Search - 2019

 
 
England's Jess Carter in action with Spain's Salma Paralluelo during the Women's World Cup final in Sydney in August 2023
SPORTS
Feb 8, 2024

Women's sports draw record viewership in U.K. in 2023, research shows

The FIFA Women's World Cup final, which England lost 1-0 to Spain, was 2023's most-watched women's sports event on TV with 38.4 million viewing hours.
At the new teamLab Borderless museum, the crowd-favorite room of lamps from Borderless 1.0 has evolved into a room of light bubbles, which interact with each other and the bodies passing by.
CULTURE / Art
Feb 8, 2024

Have we reached teamLab saturation?

The art collective re-opens its Borderless museum in Azabudai Hills. But the experience is starting to feel stale.
The “myahk,” a community currency implemented on Okinawa Prefecture’s Miyako Island in 2018, is intimately tied to local efforts for environmental preservation.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Feb 10, 2024

Japanese communities are creating currencies to educate and empower citizens

The yen will do when paying for things throughout the country. In some places, though, you may try paying with a coin that also helps reduce plastic waste.
Indonesian Defense Minister and presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto salutes supporters during a campaign rally in Jakarta on Feb. 2.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 12, 2024

How could Indonesia’s presidential vote affect foreign relations?

While all three candidates portend continuity with their predecessor, only the front-runner vows more visible leadership in the region.
Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto votes at a polling station during the general election in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 14, 2024

Prabowo on track to win Indonesia’s presidential election

This is Prabowo’s third time to run for the country’s top job, after losing in 2014 and 2019 to incumbent Joko "Jokowo" Widodo.
U.S. allies reevaluate priorities in relations with Washington out of concern Donald Trump may win the U.S. presidency again.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 13, 2024

U.S. allies fear the fallout of a new Trump era

The world appears to have priced in former U.S. President Trump’s disdain not only for allies but the entire global order his predecessors created.
U.S. Special Envoy on North Korean Human Rights Issues Julie Turner speaks to media at the U.S. embassy in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 15, 2024

U.S. supports Japan's push for talks with North Korea, envoy says

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told parliament last week that he wants to hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto leaves from his residence to attend a gathering with supporters after polls closed in the country's presidential and legislative elections in Jakarta on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 15, 2024

Prabowo could usher in a new era in Indonesian foreign policy

As president, the ex-general is expected to seek an elevation of Indonesia’s role on the global stage while balancing ties with Washington and Beijing.
A new report by the McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility estimates that it could take up to 320 years for Black Americans to catch up to their white counterparts in quality of life.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 8, 2024

Black Americans gain no ground on income and wealth

One study estimates that it could take up to 320 years for Black Americans to catch up to their white counterparts' in quality of life.
Travelers at Shanghai Hongqiao railway station on Feb. 6. For the Feb. 10-17 period, there were 99.5 million rail trips made in China, a figure 36% higher than the comparable period in 2019.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 19, 2024

China’s new year travel and spending top pre-COVID levels

Some 474 million tourist trips were made around the country during the festival, which began Feb. 10 and concluded Saturday.
Hideo Shimoju points to a possible site that his fellow neighbors may relocate to. Such relocations have happened before, but not preemptively.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / Longform
Feb 24, 2024

In disaster-prone Japan, some communities consider major moves

Rural communities are considering collective relocation as a means to deal with worsening climate disasters.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Oct. 17, 2023
WORLD / Politics
Feb 28, 2024

Serbian leader says ‘Taiwan is China’ as Xi plans Balkan trip

The Serbian leader’s wading into rising tensions over the Taiwan Strait sends a signal of allegiance to Beijing.
Gregory May, U.S. consul general in Hong Kong, takes part in an interview in the city on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 2, 2024

Top U.S. envoy in Hong Kong warns of creeping internet curbs

In his first interview since taking up the post in 2022, U.S. Consul General Gregory May said that connectivity and data security issues are growing.
Elon Musk arrives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington to participate in the A.I. Forum in September of last year.
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2024

Elon Musk sues OpenAI and Sam Altman for violating the company’s principles

Musk sued OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, accusing them of breaching a contract by putting profits ahead of the public good.
Sean Williams' sled dog team participates in the ceremonial start of the 52nd Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage, Alaska, on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 3, 2024

