Search - 2023

 
 
During a time in which Western acts have seen their place of prominence in the Japanese market drop in favor of K-pop, Swift is a notable exception.
CULTURE / Music
Feb 22, 2024

What makes a Taylor Swift show worth flying in for?

Swifties say the pop star's concerts provide camaraderie and a sense of validation.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (far left) and the prime minister of Samoa, Fiame Naomi Mataafa (far right), meet in Apia, the capital of Samoa, on Feb. 10.
COMMENTARY
Feb 21, 2024

Japan plays a game of Pacific islands geopolitical chess

The influx of Chinese investment and activities have introduced risk for some Pacific island nations, moves which Japan cannot ignore.
A liquefied natural gas processing facility at the Sakhalin 2 project in Sakhalin, Russia. Japan has kept stakes in some energy projects in Russia as a matter of energy security.
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2024

Japanese companies maintain suspended operations in Russia: survey

Japan has kept stakes in some energy projects as a matter of energy security.
Buildings in the business district in Singapore. The city state hosted regional headquarters for 4,200 multinational firms in 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 22, 2024

Even China’s giants are picking Singapore over Hong Kong

The city state hosted regional headquarters for 4,200 multinational firms in 2023.
Eleven portraits of Ainu chieftains, completed in 1790, are now held by the Museum of Fine Arts and Archaeology in Besancon, France. There were originally 12 paintings in the original set, collectively known as the “Ishu Retsuzo,” but one has disappeared.
JAPAN / History / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Feb 26, 2024

The ongoing mystery of the Ainu portraits in France

A former Hokkaido journalist is hoping to find out how portraits of Ainu chieftains from 1790 made it to Europe.
The Huawei Mate 60 Pro, launched in August 2023 and powered by a sophisticated chip, was seen as a symbol of the China's technological resurgence despite Washington's ongoing efforts to cripple its capacity to produce advanced semiconductors.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 22, 2024

U.S. targets China chipmaking plant after Huawei Mate 60 Pro

The Biden administration seeks to cut off China's most advanced factory from more American imports after it produced a sophisticated chip for the phone.
Biomass will heat the facility and provide clean CO2 for the plants.
ESG CONSORTIUM
Feb 22, 2024

A hothouse of ecological ideas will produce tomatoes in Aomori

Starting in April, a project in the Aomori city of Mutsu, at the northern tip of Honshu, will grow tomatoes using a new cultivation method that will go beyond zero carbon and actually absorb more CO2 than it emits. Built on a large abandoned farm, the facility will also create 100 new jobs.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump at a campaign event ahead of the Republican presidential primary election in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Feb. 14
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 29, 2024

Why Japanese companies need to prepare for Trump 2.0

Given the former president's views on the recent U.S. Steel deal, firms should cover all bases ahead of the Nov. 5 U.S. election.
TikTok parent company ByteDance's offices in Singapore. Chinese companies are increasingly using the city-state as a springboard into the U.S. market.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 22, 2024

'Singapore-washing' and China’s sneaky trade practices

Chinese firms are using Singapore as a springboard into the U.S., circumventing restrictions. The island nation shouldn't enable these deceptive tactics.
Sanfrecce will play its first regular-season match against Urawa on Friday at the brand-new Edion Peace Wing Hiroshima.
SOCCER / J. League
Feb 22, 2024

The J. League is back with a top flight that's bigger than ever

Hiroshima has eyes on the title as the club raises the curtain at a new stadium, but Urawa will be looking to spoil the party starting Friday.
Passengers line up for security at San Francisco International Airport (SFO).
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 22, 2024

The five most exciting innovations coming to an airport near you

Updating an existing airport terminal is time-consuming, expensive work that often costs hundreds of millions of dollars — and sometimes billions.
Intuitive Machines' Odysseus spacecraft passes over the near side of the moon following lunar orbit insertion on Wednesday.
WORLD / Science & Health / FOCUS
Feb 23, 2024

Why it took the U.S. 51 years to get back on the moon

Intuitive Machines has landed a robotic spacecraft on the moon, becoming the first private firm to place a vehicle intact on the lunar surface.
Nippon Steel's Kashima plant seen from a park in Kamisu, Ibaraki Prefecture. Scrutiny over Nippon Steel’s China holdings threatens to add another complication to its politically contentious deal to acquire United States Steel.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 23, 2024

Nippon Steel’s China assets could derail United States Steel deal

Regulators may look unfavorably on whether the acquisition of U.S. Steel could allow more access to U.S. markets for Chinese-sourced steel.
Pedestrians look at an electronic board displaying the Nikkei index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange on a street in the Japanese capital on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 24, 2024

