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Rescue personnel with the body of British entrepreneur Mike Lynch, who died when a yacht owned by his family sank off the coast of Porticello, near the Sicilian city of Palermo, Italy, on Thursday
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 23, 2024

Body of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch retrieved from yacht

Lynch's 18-year-old daughter Hannah is still unaccounted for, an interior ministry official said.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food climbed 2.7% in July from a year earlier, accelerating slightly from 2.6% in June.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 23, 2024

Japan's core inflation picks up, but demand-driven growth slows

The "core core" index, which is closely watched by the BOJ, dipped below the key 2% line for the first time since September 2022.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a Lower House hearing on Friday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 23, 2024

Ueda promises better communication as he sticks to the script

Ueda took extra care with his comments to an extraordinary session of parliament called to discuss the market turmoil sparked by the central bank's surprise rate hike.
The opposite of diversity isn’t meritocracy, but homogeneity. And in organizations where everyone looks the same, standards tend to be lower.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 23, 2024

‘DEI hires’ don’t lower the bar. They raise it.

Race and gender are not superficial characteristics that can or should be stripped away in order to prove someone’s merit.
Keiichi Tanaami died on Aug. 9 after a 60-year career as a Pop Art pioneer. He was 88.
CULTURE / Art
Aug 24, 2024

Remembering Keiichi Tanaami's surreal grotesqueries

The Pop Art pioneer passed away at age 88 on Aug. 9. His posthumous retrospective, “Adventures in Memory,” turns nightmare into fantasy.
Lufthansa Group decided to resume overflying Afghan airspace from early July, as airlines became concerned about the airspace in the Middle East.
BUSINESS
Aug 23, 2024

Airlines fly over Afghanistan as Middle East becomes the greater risk

Carriers mostly stopped transiting Afghanistan, which lies on major routes between Asia and Europe, when the Taliban took over and air traffic control services stopped.
A television station broadcasts U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Chair Jerome Powell speaking in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Aug 24, 2024

Powell's Fed not shy about election-year cuts and ready to defend job market

The Fed chief sent a strong signal that the central bank will start cutting interest rates in mid-September, roughly seven weeks before the Nov. 5 election.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a Lower House financial affairs committee meeting in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Aug 24, 2024

Fed's dovish shift a mixed blessing for BOJ rate hike plan

The BOJ's efforts to raise interest rates could be complicated if the two central banks' diverging policy paths keep markets jittery.
IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas says Japan's inflation is higher than 2% and inflation expectations have started to move toward, or "maybe even a little bit above" the BOJ's 2% target. As a result, the BOJ is normalizing the extremely loose monetary policy it has had for decades.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 24, 2024

IMF sees scope for Bank of Japan to keep raising rates

The BOJ can raise interest rates gradually as heightening inflation expectations leave further scope for normalization, the IMF said.
A banner is displayed by Northern Ireland fans in protest against the redevelopment of Casement Park for use in Euro 2028, at Windsor Park in Belfast last October.
SOCCER
Aug 24, 2024

Derelict stadium for Euro 2028 highlights Belfast’s bitter divide

The issue is stirring up old divisions and proving to be an early headache for the Labour government.
Seafood for sale at a market in Zhoushan, China. Beijng's import ban has fueled an aversion to seafood in general, creating a situation it hadn't anticipated.
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2024

China keeps door firmly closed to Japanese seafood imports

Despite assurances of safety, Beijing continues to call water released from the crippled Fukushima plant "nuclear-contaminated water."
Cho Seong-hoan tends to bees at a farm near the Demilitarized Zone, in Paju, South Korea, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 25, 2024

The DMZ is an unhealed wound for South Korea. It’s also a source of great honey.

The area is home to a biodiverse landscape and is a place of deep meaning for nearby farmers whose bees can fly freely through it.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and other officials attended a joint news conference at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development Ministerial Meeting in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2024

TICAD ministerial meeting adopts first joint statement

TICAD attendees agreed that reforming the U.N. Security Council is "indispensable for redressing historical injustices against Africa."
South Korean flags in Mokpo, South Korea, on  Aug. 16
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 26, 2024

South Korea sees U.S. by its side regardless of who is in White House

North Korea, meanwhile, sees U.S. policy toward it as remaining hostile regardless of who is in the White House.
U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 26, 2024

Powell’s pivot leaves traders debating size and path of rate cuts

Bond traders are now focusing in on bets over the size of the first U.S. interest rate reduction and the future path of easing.
A passenger ferry sails toward Sydney Harbor on Aug. 9. Employees in Australia, in most cases, cannot be punished for refusing to read or respond to contacts from their employers outside work hours, thanks to a new law.
BUSINESS
Aug 26, 2024

Australian workers gain right to ignore work emails and calls after hours

A new "right to disconnect" law is designed to curb the creep of work communications into personal lives.
The new V Point program offers a feature allowing members to earn double reward points when making payments with credit cards.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Aug 26, 2024

New V Point spurs corporate economic bloc race in Japan

Competition among corporate groups in Japan is intensifying further as they strive to expand their economic influence through shared reward points.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a Lower House committee meeting on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Aug 26, 2024

BOJ shows how action matters more than hawkish signs

In the debate over how central banks can affect market perceptions, the central bank may have gotten it right when in July it raised rates for a second time.
Launched in 2012 in collaboration with the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Nadeshiko Brand recognition aims to spotlight companies that not only prioritize gender diversity but also maintain solid financial performance.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 26, 2024

METI to expand Nadeshiko Brand criteria for women-friendly listed firms

Companies that offer support for women’s health in a bid to foster corporate awareness and encourage long-term career development for women will be eligible.
Daiwa Securities' renewed push in Australia comes as Chief Executive Officer Akihiko Ogino seeks to increase income from outside Japan by about 40% in the next few years.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 26, 2024

Daiwa plans foray into Australian farm loans and real estate

The firm wants to continue its focus on lending and advisory in the clean energy space, leveraging its five staff in Sydney and Melbourne.
Space One President Masakazu Toyoda speaks at a news conference on March 13 following the failure of the firm's rocket launch in Wakayama Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 26, 2024

Space One planning launch of second unit of satellite-carrying rocket

The firm's No. 1 Kairos rocket was launched on March 13, but exploded five seconds later.
The yen traded in the 143 range against the dollar on Monday, a three-week high.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 26, 2024

Dollar sinks against the yen, hovers near 2½-year low to sterling

The U.S. dollar also hovered near its lowest in 13 months against the euro.
Suntory's canned cocktail Minus 196 Double Lemon on sale at a store in Sydney
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 27, 2024

Japan's Suntory bets on spirits expertise to boost U.S. canned cocktail market share

Suntory believes its annual RTD revenue could double from current levels to about $3 billion (¥434 billion) by 2030.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius inspects Leopard II tanks that were due to be supplied to Ukraine at a military facility in Augustdorf, Germany, in February 2023.
COMMENTARY
Aug 27, 2024

Ukraine has a Germany problem again. Here’s how to fix it.

Kyiv’s Kursk operation was aimed less at the battlefield than at Berlin and other allies.
Subway operator Tokyo Metro may raise as much as ¥350 billion as early as October, which will boost the amount of money raised in Japan’s stock market this year.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 27, 2024

Jumbo listings set to boost Japan’s market as sentiment recovers

Two jumbo initial public offerings may roughly triple the amount of money raised in Japan’s stock market this year as sentiment bounces back from this month’s selloff.
An artificial intelligence process sign in the Samsung Electronics hall at the IFA Consumer Electronics and Home Appliances trade fair in Berlin in 2022
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 27, 2024

Is that voice real or AI? One startup says it can tell the difference

The latest wave of artificial intelligence technology can mimic the voice of almost anyone.
Japan's pharmaceutical shares have gained 10% since the start of July through last week.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 27, 2024

Japan's pharmaceutical stocks surge to record highs after market rout

The firms' market performance suggest investors favor defensive shares amid concern that global economic growth will slow.
The Panama Canal is Panama’s biggest source of revenue, bringing in nearly $5 billion last year.
BUSINESS
Aug 28, 2024

Panama Canal eases limits that caused global shipping bottleneck

Last year’s El Nino caused a significant drop in rainfall and forced the canal to implement daily transit restrictions.
The Chinese government has dismissed U.S. accusations, saying the hacking attacks attributed to Volt Typhoon are the work of cyber criminals.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 28, 2024

Chinese hackers breach U.S. internet firms via startup

The revelation will add to concerns over the susceptibility of U.S. critical infrastructure to cyberattacks.
Thailand's former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, arrives at Ratchada Criminal Court in Bangkok on Aug. 19. The former leader's views at a dinner event last week have been closely dissected by analysts and media for days after.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 28, 2024

Thaksin’s dinner talk signals his clout in new Thai government

His comments have been interpreted as a blueprint that’s likely to be adopted by his daughter and her Cabinet when they take office in the next couple of weeks.

Longform

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