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Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva delivers a speech during a ceremony to celebrate World Environment Day at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia on June 5.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 29, 2023

Brazilian President Lula finds favor in third-term comeback

Veteran leftist faced headwinds initially on his return to office, after a brutal, divisive election against far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, right, speaks during a meeting with her Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao in Beijing on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 29, 2023

U.S. commerce secretary says trade can stabilize U.S.-China ties

The trip to China this week is a key test of efforts by Washington to ease tensions while holding firm on what it considers national security interests.
The Shein logo at the company's office in Singapore in 2022. The company, which sells $7 dresses and $5 home goods in more than 150 countries, has moved its headquarters to Singapore but manufactures most of its products in China.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 29, 2023

U.S. states ask SEC to confirm Shein complies with labor rules

The request adds to pressure on Shein as China hawks in Congress target Chinese firms that do not align with U.S. foreign policy goals.
In its quake damage estimates updated last year, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government expects that 4.53 million people will be unable to return home in the aftermath of a massive quake hitting the capital.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2023

Over-concentration in Tokyo raising risks from possible quake

The government estimate that up to 23,000 people would be killed if a massive quake hits the capital.
The 3M global headquarters in Maplewood, Minnesota. The multinational conglomerate has tentatively agreed to pay more than $5.5 billion to resolve over 300,000 lawsuits claiming it sold the U.S. military defective combat earplugs.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 29, 2023

3M to pay more than $5.5 billion over faulty combat earplugs

Current and former service members allege 3M knew its earplugs were too short to work effectively and that it failed to warn the U.S. government or users.
The Bank of Japan's inflation outlook doesn’t reflect reality, according to one of the country’s leading experts on prices.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 29, 2023

BOJ’s outlook doesn’t reflect reality, key price expert says

While the bank sharply raised its price outlook last month, it was still kept too low, said University of Tokyo economics professor Tsutomu Watanabe.
A gasoline tanker truck at an Eneos gas station in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 29, 2023

LDP approves extension of gasoline subsidy to year-end

The ruling party also agreed in principle to further expand the program, which pays subsidies to oil wholesalers to curb retail fuel price increases.
Japan’s unemployment rate rose for the first time in four months in July.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 29, 2023

Rising jobless rate dims outlook for labor market and inflation

The job market must tighten to spur wage gains, which in turn would contribute to a virtuous cycle of inflation and salaries.
Security personnel guard the BYD booth at the Auto Shanghai show in April 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 29, 2023

China's leading electric carmaker BYD triples half-year profit

This month the company became the first global manufacturer to pass the 5 million milestone in electric vehicle production.
A worker holds a piece of black mass — a mix of lithium, nickel, cobalt, and graphite — at the Li-Cycle lithium-ion battery recycling facility in Ontario in 2021.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 29, 2023

Why the electric-vehicle industry is talking about ‘black mass’

The metallic powder is made by crushing and shredding batteries or battery cells, extracting unwanted elements, then refining the remainder.
A VinFast electric car is parked outside a showroom in Hanoi on Aug. 18.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 29, 2023

EV maker VinFast now worth more than Goldman Sachs and Boeing

VinFast shares closed up 20% at $82.35 Monday, marking a blistering 688% since its market debut Aug. 15. It is currently worth about $190 billion.
The Financial Services Agency said in its annual policy guidance that overseas real estate is among the credit risks to watch this year and that it will assess major banks' "situation of loans” made in this sector.
BUSINESS
Aug 30, 2023

Japan regulator to evaluate banks’ commercial property exposure

Commercial real estate has become one of the highest-profile asset classes hit by rapid rate hikes.
Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer of Alphabet, speaks during an event in Mountain View, California, in May.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 30, 2023

Google to add AI models to its cloud platform

The company also touted its access to Nvidia’s H100 accelerators, a prized commodity during the AI frenzy.
The VinFast logo during an event in Los Angeles in November 2022
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 30, 2023

VinFast’s world-beating gain evokes memory of $400 billion crash

The last time a similar stock rose from relative obscurity to the one the world’s largest companies, it didn’t end well for investors.
A child visits the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 6.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 30, 2023

