Tag - focus

 
 

FOCUS

Police officers investigate near a house in Tokyo where a resident was assaulted by a group of burglars on Saturday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Nov 3, 2024
Spate of burglaries in Kanto highlight importance of home security
Amid a surge in burglaries linked to "dark" part-time jobs across the Tokyo area, experts are advising people to take measures that would delay intruders.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, face off in an election Tuesday that will have wide-ranging implications for Japan.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 3, 2024
Status quo or disruption? Breaking down the U.S. election's impact on Japan
Regardless of who wins, Washington is likely to have limited bandwidth to change tack in a significant way with its most important Asian ally.
Ukrainian law enforcement officers comfort a woman crying over the body of her 15-year-old son following a missile attack in Kharkiv on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 2, 2024
In Ukraine, hopes of war breakthrough slim whoever wins U.S. election
For many in war-torn county, the outcome of the U.S. election and its impact on the war with Russia feels less likely to be pivotal than it once did.
A handful of cases that have already reached the U.S. Supreme Court may herald the beginning of what legal experts expect would be a wave of litigation after the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election, in particular if Donald Trump loses again in a race that opinion polls indicate is very tight.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 2, 2024
U.S. Supreme Court girds for rush of election-related litigation
Following the 2020 election that he lost to Joe Biden, Donald Trump and his allies brought a storm of legal cases challenging the outcome.
Appi Geothermal Energy's power plant in Hachimantai, Iwate Prefecture, began commercial operations in March.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Oct 31, 2024
Geothermal power slowly gains steam in Japan
Development of the energy source has long stalled, partly because they tend to lie beneath national parks, which are protected for wildlife conservation.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk jumps on stage as he arrives to speak at a town hall event hosted by America PAC in support of former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 18.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 26, 2024
Elon Musk all-in for Trump as Moscow denies secret Putin talks
Musk's America PAC has also been warned by the U.S. Justice Department that its $1 million giveaways to registered voters may violate federal law.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba arrives to deliver a campaign speech in Osaka on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 23, 2024
Polls show Japan's ruling bloc could lose its majority. What would happen then?
Depending on the final count, one option for the LDP and Komeito might be to invite another party into a coalition.
Former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi stumps in the city of Nara on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 22, 2024
With her sights set on Ishiba's throne, will Takaichi take over the LDP?
Anything less than a comfortable victory in Sunday's general election will put the prime minister in a vulnerable position.
Komeito leader Keiichi Ishii shakes hands with a voter in his district in Saitama Prefecture on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 21, 2024
Komeito's new leader faces trial by fire in general election
Once local allies, Komeito and Nippon Ishin no Kai are going head-to-head for the first time ever, adding to the challenge facing Keiichi Ishii.
A Tokyo Electric Power Co. employee opens a watertight door inside the Unit 7 reactor building at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, on Aug. 6.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Oct 19, 2024
Japan shifting back to nuclear to ditch coal and power AI
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, the world's biggest nuclear plant, could help Japan cut carbon emissions while also powering artificial intelligence.
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Huntington Place in Detroit on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 19, 2024
U.S. cities seek to 'Trump-proof' inequality action ahead of election
After the pandemic and protests following the death of George Floyd in 2020, racial and economic inequality moved to the center of federal policymaking.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington on July 25.
WORLD / FOCUS
Oct 19, 2024
With Sinwar dead, Israel aims to lock in strategic gains before U.S. election
Goals include reshaping the regional landscape in Israel's favor and shielding its borders from any future attacks, according to sources.
A board for election posters in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on Monday
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 15, 2024
Election to test Ishiba's ability to build a strong political base
The PM must mitigate the reputational damage caused by the LDP's recent funds scandal and persuade voters that the party is still their best choice.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends the East Asian Summit in Vientiane, Laos, on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 15, 2024
Ishiba openness to nuke ban treaty involvement puts pact in spotlight
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said his government will “seriously consider” participating as an observer in a conference of signatories to the U.N. treaty.
Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) leader Yoshihiko Noda speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 13, 2024
Amid skepticism, CDP faces once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in Oct. 27 polls
The party can capitalize on dissatisfaction against the ruling Liberal Democratic Party over a recent scandal, but it must battle voters' deep-seated doubts against it.
Israeli Army soldiers ride in a humvee convoy in the Upper Galilee region of northern Israel near the border with Lebanon on Thursday.
WORLD / FOCUS
Oct 13, 2024
'Very challenging': Israel faces Hezbollah in tricky terrain
After pounding Gaza for nearly a year, Israeli forces began "targeted" ground raids on September 30 intended to push back Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon.
Just 1 in 10 researchers and 1 in 5 students at the prestigious University of Tokyo are women.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Oct 10, 2024
Women at Japan's top university call out gender imbalance with posters
Gender bias begins early in Japanese education.
Hiroshi Moriyama, secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, has a strong influence over the administration of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 8, 2024
LDP linchpin Moriyama has big influence over Ishiba
The newly elected president took his secretary-general's advice on several key matters, including party and Cabinet appointments as well as calling a snap election.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda ahead of their meeting on Wednesday. Ishiba's comment after the meeting that he doesn't believe Japan needs an additional interest rate hike has surprised the financial market.
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Oct 6, 2024
Ishiba's U-turn on interest rates surprises market
The market is being perplexed by the statement by Ishiba, who had been critical of Abenomics.
HIF Global's Haru Oni clean hydrogen plant in Punta Arenas, Chile, last month
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / FOCUS
Oct 5, 2024
Latin America gears up for clean hydrogen boom but the road is not smooth
Government leaders expect a major boom for the region from clean hydrogen, produced using electricity from renewable sources that do not emit carbon.

Longform

Akira Oishi (left) and Shinichi Okanobori have taken on the responsibility of surveying the flora and fauna of Mount Tenran and Mount Tonosu in Saitama Prefecture.
Inside Japan's 100-year project to monitor its deteriorating biodiversity