Business / Corporate Feb 9, 2021
SoftBank’s Vision Fund posts record $8 billion profit on IPO boom
by Pavel Alpeyev
A global rally in technology shares has boosted the value of SoftBank’s stakes in publicly traded firms like Uber Technologies Inc.
Business / Corporate Feb 4, 2021
Toyota moves to take on Tesla in high-tech auto software
by River Davis
Overseen by a star Silicon Valley engineer, the automaker's Arene system allows new features to be installed in a car’s existing hardware over the air.
Business / Corporate Feb 2, 2021
Panasonic lifts fiscal 2020 profit forecasts on strong demand
The figure, revised upward from the company's earlier estimate of ¥100 billion in net profit, would still mean a 33.5% drop from a year earlier.
National / Science & Health Feb 1, 2021
Glitches and design flaws limit value of Japan's COVID-19 tracing app
by Tomohiro Osaki
As a third wave of infections overwhelms contact tracers at public health centers, many are leaning more heavily on the state-developed COCOA app. But is it up to the task?
Asia Pacific / Politics Feb 1, 2021
Vietnam targets growth surge in Communist Party economic blueprint
Having sidestepped the worst of the coronavirus pandemic so far, Vietnam aims to rev up its economy over the next five years, trusting its custom-tooled mix of free trade deals, privatization and tight COVID-19 curbs. Armed with a raft of free trade deals envied by ...
Business / Corporate Feb 1, 2021
With Kuaishou, ex-Googler turns virtual gifts into a $61 billion business
by Venus Feng and Zheping Huang
The ByteDance Ltd. rival has become the biggest livestreaming platform for virtual gifts, with more paying monthly users than any other in the world.
Asia Pacific Feb 1, 2021
Governments exploit COVID-19 tracing data for other uses, risking backlash
by Jamie Tarabay
In Singapore, public support for a contact tracing app took a hit after authorities disclosed in January that police had used the app’s data in a murder investigation.
Business / Tech Jan 29, 2021
SoftBank's Zozo offers tech glasses to help cosmetics buyers get skin tone right
Japanese online fashion retailer Zozo Inc. on Friday launched skin tone measuring glasses for ordering cosmetics online, making its latest fashion tech offering as it expands beyond apparel. "Zozoglass," a pair of spectacles covered with color swatches and markers, detects skin tone when scanned with ...
Business / Corporate Jan 28, 2021
Debt-ridden Nissan hopes spending big on tech will reverse slide
by River Davis
After two years of faltering sales and fallout from the 2018 arrest of then-Chairman Carlos Ghosn, Nissan Motor Co.’s newly installed management is at another crossroads.
Business | FOCUS Jan 28, 2021
China’s crackdown will shake up world’s largest fintech market
The nation's financial watchdogs have made it their primary goal this year to curb the "reckless” push of technology firms into finance.
Asia Pacific / Social Issues Jan 28, 2021
China's growing use of emotion recognition tech raises rights concerns
by Avi Asher-Schapiro
Technology that measures emotions based on biometric indicators such as facial movements, tone of voice or body movements is increasingly being marketed in China, researchers say, despite concerns about its accuracy and wider human rights implications. Drawing upon artificial intelligence, the tools range from cameras ...
Business / Corporate Jan 26, 2021
Nidec to buy back shares as outlook improves and profit, sales top estimates
The manufacturer raised its operating income forecast for the current fiscal year to ¥155 billion, up from ¥140 billion and an average projection by analysts of ¥149 billion.