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BUSINESS / Tech / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Oct 23, 2023

Hokkaido waits to gauge impact from upcoming Rapidus chip plant

The nationally backed effort to revive Japan’s semiconductor industry has been called the region’s largest-ever development project.
Former England player Sarah Hunter (right), now a member of the team's coaching staff, says her side will set its sights on winning the 2025 Rugby World Cup.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Dec 12, 2023

Women's Rugby World Cup to start in Sunderland, end at Twickenham

England, runners-up at the last two editions, will kick off the tournament at the 48,707-seater Stadium of Light on Aug. 22.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Dec 15, 2023

Hokkaido to face issues around Rapidus, seafood and '2024 problem'

An influx of foreign residents is expected in Chitose, while China's ban on marine products continues to hurt the region.
Eisai's Alzheimer's drug Leqembi
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 5, 2024

Eisai sees 'huge' growth potential for Alzheimer's drug in China

The Japanese pharmaceutical firm aims to roll out its groundbreaking Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi to 1,500 people in China later this year.
Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant driver Fernando Alonso (front) during the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix on Nov. 18
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Feb 13, 2024

Alonso says he is 'attractive' to other F1 teams

Fernando Alonso said he is "attractive" to other Formula One teams but denied any contact with Mercedes, after Lewis Hamilton announced he was quitting to drive for Ferrari in 2025.
A hiker walks toward Asahidake in Hokkaido. The health and environmental issues around PFAS could be a particular problem for Japan, which boasts a number of globally renowned outdoor brands and related suppliers.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Mar 10, 2024

Japan’s revered outdoor brands face down PFAS challenge

Outdoor apparel consumers are generally more environmentally conscious, but are likely to be using products that have a big environmental footprint.
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.
Yuki Tsunoda attends a promotional event ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix, in Tokyo on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 5, 2024

Japan favorite Tsunoda looks to shift career into higher gear at Suzuka

Without a race seat yet for 2025, the driver's future is up in the air.
Tesla Model 3 vehicles are seen for sale at a Tesla facility in Fremont, California, last May.
BUSINESS
Apr 6, 2024

Tesla scraps low-cost car plans amid fierce Chinese EV competition

The automaker will continue developing self-driving robotaxis on the same small-vehicle platform, the sources said.
Tesla remains the dominant EV maker in the U.S. market, but its earnings have been under pressure for several quarters.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 24, 2024

Tesla speeding up release of cheaper cars after sales miss

The maker of electric vehicles plans to release more affordable models by the end of this year or in early next year.
Despite logging a record net profit in the year to March, helped by the weak yen, Nintendo expects net profit to drop nearly 40% in the current financial year.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 7, 2024

Nintendo says announcement on Switch successor 'this fiscal year'

Players and investors have been hungry for news about a successor to the Switch, and the company said a statement was finally forthcoming.
Medical workers walk across a pedestrian crossing outside a hospital in Seoul on March 11. A Seoul court on May 16 rejected a request by doctors and medical students to stop a government plan to increase medical school quotas, as a  monthslong strike by junior medics drags on.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 16, 2024

Seoul court dismisses doctors' bid to halt South Korea reforms

Citing shortages and a rapidly aging population, the government is seeking to train hundreds more doctors each year.
Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand's former prime minister, arrives at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok after returning from a self-imposed exile on Aug. 22, 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 30, 2024

Thailand heads for fresh political turmoil as Thaksin indictment looms

The political instability can potentially delay a parliamentary approval for the 2025 budget and cause further damage to the nation’s fragile financial markets.
Soldiers stand at attention on the day German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier attends a Bundeswehr training exercise in Munster, Germany, on April 18.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 11, 2024

Infighting over budget imperils Germany’s defense upgrade

Uncertainty is growing about how to achieve a key spending goal when topped-off funds are exhausted in 2028.
Philippines Vice President Sara Duterte in Manila on Jan. 28, 2024. Duterte resigned from the Cabinet of President Ferdinand Marcos on Wednesday, the presidential palace said.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 20, 2024

Philippine vice president exits Marcos Cabinet as alliance collapses

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte resigning from two key posts might give her more power to go against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
While the health ministry has been distributing educational material on blood donation to high school students since fiscal 1990, this will be the first time the campaign is extended to middle school students.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 2, 2024

Health ministry aims to educate middle schoolers in bid to raise blood donation rate

