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Chinese leaders attend the second plenary session of the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing's Great Hall of the People on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 11, 2025

DeepSeek-fueled AI fever injects new energy into China’s annual meeting

Communist Party cadres from different regions competed to market their locales as China’s next AI hub at the National People’s Congress seven-day gathering.
Alimentation Couche-Tard founder Alain Bouchard (center), CEO Alex Miller (left) and CFO Filipe Da Silva attend a photo session after a news conference on their bid for Seven & I Holdings in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies / EXPLAINER
Mar 17, 2025

Why Couche-Tard's deal with Seven & I isn't going anywhere

The buyout bid has seen a mixed response in Japan, with some expressing concerns over the convenience store chain being taken over by a foreign company.
Lyft envisions a hybrid future where human drivers will complement autonomous vehicle fleets, especially during periods of peak demand.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 21, 2025

Lyft to offer driverless ride-hails ‘as soon as this summer’

The company sees its human drivers transitioning to other work such as fleet management as autonomous rides become more ubiquitous.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks toward Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 23, 2025

Trump plans his tariff ‘Liberation Day’ with more targeted push

Trump is preparing a "Liberation Day” tariff announcement on April 2.
Japan has become one of the biggest markets for activist investors, with the government and institutions such as the Tokyo Stock Exchange pushing companies to pay more attention to stock prices and shareholder returns.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 24, 2025

Elliott said to have built up significant stake in Sumitomo Realty

The size of the stake in isn’t known but the activist investor has engaged with the Tokyo-based real estate developer on measures to improve shareholder value, sources say.
William Lu, president and partner of Xiaomi, presents the new Xiaomi 15 series ahead of the 2025 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on March 2.
BUSINESS
Mar 25, 2025

Xiaomi raises $5.5 billion in upsized Hong Kong share sale

Xiaomi has been investing aggressively in its nascent EV business to drive growth and recently increased its 2025 delivery target.
An advertisement featuring Shohei Ohtani in Tokyo.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 26, 2025

Tokyo Series proves to be big business for MLB — and Japanese companies

The weeklong festival of all things baseball highlights how Shohei Ohtani has created myriad business opportunities on both sides of the Pacific.
Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing's CK Hutchison has entered into a deal with a BlackRock-led consortium to sell ports in Panama and elsewhere, putting his conglomerate’s flagship entity in the crosshairs of U.S.-China tensions.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 27, 2025

China pauses new deals with Li Ka-Shing family after Panama ports plan

The directive was issued to state-owned enterprises last week at the behest of senior Chinese officials.
Empty shelves with "Buy Canadian Instead" signs are seen in the American Whiskey section of the BC Liquor in Vancouver, British Columbia, on March 10.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 1, 2025

As ‘Buy Canadian’ grows, more U.S. firms say retailers turning away products

A dramatic reshuffling of Canada's retail shelves illustrates the impact of patriotic consumerism in the country.
The Bank of Japan's tankan survey indicates that large business are still positive on their prospects.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 1, 2025

Japanese businesses maintain optimism ahead of looming tariff storm

In the BOJ's latest tankan survey, the headline index for big manufacturers was 12, which indicates confidence in the business outlook.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt holds a press briefing, as headlines from articles on U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs are displayed, at the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 2, 2025

White House says Trump to go ahead with tariffs as nervous world awaits trade war

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said reciprocal tariffs on countries that impose duties on U.S. goods would take effect immediately after Trump announces them.
New vehicles parked at a pier in Yokohama on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 2, 2025

'Give me a break': Trump tariffs threaten Japan auto sector

The 5.6 million people employed directly or indirectly in the auto sector are now fearful about their future.
U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war has spurred the biggest market losses since the COVID-19 pandemic.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 5, 2025

Stocks slump again after China fires back in trade war with tariffs on U.S. goods

The trade war has spurred the biggest market losses since the COVID-19 pandemic.
A vandalized sign indicating an ultralow emission zone in west London.
ENVIRONMENT
Apr 10, 2025

Clean streets versus business woes: Pollution charge divides Londoners

The plan in London requires motorists to switch to low-emission vehicles or face a daily charge.
A pedestrian walks past an electronic board showing the morning numbers on the Tokyo Stock Exchange along a street in the Japanese capital on Friday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 13, 2025

Punch drunk traders across Asia ready for another week of drama

Even though investors were fearful of events last weekend, the reaction in markets was more extreme than many countenanced.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore during an interview in Tokyo. The governor is in Japan on a four-day trade and investment mission.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 14, 2025

