Japan

[ad_1] SoftBank Group swung to its first profit after four straight quarters of losses, backed by a rebound in the value of Vision Fund’s public holdings and a windfall from T-Mobile U.S. shares.The Tokyo-based technology investor reported a net income of ¥950 billion ($6.4 billion) for the December quarter, reversing a ¥783 billion loss for the same period a year ago. It’s the Japanese company’s first profit since September 2022, […]

[ad_1] A record 46.7 million viewers in Britain tuned in to watch women's sports on TV in 2023, eclipsing 2019's mark by almost a million, according to research published by the Women's Sport Trust on Tuesday. The FIFA Women's World Cup final, which England lost 1-0 to Spain at Stadium Australia, was 2023's most-watched women's sports event on TV with 38.4 million viewing hours. The figures, which reflected viewers tuning […]

[ad_1] While many Chinese tourists are expected to arrive in Japan during the Lunar New Year holiday beginning this Saturday, the number will most likely not reach pre-pandemic levels despite it being the first new year since the lifting of a Chinese ban on group tours to Japan.“It will probably increase about tenfold compared with (the same time) last year, however, it still will only be around 50% or 60% […]

[ad_1] Japan's current account surplus nearly doubled to ¥20.63 trillion ($140 billion) in 2023 from a year earlier, boosted by record returns on foreign investments and a sharp drop in the trade deficit, government data showed Thursday.Primary income swelled to ¥34.56 trillion, the highest since comparable data became available in 1985, with a weaker yen inflating the value of overseas investment returns for Japanese companies.The trade deficit more than halved […]

[ad_1] FUKUOKA – Returning Japan men's rugby head coach Eddie Jones provided glimpses this week of what he is looking for after putting his players through their paces over two days in his first training camp.The 64-year-old former England and Australia head coach returned in January to take charge of the Brave Blossoms, having left the post following the country's breakthrough 2015 World Cup, this time envisioning how "superfast rugby" […]

[ad_1] San Francisco – More than 100 websites disguised as local news outlets in Europe, Asia and Latin America are pushing pro-China content in a widespread influence campaign linked to a Beijing public relations firm, digital watchdog Citizen Lab has found.Spread over websites in 30 countries, the propaganda material is interspersed with news aggregated from local news outlets and Chinese state media, according to a research report the Toronto-based group […]

[ad_1] South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said the presentation of a designer bag to the first lady was a "political maneuver,” trying to stem public anger over the incident that has hit voter sentiment."It’s a plot,” Yoon said in the interview conducted over the weekend and broadcast nationally on Wednesday by KBS. He indicated the incident may have taken place to sway public opinion.Opposition lawmakers have said the first lady […]

[ad_1] Maebashi, Gunma Pref. – A dog attack near a park in Gunma Prefecture on Wednesday resulted in 12 people being bitten, including nine elementary school pupils, with five taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, local authorities said. Police received an emergency call around 4:10 p.m. from a man who witnessed the dog attack near Seibu Chuo park in the city of Isesaki, Gunma Prefecture. Those hurt in the […]

[ad_1] The title of Yuki Saito’s penetrating yet overplotted debut feature, “Sin and Evil,” stands out; Japanese humanistic dramas generally paint everyone in shades of moral gray — even the ostensible bad guys. To borrow the title of Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s new film, evil does not exist.Based on Saito’s original script, the film depicts a small town in the director’s native Fukui Prefecture as a hotbed of corruption, with a cynical […]