toward a more business-friendly Brussels.
The Finance Ministry raised its economic assessment for Hokkaido while 
keeping it unchanged for the remaining 10 of the country's 11 regions covered in the report.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 30, 2025

Japan's Finance Ministry raises its economic view for Hokkaido

On consumption, the ministry left its assessments unchanged for 10 regions, while upgrading its view for Hokkaido.
France's Antoine Dupont runs with the ball during a practice in Marcoussis, France, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Jan 30, 2025

France set to open Six Nations campaign against 'transitioning' Wales

France's results have vastly improved since Galthie took over in 2020.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is a fan of playing four 10-minute quarters, the format used in international basketball.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Jan 30, 2025

NBA Commissioner floats idea of move 10-minute quarters

Silver added that it is not something the league is actively considering.
China-backed hackers are increasingly targeting critical U.S. infrastructure, including energy grids, telecom networks and government agencies.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 30, 2025

Trump’s bigger China cyber threat isn’t TikTok

China-backed hackers are infiltrating U.S. critical infrastructure, telecom networks and government systems, exposing vulnerabilities that demand stronger cybersecurity measures.
Honda and Nissan announced in December that they plan to unite both brands under a single holding company.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 30, 2025

Case for Honda-Nissan tie-up strengthened as sales fall at both automakers

In the competitive China market, Nissan’s sales fell 12% last year while Honda saw a 30% decline.

Longform

"Shake hands with Lima-chan," a statue that shares the name of the Peruvian capital looks in the direction of Peru, where a sister statue, "Sakura-chan," is located. Erected in Yokohama's Rinko Park in 1999, it commemorates Peruvian-Japanese friendship.
The journey of Peru’s Nikkei: Finding identity in Japan