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Toyota Motor has suspended operations at a dozen factories in Japan due to a system failure.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 29, 2023

Toyota set to resume operations after glitch halts production

Tuesday's halt raised concerns that the stoppage could be due to a cyberattack, though the company said that was unlikely.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. A board member with the central bank Naoki Tamura has hinted that officials might be able to confirm some time early next year they’ve hit the goal needed to usher in policy change.
BUSINESS
Aug 30, 2023

Leading BOJ hawk hints at chance of policy shift in early 2024

"The achievement is finally and clearly within sight after a decade of large-scale monetary easing aimed at attaining it,” board member Naoki Tamura said.
According to a survey conducted by the Tokyo Stock Exchange, 20% of the 1,235 prime-listed companies have come up with specific measures.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 31, 2023

Most Japan firms yet to disclose plans for better capital efficiency

The TSE made a rare call in March for firms to disclose plans in the long run to improve capital efficiency, but nearly 70% have yet to do so.
Bank of Japan board member Toyoaki Nakamura says it is uncertain whether smaller companies can earn enough profits to keep hiking wages next year and beyond.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 31, 2023

BOJ policymaker warns against premature monetary tightening

Tightening monetary policy before rising prices are accompanied by higher wages would hurt domestic demand and corporate profits, Toyoaki Nakamura said.
Investors in Japan have filed a lawsuit against Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group’s joint venture brokerage with Morgan Stanley, seeking to recover losses from Credit Suisse's riskiest debt.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 1, 2023

MUFG joint-venture brokerage sued over Credit Suisse AT1 sales

Investors are demanding ¥5.2 billion ($36 million) in compensation from Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
A show of support from some of the tech industry’s biggest names will help bolster Arm's IPO, which is expected to raise $5 billion to $7 billion.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 2, 2023

SoftBank lines up Apple and Nvidia as strategic Arm IPO backers

The show of support from some of the tech industry’s biggest names will help bolster an IPO that is expected to raise $5 billion to $7 billion.
An air raid shelter converted into luxury apartments at Ungererstrasse 158 in Munich, Germany
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Sep 4, 2023

Market flop: How Germany's property boom ended

The country's property sector in Europe's largest economy is suffering its worst slump in decades.
The Huawei Technologies Co. booth at the Smart China Expo in Chongqing, China, on Monday
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 6, 2023

Huawei's new chip breakthrough likely to trigger closer U.S. scrutiny: analysts

The most advanced chip that chipmaker SMIC had previously been known for making was 14 nanometers.
Arm Holdings kicked off its roadshow for initial public offering on Tuesday, disclosing that the proposed range would value it at between $48 billion and $52 billion.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 6, 2023

SoftBank's Arm launches IPO courting T Rowe in $52B valuation ask

T Rowe Price has been an anchor investor in some of the biggest stock market debuts.
The Shiodome City Center building in Tokyo's Minato Ward
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 6, 2023

GIC considering sale of Tokyo skyscraper for over $2 billion

The sale plans come as a glut of new office supply is expected in Tokyo over the next two years, potentially tempering investor appetite.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom at the 2023 Milken Institute Global Conference in California on May 2
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 7, 2023

California governor signs executive order to explore AI risks

The directive comes as Washington and other governments struggle with how to regulate artificial intelligence technology.
The AI initiative is part of Morgan Stanley's strategy to drive its wealth division, where net revenue surged 16% to a record in the second quarter and new client assets grew $90 billion.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 8, 2023

Morgan Stanley to launch AI chatbot to woo wealthy

The bank will roll out a generative artificial intelligence bot this month, developed with the makers of ChatGPT, OpenAI
Japan's economy grew less than initially estimated in the second quarter as capital expenditure slid, suggesting heightening overseas uncertainties are weighing on business confidence.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 8, 2023

Japan economic growth revised down as firms and consumers cut back

Gross domestic product grew at an annualized 4.8% from the previous three months, revised figures from the Cabinet Office showed Friday.
An Apple store in the Huangpu district in Shanghai
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 8, 2023

Apple grapples with turmoil in China days before iPhone 15 launch

The bans may just be part of a longstanding trend.
Major Japanese food and beverage maker Asahi Group Holdings made the decision not to feature Johnny's talents in its future sales promotion activities "to prevent itself from promoting human rights violations by a business partner."
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 9, 2023

Asahi to end use of Johnny's personalities in ads

The major Japanese food and beverage maker made the decision "to prevent itself from promoting human rights violations by a business partner."
Shuhei Abe, founder of Sparx Group, is seeking to put his ideas into action with a so-called engagement fund to invest in well-run but undervalued Japanese businesses.
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2023

