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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.
New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins (center) and others, as Britain signs the treaty to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, in Auckland on July 16.
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Aug 1, 2023

China entry into trans-Pacific trade pact faces political hurdles

China should be able to meet standards set out in the pact, experts say, forcing members to make a politically uncomfortable decision on letting it join.
Rui Matsukawa (center), a Liberal Democratic Party member of the Upper House, is seen in a picture taken in Paris. Matsukawa posted the picture on social media and later deleted it.
JAPAN
Aug 2, 2023

LDP lawmaker cautioned by party executive over France visit photo

The photo, in which Rui Matsukawa mimics the shape of the Eiffel Tower in front of the landmark, has already been deleted after drawing strong criticism.
Vivian Tung eats her first meal since the egg retrieval surgery. Tung is one of a rising number of women in Taiwan opting to freeze their eggs to give them the option to have a child later in life.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Aug 2, 2023

A rising number of women in Taiwan are freezing their eggs

Demand for egg freezing has surged, with the number of women opting for the technology up 86% over the past three years.
A monitor in Tokyo shows the 225-issue Nikkei stock average dropping more than 700 points on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 2, 2023

Japan shares post biggest one-day drop this year

Then benchmark 225-issue Nikkei average closed down 2.30% at 32,707.69 — its sharpest one-day drop since Dec. 20.
A conveyor belt sushi restaurant chain uses a light emitting ultraviolet rays to kill the coronavirus in 2020.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 2, 2023

Sushi chain drops suit against teen over prank video

“The customer has admitted his responsibility and we have reached a settlement with reasonable details that are acceptable to us,” a spokesperson said.
Up until the 1980s, Mexico was a country in which drug cartels and a corrupt state could cut deals that took much of the bloodshed out of the business. The government's crackdown on the drug traders, at the behest of the U.S., changed that.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 2, 2023

Mexico and the U.S. are divided by guns and fentanyl

The two neighbors see the toll taken on their citizens by violence and drugs in different ways and can’t agree on which poses the most pressing threat.
People embrace each other as demonstrators for and against the U.S. Supreme Court decision to strike down race-conscious student admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina confront each other, in Washington on June 29.
WORLD
Aug 3, 2023

U.S. affirmative action ban spurs changes to college essay prompts

U.S. colleges are set to release their essay prompts this month when the common application used by many schools becomes public.
Australian Ambassador to Japan Justin Hayhurst (center) walks beside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (right) during the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima in May.
JAPAN
Aug 3, 2023

Tokyo-Canberra ties key to Indo-Pacific’s future: Australian envoy

"We’ve never been more important to each other," says Justin Hayhurst, Australia’s new Ambassador to Japan.
Akira Amari, Japan's chip czar, has said that funding around one-third of the cost of a chip plant is the norm, and the 50% funding for Japan's first TSMC chip plant was unusually high.
BUSINESS
Aug 3, 2023

Chip minister hints Japan to fund one-third of second TSMC plant

The subsidies will be part of Japan’s efforts to revive its domestic chipmaking industry, a sector viewed as crucial for growth and economic security.
The U.S. Capitol in Washington. After its downgrade of the U.S., Fitch’s AAA club now consists of Germany and Australia, along with seven others, including smaller, rich countries such as Switzerland and Luxembourg.
BUSINESS
Aug 4, 2023

Pristine AAA bond universe just got a whole lot smaller

Fitch's U.S. downgrade is the latest example of a decadelong trend in rich economies as worries about high and rising debt burdens come to the fore.
Simone Biles competes on the balance beam during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics at Ariake Gymnastics Centre.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 4, 2023

Simone Biles ready for long-awaited return to gymnastics

After confirming her return to competition last month, Biles said she is still undergoing therapy to help her handle the mental side of the sport.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. Some economists see the central bank’s loosening of restraints on 10-year bond yields as a message to the government that it now will have to do financial management responsibly, because the BOJ won’t control yields as firmly as it used to.
BUSINESS
Aug 4, 2023

Japan’s fiscal plight draws scrutiny after BOJ policy tweak

Tokyo seeking to expand spending on defense and child care, even as the national debt has grown to almost 260% of gross domestic product.
The Tokyo Regional Immigration Services Bureau in Minato Ward
JAPAN / Society
Aug 4, 2023

Foreign minors born, raised in Japan to be eligible for residency

The move comes in response to a controversial revision to the asylum law that was passed earlier this year.
Visitors to the "Henri Matisse: The Path to Color" exhibition at Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum face tough decisions in the gift shop.
CULTURE / Art
Aug 5, 2023

