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A concept model of a next-generation fighter jet under joint development among Japan, Britain and Italy
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 5, 2025

Japan to map out defense export strategy within 2025

The strategy, which will present medium- and long-term targets for defense equipment exports, will be worked out via cooperation among government ministries.
A drone view shows Gary Works, the largest integrated steel mill in the U.S., which is operated by U.S. Steel, in Gary, Indiana, on Dec. 12.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 6, 2025

Rival CEO allegedly spread doubt about Nippon Steel deal to Wall Street

The private remarks the CEO made throughout 2024 about the deal process show the extent of his effort to cast doubt.
Alice Guo, a fugitive former mayor of Bamban, Philippines, arrives at a regional trial court in Valenzuela City, Metro Manila, in September.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 7, 2025

China takes aim at Philippine democracy

China has been stepping up its information operations globally, using the Philippines as a testing ground for tactics designed to propagate anti-American narratives.
Dai-ichi Life Insurance sold about ¥500 billion of Japanese government notes, mainly 20- to 40-year bonds, in the fiscal first half that ended in September.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 6, 2025

Dai-ichi Life takes ¥140 billion loss selling off long bonds

The insurer sold about ¥500 billion of Japanese government notes, mainly 20- to 40-year bonds, in the fiscal first half ended September.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrives at King Khalid International airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Dec. 9.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 6, 2025

Starmer’s travels outstrip past U.K. leaders, posing ratings risk

The premier has spent 31 days on working trips since he took office following his Labour Party’s landslide win in the July 4 general election.
Analysts believe the strength of the Japanese economy will help to push up domestic stocks, despite pressure from likely interest rate hikes from the Bank of Japan and uncertainty caused by Donald Trump’s presidency in the U.S.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 6, 2025

Japan stocks look set for new highs in 2025 on earnings and reforms

Analysts see better corporate earnings as the country transitions to a growth economy from a deflationary one.
Jera has reportedly created a think tank to research domestic and international energy trends.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 6, 2025

Japan’s top LNG buyer creates think tank to watch market trends

Jera Global Institute will aim to follow the example of Shell’s scenarios team, which produces long-term forecasts.
JR Central President Shunsuke Niwa speaks during a group interview in Nagoya on Dec. 18.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 6, 2025

JR Central to let pet dogs ride on shinkansen

Shinkansen cars will be chartered to allow passengers to release their dogs from cages and move around inside the cars with the pets.
Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel sued the U.S. government Monday for blocking the merger of the two companies.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2025

Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel sue U.S. government for blocking deal

The suit argues that the two companies were denied due process and that the $14.9 billion transaction was blocked for political reasons.
Nippon Steel had touted the takeover of U.S. Steel as a lifeline for a company that is long past its heyday, but opponents warned that the Japanese owners would slash jobs.
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2025

Ishiba warns blocked U.S. Steel deal could impact investments

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said that U.S. President Joe Biden's decision had sparked worries over future Japanese investments in the world's largest economy.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump meets with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 7, 2025

Meloni’s closeness to Musk and Trump is a win-win — and a big risk

By pivoting away from China toward the administration of the incoming U.S. president, the Italian prime minister creates a different kind of dependency.
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda talks about the firm's Woven City smart town during the 2025 CES event in Las Vegas on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2025

Toyota aims to open its futuristic city near Mount Fuji this year

The initial residents of Woven City will be composed mostly of the carmaker’s own employees and their families.
Solaris secured about €100 million ($103 million) from SBI Holdings for the stake.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2025

Japan’s SBI said to agree to take majority stake in Solaris

Germany’s economic struggles have placed a greater burden on the country’s larger fintech companies.
The number of passengers who used express services operated by Japan Railways Group companies during the 10-day period through Sunday was 2% higher than in fiscal 2018, surpassing the level seen before the COVID-19 pandemic for the first time.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2025

Number of passengers on JR express services during New Year rose 11%, firms say

The figure for the 10-day period through Sunday surpassed the level seen before the COVID-19 pandemic for the first time.
Kinoko no Yama wireless earbuds, which were released by Meiji in March and sold in limited quantities
BUSINESS
Jan 12, 2025

Snack makers try to keep long-selling products 'fresh'

Related products and fan events are being offered by companies in a bid to engage with consumers.
Many Japanese dating apps have ways to detail specific interests that can be as narrow as one particular TV show, game or an artist.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 7, 2025

Swiping in Japan: How Gen Z is changing the dating app game

The once-stigmatized apps are flourishing as a new normal for dating among Gen Z in Japan, albeit with a different approach to before.
An investigation conducted by the antitrust watchdog in 2023 and 2024 found that a post office in the Kanto region collected penalty fees from subcontractors without giving them a sufficient explanation.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2025

