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BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 21, 2024

Nikkei scales record high; yen rebounds as Fed out-doves BOJ

The Nikkei marked a record closing high of 40,815.66, up more than 2% on the day, after also setting a fresh all-time intraday peak of 40,823.32.
A protest against the extradition law in Hong Kong in June 2019
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 22, 2024

Where are Hong Kong’s leading pro-democracy figures now?

In 2019, Hong Kong erupted into the most stunning expression of public anger with Beijing in decades.
The Monrovia NSU Challenger bulk carrier transits the expanded canal through the Cocoli Locks of the Panama Canal in April 2023.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Mar 22, 2024

'We all need water': Panama's canal, and people, thirst for more

A severe drought last year caused water levels in Gatun Lake, which provides drinking water and is the main reservoir for the canal, to fall.
Homes affected by sea level rise on Tierra Bomba Island, Cartagena, Colombia
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 22, 2024

Global sea level jumped due to El Nino and climate change, NASA says

The global average sea level rose by about 0.76 centimeters from 2022 to 2023 — nearly four times the increase of the previous year.
While policies differ from country to country, a common goal is to clean up an aviation industry that for a century has relied on fossil fuels to function.
BUSINESS
Mar 22, 2024

Expensive flights become new normal on $5 trillion green transition

Sustainable aviation fuel is the industry’s primary means of reaching a 2050 net zero target.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference on Tuesday after the central bank ended its ultra-aggressive monetary stimulus program and scrapped the world's last negative interest rate.
EDITORIALS
Mar 22, 2024

The BOJ's rate hike is both more and less than it seems

There are some fears that the BOJ's return to a positive interest rate environment threatens weak companies.
Shoppers in Tokyo on Tuesday
BUSINESS
Mar 22, 2024

Historic day for BOJ will take some time to be felt by people in Japan

With future rate hikes likely, the yen and mortgages could still see a more substantial impact.
A coal-fired power plant in Shanghai in October 2021. For years, analysts expected coal production to plateau after it hit a then-record in 2013. Then came 2021, when power shortages in China set Beijing on a path to order more mining to ensure energy security.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Mar 24, 2024

Coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, is preparing for a long goodbye

Output hit a record last year, and producers expect a future where coal will be required to balance renewable energy for decades.
Containers transporting coal at a dock in Cam Pha, Vietnam. Enthusiasm for Vietnam’s renewables boom is dampened by factors such as its underdeveloped electricity grid and patchy regulatory framework, while the country’s major source of electricity remains coal.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET
Mar 25, 2024

With Japan’s help, is Vietnam headed for a flawed energy transition?

The climate-vulnerable nation is looking to renewables, but also questionable solutions promoted by Tokyo, for its energy needs.
An ammonia tank at JERA's Hekinan thermal power station in Aichi prefecture. JERA and Exxon Mobil will jointly work on a low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia production project in the United States.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 25, 2024

JERA and Exxon to explore development of hydrogen and ammonia production project in U.S.

Exxon is developing what is expected to be the world's largest low-carbon hydrogen production plant at its Baytown Complex east of Houston in Texas.
Rakuten Group's Rakuten Point is the most frequently used reward point service, according to a survey.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Mar 25, 2024

Race to expand corporate economic blocs heats up in Japan

Corporate groups are enticing customers with a variety of services, often bolstered by reward points, primarily geared toward shopping purposes.
Though renewable energy can significantly reduce carbon emissions, if growth remains the global economic imperative, increased energy use will prevent us from reaching decarbonization goals.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 25, 2024

A call for economic degrowth

To achieve the systemic change needed to tackle the climate crisis, we must abandon GDP as the measure of social progress. This is what degrowth calls for.
Lithium evaporation ponds in Silver Peak, Nevada. Global lithium demand is expected to outpace supply by 500,000 metric tons annually by 2030.
BUSINESS
Mar 26, 2024

America's lithium laws fail to keep pace with rapid development

Washington's drive to make the U.S. a major global lithium producer is being held back by a confusing mix of state regulations.
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.
The Cultural Affairs Agency in the city of Kyoto
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2024

One year on, benefits of culture agency's move to Kyoto unclear

The relocation of the Cultural Affairs Agency was decided in 2016
An analysis of all the publicly available viral genome sequences yielded a surprising result: humans give more viruses — about twice as many — to animals than they give to us.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 27, 2024

Humans give more viruses to animals than they give us, study finds

Researchers looked at nearly 12 million virus genomes and detected almost 3,000 instances of viruses jumping from one species to another.
Jacky Im, Elizabeth Chan and Kate Maco are the founders of Neptune Robotics, a firm building robots that remove debris from the hulls of ships to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 27, 2024

Underwater robots offering practical route to greener shipping

Technology that removes the algae, barnacles and debris that accumulate on ships' hulls can reduce drag and improve fuel efficiency.
The most significant outcome of Taiwan’s elections is not President-elect Lai Ching-te and the DPP’s victory, but rather the party's loss of the legislature and the return of divided government after a 16-year hiatus.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 27, 2024

A divided government awaits Taiwan's new president

The most significant outcome of Taiwan’s elections is not the DPP’s victory, but rather its loss of the legislature and the return of divided government.
An online army of Chinese nationalists have taken it upon themselves to punish perceived insults to the country — including from some of China’s leading business figures.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 27, 2024

Why are China’s nationalists attacking the country’s heroes?

Many of the grievances seem to be fueled by discontent over China’s economic malaise, potentially making it harder for authorities to quell public anger.
Joel Vaudreuil's "When Adam Changes" won the grand prix at this year's Niigata International Animation Film Festival, the largest festival devoted to feature-length animation in Asia.
CULTURE / Film / CULTURE SMASH
Mar 28, 2024

Niigata film festival showcases cutting-edge overseas talent

The six-day event dedicated to feature-length animation presented a lineup of stories that were psychologically rich and emotionally dark.
Beijing-based Chinese influencer Chang Feifei has taken on many jobs to promote travel destinations in Japan, including from Universal Studios Japan and the Hankyu and Hanshin department stores.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Mar 28, 2024

Influencers — Japan’s secret weapon to promote niche tourism spots

Followers' trust in — and reliance on — social media for travel info, even when the content is sponsored, is a key factor.
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, who chairs the German parliament's defense committee, argues that the security of Europe is inseparable from that of the Indo-Pacific.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 28, 2024

German MP warns of complacency amid growing Indo-Pacific threats

Closer attention need to be paid to the often-belligerent rhetoric coming from places such as China and North Korea, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann said.
Dried cocoa beans at the Somos Cacao farm and production in Ragonvalia, department of Norte de Santader, Colombia, on March 22, 2024. Cocoa is the best-selling commodity in the world so far in 2024, and futures have doubled in less than three months as poor harvests in West Africa, where most of the world's cocoa is grown, have led buyers to look elsewhere for supplies.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 29, 2024

Cocoa market 'broken' as crop failure drives third year of shortages

here’s a risk poor harvests in West Africa could be long-lasting, with climate change and crop disease ravaging trees.
Prices excluding fresh food rose 2.4% in March in Tokyo, slowing slightly from 2.5% in February.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 29, 2024

Tokyo inflation slows but stays above BOJ target

Prices excluding fresh food rose 2.4% in March from a year before, slowing slightly from 2.5% in February.
An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indexes at the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai on March 24.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 29, 2024

Chinese firms face funding drought for IPOs amid heavy scrutiny

China's securities watchdog has sharply tightened scrutiny of IPOs this year, leading to companies scrapping domestic listing plans in droves.
Japan’s Cabinet agreed to ease defense export rules for the nation’s next-generation fighter jet, a concept model of which is seen on display here at a defense show in Chiba in March 2023.
EDITORIALS
Mar 29, 2024

Japan greenlights its defense industry

The government's steps on easing defense export rules will allow Japanese companies to participate more fully in the global market for defense equipment.
Department store operator Takashimaya is among the big firms planning to increase hires in spring 2025, a survey shows.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 31, 2024

Over 30% of big firms to hire more new grads in '25, survey finds

In addition to new graduate hires, some companies are looking to hire midcareer workers to secure talent amid fierce competition.
The Bank of Japan's tankan survey showed that large nonmanufacturers saw improvement in their sentiment with the index reaching the highest level since 1991, helped by a surge in inbound tourists.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 1, 2024

Japan service firms’ optimism tempered by softer factory sector

The deterioration in manufacturing sentiment partly reflects the impact from scandals among some vehicle producers.
Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen visits army bases ahead of the Lunar New Year in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on Feb. 6. Over 400 stories portraying Taiwan's military exercises as rehearsals for its leadership to desert in the event of war have been uncovered by an NGO based on the island.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 1, 2024

Chinese state media stoked allegation Taiwan's president would flee war

They are among the many unsupported tales that have been fed into the island by Chinese state media outlets, according to an analysis by Taiwan-based NGO.
An ammonia tank at Jera's Hekinan thermal power station in Aichi Prefecture on March 13
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Apr 1, 2024

Jera starts ammonia co-firing trial at coal power station

The power company said it is the world's first trial using a large amount of the gas at a major commercial plant.

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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