Economics

Japan Enacts Controversial Law to Accept Foreign Workers

Tokyo (AFP) reports: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling coalition early Saturday rammed through legislation to bring more blue-collar foreign workers into the country, in a controversial move to address chronic labour shortages. The [...]

China Moving Slowly into Hokkaido

Chinese money is pouring into Hokkaido at a much greater scale than imagined. In his recent visit to the island prefecture, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang attended a forum of Japanese prefectural and Chinese provincial governors in Sapporo on May 11, [...]

‘In Crisis Mode’: Panick-Stricken Starbucks Closes 8000 Stores for an Afternoon of Racial Bias Training

Starbucks, trying to tamp down a racially charged uproar over the arrest of two black men at one of its stores in Philadelphia, plans to close more than 8,000 U.S. stores for several hours next month to conduct racial-bias training for its nearly [...]

Game Changer: Rare-Earth Minerals Found in Japan in a ‘Semi-Infinite’ Deposit, Potential Economic Boon

Scientists found a deposit of rare-earth minerals off the coast of Japan. It could be a huge boon to the country’s economy. Because China has tightly controlled the world’s supply of these minerals — which are used in everything from [...]

China’s Xi Renews Vow to Open Economy, Cut Tariffs as U.S. Trade Row Deepens

BOAO/BEIJING, China (Reuters) – Kevin Yao reports: Chinese President Xi Jinping promised on Tuesday to open the country’s economy further and lower import tariffs on products like cars, in a speech seen as an attempt to defuse an [...]

Is Pachinko Headed for Extinction in Japan?

Studies reveal huge drop in players, hall operators Casey Baseel reports: A grim mortality rate for pachinko parlor management companies shines a light on the poor health of the industry. I’ve lived in the same neighborhood of Yokohama for more [...]

[VIDEO] How a Steel Box Changed the World: A Brief History of Shipping

As the container shipping industry continues to boom, companies are adopting new technologies to move cargo faster and shifting to crewless ships. But it’s not all been smooth sailing and the future will see fewer players stay above water. via WSJ [...]

Japan’s Glut of Abandoned Homes: Not Easy to Sell but Bargains When Opportunity Knocks

Alex Martin reports: Realtor Yuken Kon specializes in properties most of his peers steer clear of. Take a two-bedroom apartment on the second floor of an aging, five-story Soviet-style danchi complex in the quiet outskirts of Yokohama. “A [...]

Japanese Business Confidence Hits 11-Year High

Tokyo (AFP) – Confidence among Japan’s biggest manufacturers is at an 11-year high, a key central bank survey showed Friday, as the world’s number-three economy picks up pace. The bullish survey underscored how Japan’s [...]

Notes from Policy Innovation Summit: Japan’s Economic Woes are a Cautionary Tale

Japan tried stimulus after stimulus, more and more regulation, higher and higher taxes. The result: economic woe. Tokyo — John Fund writes: Following the House’s passage of a tax-reform bill, critics have denounced it as being [...]

Πόνος και γέλιο: Greece Finds Stand-Up Comedy Amid Economic Tragedy

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AFP-Jiji) — The crammed basement bar heaves with laughter as the young comedians take to the microphone, riffing on daily life in austerity-slammed Greece. This is one of a growing number of open mic nights to have sprung up [...]

Tokyo Pushes Back on ‘Bizarre’ Death Tax that Deters Expats

Gareth Allan and Yuki Hagiwara report: Considering a work stint in Japan? You’d better make it short, and you’d better stay alive. That’s because the government subjects long-term foreign residents to inheritance tax of up to 55 percent on [...]

Japan’s Casino Gambling Looks Like It’s a Go Again

A risky political maneuver sets the stage for the next round of laws to be passed. Rich Duprey reports: The on-again, off-again nature of Japan’s casino gambling push looks like it’s back on again. A risky political maneuver by Prime [...]

China Box Office Poised To Hit $8.3B In 2017

Nancy Tartaglione reports: Chinese box office is expected to see a strong boost when 2017’s final numbers are tallied: up as much as 20% or more to RMB 55B ($8.31B), according to the state media authority. The growth this year is spurred on by the [...]

Enjoy That Cup of Coffee! Your Total Comes to $55

To justify eye-popping prices, high-end java spots use rare beans, fancy machines, elaborate preparations and heaps of hyperbole. NEW YORK— Charles Passy reports: In this hyper-caffeinated city, you don’t have to venture far to find an [...]

China is Living the Future of Mobile Pay Right Now

Mainland Chinese stores and services are increasingly centered around mobile pay apps like WeChat Pay and Alipay. Chinese mobile payment volume more than doubled to $5 trillion in 2016, according to Analysys data cited by Hillhouse Capital. Mobile [...]

[VIDEO] SPOILER ALERT: What Caused Venezuela’s Tragic Collapse? Socialism.

Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, and it was once Latin America’s richest country. Today, most grocery store shelves are empty, and Venezuelans are so hungry that they’re killing zoo animals for sustenance. [...]

Inflation? You're kidding, right? Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg

Japan Buries Our Most-Cherished Economic Ideas

The country has mountains of debt and a tight job market. So where’s the inflation? Noah Smith writes: Japan is the graveyard of economic theories. The country has had ultralow interest rates and run huge government deficits for decades, [...]

Will Japan See Long-Term Benefit from Hosting the 2020 Olympics? Nope

Citing an Oxford University study, Zimbalist said on average, the Summer Games since 1980 has averaged a 252 percent cost overrun — or 3.5 times the initial budget — and that Tokyo is not expected to be an exception. Shintaro Kano reports: Tokyo [...]

Foreigners Snap Up Record Number of U.S. Homes

Diana Olick reports: Foreign purchases of U.S. residential real estate surged to the highest level ever in terms of number of homes sold and dollar volume. Foreign buyers closed on $153 billion worth of U.S. residential properties between April [...]

China Financial Markets: Wanda, LeEco Woes Add to Darkening Sentiment

Patrick Frater writes: Angry shareholders stormed a public meeting on Monday for beleaguered LeShi Technology, as the company tried to address its financial problems. The day also saw trouble for companies in the orbit of Dalian Wanda. And the [...]

China’s New Cybersecurity Law Leaves Foreign Firms Guessing

点击查看本文中文版 BEIJING — Sui-Lee Wee reports: As China moves to start enforcing a new cybersecurity law, foreign companies face a major problem: They know very little about it. The law — which was rubber-stamped by the country’s [...]

Whole Foods Stock Rockets 28% on $13.7 Billion Amazon Takeover Deal

Amazon to acquire Whole Foods for $42 a share, in a deal valued at $13.7 billion. John Mackey will remain CEO of the grocery store chain. The deal is expected to close in the second half year. Sarah Whitten reports: Shares of Whole Foods Market [...]

[VIDEO] Japan Sees Bitcoin Use Boom

Bitcoin’s value has been surging in recent weeks in Japan. The cryptocurrency is now being accepted at some major electronics stores, and soon by one airline. Lawmakers in Tokyo have stepped in and are helping Japan to lead in this growing [...]

Is China’s economy turning Japanese?

It is more than 30 years since Tokyo began inflating a property and stock market bubble, as fears grow that Beijing faces a similar fate. Leo Lewis Tom Mitchell and Yuan Yang report: There are few things studied as closely by the Chinese Communist [...]