Japan Post received administrative guidance over poorly explained penalties

Penalty fees for failed deliveries and for complaints about cigarette odors were not explained adequately to subcontractors, the Fair Trade Commission found.
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda speaks during the 2025 CES event in Las Vegas on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2025

Toyota invests in Japanese rocket startup as SpaceX races ahead

The investment is the latest sign of progress in the Japanese government’s push to nurture the country’s private space sector.
The yen hit its lowest level against the dollar since July on Tuesday, prompting a warning from Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato over speculative moves.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 7, 2025

Japan warns on speculative FX moves after yen hits six month low

Any further changes in expectations over the trajectory of rates in the U.S. or Japan could sharply ramp up speculation of renewed intervention.
Nippon Steel CEO Eiji Hashimoto speaks to reporters about its lawsuit against the U.S. government on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2025

Nippon Steel committed to long-shot lawsuit against U.S. government

Eiji Hashimoto, the steelmaker's CEO, says he is convinced that litigation is the “best course of action” in response to the blocking of its acquisition of U.S. Steel.
Some people are questioning the U.S. decision to block Nippon Steel’s takeover of U.S. Steel, citing the lack of clear evidence of any national security risk from Japan — a country that hosts over 50,000 U.S. troops and relies on America for defense.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 7, 2025

Biden's Nippon Steel move: A troubling snub of a key ally

Preventing the takeover of U.S. Steel is bad enough. Declaring Japan a national security risk is worse.
A retired power station in the Keratsini suburb, near Athens
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 7, 2025

Europe's power price divide hits southeastern economies

Since 2021, Greece has spent €11 billion on energy subsidies to try to protect customers.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump gestures as he makes remarks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 8, 2025

Trump will not rule out force to take Panama Canal and Greenland

Donald Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, also floated the idea of turning Canada into a U.S. state.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg tries on a pair of Orion augmented reality glasses at the Meta Connect annual event at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Sept. 25.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 8, 2025

Meta shelves fact-checking in policy reversal ahead of Trump inauguration

It plans to implement on Facebook, Instagram and Threads a system of "community notes" similar to that used on rival X.
Demonstrators inside the U.S. Capitol after breaching barricades on Jan. 6, 2021
WORLD / Society
Jan 8, 2025

Violent extremism lingers online with U.S. flagging less content

Donald Trump’s return to the White House promises to cement the hands-off approach toward online behavior.
Taiwanese authorities are investigating the Shun Xing 39, a Chinese-owned, Cameroon-flagged cargo ship, on suspicions of damaging a subsea telecoms cable northeast of the island, Taiwan's coast guard said on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 8, 2025

Ship alleged to have damaged Taiwan's undersea cable ‘has multiple IDs’

Taiwan says the Chinese-linked ship appeared to use two sets of Automatic Identification System equipment, which is used to broadcast a vessel’s position.
Terunofuji performs during a ceremony at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo on Tuesday.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 8, 2025

Questions linger over Terunofuji's health ahead of year's first tournament

During the Yokozuna Deliberation Council's practice session on Monday, Terunofuji’s latent power, but also his physical decline, were on full display.
Manabu Sasaki, a 39-year-old CEO of a painting company, have been rearrested on suspicion of assaulting his former employee, 56-year-old Osamu Takano, before allegedly orchestrating his death in Tokyo's Itabashi Ward in December 2023.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 8, 2025

Trio who allegedly orchestrated coworker's death rearrested in Tokyo

Police investigating the events leading to the death of 56-year-old Osamu Takano uncovered new evidence of his abuse at the hands of his colleagues.
People shop at a market in New Delhi on Nov. 4. On Tuesday, India forecast annual growth of 6.4% for its fiscal year ending March, the slowest in four years and below the government's initial projections.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 8, 2025

India looks to new economic playbook as risks mount

Disappointing economic indicators and a slowdown in corporate earnings in the second half of 2024 have forced investors to rethink the country's earlier outperformance.
Japan Post was asked by a subcontractor entrusted with Yu-Pack parcel deliveries to raise the commission fees it paid, in light of rising costs, but Japan Post left subcontracting fees unchanged without discussion.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 8, 2025

Japan Post also received FTC guidance for second subcontractor issue

Postal service company was asked by a subcontractor to raise the commission fees it paid, in light of rising costs, but made no change.

Longform

Tokyo Koon stands at the forefront of tackling the so-called 2025 issue, also known as the “Magnetic Tape Alert.”
The race to save 20th-century history