Business

More drops in Big Tech pull stocks lower; Bitcoin drops 19%

Stocks were broadly lower in early trading Wednesday as the market's downturn entered into a third day. Meanwhile the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies dropped sharply.

Asia Pacific

IOC offers Tokyo medical help amid call for cancellation

TOKYO — Confronted in Japan with some of the strongest medical-community opposition yet to the Tokyo Olympics, IOC President Thomas Bach offered Wednesday to have added medical personnel available to help out when the games open in just over nine weeks.

Business

Asian shares drop, tracking Wall Street decline led by tech

TOKYO — Asian shares fell Wednesday, tracking a decline on Wall Street that was led by big technology stocks. Investors are awaiting the release of minutes from the latest Federal Reserve policy setting meeting.

Kenki Fukuoka

Medical career beckons for Japan rugby star Kenki Fukuoka

The final of Japan’s Top League club competition on Sunday will mark the end of one of world rugby’s most distinguished and influential recent playing careers.

Business

Asia shares rise despite ongoing pandemic, inflation worries

TOKYO — Asian shares rose Tuesday, partly on bargain-hunting from the recent global market falls amid continuing pessimism about the conronavirus pandemic.

Business

Japan’s economy shrinks 5.1% as pandemic dries up spending

TOKYO — The Japanese economy contracted at an annual rate of 5.1% in January-March, slammed by a plunge in spending over the coronavirus pandemic, according to government data released Tuesday.

Sports

Americans dominate first World Triathlon Series women’s race

YOKOHAMA, Japan — Taylor Knibb won the season-opening World Championship Series triathlon on Saturday to book her place on the U.S. team for the Tokyo Olympics in July.

Europe

The Latest: New Mexico adopts CDC guidance on facemasks

SANTA FE, N.M. -- New Mexico has adopted guidance on facemasks from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that says fully vaccinated Americans no longer need to wear masks indoors or outside in most cases.

Sports

Petition with 350,000 signatures wants Tokyo Games canceled

TOKYO — An online petition with more than 350,000 signatures calling for the Tokyo Games to be canceled was submitted Friday to local organizers, the International Olympic Committee and others.

Asia Pacific

Japan expands virus emergency ahead of Tokyo Olympics

TOKYO — Japan on Friday further expanded a coronavirus state of emergency, currently in Tokyo and five other prefectures, to nine areas, as Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's government is determined to hold the Olympics in just over two months.

Asia Pacific

EXPLAINER: Why Japan has been slow to roll out vaccinations

TOKYO — Japan's rollout of COVID-19 vaccines began belatedly in mid-February, months behind the United States and many other countries. Officials blamed a shortage of Pfizer Inc. vaccine from Europe as the main culprit in the delay.

Business

The Latest: Philippine president eases lockdown in capital

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine president has eased a coronavirus lockdown in the bustling capital and adjacent provinces to fight economic recession and hunger but still barred public gatherings this month, when many Roman Catholic summer religious festivals are held.

Europe

Wealthy nations once lauded as successes lag in vaccinations

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Some wealthy nations that were most praised last year for controlling the coronavirus are now lagging far behind in getting their people vaccinated — and some, especially in Asia, are seeing COVID-19 cases grow...

Europe

The Latest: Louisiana kids can start vaccinations Thursday

NEW ORLEANS — Children as young as 12 can expect to start getting Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine Thursday in Louisiana.

Sports

IOC says negative public opinion is no threat to Tokyo Games

GENEVA — The IOC on Wednesday downplayed concerns over Japanese public opinion calling for the Tokyo Olympics to be canceled, before its virtual news conference was interrupted by an activist protesting the games...

Business

Japan’s SoftBank returns to profit on global stock boom

TOKYO — Japanese technology conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp. returned to profitability for the fiscal year that ended in March, it said Wednesday, boosted by the strong performance of its sprawling investments as stock prices surged...

Asia Pacific

Frustration in Japan as leader pushes Olympics despite virus

TOKYO — A full-page newspaper ad says Japanese will be "killed by politics" because the government is forcing them to endure the pandemic without vaccines. More than 300,000 people have signed a petition calling for the Tokyo Olympics to be canceled...

Business

Japan’s Toyota says profit soared in Jan-March amid pandemic

TOKYO — Toyota reported Wednesday its profit more than doubled in January-March from a year earlier to 777 billion yen ($7 billion), as the Japanese automaker’s sales recovered from the pandemic...

Business

American tells Japan court he worked for Nissan’s interests

TOKYO — An American lawyer on trial in Japan on charges related to reporting of former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn’s compensation asserted his innocence Wednesday, testifying he acted legally and in Nissan's best interests...

Business

Asian stocks mixed after Wall St falls on inflation fears

BEIJING — Asian stock markets retreated Wednesday as investors looked ahead to U.S. data they worry will show inflation is picking up.

Politics

AP source: Biden to tap Rahm Emanuel for ambassador to Japan

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is expected to nominate former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to serve as the U.S. ambassador to Japan, according to a person familiar with the president's decision...

Asia Pacific

Japan ruling party renews charter change drive amid pandemic

TOKYO — Japan's governing party is renewing its push for its long-cherished goal of revising the country's pacifist constitution, saying effective anti-coronavirus measures such as lockdowns aren't possible without an emergency clause in the charter providing enforcement and the limiting of private rights...

Business

Japan’s Nissan sees smaller loss, promises sales recovery

TOKYO — Nissan reduced its losses in the January-March quarter as restructuring efforts kicked in, despite damage to sales from the coronavirus pandemic, the Japanese automaker said Tuesday.

Business

Japan prosecutors say Ghosn said Nissan pay plan was not set

TOKYO — Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn told prosecutors during questioning on financial misconduct charges before he fled Japan that his compensation was never decided upon, according to records presented in Tokyo District Court on Tuesday...

Business

Asian shares slide after tech sell-off on Wall Street

BANGKOK — Shares dropped Tuesday in Asia after selling of several Big Tech companies pulled U.S. benchmarks lower.

United Nations

The Latest: N Korea again claims no coronavirus infections

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea has told the World Health Organization that it has tested 25,986 people for the coronavirus through April but still has yet to find a single infection.

Sports

Nishikori raises questions about holding the Tokyo Olympics

ROME — Japanese tennis player Kei Nishikori has doubts about whether the IOC and local organizers are doing enough to plan for a worst-case scenario of “hundreds” or “thousands” of coronavirus cases at the Tokyo Olympics...

Sports

IOC’s Thomas Bach cancels Japan trip because of virus cases

TOKYO — IOC President Thomas Bach has canceled a trip to Japan because of surging cases of COVID-19 in the country, the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee said Monday in a statement.

Sports

Naomi Osaka conflicted over holding the Tokyo Olympics

ROME — Naomi Osaka is conflicted over whether the Tokyo Olympics should be held amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Sports

Two Tokyo Olympics: Inside and outside the National Stadium

TOKYO — Seated inside Tokyo's new $1.4 billion National Stadium, Sebastian Coe again tried to reassure athletes and skeptical residents of Japan that the postponed Olympics will be safe when they open in just under 11 weeks...

Global trade

The Latest: 3rd meat plant shut down in UK local outbreak

LONDON — A meat processing plant in West Yorkshire has been shut down amid a localized outbreak of COVID-19, the third such site to shut down in the U.K. in recent days.

MLB

Japan opens baseball season after 3-month pandemic delay

TOKYO — Japanese baseball managed to do what American baseball has not — play ball.

Tokyo

Call to cancel Tokyo Olympics enters race for Tokyo governor

TOKYO — The contentious issue of the billions being spent on the postponed Tokyo Olympics has entered the debate in the race for governor of Japan's capital.

Shinzo Abe

Tokyo gov seeks 2nd term, says Japan unprepared for pandemic

TOKYO — Japan may have contained its coronavirus outbreaks for now but the country needs better crisis management and a digital transformation to prepare for future shocks, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko...

Financial markets

Asian shares slip as global rally eases off the accelerator

BANGKOK — Shares fell Thursday in Asia after another day of wobbly trading on Wall Street as markets eased off the accelerator following their big rally.

Tokyo

Money-losing Mitsubishi says executives will take pay cuts

TOKYO — Mitsubishi Motors told its shareholders Thursday that its top executives are taking pay cuts to share responsibility for the Japanese automaker’s financial losses.

Financial markets

Asia stocks lower after Wall Street gains on recovery hopes

BEIJING — Major Asian stock markets declined Wednesday after Wall Street gained on hopes for a global economic recovery and Japan's exports sank.

Global trade

Japan’s exports, imports sank in May amid pandemic fallout

TOKYO — Japan’s exports sank 28% in May, while imports dropped 26% as the coronavirus pandemic slammed global trade.

Financial markets

Asian stocks follow Wall St higher after Fed ups bond buys

TOKYO — Asian shares rose Tuesday, cheered by fresh moves by the U.S. Federal Reserve to support markets battered by the coronavirus pandemic.

Beijing

Asian shares fall on fears virus outbreaks are rebounding

TOKYO — Shares were mostly lower in Asia on Monday on concern over a resurgence of coronavirus cases and pessimism after Wall Street posted its worst week in nearly three...

George Floyd

Japan, New Zealand march to mourn George Floyd, seek change

TOKYO — Holding handmade signs that read “Black Lives Matter,” several hundred people marched peacefully at a Tokyo park Sunday, highlighting the outrage over the death of George Floyd even...

Embezzlement

Japan court backs Karpeles conviction for data manipulation

TOKYO — A Japanese high court on Thursday upheld a lower court’s decision that the French head of Mt. Gox, a Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange that went bankrupt after a massive hacking attack,...

International News

Japan wants US to extradite Americans who helped Ghosn flee

TOKYO — A Japanese prosecutor on Thursday urged the U.S. to extradite two Americans accused of helping Nissan’s former chairman, Carlos Ghosn flee the country while he was out on bail....

Financial Markets

Asian shares slide after Wall Street retreat

TOKYO — Asian shares were mostly lower Thursday, with Tokyo dropping more than 1% as the Japanese yen gained after the Federal Reserve said it would keep interest rates low through 2022....

Financial markets

Asian shares edge higher after Wall St rally fizzles

BANGKOK — Shares were trading slightly higher in Asia on Wednesday after a weekslong rally on Wall Street hit the brakes.

Financial markets

Asian shares mixed after Nasdaq record as Wall St rallies on

TOKYO — Shares were mixed in Asia on Tuesday after the Nasdaq composite touched a fresh record as enthusiasm about reopening the economy pushed Wall Street still higher....

Tokyo

Q&A: State of Tokyo Olympics 2 1/2 months after postponement

TOKYO — It's been 2 1/2 months since the Tokyo Olympics were postponed until next year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. So where do the games stand? So far, many ideas about how the Olympic...

Japan

Japan says economy contracted less than earlier reported

TOKYO — Japan reported Monday that its economy contracted at an annual rate of 2.2% in January-March, less than initially estimated.

International News

Japan advocate for daughter, others abducted to NKorea dies

TOKYO — Shigeru Yokota, a Japanese campaigner for the return of his daughter and more than a dozen others who were abducted to North Korea in the 1970s, has died. He was 87....