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Earl Stewart, a Toyota dealer, says he was shocked when he first heard about Toyota’s strategy.
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2024

Toyota’s hybrid-first strategy is delivering big profits

Toyota’s sales are booming, and the company is reporting huge profits.
Investors been pouring money into promising AI startups, eager to uncover the next big thing after ChatGPT.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 11, 2024

AI talent war heats up in Europe

The talent war means workers are increasingly well-placed to make demands of their prospective employers.
Paraguay Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano says that the free trade agreement to be negotiated between Tokyo and Mercosur would include goods and services, including agricultural products, which is very important for Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 13, 2024

Mercosur ‘ready’ to resume FTA talks with Japan, Paraguay foreign minister says

The bloc is keen to expand ties with Asia as it seeks to boost trade and deepen economic integration with partners beyond the U.S., Europe and China.
Samsung Electronics plans to use a technology championed by its rival SK Hynix, as the world's top memory chipmaker seeks to catch up in the race to produce high-end chips used to power artificial intelligence.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 13, 2024

Samsung to adopt chipmaking tech used by rival amid AI chip supply race

Samsung's decision to stick with a chipmaking technology called nonconductive film is one of the reasons it has fallen behind.
U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday that United States Steel should be domestically owned, coming out against Nippon Steel's plan to acquire the company as support from labor unions is becoming more significant for his re-election bid.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 15, 2024

Nippon Steel determined to complete U.S. Steel deal

The firm has promised no layoffs or plant closures until at least September 2026.
Makoto Uchida (left), president and CEO of Nissan, and Honda President Toshihiro Mibe give a joint news conference in Tokyo on Friday to announce a new strategic partnership in electric vehicles.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 15, 2024

Nissan and Honda to explore electric vehicle partnership

Analysts said the move was aimed at catching up with Chinese rivals who have stolen a march in EVs while Japanese firms have lost ground.
Former FTX chief Sam Bankman-Fried leaves Manhattan federal court in New York on Jan. 3.
BUSINESS
Mar 16, 2024

Sam Bankman-Fried should get up to 50 years in prison, U.S. says

A sentence of 40 to 50 years is necessary for the "historic” crime involving more than 1 million victims and losses of over $10 billion, prosecutors say.
A worker in the factory of Optimax Systems, in Ontario, New York on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 18, 2024

Markets frustrated as Fed drops no hints on post-pandemic economy

With investors having to guess how they will respond, households and businesses are finding it harder to plan.
Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang displays products onstage during the annual Nvidia GTC Artificial Intelligence Conference at SAP Center in San Jose, California, on Monday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 19, 2024

Nvidia unveils 'superchip' successor to all-conquering AI processor

The new chip, multiple times faster at handling AI models, will be the basis of new computers being deployed by the world’s largest data center operators.
The annual South by Southwest Conference (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, was held on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 20, 2024

Will AI help or hurt workers? At SXSW, that depends on who you ask.

According to a global survey from Slack, 42% of office workers say they’re excited about AI, but some 27% find the prospect concerning.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda (center) and Deputy Govs. Ryozo Himino (left) and Shinichi Uchida (right) attend a news conference at the bank headquarters in Tokyo in April 2023
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Mar 20, 2024

How the Bank of Japan's plan for a smooth stimulus exit unfolded

The decision was complicated by differences between BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda's two deputies, as well as the governor's wavering on the exit timing.
People visit the Huawei stand at the 2024 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last month.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 20, 2024

U.S. weighs sanctioning Huawei’s secretive Chinese chip network

Any move would come after the Chinese telecom giant notched a significant technological breakthrough last year.
The Bing website on a smartphone. Microsoft has received a wave of criticism from human rights groups on how its search engine works in China.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 21, 2024

Microsoft is attracting growing criticism for censoring Bing in China

Bing is reportedly removing information about human rights, democracy, climate change and other topics.
Ichibata Department Store, located in Matsue, capital of Shimane Prefecture, was the last remaining department store in the prefecture but ended its 65-year history on Jan. 14.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 21, 2024

More prefectures losing department stores even amid pandemic recovery

In 17 prefectures there is currently only one department store and there are none in three, set to rise to four in July.
Significantly, JAL will also buy 11 A321neos, breaking Boeing’s exclusive hold on the airline as its sole supplier of single-aisle jets.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 21, 2024

Japan Airlines to add 32 new Airbus planes to its fleet

The airline, a longtime Boeing customer, will also buy 10 jets from the U.S. planemaker as it expands its international network.
Hackers linked to North Korea, among the most sophisticated in the business, are showing no signs of letting up in targeting the cryptosphere.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 23, 2024

