Search - business

 
 
Soldiers walk next to a site where a roof of a house was destroyed after suspected Russian drones violated Polish airspace during an attack on Ukraine, in Wyryki, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland, on Wednesday.
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Sep 11, 2025

Suspected Russian incursion in Poland raises drone defense questions for NATO

NATO’s more traditional air defense systems were designed to protect against missiles and manned aircraft.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange building. Japanese stocks have been performing well in recent months.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 11, 2025

Nikkei 225 hits record for second time this week, following Wall Street up

The benchmark index broke 44,000 again and moved near 44,400 on Thursday morning.
Ivan Espinosa, CEO of Nissan, poses for a photograph inside a Fairlady Z vehicle at the company's headquarters in Yokohama on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 11, 2025

Nissan CEO wants company to launch new cars faster

Pressure is mounting on Ivan Espinosa to overhaul the firm as its financial position continues to deteriorate.
The iPhone Air may be what Apple fans have wanted for years: a device distinct from competitors and packed with feats of hardware engineering.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 11, 2025

Slim iPhone Air may be a design win for Apple, despite analysts' AI doubts

The new handset is the company's slimmest yet, and the biggest change to its lineup in eight years.
Japanese activist investor Yasuto Monden, who became president of one of his target companies, has launched Axium Capital, an equity fund targeting U.S. investors, including family offices.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 11, 2025

Activist-turned-executive seeks rich investors for Japanese fund

Yasuto Monden, who took over as president of one of his target companies, aims to increase assets of his Axium Capital fund to ¥100 billion in two years.
Residential buildings in the Harumi district of Tokyo. Condominium associations have started to invest in bonds to try and keep pace with inflation.
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2025

Japan’s condo associations start buying bonds to fund repairs

The move by the associations is meant keep pace with inflation amid rising repair costs.
The Bank of Japan's wait-and-see approach is likely to continue given the political climate and the tariff situation.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 11, 2025

Rate increase in Japan less likely following Ishiba's resignation

Political uncertainty will make a move higher in October difficult.
South Korea’s lack of a free trade deal with Mexico puts it at a disadvantage to Japanese rival carmakers.
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2025

Mexican tariffs give Japan’s carmakers an edge over Korean rivals

Higher tariffs are expected to apply to a list of more than 1,400 categories of products coming from countries with which Mexico has no trade agreement.
Attendees visit the BYD stand at an auto show in Munich, Germany, on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 12, 2025

'Why not?' Europeans warming up to Chinese electric cars

At the IAA auto fair in Munich this week, Chinese EV makers were out in force, highlighting the determination of the fast-growing car giants to make inroads into Europe.
A chartered plane transporting South Korean workers who were detained in an immigration raid last week arrives at the Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 12, 2025

South Korean workers arrive home after U.S. detention

South Koreans made up the majority of the 475 people arrested at a Hyundai-LG battery factory site in the state of Georgia last week.
A booth from the town of Betsukai in Hokkaido at an Amazon Japan furusato nо̄zei promotion event, on Sept. 5 in Tokyo's Minato Ward.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2025

People rush to make furusato nozei donations ahead of tighter rules

Website operators are holding events and campaigns to lure customers before the government bans them from giving reward points to donors, effective next month.
Jose Munoz, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2025

Hyundai battery plant faces startup delay after U.S. raid, CEO says

The plant, part of a $7.6 billion factory complex to make battery-powered models, was slated to come online later this year.
A screen displays share prices outside a securities firm in Tokyo. Some activists believe Japan’s corporate governance reforms will touch more firms, especially smaller ones.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2025

Activist AVI poised to boost holdings of Japan small-cap shares

The plan is an example of how activists are shaking up corporate Japan as they plow capital into the country given the Tokyo bourse telling firms to raise their enterprise value.
A Mitsubishi-led consortium had planned to construct offshore wind turbines with a combined output of about 1.7 million kilowatts of electricity in three areas off Akita and Chiba prefectures.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2025

Government reviews Mitsubishi-led group's exit from offshore power projects

Noting construction costs would more than double from the initial estimate, Mitsubishi and Chubu Electric announced the consortium's pullout from the projects last month.
According to the latest survey conducted by the labor ministry, Japanese companies' employment rate of workers with disabilities was 2.4%.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2025

Japan firms facing challenge of employing more workers with disabilities

According to the latest survey conducted by the labor ministry, Japanese companies' employment rate of disabled people was 2.4%.
Orix's real estate investment unit has increased the target size of one of its funds by 33%, reflecting a rebound in Japanese institutional investor demand for property market deals.
BUSINESS
Sep 12, 2025

