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Passengers onboard a self-driving vehicle in Eiheiji, Fukui Prefecture, last year
BUSINESS / Economy
May 21, 2024

Japan targets 30% share in next-generation cars

The 30% target was included in a new strategy released by the ministries for software development for next-generation vehicles with advanced digital technologies.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara is expected to hold bilateral talks with  his South Korean counterpart, Shin Won-sik, during the Shangri-La Dialogue to be held in Singapore from May 31.
JAPAN / Politics
May 21, 2024

Tokyo and Seoul to bolster defense ties with deal to prevent radar row repeat

The two neighbors' defense ministers hope to use an agreement to kick-start their defense relationship, which has been in limbo since the incident.
Norinchukin Bank is one of Japan’s largest institutional investors with a ¥55.9 trillion ($357 billion) securities portfolio, and bonds make up more than half of its investments.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 21, 2024

Norinchukin weighs $7.7 billion fundraise to cover bond loss

As a result of restructuring its securities portfolio, the Tokyo-based bank may book about ¥500 billion in losses for the current fiscal year, one source said.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with the families of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Tehran on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
May 22, 2024

Raisi death reshapes Iran succession, putting focus on Khamenei son

Following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's, son Mojtaba has emerged as a top contender.
Lee Dong-hyun and her son, 19-month-old Choi Hee-woo, pose at a playground on May 17, ahead of the final public hearing at the Constitutional Court on Tuesday of a climate lawsuit against the South Korean government, for which Hee-woo is the youngest plaintiff.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
May 22, 2024

Embryo activist: Baby's lawsuit takes on South Korea climate inaction

South Korea is the G20's second-highest carbon emitter per capita.
A tourist shops at a drug store in the Asakusa district of Tokyo on April 30.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 22, 2024

Japan panel sets out plans to accelerate drug discovery efforts

Ideas include calling in help from well-established firms overseas and having them work with "accelerators" to nurture local talent into "star scientists."
Kazuto Oku, CEO of Norinchukin Bank, during a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday
BUSINESS / Companies
May 23, 2024

Failed bond bets at Norinchukin force it to change strategy

Given its ownership structure, there are limits on the bank’s investment options.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping attend a concert marking the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations on May 16.
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2024

Deepening China-Russian ties: a sign of strength or insecurity?

Russia’s ongoing struggles in Ukraine and economic reliance on China illustrate its weakened position in their partnership.
Service prices, a key component of Japan’s inflation data, may be sturdier than in the past.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 23, 2024

Steady and widening service price rises may spur BOJ’s next move

Service prices, a key component of Japan’s inflation data, may be sturdier than in the past.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s ERA in nine starts since returning from Seoul is 2.38.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 23, 2024

Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto finds rhythm on mound after early stumble

Yamamoto has impressed even the organization that went out and committed $375 million (including posting fees) to add him to its roster this winter.
A worker shovels soil next to irrigation channels and recently planted shoots of Xinjiang poplar at the Yangguan state-backed forest farm, on the edge of the Gobi desert on the outskirts of Dunhuang, China's Gansu province, in 2021.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 23, 2024

China's food security dream faces land, soil and water woes

With limited land and water, China will have to sharply increase farming productivity.
Jera’s Hekinan thermal power station in Hekinan, Aichi Prefecture
BUSINESS
May 24, 2024

Jera warns of switching investment from Australia over lack of support

The lack of financial support for production of hydrogen and ammonia took some of the shine off Australia as a destination for Japanese investment.
The so-called グリーンカーテン ("gurīn kāten," green curtain) is a vertical garden you can create for your balcony to help provide shade from the summer sun.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 24, 2024

Get started on your at-home garden before the summer hits

Even if you live in a small Tokyo apartment, a garden isn't out of the question. Learn the Japanese needed to visit your local garden center.
A passenger who was on board Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 arrives at Changi Airport in Singapore on Wednesday. The flight had experienced severe turbulence, resulting in the death of a British man and multiple injuries.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 24, 2024

Fliers concerned about safety after airline mishaps

But despite this year's spate of high-profile airline accidents, statistics show that flying is still safer than the drive to the airport.
Designed by architect Akira Watanabe, Numazu Club’s villa rooms offer views of a tranquil pebble-lined shallow pool that draws clear spring water from Fuji River.
LIFE / Travel
May 25, 2024

Meditation as architecture at a Shizuoka teahouse turned villa

Whether you meditate by the crystal-clear pool or enjoy a dip in a "hinoki" bath, you're bound to appreciate Numazu Club's original vision: a sanctuary from modern life.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike attends a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo in November 2020.
JAPAN / Politics
May 25, 2024

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike plans to seek third term

Koike, who was reelected in 2020 as an independent, could make an announcement as early as Wednesday, sources close to the matter said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow on Thursday
WORLD / Politics
May 25, 2024

Putin wants Ukraine cease-fire on current front lines, sources say

The Russian president is also prepared to fight on if Kyiv and the West do not respond, according to sources.
A member of a Ukrainian artillery crew stores munitions at a firing position near the town of Vovchansk, in the northern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, on May 19. Two classified Ukrainian reports show that some U.S. precision-guided weapons are vulnerable to electronic warfare, an element in Ukraine's recent battlefield setbacks.
WORLD
May 26, 2024

Some U.S. weapons stymied by Russian jamming in Ukraine

Two classified Ukrainian reports show that some U.S. precision-guided weapons are vulnerable to electronic warfare, an element in Ukraine’s recent battlefield setbacks.
Self-Defense Forces soldiers walk past a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile unit at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo in October 2017.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
May 26, 2024

Evolving drone and missile threats prompting Tokyo to rethink air defense

The low cost of mass-producing tools for modern warfare is pushing the Defense Ministry to find ways to upgrade detection, tracking and interception capabilities.
Yasutomo Suzuki (second from right) celebrates in the city of Shizuoka on Sunday after being elected governor of Shizuoka Prefecture.
JAPAN / Politics
May 27, 2024

Opposition-backed Yasutomo Suzuki wins Shizuoka gubernatorial vote

Suzuki’s victory could pave the way for restarting the maglev train line project that had been delayed due to opposition from his predecessor.
A Starbucks coffee shop in Beijing on May 22
BUSINESS
May 27, 2024

In China, Starbucks tries to avoid price war but gets dragged into discounting

A coffee price war in China has arisen amid persistent deflation, weak consumer sentiment, and stagnant wages.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a joint news conference with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (center) and Chinese premier Li Qiang at the Blue House presidential office in Seoul on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 27, 2024

In rare talks, Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing agree to step up cooperation

While Monday's summit didn't result in any breakthroughs, it is seen as an important step to stem the deterioration of Japan and South Korea's ties with China.
A peace rally on Constitution Memorial Day in Tokyo on May 3. Japan’s identity as a pacifist nation is shifting as the government strengthens its military, but many don’t agree with the policy.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 27, 2024

Government and society are at odds on national security

Tokyo posits itself as a mutual defense ally of the U.S., but polls show that while the public wants a stronger military, changes should align with the peace Constitution.
Toyota, Idemitsu Kosan, Eneos and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said they have teamed up to research carbon-neutral fuels for automobiles.
BUSINESS
May 28, 2024

Toyota and partners launch joint study on carbon-neutral fuels

Toyota will also independently develop engines that can use e-fuels efficiently
The homes and farmland of the plaintiffs are near a proposed viaduct construction site for Central Japan Railway's magnetic levitation train line.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 28, 2024

Court rejects residents' bid to halt maglev train construction

The Kofu District Court said there is "high public interest" in the project and found no illegality that would warrant a suspension of construction.
Damaged and corrupted houses are seen in the city of Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture in March
JAPAN / Society
May 28, 2024

Publicly paid demolitions without full consent OK'd for Noto Quake

Previously, consent of all owners concerned was required in principle for publicly paid demolitions, carried out for destroyed and severely damaged buildings.
Some experts are concerned about the potential for worldwide conflict within the next few years as China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are likely preparing for major confrontation.
COMMENTARY / World
May 28, 2024

Echoes of 1962, the Berlin crisis and a world teetering on war

There is the potential for worldwide conflict within the next three years as China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are likely preparing for major confrontation.
Yasukazu Hamada, parliamentary affairs leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, who is also former Defense Minister, will chair a nonpartisan lawmaker group that will request the government to form an organization to investigate UFOs.
JAPAN / Politics
May 28, 2024

Japan lawmakers to create group for government probes into UFOs

The group will hold its founding general meeting on June 6 after Tuesday's preparatory meeting, which was held in parliament.
Wanxiang America’s Neapco manufacturing plant in Belleville, Michigan
BUSINESS / Companies
May 29, 2024

Once embraced, Chinese companies now shunned in U.S. on security fears

It doesn’t matter if it’s mining or health care, even Chinese furniture could one day be seen as a national security issue, a lawyer who represents Chinese clients said.
Mainland Chinese tourists on a converted car ferry in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor on April 19, 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 29, 2024

Business-first Hong Kong now comes with a catch: Beijing politics

The former British colony is hewing closer to mainland China, blurring distinctions that once cemented the city’s status as mostly free from Chinese politics.

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