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Two of the country’s four major makers of alcoholic beverages are reportedly going to stop releasing new products with alcohol content of 8% or more, citing health concerns.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 10, 2024

Japan asks when a stiff drink is a bit too stiff

Two of the country’s four major makers have taken the unusual step of retreating from a lucrative and growing market: strong premixed drinks.
An image taken from video released by Roman Starovoit, governor of the Kursk region of Russia, last month purportedly shows firefighters working to extinguish flames at an oil depot after a Ukrainian drone strike.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 15, 2024

Ukraine, stalled on the battlefield, targets Russia’s oil industry

This year, Ukraine has claimed responsibility for nearly a dozen assaults on Russian oil infrastructure.
A Xiaomi SU7 electric vehicle on display at one of the company's stores in Shanghai on Tuesday. Xiaomi declared its ambition for the SU7 to become one of China's three best-selling luxury electric vehicle models, sounding a challenge to Tesla and other rivals in an increasingly crowded market.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 28, 2024

Xiaomi stakes growth on debut in China’s cut-throat EV market

Reception for the SU7 vehicle will likely dictate Xiaomi’s stock momentum after a 22% gain since a February low.
Artificial intelligence is peering into restaurant garbage pails and crunching grocery-store data to try to figure out how to send less uneaten food into dumpsters.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 6, 2024

AI is spying on the food we throw away

The tech is being used to try to reduce the amount of uneaten food that ends up in dumpsters.
A branch of the Fast Retailing clothing brand Uniqlo in Tokyo
BUSINESS
Apr 12, 2024

Uniqlo operator upbeat on Europe and North America after Q2 profit miss

Fast Retailing left its full-year operating profit forecast unchanged at ¥450 billion.
A guest room at the Muji Hotel Ginza. Ryohin Keikaku, the brand’s parent company, now has a new business called Muji Stay, which brings under one umbrella the retailer’s existing hotels, homes and camps.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 12, 2024

Japan’s Muji bets minimalist retail will work for homes and hotels

Muji currently has three hotels — one in Ginza, one in Beijing and one in Shenzhen, with rooms often booked out months in advance
Daihatsu President Masahiro Inoue
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 24, 2024

Daihatsu’s new president sees potential in Africa and South America

Masahiro Inoue pointed at strong demand for compact cars in those markets due to a prevalence of narrow roads.
Advanced Micro Devices' processors and memory chips
BUSINESS / Tech
May 2, 2024

AI hardware stocks get pummeled even as big tech keeps spending

Hardware makers have seen their shares rally this year amid an arms race for artificial intelligence computing power that’s lifting sales and profits.
A host promotes lipstick on TikTok Shop
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
May 10, 2024

Livestream shopping foils high-tech tools from stopping counterfeits

The sheer volume of violations means e-commerce infringement enforcement can feel like a game of "whack-a-mole" for those who monitor the internet.
Tesla's charging network is widely viewed as a signature achievement for the EV maker and a key driver of its sales. Tesla Superchargers account for more than 60% of U.S. high-speed charging ports, federal statistics show.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 16, 2024

The inside story of Elon Musk’s mass firings of Tesla Supercharger staff

Former charging chief met Musk expecting the go-ahead for a massive expansion of the charging network, but ended up getting fired along with her 500-member team.
A representative explains the features of the Afeela electric vehicle, a Honda-Sony Mobility concept car, at the CES 2024 trade show, in Las Vegas on Jan. 9. The Honda-Sony alliance plans to deliver its first EV model in the spring of 2026 in North America.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 16, 2024

Honda to double investment in electric vehicles and software

The automaker had planned to invest ¥5 trillion ($32.3 billion) for the 10 years through March 2031, but it now plans to spend ¥10 trillion by that point.
Many buildings in the shopping district of Anamizu, Ishikawa Prefecture, remain damaged five months after the area was hit by a powerful earthquake on Jan. 1.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 2, 2024

Over 100 businesses closed in municipalities hit by Noto quake

Many business owners are shutting down because reconstruction is slow, people are leaving the area and they have no one to take over in the future.
In a boon to Saudi Arabia's government, which is seeking to fund a massive economic transformation plan, Saudi Aramco’s $12 billion share sale sold out shortly after the deal opened on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 3, 2024

Saudi Aramco’s $12 billion stock offer sells out in hours

The extent of foreign participation will be closely watched as an indicator of interest in Saudi Arabia's assets.
In a meeting with Nippon Ishin no Kai head Nobuyuki Baba (left) in Tokyo last Friday, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had secured a formal endorsement of the Liberal Democratic Party's proposed revisions for the political funding law.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 4, 2024

Fumble with Nippon Ishin over funding vote adds to Kishida's predicament

The calling off of Tuesday's vote on the Liberal Democratic Party's proposed revisions for the political funding law might shake his precarious standing in the party.
Naoki Okamura, chief executive officer of Astellas Pharma, speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 11, 2024

Astellas seeks green light for eye drug Izervay in Europe and Japan

The drugmaker is in discussions with Japanese regulators about whether clinical trials for local patients are needed, Chief Executive Naoki Okamura said.
Debt rating firms have raised SoftBank Group’s grade as the Tokyo-based company’s earnings from investments begin to stabilize.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 13, 2024

SoftBank’s bond underwriting fee drops for first time in decade

The firm paid brokerages ¥1.10 per ¥100 to underwrite ¥550 billion of seven-year notes for individual investors, according to a company filing.
Japan's exports in May showed the largest year-on-year increase since November 2022, but persistent weakness in the yen is raising concerns about the potential for a resurgence in cost-push inflation.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 19, 2024

Japan’s exports grow most since 2022 on boost from weak yen

Exports increased 13.5% from a year ago in May, marking a sixth month of gains, the Finance Ministry reported.
Nissan's Leaf electric vehicle, equipped with autonomous driving technology, during a test ride in the Yokohama Minato Mirai area in Yokohama in May
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 21, 2024

Japan focuses on smart cars as automakers fall behind U.S. and China

While driving assistance technology and map navigation features are installed in Japanese cars, they lack more advanced features.
Nissan's Hyper Force at the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing on May 3
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 23, 2024

Nissan closes car plant in China

The closure on Friday came amid the rapid spread of electric vehicles in China, which has led to serious sales slumps for Japanese automakers.
Exports from New Zealand to the U.S. rose to a record $5.4 billion in the 12 months through May.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 24, 2024

U.S. usurps Australia as New Zealand’s No. 2 export market

Exports to the U.S. rose to a record 8.8 billion New Zealand dollars ($5.4 billion) in the 12 months through May.
A rare earths plant owned by Neo Performance Materials in Sillamae, Estonia
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Jun 27, 2024

In race to regain rare earth glory, Europe falls short on mineral goals

EU demand for rare earths is forecast to soar sixfold in the decade to 2030 and sevenfold by 2050.
Cameras and lenses are displayed at Fujifilm Holdings headquarters in Tokyo on June 7.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 28, 2024

Fujifilm once struggled to sell cameras. Now, it can't keep up with demand.

Fujifilm is struggling to meet demand for the X100 camera, prized by young 20-something social media users for its looks and high-end functions.
Boeing 737 MAX aircraft are assembled at the company’s plant in Renton, Washington, on June 25.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 9, 2024

Boeing in talks with U.S. Defense Department on impact of guilty plea

The plea in relation to two fatal crashes involving its planes in 2018 and 2019 potentially threatens the company's ability to secure lucrative government contracts.
The production plant of GCL Technology in Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, China, on July 2
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 16, 2024

Xi Jinping’s great economic rewiring is cushioning China’s slowdown

Tech advances and a resulting export boom have helped to keep economic growth within reach of its targeted pace of around 5%.
A Maruti Suzuki India showroom in New Delhi. Suzuki hopes to grab 50% share of the Indian market by 2030, targeting 15% of its sales in India to be electric vehicles by that time.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 22, 2024

Suzuki sees India’s automobile market growing fivefold by 2047

Promising growth in the electric vehicles segment is putting the South Asian country's car market on track to reach 20 million units by 2047.
Harley-Davidson motorcycles on display in Tokyo. Japan's antitrust watchdog has raided the manufacturer's Japan unit for allegedly imposing excessive sales quotas on its dealers.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2024

Harley-Davidson's Japan unit raided after quotas force dealers into hardship

The motorcycle manufacturer's unit in Tokyo is also suspected of having dealers buy Harley-Davidson models that they did not want.
Japan's industrial production in June fell 3.6% from the previous month, reflecting plant suspensions at vehicle-makers including Toyota due to faulty vehicle certifications.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 31, 2024

Japan’s industrial output falls, clouding recovery outlook

The production of cars and auto parts drove the reading lower as an ongoing probe involving carmakers such as Toyota continues to disrupt output.
Passengers enter Yurakucho station in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2024

JR East to resume production of Suica cards as early as fall

Now that JR East has enough chips in stock, they are preparing to resume selling name-registered Suica cards.
The tradition of koromogae, which involves changing storage spaces for clothes according to the season, is becoming less common, largely due to the increasing adoption of Western-style closets that accommodate all clothing year-round.
BUSINESS
Aug 13, 2024

Mothball makers innovate amid shrinking market

The market has been diminishing as synthetic fibers, which are resistant to insect damage, have become widely used in clothing.
A monitor in Tokyo on Friday shows the Nikkei stock average rising more than 1,000 points from the previous day.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 16, 2024

Nikkei surges on back of strong U.S. economic data

The 225-issue Nikkei average added 3.64% to end the session at 38,062.67, a gain of 8.7% over the week.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji