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JAPAN

Internal affairs minister Seiichiro Murakami speaks during an interview at the ministry in Tokyo's Kasumigaseki district on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 7, 2024
Japan's new internal affairs minister looks to boost regional revitalization
Seiichiro Murakami aims to increase the number of regional development cooperation volunteers from 7,200 to 10,000.
Junichi Ishii (right) and Yoshitaka Saito, chairmen of the House of Councilors for the Liberal Democratic Party and the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, respectively, meet for discussions inside the parliament building on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 7, 2024
Japan's party leaders' debate to be extended to 80 minutes
The debate pitting Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba against the heads of opposition parties is scheduled for Wednesday.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a Lower House session on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 7, 2024
Ishiba fends off questions on endorsement of scandal-tainted LDP members
The prime minister was grilled in parliament on the extent of support the ruling party will give those implicated in a recent slush funds scandal in upcoming polls.
An Oct. 1 picture of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and his Cabinet posted on the website of the Prime Minister's Office (right) appears slightly different from one taken by a media agency (left). Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi admitted on Monday that the photo underwent minor digital edits before being uploaded to the government website.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 7, 2024
New Cabinet photo on government website had minor edits, Hayashi admits
Media agencies had reported that their pictures appeared slightly different to what was posted on the website of the Prime Minister’s Office.
A man receives a COVID-19 vaccine in Tokyo on Oct. 1. Experts say fears over the newly approved replicon vaccine are unwarranted.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 7, 2024
Experts move to allay replicon COVID shot fears in Japan amid backlash
The health ministry and experts say concerns around "shedding" are unwarranted.
Shinjuku Mayor Kenichi Yoshizumi (left) and Shibuya Mayor Ken Hasebe at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Monday
JAPAN / Society
Oct 7, 2024
Tokyo mayors ask people to follow rules during Halloween
Shibuya and Shinjuku wards have each set an ordinance to prohibit drinking on the streets.
Pope Francis addresses the crowd from the window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter's Square during the Angelus prayer in the Vatican on Sunday. The pontiff announced the appointment of 21 new cardinals on Sunday.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 7, 2024
Japanese archbishop named cardinal
Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, the archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Tokyo, will also be eligible to vote in a papal conclave.
Yoshimoto Kogyo, the agency that manages comedy trio Jungle Pocket, announced in mid-September that group member Shinji Saito had been experiencing health issues and underwent hospitalization, and that he requested a hiatus.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 7, 2024
Comedian Shinji Saito investigated over sexual assault
The member of comedy trio Jungle Pocket is alleged to have performed nonconsensual sexual intercourse on a woman in a bus at a filming location in Shinjuku.
Associate professor Fumiyuki Yamasaki checks how a helmet fits on a baby at Hiroshima University Hospital’s outpatient clinic.
Hiroshima hospital’s helmet therapy helping reshape babies' heads
Results vary greatly depending on symptoms and when treatment begins.
Kuo Yu-jen, vice president of the Institute for National Policy Research, speaks in Taipei on Sept. 30.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 7, 2024
Taiwan welcomes Japan's security 'policy shift'
Of the Group of Seven major powers, Japan is the sixth country to have sailed through the Taiwan Strait.
Oita Prefecture's new fire and ambulance command center, located in the city of Oita, accepts live video footage from callers, allowing dispatchers to assess emergency situations more accurately.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 7, 2024
Oita Prefecture first in Japan to launch centralized fire command center
The new command center centralizes emergency 119 call response at the prefecture level, and scales up as needed during major disasters.
Japanese high school teachers visit an elementary school in the Philippines' Caohagan Island that holds classes outside.
Asia rises as study destination for Japanese students and teachers
Countries in the region are emerging as an attractive alternative to the West amid surging prices and the weak yen.
Dul Saroth (left) and Soeum Samrach, deminers with the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, practice using the Advanced Landmine Imaging System in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province in August.
JAPAN / Longform
Oct 7, 2024
The Japanese tech that could one day make Southeast Asia landmine-free
The Advanced Landmine Imaging System being tested in Cambodia promises to speed up landmine clearance work and save lives.

ASIA PACIFIC

Security officials examine the site of an explosion near Karachi's international airport in the Pakistani city on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Oct 7, 2024
'Terrorist attack' near Karachi airport kills two Chinese nationals
Separatist militant group Baloch Liberation Army has claimed responsibility over the attack, which it said targeted Chinese nationals.
A girl charges her phone at the Delpan Evacuation Center after Typhoon Kammuri hit Manila in December 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Oct 7, 2024
Crowd-sourcing data could help Philippines tackle deadly floods
The Philippines is hit by around 20 large storms every year and, due to climate change, that is expected to only get worse.
A man wades through water in an area affected by monsoon flooding in Roshi village in Nepal's Kavre district on Sept. 30.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 7, 2024
Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
Nepal is reeling from its worst flooding in decades after monsoon rains swelled rivers and inundated neighborhoods in Kathmandu.

