TOKYO -- Could Pakistan ultimately be the country that saves the world?
Sole proprietor: Madras wants shiatsu insole to cushion more Asian feet
NAGOYA, Japan -- Japanese shoemaker Madras aims to share with other parts of Asia its special insole that it says can reduce strain, especially for people with flat feet or who wear high heels.
Footloose in Shimokitazawa: Where Tokyo's bohemian heart beats
TOKYO -- On weekends, Shimokitazawa feels less like a Tokyo neighborhood than a village in a 1960s art-house film. Young Japanese sport green hair, guitar cases and bags stuffed with secondhand clothes. The aroma of drip coffee wafts along lanes, and handwritten signs point the way to basement music venues known as live houses. People flock to "Shimokita" by train, but the maze-like streets belong to pedestrians.
Japan weighs allowing mutual funds to invest more in unlisted companies
TOKYO -- The Japanese government is considering establishing a framework under which mutual funds can make greater investments in private assets such as unlisted stocks, Nikkei has learned, paving the way for inflows from retail investors to spur startup growth.
Kawasaki Heavy to develop shipbuilding AI robot amid welder shortage
TOKYO -- Kawasaki Heavy Industries is developing an AI-equipped shipbuilding robot that would double welding productivity and help address a technician shortage in the field.
Kazakh gas sector comes of age, spurns Western partners for CITIC
ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Kazakhstan is shaking off the shackles of Western partners in its gas industry with state-owned entities and their Chinese partner poised to take over the construction of a gas treatment plant in the major Karachaganak field.
Hunger Inc. reshapes Mumbai's dining tastes
MUMBAI -- "This is why I hate Hunger," complains Goldwin Fonseca, a Mumbai foodie taking me out in the city for the day. We have stopped at a cafe -- not one of those run by Hunger Inc. Hospitality -- where the service is definitely not as sweet as the hot chocolate.
Australia and Japan sign Mogami deal, pivot to deeper defense ties
CANBERRA/MELBOURNE -- Australia and Japan on Saturday announced the official signing of a contract for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to build the first three of Australia's new general-purpose frigates, a project worth 20 billion Australian dollars ($14.3 billion) that promises to deepen defense industry ties between the countries.
Singapore's GIC wants to help Japan Inc. thrive, CEO says
TOKYO -- Rising Japanese stock prices have caught the attention of global investors, especially those looking to diversify their assets as political risks mount in the U.S.
Naphtha crunch bites Japanese companies despite PM's assurances
TOKYO -- Concerns about a shortage of naphtha, a petroleum derivative that goes into a wide range of plastics and other products, is forcing Japanese manufacturers to raise prices and cut production despite Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's assurances that the country has four months' supply.