Search - 2014

 
 
A Post Office sign at a branch in a local convenience store near Ascot, England, on Friday. The Post Office scandal, where some 980 U.K. Post Office workers were wrongfully convicted of theft and false accounting, was triggered by faults in a Fujitsu computer system called Horizon that was used by U.K. Post Offices and inaccurately reported shortfalls in their accounts, resulting in private prosecutions of innocent branch managers for theft.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Jan 13, 2024

It took a TV show to bring justice in U.K.’s Post Office scandal

After a two-decade struggle, it was a TV drama that finally prompted the government to promise a swift end to the saga in favor of the victims.
John Kerry at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2021. Kerry, U.S. President Joe Biden's special envoy for climate, plans to step down from the Biden administration.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 14, 2024

John Kerry to step down as Biden’s climate envoy

Kerry, 80, plans to transition out of the U.S. government and help the re-election campaign of U.S. President Joe Biden, a report said.
U.S. President Joe Biden and his South Korean counterpart, Yoon Suk-yeol, visit a Samsung semiconductor factory in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, in May 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2024

South Korea's economic strategy amid the U.S.-China rivalry

If the world is to avoid incurring increasingly high costs from fragmentation, the U.S. and China must learn how to coexist and engage in fair competition.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump greets attendees at a campaign rally in Indianola, Iowa, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 15, 2024

The Trump voters in swing states who are returning to the fold

To try to understand his enduring appeal, reporters spoke to five Trump supporters in five general election battleground states.
Tanaka takes part in a signing ceremony for the Japan-Uruguay Investment Agreement with Uruguay's Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Luis Porto in 2015.
BUSINESS / WOMEN AT WORK
Jan 23, 2024

Why positivity is an asset in a career of PR and diplomacy

Keiko Tanaka went from an office at Nissan to the ambassador's residence in Uruguay.
Israeli soldiers during an escorted tour by the Israeli military for journalists in the central Gaza Strip on Jan. 8. Israel’s vow to eradicate Hamas without a clearly stated political endgame has concerned some observers who highlighted how an ill-defined application of military power could instead inadvertently harm its own strategic, political and moral standing.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jan 15, 2024

What the Israel-Hamas war means for U.S. grand strategy

Washington had been engaged in a decadelong effort to shift its strategic attention from the broader Middle East.
Farmers dry coffee beans at the Thiririka farming cooperative in Kiambu County, Kenya, in November 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 15, 2024

Is it time for a coffee cartel?

If farmers in the developing world are prevented from getting their fair share from coffee production they should take matters into their own hands.
A woman who filed a suit claiming damages against her father but had her claim dismissed by the Hiroshima High Court in November has said she felt like she was being accused of making a complaint only when time had run out.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Jan 22, 2024

Passage of time gets in the way for victims of child sexual abuse

The woman, in her 40s, deemed it unfair that the perpetrator gets away scot-free because of the statute of limitation.
The Supreme Court is considering reviewing a high court judgment that the same-sex partner of a murder victim is ineligible for survivor benefits.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 18, 2024

Supreme Court may review judgement against benefits for same-sex partner

The review would mark the first time the Supreme Court makes a decision regarding the issue of public benefits for a same-sex partner.
The concerns over artificial intelligence have parallels with historical apocalyptic movements, which have often been exploited for political purposes.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 19, 2024

AI apocalypse now? Only in our fevered dreams

The real question is why are cataclysmic prophets sometimes attract big followings. Understanding this can help us avoid the paths they may lead us down.
A cut out of Lord Ram on a street ahead of the grand opening of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, India, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 20, 2024

A Hindu temple embodies the rise of Modi and India's deep divisions

With national elections a few months away, the inauguration of a controversial temple is symbolic of a changing India and marks the capstone of Modi’s 10 years in power.
A woman prays while reading condolence messages attached to the wall of a narrow alley of Itaewon, where the deadly Halloween crush that killed more than 150 in October happened, in Seoul, in December 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jan 20, 2024

Seoul police chief charged over deadly Halloween crush

Kim Kwang-ho, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, was charged with professional negligence resulting in injury or death.
Rougned Odor, a 10-year MLB veteran, has reportedly signed a deal with the Yomiuri Giants of the Central League.
BASEBALL
Jan 21, 2024

Rougned Odor signs deal with Yomiuri Giants, report says

Odor, 29, played in 59 games for the San Diego Padres in 2023 before he was released in July, batting .203 with four home runs and 18 RBIs.
Patrick Roy speaks at a news conference in 2013. Roy was hired by the New York Islanders on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Ice Hockey
Jan 21, 2024

