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Chinese President Xi Jinping
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 3, 2025

Xi prepares to unveil China stimulus plan as trade war heats up

AI breakthroughs and Xi’s recent embrace of private entrepreneurs have driven a rally ahead of the National People’s Congress.
Xiaobaodang Coal Mine, in Shaanxi province, China, in 2023. China, which mines and burns half the world’s coal, is facing swelling inventories of the fuel.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 3, 2025

Coal’s four-year lows hide a coming global supply squeeze

Demand for the fuel continues to rise in India and China, outpacing breakneck rates of expansion in solar and wind.
A woman checks her phone at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea, in 2020. Passengers on South Korean airlines must now keep power banks and e-cigarettes on their person and not in overhead cabin bins.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 3, 2025

Seoul's lithium battery rules on planes highlight growing risk for aviation

Passengers on South Korean airlines must now keep power banks and e-cigarettes on their person and not in overhead cabin compartments.
A Russian military vehicle heads toward Hmeimim air base in Latakia, Syria, on Dec. 15.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 3, 2025

Russia gambles to keep military bases in post-Assad Syria

Syria's interim president wants to renegotiate the 49-year lease for one base and an indefinite lease for the other to secure better terms.
The higher cost of food is forcing Japanese consumers to scrimp and bargain hunt as their purchasing power drops.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 3, 2025

Japan’s consumers hunt for bargains as food inflation bites

The prices of staples such as rice, eggs and cabbage have all surged in the past 12 months.
Maersk shipping containers are stored aboard the ‘Albert Maersk’ in Navi Mumbai, India, on Feb. 28.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 3, 2025

U.S. tariffs and easing of Middle East tensions threaten reversal of shipping boom

Global liner rates fell 5.9% sequentially in the week ended Feb. 27, after earlier breaking below $3,000 per 12-meter container for the first time since early May
A worker assembles electronic car keys at a manufacturing plant in Jalisco State, Mexico, on Feb. 20. The production of key fobs is an example of the benefits of the USMCA free trade agreement, which has simplified manufacturing and supply chains.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 3, 2025

The risks of Trump tariffs encapsulated in a car key

Electronic car keys are assembled in Mexico, but can cross borders in North America several times before being finished.
JX Advanced Metals' shares will be offered at ¥810 to ¥820 each after feedback from investors, the firm said in a filing in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 3, 2025

JX Metals cuts price of Japan’s biggest IPO since SoftBank

The shares will be offered at ¥810 to ¥820 each after feedback from investors, JX Metals said in a filing in Tokyo on Monday.
JR East started the services in Minamiboso and Tateyama, cities in Chiba Prefecture, on Monday and will begin them in Senboku, Akita Prefecture, in the second half of this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 3, 2025

JR East to offer ride-hailing services at limited locations

The firm started the services in the cities of Minamiboso and Tateyama in Chiba Prefecture on Monday, and will begin them in Senboku, Akita Prefecture, later this year.
In recent years, Japanese life insurers have increasingly entered contracts in which assets underwritten by reinsurance companies are invested to obtain higher returns.
BUSINESS
Mar 3, 2025

Japan’s FSA said to examine life insurers’ reinsurance risks

The Financial Services Agency is asking life insurers about the scale of the practice and the type of contracts they have in place.
Kumamon, the official mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture, poses in front of a sign of Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing, a subsidiary of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., at TSMC's then new factory in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, in February 2024.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Mar 3, 2025

In chip renaissance, Japan is learning from past mistakes

In the 1980s, Japan dominated semiconductor production. Fast-forward to today and the country is trying to recapture its past glory, this time with a more outward-looking strategy.
An electronic sign displays the benchmark Nikkei stock average on a street in Tokyo. The stock average has been range-bound between about 38,000 and 40,000 since hitting a new all-time high in July last year.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Mar 3, 2025

Japanese stocks stalled at 1989 levels as investors weigh tariffs and rates

The 225-issue Nikkei stock average has been range-bound between about 38,000 and 40,000 since hitting a new all-time high in July 2024.
U.S. President Donald Trump, and C.C. Wei, chief executive officer of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., announce investments in the United States, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington on Monday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 4, 2025

TSMC announces $100 billion investment in new U.S. chip plants

The announcement comes amid concerns Taiwan could lose its "silicon shield" against a Chinese invasion if its companies build too many factories overseas.
The Seven & I takeover saga is being closely watched as a test case of Japan’s openness to foreign capital, after recent governance reforms banned corporations from ignoring overtures that may raise value for shareholders.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 4, 2025

Seven & I shares fall amid report it may reject buyout offer

The company said it is still having constructive discussions with Couche-Tard after a report said it would reject the offer.
Toyota’s announcement to hand out perks to its shareholders comes as some Japanese firms begin reintroducing perks to attract retail investors.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 4, 2025

Toyota to hand out shareholder perks to entice retail investors

Some Japanese firms have begun reintroducing perks to attract retail investors, a practice that has drawn criticism from some global funds.
Takeover bids in Japan are expected to reach a record this year amid growing pressure on companies to boost shareholder returns.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 4, 2025

