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JAPAN / Society
Jan 22, 2024

Regional business creators system picks up steam in Japan

The system allows local governments to leverage private-sector know-how in areas including tourism promotion and digitalization.
The SK Hynix factory in Dalian specializes in 3D NAND flash memory used in smartphones and other devices. NAND accounts for an increasing portion of the company’s revenue, around 27% of which comes from China.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 23, 2024

U.S. chip battle with China catches South Korea in the crossfire

Korean firms have to balance relations with both countries — one, a source of cutting-edge chipmaking technology and the other, the world's largest chip market.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 23, 2024

With meetings, Japan leader amplifies call for wage hikes at small firms

Dissatisfaction over falling real wages has been one of the factors undermining the prime minister's support rate, which remained under 30% in a series of recent polls.
BUSINESS
Jan 26, 2024

Yuri Okina tapped as new chief of government tax panel

Okina is the first female chief of the panel, which advises the prime minister, and its first new chair in roughly 10 years.
This year was set to be a tumultuous one for global markets, with unpredictable swings as economic fortunes diverge and voters in more than 50 countries go to the polls. But there’s one unforeseen reversal already underway: a change in perception among investors about China and Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 26, 2024

As China’s markets stumble, Japan soars toward record highs

China has not struggled for economic growth like Japan, but a protracted property market collapse has shredded consumer and investor confidence.
At Crypto HK, a popular crypto store in Hong Kong, customers can buy cryptocurrencies with a minimum 500 Hong Kong dollars ($64) and are not required to provide any identity documents.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 28, 2024

Bruised by stock market, China rushes into banned bitcoin

More and more Chinese investors are using creative ways to own crypto assets they believe are safer than investing in stock and property markets at home.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 29, 2024

Pay hikes at small firms in focus at Japan’s spring wage negotiations

The decisions of such companies will play a big role in determining whether Japan can achieve a healthy wage-price cycle.
IBM offices in Foster City, California
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 30, 2024

IBM managers: Move near an office or leave company

Return-to-office mandates are often seen as fueling attrition
Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda speaks during a news conference in Nagoya on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 30, 2024

World No. 1 but mired in scandal: Toyota sees mixed start to 2024

Despite the steady performance of its business, the carmaker has been shaken by wrongdoing at group firms, leading to an apology from the chairman.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivers his keynote address at the f8 Developers Conference in San Francisco in 2011.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 1, 2024

Facebook, the social network old-timer, turns 20

"Facebook, when it launched, was revolutionary"
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 7, 2024

KDDI to raise stake in Lawson to jointly run convenience chain

Japan's second-largest mobile carrier currently holds 2.1% of shares but will invest about ¥500 billion to increase its stake through a tender offer.
Honda now projects an annual net profit of ¥960 billion ($6.45 billion), up ¥30 billion from the previous forecast.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 8, 2024

Honda and Nissan release robust earnings reports

Honda upgraded its annual profit forecast while rival Nissan said its net profit almost tripled year-on-year.
No politicians, government officials, bankers or business leaders have voiced strong opposition to Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda's intention to put an end to the world’s last negative rate regime.
BUSINESS
Feb 14, 2024

Lack of political opposition opens way for BOJ rate hike

Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda is in a rare sweet spot for such a move, in sharp contrast to the experiences of his BOJ predecessors.
Gross domestic product contracted 0.4% on an annualized basis in the October-December 2023 quarter, following a 3.3% contraction in the previous quarter.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 15, 2024

Japan loses spot as No. 3 economy after surprise GDP contraction

Analysts caution that the data is perhaps not as bad as it seems, given solid readings from other economic indicators.
Rakuten Group has incurred a net loss for the fifth straight year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 15, 2024

Rakuten logs second-largest annual net loss

The firm will skip a dividend payment for the first time in 23 years to prioritize its financial stability.
TSMC’s surge propelled Taiwan’s benchmark index to a record high, as expectations of booming demand for artificial intelligence technology drove investor sentiment.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 15, 2024

TSMC soars most since 2020, lifting Taiwan on AI optimism

The company’s surge propelled Taiwan’s benchmark index to a record high, as expectations of booming demand for AI technology drove investor sentiment.
The U.K. economy has been hamstrung by the worst cost-of-living crisis in generations, as well as interest rate increases.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 16, 2024