Concerns raised over the 'dangerous' ideology shaping AI debate

Long-termism, and linked ideologies like transhumanism and effective altruism, holds huge sway in universities and throughout the tech sector.
Mitsui, Japan's biggest ammonia importer, will conduct a joint study with three other companies on establishing a hydrogen and ammonia supply chain through the Osaka coastal industrial zone.
BUSINESS
Aug 30, 2023

Trading and energy firms tie up to study Osaka fuel supply chains

Hydrogen and ammonia, which do not emit carbon dioxide when burning, are an important part of Japan's energy security strategy.
Toyota's sales in China fell in July amid intense competition with local brands.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 30, 2023

Toyota output hits monthly record for July on robust demand

Worldwide sales, including for subsidiaries Daihatsu and Hino, rose 5.2% to 918,345 units.
A gasoline station in Tokyo on Wednesday advertises its regular gasoline price as ¥186 per liter.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 30, 2023

Kishida announces extension of measures to bring gas prices down

The subsidy program will be extended until the end of the year and will be beefed up starting next week.
A Toyota factory in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, in 2015. A computer system processing orders for vehicle parts for the company broke down Tuesday, forcing the closure of 14 assembly plants in Japan.
BUSINESS / EXPLAINER
Aug 30, 2023

What happened to shut down Toyota's production in Japan?

Disruption shut down a system at the core of Toyota's lean manufacturing process.
Artificial intelligence may well enable the automation of many tasks and the replacement of some workers. But AI tools are still fallible and are unlikely to replace humans any time soon.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 30, 2023

AI and the productivity imperative

The global economic outlook for the next decade appears grim. But a surge in productivity — fueled by artificial intelligence — could change that picture.
Actively managed exchange-trade funds are set to debut on the Tokyo Stock Exchange next week.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 31, 2023

Active ETFs cash in on corporate reform in Japan

Actively managed exchange-trade funds are set to launch in Tokyo next week.
Union workers of Sogo & Seibu hold banners which read 'on strike' in front of the company's flagship Seibu Ikebukuro store in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 31, 2023

Sogo & Seibu labor union begins strike at flagship Ikebukuro store

While the labor union made a strong effort to prevent Seven & I from proceeding with the deal, a decision was made to sell the department store unit.
A customer browses iPhone cases at an Apple store in India.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 31, 2023

Apple trials making devices with 3D printers

The move could reduce the time it takes to build devices while also helping the environment by using less material, according to the sources.
Esquel Enterprises Chairman Marjorie Yang has been named to the board of food delivery company Meituan, the most recent high-profile firm to name its first ever female director.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 31, 2023

More mainland China holdouts add women to their all-male boards

Major Chinese firms are appointing female directors, or setting targets for diversity, ahead of a deadline set by the Hong Kong stock exchange
Manufacturing machinery and electronic components were among the biggest drags on Japan's industrial output in July.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 31, 2023

Japan output drops in July as global slowdown reverberates

Factory output declined 2% from June, the industry ministry said Thursday.
A growing array of media companies say they are blocking OpenAI's webpage-scanning tool.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 31, 2023

Fearing digital 'pillaging,' news outlets block OpenAI web bot

The New York Times, CNN, Australian broadcaster ABC and news agencies Reuters and Bloomberg have taken steps to thwart the GPTBot web crawler.
Staff put up posters about the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line at JR Fukui Station on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 31, 2023

Hokuriku Shinkansen to link Kanazawa with Tsuruga from next March

The fastest travel time between Tokyo and Fukui will be two hours and 51 minutes — down 36 minutes from the time required on the current shortest route.
Twitter's new X logo at the company's headquarters in San Francisco, California, on July 29
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 31, 2023

Elon Musk's X to collect biometric data, work and school history

It’s unclear how X will collect the data or how it may be used.
A coal-fired power plant in Shanghai in October 2021
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2023

More focus on mine safety could help China’s energy security too

China has seen success in improving safety in a coal industry that killed thousands of miners every year during the 2000s, but methane remains a threat.
Suntory Beverage & Food's chief executive Makiko Ono sees Australia as a model for integrating canned alcoholic drinks into offerings in other global markets.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 31, 2023

Suntory Beverage sees Australia as model for can cocktail growth

The company is considering building a factory in Australia's northeastern city of Brisbane to produce canned drinks.

Longform

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