Record-high Nikkei’s rise just getting started on foreign demand

Investors and strategists are also watching for a broadening of equities gains that may take the wider Topix index to an all-time high this year.
Vocalist Adam Lambert (center) and original Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor hit Nagoya, Osaka, Sapporo and Tokyo for the final leg of their marathon Rhapsody Tour.
CULTURE
Feb 24, 2024

Queen wraps marathon Rhapsody Tour in Japan

The final leg of the global tour hit four Japanese cities, providing fans with an appropriately grandiose send-off from the rockers on Valentine's Day.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen during preseason testing on Wednesday in Sakhir, Bahrain
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Feb 25, 2024

Verstappen eyes fourth title as rivals face 'brutal' reality

With stable regulations and no changes to the driver lineups, a year of deja vu appears likely in Formula One.
A screen grab shows Anton Kuznetsov, a fighter in the BARS 9 volunteer force of the Russian military, in an apartment in Balakliia, Ukraine, in September 2022
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 25, 2024

How Russia's military uses volunteer fighters to plug gaps in Ukraine

Approach provides Moscow with an additional avenue from which to mobilize parts of the population, get them trained and provide additional mass.
Warren Buffett
BUSINESS
Feb 25, 2024

Buffett ups his holdings of Japanese trading houses to about 9%

Berkshire first announced its stakes in the trading houses in 2020 with the intention of holding them long-term and increasing them to as much as 9.9%.
Supporters of Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's former president, march on Avenida Paulista in Sao Paulo on Sunday
WORLD / Politics
Feb 26, 2024

Bolsonaro rallies supporters in Brazil amid police probes

Dozens of conservative congressmen and governors attended, demonstrating Bolsonaro’s grip on the Brazilian right.
A man claimed Amazon promised "unlimited, commercial-free, instant streaming” of entertainment through Prime Video. He alleges the company reneged on the deal and is suing.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 2024

Amazon shouldn't be swindling users

The tech giant is being sued for charging subscribers more than advertised: Not what you'd expect from a self-professed customer-obsessed company.
A Sustainable Smart City Partner Program forum in Kitajima
ESG CONSORTIUM
Feb 27, 2024

NTT tool Sugatami reflects cities’ extensive possibilities

With the use of digital technology to solve rural social problems now promoted as a national policy, some places have begun trying to use data to analyze their current situation, identify problems and find solutions.
Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen drives during the third day of the Formula One pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit on Friday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Feb 27, 2024

F1 starts longest season with Red Bull still the team to beat

Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren and Aston Martin are all confident that gremlins in their new cars have been removed.
Sean Bailey, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production, at his office in Burbank, California
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2024

Disney reshuffles leadership at troubled namesake movie division

New President David Greenbaum oversaw the release of Oscar nominated "Poor Things" and previous winners such as "The Shape of Water" and "Nomadland."
Yakitori chain Torikizoku will open outlets in Taiwan and Hong Kong as part of its planned expansion into the Asian market.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2024

Restaurant chain Torikizoku to open branches in Taiwan and Hong Kong

Specific details regarding the number of restaurants and finalized opening dates in Hong Kong and Taiwan are yet to be determined.
A Boeing Co. 737 Max airplane on the production line at the company's manufacturing facility in Renton, Washington, in March 2019
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2024

Boeing's safety culture slammed by FAA after 737 Max midair door loss

An expert report shows the work still to be done at Boeing despite efforts to overhaul its culture after fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed 346 people.
Brighton's Kaoru Mitoma after sustaining an injury in a match against Sheffield United on Feb. 18
SOCCER
Feb 28, 2024

Brighton's Mitoma set to miss rest of season with injury

The Japan international has scored three goals and provided six assists in 26 appearances in all competitions this season.
Apple started working on a car around 2014, setting its sights on a fully autonomous electric vehicle with a limousine-like interior and voice-guided navigation.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 28, 2024

Apple to wind down electric car effort after decadelong odyssey

Many employees on the team will be reassigned to focus on generative artificial intelligence projects, an increasingly key priority for the company.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Oct. 17, 2023
WORLD / Politics
Feb 28, 2024

Serbian leader says ‘Taiwan is China’ as Xi plans Balkan trip

The Serbian leader’s wading into rising tensions over the Taiwan Strait sends a signal of allegiance to Beijing.
Lawyer Hiroshi Kawahito, who represents the bereaved family of a Takarazuka Revue member who died last year, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 28, 2024

Takarazuka Revue admits power harassment against dead member

According to the lawyer, Takarazuka Revue has indicated its readiness to apologize.
Toyota's domestic sales for January fell for the first time in 13 months as a data-rigging scandal at its small-car unit Daihatsu led to a production halt of some Toyota brand cars the unit made.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 28, 2024

Toyota Group sales lose steam amid fallout from test data scandals

Domestic sales for January fell for the first time in 13 months while worldwide production fell 3.8%, the first global decline in 13 months.

Longform

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