U.K. recession deals fresh blow to Rishi Sunak’s economic promises

Statistics showing the GDP contraction emerged at a particularly bad time for the U.K. prime minister, with two by-elections taking place in England.
Nissan's Ariya electric crossover sport utility vehicle assembled by robots at the company's plant in Kaminokawa, Tochigi Prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 19, 2024

Japan carmakers forge ahead with EV investments despite slowdown

Outside of Japan, signs of a scaling back are everywhere, with the exception of China.
A man stands next to a model of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, which was used to launch several Indonesian satellites into orbit, at the office of Pasifik Satelit Nusantara, an Indonesia’s satellite-based telecommunication firm, in Jakarta on Jan. 15.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 20, 2024

How a Chinese rocket failure boosted SpaceX's fortunes in Indonesia

Elon Musk seized on the incident to prevail over a state-owned Chinese contractor as Jakarta's company of choice for putting satellites into space.
Laws governing global e-commerce and the growing tidal wave of data that crosses borders may soon change.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 22, 2024

Streaming a movie abroad may soon come with taxes at the border

It's still unclear exactly how governments would implement digital tariffs.
People take photos of electronic screens showing the Nikkei average surging to its highest level ever, outside a brokerage in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Markets / ANALYSIS
Feb 22, 2024

Nikkei tops late '80s peak, but is a bubble forming?

Market watchers say gains experienced by Japanese equities are well backed by earnings this time.
Nippon Steel's Kashima plant seen from a park in Kamisu, Ibaraki Prefecture. Scrutiny over Nippon Steel’s China holdings threatens to add another complication to its politically contentious deal to acquire United States Steel.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 23, 2024

Nippon Steel’s China assets could derail United States Steel deal

Regulators may look unfavorably on whether the acquisition of U.S. Steel could allow more access to U.S. markets for Chinese-sourced steel.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms, in Menlo Park, California, on Sept. 27, 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 26, 2024

Mark Zuckerberg’s Asia tour to focus on AI

The Meta Platforms’ CEO is in Japan with his family on a ski trip, and is set to meet with his developers in Tokyo to discuss virtual-reality and AI.
Business is booming for Japan's top airlines as the weak yen spurs the arrival of more foreign visitors, while local demand for international trips and domestic routes remains high.
BUSINESS
Mar 1, 2024

Japan’s top airlines to hire 3,700 workers in the next year

Business for the airlines is booming as the weak yen spurs the arrival of more foreign visitors.
Nippon Steel Executive Vice President Takahiro Mori, who is set to meet the United Steelworkers (USW) union chief this month, says the Japanese steel producer plans to uphold all of the current agreements between the union and U.S. Steel.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 5, 2024

Nippon Steel exec to meet USW head to seek support for U.S. Steel deal

Winning the union's backing is a priority for the Japanese steel producer because then the acquisition will be "no longer a political issue."
AI Medical Service's artificial intelligence-based endoscopic diagnostic support system is designed to help detect stomach cancer at an early stage.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 7, 2024

Tokyo startup looks to AI to boost gastrointestinal cancer detection

AI Medical Service thinks it can use Japan’s strengths in endoscopy to boost diagnosis of a condition responsible for 1 in 3 cancer deaths globally.
Nissan expects kei EV sales to expand, as kei cars are relatively inexpensive compared to regular cars and their size makes them suitable for short-distance trips.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 8, 2024

Nissan may bring ultra-compact EV production in-house from 2028, sources say

The automaker is considering moving production to its factory in Kyushu in the business year starting April 2028.
Japan revised economic data higher, reversing a quarterly contraction in October-December 2023 into positive growth and avoiding a technical recession.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 11, 2024

Japan’s economy avoids recession one week before BOJ meeting

The government made an upward revision to capital investment figures to reflect 2% growth, which in turn sent the country's GDP into positive territory.
NEC computers at an electronics store in Tokyo. Founded in 1899, NEC focuses on information technology and network communications, biometric recognition, the internet of things and artificial intelligence technologies, according to its website.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 14, 2024

Japan’s NEC weighing $500 million data center sale, sources say

The Tokyo-traded company is looking to hire financial advisers to help prepare a potential sale of the business.
Mercian's vineyard in Koshu, Yamanashi Prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Mar 18, 2024

Major Japanese beverage groups focusing more on sustainability

Initiatives have diversified to include water source preservation as well as winery tours under the theme of the U.N.'s Sustainable Development Goals.

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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