World

More Japanese filmmakers than before are venturing outside their domestic comfort zone. But few have gone farther, both geographically and culturally, than Yu Kaneko in his documentary “Mlabri in the Woods.” An associate professor at Tama Art University, Kaneko has published extensively about cultural anthropology and cinema history, and has made documentaries on a range of subjects. His new film about the Mlabri, an ethnic group living in the hills of Laos and northern Thailand, began with an encounter in Thailand in February 2017 with Yuma Ito, a Japanese linguist fluent in the Mlabri language. “He told me that the three Mlabri subgroups hate each other, believing folklore that the others are cannibals, so he’d like to introduce them to each other,” Kaneko tells The Japan Times. “I sa...

The U.S. is launching an investigation into whether Chinese solar-equipment manufacturers are evading tariffs by sending components to other Asian nations for assembly before shipping finished products to the U.S. The U.S. Commerce Department said in filings Monday that it would open the probe requested by Auxin Solar Inc., a small California panel maker, marking the first formal step of an investigation that could span a year and culminate in expanded duties on the imports. The investigation threatens to upend the U.S. solar sector, which depends heavily on Asian panels. Companies that build solar farms warned that simply opening a probe will drive up prices and potentially expose importers to retroactive duties. That could slow the growth of clean power in the U.S. and undermine Presid...

TOKYO : The cost of insuring against a default in SoftBank Group Corp's debt hit a two-year high on Wednesday and its bond yield also climbed as sharp drops in the value of its tech investments have unnerved investors. The value of marquee companies in the tech investor's portfolio have tumbled, hit by China's crackdown on tech companies, the prospect of higher interest rates and war in Ukraine. Among them, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Didi Global Inc have slid 35per cent and 64per cent respectively for the year to date. "Debt investors are generally more conservative than equity investors, but if they're worried then equity investors probably should take notice," said Redex Research analyst Kirk Boodry. SoftBank's 5-year credit default swaps rose by around 25 basis points, data from I...

New Balance has opened its fifth manufacturing space in North America. This one is in Methuen, Massachusetts. While many retailers are struggling to preserve relationships with overseas vendors and manufacturers, against pandemic uncertainty and shaky foreign relations, one is doubling down on its presence in North America. New Balance, a privately held business known for its cushioned sneakers and retro-inspired workout gear, has opened a manufacturing facility in Methuen, Massachusetts, the company announced Monday. The move strengthens its reliance on North America for production, as businesses try to navigate an obstructed global supply chain, said President and Chief Executive Joe Preston. The move comes as prominent business leaders are considering whether globalization as we know...

The China Eastern Airlines Corp. jet was flying a normal route to Guangzhou when it suddenly nosed over, at cruise altitude, and dove. That’s about all that is known for certain about the unusual crash that killed all 132 people aboard the aircraft Monday in China’s worst aviation accident in more than a decade. While there have been a handful of crashes in which an airliner plunged from cruising altitude, few, if any, fit the extreme profile of the Boeing Co. 737-800 as it pointed steeply toward the ground, according to veteran crash investigators and previous accident reports. "It’s an odd profile,” said John Cox, an aviation safety consultant and former 737 pilot. "It’s hard to get the airplane to do this.” As investigators search for the plane’s two crash-proof recorders and begin ...

Say what you will about social media, but platforms like YouTube, Instagram and TikTok are capturing the attention of consumers around the world, no doubt thanks to their wildly varied offerings of bite-sized videos that are easy to consume and just as easy to share. Connecting audiences of all ages through their creativity and wit, these short-form social media videos have seen their demand surge in recent years. Believing that 5G technology has the power to transform the way creators produce content and connect with their audiences, Singtel, the provider of Singapore’s most powerful 5G network*, has stepped up to provide a seamless platform for them. By putting the power of advanced technology in the hands of these content creators, the stage is set for more high-quality digital creatio...

Japan is considering hosting separate talks with the Philippines and India next month involving their respective foreign and defense ministers to beef up security ties amid China’s growing maritime assertiveness, diplomatic sources said Wednesday. Arrangements are being made for Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi to host “two-plus-two” meetings with their Philippines counterparts in early April, and their Indian counterparts in mid-April, according to the sources. The talks are being planned as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine spurs concern that China could be emboldened to further intensify its military activities in the Indo-Pacific region, and as North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile launch last week has increased its nuclear threat. The offici...

WASHINGTON: The Federal Reserve has made clear it will come out guns blazing to battle the highest inflation rate in four decades, but that has sparked increasing fears their campaign will plunge the world's largest economy into recession. The US central bank is facing a daunting task as it tries to engineer a "soft landing" that preserves growth while tamping down worrying price pressures against an uncertain global backdrop. It will require "exquisite calibration," longtime Fed watcher David Wessel told AFP. The United States has roared back from the COVID-19 pandemic, posting solid growth and record job gains thanks to massive government aid and aggressive stimulus from the Fed, which cut the benchmark lending rate to zero in March 2020. But the rebound has hit multiple stumbling bl...

Global prices for some grains have spiked since the Russia-Ukraine war started, with both countries contributing a significant percentage of the world's supply for some of those commodities such as wheat. Vincent Mundy | Bloomberg | Getty Images From food prices to tourism and weapons supply, Asia-Pacific countries could be hit hard by the Russia-Ukraine war, even if they are not directly exposed to the conflict, according to a new Economic Intelligence Unit report. Food prices are particularly sensitive to the war as both countries are significant commodity producers, according to the research firm. Some Asian countries rely on commodities such as fertilizer from Russia, and a global shortage is already driving up prices of agriculture and grains. Given the region's relatively high level...

Japan, which is keeping in step with the United States and European countries in maintaining strong sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, also wants Southeast Asian nations to join the effort in order to ratchet up the pressure and prevent Moscow from finding loopholes that allow it to circumnavigate the punitive measures. But the task to expand a united front against Russia is proving to be difficult as some countries in Southeast Asia traditionally have strong relations with Moscow. In Tokyo on Saturday, Japan and the Philippines, a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, held the first two-plus-two security talks among their foreign and defense ministers. On the Ukraine crisis, the ministers said in a joint statement that they “shared the view that aggression...