Search - 2017

 
 
Economy minister Yasutoshi Nishimura (center) is right to insist that economic security is linked to national power and determines the fate of the nation. REUTERS
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2023

Economic security demands attention and defies simple explanation

A global challenge: Resilience and innovation are key strategies in the pursuit of economic security.
A Tasaki jewelry store in Ginza, Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 2, 2023

MBK Partners to sell jewelry brand Tasaki for over $500 million

Alleged trade with Myanmar has limited the scope of potential bidders, sources said.
Every time Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda has made an announcement since taking up his post, that information has appeared initially not in the public domain, but in the pages of the fourth estate.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 2, 2023

Bank of Japan leaks are making an awful mess

Central bank decisions can move billions of dollars and with the BOJ, the closely watched outlier that it is, its conclusions have more impact than most.
Participants pose for photos at a news conference ahead of the Gay Games in Hong Kong on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 3, 2023

First Gay Games in Asia set to begin, despite pushback

The event, which features both LGBTQ and heterosexual athletes, will see 2,381 people compete in sports including football and badminton.
Yukimasa Ida’s first major museum exhibition showcases a young artist in full command of his craft but still looking for something deeper to say.
CULTURE / Art
Nov 4, 2023

‘Panta Rhei’: Yukimasa Ida is still searching for his own voice

Kyocera Museum of Art's major exhibition finds a young artist sampling great works of the past but looking for something deeper to say.
The Self-Defense Forces face numerous obstacles in meeting their recruitment targets: Demographics, private-sector competition and image and morale issues.
EDITORIALS
Nov 3, 2023

The SDF has a big problem: Filling its ranks

The Japanese government needs to take steps to address SDF recruitment challenges that put the nation's security at risk.
Palestinian Hamas militants take part in a rally marking the 31st anniversary of Hamas' founding, in Gaza City, in the Gaza Strip, in December 2018.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 4, 2023

How Hamas aims to trap Israel in Gaza quagmire

The militant group has prepared for a drawn-out war and believes it can hold up Israel's advance to force its archenemy to agree to a cease-fire.
Blair Masters and Talisker Scott Hunter pose for a photo with their kei truck, nicknamed “KT,” outside Ebisu Circuit in Fukushima Prefecture.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Nov 6, 2023

The little truck that could: A fresh way to tour Japan's north

Travelers have documented almost every corner of Japan. Perhaps a new kind of adventure would be doing those same journeys by different means.
China's dominance in the electric vehicle market has prompted the European Union to take action regarding economic security.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Nov 7, 2023

How electric vehicles became subject to EU economic security

The bloc has felt the pressure from China in the EV market, leading it to take steps to better protect vehicles, batteries and materials.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 6, 2023

China and Australia agree to turn the page as tensions ease

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is seeking to mend relations between the trading partners after disputes in recent years.
Shipping containers near the train station near the China–Laos border in Boten, Laos, on June 29. The Global Times, a newspaper backed by the China’s Communist Party, said the railway “connects hearts” and promotes development.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 7, 2023

China revamps lending to Global South as U.S. narrows spending gap

Beijing is moving away from the big bilateral deals in favor of collaborative lending that reduces its exposure to financial risk, a new report says.
SoftBank Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Masayoshi Son. Son's trust in his own intuition may have made him unwilling to heed red flags and opposition from his advisers regarding investments in WeWork.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 8, 2023

WeWork saga cost Masayoshi Son $11.5 billion and his credibility

WeWork's bankruptcy filing caps a yearslong saga that revealed breathtaking flaws in the Japanese billionaire's investment style.
The family grave of Toshihide Matsumoto is dismantled in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture. An increasing number of Japanese people are opting to permanently close their family graves as traditional family structures continue to change.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 9, 2023

Graying Japan faces a grave problem

Services designed to help people move or scatter their ancestors' ashes and close up family graves are experiencing increased demand.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog's claim all Gazans are responsible for Hamas' actions ignores the iron grip the group has over the strip and how isolated its people are.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 8, 2023

No, Gazans can’t rise up against Hamas

Claiming all Gazans are responsible for Hamas' actions ignores the iron grip the group has over the strip and how isolated its people are.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands as they meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on Nov. 14, 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 10, 2023

Biden, Xi and other things to watch at next week's APEC summit

The event will mark a key moment for Chinese President Xi Jinping who is making his first visit to U.S. soil since 2017.
As a young man, preserving the 400-year-old Ueda Soko Ryu tea ceremony school, which had survived the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, was always on Soko Ueda's mind.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Nov 11, 2023

‘Life is for being who I am — not who others expect me to be’

A soon-to-be 17th-generation tea ceremony grandmaster shares the journey he took in embracing his family heritage and preserving a Hiroshima tradition.
Port Plus is a training and education facility in Yokohama built by and for general contractor Obayashi, a storied Japanese builder that traces its roots back to 1892.
BUSINESS
Nov 16, 2023

Wooden high-rise in Yokohama grows Japan’s timber ambitions

Port Plus, which was finished last year, is composed mainly of 540 wooden rigid cross-joints.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 10, 2023

Japan Series champion Tigers lead way with five Golden Glove winners

The Tigers set a franchise record with five Golden Glove selections.
SUMO
Nov 10, 2023

Young ozeki duo may be ready to step into spotlight at Kyushu Basho

Kirishima and Hoshoryu have generated much of the excitement in Japan’s national sport over the past 12 months.
Nepali security personnel stand guard at Pokhara International Airport in Pokhara, Nepal, ahead of the arrival of the first international flight from China on June 21.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 13, 2023

Nepal is investigating new airport made by China

A few engineers who had worked on the airport said that building quality had been compromised and that the project’s infrastructure was not sound.
U Moe Zaw Oo, the deputy foreign minister of the National Unity Government of Myanmar, a shadow government seeking recognition as the legitimate leadership of the country, at the group’s headquarters in Washington on July 17
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 13, 2023

Fighting to govern Myanmar, from a teeny office in Washington

The U.S. capital attracts political refugees from all over the world who hope proximity to power will draw attention to their national plights.
Major ports handling nearly 40% of Australia's freight trade may be crippled for days, officials said on Monday, three days after a cyberattack blocked the key gateways.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 14, 2023

The growing cybersecurity threat to global shipping

An attack on DP World's ports — which handle 40% of Australia's freight trade — was the latest in a series of breaches around the world in recent years.
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Group of 20 leaders summit in Bali, Indonesia, on Nov. 14, 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 14, 2023

Biden and Xi look to put floor under strained U.S.-China ties

The two leaders will have a laundry list of concerns to discuss, but the talks are unlikely to yield any dramatic breakthroughs.
A giant panda at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington during one of its last days on American soil. Pandas Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and Xiao Qi Ji were returned to China on Nov. 8 upon Beijing's request.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 14, 2023

Pandas don’t play diplomatic hard ball like China does

Panda diplomacy is endangered, with the forced return of three bears from Washington to China an exercise in "dumb power."
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 15, 2023

Japan women prisoners suffer serious abuse: Human Rights Watch

Handcuffs during pregnancy, separation from newborn babies and insufficient care for elderly inmates are among the abuses suffered, the rights group said.
U.S. President Joe Biden arrives at San Francisco International Airport on Tuesday for a bilateral meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 15, 2023

Biden says China has 'real problems' ahead of key summit with Xi

The leaders of the world's two largest economies will huddle on the sidelines of the APEC summit in California for their first encounter in a year.
This undated picture released Wednesday shows the first ground combustion test of a high-power solid-fuel engine for a new intermediate-range ballistic missile, at an undisclosed location in North Korea.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 15, 2023

North Korea eyes surprise attack ability with missile engine test

The new engines for the intermediate-range ballistic missiles would give Pyongyang another means of targeting Japan.
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in San Francisco on Tuesday to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' week.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 15, 2023

Biden and Xi must not forget North Korea

China is still the first stop on the road to managing the arms race with North Korea and the growing danger that tensions could lead to conflict.
U.S. President Joe Biden greets Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Woodside, California, on Nov. 15.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Nov 21, 2023

'Offensive' and 'defensive' diplomacy: Managing ties with China

Since the 20th National Congress of the CCP, in October last year, Beijing has been seeking to maintain a balance.
A woman sits where her apartment once stood in Lahaina, Hawaii, after the city was devastated by a wildfire, on Aug. 11.
ENVIRONMENT
Nov 17, 2023

Nowhere is safe from worsening climate change, new U.S. report warns

The report comes at a time of record-shattering heat, with recent months ranking as the hottest on record across the world.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.