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Israeli soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in this handout picture released on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 18, 2023

Israel opens aid crossing to Gaza while stepping up bombardment

Hopes flickered at news that Israel may have spoken with Qatar, one of the mediators of an earlier ceasefire.
A supporter of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi reacts after presidential election results in Cairo on Dec. 18.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 19, 2023

With few challengers Egypt's el-Sissi secures third term as president

Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi called the vote a rejection of the "inhumane war" in neighboring Gaza.
In Toshiba, JIP takes on a sprawling company far bigger and more complex than any it acquired before.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Dec 19, 2023

In buying Toshiba, JIP takes on corporate Japan's toughest job

While the fund has quietly built up a track record by carving out businesses from big manufacturers, Toshiba is more complex than any it acquired before.
Daihatsu said Wednesday that it will suspend shipments of all vehicle models made in Japan and abroad due to an unfolding scandal over misconduct in its crash tests.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 20, 2023

Toyota's Daihatsu to halt shipments as safety scandal widens

The results of an investigation suggest the scope of safety concerns, first disclosed in April, is now far greater than previously thought.
Young Japanese eels successfully hatched from the full-cycle breeding process
BUSINESS
Jan 2, 2024

Full-cycle onshore aquaculture in the spotlight in Japan

The farming method is being developed at a time when factors including overfishing are leading to falls in stocks.
Yamanashi Gov. Kotaro Nagasaki speaks at a news conference at the prefectural government office on Wednesday. The prefecture is set to begin charging people to climb Mount Fuji.
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2023

Yamanashi Prefecture to collect fees from Mount Fuji climbers

The prefecture will also control the number of climbers to ease congestion and prevent visitors from climbing through the night.
Officials from the transport ministry enter Daihatsu Motor's headquarters in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, on Thursday for inspection after a scandal regarding safety data manipulation emerged at the firm.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 21, 2023

Daihatsu offices raided after scandal halts all car shipments

The raid followed revelations that the carmaker and supplier had manipulated the results of various collision safety tests dating as far back as 1989.
A U.S. Steel coke works in Clairton, Pennsylvania
EDITORIALS
Dec 22, 2023

A steel deal that’s good for Japan and the U.S.

Nippon Steel’s announcement that it plans to purchase U.S. Steel has triggered an uproar in the United States.
Ukraine passed a law in July to move the celebration of Christmas to Dec. 25 — the day when most of the Christian world marks the birth of Jesus.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 24, 2023

Ukrainians defy Moscow with first Dec. 25 Christmas

The move to celebrate the birth of Jesus on the day most Christians do deviates from the Orthodox Church observance of Jan. 7, seen as Russian heritage.
A woman holding an umbrella walks near a fluttering Taiwanese flag outside the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall in Taipei in November.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 25, 2023

What’s at stake in Taiwan’s January presidential election?

Depending on the outcome, the closely watched vote could have markedly different security and economic implications for the entire region.
An electronic board displays various companies' share prices at a business district in Tokyo in October.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 26, 2023

Japan’s labor demand holds steady in positive sign for wages

The job-to-applicants ratio eased a tad to 1.28, meaning there were 128 jobs offered for every 100 applicants, the labor ministry reported.
A Ukrainian serviceman holds a anti-aircraft weapon as they scan for possible air targets, onboard a boat as it patrols the northwestern part of the Black Sea.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 27, 2023

Stalled on land, Ukraine scores 'victory' against Russia in Black Sea

Despite Russia's threats of strikes and its supposed naval superiority, Ukraine's efforts have managed to keep a maritime corridor for food exports open.
A pedestrian walks past a theatre promoting the "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" show in the West End district of London in 2020.
WORLD / Society
Dec 27, 2023

Researchers draw on Harry Potter to magic future AI into our world

The books’ enduring influence, wide range of language and complex wordplay make them particularly valuable for work on generative artificial intelligence.
An ambulance (left) carrying the body of South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun leaves a park in central Seoul on Wednesday. Lee, best known for his role in the Oscar-winning film "Parasite," was found dead in an apparent suicide, Yonhap news agency reported.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Dec 27, 2023

'Parasite' actor Lee Sun-kyun found dead amid drug allegations

Lee had been under investigation amid an ongoing government crackdown on illegal drug use.
A Ukrainian soldier looks out from a tank as he holds his position near to the town of Bakhmut, in Ukraine's Donetsk region, on Dec. 13.
COMMENTARY / The Year Ahead
Dec 28, 2023

The battles Ukraine has already won

Many of the nation's key victories began long before Russia’s latest assault.
Fighters of the Wagner private mercenary group, many of whom were recruited from prisons, are deployed in June near the city of Rostov-on-Don, Russia.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 28, 2023

Vladimir Putin’s killer patriotism

Pardoning violent convicts to get more soldiers onto the battlefield is not desirable, but for Putin, the alternative would be even worse.
Daihatsu Motor President Soichiro Okudaira speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Dec. 20. 
EDITORIALS
Dec 29, 2023

Daihatsu scandal is a warning for Japan Inc.

