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Donald Trump speaks at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tennessee, on July 27, 2024.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 20, 2025

Cocktails and Snoop Dogg — crypto industry celebrates Trump inauguration

The crypto gala marks a stunning turnaround for an industry that has been in the Biden administration's crosshairs.
Core machinery orders, excluding orders for ships and power equipment, totaled ¥899.6 billion ($5.77 billion) in November, the Cabinet Office said.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 20, 2025

Japan's core machinery orders up 3.4% in November

Orders totaled ¥899.6 billion ($5.77 billion), the Cabinet Office said, marking a second consecutive month of growth.
Curtis Sparrer, founder of the public relations agency Bospar, sits at his desk in his apartment in San Francisco on Jan. 9.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 20, 2025

In the U.S., remote workers don't want to head back to the office

The question of remote work or working in an office has become increasingly political.
Fuji TV President Koichi Minato speaks at a news conference on Friday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Media
Jan 20, 2025

What went wrong at Fuji TV's news conference on allegations against Nakai?

The broadcaster, which imposed various restrictions for the event that included denying access to many media agencies, ended up worsening the scandal.
The surge in share buybacks followed a request by the Tokyo Stock Exchange in March 2023 that listed companies put more focus on improving capital efficiency.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 20, 2025

Listed Japanese firms' share buybacks hit record in 2024

The increase has been attributed to accelerated corporate efforts to improve capital efficiency and pressure from activist shareholders.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic hits a return against the Czech Republic's Jiri Lehecka during their men's singles match on Day 8 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on Sunday.
TENNIS
Jan 21, 2025

Djokovic and Alcaraz square up in Australian Open blockbuster

Djokovic is looking for his 100th tournament title and a record 25th Grand Slam crown.
Rae Burrell (left) of the Vinyl battles for possession with Lexie Hull and Angel Reese of the Rose in an Unrivaled 3-on-3 basketball game in Miami on Friday.
BASKETBALL
Jan 21, 2025

Unrivaled could teach the NBA how to win back its fans

The new league plays a fast-paced, free-flowing version of basketball that empowers players to show off their skills.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba entering the Prime Minister's Office on Monday
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2025

Japan to disclose names of malicious AI businesses

The planned legislation on dealing with the risks of AI and boosting Japan's international competitiveness on the technology is not expected to include penalties.
Amid severe labor shortages, the Japan Federation of Service and Tourism Industries Workers' Unions will emphasize the importance of improving working conditions to realize a medium-term annual salary target of ¥5.5 million for industry workers age 35.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 21, 2025

Service and tourism workers to seek 6% pay hike in wage talks

The Japan Federation of Service and Tourism Industries Workers' Unions hopes to secure a medium-term annual salary target of ¥5.5 million for industry workers age 35.
The country's net assets, or the value of properties, cash, deposits, stocks and other assets in the country minus that of loans and other debts, totaled ¥4,158.4 trillion at the end of 2023, up 4.1% from a year before, a Cabinet Office estimate showed Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 21, 2025

Japan's national wealth hit record ¥4 quadrillion at end of 2023

Of the total, households accounted for a record ¥2.97 quadrillion, up 3.7%, marking the fifth consecutive year of growth.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks during a news conference in Mexico City on Jan. 13.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 21, 2025

How Mexico is readying for Trump’s promised mass deportations

The country has launched a panic app for those detained and lined up more than 2,600 lawyers and nearly 2,200 consulate workers.
An offshore wind farm near Nysted, Denmark. Orsted constructed the world’s first offshore wind farm in Denmark in the early 1990s and has since built up a portfolio of projects around the world.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 21, 2025

Orsted takes $1.7 billion hit as Trump slams offshore wind

The setback is the latest in a long series of issues for Denmark’s Orsted, one of the world’s biggest developers of wind farms at sea.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda is still signaling caution ahead of the central bank's January meeting.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 21, 2025

BOJ likely to raise rates this week in absence of immediate Trump tariffs

The possibility is "quite high" if markets remain calm following Trump's inauguration on Monday as the 47th president of the United States.
French workers load a replica of the Statue of Liberty, or Lady Liberty, onto a truck outside the Musee des Arts et Metiers in Paris in June 2021, before it departs for Ellis Island in New York to arrive on Independence Day.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 19, 2025

Liberal democracy faces doubts. But collapse? Not likely.

