Search - business

 
 
Banks have surged more than 50% over the past year on speculation gains in prices and wages will become sustainable enough for the Bank of Japan to end years of rock bottom rates.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 12, 2023

Top fund managers pile into Japanese banks on BOJ tightening bets

Fund managers are piling into Japanese banks on the possibility the Bank of Japan is preparing to end its ultraeasy monetary policy.
Nvidia's corporate headquarters in Santa Clara, California. The company dominates the market for chips that work with massive amounts of language data.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 12, 2023

Nvidia's dominance in AI chips deters funding for startups

Nvidia's supremacy in building computer chips for artificial intelligence has chilled venture funding for would-be rivals, investors have said.
Rapidus CEO Atsuyoshi Koike says his ambition is to realize a "Hokkaido Valley" that can compete against Silicon Valley in size.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2023

Japan's Rapidus aims to create a chipmaking 'Hokkaido Valley'

The startup, backed with billions of dollars in taxpayer funds, is plotting a course to mass-produce 2-nanometer logic chips by 2027.
A sign reading "Anti-inflation challenge, second price cut" is seen near shelves at a supermarket in Nice, France, in June.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 12, 2023

The inflation crisis is fraying Europe’s climate consensus

Polls show most European voters are reluctant to bear the cost of switching to less-polluting technology.
The yen remains vulnerable to sharp movements and government intervention even after its rally at the start of this week.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 12, 2023

Imminent Fed meet keeps yen intervention on agenda despite rally

U.S. inflation figures set to be released Wednesday are expected to show price growth accelerating for a second month in August versus a year earlier
Gold prices in Japan are hovering around a record high of ¥10,000 per gram — up around 18% since January.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 12, 2023

Gold bugs in Japan reaping rewards as yen weakness persists

Domestic prices for the precious metal are now hovering around a record high of ¥10,000 per gram — up around 18% since January.
Aillis CEO Sho Okiyama receives the first place award from Pegasus Tech Ventues founder and CEO Anis Uzzaman at the Startup World Cup Tokyo preliminary on Friday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 12, 2023

Two Japanese startups to compete in Startup World Cup 2023 final

Smart homes and AI-assisted medical devices took top prizes, with the winners now set to attend the final competition in San Francisco.
The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, a nuclear fusion demonstration project, in Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, France, in October 2016
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 12, 2023

Fusion research shouldn’t be a nuclear weapons side hustle

Some question the wisdom of improving nuclear weapons while advocating for the separation of fusion research from weapons development.
An increasing number of companies are saying they won't use Johnny & Associates performers in new commercials.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2023

More companies move away from Johnny’s over sex abuse scandal

Many firms say they won't work with the agency again until it hears how Johnny's will help the victims and prevent further incidents.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 13, 2023

BOJ watchers bring forward rate hike forecasts on Ueda’s remarks

Economists moved forward their forecasts for an end to negative interest rates after the BOJ chief touched on that possibility in an interview.
A U.S. Marine shows off a Grp I UAS Black Hornet drone as part of the Rim of the Pacific 2016 exercise at Camp Pendleton, California, in July 2016.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 13, 2023

U.S. allies and partners critical for Pentagon’s drone swarm strategy

Questions remain about how much technology Washington will be willing to share without the risk of compromising security.
Yuko Obuchi (left), picked as the Liberal Democratic Party's new election campaign chief, poses for a photo with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other LDP executives at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics / Notebook
Sep 13, 2023

What Kishida’s reshuffle says about female participation in politics

Political family ties of most of the female appointees speaks to the difficulty women face in entering the political arena.
Advertisements for the Dholera Smart City project, which is in the early stages of development, in Dholera, India, on Aug. 25. India’s government, seizing on the world’s desire to reduce reliance on China, is offering billions to build an entire semiconductor ecosystem on vast empty plots.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 13, 2023

Modi wants to make India a chipmaking superpower. Can he succeed?

The prime minister betting he can lure private companies to a future semiconductor city from not only across India but also the world.
The sudden resignation of BP CEO Bernard Looney may mark a crossroads clean energy, as Looney was seen as pushing for a transition more aggressively than his industry peers.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 13, 2023

BP chief’s surprise exit leaves questions over green strategy

BP said Tuesday that the 53-year-old CEO was departing after failing to fully disclose to the company board past relationships with colleagues.
A price board at a gas station in Tokyo shows regular gasoline at ¥186 yen per liter on Aug. 30.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 13, 2023

Japan's pump prices fall for first time in 18 weeks

The decline has come after the national average rewrote a record high for the second consecutive week.
Commercial fishermen form the word "SOS" to spread the message about ocean acidification caused by fossil fuel emissions, in Homer, Alaska, in 2009. Ocean acidification is one of nine planetary boundaries that determine life on Earth.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science
Sep 14, 2023

Humanity pushing Earth far beyond 'safe operating space': study

Six of nine planetary boundaries — within which the world is livable for most species, including our own — are already deep in the red zone.
A man harvests coffee berries in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 14, 2023

Coffee firms underprepared for EU deforestation law: report

Desperate farmers excluded by the law might be forced to expand into forested areas and increase output to survive, defeating the law's purpose.
Visitors inspect a BYD electric sedan at a motor show in Munich
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 14, 2023

Did Europe just start a trade war with China over electric cars?

The EU launched a probe into Beijing’s financial support for the EV industry amid fears that Chinese exports are putting auto jobs at risk.
Newly appointed economy minister Yoshitaka Shindo arrives at the Cabinet Office on Thursday
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 14, 2023

New economy minister sees positive signs for end of deflation

Little is known about Yoshitaka Shindo's views on monetary and fiscal policies as he served in an intraparty post for the past eight years.
Tesla has combined a series of innovations to make a technological breakthrough that could transform the way it makes electric vehicles and help Elon Musk achieve his aim of halving production costs.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 15, 2023

Tesla reinvents carmaking with quiet breakthrough

The company pioneered the use of huge presses to mold the front and rear structures of its Model Y in a "gigacasting" process.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off with a payload of 21 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Feb. 27.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Sep 21, 2023

Satellite constellations taking on greater role in Japan's security

As Japan fine-tunes its national security strategy, the importance and future of satellite constellations is being examined.
The strikes involving a combined 12,700 workers will take place at assembly plants operated by Ford in Wayne, Michigan, GM in Wentzville, Missouri and Stellantis' Jeep brand in Toledo, Ohio.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 15, 2023

U.S. auto workers launch first simultaneous strike at Detroit Three

The walkouts at the "Detroit Three" — General Motors, Ford and Chrysler — kicks off the most ambitious U.S. industrial labor action in decades.
A Solterra Subaru RZ450e electric vehicle is displayed during a Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association event on the sidelines of the Group of Seven leaders summit in Hiroshima in May.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 15, 2023

Subaru president close to deciding where to build EV plant in U.S.

While the current base of Indiana is a top candidate, the company is weighing locations based on the procurement of batteries and incentives from states.
Idemitsu Kosan's model facility in Yokohama offering an electric vehicle charging service
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 15, 2023

Japan moves to make more effective use of solar power

Efforts are being made to use surplus electricity generated during the daytime by solar power and to shift power demand according to supply.
New health minister Keizo Takemi is the son of Taro Takemi, a prominent physician who was dubbed “Emperor Takemi” due to the enormous and often dictatorial power he wielded over health care policy as president of the Japan Medical Association.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 15, 2023

Critics worry about new health minister's ties with lobby group

Keizo Takemi is the son of a former president of the Japan Medical Association, a political lobby mostly made up of doctors in private practice.
Arm executives gather outside the Nasdaq Market site, as the chip design firm held an initial public offering in New York on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 16, 2023

SoftBank's Arm ends down, a day after $65 billion Nasdaq debut

Some strategists said trading volatility in the stock may be tied to the limited number of publicly traded shares.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva walks after attending an interview at the International Media Center at the Group of 20 summit in New Delhi on Sept. 10.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 16, 2023

IMF to urge China to shift growth model toward consumption

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva plans to ask China to address a number of issues that are dragging down both Chinese and global growth.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Family Research Council and FRC Action annual Pray Vote Stand Summit in Washington on Friday.
NEWS Web
Sep 16, 2023

Trump should limit his comments on election fraud case, U.S. says

Federal prosecutors are arguing that the former president’s public attacks risk prejudicing the pool of potential jurors and intimidating witnesses.
Ichiro Miyashita arrives at the Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday after being named the new minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries in a Cabinet reshuffle the same day.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 17, 2023

Japan aiming to diversify export markets to cut risks

New agriculture minister Ichiro Miyashita has expressed his intention to work on diversifying export destinations to reduce risks.
Ukraine's Kateryna Volodko hits a return against Switzerland's Viktorija Golubic during a qualifying match prior to the start of the WTA Guangzhou Open in Guangzhou, China, on Saturday.
TENNIS
Sep 17, 2023

Women's tennis returns to China after Peng Shuai boycott

The WTA tournament in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou will be the first in mainland China since 2019.

Longform

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