Search - business

 
 
Without the well-developed road infrastructure of many parts of Honshu, it has never been easy to be a truck driver in Hokkaido, Japan’s second-largest island but largest prefecture in terms of landmass-
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Mar 3, 2025

Hokkaido trucking industry faces challenges from overtime cap

Without the well-developed road infrastructure of many parts of Honshu, it has never been easy to be a truck driver in Hokkaido.
Japanese investors are estimated to have increased holdings of Chinese bonds by 53% last year, the most among the markets that make up the World Government Bond Index, according to Bloomberg analysis of Japanese balance-of-payments data.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 22, 2025

Tokyo fund buys China bonds for first time on Japanification bet

"Our long-term view is that it’s inevitable for China to follow the path of Japan,” said Hikaru Tanaka, fund manager at Asset Management One.
Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., says he is looking to increase ownership in Japan’s five largest trading houses.
BUSINESS
Feb 23, 2025

Berkshire set to gradually raise stakes in Japan trading houses

The shares of the five — Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Itochu, Sumitomo and Marubeni — have benefited over the longer term from Buffett’s interest.
Under the law, information such as race, social status, medical history and any criminal record is designated as sensitive personal information, and obtaining such information requires prior consent from the individuals concerned.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 23, 2025

Japan may ease privacy rules to aid AI development

The move is intended to make it easier for AI-related businesses to utilize personal information.
Coffee beans are harvested in Corquin, Honduras, on Feb. 6. Climate change has diminished the supply of coffee around the globe via rising temperatures, droughts and excessive rains.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 23, 2025

Coffee prices are at a 50-year high. Producers aren’t celebrating.

Around the world, coffee traders, farmers and roasters fear how climate change and economic factors will affect their livelihoods.
Economic pessimism is rife in the U.K., with households looking to cut their expenses,
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 23, 2025

The reluctant British consumer is a problem for Keir Starmer

Pessimism is rife and households are looking to cut expenses as fear rises over inflation and job losses.
The building of new high-rise residential buildings has some alarmed that they could empty and fall into disrepair as Japan's population shrinks.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Feb 24, 2025

The high cost of letting Japan's condos crumble

With rising repair costs, dwindling reserve funds and an aging population of owners, thousands of buildings are at risk of falling into disrepair.
People ride in cable cars over the Chandragiri hilltop on the outskirts of Kathmandu on Feb. 3.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 24, 2025

Nepal community fights to save sacred forests from cable cars

Five cable car projects have opened in the past two years — and 10 more are under development, according to government figures.
The online safety regulator for Australia fined messaging app Telegram for its delay in answering questions regarding preventing the spread of child abuse and violent extremist material on its platform.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 24, 2025

Australia fines Telegram for delay to answers on child abuse and terrorism

The messaging platform has been under growing scrutiny around the world.
Toyota unveils a part of Woven City in Susono, Shizuoka Prefecture, on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 24, 2025

Toyota unveils Woven City to test future mobility

The demonstration city includes roads dedicated to automated mobility on the ground and "logistics streets."
U.S. government scientists participating in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change were issued a stop-work order from the Trump administration, according to media reports.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Feb 24, 2025

Trump creates uncertainty for world’s most cited climate report

The U.S. absence comes amid broader cuts to research funding and a retreat from climate diplomacy under the Trump administration.
Elon Musk's Starlink is facing challenges from a Chinese state-backed rival and another service financed by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 24, 2025

Musk's Starlink races with Chinese rivals to dominate satellite internet

China's rush to occupy more of lower-Earth orbit makes Western policymakers worry it could extend the reach of Beijing's internet censorship regime.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands as they meet in Helsinki on July 16, 2018.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 24, 2025

After three years of war, Trump hands Russian economy a lifeline

Russia can either stop inflating military spending as it presses to gain territory in Ukraine, or maintain it and pay the price with years of slow growth.
A liquefied natural gas plant operated by Sakhalin Energy is seen at Prigorodnoye on the Pacific island of Sakhalin, Russia, in July 2021.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 24, 2025

Three years into Ukraine war, Japan struggles to ensure steady LNG supply

Fierce global competition for liquefied natural gas has led to spikes in electricity and gas bills, which heavily weigh on the finances of Japanese households.
From left: "Conclave" cast members Sergio Castellitto, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini and Ralph Fiennes pose with the awards for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the 31st Screen Actors Guild Awards, in Los Angeles.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Feb 24, 2025

Vatican thriller 'Conclave' wins top prize in SAG Awards upset

"Conclave" surprises with a SAG Award win for best cast, suggesting it may have a real shot at upsetting the Oscars' Best Picture race.
Samples of newly-designed Japanese yen banknotes at the National Printing Bureau Tokyo plant in June 2024.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 25, 2025

