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An attendee plays Mario Kart World during the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience event in London in April.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 8, 2025

Nintendo gives conservative sales outlook for Switch 2 amid tariff concerns

The Kyoto-based company expects to ship just 15 million units of the new console in the year to March, shy of the 16.8 million average estimated by analysts.
Akira Shimada, CEO of NTT, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2025

NTT to launch $16.5 billion tender offer for NTT Data in AI push

Japan’s biggest telecom operator is launching a tender offer of ¥4,000 per share for all stock it doesn’t own in NTT Data.
A supermarket in Chiba. Politicians in Japan might cut the consumption tax to help households and the economy.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 8, 2025

Economists debate consumption tax cut as Japanese politicians warm to idea

Japanese politicians are considering the possibility of lowering the consumption tax to stimulate the economy in the face of U.S. tariffs.
Officials from the 15 hotel companies had met once a month to exchange information about room occupancy rates, average room prices and room reservations, according to the FTC.
JAPAN
May 8, 2025

15 hotel operators in Tokyo warned over possible price-fixing

Officials from the 15 companies had met once a month to exchange information about room occupancy rates, average room prices and room reservations, according to the FTC.
U.S. President Donald Trump disembarks from Air Force One upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
May 9, 2025

Trump presses Russia for unconditional 30-day Ukraine ceasefire

U.S. President Donald Trump pressed Moscow to accept a 30-day unconditional ceasefire, with any breaches punishable by sanctions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping shake hands during a welcoming ceremony before their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
May 9, 2025

'Friends of steel': Xi and Putin pledge to stand together against U.S.

At talks in the Kremlin, the two leaders cast themselves as defenders of a new world order no longer dominated by the U.S.
Bill Gates, who pledged on Thursday to give away almost his entire personal wealth in the next two decades and said the world's poorest would receive some $200 billion via his foundation, during an interview in New York City, on Thursday
BUSINESS
May 9, 2025

Bill Gates says Musk is 'killing' world's poorest children by cutting aid

Bill Gates has pledged to give away $200 billion via his charitable foundation by 2045.
A deceased family patriarch and his grandson (Ginjiro Nishimoto, left) switch bodies in “My Edison.”
CULTURE / Film
May 9, 2025

‘My Edison’: Family-made sci-fi comedy is a real charmer

Gaku Kawasaki’s feel-good indie flick with a touch of “Freaky Friday” is a heartfelt reminder that it’s never too late to live out your dreams.
According to earnings reports released by Thursday, net profit is forecast to fall 47.7% to ¥250 billion at Nippon Yusen K.K., 60% to ¥170 billion at Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and 67.3% to ¥100 billion at Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 9, 2025

Three major Japan shipping firms expect sharp falls in profit

The companies are projecting a drop in the transport of autos and other goods due to U.S. tariff measures.
A Nissan plug-in hybrid truck at the Shanghai Auto Show last month. Nissan is looking to invest in its China operations and use the nation’s intensely competitive market to accelerate its development of electric vehicles.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 9, 2025

Nissan drops plan for Fukuoka battery plant to focus on recovery

The carmaker has abandoned plans to build a battery plant in Fukuoka Prefecture to focus on rescuing itself from a deepening financial crisis.
Nidec has decided to withdraw a ¥257 billion ($1.8 billion) unsolicited tender offer for machine tool maker Makino Milling Machine, bowing to strong resistance from its target.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 9, 2025

Nidec withdraws its $1.8 billion hostile takeover bid for Makino Milling Machine

Makino had previously threatened to block the takeover by granting stock acquisition rights to existing shareholders.
The Tokyo District Court on Friday handed suspended prison sentences to Keito Hosomichi, 27, and his 58-year-old father, Masato, after finding them guilty of violating the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 9, 2025

Former Tokyo Stock Exchange employee and father convicted of insider trading

Keito Hosomichi, 27, passed along confidential corporate information to his father, who then profited by investing in the shares of three companies.
Household spending in fiscal 2024 dropped 0.1% from the previous year in price-adjusted real terms, down for the second straight year, according to the internal affairs ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 9, 2025

Japan household spending slides 0.1% in FY2024

The decrease reflects sustained inflation, which is making people more budget-minded on food.
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone plans a buyback of shares from May 12 through March 31, a move it says is geared toward raising capital efficiency and boosting shareholder returns.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 9, 2025

NTT announces ¥200 billion buyback in capital efficiency push

The buyback from May 12 through March 31 is geared toward raising capital efficiency and boosting shareholder returns, the company said.
Hoshoryu (right) practices against Kotozakura at Ryogoku Kokugikan on May 2.
SUMO
May 9, 2025

Hoshoryu dominates rivals in practice, but real test awaits at May Basho

Sumo is a sport where practice results are unreliable if taken as a predictor of future success.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s top tariff negotiator, speaks to the press on Friday. Japan and the United States are still discussing what to negotiate.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 9, 2025

