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Official Kinoko no Yama earphones by Meiji (right) next to a counterfeit product
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 25, 2024

Meiji blocks import of counterfeit Kinoko no Yama earphones

The original mushroom-shaped wireless earphones, a quirky iteration of the famous sweet treat, debuted in March on a limited run and quickly sold out.
A user receives ¥50,000 of their salary through the PayPay app.
JAPAN
Sep 25, 2024

SoftBank makes first salary payments via its digital platform PayPay

Employees asking to receive part of their salaries via cashless payment services received the money through the PayPay platform, operated by a SoftBank Group affiliate.
A Ukrainian soldier operates a DJI drone on the front line of the war, in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine in March 2023. U.S. authorities consider Chinese drone-maker DJI a security threat.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 25, 2024

Taiwan and U.S. work to counter China’s drone dominance

Discussions in Taiwan, set to finish Wednesday, brought more than two dozen U.S. companies together with Taiwanese firms looking for U.S. knowledge and customers.
Flowers are laid in front of a Japanese school in Shenzhen last Friday. A Japanese boy who was on his way to the school was fatally stabbed last week.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 25, 2024

Expat safety seen as a must for Japanese firms to keep doing business in China

Business leaders have underlined the duty of a host country to foreign firms in the wake of a fatal stabbing of a Japanese schoolboy in Shenzhen.
U.S. Steel said an arbitration board had ruled in favor of Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion buyout of the company.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 26, 2024

U.S. Steel says arbitration board rules in favor of Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion buyout

Nippon Steel had paid a hefty premium to clinch the deal for U.S. Steel on a bet that it could benefit from U.S. President Joe Biden's infrastructure spending bill.
A Tokyo Electric Power Company employee uses a Geiger counter to check for radiation near storage tanks holding contaminated water at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in the towns of Okuma and Futaba in January 2020.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 27, 2024

Tepco's Fukushima decommissioning effort is challenging — but making progress

Tepco believes that diligent monitoring by it and the IAEA over the past year supports the conclusion that water discharges from the Fukushima No. 1 plant are safe.
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 27, 2024

Toyota ends sponsorship with 'political' Olympics

The withdrawal means Olympics logos currently carried by Toyota products will be phased out, and its vehicles will no longer be provided to assist with the event.
Having grown up in North Carolina, where people are chatty and friendly, Duane Levi says Kansai and Osaka in particular had a similar vibe.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Sep 27, 2024

Duane Levi: 'Once you are able to create something that has sustainability … you’re going to get help and support.'

Unable to get a job in PA and recording, Duane Levi forged his own path in the Japanese music scene and has introduced many artists to the market here.
U.S. President Joe Biden disembarks from Air Force One upon arrival at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, on Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 28, 2024

Biden still opposes Nippon Steel deal's bid for U.S. Steel

The remarks threw cold water on hopes by deal supporters that the proposed tie-up could get a green light from a key review committee.
Employees of the Tokai village government in Ibaraki Prefecture offers a moment of silence on Monday to commemorate the 25th anniversary of a criticality accident that occurred at a facility of nuclear fuel-processing company JCO.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 30, 2024

Ex-mayor raps government for lack of preparedness for nuclear disasters

Tatsuya Murakami, who dealt with a 1999 nuclear accident as a village chief, warns against the pursuit of nuclear power without weighing its risks.
Google's plan to invest $1 billion in data centers in Thailand underscores a push by Southeast Asia’s governments to attract foreign tech firms.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 1, 2024

Google to spend $1 billion in Thailand in Southeast Asia AI push

The outlay could help add $4 billion to Thailand’s economy by 2029 and support 14,000 jobs annually over the next five years, Google says.
A drone view shows a damaged area following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Lake Lure, North Carolina, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Oct 2, 2024

Flooded farms, fouled rivers, dozens dead: Helene’s rising toll

The sweep of Helene’s damage — much of it occurring far from shore, in mountain towns and inland fields — took many by surprise.
Fans watch the Super Bowl at the FanDuel sportsbook in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in February 2019.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Oct 2, 2024

FanDuel sued by convicted NFL executive over gambling addiction

The complaint by Amit Patel, who was sentenced to 78 months behind bars in March, alleges that FanDuel ignored its own responsible gaming protocols.
Toyota is delaying the start of production for its first U.S.-made electric vehicle until 2026.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 3, 2024

Toyota pushes production of first U.S.-made electric vehicle into 2026

The Japanese carmaker initially targeted late next year to begin output, but a company spokesperson said that has slipped by a few months into 2026.
Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive officer of SoftBank Group, speaks during the SoftBank World event in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 3, 2024

SoftBank’s Son envisions AI running households in the next few years

Masayoshi Son's rosy view of AI's potential often comes with a warning to skeptics that they may be left behind if they do not embrace the technology.
Analysts say Warren Buffett may be looking to buy Japanese financial firms and shipping companies.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 3, 2024