Buffett spurs Japan activist pioneer to seek $2 billion for fund

Shuhei Abe is seeking to put his ideas into action with a so-called engagement fund to invest in well-run but undervalued Japanese businesses.
The Birkenstock logo in Paris
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 13, 2023

Birkenstock files for IPO in further boost to U.S. market

The company will disclose the proposed terms of the share sale in a later filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
David Dahlquist, senior trial counsel in the antitrust division at the U.S. Department of Justice (left), and Kenneth Dintzer, litigator for the U.S. Department of Justice, leave federal court in Washington on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 13, 2023

Google’s search domination began with plan to combat rivals

Google argues the company has won market share because it has the best search engine, not because of a lack of competition.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 13, 2023

TSMC prizes Japan's chips skills after U.S. stumbles

The chipmaker is taking an increasingly optimistic view of Japan as a production base, as problems persist at its new factory in Arizona.
A Final Fantasy XVI video game displayed at a PlayStation pop-up shop in Seoul. The game's maker Square Enix is on a streak of misfires in attempts to build another hit series to buttress sales.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 13, 2023

Final Fantasy maker’s 30% plunge may be just the beginning

Investors wonder whether one of the games industry’s most remarkable runs is coming to an end.
Bottles of whisky sit on display behind the bar at the Door XXV private club in the Golden Equator Group office in Singapore.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 13, 2023

Asia takes over the world’s whisky market

Yearslong efforts by Pernod, Diageo and other major whiskey producers to get Asian drinkers to spend more on their premium spirits are finally paying off.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks to the media Wednesday after a closed-door Senate meeting on how artificial intelligence should be regulated.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 14, 2023

Tech leaders discuss AI policy in closed-door senate meeting

The meeting included a prestigious, and possibly combustible, mix of personalities with diverging views on how to write the rules for AI.
In a city known for sparse youth accommodation, investors are buying up hotels and converting them into student housing or rental units.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 14, 2023

Investors scour Hong Kong hotels for student dorms and rentals

Hong Kong’s government has launched a slew of initiatives that fuel the demand for student housing and rental properties.
Shiseido products on display at a Nykaa Luxe store in Mumbai, India, in November
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 15, 2023

Shiseido bets on India growth with first launch in a decade

Japan’s largest cosmetic firm has partnered with Indian retailer Shoppers Stop’s Global SS Beauty Brands and will open 14 stores in New Delhi and Mumbai.
A woman walks past a showroom for Chinese electric vehicle maker XPeng in Beijing in February.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 16, 2023

Chinese EV makers pin hopes on Europe’s fading auto dealers

At the heart of their strategy is the traditional dealership model that European carmakers have been exiting in favor of direct sales.
Banking on strong investor appetite for emerging market growth in the absence of Chinese stock offerings, some Southeast Asian companies are considering listing in the U.S.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 19, 2023

More Southeast Asian firms consider U.S. IPOs

Senior executives at some firms have said they were looking into New York as one of their initial public offering venues.
Bank of Japan officials view Gov. Kazuo Ueda’s scholarly communication style as the most obvious difference from the previous governor.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 19, 2023

Ueda abandons ‘shock and awe’ on path toward BOJ normalization

BOJ officials view Ueda’s scholarly communication style as the most obvious difference from the previous governor.
A specialist removes a Kirin 9000s chip fabricated in China by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) from a Huawei Technologies Mate 60 Pro smartphone earlier this month.
BUSINESS / Tech / ANALYSIS
Sep 20, 2023

U.S. likely to tighten tech curbs as China advances chip production

The chips powering a new Huawei phone represent a jump forward in China’s chipmaking capability as it boosts efforts to catch up with rivals.
The U.S. Federal Reserve building in Washington
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 19, 2023

A strike, a shutdown and student loans may cool spending for Fed

Some economists say the resumption of student loan repayments for tens of millions of borrowers may already be reshaping behavior.
Pedestrians pass an advertisement for Huawei's Mate 60 series smartphones outside a Huawei store in Shanghai on Sept. 8. Huawei's Mate 60 Pro uses an advanced chip and is said to be capable of 5G speeds.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 20, 2023

Huawei ships Chinese-made surveillance chips despite tech curbs

The developments, as well as advances in Chinese-made smartphone chips, indicate the technology giant is overcoming Washington's export controls.

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A mushroom cloud from the atomic bombing on Hiroshima taken from a U.S. military aircraft on Aug. 6, 1945. Copying the photo without permission is prohibited.
80 years on, a Japanese American hibakusha recalls the day the bomb dropped