Yen volatility nears six-week high as Tokyo inflation gauge eyed

Investors seem to be divided on how quickly policymakers should withdraw their monetary stimulus.
Prices of fresh vegetables in January climbed 36% year on year, with prices of cabbage shooting up about three times.
BUSINESS
Feb 25, 2025

Vegetable prices continue surging in Japan

Prices of vegetables and rice have been soaring in Japan due to unfavorable weather and rising production costs.
Hong Kong's policymakers are nearing a crossroads amid dwindling avenues for generating revenue and an economy that’s expected to remain under pressure this year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 25, 2025

Hong Kong to tackle deficit and slower economic growth in budget

There may be limited options for generating the kind of revenue needed to plug an expected shortfall of 100 billion Hong Kong dollars.
While Osaka’s 2025 World Expo may strengthen Japan’s global ties through diplomatic engagements, its success will depend on fostering long-term innovation, economic cooperation and international collaboration beyond visitor numbers.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 25, 2025

Will Expo 2025 in Osaka be a success?

Osaka has hosted the Expo twice before, in 1970 and 1990, with the 1970 affair in particular occupying a special place in many local residents’ hearts.
Visitors take pictures of wafer samples at the Intel booth during Computex 2024 in Taipei on June 4, 2024. U.S. President Donald Trump's threat of tariffs on semiconductor chips has complicated Taiwan's bid to remain a global powerhouse in the critical sector and stay onside with key backer Washington, analysts said.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 25, 2025

Trump's chip tariff threats raise stakes for Taiwan

Taiwan produces more than half of the world's chips and nearly all of the most advanced ones, making the island essential to global supply chains.
A woman fits her wedding dress at a bridal shop in Luliang, northern China's Shanxi province, on Feb. 11.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Feb 25, 2025

China adviser pushes to lower legal marriage age to 18 to boost birthrate

The comments comments come ahead of China’s annual parliamentary meeting, where officials are expected to announce measures to offset the country's declining population.
An ANA Boeing 787 Dreamliner undergoes maintenance in ANA's hanger at Haneda Airport.
BUSINESS
Feb 25, 2025

ANA to buy at least 77 jets from Boeing, Airbus and Embraer

The purchase underscores ANA’s ambitions to exceed its pre-pandemic fleet size by 2030 and capitalize on the boom in global air travel demand.
Nippon Steel spent much of 2024 trying to gain approval for its planned takeover of U.S. Steel, facing regulatory and political hurdles.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 25, 2025

Nippon Steel sticks with U.S. Steel takeover after investment call

The comments from Nippon Steel President Tadashi Imai on Tuesday are the first from an executive of the company since Trump said the steelmaker was considering an investment.
Toshihiro Suzuki (left), president of Suzuki Motor, and Hisashi Takeuchi, managing director of Maruti Suzuki India, during an event in New Delhi on Jan. 17
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 25, 2025

Suzuki Motor unit opens first new India plant in eight years

India’s largest carmaker by sales had last opened a new factory in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in 2017.
The Chinese embrace of DeepSeek comes as governments from South Korea to Italy remove the artificial intelligence from national app stores, citing privacy concerns.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 25, 2025

DeepSeek rushes to launch new AI model as China goes all in

Deepseek had planned to release R2 in early May but now wants it out as early as possible.
Masanori Katayama (center), chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers' Association, speaks during a meeting with trade and industry minister Yoji Muto at the ministry on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 26, 2025

Japanese auto industry seeks government help against U.S. tariffs

U.S. President Donald Trump said last week he wants to impose 25% tariffs on imports of autos as soon as April 2.
The logo of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 26, 2025

DeepSeek reopens AI model access as China rivalry heats up

The startup has been overwhelmed since unveiling an AI chatbot believed to rival OpenAI’s ChatGPT despute deing developed at a fraction of the cost of competing products.
A sample of a wafer is seen at the Semicon Taiwan 2022 exhibition in Taipei in 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 26, 2025

China says Taiwan seeking to give away chip industry to U.S.

U.S. media has said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has been in talks for a stake in Intel.
A Chinese H-6 bomber flies between Okinawa’s main island and Miyako Island in October 2013. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned that Japan must strengthen its defenses in case of a Taiwan contingency.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 26, 2025

As Ukraine endgame intensifies, don’t forget Taiwan

The scale of China’s air and naval exercises around Taiwan has grown from fewer than a dozen planes and ships a few years ago to over 250 in the December exercise alone.
Nissin Foods expects continued demand for cheap precooked noodles even as the industry works to shed its image of being an unhealthy staple, the firm's president said on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Feb 26, 2025

Noodle-maker Nissin plans big investments, eyeing pickup in demand

Nissin Foods expects continued demand for cheap precooked noodles even as the industry works to shed its image of being an unhealthy staple.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami