Search - 2014

 
 
Government Pension Investment Fund in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 4, 2024

GPIF watchers say $1.75 trillion fund may buy more Japan stocks

GPIF is likely to have reclaimed its position as the world’s largest pension fund, thanks to the yen’s rebound after a brief slip earlier this year.
Michie Hino, 77, works at an elderly care home in Chiba Prefecture. She is one of a growing number of senior Japanese citizens working into their 70s.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Sep 5, 2024

Working till your 70s — Japan's prospective gift to the world

A struggling pension system and the highest inflation in decades have led more Japanese people to delay retirement until their 70s or later to make ends meet.
Few in Japan may be more passionate about the 'onigiri' (rice ball) than Yumiko Ukon, owner of an onigiri specialty shop in Tokyo's Otsuka neighborhood.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 8, 2024

‘When I die, I would like to come back as a rice ball’

There’s no denying the cultural significance of the ‘onigiri’ (rice ball). But there comes a point where an onigiri is surely just an onigiri.
Bangladeshi military personnel stand guard at an empty police station in Dhaka on Aug. 9. The U.S. and Western nations have sacrificed democracy for geopolitics, evident in Bangladesh’s chaos and violence after the prime minister was recently forced from power.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 6, 2024

The Western world's stealthy assault on democracy

Elections alone — even if competitive — do not guarantee popular empowerment or adherence to constitutional rules, especially when the military holds decisive power.
The closed Dinh Vu port in Hai Phong, Vietnam, as Super Typhoon Yagi approached the Southeast Asian country.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 6, 2024

Super Typhoon Yagi threatens southern China and Vietnam

Yagi killed at least 13 people in the Philippines earlier this week.
A water tower at a U.S. Steel mill in Braddock, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Sep 7, 2024

Nippon Steel's U.S. setback a wake-up for Japan Inc.'s foreign forays

Buyers and sellers of assets were taking more time analyzing political trends and scrutinizing whether a target is in an industry that might trigger intervention.
A girl watches the setting sun over Doha, Qatar’s capital, on July 10. Qatar has used its influence with Hamas to press for a truce with Israel.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 9, 2024

The road to a Gaza cease-fire runs through Qatar

Throughout the war, Qatar has tried to present itself as an international interlocutor capable of narrowing the gaps between the warring parties.
Ashwini Vaishnav (left), the Indian minister of electronics and information technology, and N. Chandrasekaran, the chairman of Tata Sons, take part in the foundation stone laying ceremony for India's first AI-enabled semiconductor fabrication facilities in Dholera, Gujarat, India, on March 13.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2024

Could India become an alternative to China in the ‘chip war’?

As decoupling from China gains traction, the U.S. and its allies are betting on India for supply chain restructuring and semiconductor development.
Economic security minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 9, 2024

Sanae Takaichi unveils LDP president bid with call for party's rebirth

In an announcement laden with detailed policy proposals, the economic security minister says the party needs to be “reborn” in the wake of its slush funds scandal.
While there are similarities between the geopolitical competition involving the U.S. and the former Soviet Union, such as global rivalry and ideological divisions, key differences suggest the situation with China does not constitute a new Cold War.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 10, 2024

A new ‘Cold War’ with China might be the best hope for the future

The current situation is often described as "a new great game," a world in which our time and challenges result from the stirring of old empires.
Panasonic has supported the Olympic Games with its technologies, product and services, such as the Technics turn-tables at the breaking event in Paris last month.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 10, 2024

Panasonic ends 37-year contract as top Olympics sponsor

The Osaka-based company first became an official partner of the Olympic Games in 1987 and expanded its partnership to the Paralympics from 2014.
Tamotsu Shiiki, 58, is accused of sexually assaulting a first-year junior high school girl at a karaoke parlor in Tokyo's Kabukicho entertainment district on Aug. 20. He has denied the charge.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 11, 2024

Ex-lawmaker held over alleged sexual assault in Tokyo karaoke parlor

Tamotsu Shiiki, a former Lower House lawmaker of Nippon Ishin no Kai, denies sexually assaulting the first-year junior high school girl.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa announces her candidacy in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 11, 2024

Yoko Kamikawa banks on overseas experience in LDP leadership race

Her candidacy could increase attention on foreign policy questions in a race so far dominated by party reform and domestic economic issues.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (center) and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy meet in Kyiv on Wednesday.
WORLD
Sep 12, 2024

U.S. and U.K. envoys mull Ukraine’s push for deep strikes into Russia

The visit to Ukraine came as the Biden administration struggles to curtail aid to Russia from Iran, North Korea and China.
Mauricio Pochettino was officially announced as the new United States manager on Tuesday.
SOCCER
Sep 12, 2024

Christian Pulisic urges new U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino to change team culture

Pulisic wants to be part of a team willing to fight and take risks.
Suntory Holdings CEO Takeshi Niinami speaks during a Reuters Newsmaker event in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2024

Seven & I takeover bid shows a shift in government, Suntory CEO says

The takeover bid has also left many CEOs in Japan nervous that their companies could be next.
A model displays a creation by Japanese designer Norio Surikabe during a runway show on Sept. 6 for the latest edition of Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo.
LIFE / Style & Design
Sep 14, 2024

Tokyo’s top fashion showcase pushes rising stars to the world stage

Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo celebrated industry veterans while shining a spotlight on emerging talent.
Students sit under a misting system during recess at Hikarigaoka Haru no Kaze Elementary School in Nerima Ward, Tokyo, on Sept. 6.
JAPAN / Society / Boiling Point
Sep 16, 2024

Japan’s schools battle to keep kids cool, with or without AC

With extreme heat affecting both health and study, schools are racing to plug AC gaps while experimenting with creative, cheaper solutions.
National People's Power presidential candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayaka attends the launch of his election manifesto in Colombo on Aug. 26.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 16, 2024

Sri Lanka's leftist leader turns from bullets to ballots

Anura Kumara Dissanayaka has emerged as a serious contender in the presidential polls on Sept. 21.
The real significance of Brussels' case against Apple is that it will increase pressure to reform how multinationals allocate their profits globally and are taxed.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 15, 2024

Ireland struck it rich with Apple. Others struck it poor.

The Apple case highlights the need for global tax reforms to ensure multinationals pay taxes where they operate, benefiting countries beyond just Ireland.
Sony last month officially unveiled a digital ledger, Soneium, while other Japanese firms like Toyota explore various blockchain-related initiatives.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 18, 2024

Sony joins a crypto push in Japan as calls grow for looser rules

The question for the government is whether to heed requests from the crypto industry for less onerous rules to lower costs and spur growth.
One of the coffins is carried during the funeral of Mohammed Bilal Kanj, Mohamed Hassan Nour al-Din, Abbas Fadel Yassin and Mohammad Mahdi Ammar, son of Hezbollah member of the Lebanese parliament, Ali Ammar, who were killed amid the detonation of pagers across Lebanon, in Beirut on Wednesday.
WORLD
Sep 19, 2024

Hezbollah devices explode again in Lebanon, raising fears of wider Israel conflict

Lebanon's health ministry said 20 people were killed on Wednesday, while Tuesday's explosions killed 12 and injured 3,000.
Ryo Yoshizawa plays a young man with deaf parents in Mipo O’s decade-spanning drama, “Living in Two Worlds.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 19, 2024

‘Living in Two Worlds’ raises the bar for depictions of deafness

Mipo O’s film about a child of deaf adults is best when it doesn’t try to educate viewers.
Marina Tsukada’s “Mitsuki, Sekai” features young nonprofessional actors in the director’s native Nagano Prefecture as their characters mature from childhood to adulthood.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 19, 2024

Intimate and revelatory, ‘Mitsuki, Sekai’ explores the quiet trials of girlhood

Marina Tsukada’s anthology feature containing two unconnected short films lays bare the inner lives of young Japanese women in unexpected ways.
The logo of Japanese walkie-talkie maker Icom at a shop in Tokyo. The firm said that it had stopped producing the model of radios reportedly used in recent blasts in Lebanon around a decade ago.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 19, 2024

Walkie-talkies in Lebanon blasts were discontinued a decade ago

Thousands of electronic devices, including pagers and walkie-talkies, exploded over the last two days, killing at least 26 people and wounding more than 3,000.
Bulk carriers float offshore from Singapore, on Feb. 19.
WORLD
Sep 19, 2024

The shadow fleet transporting sanctioned gas for Russia

In the short term it could provide some wartime profit, but Moscow's ultimate goal is to triple LNG exports by 2030.
Guaranteeing Ukraine’s security will require increased military support, a clear path to NATO membership and international support for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s peace plan.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 19, 2024

Achieving peace through strength in Ukraine

To secure a lasting peace, Ukraine’s allies must make Vladimir Putin understand that he cannot dictate terms.
Toyota Gazoo Racing fans cheer on the team at the start of the 6 Hours of Fuji race on Sunday at Fuji Speedway in Oyama, Shizuoka Prefecture.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Sep 20, 2024

For Toyota and its rivals, WEC becomes important arena amid major industry shift

Carmakers' involvement in endurance racing has taken on a new level of importance as the auto industry faces a once-a-generation sea change.
Gwangju Biennale’s artistic director Nicolas Bourriaud developed the theme “Pansori: A Soundscape of the 21st Century” to make the event “an opera you can walk into.”
CULTURE / Art
Sep 21, 2024

Japan’s art world seeks connection at Gwangju Biennale

At the longest-running contemporary art festival in East Asia, the Japan Pavilion's display nods to historical tensions between Japan and Korea.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Sri Lanka's president-elect, center, departs from the Sri Lankan Election Commission after the announcement of the presidential election results in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 23, 2024

Sri Lanka leftist wins election after vowing to rejig IMF deal

Anura Kumara Dissanayake defeated incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa in the country’s first-ever runoff.

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