Islanders hire Patrick Roy as head coach after firing Lane Lambert

Roy, 58, is best known as one of the NHL's greatest goalies, but he has had a second career in coaching.
Past warnings of a housing-market crash in China have never been borne out. But unless the government takes concerted action, this time may well be different.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 21, 2024

Fixing China’s real estate sector

Housing dreams to economic nightmares, the perils of China's real estate boom.
Japan Airlines launched a new project in March 2021 in which about 1,000 flight attendants engage in promoting tourist resources in Japan's 47 prefectures.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 22, 2024

Regional business creators system picks up steam in Japan

The system allows local governments to leverage private-sector know-how in areas including tourism promotion and digitalization.
Hindu devotees gather in a procession on the eve of the opening of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, India, on Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 22, 2024

The slow death of India’s brief secular democracy

The opening of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, India, presided over by Prime Minister Modi culminates Hindu nationalism's ascent over secularism in Indian politics.
Ethnic Uyghurs protest against China in Istanbul on July 5.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 23, 2024

China to face rare scrutiny on rights record in U.N. review

The Universal Periodic Review is an examination all 193 U.N. member states must undergo every four to five years to assess their human rights record.
A law making its way through the U.S. Congress would authorize the confiscation of billions of dollars in frozen assets owned by the Russian central bank, that would then be handed over to Ukraine as compensation for the war.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 24, 2024

Seizing Russia's central bank funds is illegal and unwise

A big question about giving Ukraine seized Russian funds is would such an asset grab break international law?
South Africa has accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians amid the war in Gaza.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 24, 2024

Should Japan support the ICJ genocide case against Israel?

South Africa has accused Israel of genocide in the International Court of Justice. The case can't be ignored, or impunity and the global order's collapse will be the price.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein in Cairo on August 15, 2023
WORLD / Politics
Jan 25, 2024

U.S. and Iraq to begin talks on end of U.S.-led military coalition

The United States has 2,500 troops in Iraq, advising and assisting local forces to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State group
Photographer Robert Beck took the famous photo of Brandi Chastain celebrating the United States' victory in the Women's World Cup final in 1999 that appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
SPORTS
Jan 25, 2024

The Sports Illustrated cover, a faded canvas that once defined sports

Sports Illustrated's power to define sports discourse been steadily eroding, but it is hard to overstate the power it once had.
Official toy mascots for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games are displayed in Villepinte, France, on Sunday.
OLYMPICS
Jan 25, 2024

Former IOC exec says Paris has chance to reignite Olympic golden age

The onus falls on Paris to reboot the image of the Olympics after recent editions marred by COVID-19 restrictions and doping scandals.
NATO, which celebrates its 75th birthday this year, has been successful at keeping the peace — but American underpinning can’t be guaranteed in perpetuity, especially with the possible reelection of Donald Trump. 
COMMENTARY
Jan 25, 2024

Europe should arm against the barbarians at its gates

Donald Trump told Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, that "NATO is dead." It would be prudent to take him at his word.
Unfortunately, statistics are not favorable when it comes to mixed marriages. With the proper communication, however, no challenge is insurmountable.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 26, 2024

Know how to talk about divorce in case your relationship goes south

It's a sad fact that more than a few international relationships don't work out in Japan. Be armed with the proper vocabulary just in case.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a munitions factory at an undisclosed location in this picture released on Jan. 10.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 26, 2024

Is North Korea's Kim preparing for an actual war?

Some believe he may be disillusioned with diplomacy and is girding for conflict; others think the provocations are timed to coincide with U.S. and South Korean elections.
Aryna Sabalenka will be seeking her second Grand Slam title when she competes in the Australian Open final on Saturday.
TENNIS
Jan 26, 2024

Aryna Sabalenka looking to lean on experience in Australian Open final

The world No. 2 is the favorite to claim her second major crown at Rod Laver Arena.
Aryna Sabalenka celebrates with the trophy after winning her second-straight Australian Open women's singles title on Saturday in Melbourne.
TENNIS
Jan 27, 2024

Sabalenka overpowers Zheng to retain Australian Open crown

Aryna Sabalenka continued to be an irrepressible force at the Australian Open as she powered to a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Chinese 12th seed Zheng Qinwen.
Aryna Sabalenka with the winner's trophy on Sunday, a day after she defended her Australian Open title.
TENNIS
Jan 28, 2024

Sabalenka hails team for adding madness to her method after Melbourne triumph

The Belarusian became the first woman since her compatriot Victoria Azarenka in 2013 to retain the Australian Open title.
A driver for an independent contractor to FedEx delivers packages on Cyber Monday in New York on Nov. 27, 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 31, 2024

Delivery firms struggle to adopt EVs as online sales drive up demand

Many climate pledges have been scaled back as the industry fails to keep pace with climbing emissions.

Longform

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