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September 17, 2024
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September 17, 2024
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Students sit under a misting system during recess at Hikarigaoka Haru no Kaze Elementary School in Nerima Ward, Tokyo, on Sept. 6.
JAPAN / Society / Boiling Point
Japan’s schools battle to keep kids cool, with or without AC
By Mai Yoshikawa
With extreme heat affecting both health and study, schools are racing to plug AC gaps while experimenting with creative, cheaper solutions.
Students sit under a misting system during recess at Hikarigaoka Haru no Kaze Elementary School in Nerima Ward, Tokyo, on Sept. 6.
Intel in 2022 lost out on a contract to design and fabricate the chip for Sony’s next-generation PlayStation 6.
BUSINESS / Tech
How Intel lost the Sony PlayStation business
By Max A. Cherney
A dispute over how much profit Intel stood to take from each chip sold to the electronics giant for the PlayStation 6 gave a leg-up to AMD, which clinched the deal.
A supporter of former U.S. President Donald Trump waves a flag reading “God, Guns and Trump” during a demonstration in support of the Republican presidential candidate in Huntington Beach, California, on July 14, a day after Trump was shot in an assassination attempt during a rally in Pennsylvania.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
'Bullets are flying': Divisive U.S. political rhetoric sees violence soar
By Michael Mathes
In a neck-and-neck U.S. presidential election, tensions have soared along with the rhetoric.
Hikers pass through a temporary gate set up at the fifth station of the Yoshida Trail on Mount Fuji in Yamanashi Prefecture in July.
JAPAN
Mount Fuji restrictions reduce dangerous overnight climbs
Around 200,000 people climbed Japan's tallest mountain in this year's season, down 10% from last year.
Hiroyuki Sanada and the cast and crew of "Shogun" accept the award for best drama series at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
‘Shogun’ and the painstaking art of ‘getting it right’
By Thu-Huong Ha
The Emmys-sweeping period drama went to great lengths to achieve historical accuracy — but that's just one piece of a bigger puzzle.
Hiroyuki Sanada and the cast and crew of "Shogun" accept the award for best drama series at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California.

JAPAN

Solar panels and wind turbines at a power plant in Hami in China's Xinjiang region. The U.S. and other countries have described China’s actions against Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region, a key cog in the cleantech supply chain, as a genocidal campaign aimed at erasing an entire culture.
How China’s dominance of solar and batteries is impacting Japan’s energy transition
By Nithin Coca
China has thrown its industrial might behind cleantech, putting Japan in a tough spot as it weighs human rights concerns against its climate targets.
Daiichi Sankyo is working on the next generation of targeted cancer drugs.
Daiichi wants to go it alone in search for targeted cancer drugs
By Ashleigh Furlong
Investors are betting on Daiichi’s continued success, with its share price up 122% in the last five years.
Raising awareness key to Japan's new residential road speed limit
Yamaha Motor president slashed with knife by daughter
Mars rock to go on display at 2025 Osaka Expo
Mitsubishi Heavy cancels H2A rocket launch for the second time
By Jessica Speed

BUSINESS

A man walks in the Hong Kong's Central Financial District on March 15.
Hong Kong preparing policy statement for artificial intelligence in finance
By Kiuyan Wong and Newley Purnell
The guidelines are intended to signal support for the technology, while local regulators try to address its use amid the U.S.-Chinese technology conflict.
President Xi Jinping last week appeared to signal tolerance for a rate slightly lower than 5%.
China’s deepening slowdown tests Xi’s tolerance for growth miss
The People’s Bank of China signaled in a rare statement alongside disappointing credit data that fighting deflation would become a higher priority.
Small firms in Tohoku showcase technologies in growing space sector
BMW took two years to find extent of defect behind recall
By William Wilkes, Elisabeth Behrmann and Stefan Nicola
Yen strengthens beyond ¥140 per dollar for first time since 2023
By Mia Glass and Ruth Carson
Expats paying $33,000 school fees fuel rise of Dubai billionaire
By Nicolas Parasie and Alexander Sazonov

WORLD

Ryan Routh speaks during an interview at a rally to urge foreign leaders and international organizations to help provide humanitarian aid in central Kyiv in April 2022, amid Russia's invasion of its neighbor. Routh, 58, was charged with two gun-related crimes in a federal court in Florida on Monday, a day after he was spotted with a rifle hiding in shrubbery on the property line of Trump's golf course.
Suspect in second Trump assassination attempt had criminal history
By Jonathan Allen, Brad Brooks and Andrew Hay
Ryan Routh was charged with two gun-related crimes in a federal court in Florida a day after he was found with a rifle hiding near Donald Trump's golf course.
President Masoud Pezeshkian takes questions during his first news conference in Tehran on Monday.
Iran president pledges to stop morality police confronting women
The death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in 2022, days after the morality police arrested her for an alleged breach of dress code, triggered monthslong protests.
Superbugs death toll could swell by millions over coming years
By Lisa Pham
Starmer courts Meloni in Rome with eye on risk from U.K. right
By Alex Wickham and Joe Mayes
Flood death toll rises as Europe counts cost of storm Boris
By Eamon Akil Farha, Marton Eder, Piotr Skolimowski and Krystof Chamonikolas
Sri Lanka's leftist leader turns from bullets to ballots
By Amal JAYASINGHE