Buffett may target Japan banks or insurers for next purchase, analysts say

The billionaire’s company this week mandated banks to manage a yen bond sale in the global market, in a sign he may increase holdings in Japan.
Starbucks has 10 support centers around the world where agronomists work with farmers on research and best practices.
BUSINESS
Oct 3, 2024

Starbucks buys research farms as climate change threatens coffee supply

Bolstering the coffee industry’s climate resilience has taken on fresh urgency this year.
The units under construction at Jera's liquefied natural gas fired power plant inside the company's Anegasaki Thurmal Power Station in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture, in June 2022
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2024

Japan and South Korea to expand initiative to cut methane emissions

Methane's greenhouse effect is believed to be more than 20 times that of carbon dioxide. Leaks of methane from gas fields are a major issue that need to be dealt with.
As streaming services like Netflix invest in Japanese content, the hope is to revitalize the nation’s cultural exports and elevate its television landscape.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 9, 2024

Netflix’s ‘Tokyo Swindlers’ reveals some surprising truths

"Tokyo Swindlers" can reveal some home truths — even when they’re presented by a group of fraudsters.
Former Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp speaks after receiving Germany's Order of Merit in Berlin on Oct. 1.
SOCCER
Oct 9, 2024

Juergen Klopp becomes Red Bull's global soccer chief in first job after Liverpool

Klopp, who ended his successful nine-year stint with Liverpool at the end of last season, will be starting his new role on Jan. 1.
Fast Retailing booked its third consecutive year of record earnings on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 10, 2024

Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing posts 31% rise in full-year profit, beats estimates

Operating profit rose 31% to ¥500.9 billion in the 12 months through August from ¥381.1 billion a year earlier.
Roof damage at Tropicana Field after Hurricane Milton made landfall, in St. Petersburg, Florida, on Thursday. Almost 3 million people were without power Thursday after Milton made landfall and crossed the state.
WORLD
Oct 11, 2024

Hurricane Milton’s surprise was the damage unleashed by powerful winds

Much of the worst damage from the hurricane, like the shredded roof of the Tropicana Field sports stadium, came from wind rather than water.
Cider in Japan doesn't have as long a history as other alcoholic beverages, but with consumer preferences shifting, it might be just the easy sip for drinkers sick of stiff tipples.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 13, 2024

As Japan shuns stiff drinks, cider aims for a bigger share of the market

Sake brewer Isamu Yoshii was the first person in Japan to produce cider as an alcoholic drink in 1954, paving the way for a possible cider boom in the future.
Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk rides in Tesla's robotaxi at an unveiling event in Los Angeles on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 11, 2024

Tesla CEO Musk unveils Cybercab and Robovan as focus shifts to automation

Musk said Cybercab production will start in 2026, with the autonomous taxis available to buy for less than $30,000.
The Finance Ministry plans to suspend Nomura from the primary group of Japanese government bond dealers for a month from Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 11, 2024

Japan suspends Nomura from bond auctions after manipulation

The action is another setback for Nomura after the revelations led several companies including Toyota Finance to take their bond underwriting business elsewhere.
A manager of a go-kart rental company allegedly rented out karts without properly verifying the driver's licenses presented by two foreign tourists.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 11, 2024

Tokyo go-kart rental manager sent to prosecutors over traffic law violation

The 40-year-old man allegedly rented out karts to two foreign tourists without valid licenses.
A U.S. security panel granted Nippon Steel permission to refile its bid, pushing a final decision beyond the presidential election next month.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 12, 2024

Nippon Steel will exit Alabama plant if U.S. Steel bid succeeds

Japan’s biggest steelmaker would offload its 50% holding in AM/NS Calvert to its joint-venture partner ArcelorMittal for $1, it said in a statement on Friday.
Tanks containing treated radioactive water at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture
JAPAN
Oct 14, 2024

Tepco ends 5th round of treated water discharge slated for fiscal 2024

About 7,800 metric tons of the water, diluted with seawater, was released about 1 kilometer offshore through an undersea tunnel.
The winners of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry are announced in Stockholm, Sweden, on Oct. 9. They are, as seen on the display screen, David Baker (left), of the University of Washington; Demis Hassabis (center) and John M. Jumper (right), both from Google DeepMind, U.K.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 15, 2024

Google's DeepMind Nobel Prize showcases AI’s medical potential

Google’s AlphaFold tool is already widely used by pharmaceutical researchers searching for groundbreaking new medicines.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency is responsible for most of Japan's overseas aid known as official development assistance.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 16, 2024

JICA staffer suspected of leaking info on Philippines railway project

The employee is thought to have intended to secure a contractor in advance to prevent delays to the ¥38.1 billion project.

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