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Shinichiro Kashima
ESG CONSORTIUM
May 22, 2024

Nippon Life engages to encourage green transition

Engaging with high-emitting companies to spur transformation of their business rather than divesting from them is becoming increasingly important to combat climate change, said an executive officer of Japan’s biggest insurance company. “Thinking about society as a whole, it is important that we asset...
Japan's new whaling mothership, the Kangei Maru, is seen during the ship's launch ceremony at a port in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, on Tuesday.
JAPAN
May 22, 2024

Japan's new 9,300-ton whaling vessel sets sail on first hunt

The departure of the Kangei Maru heralds a new era for an industry defended by the government as an integral part of Japanese culture.
Water tanks used to cultivate seaweed on land by Three Lines in Uwajima, Ehime Prefecture
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Jun 3, 2024

Poor seaweed harvest prompts Kyushu University team to look toward land

The team has found some success with on-land farming, although increasing production yields for commercialization remains a challenge.
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith delivers a speech at the French Microsoft headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux, outside Paris, on May 13.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 23, 2024

Microsoft’s UAE deal could move U.S. chips and AI technology abroad

The sales accord could progress to a second phase that entails the export of crucial components of AI technology such as model weights, Microsoft's president said.
Complaints regarding overcharging for pest extermination services have been on the rise, especially among young adults, a survey has found.
JAPAN
May 23, 2024

Surge in young Japanese consumers overcharged for pest control services

The National Consumer Affairs Center warns consumers to be wary of suspiciously low-cost pest control services and advertisements found online.
Takashi Miike (front left) is among the big-name directors slated to work with K2 Pictures, a new film production startup that aims to disrupt the Japanese film industry.
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
May 25, 2024

Can K2's goal of creating a better film industry in Japan win over skeptics?

While established auteurs such as Takashi Miike, Miwa Nishikawa and Hirokazu Kore-eda are slated to work with the startup, it still faces an uphill struggle.
A SAIC Motor MG EXE181 concept EV during the Beijing Auto Show earlier this year.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 27, 2024

Xi’s China EV dream came true, but 10 years on, walls are going up.

China also overtook Japan as the largest auto exporter, but such achievements are also adding to tensions with the West.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has pledged to build three advanced plants in the U.S. state of Arizona with total investments exceeding $65 billion.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 27, 2024

TSMC’s foreign investments are good for Taiwan, official says

TSMC is the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, with Apple and Nvidia relying on it for their most important products.
The latest blow to hit the administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida came at the weekend when the candidate backed by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party lost to an opposition-backed rival in Shizuoka Prefecture's gubernatorial election.
JAPAN / Politics
May 28, 2024

Early dissolution of Lower House unlikely after another LDP election loss

The view spreading within the Liberal Democratic Party is that it will be difficult for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to call a snap election.
Opposition parties' senior lawmakers discuss political reform in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 28, 2024

Japan's parties ramp up reform discussions as clock ticks for legal revision

While lawmakers have agreed to expedite discussions, gaps remain on some contentious issues.
The Telegram app has become a key weapon for pro-Kremlin accounts to spread disinformation aimed at undermining support for Ukraine.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 29, 2024

Too small to police, too big to ignore: Telegram is the app dividing Europe

The messaging app has become a key weapon for pro-Kremlin accounts to spread disinformation aimed at undermining support for Ukraine.
Hiroki Nakajima, Toyota's chief technology officer, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 29, 2024

Toyota bets on alternate-fuel engines in an electric future

The carmaker said its making progress on developing smaller, more efficient engines that can work with EV manufacturing platforms.
Aphelele Vavi (right), 22, who is studying sound engineering, at lunch with fellow students at SAE Creative Media Institute in Rosebank, South Africa, on March 19
WORLD / Politics
May 29, 2024

South Africa’s young democracy leaves its young voters disillusioned

The nation is heading into a pivotal election, in which voters will determine who will pick the president, but voter turnout has been dropping in recent years.
Notwithstanding the increase in EV sales, there are now more cars than ever powered by internal-combustion engines.
COMMENTARY / World
May 14, 2024

Nevermind those EVs — oil demand keeps growing

The oil bulls still have reason to worry: With OPEC+ trying to keep prices as close as possible to $100 a barrel, non-OPEC supply, including from biofuels, keeps surging.
University of Tokyo PhD student Kei Misumi in an air shower room before entering a clean room at the university
JAPAN
May 30, 2024

Inside a semiconductor 'clean room' at Japan's top university

Japan's push into the chip industry, where it was once dominant, feels like "spring has returned," said a chip expert.
Farm minister Tetsushi Sakamoto stands as an amendment on Japan's farm policies clears parliament on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 30, 2024

Japan enacts revised 'constitution' for farm policies

The revised law newly underscores the necessity of ensuring food security at a time when supply chains are being destabilized.
Commercial food trucks near a checkpoint in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Tuesday.
WORLD
May 31, 2024

Israel reopens Gaza food sales as Rafah raid chokes aid

Army authorities gave Gazan traders the OK to resume purchases from Israeli and Palestinian suppliers this month.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 1.9% in May in the capital, internal affairs ministry data showed Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 31, 2024

Tokyo inflation picked up in May, keeping BOJ on track for rate hike

The capital's inflation figures typically serve a indicator for national trends, suggesting a similar acceleration is likely for the rest of Japan.
Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun speaks at the Shangri-la Dialogue security conference in Singapore on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 2, 2024

A tale of two narratives: China and U.S. defense chiefs agree to disagree

Dong Jun, China’s first naval officer to be named defense minister, also took aim at U.S. allies in a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue.
The view from the top of one of the five 70-meter-deep shafts spread across the tunnel system of the ¥230 billion Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jun 3, 2024

Tokyo underground: Exploring what lies beneath the world’s largest city

Tokyo has developed a massive network of underground infrastructure to support its population, a system being put to the test by extreme weather.
Nippon Steel's proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel would give it greater access to the profitable U.S. market and further its long-term financial goals.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 3, 2024

Nippon Steel's Mori hints at selling some assets to aid U.S. Steel deal

The firm's vice chairman plans to return to the United States this week for more talks over the proposed acquisition.
Japanese companies' capital expenditures on goods excluding software fell 0.5% in the three months through March from the previous quarter.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 3, 2024

Japan’s firms trim spending, reflecting headwinds to growth

Capital expenditures on goods excluding software fell 0.5% in the three months through March from the previous quarter.
Employees assemble an electric transformer on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India, on March 28.
WORLD
Jun 3, 2024

Modi plans post-election reforms to rival Chinese manufacturing

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi plans a raft of business-friendly measures if he wins a third term this week, including pushing through regulations making it easier to hire and fire workers, according to two government officials familiar with the matter.
A variety of instant noodle products is sold at Miyagi Co-op Saiwaicho Store in Sendai. The city placed second in household spending for instant noodles in a 2023 nationwide ranking.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Jun 10, 2024

Tohoku's love for instant noodles shines through in survey

The spending for instant noodles in Tohoku cities far exceeds the national average.
Geely Automobile Holdings' Zeekr electric vehicles bound for shipment to Europe at the Port of Taicang in Taicang, Jiangsu Province, China, on Aug. 24, 2023
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 5, 2024

China risks trade war on two fronts as low-tech exports soar, too

The European Union is poised to slap tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles this week, the latest example of rising barriers to global trade.
A welder works on a K9 Howitzer at Hanwha Aerospace’s manufacturing facility in Changwon, South Korea.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 6, 2024

South Korea is making weapons faster and cheaper than the U.S.

Hanwha Aerospace touts smooth production lines, intact supply chains and faster delivery times, along with lower overheads than its competitors.
London's financial district in 2022. The U.K. was expected to lose a net 3,200 high-net-worth individuals last year, the most in Europe and double 2022’s level, citizenship advisory firm Henley & Partners estimated.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 6, 2024

Britain’s rich race to protect their wealth from election hit

Britain’s legal and political stability has been shaken by Brexit and the chop and change of five different Conservative prime ministers since 2016.
Ryu Kawane works at the Costco store in Meiwa, Gunma Prefecture. Costco's high pay has triggered wage hikes at other businesses in town.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 6, 2024

Costco's Japan wages provide pathway to firing up nation's low pay and economy

A sustainable rise in wages is a key goal for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and the Bank of Japan says it's a crucial factor for normalizing monetary policy.
Toyota has temporarily stopped manufacturing its Corolla Fielder and Corolla Axio models following the data falsification scandal.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 6, 2024

Japan looks to minimize economic fallout of auto-test falsifications

The top government spokesman has described fraudulent activity uncovered this time as "minimal" compared to that of Daihatsu, which spanned decades.
Amid low approval ratings since the Liberal Democratic Party slush funds scandal came to light, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is making the political funding bill's passage his No. 1 priority for the current session of parliament.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 6, 2024

LDP's political funding bill clears Lower House

The bill's passage marks a watershed moment in a monthslong debate sparked by a slush funds scandal that engulfed the ruling party.

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