WORLD

Nobel Committee Secretary-General Thomas Perlmann speaks to the media in front of a picture of this year's laureates Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkum during the announcement of the winners of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm on Monday.
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 7, 2024
U.S. pair wins Nobel in medicine for discovery of microRNA
Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun discovered the new class of tiny RNA molecules that play a crucial role in gene regulation.
An Israeli police officer inspects the remains of a projectile after a rocket was fired from Lebanon and landed in Haifa, Israel, on Monday.
WORLD
Oct 7, 2024
Hezbollah strikes Israel on Gaza anniversary as fears of wider war grow
Hezbollah rockets hit Israel's third-largest city of Haifa, while Israeli media reported 10 people were injured in the country's north.
Former Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (left) and current President Lai Ching-te wave during the latter's inauguration ceremony outside the Presidential Office Building in Taipei on May 20.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 7, 2024
Former Taiwan President Tsai to make sensitive Prague visit, sources say
Tsai will visit Prague and deliver a speech at Forum 2000, which begins on Oct. 13, according to the three sources.
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs late on Sunday.
WORLD
Oct 7, 2024
Israel bombs Lebanon and Gaza ahead of marking one year since attacks
Israel's defense minister also declared all options were being looked at for retaliation against arch-enemy Iran.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has replaced his chief of staff and must now review key tax-raising plans that have been questioned over their viability.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 7, 2024
Starmer forced into messy reset less than 100 days in power
He has replaced his chief of staff, Sue Gray, and is reviewing key tax-raising plans amid questions over their viability.
A couple from Orlando walks along a street covered in sand as a result of Hurricane Helene in Clearwater, Florida, ahead of Hurricane Milton's expected midweek landfall.
WORLD / Society
Oct 7, 2024
FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation as Florida braces for Milton
The head of the U.S. disaster relief agency lashed out at a "dangerous" misinformation war being waged over the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
A Palestinian man rests with his son under the rubble of their destroyed house in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Sept. 26.
WORLD
Oct 7, 2024
After a year of war, Gazans wonder how to deal with tons of rubble
The U.N. estimates there are over 42 million metric tons of debris, including shattered edifices and flattened buildings.
Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans speaks during an interview in Kyiv on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 7, 2024
Netherlands to provide €400 million to develop drones with Ukraine
Ukraine is fighting to thwart Russia's troops as they inch forward in the east and attack critical infrastructure ahead of the winter months.
A man walks past memorial pictures of hostages, most of whom were kidnapped during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, in Tel Aviv on Sept. 4.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 7, 2024
Two ceremonies show Israel's conflicting narratives over Oct. 7
The distinction in tone for the ceremonies is at the heart of a public discourse over how to remember the darkest day in Israel's 76-year history.

BUSINESS

Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato attends an interview with media outlets at the Finance Ministry on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 7, 2024
Japan's new finance minister vows to finish the job as deflation czar
Katsunobu Kato's message indicates that financial conditions might remain accommodative for some time.
Players on Nintendo Switch game consoles. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund is reportedly weighing deploying more capital to Nintendo and its sector peers.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 7, 2024
Nintendo jumps after Saudi fund expresses interest in bigger stake
The Saudi government is keen to mold the kingdom into a global gaming industry player and diversify its oil-heavy portfolio.
An electric vehicle (EV) at an Electrify America charging station in Atlanta
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 7, 2024
The future of EV charging looks a lot like an airport lounge
The convenience of nicer charger stations could entice would-be electric vehicle drivers to take the plunge and buy one,
A showroom in Budapest for electric vehicles made by BYD, a Chinese auto manufacturer, on Sept. 16
BUSINESS / Tech / ANALYSIS
Oct 7, 2024
Climate change and economics muddy West's drive to curb Chinese EVs
EU states have voted to impose tariffs on electric vehicles made in China, but experts say this complicates the push to get cleaner cars on the road.
WTI futures surged as much as 11% amid concern that Israel might strike oil facilities in retaliation for Iran’s missile attack.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 7, 2024
Oil bets are the most bullish in two years as Mideast tension flares
The escalation in the Middle East has changed everything, with most traders now looking to buy insurance against a surge in oil prices.
Coffee house owner Vu Dinh Tu making coffee at a cafe in Hanoi, Vietnam on Sept. 30.
BUSINESS
Oct 7, 2024
Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
Coffee has become a byword for creativity and self-expression among young entrepreneurs — though their parents may take some convincing.
The Bank of Israel building in Jerusalem in 2020. The costs of financing Israel's conflict in Gaza has led to credit ratings downgrades, which are amplifying economic effects that could reverberate for years, while the cost of insuring the country's debt against default is near a 12-year high and its budget deficit is ballooning.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 7, 2024
After a year of war, Israel's borrowing costs reflect burden of conflict
While Israel's domestic bond market is liquid, foreign investors have pulled back, while global funds' ownership of the country's stocks is now at its lowest in a decade.
An electronic ticker displays stock figures in Pudong's Lujiazui Financial District in Shanghai on Aug. 14.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 7, 2024
China stock skepticism gets louder as world-beating run extends
Some are concerned many Chinese stocks are already reaching overvalued levels.
The average price of new condos in Tokyo's 23 wards in the first half of this year stayed over ¥100 million and a notable wave of price increases was observed in urban areas surrounding Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Oct 7, 2024
Tokyo area condo prices remain sky-high
The average price of new condos in central Tokyo's densely populated 23 wards stood at ¥108.55 million in the first half of this year.

