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A court sketch shows Satoru Nomura, head of the Kudokai crime syndicate (center), and Fumio Tanoue, the group's second-in-command (right), during their sentencing at the Fukuoka High Court on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 12, 2024

Death sentence overturned for Kudokai gang boss

The criminal mastermind remained expressionless and stared directly at the judge as it was announced that the death sentence had been overturned.
Investors been pouring money into promising AI startups, eager to uncover the next big thing after ChatGPT.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 11, 2024

AI talent war heats up in Europe

The talent war means workers are increasingly well-placed to make demands of their prospective employers.
China insists that for meaningful negotiations to occur, the nuclear arsenals of the U.S. and Russia must be reduced to levels comparable to its own.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2024

China’s ‘minimum’ nuclear deterrence is still a threat

Estimates of the number of Chinese warheads range from 400 to 500, a striking contrast to the several thousand that the U.S and Russia possess.
Wakana Nukui has been described as having a knack for storytelling and vividly sharing her vision with those around her.
BUSINESS / WOMEN AT WORK
Mar 24, 2024

A social entrepreneur who is determined to lift Cambodian women's status

Wakana Nukui has fostered new talent in design while opening shops dedicated to local products.
Takashi Yamazaki’s “Godzilla Minus One,” which won an Academy Award for best visual effects earlier this week, was made for a reported $15 million — a small fraction of the budgets used by its Hollywood competitors.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 14, 2024

'Godzilla Minus One' fought the odds and won big at the Oscars

Once mocked, the long-running monster franchise took on Hollywood's behemoths — and won.
Czech Republic's Ondrej Satoria pitches against Japan during the World Baseball Classic at Tokyo Dome on March 11.
BASEBALL
Mar 14, 2024

Ondrej Satoria reflects on electric WBC showdown against Shohei Ohtani

Satoria, an electrician by day, struck out the Japanese superstar during the World Baseball Classic.
Russian President Vladimir Putin looks set to start another six-year term with his forces on the offensive for the first time in months as Ukraine’s allies struggle to keep it supplied with ammunition.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 15, 2024

Putin digs in to divide world order while he conquers at home

The leader's adversaries are seemingly unable to stifle his ambitions as the war in Ukraine shifts in his favor.
Built for two artists, Ishii House is a simple, rectangular timber structure with a double-height window facing the veranda.
LIFE / Style & Design
Mar 16, 2024

Architecture of community won Riken Yamamoto the Pritzker Prize

Unlike many other laureates, Yamamoto is not a household name. But his work and approach have long been admired within the Japanese architectural scene.
Mary Ann Eduarte at her home in Montalban, Rizal, the Philippines.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Mar 15, 2024

Cancer patients in the Philippines falling for alternative 'cures'

The trend was fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic, when health care systems were overwhelmed and many were too scared to visit a hospital.
Women attend a protest in 2018 against the rape of three girls, an 8-year-old, an 11-year-old and a teenager, in different parts of India. The country experiences alarming rates of sexual violence against women.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 15, 2024

Why is India failing to protect its women?

India is plagued by sexual violence, with many horrific cases in the spotlight over the years. Despite reforms, cultural norms are hindering progress.
Supporters await the arrival of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a campaign event in Hyderabad on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 16, 2024

Data dump exposes the fuzzy lines between money and politics in India

Reading between the lines of the spreadsheets full of names poses questions about the intersection of government and business in India.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is extending his nearly quarter-century rule into a fifth term at a time when his troops are on the offensive in Ukraine.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 18, 2024

Putin warns Russia won’t be stopped after record election win

Putin is extending his nearly quarter-century rule into a fifth term at a time when his troops are on the offensive in Ukraine.
Tokyo will forge ahead with a next-generation fighter aircraft it is jointly developing with Rome and London following an agreement last week between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, to revise Japan’s strict defense export guidelines.
JAPAN / Politics / EXPLAINER
Mar 18, 2024

Japan’s eased defense export rules open door to more changes

The speed at which the Kishida administration has been pushing through defense reforms has stunned many even as the regional security environment worsens.
Chinese President Xi Jinping during an event at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 11
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 18, 2024

Decoding Xi’s new catchphrase aimed at reviving China’s economy

Slogans matter in China, and the adoption of new catchphrases can herald profound shifts in policy.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda attends a news conference after a policy meeting at the bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2024

BOJ introduces first rate hike in 17 years following pay gains

The negative rates policy, the last one in the world, had been a symbol of the Bank of Japan's ultraloose monetary stimulus lasting over a decade.
An illustration of the planned Paris Games opening ceremony on the River Seine
OLYMPICS
Mar 20, 2024

