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An ammonia tank at JERA's Hekinan thermal power station in Aichi prefecture. JERA and Exxon Mobil will jointly work on a low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia production project in the United States.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 25, 2024

JERA and Exxon to explore development of hydrogen and ammonia production project in U.S.

Exxon is developing what is expected to be the world's largest low-carbon hydrogen production plant at its Baytown Complex east of Houston in Texas.
People feel that Japan may be getting out of deflation and there could be an economic transformation, a top regulatory official says.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 25, 2024

Japan seeing more interest from foreign asset managers, official says

Tokyo has inched up one position higher to 19th place in the Global Financial Centers Index.
Globally, the area covered by mines has doubled over the past three years, driven by demand for critical minerals, according to a 2023 study.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 25, 2024

For mineral-rich Philippines, green metals rush is a balancing act

The county has the world's fourth-largest copper reserves, fifth-biggest nickel deposits and is also rich in cobalt — which are important for clean energy.
Though renewable energy can significantly reduce carbon emissions, if growth remains the global economic imperative, increased energy use will prevent us from reaching decarbonization goals.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 25, 2024

A call for economic degrowth

To achieve the systemic change needed to tackle the climate crisis, we must abandon GDP as the measure of social progress. This is what degrowth calls for.
Two people try to take a selfie under the illuminated cherry blossoms in Kyoto’s Gion district last year.
PODCAST / deep dive
Mar 25, 2024

Sakura stories revisited: Getting in the mood for hanami

We are revisiting some past content on the science, economics and culture of cherry blossom season.
Nvidia Corp Chief Executive Jensen Huang speaks at the COMPUTEX forum in Taipei on May 29, 2023.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 26, 2024

Google, Qualcomm and Intel launch bid to break Nvidia’s grip on AI

Almost as important to Nvidia as its hardware is its CUDA software platform, relied on by more than 4 million global developers to build AI and other apps.
Signs of a decline in hedging demand suggest that local investors are less concerned the yen will rebound sharply.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 26, 2024

Lower hedging costs reveal Japan investors' confidence in weak yen bets

Three-month yen basis swaps, which indicate decreasing demand for hedging the more they rise, closed last week at their highest level since January 2022.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 26, 2024

Will Boeing leadership shake-up redeem plane-maker with airlines and fliers?

The embattled manufacturer has announced one of the most dramatic overhauls in its century-long history, with three top executives set to depart.
Diapers for adults are displayed at an event in Tokyo in March 2018. The number of births in Japan dropped to a new low in 2023, with more than twice as many deaths as new babies.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 26, 2024

Plunging births push Japanese diaper maker to switch to adult market

Japan has the world's oldest population after Monaco, and the market for adult diapers is "expected to grow domestically."
The Dali cargo vessel that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse in Baltimore, Maryland, on Tuesday
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2024

Baltimore’s freak bridge collapse reverberates from cars to coal

The aftermath of the bridge’s collapse throws another spotlight on the fragile nature of global supply chains.
The antitrust settlement against Visa and Mastercard is one of the largest in U.S. history.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 27, 2024

Visa and Mastercard settle for $30 billion over merchant credit card fees

The antitrust settlement is one of the largest in U.S. history, and would resolve most claims in nationwide litigation that began in 2005.
A monitor in Tokyo shows the yen dropping to nearly ¥152 against the dollar on Wednesday morning.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 27, 2024

Yen slides to 34-year low, heightening talk of intervention

Although the Bank of Japan hiked rates for the first time in 17 years last week, the yen’s weakness has persisted.
The U.K. government acknowledged in November that AI was already affecting jobs in the finance and insurance sector.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 27, 2024

U.K. stands to lose 8 million jobs from AI, analysis warns

AI already impacts 11% of tasks done by U.K. staff, a figure that could rise to almost 60% if firms integrate the technology more deeply.
South Korean pop group BTS perform during the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards on April 3, 2022.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 27, 2024

Universal Music to distribute BTS and rappers in new Hybe deal

As part of the agreement, the companies will collaborate on artist promotions and marketing activities in North America.
Nissan is leveraging its e-Power hybrid technology in Tunisia as Africa is not ready in terms of infrastructure availability of electricity.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 27, 2024

Nissan to test African demand for its e-Power hybrid vehicle

Africa is the world's last remaining automotive frontier due to the low level of vehicle ownership.
Jacky Im, Elizabeth Chan and Kate Maco are the founders of Neptune Robotics, a firm building robots that remove debris from the hulls of ships to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 27, 2024

