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Japanese companies' capital expenditure on goods excluding software rose 9.5% year on year in the three months through September.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 2, 2024

Japanese firms boost capex in sign of confidence holding up

Expectations are also growing for the Bank of Japan to raise rates sooner rather than later.
European Council President Antonio Costa looks on as he attends a handover ceremony at the European Council in Brussels on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 2, 2024

Before tackling Trump, new EU leader aims to end infighting

For years, attempts to shore up the EU have been hampered by internal dysfunction.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te speaks by phone with former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, during his visit to Honolulu on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 2, 2024

Taiwan's Lai talks 'China threats' with ex-U.S. House Speaker Pelosi

The pair discussed among other things "China's military threats toward Taiwan," a presidential spokesperson said, describing the 20-minute call as "warm and amicable."
The average price of osechi traditional food for the 2025 New Year stood at ¥27,826 ($185), a 1.3% increase — or ¥360 — compared with that for the 2024 New Year.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 2, 2024

Osechi ryōri prices climb for a third consecutive year

The latest increase, at ¥360 ($2.40), is the smallest in three years, at less than half the increase for the 2024 New Year.
The yen carry trade is expected to ramp up next year, driven by wide gaps in interest rates, higher government borrowing in the U.S. and low volatility in currency markets, analysts say.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 3, 2024

Yen carry trade that rattled markets shows signs of a comeback

Japanese retail investors as well as leveraged funds and asset managers outside the country are estimated to have boosted bearish wagers on the yen in November.
Kim Seongmin, president of Free North Korea Radio, edits content for the station at his home on Ganghwa Island, west of Seoul, on Nov. 21. Kim has cancer and was recently told that he has months to live.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 3, 2024

A North Korean voice that Kim Jong Un would like to silence

North Korean defectors have been infiltrating the North with outside media for two decades, through balloons floated across the border or radio broadcasts.
President Joe Biden walks with his son Hunter and his family through Nantucket, Massachusetts, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 3, 2024

Biden's Hunter pardon riles Democrats who defended U.S. justice system

Biden had previously pledged not to intervene in the two criminal convictions against his son.
Members of the German Navy operate a submarine drone onboard German mine hunter FGS Weilheim during a NATO exercise led by the Finnish Navy, in the Baltic Sea in Turku, Finland, on Nov. 20
WORLD / Politics
Dec 3, 2024

As sabotage allegations swirl, NATO struggles to secure the Baltic Sea

The defense alliance conducted one of northern Europe's largest naval exercises on Nov. 18 to step up its protection of critical infrastructure.
Trees in a forest in Nyanga, Gabon
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Dec 3, 2024

Scientists behind ‘net zero’ concept say nations are getting it wrong

Countries may be claiming carbon credits for work already being done by land and oceans — and the accounting mismatch has consequences.
People watch South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law and the following announcement that he will lift the martial law, after parliamentary vote, at a railway station in Seoul on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 4, 2024

South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol, embattled conservative

The novice politician took office with some of the lowest approval ratings of any democratically elected South Korean president.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha pose for a photograph after signing a memorandum of understanding during a NATO foreign ministers' meeting at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 4, 2024

Ukraine pushes for NATO membership as allies sidestep call for invite

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said an invitation would remove one of Russia's main arguments for waging its war: preventing its entry into the alliance.
Masayo Ishimaru, the head of volunteer group Tanpopo no Sato, cuddles cats rescued from a pet hoarder, in the city of Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, in September.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 4, 2024

Local governments tighten rules on pet ownership as hoarding persists

Municipalities are introducing mandatory reporting requirements for owners of large numbers of pets as well as fines for non-compliance.
Vissel's Daiju Sasaki (center) fights off a defender during Kobe's Asian Champions League loss to Pohang Steelers on Tuesday in Pohang, South Korea.
SOCCER
Dec 4, 2024

Pohang clip Vissel's wings in Asian Champions League

Kobe racked up four wins and one draw from their opening five games but Vissel could not cope with a hungry Pohang side on Tuesday.
A line of police officers stand guard as protesters gather at the edge of Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul on Wednesday after President Yoon Suk Yeol formally lifted martial law earlier, six hours after having declared it.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 4, 2024

Yoon fights for political life as martial law repercussions reverberate

A coalition of lawmakers from six opposition parties on Wednesday submitted a motion to impeach the South Korean president, with a vote set for Friday or Saturday.
The Bank of Japan regularly sells government bonds with repurchase agreements to boost liquidity.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 4, 2024

BOJ sells 10-year cash bonds to ease shortage tied to futures

The BOJ owned ¥8.03 trillion of the bonds due in March 2032 as of Nov. 29, down from ¥8.23 trillion on Nov. 20.
A screen displays market data at Hana Bank in Seoul on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 4, 2024

Yoon’s gambit a tempest in a teapot for financial markets

Tokyo stocks opened flat and the yen was little changed from a day earlier, when the South Korean president declared martial law in a late-night address.
Donna Nelson (fourth from left) with her family members. Nelson was found guilty of smuggling drugs to Japan.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 4, 2024

Australian woman given six-year sentence over Japan drug smuggling

Donna Nelson has said that she was a victim of an online romance scam and that she was not aware she was carrying luggage containing illegal drugs.
Fulham's Junichi Inamoto scores his third goal of the game during a match against Bologna on Aug. 27, 2002.
SOCCER
Dec 4, 2024

Japan's Premier League pioneer, Junichi Inamoto, retires at age 45

Inamoto became a national hero when he scored twice at the 2002 World Cup on home soil, including the winner against Russia.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. greet each other at a campaign event in Duluth, Georgia, in October. Kennedy, Trump’s choice for health and human services secretary, wants to purge the agency of corporate influence.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 4, 2024

Trump taps team geared toward retribution and remaking of U.S. government

Trump's pick of Kash Patel to lead the FBI brought into sharper focus the president-elect's seriousness about striking back at those he believes have wronged him.
If the deal goes through, the Japanese steelmaker has promised not to transfer any U.S. Steel production capacity or jobs outside the United States.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 5, 2024

Nippon Steel committed to U.S. Steel takeover, executive says

"There is no global strategy without the U.S.," Takahiro Mori, the Japanese company's vice chairman, said this week.
“A Big Home” offers a sincere portrait of the vulnerable youth who live in more than 600 group homes across Japan.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 5, 2024

Vulnerable youth look for sense of belonging in ‘A Big Home’

Ryo Takebayashi’s documentary profiles the residents of a group home, but shies away from making emphatic statements about the circumstances that brought them there.
Protesters call for the resignation of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during a demonstration in Seoul on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 5, 2024

South Korean ruling party opposes Yoon impeachment as defense minister quits

The opposition Democratic Party planned to put up a vote in parliament to impeach Yoon at around 7 p.m. on Saturday, a party spokesperson said.
Then-U.S. Presidential nominee Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet at Trump Tower in New York City in September.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 5, 2024

Trump's plan for Ukraine comes into focus, with ceding land possible

Other options allegedly being explored for ending the war include taking NATO membership for Ukraine off the table.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol announces his decision to impose martial law on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 5, 2024

South Korea turmoil strikes at heart of U.S. alliances in Asia

The potential impeachment of South Korea’s president after an aborted attempt to impose martial law may complicate U.S. efforts to counter China.
Bitcoin has risen to $100,000 for the first time amid optimism in the market that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's administration will provide support to the digital-asset industry.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 5, 2024

Bitcoin hits $100,000 in highly anticipated crypto milestone

A price of $100,000 pushes the market value of Bitcoin to just shy of $2 trillion, making it a larger investment asset than all but a handful of public companies.
The plastics issue is particularly difficult due to a lack of viable substitutes and oil producers are increasingly investing in refineries for plastic production as they expect increased demand in that sector.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 3, 2024

Plastics failure is a canary in the climate coal mine

This delay reflects the real-world obstacles these international negotiations face, as a single country can block progress.
Sake bottles are displayed at the 19th World Cultural Heritage Conference, as sake was added to UNESCO'S Intangible Cultural Heritage list, in Asuncion, Paraguay on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 5, 2024

Japanese sake brewing added to UNESCO intangible heritage list

Traditional sake brewing marks the 23rd Japanese entry on the Intangible Cultural Heritage list, joining other culturally significant arts such as washoku and kabuki.
Prosecutors said Tamotsu Shiiki, 58, had sex with a 12-year-old girl at a karaoke parlor on Aug. 20 after he approached her on the streets, well aware that she was underage.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 5, 2024

Former Nippon Ishin lawmaker pleads guilty to statutory rape

The lawmaker had approached her on the streets of the Kabukicho entertainment district in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on Aug. 20 and was aware she was underage.
Japan's base salaries grew at a 32-year-high pace in October, offering statistical support for the prospects of a central bank rate hike this month.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 6, 2024

Record base pay gains keep door open for BOJ hike

Base pay for full-time workers increased by 2.8% in October from a year ago, the biggest gain for comparable data back to 1994.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (center) receives an award in Naha on Thursday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 6, 2024

Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts honored by city of Naha

Roberts, who was born in the city, was presented the award by Mayor Satoru Chinen on Thursday.

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go