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SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son says the conglomerate is ready to make its next big move, without fear of whether that’ll be a hit or miss.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 20, 2024

After losses, SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son says he's ready for his next big bet

The billionaire has warned that his next big endeavor could be a big hit or a bad flop — but that SoftBank has no choice but to try.
Softbank Group CEO Masayoshi Son speaks during the annual general shareholders' meeting in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 21, 2024

SoftBank’s Son aims to create ‘super’ AI in new investment drive

He envisions a future when Arm Holdings chips support an ecosystem of technology that can collectively cure cancer, clean houses and play with children.
An employee at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The greatest heat-related labor losses are born by outdoor industries such as construction, mining and agriculture.
BUSINESS
Jun 22, 2024

When hot weather arrives, worker productivity is at risk

Exposure to high temperatures can diminish cognitive performance and have other lingering affects on one's health.
The holding lot of the Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corporation-Volkswagen joint venture in Shanghai in April 2023. As the European Union moves to impose tariffs on Chinese cars, Germany, with an auto industry deeply enmeshed with China, is stuck in the middle.
BUSINESS
Jun 23, 2024

Germany hopes to head off a trade war with China

China’s EV exports threaten European automakers, but companies like Volkswagen have extensive operations in China and fear retaliatory actions by Beijing.
Families of those killed in Boeing 737 Max 8 plane crashes hold up pictures of their deceased loved ones as the planemaker's CEO Dave Calhoun testifies before a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Investigations Subcommittee hearing on the safety culture at Boeing, on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 18.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 24, 2024

U.S. prosecutors recommend DOJ criminally charge Boeing as deadline looms

They concluded the planemaker had violated a settlement related to two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 involving its 737 MAX jet, source say.
A screen tracks Nvidia's stock price movements as a trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 23, 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 24, 2024

Nvidia sales grow so fast that Wall Street can’t keep up

No one can figure out what the chipmaker’s revenues are actually going to be amid an artificial intelligence boom.
A general shareholders meeting is held at Sompo Holdings in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 24, 2024

Japan nonlife insurers apologize to shareholders over scandals

Leaders of three major Japanese nonlife insurers apologized at their respective general shareholders meetings over scandals rocking the industry.
The investigation into the Chinese telcos is the latest effort by Washington to prevent Beijing from exploiting Chinese firms' access to U.S. data to harm U.S. companies, Americans or its national security as part of a deepening tech war between the geopolitical rivals.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 25, 2024

U.S. probing Chinese telcos over internet and cloud risks

Their cloud services and routing of wholesale U.S. internet traffic raise concerns that they could exploit access to American data by providing it to Beijing.
Fast fashion e-commerce company Shein's logo outside its office in Guangzhou, China, on June 11
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 25, 2024

What is at stake for China-founded Shein as EU rule looms

Shein has faced more than 90 lawsuits alleging it plagiarized others’ designs or products.
Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive officer of SoftBank Group, speaks during the company's annual general meeting in Tokyo last Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 27, 2024

SoftBank to back AI startup Perplexity at $3 billion valuation

SoftBank will invest between $10 million and $20 million in the firm, which aims to use AI to compete with Alphabet’s Google search.
Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani said that the mobile company now has more than 7 million subscribers, and is seeking to hit 10 million subscribers next.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 27, 2024

Money-losing Rakuten Mobile rolls out new 700 MHz service

The new offering, which is being introduced incrementally, will improve connectivity, including in densely populated areas, it says.
Toyota has been looking to cash in on stakes in affiliates as it steps up development and production of battery-powered vehicles.
BUSINESS
Jun 27, 2024

Toyota and affiliates to offload some $1 billion in Aisin shares

Toyota Motor and two affiliates will divest at least 12.5% of supplier Aisin
Tsuyoshi Maruki, president of Strategic Capital, speaks online on Thursday after three of six candidates proposed by the firm for Daidoh's board positions secured a seat.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 28, 2024

Activist fund in Japan wins Daidoh board seats in rare victory

Daidoh's stock has more than tripled since activist fund Strategic Capital built a stake in the firm in November 2022.
In a recently released report, a U.N. group has urged Japanese companies to draw up policies vowing to fulfill their responsibility in protecting human rights.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2024

U.N. voices concern over rights violations in Japan workplaces

While noting "important advancements" on the issue, a report expressed concerns about difficulties in addressing deeply embedded harmful gender and social norms.
The number of construction workers in Japan stood at 4.83 million in 2023, down by more than 2 million from the peak of 6.85 million in 1997.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 1, 2024