Japan small-cap fund tops rivals with stocks few analysts cover

The NicheJungle Japanese Orphan Companies SDG Fund has exited positions in 20 companies at a profit, with half of these firms taken over since the fund's 2022 launch.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that if Japan and China try to weaken their currencies and put the United States "at a very unfair disadvantage," he could impose fresh tariffs on them.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 4, 2025

Trump, claiming Japan guiding yen lower, hints at fresh tariffs

Trump said that if Tokyo tries to weaken its currency and put the U.S. "at a very unfair disadvantage," he could unleash more measures.
A passenger jet with a special livery featuring the popular anime series Gundam is unveiled at Haneda Airport, Tokyo, on Monday ahead of the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 4, 2025

JAL and Bandai Namco unveil Gundam jet ahead of Osaka Expo

The Boeing 737-800 jet, whose livery also features the expo's official mascot, Myaku-Myaku, will be used for domestic flights until around November.
A Prada sign sits at an entrance to one of its stores in central Milan, Italy, in 2017. Prada and Capri could finalize a deal for Versace this month.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 4, 2025

Versace owner Capri jumps on Prada moving closer to purchase

A purchase would run counter to a decadeslong trend of Italian fashion groups being taken over by foreign firms.
A man looks at an electric car inside an SAIC-GM Wuling dealership in Jakarta. Electric vehicle sales in Indonesia totaled just 43,188 last year.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 4, 2025

China’s EV makers are facing a reality check in Southeast Asia

Despite local aspirations to own EVs, they are still beyond the reach of many, and access to a reliable source of electricity is also not always a given.
Excerpts from Natsume Soseki’s “Ten Nights of Dreams” and footage of dancer Min Tanaka and "shō" player Mayumi Miyata play across three large screens that are reflected in a mirror-like pool of water in the installation “Time Time.”
CULTURE / Art
Mar 4, 2025

Crowds shouldn’t stop you from seeing the hit Ryuichi Sakamoto exhibit

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo’s “Seeing Sound, Hearing Time” has far exceeded expected visitor numbers, but there could be an upside to the crowds.
Shiori Ito is the first Japanese director to have been nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary feature film. "Black Box Diaries," which tells the story of her quest for justice following her rape in 2015, hasn't been released in Japan.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 4, 2025

Can Shiori Ito’s documentary open Japan’s black box?

Concerns about footage in "Black Box Diaries" have stopped its release in Japan. But Shiori Ito's story needs to be brought to people’s attention — in all its harrowing details.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group has decided to withdraw from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, a spokesperson said.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 4, 2025

Japan’s SMFG joins Wall Street in exiting net zero banking group

Japan’s second-largest bank has decided to withdraw from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance.
John Bozzella, president of the International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA), president and CEO of the United States-based Alliance for Automotive Innovation (Auto Innovators), speaks at the Paris Automotive Summit during the 2024 Paris Auto Show on Oct. 15, 2024.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 5, 2025

Automakers warn that Trump tariffs will hike vehicle prices as much as 25%

Many in the industry warn that the tariffs will disrupt the integrated supply chain across North America that has been in place for more than 25 years.
MAGA hats adorn a row of monitors on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 5, 2025

Day one of Trump’s trade war delivers wild ride for Wall Street

The S&P 500 index tumbled 2% shortly after the open Tuesday, wiping out its $3.4 trillion advance since Election Day on Nov. 5.
Many Japanese companies are exporting more to the United States to get ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 5, 2025

Japanese firms boost exports to U.S. to get ahead of tariffs

Overall, Japanese exports to the U.S. jumped 8.1% in January to ¥1.5 trillion ($10 billion), the highest for the month in at least 19 years.
Billboard advertisements for host clubs in the Kabukicho area of Tokyo.
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2025

Tokyo police step up crackdown on sex worker scout group

The group is believed to have earned about ¥7 billion over five years by dispatching women to the sexual service businesses that offered the best pay.
TikTok has complained to Australia’s government for excluding YouTube from a nationwide move to curb social media.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 5, 2025

TikTok blasts Australia for YouTube carve-out in social media ban

The Chinese-owned short-form video platform described the move as a "sweetheart deal” that’s "illogical, anti-competitive and short sighted.”
A ship sails through the Panama Canal after Hong Kong's CK Hutchison agreed to sell its interests in a key Panama Canal port operator to a BlackRock-backed consortium on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 5, 2025

BlackRock to buy Hong Kong firm's Panama Canal port stake amid pressure

The $22.8 billion deal, coming amid pressure from the White House, will give the BlackRock-backed group control of ports along the strategic waterway and dozens of others.
Kanagawa Prefectural Police have arrested a former deputy manager at Hana Credit Union’s Yokohama branch on suspicion of stealing ¥619 million in cash from the branch's safe deposit boxes.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 5, 2025

Hana Credit Union employee arrested on suspicion of safe deposit box theft

The suspect admitted to the allegations, telling police he used the stolen money to pay off debts and gamble.

Longform

Wealthier women in the prewar era had been the targets of various media-related health campaigns that mistakenly encouraged them to avoid everything from riding bicycles to reading novels when their monthly cycles came around.
Menstruation in Japan: Breaking the silence, slowly