Alaska's 52nd annual Iditarod sled dog race mushes to starting line

The number of competitors this year, 38, represents one of the smallest fields going back to the first year of the race in 1973.
The Dongmenting night market in Shenzhen, China, on Feb. 12. Hong Kong residents are flocking to nearby mainland cities in record numbers for cheaper shopping and entertainment.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 4, 2024

Young Hong Kongers who defied Xi are now partying in China

Thanks to new infrastructure, they can regularly go to Shenzhen where products and services are cheaper.
A Vietnamese worker picks tomatoes at a farm in Asahi, Chiba Prefecture. Japan is set to sharply increase the number of foreign nationals it accepts under its skilled worker visa, with plans to receive up to 800,000 people in the next five years.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 6, 2024

Japan considers doubling limit on skilled foreign workers

The government is said to be considering adding the road transportation, railway, forestry and timber sectors to those eligible for the visa.
Judges at the Kyoto District Court hear a case involving Yoshikazu Okubo, a doctor accused of the consensual killing of a woman with a fatal neurological disease, on Jan. 11.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 6, 2024

Japanese doctor given 18 years for consensual killing of ALS patient

Admitting to charges of commissioned murder, Yoshikazu Okubo had said that he "did it to fulfill (the patient's) wish."
Japan’s stock market is breaking records right when the government has launched an expanded tax-free investing account. But due to government regulations, stocks still remain out of reach for many starting investors. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 6, 2024

Everyone’s buying Japan shares. I only want to buy one.

An expanded tax-free investment account program that launched to much fanfare at the start of the year has come at a perfect time.
In 2019, Japan tightened penalties for the use of smartphones and other mobile handsets while driving.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 7, 2024

Record high number of distracted drivers causing death or serious injury

In 2023, 25 incidents were fatal and 97 caused serious injury, with about 10% of drivers using mobile phones to talk and 90% looking at screens.
Air Self-Defense Force F-35 stealth fighters are displayed at the U.S. military's Yokota Air Base in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 11, 2024

Japan's arms imports up 155% over last five years, report finds

The Asian nation was the sixth-largest weapons importer in the world, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Former Olympics minister Seiko Hashimoto has announced her intention to appear before an Upper House political ethics committee scheduled to convene on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 12, 2024

Three members of Abe faction to attend Upper House ethics hearing

But other lawmakers embroiled in the LDP slush fund scandal have largely indicated that they don't intend to testify.
Yusuke Yamazaki, former president of Nishiyama Farm, arrives at Narita Airport in Chiba Prefecture on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 13, 2024

Ex-Nishiyama Farm president arrested after deportation from Indonesia

Yusuke Yamazaki had been on the international wanted list for his alleged involvement in investment fraud involving overseas fruit sales.
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.
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.
Mamiko Tanaka (right), wife of Los Angeles Dodgers Shohei Ohtani, arrives at Incheon International Airport on Friday ahead of the 2024 MLB Seoul Series baseball games.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 18, 2024

A mystery no more: What we know about Ohtani’s wife

No one in the sports world is receiving as much attention right now as baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani — that is, besides his wife, Mamiko Tanaka.
Masaaki Okawara (center) and other plaintiffs celebrate in December after the Tokyo District Court ruled that police and prosecutors had falsely accused them of illegally exporting spray dryers. But the civil suit continues as both sides have appealed the ruling.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Mar 19, 2024

Japan's 'hostage justice system' faces renewed scrutiny

The long-criticized system has come under the spotlight as executives wrongly accused of a crime continue their legal battle.
Japanese automakers explore a unified approach and industry consolidation to stay competitive in the global EV market.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 19, 2024

As China’s EVs approach, Japan’s carmakers must step on the gas

China sees an opportunity to dominate, and just as it did with sectors from steel to solar panels, it’s unlikely to always play fair.
Police officers monitor traffic on the streets from surveillance cameras in Buenos Aires in April 2020.
WORLD / Society
Mar 20, 2024

Reboot of Buenos Aires facial recognition plan fuels privacy fears

The system of 300 cameras linked to a national crime database was suspended two years ago after a court ruled it unconstitutional.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 26, 2024

Hong Kong scraps early release for national security convicts

The new law came into force Saturday, putting into immediate effect tough penalties of up to life imprisonment for certain national security crimes.

Longform

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