Search - company

 
 
Dai Karasawa, president of SSE Pacifico K.K., a joint venture of U.K. energy group SSE and Japan's Pacifico Energy, speaks about their plan to develop offshore wind farms in Japan during an interview in Tokyo, last week.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 11, 2024

SSE's Japan unit aims to develop 6GW offshore wind farms

Japan is aiming to become a major offshore wind power producer, with the government targeting 10 GW by 2030 and up to 45 GW by 2040.
A 737 Max 9 under construction at a Boeing production facility in Renton, Washington
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 13, 2024

Boeing tells staff to take 'immediate' action on safety incidents

Of 89 production process audits recently conducted by the FAA, Boeing reportedly failed 33 of them with 97 instances of noncompliance.
The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani(left) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto pose for a portrait on media day at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona, on Feb. 21.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 14, 2024

See-through baseball pants become eye-opening controversy for MLB

The league's new uniforms have dominated the conversation during spring training.
A closed McDonald's in Tokyo on Friday after a tech issue forced outlets of the burger chain to shut around the world.
BUSINESS
Mar 16, 2024

Big Mac goes Big Tech — with a few hiccups

McDonald's reliance on tech backfired on Friday when an outage forced it to shut stores around the world.
Supporters await the arrival of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a campaign event in Hyderabad on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 16, 2024

Data dump exposes the fuzzy lines between money and politics in India

Reading between the lines of the spreadsheets full of names poses questions about the intersection of government and business in India.
Giovanna Gonzalez of Chicago demonstrates outside the U.S. Capitol following a press conference by TikTok creators to voice their opposition to the "Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act," pending crackdown legislation on TikTok in the House of Representatives, on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 12.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 19, 2024

TikTok and its 'secret sauce' caught in U.S.-China tussle

China's ByteDance's algorithm has helped drive TikTok's stratospheric success since the app was launched for the international market in 2017.
The annual South by Southwest Conference (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, was held on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 20, 2024

Will AI help or hurt workers? At SXSW, that depends on who you ask.

According to a global survey from Slack, 42% of office workers say they’re excited about AI, but some 27% find the prospect concerning.
High-end tourism is becoming more about the kinds of experiences that Japan's lesser-known places can provide.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Mar 25, 2024

Can Japan lure the jet-set class off the beaten path?

High-end travelers are looking for sustainability, wellness and adventure when they head abroad. Japan hopes to deliver in places other than Tokyo.
As early as this month, Kirin Holdings will start selling Kirin Hyoketsu Lemon in barrels to some restaurants through an Australian subsidiary. Each barrel will contain 49.5 liters of the beverage.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 25, 2024

Kirin sending chūhai barrels Down Under

Australian restaurants and bar will be the first to receive barrels of Kirin Hyoketsu Lemon outside Japan following strong sales of the canned variety.
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.
Last year the EU designated six companies — including Apple and Google — as "gatekeepers" under the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 26, 2024

Why is the EU probing Big Tech under the Digital Markets Act?

Violations could result in fines of as much as 10% of a company's global annual turnover.
Those who are planning to move to new homes are finding themselves either struggling to make a reservation or facing increasingly higher costs.
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2024

Japan's moving companies struggle to meet demand amid driver shortage

Charges have increased, even doubled, during the March-April peak moving season as a regulation capping overtime hours for drivers kicks in.
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.
Residential skyscraper buildings beyond luxury villas on the waterfront of the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2024

Dubai’s glitz dims for Russians on costs and U.S. sanction pressures

Two years ago, Dubai became a hot favorite with Russians looking to park money or build new lives after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Beijing-based Chinese influencer Chang Feifei has taken on many jobs to promote travel destinations in Japan, including from Universal Studios Japan and the Hankyu and Hanshin department stores.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Mar 28, 2024

Influencers — Japan’s secret weapon to promote niche tourism spots

Followers' trust in — and reliance on — social media for travel info, even when the content is sponsored, is a key factor.
Kelly Zong Fuli
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 28, 2024

