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Tourists take pictures from a boat on the Chao Phraya river in Bangkok.
BUSINESS
Jun 13, 2024

Thailand is already seeing signs of a 'White Lotus' travel bump

The series recently wrapped filming at several resorts and locations in the nation.
Postage rates in Japan are set to increase to ¥110 from ¥84 for standard-size letters weighing 25 grams or less and to ¥85 from ¥63 for postcards.
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2024

Japan Post announces October postage hike

Rates will increase to ¥110 from ¥84 for standard-size letters weighing 25 grams or less, and to ¥85 from ¥63 for postcards.
A demonstration of Microsoft's Copilot artificial intelligence on screen during an event in Sydney on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 14, 2024

Microsoft pulls back wide release of criticized Windows AI tool

Recall, a Windows feature unveiled in May, creates a record of everything people do on their PCs.
Yamato Transport drivers push carts loaded with parcels for distribution in Sapporo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 14, 2024

Japan logistics firms work to reduce parcel redeliveries

The government aims to lower the rate of parcel redeliveries from 10% in fiscal 2022 to 6% in fiscal 2024.
Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett attends the opening ceremony of Tungaloy's new plant in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, in  November 2011. Buffett says Tokyo executives are good value for money amid a widening pay gap between local and foreign business leaders.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 14, 2024

The pay gap in Japan’s boardrooms is unacceptable

The job market in Japan is, at all levels, much less liquid and executives are less likely to need incentives to avoid jumping ship to rivals.
A facial recognition system at ticket gates has been introduced at the Yamaman Yukarigaoka Line in Sakura, Chiba Prefecture.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2024

Facial recognition for train passengers in use in Chiba Prefecture

A boarding system using a facial recognition technology was introduced at the Yamaman Yukarigaoka Line.
Astronaut Koichi Wakata poses for a photo after holding a news conference on March 29 to announce his retirement from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency at the end of March.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Jun 18, 2024

After three decades, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata moves to private sector

Wakata became chief technology officer for the Asia-Pacific region at U.S. startup space company Axiom Space in April.
Blackstone will look to grow original content from Infocom’s network of manga artists, developing more works around themes enjoyed by its reader base of women.
BUSINESS
Jun 18, 2024

Blackstone taps steamy romance manga fans in $1.7 billion deal

The deal will allow the world’s largest alternative asset manager to tap into Japan’s digital manga market.
The Pentax 17 will be launched in the U.S. and Europe this month, and Japan next month, according to Ricoh.
BUSINESS
Jun 18, 2024

Japan brand launches first film camera in 20 years

The Pentax 17 will be launched in the U.S. and Europe this month, and Japan next month, according to Ricoh.
Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe holds a news briefing at the Japan Mobility Show 2023 in Tokyo on Oct. 25.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 19, 2024

Honda CEO apologizes to shareholders for test fraud

Shareholders voted to approve a proposal to reappoint Toshihiro Mibe and other directors to Honda's board.
Electric cars are stacked for export at the international container terminal of Taicang Port in Suzhou, China.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 20, 2024

Europe’s EV battery plans fade on China price war and U.S. subsidies

As electric-vehicle sales slow, companies including Volkswagen, Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz are scaling back or refocusing battery projects.
While MyDearest's games are understably digital, employees also joke that sometimes they known coworkers only by their avatars used during meetings.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Jun 21, 2024

Action drives VR, but Japan prizes anonymity and plot

A far cry from origins as a tech novelty, Japan's virtual reality industry is currently valued at $3.9 billion (about ¥615 billion).
Lower House lawmaker Masatoshi Akimoto (second from right) leaves the Tokyo Detention House in Tokyo's Katsushika Ward on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 21, 2024

Japanese Lawmaker Akimoto released on bail amid bribery charges

The lawmaker was arrested on September 7 last year.
A BYD Seal electric sedan displayed in Tokyo on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 25, 2024

BYD releases third EV in Japan as sales struggle to take off

Overall, BYD's sales in Japan fell 26% in April from a year earlier, and 28% in May.
Emergency personnel and investigators examine the site of a deadly blaze that tore through a lithium battery factory owned by South Korean battery maker Aricell in Hwaseong on Tuesday, a day after the fire left 23 dead.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jun 26, 2024