North Korean hackers stalk crypto startups scrimping on security

Startups strapped for cash after a prolonged funding drought have cut security spending even as soaring digital-asset prices tempt hackers.
South Korea's economy is one of the world's most advanced by many metrics but has been unable to shake its classification as an emerging market due to a host of issues, including the way its currency is managed.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 25, 2024

South Korea's push to make its markets global dogged by FX history

The export powerhouse is struggling to loosen the tight currency restrictions that have been a major pain point for investors and traders in the country.
Visitors view a BYD Dolphin EV car at the 44th Bangkok International Motor Show in Bangkok in 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 25, 2024

Chinese EV makers to take center stage at Bangkok motor show

The popularity of Chinese EVs in Thailand underscores the growing challenge Japanese auto giants face in a vehicle market they have long dominated.
Nissan Motor will launch 30 new models over the next three years, including 16 electrified models.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 25, 2024

Nissan to launch 30 new models by 2027 and boost global sales volumes

Nissan was a pioneer in EVs but the carmaker has been eclipsed by the likes of U.S. rival Tesla and Chinese leader BYD.
International bankers in Tokyo say their compensation remain a fraction of pay in other financial hubs despite booming markets in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 26, 2024

Bonuses at Japan's global banks underwhelm despite booming markets

Bonuses at international investment banks fell by about 10% on average in Tokyo for 2023, bankers and recruiters have said.
Lithium evaporation ponds in Silver Peak, Nevada. Global lithium demand is expected to outpace supply by 500,000 metric tons annually by 2030.
BUSINESS
Mar 26, 2024

America's lithium laws fail to keep pace with rapid development

Washington's drive to make the U.S. a major global lithium producer is being held back by a confusing mix of state regulations.
Police escort Do Kwon from court in Podgorica, Montenegro, on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 26, 2024

Terraform goes on trial as Do Kwon awaits extradition in Montenegro

The trial is the latest in a series of high-profile legal confrontations in which U.S. regulators seek to assert greater control over the crypto industry.
University students take part in an internship program offered by Tokyo Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward in August.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 27, 2024

About 70% of firms in Japan now offer employment-linked internships

Companies in Japan were newly allowed to offer employment-linked internships starting from their recruitment drive for students graduating in spring 2025.
Those who are planning to move to new homes are finding themselves either struggling to make a reservation or facing increasingly higher costs.
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2024

Japan's moving companies struggle to meet demand amid driver shortage

Charges have increased, even doubled, during the March-April peak moving season as a regulation capping overtime hours for drivers kicks in.
A Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The Jan. 5 blowout incident plunged Boeing into a new crisis five years after the second of two fatal crashes grounded the MAX.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 28, 2024

How Boeing's leadership was 'fired' by its own customers

With Boeing's major U.S. customers calling for a meeting without CEO Dave Calhoun, the company preempted their demands with a major upheaval.
FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried attends his sentencing hearing at Federal Court in New York on Thursday in this courtroom sketch.
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2024

Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years over FTX collapse

While there is no parole in the federal system, Bankman-Fried could be released a few years early for good behavior.
A real estate sign advertises powered data center land for sale in Johnstown, Ohio, on March 23.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 29, 2024

Amazon bets $150 billion on data centers required for AI boom

In addition to meeting demand for corporate services, they will provide the massive computing power needed for an expected boom in generative AI.
An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indexes at the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai on March 24.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 29, 2024

Chinese firms face funding drought for IPOs amid heavy scrutiny

China's securities watchdog has sharply tightened scrutiny of IPOs this year, leading to companies scrapping domestic listing plans in droves.
Trucks at a logistics center in the city of Fukuoka in December. Nomura Research Institute estimates that a shortage of truck drivers will lead to 35% of goods not being transported around the country in 2030, with the ratio seen to be higher in more remote regions.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 29, 2024

'2024 problem' seen hitting regional logistics sectors hard

Overtime caps for truck drivers coupled with soaring fuel prices could put transport companies out of business, unless consignors agree to higher fees.
The OpenAI offices in San Francisco. The high-profile tech startup is allowing a small group of businesses to test a new system, Voice Engine, that is said to be able to recreate a person’s voice from a 15-second recording, OpenAI announced Friday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 30, 2024

OpenAI previews new audio tool that can read text and mimic voices

All the software needs is 15 seconds of recorded audio of a person speaking to re-create their voice.

Longform

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