Matisse gachapon, Hockney parfaits: Japan’s next-level art merch

A Tokyo art exhibit doesn’t feel complete without a room filled wall-to-wall with custom trinkets.
The protagonist of Yu Miri’s “The End of August” is a fictionalized version of the author’s maternal grandfather, a long-distance runner who lived in Japanese-occupied Korea.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 6, 2023

Yu Miri’s new book is a bleak, dizzying epic in colonized Korea

In “The End of August,” the Akutagawa Prize-winning author excavates her own family history and traces multiple generations living under Japanese rule.
Travis King
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 5, 2023

U.S. won't invoke POW status for soldier who fled to North Korea

The decision, which could mean Travis King is not covered by protections entitled under the Geneva Convention, is highly sensitive for the U.S. military.
South Korean lesbian couple Kim Kyu-jin (left) and her wife, Kim Sae-yeon, pose with a "pregnant woman" badge during an interview in Seoul last month.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Aug 6, 2023

South Korea couple beat same-sex barriers to parenthood

To fight its abysmal birthrate, Seoul offers fertility treatments, cash bonuses and free child care, but only for straight, married couples.
Members and supporters of the San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance attend a rally outside the California Public Utilities Commission headquarters in San Francisco on Monday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 8, 2023

Will AI be an economic blessing or curse? History offers clues

History shows the economic impact of technological advances is generally uncertain, unequal and sometimes outright malign.
Some strategists think that foreign investors, who had helped drive one of the world’s biggest rallies so far this year, may pose risks for Japan’s stock market in the second half.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 9, 2023

Global funds that drove Topix rally may now threaten Japan gains

A lack of bold policy measures by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and China's economic slowdown are also seen as curbing the bullish trend.
Shohei Ohtani's free agency is expected to be among the wildest pursuits of a player in baseball history.
BASEBALL
Aug 9, 2023

Angels hoping to stay in the Shohei Ohtani business

Whether the two-way phenom remains an Angel for two more months, or the rest of his career, is an open question.
A ship passes through the Bosporus Straits near Istanbul.
WORLD
Aug 9, 2023

Turbulent waters: How the Black Sea became a hot spot in the war

For centuries, the Black Sea has been at the center of Russia’s efforts to extend its geopolitical and economic influence.
Now in their fourth year, Hong Kong's security crackdowns have led to the exodus of hundreds of thousands of people, resulting in grave manpower shortages and a stain on the city's image as place to do business.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 9, 2023

Hong Kong needs to protect its image as a financial center

In Lee’s view, while reviving Hong Kong’s role as a global financial center, it is vital to continue the crackdown on perceived threats.
The impact of China's latest metal curbs will likely be limited, experts say, as the United States is already looking for alternative supply chains.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 11, 2023

China’s gallium curbs to have limited impact on U.S. defense

China said the recent export controls are necessary to safeguard national security, but experts believe this is a way for the country to hit back at U.S.
Whether it is a hot summer or a cold winter, humans spend 90% of their time inside and there is little evidence that seasonal changes affect COVID-19 transmission significantly. 
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 10, 2023

COVID-19’s summer resurgence resists easy answers

Be wary of anyone with a pat explanation for why COVID-19 waves rise and fall.
As long as coal plants are still operating, it is a good idea to make them capture their carbon dioxide emissions. But the sooner that coal is replaced by renewables, the better it will be for the planet.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 11, 2023

Carbon capture and the changing economics of power generation

Carbon capture policies could unwittingly extend the life of dirtier energy sources.
People surveying wildfire damage in the town of Lahaina in Hawaii on Friday. Emergency workers on Saturday continued to dig through the ash and rubble, with the official death toll from the fires rising to 93.
WORLD / Society
Aug 14, 2023

Seeking cause of deadly Hawaii fires, lawyers probe power lines

Attorneys from three firms say accounts suggest damaged power infrastructure owned by Hawaiian Electric Industries created the spark for the flames.
Leaders at Sweden's Psychological Defense Agency, a state agency, in Stockholm
WORLD / Society
Aug 14, 2023

Sweden is not staying neutral in Russia’s information war

Officials say the Kremlin has targeted Sweden with a concerted psychological campaign to discredit the country and undermine its bid to join NATO.
Blackstone is working on more acquisitions in Japan with several bids out and properties like hotels and data centers in the pipeline.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 14, 2023

Blackstone eyes more Japan property after selling $4.5 billion

Real estate investments in Japan have been rosy compared to other countries, where rising costs have squeezed finances and workers have shunned offices.
Aoi Suzuki’s son runs past a home in Taketomi on Iriomote Island (not to be confused with Taketomi Island, which lies to the east of Iriomote). The Suzukis run the Takemori Inn, one of the few hotels on Iriomote.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Aug 14, 2023

My annual pilgrimage to Okinawa

Navigating between different ferries can open up whole new worlds in Japan's southernmost islands.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat