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A crowd of tourists at Nishiki Market in the city of Kyoto. Gains in land prices have been helped by a surge in inbound tourism, which has boosted demand for hotels and shops.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 18, 2025

Japan's land prices rise at strongest pace in 34 years, government survey shows

Data shows recovery spreading to regional areas, thanks to sustained economic growth, in the latest sign of a pickup in the property market.
Shinobu Yamagishi, the former president of Osaka-based real estate company Pressance, speaks during a news conference on Friday.
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2025

Osaka court rejects damages suit over coercive interrogations

Shinobu Yamagishi, 62, the former president of Osaka-based real estate company Pressance, was seeking about ¥700 million in damages.
A kitchenware recycling team collects equipment at a closed hotpot restaurant in Beijing last month.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 22, 2025

China's restaurants race to the bottom in deflation-hit economy

A restaurant in China has an average lifespan of just about 500 days, analysts say, falling to as low as a year in Beijing.
U.S tariffs on Vietnam would force Nike, one of several sportswear brands heavily reliant on the Southeast Asian nation as a production site, to absorb higher costs or hike its prices at a time when it is already discounting some items to clear inventory.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 2, 2025

U.S. tariffs on Vietnam would be a blow to Nike and other sportswear brands

Vietnam is a hub for high-tech running shoes, sportswear and outdoor apparel, with brands seeking to reduce exposure to China.
Mitsuko Kusabue plays the feisty proprietor of a ramshackle drinking establishment in “Let’s Meet at Angie’s Bar.”
CULTURE / Film
Mar 31, 2025

‘Let’s Meet at Angie’s Bar’: A granny like none other

Acting veteran Mitsuko Kusabue brings wisdom and wit to Yurugu Matsumoto’s lighter-than-air comedy.
People enjoy running and yoga on Tokyo Expressway’s KK Line, a 2-kilometer elevated expressway cutting through the capital’s commercial Ginza district, when it was opened as a pedestrian space in May last year.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2025

Tokyo’s KK Line to close for decadelong overhaul as public greenway

The line will become a pedestrian-focused green space called Tokyo Sky Corridor, with sections opening in phases before its full relaunch in 2035.
Temporary housing for Noto Peninsula earthquake evacuees in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Thursday
JAPAN / Society
Apr 13, 2025

Over 70% of Noto evacuees concerned about housing

One woman in her 60s in the city of Nanao complained about soaring construction costs as her house is being rebuilt.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin meets with U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, in St. Petersburg on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 13, 2025

The U.S. and Russia are negotiating in bad faith

For now, Trump says he is “pissed off” at Putin for not being more amenable to his administration’s ceasefire proposals and he is threatening to impose yet more sanctions.
Tokyo-based Keyaki Capital plans to introduce more private capital funds, including private equity, private credit, real estate and venture capital funds in the future.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 16, 2025

Keyaki Capital starts first Japan online private asset platform

The platform features an open-ended private credit fund currently distributed by Keyaki Capital.
Fuji Media's headquarters in Tokyo's Minato Ward
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2025

U.S. investor to propose candidates for Fuji Media's board

Dalton Investments said in a statement that the old-fashioned corporate structure of Fuji Media must be swept away.
An anti-U.S. mural on a building in Tehran earlier this month
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 18, 2025

With his promises of peace unmet in Gaza and Ukraine, Trump may find Iran just as tough

Adding to regional tensions is Trump's repeated threat to bomb Iran's nuclear sites if a deal cannot be reached.
A protest against Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Hong Kong in 2019. Beijing's United Front Work Department is charged with managing relations with overseas Chinese, including in Hong Kong, with the aim of mobilizing society to achieve the government's goals.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Apr 23, 2025

China’s catch-22: Rapid growth with tight social control

The Chinese government is locked in the contradictory goals of pursuing economic growth while maintaining strong social control through its United Front Work Department.
Toyota Motor Corp. Chairman Akio Toyoda after a meeting in Beijing last month
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 25, 2025

Toyota chairman proposes record buyout of its supplier at $42 billion valuation

The proposal values Toyota Industries, which makes looms for textiles as well as parts for Toyota’s cars, at a premium of 40% over its closing stock price on Friday.
U.S. President Donald Trump's foreign policy efforts, including negotiations with Ukraine, Iran and others face failure due to unrealistic expectations and an apparent failure to fully understand the complexities of the conflicts.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 23, 2025

U.S. diplomacy confronts reality in Ukraine and Iran

Trump loyalists must recognize that his approach may well fail in ways that leave the world in immeasurably worse shape.
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a letter from Britain's King Charles as he meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House in Washington on Feb. 27.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 28, 2025

Trump's first 100 days: 'America First' president is overturning world order

Trump's second-term agenda has alienated friends and emboldened adversaries while raising questions about how far he is prepared to go.
A Honda vehicle is assembled at a plant in Lincoln, Alabama. Despite concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump's economic policies, around half of Japanese firms remain committed to the American market, according to a recent survey.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
May 2, 2025

