Japan has world’s best passport
TOKYO — The Japanese passport was again named as the “world’s most powerful” by a British consultancy this year, but the Japanese themselves seem little interested in taking advantage, with only 23 percent holding passports — a sign that the … Continue reading Japan has world’s best passport
Panasonic selling chip-making biz to Taiwan
Osaka/Taipei — Panasonic is selling its loss-making semiconductor business to Taiwan’s Nuvoton Technology, leaving an industry that it first entered almost 70 years ago. The sale will close a chapter in Japan’s transition from a chipmaking powerhouse with a nearly 50% … Continue reading Panasonic selling chip-making biz to Taiwan
India: SoftBank’s next big crisis ?
New Delhi — In India, tech startups have been caught in SoftBank’s cycle of overfunding, bloated valuations and vague paths to profit. Some, sensing danger, have corrected course. Others may hold the seeds of the investment giant’s next crisis. (Nikkei)
Japan: Lowest birth rate in 30 years
Tokyo – Japanese births are on pace for the steepest drop in three decades despite earlier hopes that couples would ring in the new Imperial era with an addition to the family. The number of Japanese babies born in the … Continue reading Japan: Lowest birth rate in 30 years
Japan: Crack-down on illegial fishing
Tokyo – Seafood sold in Japan will need official proof of origin under measures planned for the early 2020s as one of the world’s leading marine product importers takes aim at poaching that has decimated fish populations. Tokyo’s crackdown on … Continue reading Japan: Crack-down on illegial fishing