Investigations indicate that improprieties at Daihatsu stretch as far back as 1989, indicating a profound problem with the company’s culture.
Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a meeting in Hanoi earlier this month.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 30, 2023

China plans strategy to challenge America’s global leadership

President Xi Jinping and other senior leaders pledged during a conference this week to raise China’s influence on world events "to a new level."
New recruits for the People's Liberation Army attend a ceremony at a railway station in Ganzhou, in China's Jiangxi province, in March.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 30, 2023

China’s legislature ousts nine military cadres as turmoil widens

The removals are a sign Chinese President Xi Jinping’s nearly decadelong drive to clean up the People’s Liberation Army is still incomplete.
Raptors guard Dennis Schroder is defended by Pistons guard Jaden Ivey during the second half in Detroit on Saturday as the Pistons snapped their 28-game losing streak.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Dec 31, 2023

Pistons edge Raptors to end record-tying 28-game skid

Detroit's skid equaled the all-time NBA mark. The Philadelphia 76ers lost 28 straight spanning the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.
A colorful coral reef made out of wool to raise awareness about climate change, at a museum in Baden-Baden, Germany, in January 2022
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Dec 31, 2023

The art world's big planetary problem

Over the last five years, it’s become increasingly clear to major art institutions in Japan and around the world that the sector has a sustainability issue.
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark waves to onlookers on Sept. 1, 2023. Europe's longest-serving monarch said on Sunday that she would abdicate on Jan. 14 and pass the baton to her son Crown Prince Frederik.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 2, 2024

From Edward VIII to Emperor Akihito: Famous abdications

From love to failing health, people have relinquished the throne for a variety of reasons.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands inside an enclosure for defendants during a court hearing on espionage charges in Moscow on Oct. 10.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2024

Remember the world’s political prisoners. One could be you.

Hostage diplomacy and arbitrary arrests by autocratic governments are a growing threat.
A victim of an explosion at a nickel smelter furnace owned by Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel lies inside an ambulance at a hospital in Morowali, Indonesia, on Dec. 26.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 7, 2024

Indonesia blast puts battery ambitions in spotlight ahead of vote

Just weeks ahead of a presidential election, the deadly explosion triggered angry protests and demands for action in Jakarta and Beijing.
Passengers walk past a sign directing them to specific lines for EU and non EU passports as they arrive at Dublin Airport in Ireland in September 2019.
WORLD / Society
Jan 11, 2024

These are the world’s most powerful passports in 2024

A decade ago, the two countries shared the top spot, but comparing this year’s list to the 2014 ranking reveals some other major shifts.
People take photographs during the launch of Boeing-Lockheed joint venture United Launch Alliance's next-generation Vulcan rocket on its debut flight from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Monday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 11, 2024

Vulcan rocket's debut brings long-awaited challenge to SpaceX dominance

Dependence on SpaceX has been a concern for the Pentagon, which wants multiple vendors of rides to orbit.
A Royal Air Force Typhoon aircraft takes off to join the U.S.-led coalition to conduct airstrikes against military targets in Yemen on Friday.
WORLD
Jan 12, 2024

U.S. and U.K. airstrikes pound Yemen as Mideast conflict spreads

Houthi rebels have carried out a growing number of attacks on what they deem to be Israel-linked shipping in the Red Sea.
Hiromi Uetake has future plans to turn some of the currently unused rooms of the former elementary school into taprooms for visiting customers.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 14, 2024

Craft beer’s hoppy road to the deep north

Beer drinkers in these occasionally frozen lands now enjoy flavors infused with deep stories and their home prefectures’ splendid natural beauty.
Alex Clavel, co-CEO at SoftBank Investment Advisers, won SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son's trust as a steady hand managing and fixing SoftBank's complex or troubled transactions.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 12, 2024

Behind SoftBank’s investing cleanup, a U.S. dealmaker who survived the turmoil

Unassuming problem solver Alex Clavel is Masayoshi Son's top lieutenant leading the investment group's attempt at a turnaround.
People cool off on a beach in Rio de Janeiro in November amid a heat wave.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jan 13, 2024

El Nino could make 2024 hotter than record-setting 2023

The U.S. NOAA predicted there is a 1 in 3 chance that 2024 will be warmer than 2023 — and a 99% certainty that 2024 will rank among the five warmest years ever.

Longform

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