Sports

Brighton & Hove Albion's Kaoru Mitoma (left) in action with Arsenal's Ben White at Emirates Stadium in London on Aug. 31.
Japanese players in vogue as British clubs widen horizons
By Andrew MCKIRDY
"It feels like there is more interest in Japanese players from around the world," says Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo.
The key to Agassi’s reentry: Don’t be too busy, and don’t be too bored
By Matthew Futterman
IOC member Morinari Watanabe enters presidential race
League Cup still 'significant' for United boss Ten Hag
Switzerland, U.S. win reprieves in America's Cup qualifiers
By Alexander Smith

Opinion

The lapse of the historic U.S.-China Science and Technology Agreement, coupled with escalating tariffs and trade restrictions, has exacerbated economic tensions between the two countries and impacted global stability.
Resetting U.S.-China economic relations
Barry Eichengreen
To address global challenges, active cooperation between the two economic powers is indispensable.
Ireland struck it rich with Apple. Others struck it poor.
By Lionel Laurent
Europe needs a new economic vision
By Michael Spence
Trump is right about WWIII, wrong on the analysis
By Andreas Kluth
Women don’t always get the candid feedback they deserve
By Sara Green Carmichael

ENVIRONMENT

A construction worker in Tokyo's Akasaka district on Aug. 21. With 886 cases, 54 of them fatal, during the period from 2019 to 2023, the construction industry leads Japan’s tally for occupational heatstroke.
Clocking off: Japan’s hotter summers put limit on outdoor work
By Annelise Giseburt
Climate change is forcing businesses to sacrifice productivity in the name of safety in industries ranging from construction to transportation.
'Easy, convenient, cheap': How single-use plastic rules the world
Trump stalks global climate talks as COP29 draws near
By Nick Perry
A continent ablaze: South America surpasses record for fires
By Jake Spring and Stefanie Eschenbacher
Japan considers company support measures for long-term LNG contracts
By Yuka Obayashi

CULTURE

"Shogun" star Hiroyuki Sanada attends the premiere for "John Wick: Chapter 4" in March 2023.
Hiroyuki Sanada: the actor and producer driving TV's 'Shogun'
By Natsuko Fukue
Having started his acting career in Japan at the age of 5, the actor, now 63, is seeing decades of hard work pay off in the U.S. TV series "Shogun."
'Groundbreaking' realism key to 'Shogun' success
By Natsuko Fukue
Amy Adams gets real about motherhood in 'Nightbitch'
By Susan Stumme
A potential reunited Oasis gig in Japan should have promoters salivating
By Patrick St. Michel
The Tokyo Ballet marks year of rebirth with tributes to history and innovation
By Kris Kosaka

LIFE

The first season of 'Shogun' wraps up just prior to the 1600 Battle of Sekigahara, where Tokugawa Ieyasu (Yoshii Toranaga in the TV show) faced off against Ishida Mitsunari (Ishido Kazunari) to determine the new ruler of Japan.
The real-world inspirations behind 'Shogun' are a shinkansen away
By Edward J. Taylor
“Shogun” has cleaned up at the Emmys, so why not pack a bag and see the real history behind the award-winning show?
‘MasterChef UK’ winner’s new cookbook puts Hokkaido cuisine on vivid display
By Simon Daly
The enduring allure of Kyoto’s Kamo River
By Shawn B. Swinger
AI fried chicken, retro chic collabs: Retailers rebrand Japan's New Year's cuisine
From kanji to math, what does a day at a Japanese elementary school look like?
By Yuko Tamura

COMMUNITY

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.
‘The people I’d seen in kimono didn’t have as much melanin as I do’
By Baye McNeil
A student of Kara Harris says the kimono instructor knows how to expertly fit the traditional garment to bodies with more curves than the stereotypical Japanese frame.
After a rough upbringing, Amber is looking for a loving home
Andreas Fuchs: ‘I love that no two days are the same’
By Louise George Kittaka
Philippine envoy highlights climate and smart farms
By Louise George Kittaka
Over half a century, seeds of change grow at a Tochigi farm
By Madeleine Cuckson

Editors' Picks

CULTURE
'Shogun' becomes first non-English-language winner of best drama Emmy
By Alyssa I. Smith
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.
LIFE
Chris Broad's new bar puts cocktails first, YouTube second
By Patrick St. Michel
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.
JAPAN
In LDP presidential poll, three kingmakers hold all the cards
By Eric Johnston
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo in January as former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga (left) looks on.
ENVIRONMENT
How China’s dominance of solar and batteries is impacting Japan’s energy transition
By Nithin Coca
Solar panels and wind turbines at a power plant in Hami in China's Xinjiang region. The U.S. and other countries have described China’s actions against Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region, a key cog in the cleantech supply chain, as a genocidal campaign aimed at erasing an entire culture.
LIFE
Tokyo’s top fashion showcase pushes rising stars to the world stage
By Mike Fu
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.

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

JT Directory Service

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SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Sasakawa works for a sustainable blue economy
Sasakawa works for a sustainable blue economy

WHAT’S TRENDING

JAPAN
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.
CULTURE
'Shogun' becomes first non-English-language winner of best drama Emmy
By Alyssa I. Smith
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.
BUSINESS
Japan jumps to No. 2, from sixth place, in Best Countries index
By Elizabeth Beattie
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.
COMMENTARY
South Korea is facing deepfake porn crisis
By Catherine Thorbecke
Activists hold up symbolic eye masks during a protest against deepfake porn in Seoul on Aug. 30.
COMMUNITY
‘The people I’d seen in kimono didn’t have as much melanin as I do’
By Baye McNeil
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.