Maryland governor talks trains and trade while in Japan

Gov. Wes Moore said he believes the Northeast Maglev — which may use technology from Japan — could transform the region's economy.
MS&AD forecasts that net profit for its North American operations will reach ¥166 billion in the fiscal year ended in March, a 3.5fold increase from the previous fiscal year.
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2025

Insurer MS&AD plans to invest $5 billion to double U.S. profits

The Tokyo-based casualty insurer has the highest market share in Asia among global firms, but it’s No. 3 among Japanese peers in North America.
Fees from dealmaking also helped net income climb 27% from a year earlier to ¥72 billion ($501 million) in the three months ended March 31, Nomura said in a statement Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 25, 2025

Nomura profit beats estimates on equity trading and dealmaking

The result caps a record year of profits, helped by robust trading and dealmaking and a resurgence in investing by Japanese individuals.
A company linked to the son of former Liberal Democratic Party heavyweight Makoto Koga is at the center of an income concealment case involving about ¥100 million tied to massage chair operations at Haneda Airport.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 27, 2025

Haneda terminal operator unit underreports income by ¥100 million

The subsidiary, Big Wing, was found to have concealed the income in connection with the business of installing massage chairs.
Digital screens at Piccadilly Circus display an advertisement for the Jaguar Type 00 concept car in London on Dec. 5, 2024.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 28, 2025

Advertising giants brace for tariff-induced cuts to ad spending

The car industry, one of the sectors most vulnerable to a trade war, is likely to lead the way in curtailing ad spend.
Attendees gather in front of a stage at the Capcom booth during the Tokyo Game Show in Chiba in 2018.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 26, 2023

Game publisher Capcom sees 1,200% gain over decade

The company’s shares are up by a third this year, outpacing the broader Tokyo market and capping off a remarkable 1,200% surge over the past decade.
A man plays video games in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Tuesday. As AI platforms advance at breakneck speeds, hundreds of thousands of jobs in the gaming sector become at risk of being replaced by the technology.
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2023

AI is rewriting the rules of $200 billion games industry

One major Japanese studio believes that half of the company’s programmers and designers could become redundant within the next five years.
International Monetary Fund chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 26, 2023

IMF urges BOJ to move away from yield control and prepare for future tightening

The remarks came ahead of the BOJ's meeting on Friday, where the board will release price forecasts and debate whether to adjust policy.
Trucks wait to cross South Africa’s border into Mozambique at Lebombo Border control in Komatipoort.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2023

Global demand for coal is bringing mayhem to South African towns

The trucks began running through in ever greater numbers after South Africa became one of Europe’s main alternatives to Russian coal.
ESPN, the sports TV unit of Walt Disney, is licensing its brand to casino operator Penn Entertainment, further deepening the media giant’s ties to online gambling.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 9, 2023

ESPN inks long-term deal with casino operator Penn Entertainment

The move to license its brand for sports betting deepens the media giant’s ties to the growing online gambling business.
Workers at a WeWork coworking office in London
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 11, 2023

Flexible work will survive despite gloomy corporate signals

A growing body of research, trend data and surveys show that flexibility matters, and that work is now a thing we do, not a place we go.
Blackstone is working on more acquisitions in Japan with several bids out and properties like hotels and data centers in the pipeline.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 14, 2023

Blackstone eyes more Japan property after selling $4.5 billion

Real estate investments in Japan have been rosy compared to other countries, where rising costs have squeezed finances and workers have shunned offices.
Workers at a garment factory in the Hlaing Tar Yar industry zone in Yangon, Myanmar, in 2010. Fast fashion retailer H&M says it is following up on 20 alleged instances of labor abuse at Myanmar garment factories.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 16, 2023

H&M probes Myanmar factory abuses as pressure intensifies

The move comes after top rival Zara owner Inditex said it is phasing out purchases from the Southeast Asian country.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk
BUSINESS
Aug 18, 2023

Elon Musk arrives in Japan for first visit in nine years

The purpose of his trip is not yet clear, but the space-loving billionaire has posted video clips of the teamLab Planets art installation in Tokyo.
Welcia Holdings, Japan’s largest drugstore chain, is one of the first Japanese companies to respond to China easing its ban on group tours to a raft of countries last week.
BUSINESS
Aug 18, 2023

Japan drugstore chain boosts duty-free counters on China bets

The company plans to offer duty-free services at 1,000 stores, up from about 260 currently, and it expects tourists to travel beyond Japan’s major cities.

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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