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Activist investor Oasis Management says shares in Kao have the potential to rise by more than 70% from recent levels.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 4, 2024

Kao shares jump as activist investor Oasis calls for improved performance

Kao has "significantly underperformed” its competitors in sales growth, margins, return on equity and stock performance, Oasis said in a statement.
Japanese household spending fell 0.5% in February from a year earlier, down for a 12th straight month, indicating the impact of persistent price increases on spending patterns.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 5, 2024

Japan’s households continue to cut outlays as inflation hits

Outlays decreased 0.5% in February from a year ago, sliding for a 12th consecutive month.
Palestinians carry aid as others struggle to receive their portion amid widespread hunger in Gaza City on Thursday.
WORLD
Apr 5, 2024

Peace feels further than ever at six months of Israel-Hamas war

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed over 33,000 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda competes in the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday as the race's spring debut saw cherry blossoms greet the 20 drivers on the Formula One grid.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 7, 2024

Tsunoda becomes first Japanese F1 driver to score a point at home since 2012

Tsunoda’s deep knowledge of the track paid off and Max Verstappen's Honda-powered Red Bull took the win.
Palestinians who had taken refuge in Rafah, leave the city to return to Khan Younis after Israel pulled its ground forces out of the southern Gaza Strip, on Sunday, six months into the devastating war sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks.
WORLD
Apr 8, 2024

Six months into 'long' war, Israel says readying for Rafah

Defense minister says troops left Khan Younis "to prepare for future missions, including ... in Rafah" where most of Gaza's population has taken refuge.
A lone Tesla charges in the basement of a commercial property in Tokyo. One of Japan’s biggest obstacles to electric vehicles is subpar charging infrastructure.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 8, 2024

How three high-tech countries became laggards in electric vehicles

Japan's slow adoption traces back to a decade-old bet on hydrogen fuel-cell technology, while U.S. and South Korea have hit bottlenecks.
Real cash earnings for Japanese workers in February dropped 1.3% from a year earlier, government data has shown.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 8, 2024

Japan’s decline in real wages likely to keep BOJ on hold for now

The latest decline in real wages comes as growth in consumer prices accelerated to 2.8% in February, the quickest pace since November.
A street in Ota Ward, Tokyo, on March 15. In the year through March, bankruptcies mainly rose among small and midsize companies.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 8, 2024

Japan's business failures top 9,000 for first time in nine years

In the year through March, bankruptcies mainly rose among small and midsize companies as they struggled to raise prices to reflect higher costs.
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki says authorities are watching exchange-rate moves closely and won't rule out any options.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 9, 2024

Japan warns against excessive volatility as yen slides near fresh lows

The yen briefly hit ¥151.840 to the dollar, within striking distance of the 34-year low of ¥151.975 marked last month.
Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour speaks with the media, accompanied by Yemen's Ambassador to the United Nations Abdullah Ali Fadhel Al-Saadi and Algeria's Representative to the United Nations Amar Bendjama, at U.N. headquarters in New York on March 25.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 9, 2024

Security Council to decide within April on Palestine's U.N. membership bid

Palestinians have lobbied for years to gain full membership, which would amount to recognition of Palestinian statehood.
Tesla says that Autopilot enables its vehicles to steer, accelerate and brake automatically, but that the system’s features require "active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous.”
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 9, 2024

Tesla settles over fatal Autopilot crash on eve of trial

The case centered on a 38-year-old Apple engineer whose Model X veered off the highway and slammed into a roadside barrier on his way to work.
Koki Nagata (right) offers a Buddhist altar to a Noto Peninsula earthquake evacuee in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, on March 29.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 10, 2024

Kumamoto shop owner gives away free Buddhist altars to Noto quake victims

“I hope it will be a source of comfort for those who lost their loved ones and homes," said shop owner Koki Nagata.
Masato Kanda, vice finance minister for international affairs, says all options are on table after the yen fell past ¥153 to the dollar.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 11, 2024

Tokyo and Washington may be in sync, but the dollar-yen currency gap is growing

The yen slipped to its lowest level since 1990 — ¥153 against the dollar — while officials said they were examining their options.
Approval rate for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Cabinet hit a new low of 16.6% in April since its launch in October 2021.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 11, 2024

Support for Kishida Cabinet sinks to fresh low of 16.6%, poll shows

The approval rate fell 1.4 percentage points from the previous month, while the disapproval rate climbed 2.0 points to 59.4%.
A branch of the Fast Retailing clothing brand Uniqlo in Tokyo
BUSINESS
Apr 12, 2024