Deadly fire exposes harsh conditions migrant workers face in South Korea

Foreign nationals do dirty, hazardous work, and advocates say the blaze that killed 23 at a battery plant shows that they need better protection.
A table for flower offerings was set up Wednesday in a park in the city of Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, to mark the 30th anniversary of a sarin gas attack in the city.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2024

Altar set up to mark 30th anniversary of Matsumoto sarin attack

According to a neighborhood association, it was decided to set up an altar after some people left flowers at the park last year.
Sports announcer Al Michaels during an event in 2015
OLYMPICS
Jun 27, 2024

NBC brings AI version of legendary broadcaster to Olympic coverage

Narration by Al Michaels generated using artificial intelligence will voice the recaps that will be personalized to individual viewers of NBC's Peacock streaming service.
An altar is decorated with a portrait of Aum Shinrikyo founder Chizuo Matsumoto at an Aleph facility in Tokyo this month.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Jun 27, 2024

Japan authorities remain on alert over Aum successor group

Aleph, which has most of the roughly 1,650 worshippers of Aum Shinrikyo's three successor groups, continues to worship the teachings of cult leader Chizuo Matsumoto.
Aichi Gov. Hideaki Omura explains irregularities found at welfare service provider Megumi during a news conference in Nagoya on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2024

Japanese government punishes operator of group homes for overcharging

About 100 group homes for people with disabilities run by the Tokyo-based firm will be banned from having their service-provider designations renewed.
A rare earths plant owned by Neo Performance Materials in Sillamae, Estonia
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Jun 27, 2024

In race to regain rare earth glory, Europe falls short on mineral goals

EU demand for rare earths is forecast to soar sixfold in the decade to 2030 and sevenfold by 2050.
Fancl employees offer makeup lessons to those with blindness or low vision.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Jul 8, 2024

Cosmetics makers hold makeup lessons for those with visual impairments

Each company has established its own methods for applying makeup without the need to look in a mirror.
Tsuyoshi Maruki, president of Strategic Capital, speaks online on Thursday after three of six candidates proposed by the firm for Daidoh's board positions secured a seat.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 28, 2024

Activist fund in Japan wins Daidoh board seats in rare victory

Daidoh's stock has more than tripled since activist fund Strategic Capital built a stake in the firm in November 2022.
Toyota Customizing & Development, founded in April 2018 and 90.5% owned by Toyota, develops vehicles on behalf of the parent firm.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 30, 2024

Toyota unit violates subcontract law

The Fair Trade Commission will shortly recommend that TCD take steps to prevent a recurrence of similar misconduct, sources said.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday.
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2024

Japanese business executive detained in Myanmar

The military regime said an Aeon Orange executive and local supermarket officials allegedly sold rice at prices higher than levels set by authorities.
Hyundai Wia robotic arms on the production line at the Kia plant in Gwangmyeong, South Korea, on Jan. 3
BUSINESS
Jul 1, 2024

How one of the world's strongest car unions is dealing with EV job losses

Hyundai Motor and Kia’s moves toward electrification are provoking anxiety in South Korea’s highly active and organized labor movement.
Japan's Universal Entertainment is dropping a plan to buy PH Resorts' gaming project in the central Philippines.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 2, 2024

Japan's Universal scraps plan to buy central Philippines casino

Shares in PH Resorts slumped as much as 29% to a nine-month intraday low following the disclosure.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical President Akihiro Kobayashi and others at a news conference in Osaka in March.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 3, 2024

492 people hospitalized for 'beni kōji' supplements

Kobayashi Pharmaceutical says it has received consultations about a further 170 deaths possibly linked to its supplements.
Shoppers inside the Nike House of Innovation store on Fifth Avenue in New York on Friday
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 3, 2024

Nike plots $100 sneaker line as shares plunge in worst-ever drop

Nike shares slumped, ending the day down 19.98%, the biggest one-day percentage drop in the stock's history.
Nikon's new microscope specialized for intracytoplasmic sperm injection, a fertility treatment
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 3, 2024

Nikon develops microscope for fertility treatment

The product reduces the number of operational steps involved in intracytoplasmic sperm injection by about 75%.
A nursing home in Ishikawa Prefecture. Wage increases in other industries have made the nursing care sector less attractive.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 4, 2024

Over 80 nursing homes in Japan went bankrupt in first half

Rising costs and a severe manpower shortage are the main reasons driving care providers out of business.

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person