The Billionaire Behind Japan's Art Islands Has One Final Jewel in His Crown
Opening Saturday, the Naoshima New Museum of Art, a concrete structure by Tadao Ando, has a few unusual touches for a building by this Pritzker Prize-winning architect. There's a pebbly wall along the walkway to the entrance. To harmonize with the townscape, it has a black plaster exterior, exhibition spaces that are largely underground, and a single story above, topped by a sloped metal roof. The iridescent sea is visible from the top floor.
The museum is the latest star in the constellation of more than three dozen museums and projects called Benesse Art Site Naoshima, which spread across three islands. The New Museum is the first to focus exclusively on contemporary Asian art.
And it is likely to provide more fuel for global art pilgrims — some six million of them since 2004 — who have flocked to the islands, most taking a couple of trains and a ferry to experience major artworks in unusual settings.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) Soars 20.86% on Planned Satellites Launch
We recently published AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) is one of the best-performing stocks on Tuesday. AST SpaceMobile snapped a four-day losing streak on Tuesday, jumping 8.36 percent after trading as much as 20.86 percent intra-day, as investor sentiment was bolstered by its plans to launch 60 satellites next year. 'We are confirming our fully-funded plan to deploy 45 to 60 satellites into orbit by 2026 to support continuous service in the US, Europe, Japan, and other strategic markets, including the US Government,' said AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) Chairman and CEO Abel Avellan in a statement. 'We also have planned orbital launches every one to two months on average during 2025 and 2026,' he added. Additionally, AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) is planning to deploy nationwide intermittent service in the US by the end of the year, followed by the UK, Japan, and Canada in the first quarter next year. This, alone, is expected to rake in revenues between $50 million and $75 million from government and commercial customers in the second half of the year. In the second quarter, AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) widened its net loss attributable to shareholders by 37 percent to $99.4 million from $72.5 million in the same period last year, despite revenues growing by 28 percent to $1.156 billion from $900 million year-on-year. Copyright: hywards / 123RF Stock Photo In the first half, attributable net loss grew by 57 percent to $145.1 million from $92.28 million in the same period last year, while revenues increased by 33.8 percent $1.874 billion from $1.4 billion year-on-year. While we acknowledge the potential of ASTS as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the .
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Asics' US Wholesale Business Is Booming
Asics Corp. raised full-year guidance and a projection for operating profit ahead of plan following a strong second quarter report. Results for the three months ended June 30 were helped strong strong performance in its performance running, sportstyle and Onitsuka Tiger categories. Asics' core performance sports category also showed gains in the quarter. Results were more than enough for the Japanese sportswear company to raise its operating profit projection for the year to 136 billion yen, one year ahead of its initial expectation as stated in its Mid-Term Plan 2026. The prior estimate for Fiscal Year 2025 was 120 billion yen back in February. It guided net sales to 800.0 billion yen for the year, up from 780.0 billion yen. More from WWD Asics Is Introducing a Super Bouncy Foam While Expanding Its Blast Franchise With Two New Models Asics, Salomon and Anta Are Experiencing Massive Growth on StockX in 2025 Shoe Prices Started to Climb in July After Months of Declines Also providing a tailwind to updated projections was 'reduced uncertainty around U.S. tariff impacts,' Asics said on Wednesday. U.S. President Donald Trump said last month that it had the parameters for a trade deal with Japan that set tariffs for Japanese imports to America at 15 percent, down from a proposed 25 percent. The final terms of the deal are still being negotiated. Even with the additional tariffs, the company raised upward its full-year operating profit guidance for the North America business to 15.0 billion yen from 11.5 billion yen. Net sales were also guided upward to 145 billion yen from February's forecast of 136 billion yen. Data for Asics North America — the region that includes the U.S., Canada and Mexico — showed a quarterly profit for the eighth time in the past nine quarters, driven by success of the wholesale channel. U.S. wholesale sales rose nearly 40 percent from year-ago levels. The running and sportstyle businesses also posted double-digit increases from year-ago levels. On a local currency basis, the U.S. and Mexico produced double-digit growth, while Canada reach a high single-digit growth year-to date. Separately, in retail, Asics' Meatpacking store posted a net sales growth of 15.5 percent in the quarter, aided by implementation of omnichannel initiatives to bolster the in-store assortment mix. 