The ministry aims to have educational material on blood donation ready for middle schoolers in fiscal 2025 to encourage students to be future donors.
The Veolia Southwark Integrated Waste Management Facility in London.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Jul 11, 2024

Nestle quietly shifted recycling goals as plastics problem grows

Nestle changing its plastics goal means 280,000 metric tons of additional nonrecyclable plastic waste a year, according to the latest available data for 2022.
Celtics guard Jaylen Brown dunks during Game 3 of the 2024 NBA Finals in Dallas on June 12.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Jul 25, 2024

NBA signs broadcasting deal with Disney, Amazon and Comcast worth $77 billion

The NBA rejected a last-minute offer from TNT, which it said fell short of Amazon's proposal, ending a four-decade relationship with the media company after next season.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump during a rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota, on Saturday
WORLD / Politics
Jul 28, 2024

Trump tells Christians ‘You won’t have to vote anymore’ if he’s elected

The former President has further embraced a brand of conservatism that experts on autocracy have said veers toward totalitarian.
Samsung has won the long-awaited approval from artificial-intelligence giant Nvidia for a version of its high-bandwidth HBM3 memory chips.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 30, 2024

Samsung begins closing gap in making AI memory chips for Nvidia

The advances that include winning approval from artificial-intelligence giant Nvidia come after months of stumbles for Samsung.
Lakers forward LeBron James knocks the ball away as Timberwolves guard Mike Conley shoots during the fourth quarter of a game in December last year. The two teams will feature in the opening night of NBA action when the 2024-2025 season begins Oct. 22.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Aug 16, 2024

NBA season openers include Timberwolves at Lakers

The 79th NBA regular season tips off with those contests on Tuesday, Oct. 22 and concludes on April 13, 2025, when all 30 teams play.
The government is expanding subsidies for the use of robotics by nursing care facilities to reduce the burden on care staff amid a chronic labor shortage.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 25, 2024

Japan to expand nursing care robot introduction support

The government is working to reduce the burden on care staff while maintaining the quality of care services by utilizing robots.
Police officers attend a workshop on cyberattack countermeasures in February.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 29, 2024

Japan's police agency requests ¥6 billion to tackle cyberattacks

The funds will mainly be used to enhance investigation capabilities and improve measures to fight phishing using generative artificial intelligence technology.
The agreement follows more than six months of talks between Baghdad and Washington, initiated by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (center) in January amid attacks by Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups on U.S. forces stationed at Iraqi bases.
WORLD
Sep 7, 2024

U.S.-Iraq deal would see hundreds of troops withdraw in first year

The plan has been broadly agreed but requires a final go-ahead from both capitals and an announcement date.
Oasis band members Liam and Noel Gallagher are the subjects of a mural by artist Pic.One.Art in the Burnage area of Manchester, England.
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Sep 14, 2024

A potential reunited Oasis gig in Japan should have promoters salivating

The British rock act has a huge Japanese following, one that could provide a much-needed shot in the arm for the country's summer festivals.
The ASML headquarters in Veldhoven, Netherlands, on Thursday. Semiconductor equipment makers such as ASML have unusually long-range views of how their customers are feeling, and at the moment, they’re flashing a caution signal for everything other than artificial intelligence.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 21, 2024

ASML shows chasm in chip land: AI winners versus everyone else

The semiconductor equipment makers’ results sparked worries about the health of the chip industry, which is being hurt by weakness in non-AI businesses.
Baku Olympic Stadium, the venue of the COP29 United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Baku, Azerbaijan.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Oct 26, 2024

Future of U.N. climate dialogue threatened by budget shortfall

An analysis found a budget hole of at least €57 million — or nearly half of the funding needed for the U.N. climate secretariat to run annual climate negotiations.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at a news conference at the Liberal Democratic Party's headquarters in Tokyo Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 29, 2024

Election result casts shadow on Japan's economic measures

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is hoping to secure cooperation from opposition parties to sustain his administration.
The education ministry plans to boost support for hiring more assistants to help truant students.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 10, 2024

Japan to enhance support for truant children

As the number of truant students continues to rise, the Education Ministry aims to secure more support personnel.
The likelihood of interest-rate hikes from the Bank of Japan and further cuts from the Federal Reserve will drive the yen's recovery to as far as ¥130 against the dollar, according to some strategists.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 18, 2024

Yen bulls lie in wait for U.S.-Japan yield gap to shrink next year

The likelihood of Bank of Japan interest-rate hikes and further Federal Reserve cuts will drive the yen's recovery, some say.

Longform

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