Search - 2017

 
 
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem in July 2017.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 11, 2023

India’s realism comes of age in response to Israel-Hamas war

Unlike other Global South country leaders, Modi wasted no time expressing solidarity with Israel, an ally of India.
A portion of a Microsoft data center that supports the Pentagon, and is next door to a bitcoin mine operated by Chinese-owned Bit Origin, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on Sept. 29. Aside from the intelligence-gathering concerns over Chinese bitcoin mines in the U.S., the energy sucking facilities can also put immense pressure on power grids.
WORLD
Oct 14, 2023

Across U.S., Chinese bitcoin mines draw national security scrutiny

Microsoft reported one site in because of its proximity to a nuclear missile base. Other cryptocurrency facilities have ties to the Chinese state.
“The Burden of the Past” is based on the real-life experiences of ex-cons and the editorial team of a magazine that supports former prisoners in finding jobs and reentering society.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 16, 2023

'The Burden of the Past' addresses bleak reality of ex-cons with some hope

Atsushi Funahashi’s film is grounded in the director’s own research about the hurdles former prisoners face when attempting to rejoin society.
Xi Jinping's third Belt and Road Forum begins today in Beijing.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Oct 16, 2023

Xi’s $1 trillion ‘project of the century’ faces uncertain future

China’s overall activity in BRI countries is down about 40% from its 2018 peak as the world’s second-biggest economy slows.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen attends the launching ceremony of Narwhal, its first domestically built submarine, in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Sept. 28.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 16, 2023

Fearing China, South Korea targets Taiwan navy submarine contractors

Seoul has avoided arming the island, even as its companies ink weapons deals with other Asian neighbors.
Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament, attends a plenary session in Moscow on Oct. 10.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 17, 2023

Russia set to revoke ratification of nuke test ban treaty, official says

Moscow would remain a signatory and would continue to cooperate with the test ban treaty organization and the global monitoring system.
Hawks reliever Ryosuke Otsu (left) is comforted on the mount by pitching coach Kazumi Saito after surrendering the game-winning run against the Marines in Game 3 of the first stage of the PL Climax Series in Chiba on Monday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Oct 17, 2023

Hawks relievers and coaches endure agony of 10th-inning collapse

That bell tolled for Yuki Tsumori and Ryosuke Otsu on Monday night at Zozo Marine Stadium as they allowed four pitches in the bottom of the 10th inning.
Palestinian refugees flee to Rafah, in southern Gaza, after Israeli airstrikes on Friday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 17, 2023

Japan must uphold humanitarianism in the Middle East

War cries from Israel and Hamas must be met with appeals for the defense of human life, a position Japan has historically held.
Australia had the chance to embrace reconciliation with its First Nations peoples in the Voice referendum. Voters chose division instead.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 17, 2023

Ignorance sank Australia’s Indigenous Voice referendum

Australia had the choice to embrace reconciliation with its First Nations peoples. Misinformation, dirty politics and apathy prevailed instead.
Obtaining dual nationality and having it uniformly recognized by authorities in Japan is no simple matter.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 19, 2023

When Japan's dual nationality ban meets a legal gray zone

Lawyer Yuri Kondo decided to naturalize as an American citizen. What followed was a mix of ambiguity and the feeling of a loss of identity.
Nurses and university students majoring in nursing hold up signs that read "Nurse act", during a protest against President Yoon Suk Yeol vetoing a nursing act that defines the roles and responsibilities of nurses, in Seoul on May 19.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 19, 2023

Why South Korea has so many protests, and what that means

Born during South Korea’s difficult march toward self-governance in the 1980s, protest rallies are a fixture of Asia’s most vibrant democracy.
Chinese President Xi Jinping during the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on Wednesday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 20, 2023

Europe’s snub turns Xi’s Belt and Road into Global South party

The Chinese leader appears to have reformed the initiative as a club for emerging economies known as the Global South.
A woman takes her meal alone in Tokyo's Yanaka neighborhood. As the country ages, Japan's average caloric intake has been shrinking.
PODCAST / deep dive
Oct 20, 2023

Table for one? What depopulation in Japan means for dinner.

