Tag - industry

 
 

INDUSTRY

Organic, unpasteurized butter is prepared at a milk farm in Saint-Colomban, near Nantes, France, in 2017.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 15, 2024
Bakers brace for costly Christmas as butter prices surge
Strong demand, tight supply and dairy processors' preference to use more milk for more profitable products such as cheese have driven the price surge.
Japan saw the highest number of bankruptcies since 2013 in the six months through September.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 8, 2024
Japan records highest number of bankruptcies in a decade as costs rise
The bankruptcies partly reflect the impact of higher prices, while a record 163 firms cited labor shortages as a reason for their struggles.
The core issue holding back the quicker adoption of electric vehicles is the high cost and complexity of installing DC fast chargers, essential for quick EV refueling.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 15, 2024
EV charging faces deeper problems than we realize
The core issue holding back the quicker adoption of electric vehicles is the high cost and complexity of installing DC fast chargers, essential for quick EV refueling.
Police officers examine the demolition site in Tokyo's Minato Ward where a piece of concrete fell and left a security guard unconscious on Monday.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 2, 2024
Man left unconscious after being hit by concrete debris in Tokyo
The man, a security guard who was directing traffic at a demolition site in Minato Ward, was sent to hospital with his head bleeding, police said.
A construction worker in Tokyo's Akasaka district on Aug. 21. With 886 cases, 54 of them fatal, during the period from 2019 to 2023, the construction industry leads Japan’s tally for occupational heatstroke.
BUSINESS / Boiling Point
Sep 1, 2024
Clocking off: Japan’s hotter summers put limit on outdoor work
Climate change is forcing businesses to sacrifice productivity in the name of safety in industries ranging from construction to transportation.
A police officer distributes leaflets on Osaka's revised ordinance to eliminate organized crime groups in the city's Minami entertainment district on July 1.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 28, 2024
Osaka steps up drive to ensure expo and casino resort free of organized crime
The revised ordinance also targets the sex work industry, street solicitation and scouting.
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.
In addition to the supply shortages, the yen's depreciation is also blamed for the recent surge in orange juice prices in Japan, which relies almost entirely on imported orange juice.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 2, 2024
Orange juice crisis hits consumers in Japan
Supply shortages have forced many Japanese makers to suspend sales of orange juice products.
U.S. President Joe Biden makes an appearance at an infrastructure construction project in Woodstock, New Hampshire, in November 2021.  Bridges and sewage systems may seem unglamorous, but common assets such as these will form the basis of economic growth for years to come.
COMMENTARY / World
May 1, 2024
The West’s new infrastructure imperative
A dim future awaits any society that allows its infrastructure to degrade and underinvests in new needs.
The average condo price in central Tokyo's 23 wards came to ¥104.64 million in fiscal 2023, topping ¥100 million for the first time on a fiscal year basis.
BUSINESS
Apr 19, 2024
Tokyo-area condo prices hit record high for third year in a row
In central Tokyo's 23 wards, the average condo price rose 5.7% to ¥104.64 million, topping ¥100 million for the first time.
Rapidus' semiconductor foundry construction site in Hokkaido
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 15, 2024
Chip plant wizard weathers Hokkaido’s bitter cold in latest test
Construction firm Kajima is plowing through a series of challenges to get a chipmaking factory built on time in snowy Hokkaido.
A chicken in its coop on Fogline Farm in Pescadero, California, on March 1. Unlike the coronavirus, the H5N1 virus has been studied for years. Vaccines and treatments are available should they ever become necessary.
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 6, 2024
Is bird flu coming to people next? Are we ready?
Outbreaks have been found among dairy cows in multiple states, as well as at least one infection in a farmworker in Texas.
H5N1 has been discovered in dairy cows in the U.S. states of Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Michigan and Idaho.
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 4, 2024
What to know about bird flu in dairy cows and the risk to humans
Health officials and scientists say the risk to humans remains low, but many questions remain.
California’s share of U.S. wine production, around 90% in the 1990s and 2000s, dropped below 80% for the first time on record in 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 27, 2024
Who will save the U.S. wine industry? Not California boomers.
California’s share of U.S. wine production, around 90% in the 1990s and 2000s, dropped below 80% for the first time on record in 2022.
A statue of Myaku-Myaku, the official mascot of the 2025 Expo, in Osaka. Organizers expect the six-month expo to draw some 28 million people, including 3.5 million from abroad.
JAPAN
Feb 8, 2024
Osaka Expo budget expected to rise again by ¥200 million
The latest request would raise the total amount of money directly spent by the national government on all expo-related activities to ¥164.9 billion.
A worker builds a home in Lillington, North Carolina, in June. Appetite among Japanese companies in the U.S. homebuilding market is growing as they struggle with a declining population at home.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 19, 2024
A $4.9 billion Japan deal for a U.S. builder heralds more M&A
Appetite among Japanese buyers in the U.S. homebuilding market is growing as they struggle with a declining population at home.
Meiji's canned liquid baby formula is in high demand following the New Year's Day quake that hit central Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 11, 2024
Meiji to boost liquid baby formula production after quake
The company has received more than twice the usual number of orders for such products so far this month.
A look into what used to be the Koyamacho neighborhood in Tokyo's Minato Ward may reveal what Japan stands to lose from not protecting its recent past.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Dec 25, 2023
Mita facelift paves over another slice of Tokyo history
The death of Koyamacho shows that Japan needs to begin preserving some parts of its modern history for future generations.
Salmon on sale in Sapporo on Dec. 1. The region has been hit hard by a Chinese ban on Japanese seafood products following the release into the ocean of treated, tritium-laced water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Dec 15, 2023
Hokkaido to face issues around Rapidus, seafood and '2024 problem'
An influx of foreign residents is expected in Chitose, while China's ban on marine products continues to hurt the region.

Longform

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