Uniqlo operator upbeat on Europe and North America after Q2 profit miss

Fast Retailing left its full-year operating profit forecast unchanged at ¥450 billion.
Israeli tanks move toward Gaza on Wednesday. Analysts say Israel would benefit from a truce with Hamas, even if it was just a tactical move, after losing 260 soldiers in Gaza.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 12, 2024

Why Gaza truce talks are at an 'impasse'

Hamas wants a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, which is unacceptable to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on July 10.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 15, 2024

Opposition figurehead decries China's 'alarming' sway in Solomon Islands

The archipelago is the unlikely focal point of a diplomatic scramble pitting a rising China against Western rivals.
An exterior view of Qasr al-Basha in 2021 in Gaza City, where Napoleon Bonaparte slept for several nights during his campaign in Egypt and Palestine.
WORLD
Apr 15, 2024

Gaza's historic treasures saved by 'irony of history'

Invaluable artifacts remain intact thanks to the blockade that made life in the Gaza Strip such a struggle for the past 16 years.
Some analysts say machinery orders are on track for a recovery as core machinery orders rose 7.7% in February from the previous month.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 15, 2024

Machinery orders rise sharply, possibly easing domestic demand worries

Some analysts say machinery orders are on track for a recovery.
Yen traders are bracing for 160 to the dollar or even further declines.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 16, 2024

Yen traders brace for 160 level even as intervention risks rise

The yen weakened 1% last week alone as fears of higher-for-longer U.S. borrowing costs spurred a stampede to the dollar.
From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
PODCAST / deep dive
Apr 16, 2024

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

We discuss everything from accessibility in Tokyo to dealing with trains and the country’s shifting attitudes.
Japan's exports grew 7.3% year-on-year in March, up for the fourth straight month, showing that the economy continues to benefit from the effects of the sliding yen.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 17, 2024

Japan’s exports get boost from China aided by yen tailwind

Exports gained 7.3% in March from a year earlier, with growth slightly decelerating from February’s 7.8% gain.
Real Madrid players celebrate during a penalty shootout against Manchester City on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Apr 18, 2024

Real Madrid exact revenge on Man City to reach Champions League semis

City's defense of the competition came to an end after Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic saw spot kicks saved by Madrid's unlikely hero Andriy Lunin.
Israel and its allies mostly shot down all missiles and drones and there were no deaths, but Israel says it must retaliate to preserve the credibility of its deterrents.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 18, 2024

Israel will defend itself, Netanyahu says, as West calls for restraint

Israel said it must respond to a volley of attacks from Iran — which caused no deaths — to preserve the credibility of its deterrents.
Japanese gymnast Daiki Hashimoto attends a ceremony to unveil the official uniforms of Team Japan for the Paris Games, in Tokyo on Wednesday.
OLYMPICS
Apr 18, 2024

How green are your trainers? Team Japan uniforms to have carbon footprint labels

Japanese Olympians stepping up to the podium in Paris will have more than just a medal to be proud of this summer.
Ideal or not, the reality of the world is that one currency, the U.S. dollar, is first among equals.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 18, 2024

Asian currencies can't fight the dollar on a rampage

Markets tend to reflect economic performance. And ideal or not, the reality of a world is one currency, the U.S. dollar, is truly first among equals.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda hinted at a chance of a rate hike in the second half of this year by highlighting the likelihood of improvement in the price trend.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 18, 2024

More economists see BOJ rate hike in October, flag July risk

All 54 economists except for one predict no policy change at the central bank’s two-day meeting ending on April 26.
A reported strike against Iran by Israel on Friday came against the backdrop of Iran's support for the Palestinian Hamas militant group, whose assault into Israel on Oct. 7 triggered Israel's invasion of Gaza.
WORLD
Apr 19, 2024

Tehran signals no retaliation against Israel after drones attack Iran

Iran's response appeared to be gauged toward averting a region-wide war.
Japan's core inflation slowed in March and an index gauging broader price trends fell below 3% for the first time in over a year, as analysts try to gauge when the Bank of Japan will move again.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 19, 2024

Japan’s inflation cools ahead of BOJ policy board meeting

Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.6% in March from a year ago, cooling from February’s 2.8% gain.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks at a news conference in Washington on Thursday alongside Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 19, 2024

BOJ's Ueda signals possible rate hike if weak yen boosts inflation

The BOJ will scrutinize how the yen's declines so far this year could affect the economy and prices, Ueda said.

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.