Japan stuck at starting line in tariff talks with U.S. as U.K. inks deals

The U.S. has warned that comparing Japan with the U.K. was apples and oranges, and that getting over the line with many countries will be a slow and arduous process.
American faithful celebrate after Pope Leo XIV appeared at the central balcony of the Vatican's St. Peter’s Basilica following his election on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
May 9, 2025

The new American pope can take Catholics in three directions

Americans (and Donald Trump) may want to stake their claims on him, but he now belongs to a much bigger organization.
Shinzo Abe, then the Chief Cabinet Secretary, shakes hands with former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage during a symposium in Tokyo in July 2006.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 9, 2025

Remembering two titans in Japan-U.S. relations

Their good humor, unflagging optimism and commitment to building a stronger Japan-U.S. alliance continues to shape that partnership.
An attendee wearing a Super Mario costume plays a Nintendo Switch 2 game console at the ExCeL London international exhibition and convention center in London on April 11.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 10, 2025

Nintendo doesn’t rule out Switch 2 price hike after soft outlook

The firm expects shipments of the system to be nearly 1.8 million shy of analysts' estimates, and could raise the price, depending on how Trump administration tariffs work out.
A security guard stands outside a branch of Yes Bank in New Delhi last August.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 10, 2025

Japan's SMBC to buy stake in India's Yes Bank

The Sumitomo Mitsui deal marks the biggest foreign investment in India’s banking sector, and is the latest move by Japanese lenders to expand in the country.
U.S. President Donald Trump makes a trade announcement as U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick (second from left), U.S. Vice President JD Vance (third from left), British Ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson (third from right),  U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer (second from right) and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins (right) look on in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
May 10, 2025

Trump’s first trade pact offers faint glimpse of art of the deal

For global leaders puzzling over how to negotiate with Donald Trump, the U.S. president’s inaugural pact with the U.K. offers a few clues on how much ground he’s prepared to give.
Former South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo (left) and Kim Moon-soo, both of the conservative People Power Party, shakes hands during a meeting to discuss unifying their candidacies in Seoul on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 10, 2025

South Korea's conservatives move to switch presidential candidates

The People Power Party said its leadership decided to cancel the nomination of Kim Moon-soo and hold a new vote on replacing him with former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.
An Indian villager stands over the debris of his house that was destroyed by overnight Pakistani artillery shelling in Jammu on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
May 10, 2025

Outside mediation now crucial for Pakistan and India

With the risk of dangerous escalation between India and Pakistan the highest in decades, only international mediation can stop a spiral into all-out conflict, analysts say.
Kim Moon-soo, a presidential candidate for South Korea's conservative People Power Party, speaks during a debate in Seoul on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 11, 2025

South Korea's conservatives settle on Kim Moon-soo as presidential candidate

South Korea's conservatives made another about-face on Saturday and reinstated their presidential nominee, Kim Moon-soo, just hours after dropping him.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a Lower House committee meeting on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 11, 2025

Ishiba vows Japan will stand its ground, demanding U.S. lift auto tariffs

The U.S. is an important market for the Japanese automobile industry, accounting for about 20% of its total car exports in terms of volume and about 30% in terms of value.
Yantian port in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China. Investors are cautiously optimistic that U.S.-China trade talks underway in Switzerland will ease tensions and market volatility, though few expect a major breakthrough amid deep-rooted disputes and high tariffs.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 11, 2025

Wary investors hope U.S.-China talks cool high-stakes trade war

The highly anticipated meeting in Switzerland could mark one of the biggest developments since U.S. President Donald Trump launched sweeping tariffs on April 2.
The larger-than-life hairstyles of Japan's Showa Era are unmistakable — and they're making a comeback.
LIFE / Style & Design
May 12, 2025

Sculpted waves, sleek updos: Showa hairstyles are back in fashion

Television reruns and social media content showcasing Showa idols may be the driving force behind the revival of retro styles.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at a G20 summit in Japan on June 28, 2019.
WORLD / Politics
May 12, 2025

Prospects of Saudi ties to Israel elusive as Trump seeks $1 trillion bonanza

Supporters of normalizing relations say it would bring stability and prosperity to the region, while countering Iran's influence.
A median estimate of economists shows Japan's gross domestic product likely shrank by 0.3% in the January-March quarter on an annualized basis.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 12, 2025

Japan’s sputtering economy likely stalled before Trump’s tariffs

Gross domestic product adjusted for inflation shrank by 0.3% in the first quarter on an annualized basis, according to economists.
People wait to vote as election officials (foreground) work at a polling station during midterm elections in Manila on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 12, 2025

Philippines midterm vote begins as Marcos-Duterte feud and China row flare

The spotlight is on the Senate race, where the 12 winners will be jurors in Duterte’s impeachment trial, set for July when the new Congress convenes.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes