Search - 2023

 
 
Ozempic is a drug for treating Type 2 diabetes that is now being used widely as an appetite-suppressing weight loss aid.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 9, 2023

Ozempic threat is spurring a slump in snack and beer stocks

Snack and beverage producers are most at risk, as well as purveyors of weight-management food products such as shakes and frozen meals.
A Matsumotokiyoshi drugstore in Tokyo. Matsumotokiyoshi Holdings and Cocokara Fine integrated their operations in 2021.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Oct 10, 2023

Japanese drugstores under pressure for realignment

One analyst has described realignment in the drugstore sector as "a natural course of development."
Portugal's historic Rugby World Cup win in Toulouse, France, on Sunday, was a reminder of the challenges Tier 2 nations face in the sport.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Oct 10, 2023

Mind the gap! Rugby's Tier 2 nations want more and better fixtures

Despite providing some moving moments at the Rugby World Cup in France, the sport's minnows are far away from being able to upstage established teams.
Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Tetsuo Saito
JAPAN / Society
Oct 10, 2023

Japan to add driving to specified foreign worker skills

"We'll make various efforts to ensure that local residents and tourists have access to necessary means of transportation," minister Tetsuo Saito said.
Israeli flags flutter at Ofer Park in Petah Tikva, Israel.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Oct 11, 2023

War threatens funding recovery in Israel's vital tech industry

A global slowdown and the Israeli government's divisive judicial reforms had prompted a sharp drop in funding earlier this year.
Rafael Nadal last competed in January at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
TENNIS
Oct 11, 2023

Tournament director says Rafael Nadal to play at Australian Open

The Spaniard, who has won 22 Grand Slam titles, has been out of action since January after hurting his hip flexor in a second-round defeat in Melbourne.
European Union flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels. European nations have been dealing with a range of geoeconomic changes.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Oct 12, 2023

European Union being shaken by geoeconomic changes

European countries previously did not see China as a security threat due to their geographical distance. That is starting to change.
The U.K.'s decision to cut back on its HS2 high-speed rail network runs contrary to the path taken by Japan, which stuck to a long-term infrastructure plan.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 11, 2023

U.K. effort to imitate Japan's shinkansen falls short

There is value of sticking to a long-term infrastructure plan, as Japan has done for almost 50 years with its high-speed rail system.
A Palestinian girl searches the remains of a house in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza, that was destroyed during the recent Israeli-Hamas fighting on Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 11, 2023

What's next after Hamas' deadly border raid?

The attack on Israel mirrors that of the Yom Kippur War. As in 1973, Israel has much soul-searching to do, but the outcome could differ considerably.
Ground Self-Defense Force members take part in a military review in Asaka, Saitama Prefecture, in October 2018.
JAPAN
Oct 15, 2023

'Not proud at all': Japan struggles to recruit for Self-Defense Forces

Experts have said that the country's armed forces could be weakened because of a lack of personnel.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo gives a news conference at the Boeing aircraft hangar facility in Shanghai on Aug. 30.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 12, 2023

Foreign businesses face a hostile China

The Chinese government's "zero-COVID" policy and regulatory favoritism toward local companies have created obstacles for foreign businesses.
Google, Amazon and Cloudflare have reportedly endured the internet's largest-known denial of service attack.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 12, 2023

Internet companies report biggest denial of service operation

Internet protection company Cloudflare said the attack was "three times larger than any previous attack we've observed."
Signage for Japan's top banks, MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 12, 2023

Japan’s top banks pay women about half of what men earn

The country has a relatively high labor participation rate for women, but many of the positions they occupy have little prospect of better pay.
Ireland's Garry Ringrose scores a try during his team's Pool B match against Scotland at the Rugby World Cup in Saint-Denis, France, on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Oct 12, 2023

Ireland not weighed down by No. 1 ranking ahead of All Blacks clash

Ireland can match the top-tier record for winning streaks with its 18th straight victory on Saturday.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters on Tuesday in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Oct 12, 2023

Why are ruling party lawmakers calling for tax cuts?

As the prime minister prepares for a new economic stimulus package, it's members of his own party who are raising a fuss.
A woman hands out pamphlets outside a voting center in central Sydney on Oct. 3. A coming referendum will decide whether to recognize Indigenous Australians in the Constitution.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 10, 2023

Australia’s First Nations vote is coming down to love against war

Australia was founded as a federation in 1901 without formal recognition of the continent’s Indigenous peoples.
Kiva robots move inventory at an Amazon fulfilment center in Tracy, California.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 13, 2023

Amazon strategy could unlock $100 billion in revenue

Supply Chain by Amazon is the latest part of its drive to become a leading logistics company.
Climate activists protest demanding that the World Bank stop fossil fuel financing on the first day of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, in Marrakech, Morocco, on Monday
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / ANALYSIS
Oct 13, 2023

Why money matters when taking climate change to court

More litigation funding for climate lawsuits could mean more cases.
There are expectations that Japan’s life insurers may increase purchases of Japanese government bonds as yields rise at home along with signs that the central bank is edging toward a normalization of monetary policy.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 13, 2023

Japan’s rising yields and yen hedging costs drive insurers to JGBs

Japanese government bonds are drawing interest amid signs that the central bank is edging toward a normalization of monetary policy.
The Russian Olympic Committee was banned with immediate effect by the IOC on Thursday.
OLYMPICS
Oct 13, 2023

IOC bans Russian Olympic Committee over annexed Ukrainian territories

The IOC added the ROC would not be eligible for any funding after it recognized Olympic Councils from Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping walks past then-Foreign Minister Qin Gang (front left) and defense chief Li Shangfu (front right) as he arrives for the closing session of the National People's Congress at Beijing's Great Hall of the People in March.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 13, 2023

With purges of top officials, is China’s Xi in trouble? Hardly.

The well-known opacity in Beijing may have clouded assessments of how the turbulence is affecting Xi’s grip on power
The BayStars' Shugo Maki addresses the crowd after the team's final home game of the regular season.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Oct 13, 2023

Third-place squads face long road to Japan Series

Only two teams have reached the Japan Series after finishing the regular season in third place.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem in July 2017.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 11, 2023

India’s realism comes of age in response to Israel-Hamas war

Unlike other Global South country leaders, Modi wasted no time expressing solidarity with Israel, an ally of India.
Albirex's Moemi Nishibuchi (left) and Sanfrecce's Manaka Matsumoto contest for a header during the final of the 2023 WE League Cup in Kawasaki on Saturday.
SOCCER
Oct 14, 2023

Sanfrecce outlasts Albirex for WE League Cup title

The sister team of three-time J. League champions Sanfrecce Hiroshima earned its first major trophy since its 2020 inception.
New Zealand's Ardie Savea (left) shakes hands with Ireland captain Johnny Sexton after their 2023 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal in Saint-Denis, France, on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Oct 15, 2023

All Blacks end Johnny Sexton's career with more World Cup woe for Ireland

The defeat ended Ireland's run of 17 successive test victories and denied Andy Farrell's team the chance of a first ever semifinal.
Argentina players celebrate after their 2023 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal win over Wales in Marseille, France, on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Oct 15, 2023

Argentina surges into semis with battling comeback win over Wales

The Pumas will play New Zealand in Paris next week.
Ireland captain Johnny Sexton leaves the pitch following his team's quarterfinal defeat to the All Blacks at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in Paris on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 15, 2023

Ireland's Johnny Sexton ends storied career with 'gutting' RWC exit

A tearful but dignified Sexton appeared at the post-match news conference after his dreams of a fairytale ending were dashed by the All Blacks
A field of kochia plants is lit up in the colors of the rainbow at Hitachi Seaside Park in Ibaraki Prefecture, in September.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 15, 2023

Ibaraki regains ignominious crown as least attractive prefecture

This marks the 12th time the prefecture ranked last since the survey began in 2009 — after being dethroned by Saga in 2022.
Fiji's outside center and captain Waisea Nayacalevu (left) is tackled by England fly-half and captain Owen Farrell during the France 2023 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal match between England and Fiji.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Oct 16, 2023

Borthwick backs England to rise once more for World Cup semis

"A lot of people said we wouldn't get out of the pool. We got out of the pool, now we got out of the quarterfinal," said the England coach.
France's head coach Fabien Galthie (top, center) stands with his players ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal match between France and South Africa in Saint-Denis, France, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Oct 16, 2023

France coach Galthie has no regrets over defeat to South Africa

Fabien Galthie's first thoughts after the 29-28 defeat were for the fans who had supported the team so vociferously.

Longform

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