Search - 2023

 
 
Bradley Fighting Vehicles on Jan. 25 at the Transportation Core Dock in North Charleston, South Carolina, ahead of shipment as part of a U.S. military aid package to Ukraine.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Aug 8, 2023

Is China going unchecked while the West supports Ukraine?

Some have criticized Washington's efforts to help Kyiv as having a negative impact on its ability to deter a possible contingency from Beijing.
Wall Street in New York. While survey participants are likely riding the AI-fueled market melt-up thanks to their broad equity exposure, they aren’t going all-in on the technology just yet.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 31, 2023

Investors are happy to pay premium for tech, but not for AI

Even as AI floods the workplace, many still doubt that it will dramatically affect their job within the next three years.
The Cushing storage hub in Oklahoma. Crude oil stock declines have been geographically uneven so far, with inventory falls in the United States and Europe offset by increases in China and Japan.
BUSINESS
Jul 31, 2023

Oil inventory drops set stage for higher prices

Oil inventories now play a bigger role in determining prices than the U.S. dollar because sanctions on Russia have sped up trading in other currencies.
The Giants' Naoki Yoshikawa (left) records an out at first base during his team's win over the Dragons at Tokyo Dome on Sunday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Jul 31, 2023

Naoki Yoshikawa and Makoto Kadowaki play starring roles for Giants in field

The Yomiuri infielders are turning heads with their play.
The headquarters of Bank of Japan in Tokyo. The central bank has sharply raised its inflation forecast for this fiscal year and sees risks on the upside for this year and next.
BUSINESS
Aug 1, 2023

No further BOJ policy shifts expected in 2023 after surprise tweak

A survey last week found 26% of 41 economists see next April as the most likely time for further adjustments.
People participate in a tour to climb to the top of a 120-meter Daibutsu statue in Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture. The tour is offered as a gift in return for donations under the furusato nōzei (hometown tax donation) system.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 1, 2023

Japan's hometown tax donations set record for third year

The value of donations under the furusato nōzei (hometown tax donation) system rose by about 20% from the previous year to ¥965.4 billion.
Toyota Motor Corp.’s quarterly profit exceeded estimates as improvements in the supply of semiconductors and a cheap yen helped the carmaker capitalize on a global rebound in demand for new vehicles.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 1, 2023

Toyota profit tops estimates, sticks to full-year forecasts

A post-pandemic surge allowed the automaker to boost production and sell a record number of vehicles in June.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump makes his way inside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse in New York on April 4. Trump was indicted on Monday over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election — the most serious legal threat yet to the former president as he campaigns to return to the White House.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 2, 2023

Trump charged with conspiracy for efforts to overturn 2020 election

The indictment alleges Trump knowingly spread lies about the election in order to undermine public faith in the vote and remain in power.
Chikako Utsumi holds bottles of Rose Mind at Tenpoichi sake brewer in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Aug 7, 2023

Local Hiroshima sake and beef grow in popularity due to G7

Popular sake Rose Mind has seen its popularity surge since it was served during the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima.
Justin Verlander pitched just 94 innings for the Mets this season before returning to the Astros in a deadline-day trade.
BASEBALL
Aug 2, 2023

Mets deal ace Justin Verlander to Astros at MLB trade deadline

The former American League MVP has a 1.49 earned run average over his past seven starts struggling with an injury to start the season.
Simon Humphries, head of design at Toyota, speaks during the world premier of the new Land Cruiser in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 2, 2023

Toyota’s iconic Land Cruiser returns to North America

The world’s biggest carmaker has unveiled three variations of one of its most enduring models, starting at around $50,000.
Hakuoho displayed power, grit and technique on the way to 11 wins in his top-division debut last month at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Aug 2, 2023

Hakuoho hints at what's to come with breakout makuuchi debut

Last month's Nagoya Basho may have just been the coming out party for sumo’s newest superstar.
Migrants at a base near Tripoli hand out food to other migrants after they were detained by the Libyan navy in September 2015.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 2, 2023

An immigration wake-up call

Well-designed immigration policies in advanced economies could ease inflationary labor-market shortages and preventing humanitarian tragedies.
Storage tanks containing treated radioactive water at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings' Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Futaba, Fukuahima Prefecture, on July 21
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 2, 2023

Tepco back to profit in first quarter on lower fuel cost

The firm paid ¥50.3 billion in compensation in the first quarter of the 2023 fiscal year, which began in April, it said in a statement.
Alpine's Pierre Gasly and his teammate, Esteban Ocon, during the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Aug 3, 2023

Alpine facing more upheaval a year on from Oscar Piastri saga

On track, the team has slumped from fourth last season to a distant sixth and suffered more retirements than any team.
An S-400 surface-to-air missile system outside the town of Gvardeysk, near Kaliningrad, Russia, in March 2019. The S-400 is one of the defense items India has procured from Russia.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Aug 15, 2023

A new tide of weapons imports, production and development

Some countries are beginning to diversify when looking for partners for their arms needs.
Kansai Electric Power's Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 3, 2023

Japan's nuclear restarts this year to hasten LNG import decline

Kansai Electric Power's plan next month to relaunch the last idle reactor at its flagship nuclear plant will mark an energy shift in Japan.
Four Italian Air Force F-35 fighter jets are lined up next to an Air Self-Defense Force F-15 fighter shortly after arriving at Komatsu Air Base in Ishikawa Prefecture on Friday evening in this image posted to the base's official X social media account.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2023

Japan and Italy to elevate ties with first joint fighter drills

The drills highlight how Rome and Tokyo are expanding defense and security ties as their strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific converge.
Japan midfielder Hikaru Naomoto (right) and Spain's Aitana Bonmati compete for the ball during their Group C match at the Women's World Cup at Wellington Stadium on July 31.
SOCCER / Women's World cup
Aug 4, 2023

Nadeshiko Japan taking momentum into Women's World Cup knockout stage

Japan stormed through the group stage at the Women's World Cup with three dominant wins, and playmaker Yui Hasegawa says it is vital that it maintains that level of performance against Norway in Saturday's last 16 clash.
Australian players celebrate after a goal by Haley Raso (second from left) against Canada, during their Group B match at the Women's World Cup in Melbourne on July 31.
SOCCER
Aug 5, 2023

Women's World Cup on pace to smash attendance records

So far, more than 1.2 million fans have passed through the turnstiles, and organizers now expect that figure to rise to 1.9 million.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Aug 4, 2023

Somalia suspends athletics chair after sprinter's slow time goes viral

Somalia's minister of youth and sports suspended the chairwoman of the country's athletics federation and is set to initiate legal action after a female sprinter took more than 21 seconds to complete the 100 meter at the World University Games.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping attends the joint news conference of the China-Central Asia Summit in Xian, China, in May.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 5, 2023

Xi spent two days outside China in 2023 as problems mount

Mounting domestic problems from a faltering economy to rare political scandals have demanded the Chinese leader's attention at home.
An installation for The North Face Moon Parka, which uses a Spiber-produced protein material
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Aug 6, 2023

A Japanese startup is using biotech to ‘brew’ greener fashion

Fashion has a huge environmental impact, and Spiber thinks its products can help curb the industry's footprint.
A stock board at an intersection in Shanghai in October
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 6, 2023

China is losing out as global funds chase returns in Japan stocks

Foreign buying of Japanese equities has exceeded that of Chinese peers for the first time since 2017, according to a Goldman Sachs Group report.
A farmer plants rice seedlings using a rice transplanter in a paddy field in Kobe in June.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2023

Japan's demand for rice falls 10 years in a row

As demand wanes, the agriculture ministry has begun urging farmers to switch to growing soybeans and wheat, as well as rice used for animal feed.
An Air Self-Defense Force Kawasaki C-2 military transport aircraft is put on display at the Dubai Air Show in November 2019.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2023

Japan mulls mounting long-range missiles on C-2 transporters

The missiles could be used for operations to attack enemy bases such as missile launch sites in counterstrike operations.
A highway runs through Saudi Arabia's arid landscape. A new horticulture project marks the biggest food-tech investment for the country, whose extreme summer temperatures have long left it reliant on food imports.
WORLD
Aug 7, 2023

Saudi city of future enlists Dutch help to grow crops in desert

The Netherlands is now the world’s second-largest agricultural exporter after the U.S., despite being one of Europe’s smallest nations.
A participant operates the "Flappy Bird," a self-made flying machine, during an event in Hong Kong in May 2014. Vietnam first caught the attention of global gamers in 2013 after Hanoi developer Dong Nguyen created, Flappy Bird, a simple but addictive game app.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 7, 2023

A decade after Flappy Bird, Vietnam becomes gaming powerhouse

Moving beyond outsourced software and sneaker factories, Hanoi views mobile games as a crucial part of its emerging tech sector.
Eisuke Sakakibara, former top finance official, says Japanese authorities are unlikely to intervene in foreign exchange markets to prop up the yen.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2023

Japan's 'Mr. Yen' Sakakibara expects no intervention

The yen has fallen around 14% since the Fed began rapidly raising rates to combat soaring inflation in March 2022.
A camp of informal gold miners in Los Amigos, in the Madre de Dios region, Peru. The Peruvian government estimates that illegal miners dump about 180 metric tons of mercury in Madre de Dios annually.
WORLD
Aug 7, 2023

Gold mining in the Amazon poisoning scores of threatened species

Miners in southeast Peru use mercury to find gold — inadvertently contaminating hundreds of species native to the area.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?