ENVIRONMENT

Construction at Michaelerplatz in Vienna, Austria, in July
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Oct 7, 2024
Europe’s urban dilemma: Saving the past from a warming future
European cities face a tough choice: adapt to rising heat or preserve historical landmarks.
A flag with the logo of the COP29 United Nations Climate Change Conference in front of the Baku Olympic Stadium, the venue of the summit, in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Sept. 19
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Oct 7, 2024
Environment takes center stage as global summits loom
The upcoming session isn't expected to break new ground but will take stock of progress since the last summit secured historic assurances for biodiversity.
Alex Lucitante, of the indigenous Cofan ethnic group, in Lago Agrio, Sucumbos Province, Amazon region, Ecuador, on Jan. 15, 2023. This small community is famous for having driven mining companies out of their Amazonian territory in northern Ecuador.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Oct 7, 2024
Amazon activist warns of 'critical situation' ahead of U.N. forum
COP16 organizers have said Indigenous representatives will have input in national action plans

Opinion

A solar power plant operated by Chubu Electric Power in Aichi Prefecture. Japan's significant renewable energy potential is little understood, even by its political leaders.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 7, 2024
To empower Japan, new PM has to get hot on renewables
LDP leadership candidates all toed the party line on energy policy. But now, as Ishiba deals with the reality of governing, renewable ambitions need to be stepped up.
Vladimir Putin’s actions in Ukraine, much like those of past Soviet leaders, stem from a desire to be recognized as a global power and from perceived Western threats.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 7, 2024
The sources of Russian conduct
From Josef Stalin to Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet leaders shared Putin’s desire for “great power” prestige.
In recent years, less than 1% of overall U.S. job growth came from manufacturing. Meanwhile, 9 out of 10 new jobs came from the service sector — nearly half of them in education and health services.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 7, 2024
A lot of ‘unskilled’ workers actually aren’t
Often people have incredible skills; they just aren’t skills currently in high demand.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes his visiting French counterpart,  Emmanuel Macron, in Washington in April 2018. European leaders, such as Macron, recognize the need to adapt to a new reality where globalization may no longer drive growth, especially if Trump wins the U.S. election.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 7, 2024
Trump-proofing Europe looks impossible
Global supply chain strengths turn into weaknesses in a fragmented world, with unreliable access to cheap energy, Chinese consumers and U.S. security.
According to a recent survey, former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak leads in public sentiment, with a majority of voters preferring his previously defeated Conservative government. In another poll, half of voters disapprove of Labour leader Keir Starmer's performance after just three months in office.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 7, 2024
Tories remain the ‘party party.’ Time for a bouncer.
More of the same could doom Conservatives to a long stay in the wilderness or even organizational collapse. They better get this leadership contest right.

Sports

Padres starter Yu Darvish pitches against the Dodgers during Game 2 of the NLDS in Los Angeles on Sunday.
BASEBALL
Oct 7, 2024
Yu Darvish shuts down Dodgers and Shohei Ohtani as Padres even series
Darvish retired Ohtani three times during his gem at Dodger Stadium.
Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos (center) celebrates with his teammates after his game-winning hit in Game 2 of their NL division series.
BASEBALL
Oct 7, 2024
Nick Castellanos lifts Phillies to wild win in Game 2 with walk-off hit
Castellanos went 3-for-5 with a homer in the win.
Lakers guard LeBron James defends Suns guard Bradley Beal during a preseason contest in Palm Desert, California, on Sunday.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Oct 7, 2024
Lakers father-son duo LeBron and Bronny James play together in preseason contest
LeBron James admitted there were moments on the court that felt surreal.
Takayuki Suzuki won a gold, two silvers and a bronze medal during the Paris Paralympics.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 7, 2024
Paralympic star Takayuki Suzuki hopes to raise visibility of people with disabilities
Takayuki Suzuki won four medals, including one gold, during the Paris Paralympics.
NFL referee Shawn Smith reviews video of a coaches challenge during a game between the Chiefs and Chargers in Los Angeles on Sept. 29.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 7, 2024
Pro sports heading toward robotic future
Leagues insist that these systems are not meant to eliminate officials.
Fans pose for photos outside of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium prior to the game between the Vikings and Jets on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 7, 2024
Vikings beat Jets in London as NFL continues to build momentum in England
The games in London have grown in significance over the past 17 years.

COMMUNITY

Without Japanese outdoorsman George Masa, America might not have the Great Smoky Mountains National Park — so why do so many people in Japan not know he existed?
COMMUNITY / Issues
Oct 7, 2024
The forgotten Japanese naturalist who created a U.S. national park
George Masa was an enigmatic figure, but his contributions to preserving America's natural beauty are unassailable.
With his robust physique and loving spirit, Yukichi will make one lucky family very happy.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Oct 7, 2024
Yukichi was lost and found on the streets of Kyoto
With his adorable face, big round eyes, and healthy appetite, Yukichi will make a wonderful addition to a loving family.

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake