TOKYO -- Nobuo Domae once served as a key executive at Uniqlo parent Fast Retailing, helping to turn the Japan-based casualwear seller into a global force.

Now the 52-year-old has been tapped as the next president of Muji parent Ryohin Keikaku, starting in September.

Domae was one of three high-flying managers who assisted Fast Retailing chief Tadashi Yanai as the company grew rapidly around the start of the 2000s. Takashi Sawada and Genichi Tamatsuka, the trio's other members

WASHINGTON -- A resurgent U.S. economy heading toward 7% growth has brought with it a return of inflation, as the June consumer price index rose 5.4% on the year for the highest 12-month rate since August 2008.

Are rising prices a blip or the beginning of a chronic problem that will shackle the American economy?

Austan Goolsbee, who served as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers during President Barack Obama's administration, sees little prospect for runaway inflation.

NAGOYA -- Is a car worth more than the sum of its parts? This is a question posed by Japanese automotive supplier Denso's near dead heat in market capitalization with Honda Motor and Ford Motor.

Denso's market cap stood at 5.78 trillion yen ($52.59 billion) as of Thursday, roughly 70% higher than a year earlier. Honda's market cap was in the low 6 trillion yen range, while Ford's was at $55 billion

William Pesek is an award-winning Tokyo-based journalist and author of "Japanization: What the World Can Learn from Japan's Lost Decades."

In Seoul, pali-pali -- meaning "quick, quick" -- is not just a way of life. The frenetic pace at which the place moves is a matter of national pride. Yet even by these standards, many worry the Bank of Korea is moving a bit too hastily for comfort.

Last week, BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol

GUANGZHOU -- Consumer complaints filed with domestic air carriers in China are have risen unusually sharply recently, with 7,000 coming in March alone, a more than tenfold increase from two years earlier, according to aviation industry regulators.

The unprecedented jump in complaints from flyers is traceable to unlimited flight tickets sold by airlines to stimulate demand for air travel, which shriveled during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We demand that airlines clarify their terms of service and offer after-sale services," a senior official

TOKYO -- Honda Motor is prepared to shift to selling only electrified vehicles earlier than planned if the European Union tightens regulations sooner, President and CEO Toshihiro Mibe said Friday in the first comment by a major Japanese automaker's top executive on the EU proposal.

"If the rules change, we'll have no choice but to respond," Mibe told reporters. Honda's transition to selling only electrified vehicles "could be expedited," he said.

Mibe pledged after taking office in April that the company would

TOKYO -- Former employees of Japan's major manufacturers are increasingly making their presence felt as CTOs at the country's aerospace startups.

These individuals have brought the know-how and experience they acquired at their former employers to help solve issues, speeding up time-consuming processes that require advanced technology. They not only help ensure safety, quality and cost reduction, but demonstrate great skills in their companies' management and sometimes even hiring.

This article profiles such chief technology officers at startups entering uncharted territory such as moon

TOKYO -- Two decades have passed since Japan's government ministries and agencies were reorganized into their current structure. Since 2001, the old bottom-up way of policymaking has been replaced with the prime minister's office taking the lead, with far less involvement from ruling party officials. Known as the kantei , the prime minister's office is now the single most powerful institution in the country.

"I personally will take the lead in implementation," said Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on May 7

NEW YORK -- Illinois will become the first U.S. state to require public schools to teach Asian American history. Beginning next year, the education aims to lessen the kinds of discrimination and prejudice against Asian Americans that have rapidly increased amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

A new Illinois law requiring Asian American history to be taught in public schools will go into effect in January. "We are setting a new standard ... that helps us understand one another," Illinois Gov. J.B.