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Sony said it sold 2.4 million PlayStation 5 units in the first quarter

Sony reports 10% profit rise in first quarter

Sony has today reported a 10% rise in operating profit in the April-June quarter, beating analyst estimates, boosted by its image sensors and games businesses.

Business • 07 Aug 24

Nintendo said it sold just 2.1 million units of the Switch, which is now in its eighth year

Nintendo's Switch sales halve and profit tumbles

Nintendo said sales of its aging Switch console almost halved in the April-June first quarter and profit slumped, falling far short of estimates.

Business • 02 Aug 24

Japan added fin whales to a catch list that already includes minke, Bryde's and sei whales (Stock image)

Japan whale hunt to include second-largest species

Japan has expanded its commercial whaling to include fin whales, the second-largest animal species on the planet, a decision criticised by Australia's government.

World • 01 Aug 24

Toyota's outlook has been complicated by a tough market in China and the fall-out from a certification scandal

Toyota posts 17% increase in Q1 profit but shares tumble

Toyota Motor has today posted a 17% increase in first-quarter profit, as cost-cutting and a weaker yen helped offset lower sales and a decline in production at home.

Business • 01 Aug 24

The Bank of Japan has set an interest rate of 0.25%, a notch up from the previous rate of around zero to 0.1%

Bank of Japan ups interest rate for 2nd time in 17 years

The Bank of Japan further unwound its massive monetary easing programme today by hiking interest rates for only the second time in 17 years and indicating plans for more if the economy performs as officials expect.

Business • 31 Jul 24

Nissan has today reported its worst quarterly performance in more than three years

Nissan sees Q1 profit wiped out by US discounts

Nissan Motor saw its first-quarter profit almost completely wiped out today and slashed its annual outlook, as deep discounting in the US shredded the Japanese automaker's margins.

Business • 25 Jul 24

Paul Watson was arrested on Sunday under an Interpol notice issued by Japan after his ship docked in Nuuk, Greenland

Japan says arrest of anti-whaling activist long sought

Japan said that it had long been pushing countries to arrest anti-whaling activist Paul Watson, who is in custody in Greenland facing possible extradition.

World • 24 Jul 24

Inflation in Japan was slightly higher in June, with prices rising by 2.6% year-on-year compared with 2.5% in May

Japan inflation rises slightly to 2.6% in June

Japanese inflation was slightly higher in June, with prices rising by 2.6% year-on-year compared with 2.5% in May, internal affairs ministry data showed today.

Business • 19 Jul 24

A Japanese Coast Guard helicopter lifted the woman to safety after 36 hours at sea (file image)

Swimmer rescued 80km off Japan after 36-hour ordeal

A woman who went swimming off a beach in Japan and was swept out to sea has been rescued about 80km off the coast after a 36 hour ordeal, officials have said.

World • 11 Jul 24

Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.82%, or 333 points, to close at 40,913

Tokyo shares close at new all-time high

Tokyo shares surged to a new record close today, as bullish global investors continue to drive up US tech stocks.

Business • 04 Jul 24

Japan's government acknowledges that around 16,500 people were forcibly sterilised between 1948 and 1996

Japan's forced sterilisation law deemed unconstitutional

Japan's top court has ruled that a defunct eugenics law, under which thousands of people were forcibly sterilised between 1948 and 1996, is unconstitutional.

World • 03 Jul 24

Hikers walk out from the newly-built trail gate at Fuji Subaru Line 5th station, which leads to the popular Yoshida trail to climb Mount Fuji

Japan imposes new fees on Mount Fuji climbers

Park rangers on Japan's sacred Mount Fuji officially started this year's climbing season about 90 minutes before sunrise, levying new trail fees and limiting hiker numbers to curb overcrowding.

News Lens • 01 Jul 24

Japan's Consumer Price Index - which excludes volatile fresh food prices - rose 2.5% year-on-year, compared with 2.2% in April

Japanese inflation ticks up in May to 2.5%

The pace of Japanese inflation accelerated in May partly due to higher energy bills, government data showed today, as analysts speculate on the timing of the Bank of Japan's next rate hike.

Business • 21 Jun 24

Japan has intervened in forex markets for the first time since 2022 after the currency hit a 34-year low in April

Japan spent $62 billion supporting yen in April and May

Japan said today that it spent about $62 billion to bolster the yen over the past five weeks, when it intervened in forex markets for the first time since 2022 after the currency hit a 34-year low.

Business • 31 May 24

The launch came after South Korea, Japan and China held talks in Seoul

Spy satellite launch ends in failure, North Korea says

North Korea's latest attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit ended in a mid-air explosion, Pyongyang has said, hours after its announcement of a planned launch was criticised by South Korea and Japan.

World • 27 May 24

Japan's inflation rate, excluding volatile fresh food prices, came in at 2.2%, compared with the 2.6% rate logged in March

Japan inflation slows in April, sparks questions on rates

The pace of Japanese inflation slowed in April as gas bills fell, government data showed today, raising questions about when the Bank of Japan will hike interest rates again.

Business • 24 May 24

Japan's economy shrank by an annualised 2% in January-March from the previous quarter, new figures show today

Japan's economy skids, clouding Bank of Japan's rate plan

Japan's economy fell faster than expected in the first quarter as the weak yen continued to batter consumers, throwing a fresh challenge to the central bank's push to get interest rates further away from near zero.

Business • 16 May 24

Nissan has forecast global retail sales this financial year at 3.7 million vehicles, up 7.5% from the 3.4 million sold last fiscal year

Nissan upbeat on annual profit despite challenges

Japan's Nissan Motor said it expects to beat analyst estimates with a 5.5% rise in operating profit this fiscal year on higher global sales, while warning that intense competition and challenges from inflation would continue.

Business • 09 May 24

The Japanese government said that 'whales are important food resources'

Japan to add fin whales to commercial whaling list

Japan will add large fin whales to its list of commercial whaling species, the government has said, five years after leaving an international body that regulates the commercial hunt of marine mammals.

World • 09 May 24

Traders had been on edge for weeks for any signs of action from Tokyo to prop up a currency that has fallen 11% against the dollar so far this year

Japan's yen jumps against the dollar

The yen jumped suddenly against the dollar today, with traders citing yen-buying intervention by Japanese authorities to try to stem a relentless fall in the currency to levels last seen over three decades ago.

Business • 29 Apr 24

The Mitsubishi SH-60K helicopters crashed off the Izu Islands in the Pacific Ocean (File image)

One dead, seven missing in Japan after helicopters crash

One person has died and seven others were missing after an incident involving two Japanese military helicopters, officials said.

World • 21 Apr 24

Nissan said its vehicle sales would total 3.44 million vehicles for the year, lowering its estimates again

Nissan cuts operating profit estimate on lower sales

Nissan Motor slashed its annual operating profit estimate by 14.5% today, citing lower-than-expected vehicle sales and other factors.

Business • 19 Apr 24

The Bank of Japan last month raised interest rates for the first time since 2007 and scrapped the world's last negative interest rate as it reached its 2% inflation target

Japan inflation rate slips to 2.6% in March

Japanese inflation slowed to 2.6% in March, largely in line with market expectations, data showed today.

Business • 19 Apr 24

The H-IIA rocket carrying the SLIM probe pictured blasting off from the Tanegashima Space Centre in September

Japan Moon probe put to sleep again

Japan's Moon lander was put to sleep again after unexpectedly surviving its second ultra-chilly long lunar night, the space agency has said.

World • 01 Apr 24

Renault sold a 5% stake in Nissan back to the Japanese company in December

Renault to sell Nissan stake of about 2.5%

Renault plans to sell a stake of about 2.5% in Nissan shares to the Japanese car maker in a deal that could result generate up to €362m, the French firm said today.

Business • 27 Mar 24