Democracy, it is often heard these days, is in crisis.
It’s easy to forget that not too long ago, the horse was crucial to the way wars were fought and daily life was lived, echoing today’s reliance on semiconductors.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 19, 2025

A history of globalization on horseback

The animal has been part of Western imagination since Paleolithic humans painted the Lascaux caves around 20,000 years ago.
Poor weather conditions have led to a surge in cabbage prices.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 22, 2025

Cabbage prices triple in Japan after unfavorable weather

"Cabbage prices are expected to remain high for a while," an agriculture ministry official said.
Iga Swiatek pumps her first after a point against Emma Navarro during their Australian Open quarterfinal on Wednesday.
TENNIS
Jan 22, 2025

Swiatek sweeps into Australian Open semifinal with Keys

The Polish second seed was phenomenal on a gusty day at Rod Laver Arena, powering past the eighth-seeded American 6-1, 6-2.
Analysts see the benefits of increased tourism in Japan, already felt in some areas, spreading to more domestic stocks this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 22, 2025

Luxury and hotel stocks are all the rage as tourists flock to Japan

Japan welcomed almost 37 million inbound visitors in 2024.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer addresses medical staff and media during a visit to a hospital in Epsom, England, on on Jan. 6.
COMMENTARY
Jan 22, 2025

There's a target on the back of Britain's NHS

The scale of the improvement Starmer is targeting has been achieved before, under a previous Labour government in 2007.
People walk in front of billboards in a subway station in Shanghai on Jan. 16.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 22, 2025

China's frugal young adults accelerate saving, raising economic risks

Some economists warn entrenched saving could hollow out demand just as policymakers are counting on domestic consumption to bolster China's GDP.
Chinese actor Wang Xing shakes hands with a Thai police officer after being assisted in his return to the country, after being kidnapped into one of the telecom fraud centers, at a police station in Thailand-Myanmar border's Mae Sot district, Tak province, Thailand, on Jan. 7.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jan 22, 2025

China families appeal to free relatives held by scam gangs in Myanmar

Chinese law does not consider men as potential victims of human trafficking.
Ayumu Hirano competes at the X Games Oslo in 2016.
MORE SPORTS / Snowboarding
Jan 22, 2025

Was that a 900 or 1080 on the halfpipe? X Games can now ask AI.

During the snowboard SuperPipe competitions, video cameras will capture the moves of each athlete, and AI will provide an unofficial score for the routine.
Takashimaya is doubling its range of baked goods with chocolate for Valentine's Day, with treats on offer including madeleines.
BUSINESS
Jan 22, 2025

Japan's department stores look to unorthodox Valentine's Day treats

According to a pastry shop owner, the total costs for chocolate products, including those for packing materials, "have doubled."
A street in Chitose, Hokkaido. Annual power demand for Hokkaido is expected to increase by 1.2% on average into fiscal 2034, according to a report from the Organization for Cross-Regional Coordination of Transmission Operators.
BUSINESS
Jan 22, 2025

Japan sees data center-driven power boom in Hokkaido

Annual power demand for Hokkaido is expected to increase by 1.2% on average into fiscal 2034, a report has said.
Regular gasoline was priced at ¥194 per liter at a gas station in Nagano on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 23, 2025

Japan's average gas price exceeds ¥185 for first time in 17 months

The price hike reflects reduced government subsidies to oil wholesalers.
U.S. President Donald Trump signs documents as he issues executive orders and pardons in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, on Jan. 20.
WORLD / Society
Jan 23, 2025

Trump escalates campaign against diversity, threatening private sector probes

The U.S. president has issued a series of executive orders to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Japan's exports gained 2.8% in December from a year ago, led by chipmaking machinery and semiconductor parts, government data shows.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 23, 2025

Japan’s exports rose in December ahead of anticipated Trump tariffs

Exports measured in value gained 2.8% from a year ago led by chipmaking machinery and semiconductor parts, although shipments fell in terms of volume.
An oil pump jack. Big U.S. oil companies believe withdrawing from the Paris Agreement only limits Washington's ability to influence an ongoing global energy transition and exposes them to an uneven regulatory environment.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 23, 2025

Trump's climate withdrawal creates rare discord with Big Oil

A shift in the U.S. power industry away from coal has contributed to a roughly 17% decline in U.S. carbon dioxide emissions since 2007.
Tourists visit shops near Kyoto's Fushimi Inari Shrine on Jan. 13. The nation's growing tourism sector, set to hit 40 million visitors in 2025, boosts the economy but is straining the nation's infrastructure.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 23, 2025

Japan has '$100 billion' reasons to welcome more visitors

Japan's growing tourism, set to hit 40 million visitors in 2025, boosts the economy but strains infrastructure, highlighting a need for smarter policies to manage overtourism.
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, sentenced to 14 years for corruption, reflects the country's recurring cycle of leaders rising with military backing and then falling out of favor.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 21, 2025

Jailing Imran Khan won’t fix Pakistan’s problems

Pakistan’s economic recovery hinges on reforms, stability and military backing.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.