Search - 2017

 
 
The Mikomotojima Lighthouse in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture, was designed by Richard Henry Brunton, a Scotsman who was employed by the Meiji government to build lighthouses across Japan in the 19th century. In "The Japan Lights," author Iain Maloney connects his personal travels and experiences in Japan to Brunton's pursuits.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 1, 2023

'The Japan Lights' traces a journey of self-discovery in the wake of 3/11

Iain Maloney's wise book connects his travels in Japan to the pursuits of Richard Henry Brunton, a Scotsman who built lighthouses across the country.
Two Japan Sumo Association officials have been sanctioned.
SUMO
Oct 1, 2023

Sumo association officials punished over harassment claims

The association will suspend Tetsuji Miyata, its administrative affairs chief, for one month, and demote the head of the office in charge of accounting.
Yukio Edano, former leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, speaks in Miyazaki Prefecture last month.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 1, 2023

Yukio Edano moves to return as CDP leader

Yukio Edano, former leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, is believed to have begun his bid to return as party leader.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi address a joint meeting of Congress at the Capitol in Washington in June.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 1, 2023

Modi’s Hindu nationalism stokes tension in Indian diaspora

Canadian and U.S. universities have become battlegrounds for critics and defenders of Hindu nationalism, punctuated by threats of violence and even death.
A Ukrainian drone pilot, call sign Darwin, operating a first-person-view, or FPV, drone on a test flight near Kupiansk, Ukraine, on Aug. 5.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 1, 2023

Ukraine’s war of drones runs into an obstacle: China

Ukraine's latest fight is one over global electronics supply chains that run through China.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russian Far East on Sept. 13.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 1, 2023

Russia and North Korea's cartoon summit

Whether Russia is actually offering a deep and multifaceted relationship with North Korea implied by the summit remains far from clear.
Protesters calling for the protection of human rights in Hong Kong gather in Tokyo on Sunday
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 1, 2023

Protesters in Tokyo target China on founding anniversary

Groups supporting Tibet, Uyghurs, Inner Mongolia, Hong Kong and Taiwan came together to condemn China over alleged repression and genocide.
Gamers play during the first day of Europe's leading digital games fair, Gamescom, in Cologne, Germany, in August 2019
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 2023

Video game competitions should be in the Olympics

Esports is already among the world’s most popular competitive activities. Last year, the global audience totaled more than 500 million people.
Akira Otsuka (left) and Miki Tamaki formed the performing arts troupe DamaDamTal in 2016. They have performed in every edition of the Nakanojo Biennale in Gunma Prefecture since 2017 and credit the festival as a source of inspiration for new productions.
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 4, 2023

DamaDamTal turns abstract dreams into visual art

The Japanese performing arts troupe led by Miki Tamaki and Akira Otsuka gets creative in the mountains of rural Gunma Prefecture at Nakanojo Biennale.
Russian activist Natalia Arno in Paris on Sept. 29
WORLD / Politics
Oct 4, 2023

'Organs failing': A Russian activist details her poisoning

Five months after being poisoned, Natalia Arno still goes numb across much of her body when she stands up for any length of time.
Lin Te-wang, chairman of Taiwan People's Communist Party, in 2022
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 5, 2023

Taiwan communist party head indicted on China infiltration charge

Lin Te-wang, chairman of the Taiwan People's Communist Party, has been charged with violating the Anti-infiltration Act.
Teacher Tarna Andrews at the local school grounds, ahead of a nationwide referendum on Indigenous issues, in Areyonga, Australia
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Oct 5, 2023

In Australia's outback, Indigenous proposal struggles to inspire

In just over a week, Australians will vote on a referendum on Indigenous issues. However, the very people it is designed to help know little about it.
The PayPay app now seeks to keep its pace of double-digit growth with help from other SoftBank portfolio companies.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 5, 2023

SoftBank’s PayPay app showcases Masayoshi Son’s clout in Japan

Seen to be next in SoftBank’s initial public offering pipeline, the startup now holds two-thirds’ share in QR-code payments in Japan.
French President Emmanuel Macron arrives to greets Finland's Prime Minister at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 5, 2023

With subtler engagement, Macron refashions himself as EU linchpin

In areas ranging from defense to industrial policy, officials familiar with Europe's inner workings say Macron is calling the shots as rarely before.
The Safran logo outside the company's headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 6, 2023

Hunt for suspect jet engine parts spurs call for regulation

False documentation could allow the sale of old or unsafe aircraft parts as new, raising safety concerns
A mother carries her child inside her burnt house, following a wildfire in Bejaia, Algeria, on July 25
WORLD / Society
Oct 6, 2023

Tens of millions of children uprooted by climate disasters

Weather disasters fueled by climate change sparked 43.1 million child displacements from 2016 to 2021, the U.N. Children's Fund has warned.
From happōshu to real beer, Japan’s tax changes aim to improve brewing quality and prices.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 6, 2023

Amid rising costs, why is Japan making beer cheaper?

