Search - 2019

 
 
California has ambitious climate policies. But the state should shift more green energy-related costs from electricity bills to taxes to promote fairness and sustainability.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2024

California's crushing power bills challenge its climate goals

California is incredible, but making it livable, what with its droughts, floods, fault-lines and wildfires, has never been cheap.
Labor market reform will likely be a hot economic debate topic in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, the campaign of which kicked off on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 12, 2024

Labor market reform becoming hot topic in LDP leadership race

Candidates differ in how they intend to tackle labor market issues, especially on whether to give firms more flexibility in the dismissing of workers.
The estimated number of overseas visitors to Japan rose 36.0% from a year before to 2,933,000 in August, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
JAPAN
Sep 18, 2024

Overseas visitors hit record high for August at 2.9 million

The figure was up 16.4% from the same month in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Birds rest on the banks of the Susquehanna River near the Three Mile Island nuclear plant south of Middletown, Pennsylvania, in March 2019.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 21, 2024

Microsoft AI needs so much power it's tapping site of U.S. nuclear meltdown

The decision is the latest sign of surging interest in the nuclear industry as power demand for AI soars.
Naomi Osaka during her second-round match at the U.S. Open last month
TENNIS
Sep 25, 2024

Patrick Mouratoglou courtside as Osaka wins Beijing opener

Osaka said earlier this month she was splitting with coach Wim Fissette and there has been speculation she had hired Serena Williams' former coach.
Naomi Osaka hits a return against Lucia Bronzetti during the first round of the China Open in Beijing on Wednesday.
TENNIS
Sep 26, 2024

Naomi Osaka wants 'no regrets' after teaming with Serena Williams' former coach

Osaka said she "felt like I needed a change" and described Patrick Mouratoglou, who is best known as Williams' long time former coach, as "a big persona."
Tokyo Game Show opens to the public on Sept. 28 full of cosplayers promoting a full slate of new and upcoming titles.
LIFE / Digital
Sep 26, 2024

Tokyo Game Show 2024 stacked with big returns and hyped announcements

PlayStation returns to Tokyo Game Show for the first time since 2019 as Japan's biggest gaming show opens to the public on Sept. 29 and 29.
Cucina Salve's wild herb salad is a example of chef Hiroshi Tsubouchi's commitment to creating dishes with as little artificial additives as possible.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 29, 2024

Neither allergies nor ADHD could stop chef Hiroshi Tsubouchi

A childhood of hardships led this Chichibu-based chef to embrace an organic philosophy for all his dishes.
A 13-year-old junior high school student receives a vaccine for the human papillomavirus at a hospital in Tokyo in 2022.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 27, 2024

Deadline approaches for free HPV vaccine 'catch-up' campaign

The government's free vaccination program requires the first dose to be administered by the end of September to complete the three-dose series before the campaign ends.
A victim of forced sterilization (second from right) reacts Tuesday as the Upper House unanimously passed a bill into law to compensate victims of the practice.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 9, 2024

Informing forced sterilization victims of new law remains challenge

Some victims said that they did not want to remember the sterilizations, and others said that they had not told their families about their past.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks during a news conference in Saitama in 2019.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Oct 13, 2024

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says league could return to China for games

China's state broadcaster CCTV took the NBA off the air for 18 months.
Each year, millions of tons of trash and other pollutants enter the world's oceans, creating scenes like this one in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 16, 2024

Multinationals must stop flow of ocean waste in Global South

The world's oceans are being suffocated by millions of tons of waste, especially in the Global South. The corporations responsible need to clean up their mess.
Tourists from the United States pose for a photo as they take part in a Japanese swordsmanship experience in Tokyo in September.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 16, 2024

Visitors to Japan in January-September top last year's total

Some 26.88 million foreign visitors arrived in Japan in the first nine months of this year, compared with 25.07 million in the whole of 2023.
Stays at Aman Kyoto start at around $2,500 (about ¥375,000) and increasing to $4,000 (about ¥600,000) per night, but for the right traveler, it's not money entirely wasted.
LIFE / Travel
Oct 19, 2024

Kyoto’s most expensive hotel offers inner peace — for a price

Aman Kyoto is one of the most luxurious options for stays in Japan’s ancient capital — but is it worth the hefty price tag?
New and strengthened rules aim to make street drinking a thing of the past in Shibuya's nightlife center — but the reality may not be that simple.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Oct 21, 2024

Can you drink in Shibuya and Shinjuku this Halloween? It depends.

Shibuya and Shinjuku are both planning on cracking down on street drinking this Halloween and beyond. But the problem might be bigger than a night of drunken revelry.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company notified the U.S. that one of its chips had been found in a Huawei product, revealing a possible violation of export restrictions on the Chinese company.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 23, 2024

TSMC told U.S. of chip in Huawei product after TechInsights finding, source says

The revelation could show how difficult enforcing export controls can be for both companies making highly desired products and regulators.
Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces, is greeted by an honor guard upon arriving at Juba International Airport in South Sudan on  Sept. 16.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 27, 2024

The dark reality of global capitalism and perpetual war

In countries like Sudan and the DRC, however, we have something closer to the feudalism of medieval times.
A public screen displays financial figures in Shanghai on Sept. 12.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 28, 2024

Stimulus matters more than U.S. election for Chinese stocks

Whether it be Donald Trump or Kamala Harris as the new U.S. leader, global money managers expect escalated hostility toward China.
A Nvidia chip during the Taipei Computex expo in Taipei on May 29, 2023
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 28, 2024

How a Mumbai drugmaker is helping Putin get Nvidia AI chips

An inconspicuous pharmaceutical company exported 1,111 units of Dell Technologies' most-advanced servers to Russia in April-August of this year.
Qatar forward Akram Afif speaks during a news conference after being named the Asian Football Confederation's Player of the Year in Seoul on Tuesday.
SOCCER
Oct 30, 2024

Akram Afif driven to make history after securing second Asian crown

Afif joined Japan's Hidetoshi Nakata and Server Djeparov of Uzbekistan as the only players to win the Asian Football Confederation's top accolade twice.
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris concluded their presidential campaigns on Monday with closing arguments that mirrored, in tone and in substance, the competing visions they have offered a deeply divided nation.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 5, 2024

Harris and Trump conclude historic campaign with dueling rallies

Their closing arguments mirrored, in tone and in substance, the competing visions they have offered a deeply divided nation.
The topics nominated for this year’s buzzwords of the year ranged from new banknotes and Olympian quips to political scandals and rice shortages.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 5, 2024

From cat memes to Olympians with too much rizz, these are Japan's 2024 buzzword nominations

The buzzword of the year, along with the top 10 picks, will be decided from the 30 nominated terms on Dec. 2.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, China's president, shake hands during a news conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Nov. 9, 2017.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 7, 2024

Xi is better prepared for Trump even as 60% tariffs risk chaos

Xi would much prefer to avoid a tariff battle that risks proving much more devastating than the first round.
Japanese organ builder Itaru Sekiguchi is helping to restore the Great Organ at Paris' Notre Dame cathedral.
JAPAN
Nov 17, 2024

Japanese organ builder 'honored' to restore voice of Notre Dame

Itaru Sekiguchi had dreamed of having a chance to work on the "voice" of the masterpiece of Gothic architecture.
Nippon Steel Chairman and CEO Eiji Hashimoto told a local weekly that a lawsuit is possible if the company's proposed buyout of U.S. Steel gets blocked without proper procedures being followed.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 13, 2024

Nippon Steel does not rule out lawsuit if U.S. Steel deal nixed, CEO says

If the deal falls through without a legitimate reason or proper procedures, the Japanese steelmaker would consider suing the U.S. government, CEO Eiji Hashimoto says.
Ichiro Suzuki became one of the best hitters in baseball history during his 19-year career in MLB.
BASEBALL
Nov 19, 2024

Ichiro makes debut on Hall of Fame ballot

The superstar outfielder is considered by many to be a lock to gain induction during his first year on the ballot.
Genetically modified mosquitos are being released in Djibouti as the African nation tries to stem the tide of malaria infections.
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 19, 2024

Djibouti tests genetically modified mosquitoes to fight malaria

A species of mosquito native to Asia and the Middle East is a key factor in an unprecedented spike in malaria cases in Djibouti.
Media mogul Jimmy Lai leaves Mong Kok police station after being released on bail in Hong Kong on Aug. 12, 2020.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 20, 2024

After years in a Hong Kong jail, Jimmy Lai has his say in court

The media mogul said his now-shuttered newspaper, Apple Daily, represented the freedoms that people in the city valued.
After almost a decade of traveling around the world, a working holiday during the 2019 ski season in Nozawa Onsen was to be Rowie Geraerts’ last hurrah before she settled down in Australia.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Nov 25, 2024

How a solo yoga teacher built a wellness community in the Japanese Alps

A budding entrepreneur from Australia, Rowie Geraerts has created Shizen Collective in Nozawa Onsen — a new home for herself, locals and visitors.
Keita Sano celebrates with his teammates after scoring on Kotaro Kiyomiya's two-run triple against Taiwan during their Premier12 game at Tokyo Dome on Saturday.
BASEBALL
Nov 23, 2024

Japan beats Taiwan ahead of rematch in Premier12 final

Japan and Taiwan will meet for the Premier12 title.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat