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Gigi Chao, vice chair of Cheuk Nang Holdings, in Hong Kong on July 19
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 31, 2023

More LGBTQ rights could help Asian financial hubs draw global talent

In Japan, the only Group of Seven nation without legal protection for same-sex unions, corporations are seen as a key driver for change.
Disney and cable giant Charter Communications are negotiating over how much Charter will pay Disney to carry its channels.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 6, 2023

Behind the Disney-Charter dispute over the future of TV

Media companies are trying to build profitable streaming services while cable providers feel like they're subsidizing a business that cannibalizes them.
Mizuho Financial Group has been expanding its presence in the United States to tap the world’s biggest fee pool, becoming one of the four global investment banks leading Arm's IPO.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 8, 2023

Mizuho's SoftBank ties boost Wall Street ambitions via Arm IPO

The bank has been expanding its presence in the U.S. to tap the world’s biggest fee pool, even as deals slump globally following the pandemic.
Rachel Culin, a disenchanted Toyota owner, standing between her Toyota Prius and new Chevy Bolt at her home in Mesa, Arizona. The world’s largest carmaker dominates the sales of hybrid cars but has been slow to sell all-electric vehicles, alienating some customers and hurting sales.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 8, 2023

Toyota, a hybrid pioneer, struggles to master electric vehicles

The world’s largest carmaker dominates the sales of hybrid cars but has been slow to sell EVs, alienating some customers and hurting sales.
An autonomous truck in Stack AV’s test fleet
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 8, 2023

SoftBank backs autonomous trucking firm started by ex-Ford execs

The new firm, named Stack AV, is led by three executives who previously ran Argo AI, the self-driving operation that Ford and VW shut down last year.
Core machinery orders, the leading indicator of Japanese business spending, were down 1.1% in July from the previous month in July.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 14, 2023

Weak machinery orders darken outlook and raise policy challenge

Core orders, the leading indicator of Japanese business spending, were down 1.1% in July from the previous month, Cabinet Office data showed.
The Japanese conglomerate put in its offer to the European Commission on Thursday, the same day it requested EU clearance for the deal, an EU regulatory filing showed Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 16, 2023

Hitachi offers to sell assets to win EU okay for Thales rail deal

Hitachi has offered to sell assets in France and Germany as well as its core train control tech to gain EU approval for the railway signaling deal.
Couples prepare to have their photo taken during a wedding photography shoot on a in Shanghai on Sept. 6.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 19, 2023

Fewer 'I dos' ruin the party for China's $500 billion wedding industry

The trend is worrying officials trying to revive marriage rates and birth rates, which dropped to record lows last year.
Secondhand Toyota cars on sale in Moscow in July 2016
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 3, 2023

Japan puts the brakes on lucrative used-car trade with Russia

While wiping out Russia's biggest source of used cars, sanctions have driven down prices for secondhand cars in Japan.
Pump jacks in an oil field in Midland, Texas. Big Oil is responsible for the bulk of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions and pressure for action is building.
BUSINESS
Oct 7, 2023

Exxon Mobil's megadeal to test climate-aware shareholders

Negotiations between Exxon and Pioneer are advanced but have not yet led to an agreement over the acquisition.
Pudong's Lujiazui Financial District in Shanghai in August
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 13, 2023

Most Japanese companies pessimistic on China’s economy

A quarter of firms said they wouldn’t invest in China this year, while another 22% said they would reduce the amount they invest, a report has shown.
Hiroshi Mikitani, chairman and CEO of Rakuten Group, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in May.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 17, 2023

Rakuten rally from record lows clouded by looming bond deadlines

The most pressing task now for Rakuten is to raise funds for a wall of more than $5 billion of bonds due in the next two years.
About 9 million sets of customer information have been leaked from an NTT West subsidiary.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 18, 2023

NTT unit says around 9 million sets of customer information leaked

The former worker illegally downloaded customer information between around July 2013 and January this year.
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.
Kioxia Holdings has approached Japan Investment Corp. about making a capital infusion to support its merger with Western Digital and strengthen the combined company’s financial base, according to people familiar with the matter.
BUSINESS
Oct 20, 2023

Kioxia has approached JIC to back Western Digital deal: sources

Kioxia’s lenders are working toward submitting a commitment letter as soon as possible to help facilitate the agreement.
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.
Mizuho's main lending business has stayed strong as economic activity continues to normalize from the COVID-19 pandemic, helping the bank press down credit costs.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 13, 2023

Mizuho hikes profit forecast on robust economic outlook

The lender raised its profit forecast to ¥640 billion from ¥610 billion, outpacing the ¥625.56 billion average estimate of 14 analysts.
Indo-Pacific Economic Framework leaders pose for a family photo at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 18, 2023

Indo-Pacific trade deal prospects dim as U.S. election year looms

Election-year pressures and resistance to tough commitments from some countries make a deal unlikely anytime soon, observers say.
An employee works on the assembly line in a hangar of an aircraft manufacturer near the town of Odolena Voda, Czech Republic, in July 2017.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 20, 2023

Central Europe's defense companies spy African opportunity

Former Warsaw Pact members are well-placed to maintain or upgrade many weapon systems used on the continent.
Female managers of Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance take part in a training session in Tokyo in October 2018.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2023

Listed firms in Japan work on fostering female managers

An increasing number of publicly traded Japanese companies are actively fostering female managers to assume leadership roles in the future.
Commuters at Tokyo Station earlier this month. A Reuters poll showed six out of 10 economists expect major firms' pay hikes in 2024 to exceed this year's.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Nov 20, 2023

Japan's back-to-back wage bonanza would open door for BOJ exit

The news comes as the government pushes companies to hike pay to help offset rising living costs.
A resurgence in market activity has already helped to boost earnings at Barclays’ Japanese securities arm this year, which is likely to surpass 2022’s record profit of ¥15.1 billion.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2023

Barclays expects bumper Japan profit amid struggles elsewhere

The British bank is expecting another year of record profit in Japan on the back of the country’s debt and rates market trading resurgence.
A worker cleans a table in an empty McDonald's restaurant in Cairo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 23, 2023

Boycott campaigns over Gaza hit Western brands

Companies are feeling the impact in Egypt and Jordan, and there are signs the campaign is spreading in some other Arab countries.
The Amazon.com logo on a laptop. The online retailer has announced the launch of its own AI chatbot, Q.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 29, 2023

Pursuing rivals, Amazon announces corporate AI chatbot

Last year's Amazon Web Services trade show was overshadowed by the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which quickly wowed users.
A coworking space at Tokyo Venture Capital Hub
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 3, 2023

Tokyo’s new venture capital hub aims to boost ties among investors

Mori Building hopes that the large-scale hub for venture capital firms will ratchet up investment for startups and strengthen cooperation among investors.
Business sentiment among major Japanese companies was positive for the third successive quarter in October to December, led by a continued improvement in automobile-related industries.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 11, 2023

Sentiment of Japan's big firms remains positive in latest quarter

The business sentiment index for companies with capital of ¥1 billion or more stood at plus 4.8, against plus 5.8 in the previous quarter.
Japan's core machinery orders climbed for a second straight month in October.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 14, 2023

Japan's October machinery orders rise despite economic uncertainty

By sector, orders from manufacturers climbed 0.2% in October from the previous month, bouncing back from a 1.8% decline in September.
The U.S. head office of TikTok in Culver City, California
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 24, 2023

Whoever designed TikTok Shop should get coal for Christmas

With TikTok Shop's debut holiday season, is sees a mixed bag of success and struggles.
The Tokio Marine & Nichido Building in the Marunouchi district of Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 26, 2023

Japan penalizes biggest property insurers for price fixing

The Financial Services Agency has issued business improvement orders on the core units of Tokio Marine, MS&AD Insurance and Sompo.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?