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Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen attends the launching ceremony of Narwhal, its first domestically built submarine, in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Sept. 28.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 16, 2023

Fearing China, South Korea targets Taiwan navy submarine contractors

Seoul has avoided arming the island, even as its companies ink weapons deals with other Asian neighbors.
When COVID-19 first emerged, companies across the health care industry raced to reconfigure themselves. That transformation is now unraveling.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 18, 2023

Life after COVID turns rocky for reshaped health care businesses

When the coronavirus first emerged, companies across the health care industry raced to reconfigure themselves. That transformation is now unraveling.
Funding for AI companies has outpaced every other category of tech.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 18, 2023

AI funding soars to $17.9 billion while rest of tech slumps

Multibillion-dollar investments in artificial intelligence startups have become almost commonplace in Silicon Valley.
Elon Musk, owner of the X social media platform and carmaker Tesla, attends the opening ceremony of a new Tesla factory in Gruenheide, Germany, in March 2022.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 18, 2023

X unveils ‘Not a Bot’ paid program and new Japan feature

The new “Not A Bot” subscription method is Elon Musk’s latest way of nudging users toward paying for the platform.
A deal between Mitsubishi Electric and Australia’s Department of Defence taps the company’s know-how in electronic and optical systems.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 20, 2023

In industry first, Mitsubishi Electric secures defense deal with Australia

The deal taps the company’s know-how in electronic and optical systems.
The transport ministry holds a hearing session for Bigmotor on Friday in Nagoya. Bigmotor officials did not show up.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 20, 2023

Transport ministry moves to punish Bigmotor outlets over fraud

Violations by the used car chain have included overcharging customers for inspection and maintenance fees.
Daiichi Sankyo is aiming for at least ¥900 billion of revenue from its oncology business in the fiscal year ending in March 2026.
BUSINESS
Oct 20, 2023

Merck signs $5.5 billion deal with Daiichi for cancer therapy development

Daiichi Sankyo is aiming for at least ¥900 billion of revenue from its oncology business in the fiscal year ending in March 2026.
The arrests of an executive and two former employees of WPP, one of the world’s biggest advertising companies, involved WPP’s GroupM media trading division and included a raid on offices in Shanghai.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Oct 21, 2023

WPP employee arrested and offices raided by Chinese police

An executive and two former employees of WPP, one of the world’s biggest advertising companies, have been arrested in China.
In recent years, China has arrested dozens of Chinese and foreign nationals on suspicion of espionage.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 22, 2023

China says it uncovered another U.S. spy

In recent years, China has arrested dozens of Chinese and foreign nationals on suspicion of espionage.
P&G Japan's Gel Ball, a liquid detergent wrapped in a water-soluble transparent film
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 23, 2023

Race to develop new laundry detergent heats up in Japan

Manufacturers are racing to offer detergent products that come in single washing amounts and do not require measurement.
An electronic stock board in Tokyo. Kokusai Electric is set to go public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 24, 2023

KKR poised for Kokusai payoff with largest Japan IPO since 2018

The American private equity firm acquired the business from Hitachi Kokusai Electric through a tender offer in 2018.
Nippon Life Insurance will focus purchases on 30-year JGBs, with the current yield of above 1.8% "good in terms of absolute level," a representative for the insurer said at a recent briefing.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 27, 2023

Japan's life insurers to boost JGB buying but wary of policy shift

Nippon Life, Dai-Ichi Life and Meiji Yasuda Life were among those who said they aimed to buy the longest-dated JGBs amid the highest yields in a decade.
Samuel Bankman-Fried, founder and CEO of FTX, testifies during a Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington in February 2022.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 28, 2023

FTX founder admits 'mistakes' but testifies he didn't defraud anyone

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried insisted he did not steal billions of dollars from customers when the cryptocurrency exchange collapsed last year.
Ryo and Kaho Nagata greet a regular customer from the second floor of their cafe in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Nov 6, 2023

Young migrants bring vitality to rural Hiroshima

Some new residents found a place where they could try something new, as well as having cheaper rents for stores and homes compared to Tokyo.
A man stands next to a robot in use at ROLEC Gehause-Systeme in Rinteln, Germany on Oct. 6
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 31, 2023

As baby boomers retire, German businesses turn to robots

Small and medium-sized companies are turning to automation as the gradual retirement of the post-war "baby boom" generation tightens the labor squeeze.
Toyota President Koji Sato speaks  next to an FT-3e electric vehicle at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo on Oct. 25.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 1, 2023

Toyota raises profit forecast 50% on weak yen, record sales

With an unprecedented 5.6 million vehicles sold in April-September, Toyota is on track for its 11.4 million-unit goal.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida chats with Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki (left) in a parliamentary session in October.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Nov 2, 2023

Kishida distances himself from panel report backing tax overhaul

The advisory panel's medium-term reform proposal could mean higher taxes for salaried workers.
The McKinsey & Company logo at the 54th International Paris Airshow on June 21
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 8, 2023

Top consultancy undermining climate change fight: whistleblowers

Privately, the U.S.-based firm offers energy scenarios at odds with its public climate goals to the summit's decision-makers.
The family grave of Toshihide Matsumoto is dismantled in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture. An increasing number of Japanese people are opting to permanently close their family graves as traditional family structures continue to change.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 9, 2023

Graying Japan faces a grave problem

Services designed to help people move or scatter their ancestors' ashes and close up family graves are experiencing increased demand.
Wei Hsin-hsi and his wife pose for a picture outside their family’s temple that is located inside the proposed expansion area of an industrial park in the Longtan district of Taoyuan, in Taoyuan, Taiwan September 22, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 8, 2023

Taiwan's land squeeze pits advanced chips against ancestral temples

If TSMC shifts more production outside Taiwan, it could weaken the backbone of Taiwan's economy.
With water drawn from sources in upstate New York, new sake brewing facilities in the Empire State back by Niigata Prefecture's Hakkaisan will be producing bottles by 2024.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 12, 2023

Hakkaisan and New York brewer to produce U.S.-based sake by 2024

The water for sake will come from upstate New York, while rice will come from California and Arkansas.
Group net profit at Tokyo Disney Resort operator Oriental Land doubled to a record ¥54.5 billion in the April-September period, boosted by the popularity of events marking Tokyo Disneyland's 40th anniversary and a steady rebound in foreign visitors.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 10, 2023

Many Japanese firms log higher April-September net profits

The normalization of economic activity from the COVID-19 crisis and the depreciation of the yen have boosted earnings.
Cosmo Energy is calling another shareholder vote on Dec. 14 to seek approval to discourage an activist group, led by Yoshiaki Murakami, from increasing its stake to 24.56% from the current 20%.
BUSINESS
Nov 10, 2023

Japan's Cosmo braces for 'poison pill' anti-activist vote

The refiner is calling another shareholder vote on Dec. 14 to seek approval to discourage an activist group from increasing its stake.
Bigmotor's registration as an insurance agent will be revoked later this month.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 14, 2023

FSA to revoke Bigmotor's registration as insurance agent

The planned penalty follows an investigation into widespread acts at Bigmotor of deliberately damaging customers' vehicles to pad insurance claims.
A Tsuruha Holdings store in Otaru, Hokkaido. The drug store chain is considering selling the entire company for about $4 billion or even more, sources said.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 15, 2023

Japan’s Tsuruha weighs sale after proxy battle with Oasis

The company is working with an adviser on the potential transaction and has reached out to some private equity firms to gauge their interest.
Executives were scrambling for seats for dinner with Xi or to be put on a waiting list, according to people familiar with the situation.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 15, 2023

Elon Musk among cadre of CEOs hoping to woo China’s Xi

CEO summit on the sidelines of APEC will coincide with the most challenging trade climate in a generation.
The Formula One track in Las Vegas is lit up ahead of the Grand Prix on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 16, 2023

Formula One’s Las Vegas race isn’t living up to the hype

Liberty Media, the owner of F1, has started to lower profit expectations for the race, blaming unexpected costs.
A home that was burned in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Kissufim, an Israeli kibbutz. Antisemitic and Islamophobic hate speech has soared on social media platforms since the war broke out between Hamas and Israel.
WORLD / Society
Nov 16, 2023

Antisemitic and anti-Islam hate speech surges across the internet

On Oct. 7, the day Hamas attacked Israel, the hashtag #HitlerWasRight appeared on X, formerly known as Twitter. Over the next month, more than 46,000 posts featured the hashtag, often alongside language that called for violence against Jews.
Mika and Jesse say their landlady prefers a hands-off style of property management, leaving all matters, including maintenence and repairs, to the renting couple.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 18, 2023

Renting akiya: A backdoor into Japan's abandoned homes

“If the choice is between leaving (an akiya) empty or renting it out, please rent it out.”
Japanese startup Ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada poses next to the firm's moon rover on Thursday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 17, 2023

Ispace to launch second moon mission following crash

The mission will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as early as the northern hemisphere winter of 2024.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat