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September 17, 2024
 

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FOCUS

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike poses with Liberal Democratic Party members of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly on July 8, following her win for a third term in the gubernatorial election the previous day.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 10, 2024
After Tokyo governor poll, eyes turn to 2025 assembly election
Both the Liberal Democratic Party and the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan are under pressure to regroup ahead of the quadrennial metropolitan assembly election.
Sergei Kiriyenko, who is the first deputy head in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s administration, oversaw a yearslong Kremlin operation to meddle in U.S. elections and use disinformation to promote pro-Russian narratives online, according to a 277-page affidavit that U.S. officials unsealed Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 7, 2024
The evolution of Putin’s aide accused of gaming the U.S. election
The head of a Russian propaganda campaign that allegedly aimed to influence the upcoming U.S. elections began as a liberal politician.
Demand for electric vehicles in Japan has long been sluggish, and the government this year changed how EV subsidies are calculated, reducing them for BYD and several of its rivals, raising concerns about protectionism.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Sep 5, 2024
BYD's global expansion push runs into a stiff test in Japan
Demand for electric vehicles in Japan has long been sluggish, and the government this year changed how EV subsidies are calculated.
Michie Hino, 77, works at an elderly care home in Chiba Prefecture. She is one of a growing number of senior Japanese citizens working into their 70s.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Sep 5, 2024
Working till your 70s — Japan's prospective gift to the world
A struggling pension system and the highest inflation in decades have led more Japanese people to delay retirement until their 70s or later to make ends meet.
Therapy dogs are brought in for correctional education at the Kakogawa Gakuen juvenile correctional facility in Hyogo Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Sep 3, 2024
Novel dog training program aids rehab at juvenile correctional facility
An official involved in the program highlighted its importance, saying, 'Interaction with animals plays a valuable role in the rehabilitation of juveniles.'
Job seekers crowd a job fair at Liberation Square in Shijiazhuang, China, in 2018.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Sep 2, 2024
New unproductive forces: the Chinese youth owning their unemployment
Urban youth unemployment for the roughly 100 million Chinese aged 16-24 spiked to 17.1% in July, a figure analysts say masks millions of rural unemployed.
Students participate in a mock lay judge trial session with a lawyer serving as a lecturer at Tokyo Metropolitan Mitaka Secondary School in March.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Sep 2, 2024
15 years on, Japan's lay judge system faces low participation
Fifteen years after its launch, Japan's lay judge system continues to grapple with a high refusal rate among candidates.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during the 33rd Independence Day ceremony at Saint Sophia Square, in Kyiv on Aug. 24
WORLD / FOCUS
Aug 31, 2024
In war-fatigued east Ukraine, Zelenskyy loses his shine
While the Ukrainian leader initially had close to a 90% approval rate after Russia invaded, his rating now stands at a mere 55%.
U.S. Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris waves as she arrives to speak on the fourth and last day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on Aug. 22.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 31, 2024
Harris isn’t looking to pick new fights with China, unlike Trump
The U.S. vice president is betting that Americans don’t want an all-out confrontation when they tell pollsters they’d like their leaders to get even tougher on China.
Digital minister Taro Kono announces his intention to run in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election during a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 30, 2024
Is Kono, the only faction-backed candidate to lead LDP, still a maverick?
It's unclear whether his recent call for the return of slush funds pocketed by former faction members represents his true beliefs or a strategic move.
Nippon Ishin no Kai head Nobuyuki Baba (left) and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida discuss political reform in Tokyo in May.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 28, 2024
Hyogo governor's scandal could spell more trouble for Nippon Ishin
The party, still reeling from a mayoral election loss, gave its backing to Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito in his 2021 gubernatorial bid.
A China Coast Guard ship is seen from the Philippine Coast Guard vessel BRP Cabra during a supply mission to Sabina Shoal in disputed waters of the South China Sea on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Aug 27, 2024
China-Philippine tensions center on new flash point: Sabina Shoal
Clashes between the countries’ vessels have become more frequent and intense as the two sides vie for control over the disputed South China Sea atoll.
Police officers stand guard during a campaign speech by a candidate in the Lower House by-election in Tokyo in April.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 26, 2024
Tight security eyed for LDP election speeches after Trump attack
Security measures at speech venues are expected to include the use of metal detectors and the installation of bulletproof shields around speakers.
The new V Point program offers a feature allowing members to earn double reward points when making payments with credit cards.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Aug 26, 2024
New V Point spurs corporate economic bloc race in Japan
Competition among corporate groups in Japan is intensifying further as they strive to expand their economic influence through shared reward points.
European Union member flags are hoisted in front of the European Parliament building in Luxembourg. The country hosts key EU institutions and has recently concluded a working holiday visa program with Japan.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Aug 22, 2024
Luxembourg opens door for Japanese working holiday visitors
The working holiday program is available to Japanese nationals between the ages of 18 and 30.
A recruiter holding a placard advertising jobs talks to young men at an unofficial job market in the suburbs of Beijing.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Aug 21, 2024
China's rising youth unemployment breeds new working class
Millions of graduates are being pushed into a tough bargain, with some forced to accept low-paying work or even subsist on their parents' pensions.
Yukio Edano, a former leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, speaks to reporters on Aug. 9 to express his intention to run in the party's leadership race.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 20, 2024
CDP faced with division as it heads into leadership race
The next CDP leader will be expected to unify the different groups within the party and cooperate with other opposition parties to increase its seats during polls.
Climbers converge in front of Mount Fuji's 5th Station, which leads to the popular Yoshida trail, in Narusawa, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Aug. 11.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Aug 20, 2024
Mount Fuji’s new measures bear fruit in tackling dangerous 'bullet climbing'
Restrictions implemented on the popular Yoshida trail have significantly reduced the number of "bullet climbers" and reduced bad behavior associated with the practice.
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 17, 2024
How Trump’s intimidation tactics have reshaped the Republican Party
Those seen as disloyal to Trump and his Make America Great Again agenda have been the target of threats by his most ardent supporters.
The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier (left) and its strike group sails in formation with Italy's Cavour carrier (right) strike group in the Pacific Ocean on Aug. 9.
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Aug 17, 2024
NATO steps up naval presence in Western Pacific to counter China
The latest entrant is the Italian aircraft carrier Cavour, the first time Rome has deployed its lone carrier to the Pacific.
Japan's elderly population grows to record 36.25 million
The proportion of people aged 65 and over has risen since the 1950s and is expected to hit 34.8% by 2040, when the second baby boomers (born 1971-1974) will join that group.
'Shogun' becomes first non-English-language winner of best drama Emmy
Japanese actress Anna Sawai, winner of the outstanding lead actress in a drama series award for "Shogun," and Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada, winner of the outstanding lead actor in a drama series award for the show, pose in the press room during the 76th Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Japan jumps to No. 2, from sixth place, in Best Countries index
Pedestrians cross an intersection in the Shibuya district of Tokyo. Japan has experienced a postpandemic travel boom, with tourists pouring back in after restrictions closed the country’s borders to travelers.
South Korea is facing deepfake porn crisis
Activists hold up symbolic eye masks during a protest against deepfake porn in Seoul on Aug. 30.
‘The people I’d seen in kimono didn’t have as much melanin as I do’
American Kara Harris is on the verge of attaining a high-level certification in the world of kimono — and may possibly be the first Black woman to do so.
Chris Broad's new bar puts cocktails first, YouTube second
A self-proclaimed lover of great cocktails, YouTuber Chris Broad says his new Shibuya watering hole is more a place to get yourself a solid drink than it is anything related to his social media career.
LDP presidential hopefuls outline approach to U.S. and China concerns
Candidates for Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party presidential election stand together onstage at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Saturday.
Tokyo’s top fashion showcase pushes rising stars to the world stage
A model displays a creation by Japanese designer Norio Surikabe during a runway show on Sept. 6 for the latest edition of Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo.
New mouse models can boost Japan's drug development: National Cancer Center
Hiroyuki Mano, director of the National Cancer Center Japan's (NCC) research institute, explains on Wednesday the use of mice bearing patients' cancer tissues to screen drug candidates for their efficacy.
Scientists win Ig Nobel for discovering anal breathing in mammals
Takanori Takebe (behind the lectern) speaks after his team of researchers and he were awarded the Ig Nobel Prize in physiology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Thursday.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

A store clerk tries to cool things down in front of their shop by spraying a hose.
Is extreme weather changing the way Japan shops?
By Alex K.T. Martin

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