Underwater robots offering practical route to greener shipping

Technology that removes the algae, barnacles and debris that accumulate on ships' hulls can reduce drag and improve fuel efficiency.
The most significant outcome of Taiwan’s elections is not President-elect Lai Ching-te and the DPP’s victory, but rather the party's loss of the legislature and the return of divided government after a 16-year hiatus.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 27, 2024

A divided government awaits Taiwan's new president

The most significant outcome of Taiwan’s elections is not the DPP’s victory, but rather its loss of the legislature and the return of divided government.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares to address a joint session of parliament in New Delhi in June 2019.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 27, 2024

Making sense of society

In a world that is becoming fragmented within and across countries, it is easy to lose hope for social and economic progress.
Joel Vaudreuil's "When Adam Changes" won the grand prix at this year's Niigata International Animation Film Festival, the largest festival devoted to feature-length animation in Asia.
CULTURE / Film / CULTURE SMASH
Mar 28, 2024

Niigata film festival showcases cutting-edge overseas talent

The six-day event dedicated to feature-length animation presented a lineup of stories that were psychologically rich and emotionally dark.
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 28, 2024

Xi slams technological barriers during Dutch premier’s visit

The U.S. is urging the Netherlands to stop ASML from servicing and repairing sensitive chipmaking equipment purchased by Chinese clients.
A ban on propositional betting in collegiate sports isn’t expected to have a material impact on DraftKings’ financial performance.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 28, 2024

DraftKings shares slump after NCAA proposes college prop bet ban

The NCAA says it is "drawing the line on sports betting to protect student-athletes and to protect the integrity of the game.”
Inmates in a cell at the Counter-Terrorism Confinement Centre mega-prison southeast of San Salvador on Aug. 21, 2023.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 28, 2024

El Salvador's two-year push has crushed street gangs but at a high price

Deployment of the military and police dealt a heavy blow to the structures of the gangs but at the cost of human rights, and poverty remains a major issue.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 28, 2024

BOJ summary hints at cautious approach to further rate increases

The summary indicates Gov. Kazuo Ueda and his fellow board members are in favor of taking a slow approach to rate hikes.
Dried cocoa beans at the Somos Cacao farm and production in Ragonvalia, department of Norte de Santader, Colombia, on March 22, 2024. Cocoa is the best-selling commodity in the world so far in 2024, and futures have doubled in less than three months as poor harvests in West Africa, where most of the world's cocoa is grown, have led buyers to look elsewhere for supplies.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 29, 2024

Cocoa market 'broken' as crop failure drives third year of shortages

here’s a risk poor harvests in West Africa could be long-lasting, with climate change and crop disease ravaging trees.
Prices excluding fresh food rose 2.4% in March in Tokyo, slowing slightly from 2.5% in February.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 29, 2024

Tokyo inflation slows but stays above BOJ target

Prices excluding fresh food rose 2.4% in March from a year before, slowing slightly from 2.5% in February.
The 2024 grand prix winner was Zerogravity, a marine activity provider with a focus on accessible tours and accommodation.
LIFE / Travel
Mar 29, 2024

Japan Travel Awards promote inclusive tourism

While currently far from a global player, the Japan Travel Awards is filling a void for recommendations on forward-looking travel-centric organizations.
The 8620-class steam locomotive was manufactured in 1922 during Japan's Taisho Era (1912-1926).
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 30, 2024

One last journey for Japan's oldest steam train

Japan's 101-year-old steam locomotive has made its final journey, thought it may live on as a museum piece in the future.
Elon Musk, X's owner, has been open about his belief that X should carry almost all content that isn’t illegal.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 29, 2024

Elon Musk’s X is testing ‘adult content’ groups for users

Openly offering "NSFW” groups may be another way for X to try to differentiate itself from other mainstream social networking services.
Tokyo Women's Medical University in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 29, 2024

Tokyo police raid women's medical university over alleged breach of trust

The search comes amid suspicions that the university’s alumni association paid salaries to employees who were not actually working at the institution.
Cherry blossoms in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on Friday
JAPAN / Society
Mar 29, 2024

Cherry blossoms bloom in Tokyo, 15 days later than last year

This year's blooming is the latest in the capital since 2012, when they were declared to have blossomed on March 31.

Longform

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