Top Japan leaser Orix plans to boost property fund size by 33%

Investor demand in Japan for alternative assets including real estate has climbed in part due to their resilience against inflation.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato reaffirmed in a joint statement their commitment to allowing markets to determine currency exchange rates and not targeting them for competitive advantage.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 12, 2025

U.S. and Japan pledge not to manipulate forex for competitive advantage

Tokyo has spent close to $150 billion in the last three years trying to prop up the yen with the last move in July last year.
Juan Ansotegui walks on his property in Villalibado, a hamlet in the Odra-Pisuerga comarca of Burgos, Castile, Spain.
WORLD / Society
Sep 12, 2025

Spain wants to save rural areas — and it's finding creative ways to do it

Public and private actors are experimenting with ways to reverse demographic decline and save the centuries-old histories, traditions and cultures of Spain's rural communities.
Stocks traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange continue to rally, with the Nikkei 225 up more than 20% over the past year.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 12, 2025

Nikkei 225 hits record but just misses the 45,000 mark

Japanese stocks have been rallying for months on trade optimism and now political hope.
"I don't want to scare a company from ever hiring a blind person again,” said Emeline Lakrout. But she and others want change.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 13, 2025

‘PowerPoint broke me’: The challenges for blind professionals

"I don't want to scare a company from ever hiring a blind person again,” said Emeline Lakrout. But she and others want change.
The Audi E5 Sportback, the first model of Audi's series of electric vehicles jointly developed with SAIC, is showcased at a Volkswagen event in Shanghai in April.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 14, 2025

How Chinese EV tech is reshaping global auto design

Licensing deals with major automakers make up relatively small but growing revenue streams for Chinese EV-makers and offer a new quid-pro-quo.
European Commission Executive Vice President Stephane Sejourne
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 14, 2025

EU wants to boost economic security cooperation with Japan

Stephane Sejourne said that together, the EU and Japan should tackle issues such as China's overproduction and U.S. protectionist trade policies.
The average summer bonus for employees of major companies in Japan has now increased for the fourth year in a row.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 14, 2025

Summer bonuses at major Japan firms hit record

The shipbuilding, retail and finance sectors all posted significant jumps, while both the steel and service industries saw an overall decline.
People attend a vigil in Provo, Utah, on Friday to honor slain right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. The killing of Kirk is highlighting the deep asymmetry in American politics.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 14, 2025

Is violence policy in Donald Trump’s new America?

This does not mean that the U.S. is sliding toward civil war, though some appear to be itching for it and might feel well-prepared.
Senior U.S. and Chinese led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and Chinese trade negotiator Li Chenggang meet to discuss trade and economic issues in Madrid on Sunday.
BUSINESS
Sep 15, 2025

U.S. and China end first day of talks in Spain on trade and TikTok deadline

The talks mark the fourth time in as many months that the two nations have attempted keep their trade relationship from collapsing.
The World Trade Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Japan will appoint a permanent representative focusing on the WTO for the first time.
BUSINESS
Sep 15, 2025

Japan to appoint first permanent representative focusing on WTO

The decision is designed to strengthen trade cooperation with other countries and counter steep tariffs from the U.S.
China's State Administration for Market Regulation has found Nvidia in violation of antitrust regulations after its acquisition of networking gear maker Mellanox Technologies.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 15, 2025

China targets Nvidia over 2020 deal, raising trade-talk stakes

Beijing said the U.S. chipmaker is in violation of antitrust regulations after its acquisition of networking gear maker Mellanox Technologies.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to the media as U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer looks on following U.S.-China talks on trade, economic and national security issues, in Madrid on Monday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 16, 2025

U.S. and China reach framework deal on TikTok; Trump and Xi to speak Friday

It is the second time this year that the two sides have said they were nearing a TikTok deal.
The Nikkei 225 stock index rose above the 45,000 mark just after the open and then fell back to close the day below that mark.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 16, 2025

Nikkei 225 breaks 45,000 for the first time ever

The benchmark hit another record ahead of an expected rate cut in the U.S.
Drawn by reforms and growing shareholder focus, activist investors are ramping up buying Japanese stocks.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 16, 2025

Activist funds ramp up Japan bets after record bids last year

The 10 largest activist investors in Japan put an estimated ¥890 billion into Japanese stocks in the first half of this year.

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