Business

Iran tensions Kafala system keeps employees bound, with no safe passage in time of conflict The widening Middle East conflict has raised worries about the plight of foreign workers in the Gulf. © Reuters BRUSSELS — Despite Iranian missiles and drones raining down on neighboring states, Uber driver Yousef says he won’t be fleeing the […]

Afghanistan turmoil Taliban Doha chief says natural resource development ‘will be mutual benefit’ Deepening India-Taliban ties come as Pakistan’s relations with Afghanistan remain strained due to cross-border conflict that started last October. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Reuters) NEW DELHI — India and Afghanistan are deepening ties amid the Taliban-ruled nation’s ongoing armed conflict with Pakistan, as New Delhi […]

Retail Moshi Moshi plans to open 35 stores in 2026, eyes overseas expansion A Moshi Moshi variety store in Bangkok: The Thai retailer’s products are priced as low as 20 baht (61 cents). (Photo by Ken Kobayashi) BANGKOK — A Thai lifestyle retailer that sells stationery, cosmetics and smartphone accessories at low prices is winning […]

Gender Government to urge wage data reporting as women struggle to advance in workforce At a March 7 event in Seoul, women calculate what their monthly pay would be if it were on a par with men’s. (Photo by Nami Matsuura) SEOUL — Momentum is building in South Korea to narrow one of the world’s […]

Travel & Leisure Overseas visitor numbers spur new lodgings in once-booming spot just hours from Tokyo by train Villa El Cielo Myoko in Niigata prefecture in Japan will start accepting guests in April. (PLAY&co) NIIGATA, Japan — Along the Sea of Japan a couple of hours northwest of Tokyo by shinkansen train lies Niigata prefecture. There in […]

New York graffiti pioneer Mark Bode tags a mural he helped create at Manhattan Records in Tokyo’s Shibuya district. His work has brought the characters of his father, underground comics legend Vaughn Bode, to a new generation of Japanese fans. (Courtesy of Alexander Mitchell) Arts Artist Mark Bode extends the comics universe created by his father

SoftBank Consortium to invest potential $500bn in data center and power facilities SoftBank Group Chairman Masoyoshi Son, center, with U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, left, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at a ceremony for a gas-power facility in Piketon, Ohio, on March 20.(Photo by Yuji Ohira) YUJI OHIRA and YUSUKE YAGI PIKETON, Ohio — A $500 billion data […]

Iran tensions Japan, reliant on Middle East for 90% of imports, looks elsewhere for diversification Plumes of smoke rise from an oil facility in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, on March 14. Middle Eastern crude oil prices have soared since the start of the Iran war. © AP YUTA KOGA, MISA HAMA and MASASHI IJICHI TOKYO […]

Iran tensions Japan, reliant on the region for 90% of imports, looks elsewhere for diversification Plumes of smoke rise from an oil facility in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, on March 14. Middle Eastern crude oil prices have soared since the start of the Iran war. © AP YUTA KOGA, MISA HAMA and MASASHI IJICHI TOKYO […]

Business trends Japan solar manufacturers strategize to avoid head-on competition in thin, flexible panels Inside an UtmoLight perovskite solar cell production facility in China’s Jiangsu province. (UtmoLight) KOHEI FUJIMURA and MANA KUBOTA DALIAN, China/TOKYO — Chinese companies are racing to mass-produce thin, light-weight perovskite solar cells — a low-cost technology that promises high energy efficiency […]