6 h. ago Japan Post stops forcing delivery staff to ride bicycles as punishment

Japan Post has scrapped a controversial practice of forcing delivery workers involved in minor accidents to complete their rounds by bicycle – even in extreme heat – after admitting the measure “could be perceived” as workplace harassment. The decision followed an internal investigation into an incident involving a delivery worker who was instructed to continue his rounds by bicycle for two weeks during a summer heatwave, despite daytime temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees...

Politics

7 h. ago China's Innovent signs $11.4 billion cancer therapy deal with Japan's Takeda

China's Innovent signs $11.4 billion cancer therapy deal with Japan's Takeda  Reuters

Economics

14 h. ago Why China Is Worried About Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s New Prime Minister

Why China Is Worried About Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s New Prime Minister  Forbes

Politics

20 h. ago ‘Stealth husband’: Japan PM Takaichi’s spouse shuns the spotlight

Taku Yamamoto, husband of Japan’s first female Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, said he hopes to support his wife as a “stealth husband”, adding, “Unlike in the West, it is better for the partner to stay out of the spotlight here.” A former fellow Liberal Democratic Party member in the House of Representatives, Yamamoto said he was initially “drawn to the contrast” between Takaichi’s tough exterior and her femininity. The couple, who married in 2004, divorced in 2017 over political differences but...

Events

21 h. ago Trump isn’t serious about deterring Beijing from attacking Taiwan: poll

Most people in Taiwan do not see US President Donald Trump as serious about deterring Beijing from a possible attack on the self-ruled island, according to a recent poll released on Tuesday. Asked whether Trump was willing to prevent mainland China from “invading Taiwan by force”, 44.8 per cent of the 1,070 respondents said no, while 34.3 per cent said yes in the poll conducted by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation between October 13 and 15. And on a question as to whether the US leader was...

Politics

22 h. ago Chipmaker CXMT eyes US$42 billion Shanghai listing, sources say

Chinese memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) plans an initial public offering (IPO) in Shanghai as soon as the first quarter of next year, eyeing a valuation of up to 300 billion yuan ($42.12 billion), according to two sources briefed on the matter. Founded in 2016 with government backing, CXMT leads China’s strategic push to build a foothold in a global DRAM market long dominated by companies from Japan, South Korea and the United States. China’s leading manufacturer of dynamic...

Economics

25 h. ago 4 smugglers arrested for bringing gold into Japan from Hong Kong in underwear

Four people have been arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle about 8kg of gold worth around 98.7 million yen (US$650,000) from Hong Kong to Japan by concealing gold powder in underwear, sources familiar with the matter revealed on Tuesday. Masamori Nishimura, 34, is believed to have orchestrated the smuggling attempt by instructing three women in their 20s and 30s to wear underwear with concealed gold powder on a flight in July last year, the sources said. The four admitted to the charges,...

Events

27 h. ago Takaichi becomes Japan’s first female PM, ending political crisis

Japan’s parliament elected ultraconservative Sanae Takaichi as the country’s first female prime minister on Tuesday after her governing party secured a crucial coalition partner. Takaichi, 64, replaced Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Tuesday’s parliamentary vote, ending Japan’s three-month political vacuum and wrangling since the coalition’s loss in the July parliamentary election. The moderate centrist Komeito party had split from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party after a 26-year-long...

Politics

30 h. ago Is Japan making tourism more expensive to deter unruly visitors?

Japan’s proposed increase in visa fees and departure tax is an attempt to balance between dealing with overtourism and deterring misbehaving visitors at “the bottom of the pyramid”, according to industry observers. The government believes the present fees for visas and departure taxes are low in comparison with international standards, with the Asahi newspaper reporting that the additional funds would be used on improving tourism infrastructure and the education sector. If implemented, the...

Politics

31 h. ago Apple faces new antitrust complaint in China over App Store rules

Apple faces new antitrust complaint in China over App Store rules  9to5Mac

Politics

32 h. ago US appeal court lets Trump send National Guard troops to Portland

A divided US appeal court ruled on Monday that US President Donald Trump can send National Guard troops into Portland, Oregon, despite objections by the leaders of the city and state, giving the Republican president an important legal victory as he dispatches military forces to a growing number of Democratic-led locales. A three-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Justice Department’s request to put on hold a judge’s order that had blocked the deployment while a legal...

Politics

32 h. ago US appeals court says Trump can deploy National Guard troops in Portland

A divided US appeals court ruled on Monday that Donald Trump can send National Guard troops into Portland, Oregon, despite objections by the leaders of the city and state, giving the Republican president an important legal victory as he dispatches military forces to a growing number of Democratic-led locales. A three-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Justice Department’s request to put on hold a judge’s order that had blocked the deployment while a legal challenge to...

Politics

43 h. ago Taiwan sets out new rules outlining when troops can shoot down drones

Taiwan has for the first time formally outlined the circumstances under which its troops can shoot down incoming drones. The move is part of a broader effort by the island’s defence ministry to codify its rules of engagement and strengthen its ability to respond to mounting military pressure from mainland China. The new procedures, disclosed in the recently released National Defence Report 2025, set out a four-step standard operating procedure – identification and monitoring, alert and...

Events

49 h. ago Asia stocks rise on China data, trade talks; Nikkei hits record highs on Takaichi bet

Asia stocks rise on China data, trade talks; Nikkei hits record highs on Takaichi bet  Seeking Alpha

Events

51 h. ago Asia stocks rise: Japan surges on Takaichi bets, China buoyed by positive GDP

Asia stocks rise: Japan surges on Takaichi bets, China buoyed by positive GDP  Investing.com

Politics

53 h. ago BREAKING NEWS: China's GDP grows 4.8% in 3rd qtr, slowing from 2nd qtr

BREAKING NEWS: China's GDP grows 4.8% in 3rd qtr, slowing from 2nd qtr  Japan Wire by KYODO NEWS

Politics

54 h. ago Japanese mum, 34, struggles to raise 6 sons, spends US$4,600 a month on family

A woman in eastern Japan with six handsome sons has been coping with the enormous challenge of spending 700,000 yen (US$4,600) a month to keep her family afloat. Recently, the Japanese variety show Mum’s Secret Garden produced by ABEMA featured the 34-year-old mother. Her name is Monko and she is from Chiba prefecture just east of Tokyo, and she went viral thanks to her beautiful looks. At just 16, she reportedly gave birth to her first son, Ryuki, and dropped out of school to care for...

Economics

57 h. ago From Brussels to Beijing, new rules threaten global auto supply chain stability

From Brussels to Beijing, new rules threaten global auto supply chain stability  digitimes

Politics

59 h. ago Bolivia elects centrist Paz as president, ending 2 decades of socialism

Bolivians on Sunday elected a pro-business centre-right senator as their new president, ending two decades of socialist rule that have left the South American nation deep in economic crisis. With 97 per cent of ballots counted, Rodrigo Paz had 54.5 per cent of the vote compared to 45.4 per cent for his rival, right-wing former interim president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) said. Paz, the 58-year-old son of a former president, has vowed a “capitalism for all”...

Politics

2 d. ago Businesses in Hong Kong’s Central count costs after Chinachem Tower fire

Small businesses around the Chinachem Tower in Hong Kong’s Central were dealt a blow after the building was engulfed in flames, with some stores remaining shut on Sunday morning as the investigation into the cause of the fire entered its second day. Some shop operators described the fire as a rarity in the central business district and a source of concern. Saturday’s blaze took more than four hours to snuff out and enveloped the entire building, which was undergoing renovations. A government...

Economics