A 350-milliliter can of brew costs drinkers about ¥7 (5 cents) less from October, thanks to changes in the country’s tax system.
The charges against a former U.S. Army soldier underscore the volume of national security secrets flowing to China, which has made aggressive efforts to recruit spies and steal technology.
WORLD
Oct 7, 2023

Ex-U.S. soldier accused of trying to give classified info to China

The underscore the volume of U.S. security secrets flowing to China, which has made aggressive efforts to recruit spies and steal technology.
Over four days in September, Japan Soca Weekend brought together the Tokyo area's Caribbean community for dance parties, outdoor blowouts and a crowning Carnival festival on a racetrack in Chiba.
COMMUNITY / Issues
Oct 10, 2023

‘Peak happiness’ at the first Japan Caribbean Carnival

For Japan’s Caribbean community, Carnival provides a deep sense of community and offers a cure for homesickness.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump in a courtroom during proceedings for his civil fraud trial in New York on Wednesday.
WORLD
Oct 7, 2023

The key nuclear secrets Trump allegedly leaked

Trump gave key details on the U.S. Navy’s elite submarine fleet to an Australian billionaire, according to reports.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks during a campaign launch in Adelaide for the "yes" vote in an upcoming referendum on whether to change the country's constitution to officially recognize Indigenous peoples.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 8, 2023

Australia PM ‘optimistic’ on referendum but would respect ‘no’ vote

Since the country’s federation in 1901, only eight out of 44 referendums have been successful, the most recently in 1977.
A woman takes her meal alone in Tokyo's Yanaka neighborhood. As the country ages, Japan's average caloric intake has been shrinking.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Oct 9, 2023

Downsizing dinner: Aging Japan is eating less

As older citizens' shrinking appetites lead to less on the plate, businesses are having to adjust to a new market.
Russian lawmakers attend a session of the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, in Moscow in 2019.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 10, 2023

Russian lawmakers asked to study revoking nuclear test ban treaty

Revoking the ratification would send a warning that Moscow can fundamentally change the assumptions of post-Cold War nuclear planning.
Images of French scientist Jean-Michel Claverie and work by his research team from Information Genomique et Structurale at Aix-Marseille University, France
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 10, 2023

Probing the permafrost that could release 50,000-year-old viruses

Discoveries by virologist Jean-Michel Claverie shine a light on a little-known risk of global warming as it thaws ground frozen for millenniums
Police officers are seen where a vehicle crashed into the the visa office of the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco on Monday. The driver was shot dead.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Oct 10, 2023

U.S. police shoot and kill driver in Chinese Consulate incident

A witness told local media that the driver shouted "Where’s the CCP,” using the acronym of the Chinese Communist Party, before he was killed.
Upper House lawmaker Muneo Suzuki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 10, 2023

Hokkaido lawmaker leaves Nippon Ishin over visit to Russia

Calls from within the party to punish Suzuki had been growing, especially after he told Russian media he was sure Moscow would win its war with Ukraine.
Alma Zadic, Austria's justice minister, during an interview in Vienna on Sept. 26
WORLD / Politics
Oct 11, 2023

In Europe's politics, disinformation and hate pose growing threat

Austrian Justice Minister Alma Zadic believes public institutions simply don’t have the resources to match the output of bad actors.
European Union flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels. European nations have been dealing with a range of geoeconomic changes.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Oct 12, 2023

European Union being shaken by geoeconomic changes

European countries previously did not see China as a security threat due to their geographical distance. That is starting to change.
A struggling novelist (Rie Miyazawa) wrestles with life’s bigger questions after taking a job at a care facility for people with severe disabilities in “The Moon.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 12, 2023

‘The Moon’: Provocative drama bites off more than it can chew

Yuya Ishii’s film courts controversy with a fictionalized retelling of a real-life knife attack at a care facility for people with mental disabilities.
Ground Self-Defense Force members take part in a military review in Asaka, Saitama Prefecture, in October 2018.
JAPAN
Oct 15, 2023

'Not proud at all': Japan struggles to recruit for Self-Defense Forces

Experts have said that the country's armed forces could be weakened because of a lack of personnel.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?