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December 04, 2024
The Independent Voice in Asia
December 04, 2024
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Soldiers try to enter the National Assembly building in Seoul, after South Korea President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law late Tuesday evening.
Breaking News
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
South Korea troops try to storm parliament after Yoon declares martial law
By Jack Kim and Ju-min Park
In an unscheduled late-night TV address, President Suk-yeol Yoon claimed he would eradicate "shameless pro-North Korean anti-state forces."
Soldiers try to enter the National Assembly building in Seoul, after South Korea President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law late Tuesday evening.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda reiterated in an interview published Saturday that authorities will raise rates if the economy performs in line with projections.
BUSINESS / Economy
BOJ weighs case for first triple hike since Japan’s bubble burst
By Toru Fujioka
The last time the BOJ conducted three hikes in a single year was in 1989, with the third increase that year coming on Christmas Day.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announces measures to counter the spread of "forever chemicals" in drinking water in the Upper House of parliament in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Society
Japan eyes new PFAS regulations for drinking water by spring
By Tomoko Otake
Water suppliers nationwide must upgrade their safety standards to counter the spread of "forever chemicals."
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump says he will "block" a planned takeover of U.S. Steel by Nippon Steel.
BUSINESS / Companies
Trump says will 'block' Nippon Steel from taking over U.S. Steel
Days after the U.S. election last month, Nippon Steel said it expected to close its takeover of the company before the end of the year.
An anti-regime fighter tears off a poster depicting Syrian President Bashar Assad (left) and his brother Maher at the airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Syria flare-up jolts U.S. and offers chance for Trump
By Shaun TANDON
The Biden administration has committed more than $1 billion over the past year in humanitarian aid for Syria's displaced.
An anti-regime fighter tears off a poster depicting Syrian President Bashar Assad (left) and his brother Maher at the airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Monday.

JAPAN

Donna Nelson says her life was turned upside down when she learned that the man she was falling for had tricked her into smuggling 2 kilograms of methamphetamine into Japan.
Australian says romance scam tricked her into smuggling drugs into Japan
By Karin Kaneko
Donna Nelson says her life was turned upside down when she learned that the man she was falling for had tricked her into smuggling drugs.
Police officers enforce electric scooter traffic regulations in Chuo Ward, Osaka, in July.
Luup CEO blames repeat offenders for high e-scooter traffic violations
According to the National Police Agency, there were 25,156 e-scooter traffic violation cases in the year after e-scooter regulations were relaxed.
General contractor Yamaura to be fined for false financial statements
Hayabusa2 continues its journey, 10 years after launch
Japan witnesses warmest fall on record
Jetstar Japan loses lawsuit over disciplinary action against cabin crew

BUSINESS

Kentaro Okuda, CEO of Nomura Holdings, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Nomura CEO takes pay cut after former employee charged with attempted murder
By Kathleen Benoza
The CEO and four other executives will take a 30% pay cut for three months, while five board of directors will take a 20% pay cut for the same period.
Nissan Motor vehicles bound for shipment at the Nissan Oppama wharf in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.
Nissan is awash in outdated models as car buyers look elsewhere
By Nicholas Takahashi
While Japan’s other major carmakers take six months or more to ship a new vehicle, many of Nissan’s most popular models can be delivered within a month or two.
JCM to demand pay-scale hike of ¥12,000 or more in 2025
Japan needs a wake-up call on debt, government advisor warns
By Erica Yokoyama and Takashi Umekawa
Yen carry trade that rattled markets shows signs of a comeback
By Mia Glass and Masaki Kondo
Japanese firms begin adopting generative AI for information searches

WORLD

The goal of the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden, building on years of evolving trade restrictions, is to slow China’s domestic development of advanced semiconductors and artificial intelligence systems that may help its military.
U.S. tightens curbs on China’s access to AI memory and chip tools
The new measures included exemptions for key allies such as Japan and the Netherlands.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova in Moscow on May 31.
Putin-controlled aircraft deported Ukrainian children, U.S.-backed research alleges
By Anthony Deutsch
The U.S. State Department-backed research identified 314 Ukrainian children taken to Russia.
As sabotage allegations swirl, NATO struggles to secure the Baltic Sea
By Anne Kauranen and Sabine Siebold
Ukraine sees influx of Western war tourists
By Maryke VERMAAK, Andriy KALCHENKO and Lea DAUPLE
Energy workers battle to keep the lights on in Ukraine
By Tom Balmforth
Fossil footprints in Kenya show two ancient human species coexisted
By Will Dunham

Sports

Peter Westbrook became the first African American and Asian American to win an Olympic medal in fencing at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.
Trailblazing Olympic fencer Peter Westbrook dies at 72
By Jere Longman
Westbrook was the first first African American and Asian American to win a medal in fencing at the Summer Games
Barca boss Flick rues missed chances and urges players to be more clinical
No concerns about Hamilton's speed, says Ferrari's Vasseur
By Alan Baldwin
Italy to host Davis Cup Final 8 from 2025
Van Nistelrooy looks to lift Leicester's spirits

Opinion

The primary motivation for potentially adding Japan to the Five Eyes alliance is the considerable intelligence contributions the country could make concerning China, North Korea, Eastern Russia and East and Southeast Asia.
If ever invited, should Japan make it 'Six Eyes'?
Edo Naito
The primary motivation for potentially adding Japan to the alliance is the considerable intelligence contributions the country could make.
Hunter Biden’s pardon is understandable — but wrong
By Noah Feldman
Should nuclear weapons for Ukraine be on the table?
By Slavoj Zizek
The Lebanon ceasefire can be leveraged for a broader deal
By Marc Champion
Venice’s beauty curse
By Edoardo Campanella