As Japan’s population ages and more people find themselves isolated, solving their dietary needs is shaping the way the country feeds itself.
Neymar moves with the ball during a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay in Montevideo on Tuesday.
SOCCER
Oct 19, 2023

Neymar to have surgery after tearing ACL and meniscus

The Brazilian star is expected to miss several months after rupturing the ACL in his left knee.
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif waves to supporters upon his return from a self-imposed exile in London, in Lahore on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 22, 2023

Exiled former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif arrives home for comeback bid

Pakistan is facing multiple crises ahead of a January election, with Sharif's fiercely popular opponent languishing in jail.
Francis Ngannou trains in Las Vegas on Sept. 26 ahead of his Oct. 28 world heavyweight title bout with Tyson Fury.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
Oct 22, 2023

MMA star’s $10 million boxing payday continues shakeup

Francis Ngannou will fight world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
A U.S. B-52 strategic bomber prepares to land at a base in Cheongju, South Korea, on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 23, 2023

Japan, U.S. and South Korea hold first joint air drills

The military exercise, which involved a B-52 bomber, comes as South Korea, Japan and the U.S. beef up their defense cooperation.
Rangers reliever Andrew Heaney pitches against the Astros during Game 6 of the ALCS in Houston on Sunday.
BASEBALL
Oct 23, 2023

Rangers beat Astros to force Game 7 in ALCS

The Rangers evened the best-of-seven series 3-3 and will try to reach their first World Series since 2011 by winning on the road again on Monday.
As G7 leaders pledge to combat economic coercion with an eye on China, this could be counterproductive and end up hurting global trade.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 23, 2023

The G7's anti-coercion campaign against China could backfire

When G7 trade representatives convene in Osaka starting Saturday, Chinese “economic coercion” is expected to be high on the agenda.
The Israel-Hamas war is complicating Saudi Prince Mohamed bin Salman's efforts to focus the neighborhood on economic development rather than old feuds.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 23, 2023

War leaves Saudi prince’s dream of a new Mideast in tatters

The Israel-Hamas war is bringing political fissures back to the forefront, complicating the prince's efforts to focus the region on economic development.
JR Kyushu is investigating four foreign YouTubers who seemingly took free rides on trains around the country.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 24, 2023

Railway operator investigates free-riding foreign YouTubers

A YouTuber known as Fidias posted a video of the four riding trains around Japan, apparently without paying for tickets.
A Hello Kitty balloon is paraded down 6th Ave during the 91st Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City in November 2017.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 24, 2023

Soft power and Japan's role in a complex world

While hard power zeroes in on what can be physically controlled such as an empire by force, soft power is an empire by invitation.
A photo of Henry Li and his husband, Edgar Ng, hangs on a wall in their apartment at Ma On Shan in Hong Kong.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society / FOCUS
Oct 25, 2023

Hope and heartbreak after Hong Kong court decision on LGBTQ partnerships

The LGBTQ community has seen incremental legal victories, but same-sex marriage remains out of reach.
U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana
WORLD / Politics
Oct 25, 2023

U.S. Republicans try, try again with fourth speaker nominee

Congress has been at a standstill and unable to address multiple global crises, as well as the fast-approaching threat of a government shutdown.
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Oct. 18.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 25, 2023

Biden treads tightrope on Israel-Hamas cease-fire

The balancing act is becoming tougher by the day, with reports that Washington is concerned about Israel's plan of action for a Gaza invasion.
Kokusai Electric's technology and manufacturing center in the city of Toyama
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 25, 2023

Kokusai Electric shares jump 28% in Tokyo debut

The stock closed at ¥2,350, valuing the company at ¥541.5 billion as investors grabbed shares following the IPO.
Participants hold a giant rainbow flag during a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Pride Parade in Hong Kong
WORLD / Society
Oct 25, 2023

How nations allow or restrict legal gender change

A small number of countries have made it easier for transgender people to change their legal gender, while other nations have restricted such changes.
Despite shifts in the global economy and trade, the world remains highly integrated and globalization is far from over.
COMMENTARY
Oct 25, 2023

Globalization’s demise has been greatly exaggerated

Trade flows, allocation of dollars, and supply chains are evolving, but these changes are not uniform and can be challenging to predict.
A fledgling film director (Mayu Matsuoka, center) returns home to make a film about her dysfunctional family in “Masked Hearts.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 26, 2023

‘Masked Hearts’: Catharsis comes out of familial discord

Yuya Ishii returns to his indie roots with a comedy-drama that comes from a personal and painfully real place.
Sections of the forests in Colville, Washington, have already been thinned, allowing trees to grow less densely and reducing the risk for wildfire.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Oct 26, 2023

How to prevent forest fires by building cities with more wood

Not everyone is convinced mass timber will help forest health.

Longform

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