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Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk walks on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 14, 2024

How will Musk's new U.S. government efficiency panel work?

Although the U.S. president-elect has said little about how the group will operate, Elon Musk previously set a goal of cutting $2 trillion of federal spending.
Nippon Steel Vice President Takahiro Mori is set to visit United States next week to meet with union members in a bid to move forward a U.S. Steel takeover deal.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 14, 2024

Nippon Steel’s vice president to meet steelworkers in Pittsburgh next week

The move shows the Japanese company is making a push to persuade union members that its bid to take over U.S. Steel will be good for workers.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks to House Republicans on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 14, 2024

‘Call anytime you want’: Trump roils G20 with disdain for rules

World leaders who didn’t experience Donald Trump’s first merry-go-round are quickly learning how he likes to operate.
In the past two weeks, developer DeNA has raked in over $50 million for the Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket app, a free-to-play game that charges for premium features.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 14, 2024

Gotta collect 'em all: New Pokemon trading card game becomes big hit

The novel yet nostalgic app has amassed over 30 million downloads worldwide in the first two weeks of its release.
Activists wearing masks depicting then-U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau take part in a protest outside the COP25 U.N. climate change conference in Madrid in December 2019.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 13, 2024

What does Trump’s victory mean for climate change?

Trump already levied a 25% tariff during his first presidency and it did nothing to help U.S. automakers prepare for the electric future.
Taxes on U.S. citizens working abroad aren’t excessive so much as excessively complicated.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 14, 2024

Trump is right: Expat taxes are too complicated

Taxes on U.S. citizens working abroad aren’t excessive so much as excessively complicated.
Takeshi Shina, an opposition lawmaker and a member of the Lower House's financial committee, has frequently summoned Bank of Japan governors, including incumbent Kazuo Ueda, to parliament for grilling on monetary policy.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 14, 2024

BOJ should raise rates to 1% to reverse weak yen, says CDP lawmaker

His remarks highlight how concern over the demerits of a weak yen will remain a key topic of debate among politicians.
Democratic Party for the People chief Yuichiro Tamaki wants to the tax-free annual income ceiling raised to ¥1.78 million ($11,410).
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 14, 2024

Japan’s key political issue rests on an enduring economic myth

Economists cast doubts on the Democratic Party for the People's push for raising the tax-free income threshold — its key demand to the ruling coalition for its support.
Administrative Reform Minister Masaaki Taira at an autumn review session for national programs on Thursday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 14, 2024

Reform minister says Japan will monitor Musk's approach to government efficiency

"We will closely follow the approach and incorporate it into our administrative reform efforts," Administrative Reform Minister Masaaki Taira noted.
Japan's economy expanded by an annualized 0.9% in the third quarter, data showed.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 15, 2024

Japan’s economy beats consensus in boost for BOJ rate hike case

Gross domestic product expanded at an annualized pace of 0.9% in the three months through September from the prior period, a tad higher than the 0.7% consensus estimate.
The U.S. said Japan should carry out interventions "only for very exceptional circumstances with appropriate prior consultations."
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 15, 2024

U.S. keeps Japan on forex monitoring list

The U.S. Treasury Department said Japan should carry out interventions "only for very exceptional circumstances with appropriate prior consultations."
The newly opened Nintendo Museum and upcoming Donkey Kong Country area of Universal Studios Japan are the latest examples of the gaming giant's efforts to expand beyond traditional consoles and handhelds.
LIFE / Digital
Nov 16, 2024

Why Nintendo is becoming a 'talent agency' for its beloved characters

Game and console sales account for over 90% of Nintendo's revenue, so exposure to characters could be "a trigger" to attract more people to consoles.
Positioned as Google's answer to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Gemini aims to tap into Apple's vast user base to expand its footprint in a rapidly evolving artificial intelligence landscape.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 15, 2024

Google launches Gemini app — with Japanese support — on iOS App Store

The app gives iOS users direct access to Gemini, which was previously accessible only by navigating through the main Google app or a web browser.
A Ferrari F12tdf fetched a record-high price of ¥171,001,000 ($1.09 million) in a tax agency auction this week.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2024

Ferrari sells for ¥171 million at Japanese tax sale

The gunmetal gray Ferrari F12tdf, registered in 2017 and with only 1,509 kilometers on the odometer, received 127 bids during the auction.
Seiji Osaka, the leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan's Hokkaido chapter, has expressed concern over the finances of Rapidus, which is supposed to be in full production of cutting-edge 2-nanometer chips by 2027.
JAPAN / Politics / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Nov 25, 2024

CDP’s gains in Hokkaido raise political questions about Rapidus

The head of the party's Hokkaido chapter has expressed concern over the finances for the project, which aims to produce 2-nanometer chips by 2027.
Tokyo Metropolitan Police have seized fake gold grains and notepads passed off as cash that were used to swindle a company executive in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward in October 2023.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 15, 2024

British national arrested for over ¥13 million cash swap swindle

Joe Kpoto, 40, allegedly made off with the cash in a fake gold transaction by passing off a notepad as a stack of banknotes.
Donald Trump remains mum on the deal just as a top Nippon Steel executive readies a trip to Pittsburgh to persuade rank-and-file union members and politicians to support the $14.1 billion acquisition of the iconic American company.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 16, 2024

Trump promised to kill U.S. Steel deal. Now what?

The president-elect remains mum on the deal just as a top Nippon Steel executive readies a trip to Pittsburgh to rally support for the sale.
Former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn poses during the opening of the Beirut Sports Festival in Beirut on May 23.
BUSINESS
Nov 16, 2024

French prosecutors request Carlos Ghosn and French minister stand trial

Ghosn's lawyers said he had learned about the request through media reports and challenged the legal basis of the legal procedures.
The yuan risks years of downward pressure during the second Trump presidency, and the threat of another trade war is already fueling bets against the currency.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Nov 16, 2024

China’s dream of ‘powerful currency’ runs Into Trump’s return

The yuan risks years of downward pressure during the second Trump presidency, and the threat of another trade war is already fueling bets against it.
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Lima on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 17, 2024

Trump's shadow looms as Xi and Biden hold final meeting

The talks focused broadly on efforts by Washington and Beijing to ease the countries’ tense relationship.
Ukraine’s government has turbocharged its pitch for international help in land-mine clearance, attracting a rush of special machinery from Japan and funds from philanthropist Howard Buffett with astonishing results.
WORLD
Nov 17, 2024

Ukraine supercharges mine-clearing push to revive war-torn farms

Safe access to farmland is essential for a country known as Europe’s breadbasket and demining Ukraine could take decades.
Rice fields in the town of Ozu, Kumamoto Prefecture. The water-filled paddies glistening under the sun is a symbol of a long-running effort to preserve the prefecture’s groundwater.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Nov 17, 2024

Japan's chipmaking rush pressures Kumamoto's special water supply

TSMC and others hope that support for existing projects and proper wastewater management can avoid undermining water development efforts lauded by the U.N.
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 18, 2024

For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action

Always trying to solve the problems of modern life, the perennial candidate refuses to bow to societal expectations of age.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrives at the Government Palace in Lima during an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 18, 2024

Xi’s olive branch to Trump comes with warning on China red lines

The Chinese leader emphasized that the U.S. and China shouldn’t fight a "new Cold War,” and that conflict isn’t inevitable.
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.
The first phase of growth for Warner Bros. in Asia will come from partnerships with local streaming platforms and telecom operators, with the Max standalone app only being launched once the company thinks it has a big enough audience.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 18, 2024

Warner Brothers brings Max to Asia with cautious Hollywood-first strategy

Warner is relying on established franchises like Harry Potter and Friends to draw viewers across the region, setting it apart from rivals Netflix and Disney.
Core machinery orders dropped 0.7% in September month-on-month, confounding economists' median estimates for a 1.9% rise and down for the second straight month.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 18, 2024

Japan's machinery orders see unexpected fall in September

The orders dropped 0.7% in September month-on-month, confounding economists' median estimates for a 1.9% rise.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the Microsoft Build conference in Seattle on May 21. Altman recently fired off a social media post saying "There is no wall" as fears arise over potential blockages to AI development.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 18, 2024

Is AI's meteoric rise beginning to slow?

Industry insiders are beginning to acknowledge that large language models aren't scaling endlessly higher at breakneck speed when pumped with more power and data.
A poster in the Tamil language advertises smartphone assembly roles outside a shop in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, in India, on Oct. 28.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 18, 2024

Foxconn tells India recruiters: Nix marital status in iPhone job ads

The move follows an investigation published June 25 that found Foxconn excluded married women from jobs at its main India iPhone assembly plant.
Investigators from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police raid a metal shop in Koga City, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 18, 2024

Four shops raided in Japan for allegedly buying stolen cables

By October, Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department had arrested seven members of a Thai group for stealing copper cables from solar power plants.

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go