'The consistent demand for Asics footwear products across the region speaks to our relentless pursuit of developing technically advanced performance running products while remaining very aware of broader cultural and lifestyle trends to support the sportstyle category,' Koichiro Kodama, president and CEO of Asics North America, said. He said both the Megablast and Sonicblast performance running models, part of the company's Blast footwear series, will have expanded offerings for consumers this fall. The overall Asics operation ended the second quarter with earnings that rose 41.8 percent to 22.0 billion yen, up from 15.5 billion yen a year ago. Net sales were up 15.7 percent to 194.4 billion yen from 168.0 billion yen. By category, running net sales rose 4.8 percent to 86.9 billion yen for the quarter. The category was led by Novablast 5, which showed strong sales worldwide. Asics has also been actively introducing new products, taking advantage of momentum from the upcoming World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 slated for next month. In core performance, net sales were up 8.2 percent to 18.6 billion yen. The category was driven by sales for shoes such as the DS Light X-Fly 6, a soccer spike that provides a barefoot feel with its SilkyWrap construction, as well as footwear for volleyball and all racquet sports. The sportstyle unit posted a 43 percent jump in net sales to 32.1 billion yen, driven by strong performance of Vintage Tech and sales of Gel-NYC from the Modern silo and Kinetic Fluent from Vis-Tech. The category also celebrated the 10-year anniversary of its Gel-Quantum franchise. The Onitsuka Tiger business posted a 45.2 percent jump in net sales to 37.5 billion yen. Its Tiger loafer features a distinctive silhouette with a voluminous toe. Net sales were robust in Japan to inbound tourists and in the Europe and Greater China regions. An Onitsuka Tiger store opened in Covent Garden, London, in May, and on the Champs-Élysées, Paris, in July. Asics said the Onitsuka Tiger will participate in Milan Fashion Week in September. Earlier this year saw the Sneaker Politics x Asics 'Just Say No' release, while earlier this month Asics released its new Gel-Sekiran sneaker in the U.S. for the first time, with JD Sports as an exclusive partner for the launch. And separately last month, Asics America moved its North American head office to 179 Lincoln Street in Boston's Leather District. The new five-story, 221,474-square-foot building, which is LEED Silver-certified, spans an entire city block and once was home to a shoe factory. Best of WWD All the Retailers That Nike Left and Then Went Back Mikey Madison's Elegant Red Carpet Shoe Style [PHOTOS] Julia Fox's Sleekest and Boldest Shoe Looks Over the Years [Photos] Sign in to access your portfolio
Associated Press
an hour ago
- Associated Press
KWE and Shell Aviation Sign New Agreement on the Use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)
TOKYO, JP / ACCESS Newswire / August 13, 2025 / Kintetsu World Express, Inc. (Tokyo, Japan) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a new agreement with Shell Aviation, regarding the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). KWE and Shell Aviation jointly participated in the market based measures framework pilot demonstration programme conducted by Smart Freight Centre in 2023. Since then, we have been engaged in discussions to establish a secure and convenient mechanism for the use of SAF's environmental benefits by aviation stakeholders, including freight forwarders and shippers, engaging in air freight activities. Under this agreement, we will adopt Shell Aviation's digital platform 'Avelia' to swiftly address shippers' low-carbon transportation needs. Avelia will help KWE to access the environmental benefits of SAF even when SAF is not physically available at their locations. It also offers a transparent, secure, and credible blockchain platform that ensures traceability, and helps to prevent erroneous double counting. Tatsuya Narasaki, Managing Officer at Kintetsu World Express, stated, 'We have identified the reduction of CO2 emissions and the promotion of renewable energy use as key sustainability challenges. To mitigate the environmental impact of our global operations, we are working to reduce CO2 emissions not only in Japan but also around the world. We are pleased to announce that our near-term and long-term net-zero emissions reduction targets have been formally approved by SBTi. SAF is a key component of our concrete efforts, and our collaboration with Shell Aviation represents a significant step forward for us.' Doris Tan, Head of Shell Aviation, Asia Pacific and Middle East, stated, 'We value our collaboration with KWE since the early days of the Smart Freight Centre's market based measures pilot. Through Avelia, we aim to accelerate SAF adoption and provide companies like KWE with a clear, scalable pathway to credible life cycle GHG emissions reductions* from aviation. This agreement marks another important step in making low-carbon air transport a reality for cargo stakeholders in Asia and beyond.' *For more information about Avelia, please visit: *Compared to conventional jet fuel Contact Information Mike Trejo (310) 627-3129 SOURCE: Kintetsu World Express press release