China's ‘Princess of Wahaha’ to lead beverage empire fighting for relevance

Sales at Hangzhou Wahaha Group have fallen in an increasingly competitive market as the firm has proven slow to adapt to consumers’ changing tastes.
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.
Department store operator Takashimaya is among the big firms planning to increase hires in spring 2025, a survey shows.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 31, 2024

Over 30% of big firms to hire more new grads in '25, survey finds

In addition to new graduate hires, some companies are looking to hire midcareer workers to secure talent amid fierce competition.
Tadashi Imai, who became Nippon Steel's new president on Monday
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 1, 2024

Nippon Steel emphasizes its roots in the U.S. as it pursues deal

The Japanese firm has agreed to buy U.S. Steel for roughly $15 billion but the deal faces an uphill battle to approval in a U.S. election year.
CrowdTangle, bought by the firm now known as Meta in 2016, offers crucial real-time transparency into the spread of conspiracy theories and hate speech on influential Meta-owned platforms including Facebook and Instagram.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 1, 2024

Meta to switch off tool that tracks misinformation months before U.S. vote

CrowdTangle offers crucial real-time transparency into the spread of conspiracy theories and hate speech.
Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 1, 2024

Rakuten considers combining financial units

A proposed IPO of its securities unit may not proceed if the integration is realized, while the banking arm is expected to remain listed.
Beni kо̄ji has been widely used in Japan and elsewhere as a food additive, and features prominently in Okinawan cuisine, particularly in a dish called tо̄fuyо̄.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 1, 2024

Beni kōji purveyors fear growing aversion following supplement scandal

The ingredient has long been used in Japan and elsewhere as a food additive, and features prominently in Okinawan cuisine.
Instead of entering its recent operating loss as negative retained earnings, the European Central Bank treated it as a positive asset on its balance sheet, which is being criticized as misleading.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 28, 2024

Central banks need to be more transparent about losses

The ECB, Fed and other central banks would do well to abandon financial machinations, work out recapitalization agreements and prepare for large losses.
A customer walks past a display for Nintendo's Super Mario at an electronics store in Tokyo on Jan. 12. Last year, Nintendo increased salaries, in part to be competitive with other studios.
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2024

Japan’s game industry weathers the storm amid layoffs worldwide

The country's studios are actually scrambling to attract and retain talent — a state of affairs that is symptomatic of the nation’s demographic challenges.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's Tokyo office. The company reported more cases of hospitalization linked to its dietary supplements.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 2, 2024

Kobayashi Pharma's health supplements tied to 157 hospitalizations

The figure reflects an increase from the 114 hospitalization cases that the company said were linked to its products containing red yeast rice.
Activist investor Oasis Management says shares in Kao have the potential to rise by more than 70% from recent levels.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 4, 2024

Kao shares jump as activist investor Oasis calls for improved performance

Kao has "significantly underperformed” its competitors in sales growth, margins, return on equity and stock performance, Oasis said in a statement.
A firefighter works to extinguish a fire after air defenses downed an alleged Ukrainian drone, in Kursk, Russia, on Thursday.
WORLD
Apr 5, 2024

Small Ukrainian plane likely used in attack deep inside Russia: experts

A Ukrainian-made Aeroprakt A-22 light aircraft is likely to have been modified into a long-range drone for the attack, they said.
A building in Osaka's Chuo Ward housing the Kobayashi Pharmaceutical headquarters
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 7, 2024

Government holds hearings at Kobayashi Pharmaceutical on supplements

Of those who took the supplements, five people have died and 196 people have been hospitalized so far.
A U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission sign is pictured at the headquarters building in Rockville, Maryland.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Apr 7, 2024

U.S. nuclear industry upbeat on small reactors, despite setback

While China and Russia already have operational small reactors, the United States is ahead of Europe in this area of nuclear power.

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