TOKYO -- NTT will develop a satellite system that can process and store data in space, Nikkei has learned.

NTT will collaborate with Japan's SKY Perfect JSAT Holdings, which has expertise in satellite operations, in developing the project. NTT is aiming to start trials as early as 2022. All being well, both companies hope to launch the satellite in 2025 and roll it out for practical use by 2026.

Currently, data received by a satellite have to be sent

BANGKOK -- Creditors of cash-strapped Thai Airways International on Wednesday voted to approve a rehabilitation plan that allows the national flag carrier to begin an obstacle-packed rehabilitation process which could last up to seven years.

To get the green light, the plan needed a nod from creditors who together hold over 50% of the company's debt. Of 38 creditors, 28 voted for the plan. This meant that approving creditors, in fact, held 91.56% of Thai Airways'

SINGAPORE -- Asian airlines have been restructuring their operations to pave the way for a rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic, but the latest quarterly results show many continued to log big losses, as the industry outlook dims over recent virus flare-ups in the region.

One company greatly affected is Singapore Airlines, which on Wednesday reported a net loss of about 660 million Singapore dollars ($490 million) for the January-March quarter, the last in its financial year, leading to an

TOKYO --  A shipment of shirts for the Uniqlo casualwear chain was blocked from entering the U.S in January on suspicion they were made with forced labor in China's Xinjiang region, it was revealed Wednesday, prompting a denial from Japanese parent company Fast Retailing.

A Customs and Border Protection document dated May 10 shows that the agency confiscated the shirts at the Port of Los Angeles, suspecting they were made by Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

The seizure highlights how allegations of Chinese human rights abuses against the Uyghur

WASHINGTON/TOKYO -- U.S. President Joe Biden's COVID relief checks sent to ineligible Japanese by mistake are causing much confusion, with banks in Japan flooded with inquiries and the Internal Revenue Service asking for the return of the payments.

As the Treasury rushed to get the checks out in the mail under Biden's coronavirus economic response, many ineligible foreigners around the world appear to have received the checks, including Japanese pensioners who lived in the U.S. before 2005.

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BEIJING/MOSCOW -- China launched construction on four nuclear reactors made with Russian technology in a project symbolizing the tight bond between the two countries.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin joined the groundbreaking ceremonies via video conference on Wednesday. The two sides first agreed to the nuclear project in 2018.

Pervading the occasion was Russia and China's desire to play up their close cooperation in the face of pressure from the U.S. and its allies.

The nuclear project adds two reactors each

BANGKOK -- After a quick rise to prominence in a country not generally friendly to startups, independent Thai power provider Gulf Energy Development is rapidly diversifying into natural gas and telecommunications, raising suspicion about tacit government support.

Gulf Energy, run by Sarath Ratanavadi, Thailand’s second-richest man, last month announced a planned tender offer for InTouch Holdings, which is the top shareholder of the country's largest wireless carrier Advanced Info Service.

"InTouch has a very strong business platform from mobile phones, satellites to e

TOKYO -- The government-backed Development Bank of Japan plans to increase funding based on environmental, social and corporate governance factors to 5.5 trillion yen ($50.4 billion) over the next five years, Nikkei has learned, aligning with Tokyo's goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The lender, which will announce its next medium-term plan Thursday, intends to commit roughly 40% of its total 13 trillion yen investment and lending to

TOKYO -- Japan plans to boost defense spending without worrying about sticking to its long-standing limit of 1% of gross domestic product, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi told Nikkei on Wednesday.

The country looks to beef up its defenses around the Senkaku Islands amid repeated incursions by China's now quasi-military coast guard , as well as address the emerging areas of space and cyber defense.

"We must increase our defense capabilities at a radically different pace than in the past," Kishi said.

"We will properly