Russians and Belarusians will not take part in Paris Games opening parade

The athletes from the two countries will be competing as independents without their flags and anthems following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
As two friends deal with normal problems teenagers face, their lives are complicated by the looming specter of an alien takeover in “Dead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction Part 1.”
CULTURE / Film
Mar 21, 2024

‘Dead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction: Part 1’: A prophetic vision of pandemic life

Tomoyuki Kurokawa’s adaptation of Inio Asano’s manga of the same name pokes fun at modern society and politics amid a crisis.
Global demand for the hardware that underpins AI has sparked an economic recovery in Taiwan, giving policymakers room to focus on battling inflation.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 21, 2024

AI frenzy gives Taiwan central bank room to battle inflation

Taiwan’s exports and benchmark stock indexes have gained over the past few months, even as growth in major overseas markets remains weak.
A lack of comprehensive consumption — and inflation — data makes it impossible to get an accurate picture of India's poverty.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 21, 2024

India’s poor will not be wished away

Poverty remains deeply entrenched in India and appears to have increased significantly.
The Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioicho hotel and office complex in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 22, 2024

Seibu may sell 36-story Tokyo office building for ¥300 billion, sources say

Japan's highest value property transaction is currently the ¥436 billion sale by the government in 2022 of its stake in another Tokyo office building.
Tsuneyasu Miyamoto speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Saturday.
SOCCER
Mar 24, 2024

Ex-Japan captain Miyamoto becomes youngest head of soccer association

Miyamoto, 47, is the youngest JFA president since the end of World War II, and the first JFA head to have played in the World Cup.
Some prominent private equity-related dealmakings in Japan in 2023 include the ¥2.1 trillion ($14 billion) takeover of Toshiba.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 25, 2024

Japan private equity deals jump in otherwise gloomy year for Asia

Japan’s momentum is expected to continue into 2024 as companies face pressure to improve shareholder value.
As of December 2022, the village of Zamami, Okinawa Prefecture, had in its stockpile six of the nine items listed in a survey as necessary for women and 10 of the 11 items listed as necessary for babies and infants, doing much better than other municipalities in the prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Apr 1, 2024

Municipalities push gender-inclusive disaster risk management

Some areas in Okinawa involve more women in decision-making and make an effort at stockpiling relevant items.
A Russian law enforcement officer walks near the burning Crocus City Hall concert venue following a shooting incident, outside Moscow, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 26, 2024

The leader of Islamic State group linked to Moscow attack has global ambitions

The leader of the Afghan branch of the group has overseen its transformation into one of the most fearsome branches of the global Islamist network.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visits a church outside Moscow on Sunday, a national day of mourning following the attack on the Crocus City Hall on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 26, 2024

Putin forgot Islamic State thinks he too is the West

The leader portrays Russia as a victim of Western imperialism, but the Islamic State terrorists who attacked Moscow on Friday reject this narrative.
Tesla Model 3 assembly line at Tesla's factory in Fremont, California, in 2018. Before the Shanghai plant opened, Fremont was Tesla’s principal factory.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 27, 2024

A pivot to China saved Elon Musk. It also binds him to Beijing.

Musk is now treading a fine line, sounding the alarm about Chinese rivals, even as he remains reliant on the Chinese market.
Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae attend the opening ceremony of the Gangdong Greenhouse in North Korea in this picture released on March 16.
JAPAN / Politics / EXPLAINER
Mar 27, 2024

North Korea reaches for familiar playbook in talks with Japan

Pyongyang blowing hot and cold on a potential leaders summit is meant to gain the upper hand in negotiations to realize such a meeting.
Reddit CEO Steve Huffman rings a ceremonial bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to celebrate the company's initial public offering on March 21.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 28, 2024

Reddit’s IPO is a content moderation success story

Deciding what users are and aren’t allowed to post is something every social media company has to embrace eventually, if it wants to succeed.
A Palestinian boy walks on the site of an Israeli strike in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on March 27.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Apr 2, 2024

How the Israel-Hamas war is changing the international security order

The divide within the international community over the conflict is set to become even more serious.
Japan’s Cabinet agreed to ease defense export rules for the nation’s next-generation fighter jet, a concept model of which is seen on display here at a defense show in Chiba in March 2023.
EDITORIALS
Mar 29, 2024

Japan greenlights its defense industry

The government's steps on easing defense export rules will allow Japanese companies to participate more fully in the global market for defense equipment.

Longform

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