Search - 2023

 
 
Tokyo Gas President Shinichi Sasayama speaks during an interview at the company's headquarters in Tokyo on Jan. 16.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 22, 2025

Tokyo Gas focusing on more U.S. investment opportunities

"Among our overseas businesses, North America is an especially important growth market for us,” said President Shinichi Sasayama.
People walk in front of billboards in a subway station in Shanghai on Jan. 16.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 22, 2025

China's frugal young adults accelerate saving, raising economic risks

Some economists warn entrenched saving could hollow out demand just as policymakers are counting on domestic consumption to bolster China's GDP.
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on Stargate, as Oracle Executive Chairman Larry Ellison, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman look on in the Roosevelt room at the White House.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 22, 2025

SoftBank to help fund and lead Trump-backed Stargate AI project, a $500 billion venture

The president said it will be the largest AI infrastructure ever built and that it will help counter technology threats from China and other countries.
Instead of the Bank of Japan's actions strengthening the yen as once hoped, recent steps have only caused further weakening.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 22, 2025

Ueda’s doctrine for the BOJ is finally emerging

Instead of the Bank of Japan's actions strengthening the yen as once hoped, recent steps have only caused further weakening.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers a policy speech at the Lower House of the parliament in Tokyo last November.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 23, 2025

As parliament opens, ruling coalition enters uncharted territory

For the Liberal Democratic Party, the days of pushing through bills on the back of an overwhelming majority in both chambers of parliament are over.
Chinese actor Wang Xing shakes hands with a Thai police officer after being assisted in his return to the country, after being kidnapped into one of the telecom fraud centers, at a police station in Thailand-Myanmar border's Mae Sot district, Tak province, Thailand, on Jan. 7.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jan 22, 2025

China families appeal to free relatives held by scam gangs in Myanmar

Chinese law does not consider men as potential victims of human trafficking.
Strange things are afoot in Ryota Kondo’s “Missing Child Videotape” as Keita (Rairu Sugita) investigates the 13-year-old disappearance of his younger brother.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 23, 2025

‘Missing Child Videotape’: Subtle chiller may leave J-horror fans underwhelmed

Ryota Kondo’s eerie ghost story debut goes for ambient dread rather than jump scares.
Asia is home to several sustainable investment taxonomies. Among them, the Singapore-Asia taxonomy is a regional framework for classifying sustainable investments across eight sectors that represent 90% of the continent's greenhouse gas emissions.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 22, 2025

Sustainable finance taxonomies light up Asia’s net-zero path

With its burgeoning economies and population, Asia is key to decarbonizing the planet. The continent's sustainable taxonomies are helping direct finance toward climate solutions.
Italy's Jannik Sinner hits a backhand during his quarterfinal win over Alex de Minaur on Wednesday at the Australian Open.
TENNIS
Jan 22, 2025

Sinner demolishes De Minaur to set up Melbourne semi with Shelton

The Italian world No. 1 showed no signs of the health issues that hampered him in his last match.
Regular gasoline was priced at ¥194 per liter at a gas station in Nagano on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 23, 2025

Japan's average gas price exceeds ¥185 for first time in 17 months

The price hike reflects reduced government subsidies to oil wholesalers.
Explosions rock the shore of Iwo Jima during a pre-landing bombardment on Feb. 19, 1945, as seen from a USS Sanborn (APA-193) landing craft.
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2025

Imperial couple considering visit to Iwo Jima

The Imperial Household Agency is considering a visit by Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako to the island of Iwo Jima in April to pay respects to soldiers killed in World War II.
A portrait of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny is placed amid flowers at his grave at the Borisovskoye cemetery in Moscow on March 2, 2024.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 23, 2025

Navalny's lawyer regrets she couldn't stop his return to Moscow

Olga Mikhailova says she feels she "did not push hard enough" to change the mind of the Russian opposition leader, who eventually died in an Arctic penal colony.
Mizuho's CEO Masahiro Kihara said on Wednesday that domestic corporate banking, asset and wealth management, as well as global and corporate and investment banking, would all contribute to growth.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 23, 2025

Mizuho head sees profit reaching ¥1 trillion in three to four years

Mizuho previously projected record annual net income of ¥820 billion for the current fiscal year, meaning the increase would require an uplift of more than 20%.
Jannik Sinner signs autographs after his win over Alex De Minaur in the Australian Open quarterfinals in Melbourne on Wednesday.
TENNIS
Jan 23, 2025

Jannik Sinner taking nothing for granted ahead of Australian Open semifinal

Sinner is just two matches away from a first successful Grand Slam title defense after winning his maiden Grand Slam crown in Melbourne last year.
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, sentenced to 14 years for corruption, reflects the country's recurring cycle of leaders rising with military backing and then falling out of favor.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 21, 2025

Jailing Imran Khan won’t fix Pakistan’s problems

Pakistan’s economic recovery hinges on reforms, stability and military backing.
The number of new units for sale in the Tokyo metropolitan area fell 14.4% last year to a record low.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 23, 2025

Tokyo apartment prices retreat in 2024 as market calms

The decrease — the first in six years — came after prices rose nearly 30% to a record high in 2023 when several luxury condos went up for sale.
Animated series “Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi” premiered on Cartoon Network on Nov. 29, 2004, and ran for three seasons. The show is based on real-life J-pop band Puffy.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jan 24, 2025

The cartoon chaos of ‘Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi’ was ahead of its time

Love for the J-pop duo’s zany Cartoon Network series has endured online for over 20 years since its premiere.
Steps against diversity form part of U.S. President Donald Trump's broader campaign targeting the federal bureaucracy, which he has sometimes disparaged as the "deep state" secretly working against his agenda.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 24, 2025

Trump accelerates campaign to remake federal bureaucracy

The U.S. president says his orders ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs would make America a "merit-based country" once again.
Afghan citizens, who are in the process for resettlement in the U.S., attend an English class on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Society
Jan 24, 2025

Afghans awaiting U.S. resettlement feel betrayal after Trump order

Some feel betrayed, with many — including those who fled Taliban rule in Afghanistan — having already spent years in limbo.
Service inflation accelerated a tad to 1.6%, while an index excluding energy costs and fresh food prices advanced 2.4%, unchanged from the pace in November.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 24, 2025

Inflation in Japan jumps to 3%, supporting the BOJ's rate-hike case

The solid inflation data support the case for the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates on Friday, a move widely anticipated by markets and economists.
Mitsubishi Motors is unlikely to join Honda and Nissan's deal to create a holding company together, it was reported Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 24, 2025

Mitsubishi Motors won’t join Honda and Nissan tie-up, Yomiuri says

Mitsubishi Motors hasn’t made any announcements and is considering all options, a spokesperson for the company said.
Sotatsu Yanase leaves the Oshima Police Station of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 24, 2025

Boyfriend of missing woman arrested after bones found on beach

The victim was identified as Shizuka Takase, a 37-year-old restaurant worker from Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture.
Novak Djokovic hugs Alexander Zverev after the Serbian great retired from their Australian Open semifinal on Friday.
TENNIS
Jan 24, 2025

Djokovic retires hurt to send Zverev into Australian Open final

The 37-year-old Serbian great's upper left leg was again heavily taped after he hurt it in the quarterfinals and he called it a day after dropping the first set.
Sara Saito competes at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo in October last year.
TENNIS
Jan 24, 2025

Sara Saito’s journey from tennis courts in Gunma to promising WTA pro

The 18-year-old Saito, who has steadily risen up the WTA rankings, is the only teenager among the eight Japanese players in the top 200.
Mark Zuckerberg’s push to loosen moderation policies at Meta puts the company on a collision course with regulations in Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 24, 2025

Zuckerberg's newfound libertarianism is worrying Brazil

Meta's loosened moderation policy puts it on a collision course with regulations in Latin America’s largest economy.
Fuji Television's poor handling of sexual misconduct allegations against celebrity Masahiro Nakai has led to an exodus of sponsors from the broadcaster.
JAPAN / Media / FOCUS
Jan 24, 2025

What are the real issues behind the Fuji TV scandal?

Fuji TV's handling of sexual misconduct allegations against TV personality Masahiro Nakai led to a firestorm of public disapproval. Where did it go wrong?
A farmer stands next to his flood-damaged rice field after Typhoon Shanshan passed through Yufu, Oita Prefecture, in August 2024.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2025

Japan plans to sell rice from emergency stockpiles to cut prices

The government will discuss selling part of its strategic rice reserve next week, the agriculture minister said Friday.
Undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue celebrates after defeating Kim Ye-joon in their title fight at Ariake Arena on Friday.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
Jan 24, 2025

Naoya 'Monster' Inoue retains undisputed title with 4th-round knockout

Promoter Bob Arum announced after the fight that Inoue will fight in Las Vegas this spring.
U.S. President Donald Trump is seen on a giant screen during his address by video conference at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 25, 2025

Trump spurs surprise world rally in first week on trade respite

U.S. President Donald Trump's decision not to immediately slap tariffs on U.S. trade partners triggered the surprising market response.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio waves to employees upon arrival at the State Department in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 25, 2025

U.S. issues broad freeze on foreign aid after Trump orders review

The move risks cutting off billions of dollars of life-saving assistance. The United States is the largest single donor of aid globally.

Longform

Ayumi Matsuki, a priestess at Yoshiwara Shrine, shows off some "o-mamori" charms. She says visitors to the shrine have increased since the NHK drama “Unbound” began airing this month.
Tracing Tsutaya Juzaburo, Edo’s media maverick