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June 25, 2026
 

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Sheryl Tian Tong Lee
Carsten Stoehr, deputy head of Asia Pacific at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., in Singapore, on May 28
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 4, 2026
SMBC moves beyond traditional lending to spur returns
The Japanese lender is utilizing tools such as synthetic risk transfers and loan portfolio sales, Asia-Pacific Deputy Head Carsten Stoehr says.
Japanese banks, including Mizuho Financial Group, and other foreign lenders in Asia have seen departures from their loan financing teams as loan demand softens.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 14, 2026
Senior loan bankers depart Mizuho and SMBC after Asia volumes slump
Asia¡¯s offshore loan market has been weighed down by elevated dollar interest rates, geopolitical risks and heightened competition among global lenders as deal flow dwindles.
Heliostat mirrors at the site of Dunhuang Shouhang 100MW Tower Solar Thermal Power Generation Project in Gansu province, China, on Oct. 16, 2024
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 10, 2025
China¡¯s green tech firms pour billions into overseas factories
Chinese companies are expanding their supply chains abroad to capture new markets, avoid tariffs and get closer to sources of raw materials, according to new research.
Over the past three years, banks with the most blended-finance transactions include SMBC, Citigroup, BNP Paribas and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 22, 2025
Sumitomo Mitsui among banks stepping up deals for blended finance
Deals blending public and private funds totaled $18 billion last year, down 21% from 2023, according to Convergence.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group has decided to withdraw from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, a spokesperson said.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 4, 2025
Japan¡¯s SMFG joins Wall Street in exiting net zero banking group
Japan¡¯s second-largest bank has decided to withdraw from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance.
U.S. government scientists participating in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change were issued a stop-work order from the Trump administration, according to media reports.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Feb 24, 2025
Trump creates uncertainty for world¡¯s most cited climate report
The U.S. absence comes amid broader cuts to research funding and a retreat from climate diplomacy under the Trump administration.
The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. logo atop a building at the Hsinchu Science Park in Hsinchu, Taiwan
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 20, 2023
¡®Sell TSMC, buy ASML¡¯ gains traction as China-Taiwan risks grow
Because TSMC¡¯s operations are mostly in Taiwan, it faces heightened geopolitical hazards. ASML, meanwhile, stands to benefit from the fragmentation.
Visitors walk along the Marina Barrage water catchment area in Singapore in 2009.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 10, 2023
Singapore fighting?rising seas to save $50 billion in real estate
During a half-century of independence, Singapore has fought to expand its territory, inch by hard-won inch. On the tip of the Malaysian peninsula, the island city-state piled up sand to expand its coastline and reclaim land from the sea.
The Keppel Marina East Desalination Plant in Singapore on July 21. Public Utilities Board, which is responsible for Singapore's water management, has a long-term goal of reducing the energy use of water desalination to 1 killowatt-hours per 1,000 liters.
ENVIRONMENT
Aug 3, 2023
Singapore is building the technology it needs for new climate era
Building renewables like solar and wind requires a lot of land, one thing Singapore doesn¡¯t have.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 19, 2023
Ancient Amazon charcoal seen as next big thing in carbon markets
Known as biochar, this black substance can store carbon for hundreds of years and improve soil quality at the same time.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 17, 2023
A billion new air conditioners will save lives but cook the planet
Demand for air conditioners is surging in markets where both incomes and temperatures are rising, such as India, China, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 9, 2023
Funds that inflate green credentials face strict new rules in Japan
Under the FSA¡¯s new guidelines, only funds that consider environmental, social and governance as a ¡®key factor¡± when choosing investments can be marketed as such.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 9, 2022
Japan to ramp up scrutiny of ESG data providers with new guidelines
With ESG assets set to reach $53 trillion by 2025, concerns are growing over the substantial influence these typically unregulated ESG data providers have over the industry.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 8, 2022
Hong Kong and Singapore compete for green finance supremacy
The race to attract all that fresh money and trading business in Asia will take years to play out, but so far Singapore has an early edge over Hong Kong.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 19, 2022
Cost of green hydrogen to match LNG within a decade, French utility says
Interest in hydrogen is rapidly growing amid a global effort to cut dependence on coal and natural gas.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 10, 2022
With $47 billion in assets, China¡¯s climate-focused funds surpass U.S.
In 2021, record inflows and outperformance by the domestic clean energy sector bolstered Chinese climate funds by drifing a 149% increase in value from the previous year.
Japanese companies get serious about workplace DEI
People working in human resources departments participate in a workshop in Tokyo in January. The participants played a card game in which they took on roles of people with various disabilities.
Consumer affairs watchdog raises alarm over air conditioner repair scams
The National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan has issued a warning over a rise in air conditioner repair scams.
China accuses Japan of ¡®harassment¡¯ during far-seas aircraft carrier training
China's Liaoning aircraft carrier takes part in a military drill in the western Pacific in April 2018.
Japan top court upholds order to dissolve Unification Church
Japan's Supreme Court has upheld lower court rulings ordering the dissolution of the controversial religious group known as the Unification Church.
Stepping up, not aside: Japan¡¯s retirement-age tour guides
Yoichi Miura (third from left) now divides his time between his import business and guiding international visitors across Japan.
Japan-South Korea detente persists ¡ª but breakthrough remains elusive
While Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung have kept relations from sliding backward, experts say they have struggled to turn stability into concrete steps forward.
Japan¡¯s AI goldrush faces backlash as data centers sprout up in urban areas
Erin and Munekazu Tanikawa look out from their balcony at the construction site of a planned 52-meter-tall data center that would dominate their surroundings, in the city of Inzai, Chiba Prefecture, last month.
Distracted walkers in Japan are a real safety risk. My mother knows firsthand.
In Tokyo and other major Japanese cities, <i>aruki-sumaho</i> ¡ª walking while using a smartphone ¡ª has become a persistent safety concern as commuters navigate crowded stations and sidewalks while focused on their devices.
Can automation offset Japan¡¯s military workforce shortage?
A Ground Self-Defense Force uncrewed ground vehicle takes part in a live-fire military exercise at the Higashi Fuji Training Field in Shizuoka Prefecture on May 7.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Social camouflaging can help neurodivergent people navigate social situations, but researchers say the effort often comes with significant emotional and mental strain.
The challenge of being neurodivergent in Japan¡¯s culture of conformity
By Tomoko Otake

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