ENVIRONMENT

Trees in a forest in Nyanga, Gabon
Scientists behind ‘net zero’ concept say nations are getting it wrong
By Eric Roston
Countries may be claiming carbon credits for work already being done by land and oceans — and the accounting mismatch has consequences.
Barbados completes world's first debt swap for climate resilience
By Virginia Furness
Glittering dreams: India's big push for solar power
By Philippe Alfroy
Battle over curbing plastic output jeopardizes U.N. treaty hopes
Researchers analyze DNA from dung to save Laos elephants
By Stuart Graham

CULTURE

Drag queen Becca D’Bus plays Dido, the forlorn queen of Carthage, in a drag version of “Dido and Aeneas."
Divas and diversity: Opera meets drag in ‘Dido and Aeneas’
By Zoria Petkoska
Becca D’Bus, one of Singapore’s most popular drag queens, and Tokyo’s voguers and queens team up for a grand show at the Yokohama International Performing Arts Meeting.
Anime-loving cartoonist from Sweden shares joys of Tokyo life
By Ran Kawai
Hiroshi Kurosaki looks beyond Japan for heart-wrenching drama
By Mark Schilling
‘Faceless’: Fugitive thriller turns a blind eye to hard truths
By James Hadfield
The mind-bending melancholy of ‘Lust in the Rain’
By Mark Schilling

LIFE

Designed by Kei Atsumi and Motoya Iizawa, "The Warp" was a 3D-printed tea pavilion with organic, twisting curves placed in downtown Dubai.
Far East meets Middle East at Dubai Design Week 2024
By Erik Augustin Palm
This year's Dubai Design Week functioned much like a portal between continents, philosophies and futures.
For holidays in warm weather, a light, rolled meringue fits best
By Simon Daly
Putting mountainous Nagano on a plate
By Kyoko Nakayama
Ms. Rachel’s improbable journey from toddler whisperer to holiday toy sensation
By Sapna Maheshwari
The young sap collectors underpinning Japanese lacquerware
By Jessica Kozuka

COMMUNITY

Timeleft uses an algorithm to match its users with five or six strangers in an effort to prompt “human connection” over dinner at a restaurant. It determines the attendees with the help of a simple personality quiz available when you sign up for the service. 
Seven strangers and an algorithm: Can this new dinner app help you make friends?
By Phoebe Amoroso
An app called Timeleft hopes to combat big-city alienation through a simple meal with a diverse group of people.
President of L’Oreal Japan leverages innovation
By Louise George Kittaka
Kumiko Shichijo: ‘Living abroad helped me appreciate Japanese etiquette’
By Ansel Swindells
How a solo yoga teacher built a wellness community in the Japanese Alps
By Samantha Mythen
Omar Nok: 'There are good people everywhere'
By Ansel Swindells

Editors' Picks

JAPAN
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?
By Tomoko Otake
The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
WORLD
Europe eyes 'boots on the ground' in Ukraine as possible peace deal option
By Gabriel Dominguez
A serviceman with the Ukrainian Army's 24th mechanized brigade fires a machine gun during an exercise, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the country's Donetsk region on Friday.
COMMUNITY
Seven strangers and an algorithm: Can this new dinner app help you make friends?
By Phoebe Amoroso
Timeleft uses an algorithm to match its users with five or six strangers in an effort to prompt “human connection” over dinner at a restaurant. It determines the attendees with the help of a simple personality quiz available when you sign up for the service. 
JAPAN
Don’t worry, you can still use your Japan health insurance card — for now
By Tomoko Otake
A My Number card reader at a pediatric clinic in Tokyo. While the government will stop issuing new health insurance cards on Monday, most people will remain unaffected by the move in the short term as existing health insurance cards can still be used for another year.
LIFE
The Geisha bean is the leading lady of Tokyo's coffee scene
By Melinda Joe
Discovered in the 1930s, the Geisha coffee plant came to worldwide fame in the early 2000s and now represents some of the best coffee on the planet — Tokyo's top cafes included.

Podcast

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

Longform

The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?
By Tomoko Otake

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WHAT’S TRENDING

JAPAN
Japan’s 2024 buzzword of the year urges a reevaluation of past norms
By Yukana Inoue
Sadao Abe, who played the role of a time-traveling Showa Era teacher transported to present day in a popular TV drama, receives the 2024 buzzword of the year award for the word "futehodo," the nickname of the series.
JAPAN
Princess Aiko, only child of emperor, turns 23
Princess Aiko on Nov. 22 ahead of her 23rd birthday on Sunday at the Imperial Palace
JAPAN
Ishiba questioned on political reform, social issues and the economy
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks in the Lower House in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN
Nearly 90% in Japan and China have negative views of other
Chinese people's sentiment toward Japan is believed to be impacted by their use of social media platforms such as Weibo and Douyin, as well as whether they have visited Japan.
JAPAN
Bear that attacked Akita supermarket employee captured
By Kathleen Benoza
A brown bear in Hokkaido. In the city of Akita, a bear that attacked a supermarket employee over the weekend was captured in a box trap on Monday morning.