Amid labor shortages, Japanese builders urged to improve conditions

The government is advocating wage increases and the full implementation of a five-day workweek.
As interest rates rise, the Bank of Japan will have to pay more on deposits, resulting in a mismatch between what it pays out and how much it receives on bonds it holds.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jul 2, 2024

The Bank of Japan’s $3 trillion problem

As interest rates rise and the deposits it holds become far more expensive, the central bank could end up becoming unprofitable.
Renesas Electronics CEO Hidetoshi Shibata
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 3, 2024

Ex-banker behind chipmaker Renesas targets $100 billion value

Renesas’ push coincides with an aggressive campaign by Japan to turn the world’s fourth-largest economy into a chip powerhouse.
MUFG has been seeking to build its presence in India, and has been involved in negotiations for a minority stake in HDFC Bank’s consumer lending unit.
BUSINESS
Jul 3, 2024

MUFG's talks for stake in India consumer lender said to hit snag

MUFG has been seeking to build its presence in India.
Restaurant chains such as Yoshinoya rely on U.S. beef imports. The price surge has led to Yoshinoya's parent company looking into developing new dishes using ingredients other than beef.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 4, 2024

Soaring prices make U.S. beef procurement hard in Japan

The yen's recent sharp depreciation compounds the problems of reduced supply and strong demand for American beef in other countries.
An LG Energy Solution battery pack for an electric vehicle using cell-to-pack technologies displayed at the InterBattery exhibition in Seoul on March 6
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 4, 2024

LG sees battery breakthrough by 2028 that has eluded Tesla

It aims to commercialize the dry-coating technology for making electrodes that can allow savings on energy, equipment costs and space.
The weakness of the yen is posing a big problem for small and midsize businesses. As for desired exchange rates, 69.5% said they want the yen trading between ¥110 and ¥135 to the dollar.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 4, 2024

Weak yen inflicts major damage to small and midsize businesses, survey says

While some larger, export driven companies have benefited from the weak currency, smaller firms are struggling to adjust.
Financial groups will sell Honda Motor shares worth ¥535 billion to unwind cross-shareholdings, according to a regulatory filing.
BUSINESS
Jul 4, 2024

Insurers and banks to sell Honda shares worth $3.3 billion, filing shows

The move offers a sign that the unwinding of cross-shareholdings is catching pace in Japan.
The PayPay app had about 60 million registered users as of October.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 8, 2024

SoftBank group firm PayPay Securities aims to double accounts

The company has been in the red since February 2021, with a net loss of ¥4.6 billion ($29 million) for the 2023 fiscal year.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his wife, Victoria Starmer, greet Labour campaigners and activists at No. 10 Downing Street, following the results of the election in London on Friday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 8, 2024

Investors put U.K. election winner Labour on credibility watch

U.K. markets that have struggled since 2016's Brexit vote and the chaos wreaked by former Prime Minister Liz Truss' 2022 mini-budget.
An MUFG Bank employee allegedly leaked insider information to relatives about a client company.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 9, 2024

MUFG bank worker suspected of leaking undisclosed client info

The securities market watchdog suspects the employee of violating financial laws by giving relatives undisclosed information about a client company.
Nintendo is among the big name companies in which Kyoto Financial Group has cross-held shares.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 9, 2024

Kyoto bank defies call to unwind holdings after $6-billion gain

Kyoto Financial Group has amassed unrealized profits of more than $6 billion on holdings in other firms.
A monitor in Tokyo shows the yen strengthening to the ¥157 range against the dollar late Thursday evening.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 12, 2024

Japan likely spent $22 billion on yen intervention Thursday

Japan’s currency firmed from around ¥161.58 against the dollar to ¥157.44 in little more than half an hour.
Sharp is soliciting applicants for an early retirement program at Sakai Display Products.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 13, 2024

Japan's Sharp to shed 500 jobs at Osaka plant via early retirement

The plant, run by wholly owned subsidiary Sakai Display Products, is set to discontinue production of large liquid crystal panels for television sets.
Keisuke Mukunashi, CEO of Yamaguchi Financial Group, says the regional bank is ready to pay compensation comparable to that of Japan’s biggest banks.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 14, 2024

Regional Japan lender dangles megabank pay for market hires

Competition among financial institutions to hire bond traders and other specialists is intensifying as the Bank of Japan nudges interest rates higher.
Workers assemble a car inside BYD's first electric vehicle factory in Southeast Asia in Rayong, Thailand, on July 4.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 15, 2024

Thai economy faces upheaval due to factory closures

Scores of companies are shuttering in Thailand, which is bearing the brunt of cheap imports from China and factors including rising energy prices and an aging workforce.

Longform

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