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U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell holds a news conference after a Federal Open Market Committee meeting in Washington on Wednesday. Powell signaled that an interest rate cut as soon as in March is unlikely, as the central bank remains data-dependent when mulling its next steps.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 1, 2024

Fed cements pivot but pushes back on timing of cuts

Chair Jerome Powell said officials would move patiently and doused speculation that rate cuts would start at the next meeting.
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump holds a campaign rally ahead of the Republican caucus in Las Vegas on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 1, 2024

Trump says he'd block Nippon-U.S. Steel deal, dubbing it 'terrible'

The former U.S. president aims to win over blue-collar union voters who could play a key role in states like Pennsylvania, where U.S. Steel is based.
A woman offers flowers for victims of the New Year's Day earthquake near the morning market in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Thursday. Most buildings in the market were burned down in a fire that followed the quake.
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2024

One month after Noto quake, challenges remain in restoration effort

About 14,000 people are still living at evacuation shelters as officials race to repair infrastructure in the region.
Changes from the World Bank are part of broader reform efforts to expand the development lender's mission to tackle climate change and other global crises, and vastly enlarging its lending capacity.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 2, 2024

World Bank to offer access to emergency funds from existing loans

The move will offer nations hit by a hurricane, earthquake or pandemic a liquidity burst that could reduce hardship.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks in Washington on Wednesday. Japan has stepped up attempts to engage with people close to Trump in recent weeks, worrying that if he returns to power he may seek some kind of deal with Beijing that could undermine recent efforts by the Group of Seven countries to counter China.
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2024

Japan's message for Donald Trump: Don't cut a deal with China

Tokyo has stepped up attempts to engage with people close to Trump in recent weeks.
The Final Fantasy-inspired plate was supposed to arrive in Tokyo on Jan. 5, but the Noto craftsmen moved up the schedule to the day before the destructive Noto tremblor.
LIFE / Style & Design
Feb 3, 2024

Spared from Noto quake, Final Fantasy lacquerware inspires hope

A group committed to preserving local lacquerware hopes that the decorative plate will help turn the region's dire disaster recovery situation around.
Ground Self-Defense Force members land using an amphibious vehicle on the shore of Tokunoshima island in Kagoshima Prefecture as part of large-scale joint drills with the U.S. Marine Corps in March 2023.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 2, 2024

Japan starts 2024 with flurry of security deals

In January alone, Tokyo signed cooperation deals with at least four countries, strengthening and expanding its network of like-minded partners.
The Aozora Bank headquarters in Tokyo. The bank surprised investors with losses tied to U.S. commercial property, sending shares down by the limit and heightening concern over global banks' exposure to souring real estate bets.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 2, 2024

Gamble on U.S. commercial property blows up for Japan’s Aozora

Shares went down by the limit and heightened concern over global banks' exposure to souring real estate bets.
The start of the Japanese Grand Prix on Sept. 24 last year.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Feb 2, 2024

Japanese Grand Prix race staying at Suzuka until at least 2029

Suzuka is a hugely popular circuit with drivers but its place on the calendar had been questioned with recent talk of a street race in Osaka.
Western strategy in the Middle East has been a failure, leaving the region less stable than ever, exemplified by the conflict in Gaza.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2024

Why 'the rest' are rejecting the West

Western strategy in the Middle East has been a failure, leaving the region less stable than ever.
Toyota's hybrid RAV4 Prime at an auto show in Los Angeles in 2019
BUSINESS
Feb 2, 2024

Toyota to outshine rivals as more consumers opt for hybrids amid EV slowdown

Toyota is expected to offer an upbeat outlook when it reports its earnings on Tuesday, helped by its heavy reliance on hybrids.
Haas' Kevin Magnussen competes during the Las Vegas Grand Prix in November.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Feb 3, 2024

Haas and new boss Komatsu expecting to start 2024 season at the back

Haas, with Germany's Nico Hulkenberg and Denmark's Kevin Magnussen, finished last in 2023 with only 12 points from 22 races.
The Shika nuclear plant in Ishikawa Prefecture on Jan. 4, three days after a major earthquake struck the area.
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2024

Nuclear emergency guidelines to be reviewed after Noto quake

Of the 11 national or prefectural roads in Ishikawa that would be used as evacuation routes in the area, seven suffered significant damage.
“Metallic Rouge” centers on android assassins on Mars and explores classic science fiction tropes like whether robots have souls.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Feb 4, 2024

You're spoiled for choice with new anime to watch this winter

From the fantasy series "Delicious in Dungeon" to the sci-fi offering "Metallic Rouge," nearly 50 new shows are airing this season.
Indian commandos stand guard with a group of detained pirates after the Indian Navy freed an Iranian fishing vessel hijacked by Somali pirates on Tuesday.
WORLD
Feb 4, 2024

As navies focus on Red Sea Houthis, Somali pirates may rebound

Attacks off the coast of Somalia peaked around 200 incidents a year from 2009 through 2011 — there have already been three in 2024
Workers on a production line manufacturing false eyelashes at a workshop of Monsheery in Pingdu, China, in November
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 4, 2024

How North Korean eyelashes arrive in the West as 'made in China'

North Korea exported 1,680 tons of false eyelashes, beards and wigs to China in 2023, worth around $167 million.
A man sits near the remains of burnt houses following the spread of wildfires in Vina del Mar, Chile, on Saturday.
WORLD
Feb 4, 2024

Wildfires threaten 2 Chilean cities, destroying 1,000 homes and killing 46

The disaster comes as Colombia battles its own blazes the mountains around Bogotá, in what officials say is the hottest January there in 30 years.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said an initial vote on the bill would take place no later than Wednesday, but faces opposition from both sides of the aisle.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 5, 2024

U.S. Senate unveils $118 billion bipartisan border security bill

The measure faces an uncertain future amid opposition by Donald Trump and hard-line Republicans.
Prolonged factory deflation is threatening the survival of smaller Chinese exporters, who are locked in relentless price wars for shrinking business as higher interest rates abroad and rising trade protectionism squeeze demand.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Feb 5, 2024

China's small exporters threatened amid price wars and low demand

Producer prices have been falling for 15 straight months, crushing profit margins to the point where industrial output and jobs are now at risk.
Giant African snails are unpopular among local residents and are referred to as an alien species that shouldn’t be touched, as they damage crops and sometimes hosts rat lungworms.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 19, 2024

Giant African snails mark 90 years of history in Okinawa

The snails, one of the world’s largest of the kind, are native to East Africa, and their shells can grow to as high as 20 centimeters.
Japan's Hiroki Ito stands on the pitch with his teammates after their loss against Iran in the Asian Cup quarterfinals in Doha on Saturday.
SOCCER
Feb 5, 2024

Japan's Asian Cup exit raises questions ahead of World Cup qualifiers in North Korea

Former Japan star Keisuke Honda, who was part of the team that won the Asian Cup in 2011, said the country's soccer needed "innovative change."
Nominal cash earnings among workers in Japan rose 1.0% in December from the previous year, government data shows.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 6, 2024

Japan’s wage data likely solid enough to keep BOJ policy shift on track

Nominal cash earnings rose 1.0% in December from the previous year with the help of a 0.5% gain in winter bonuses.
Foreign investors are seeking more English-language disclosure from companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 6, 2024

Foreign investors want more English info from TSE firms

The TSE plans to make Prime firms release key information in Japanese and English simultaneously.
Orienspace's Gravity-1 rocket blasts off from a sea-based platform off the coast of Haiyang, Shandong province, China, on Jan. 11.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 6, 2024

China startup aims to close gap with SpaceX on reusable rockets

Reusable rockets are transforming space access, as companies can reuse the most expensive parts of the device with little refurbishment.
Cars and homes destroyed by a Russian missile that fell between a residential building and a public preschool in Kyiv on Dec. 13, 2023. In January, the White House said it had evidence that North Korea had provided ballistic missiles used by Russia.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 6, 2024

A Russian bank account may offer clues to North Korean arms deal

Russia has allowed the release of $9 million in frozen North Korean assets from a Russian financial institution, according to intelligence officials.
U.S. President Joe Biden sought to cast responsibility for the failure to secure an agreement on the border — an issue which polls show is a major political liability for his re-election hopes — on congressional Republicans and Donald Trump.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 7, 2024

Biden pins border bill failure on Trump with Ukraine hanging

Biden acknowledged the Senate package was all but dead.
Opening up to foreign workers may ultimately be Japan’s best hope for stemming a rapid population decline.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 7, 2024

Record 2 million foreign workers are changing the face of Japan

Opening up to job seekers from abroad may ultimately be the country's best hope of stemming a rapid population decline.
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi takes part in a training session in Chiba on Tuesday.
SOCCER
Feb 7, 2024

Anger over Messi’s behavior grows in China before Japan game

Many commentators in China have drawn comparisons between Messi’s behavior in Hong Kong and his demeanor in Japan.
Taiwanese soldiers train at a base in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on Tuesday. The island has decided to extend compulsory military service for young males from four months to one year amid increasing threats from China.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 7, 2024

Taiwan extends military conscription, a system Japan might want to consider

As Japan struggles to fill its military ranks, compulsory national service might be its only solution.
Nippon Steel is on track to finalize its planned $15 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel by the end of September, an executive has said.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 7, 2024

Nippon Steel says on track to close U.S. Steel deal by September

The deal by the world's No.4 steelmaker to buy U.S. Steel has drawn criticism from some in the United States.

Longform

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