Japan Inc. cautiously optimistic despite rising uncertainty

Trump's economic policies and geopolitical risks are front of mind for many Japanese companies. But many remain committed to staying in the U.S. and China, says a recent survey.
Donald Trump’s trade war and the dollar’s volatility are prompting Asia’s wealthy to reassess where they park their money, with Hong Kong and Singapore competing for capital as the U.S. loses its appeal as a financial haven.
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2025

Trump’s trade war shakes dollar’s haven status and opens door for Asian financial hubs

Trump’s trade policies, even if substantially reversed, have sent a loud message to the Asian affluent classes.
Time Out Market Osaka, located in the basement of Grand Green Osaka's South Building, is the London-based media and hospitality business' first Asian edition of their food market.
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 4, 2025

More than a food court: Time Out Market curates Osaka’s best flavors

After whetting appetites in cities like New York and Dubai, Time Out Market, the food event of the eponymous magazine and media group, has opened its first Asian edition in Osaka.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth looks on as President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the White House in Washington on March 21.
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2025

Hegseth's order to cancel Ukraine weapons caught White House off guard

The story of how the flights were canceled points to an at-times haphazard policymaking process within the Trump administration.
Dalton Investments is demanding Fuji Media Holdings change its board members, spin off its real estate business, unwind cross shareholdings and push through corporate governance reform.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 12, 2025

Dalton Investments seeks talks with Fuji Media to avoid proxy fight

The activist investor wants the Japanese broadcaster to change its board members and spin off its real estate business, among other things.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney finishes a news conference in Ottawa on May 2. U.S. President Donald Trump's persistent desire to annex its northern neighbor continues despite Canada's rejection the notion.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 12, 2025

Sorry, America. Canada’s just not that into you.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has been tactful but firm. Yet President Donald Trump can’t seem to take no for an answer.
Currently, Japanese nationals living abroad are required to receive residency certificates in person at overseas diplomatic missions even if applications are submitted online.
JAPAN
May 13, 2025

Japan to issue residency certificates online to nationals abroad

The Foreign Ministry said Monday that it will begin issuing residency certificates online to Japanese nationals living abroad through overseas diplomatic missions.
Nippon Life Insurance is diversifying its investments to enhance yields, although it’s a tricky time to invest with U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war fueling global market volatility.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2025

Japan’s biggest insurer weighs riskier overseas CLO investments

Japan’s biggest life insurer is considering taking on a little more risk with its investments in collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), as it looks for ways to eke out better returns abroad.
Calling themselves "Cheer Re-Man's" — a mash-up of "cheerleading" and "salaryman" — the group is made up of alumni from the elite Waseda University's male cheerleading squad.
JAPAN
May 15, 2025

Japanese 'salarymen' inspire with cheerleading acrobatics

The young men are all about spreading cheer through their eye-popping acrobatic performances, volunteering their weekends to entertain crowds.
A vacant house in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, which collapsed following the January 2024 earthquake, is left untouched on May 12 as its owner cannot be identified. The car's license plate has been blurred for privacy reasons.
JAPAN
May 19, 2025

Noto municipalities struggle with quake-damaged vacant houses

There are at least 47 damaged houses whose owners are unclear in Wajima, and at least 35 in the city of Nanao.
Toyota Industries' Nagakusa plant in Obu, Aichi Prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies
May 20, 2025

Toyota Industries to accept tender offer from Toyota Motor group

The trend comes amid rising pressure from the Tokyo Stock Exchange and activist shareholders to dismantle what are called parent-child listings.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (second from left), the businessman Dang Thanh Tam, (third from left), and Eric and Lara Trump (center) attend a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Trump hotel and golf course in the Hung Yen Province of Vietnam on May 21.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 26, 2025

Why Vietnam ignored its own laws to fast-track a Trump family golf complex

Hanoi faces intense pressure to strike a trade deal that would head off Trump’s threat of steep tariffs, which would hit about 30% of Vietnam’s exports.
A broker in the city of Osaka displays a sign for religious corporation deals.
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Jun 9, 2025

Religious corporation sales rising in Japan amid tax evasion concerns

There are increasing concerns that buyers may exploit the tax privileges granted to religious corporations.
Tokyo-listed Dai-ichi Life has been aggressively expanding beyond traditional life insurance in Japan and focusing on asset management as one of its growth areas.
BUSINESS
May 30, 2025

Dai-ichi Life to buy $1.1 billion M&G stake in partnership

Tokyo-listed Dai-ichi Life has been aggressively expanding beyond traditional life insurance in Japan and focusing on asset management as one of its growth areas.
After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jun 2, 2025

How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic

Labor shortages and shifting mindsets are driving younger Japanese workers to challenge the country’s traditional office culture.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight