Tokyo / DPA The number of foreign technical intern trainees who fled from workplaces last year reached the highest level ever at 5,803, greatly surpassing the previous year’s figure, according to a Justice Ministry survey. The government believes that poor working conditions have resulted in the incidents in many cases. To counter this situation, the government plans to take legislative ...

Tokyo / Bloomberg The Bank of Japan (BoJ) has made no progress in increasing the proportion of women in management positions in the past two years. Women held 4 percent of management posts in 2015, which was unchanged from 2013, according to a comparison of a statement released Tuesday and one from 2014. The central bank, in the statements, said ...

Hanoi / Bloomberg 500 Startups is starting a $10 million fund dedicated to Vietnam as the Silicon Valley venture capital firm founded by Dave McClure backs more of the country’s technology startups. Growing Internet use by its young population, where the number of mobile phones exceeds the number of residents, provides an attractive bet in the nation that gave rise ...

New Delhi / Bloomberg Indian billionaire Ajay Piramal is a man on a shopping mission. His firms are training their sights on distressed assets discarded by indebted businesses and banks struggling with bad loans. His unlisted real estate unit, recently flush with cash from Warburg Pincus & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., is looking to buy land parcels from ...

Bloomberg Mark Carney was accused of jeopardizing the Bank of England’s credibility in the European Union debate as he faced a fiery line of questioning from U.K. ­legislators. While the BOE governor has spent months trying to avoid the political battle — a task lawmaker Andrew Tyrie compared to bomb disposal — some members of the Treasury Committee said BOE ...

Bloomberg Volkswagen AG Chief Executive Officer Matthias Mueller sought to win over workers to restructuring measures aimed at lifting margins at the embattled German carmaker’s namesake brand and helping weather the emissions-cheating scandal. After nearly six months of crisis and recent revelations that senior managers missed warning signs, workers are fighting to avoid footing the bill. That put Herbert Diess, ...

Bloomberg France’s lawmakers will vote on a plan to impose penalties and jail time on technology executives who deny access to encrypted data during a terrorist investigation, helping security services and prosecutors force companies such as Apple Inc. into cooperation. The amendment was submitted by the opposition party The Republicans and, while the government hasn’t officially supported the measure, it ...

Bloomberg Higher spending by households and governments helped propel the euro-area to its 11th successive quarter of growth even as net trade suffered amid a slowdown in China and other emerging markets. Consumption in the private sector rose 0.2 percent in the three months through December, while that of the public sector expanded 0.6 percent, the European Union’s statistics office ...

The annual meeting of China’s National People’s Congress kicked off in Beijing this weekend, highlighted by Premier Li Keqiang’s government work report on Saturday. The NPC always finalizes China’s targets, goals, and areas of emphasis for the coming year. This year’s session, however, will see the final adoption of China’s next Five Year Plan, which will cover the period from ...

The two clashing readings on the US economy and the appropriate monetary policy are quite interesting. Two of the central bank’s most influential policymakers differ over the best options to stimulate the growth of US economy. Fed Governor Lael Brainard, who has emerged as a leader of the Fed’s dovish faction, argued for “patience” in raising interest rates. “Given weak ...