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Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 12, 2023

China moves to strengthen management of independent content creators

A new string of measures represents strict oversight of not only tech companies and platform moderation but also what content can be posted online by independent creators.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech / ANALYSIS
Jul 8, 2023

Meta's 'friendly' Threads collides with unfriendly internet

Mark Zuckerberg has pitched Meta's Twitter copycat app, Threads, as a 'friendly' refuge for public discourse online. Maintaining that idealistic vision for Threads is another story.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 7, 2023

Fukushima water release nears after OK from nuclear watchdog

The Nuclear Regulation Authority gave its stamp of approval to safety processes at Tepco's treated water release facilities, while Seoul also backed the safety of the water release.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2023

IAEA endorses Japan’s release of treated water from Fukushima plant

The organization’s safety assessment report concluded that the discharge of the treated water into the sea is “consistent with relevant international safety standards.”
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 4, 2023

North Korea appears to lift COVID mask mandate, reports say

The isolated country has maintained border lockdowns and other anti-COVID measures long after most other nations ditched such restrictions.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 4, 2023

Prigozhin’s public support remains significant, polls show

Prigozhin’s short lived-rebellion, which he called off within hours, had posed the most dramatic challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s leadership in his two decades in power.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 1, 2023

Cambodian ruler’s Facebook account goes dark after spat with Meta

Meta, Facebook’s parent company, has recommended that he be suspended from the platform for threatening political opponents with violence.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 24, 2023

Airbnb’s newest venture is in Japan’s most hidden village

Airbnb has partnered with one rural family to offer two lucky guests a free two-night stay in their traditional thatch-roofed home.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 23, 2023

Two Koreas speed up drone race after unprecedented incursions

South Korea’s cabinet this week approved plans for a new drone command to be set up by the military.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 23, 2023

U.S. poised to get Dutch and Japanese help with China chip crackdown

The Japanese and Dutch export controls may be agreed to and finalized as soon as the end of January, although they are not expected to go as far as Washington's measures.
Dennis Kwok, then a pro-democracy lawmaker, answers questions from the media outside the High Court in Hong Kong on Oct. 31, 2019.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2023

Hong Kong police target more family members of wanted democracy activists

The pair, former lawmaker Dennis Kwok and unionist Mung Siu-tat, are among eight exiled activists sought by authorities for alleged violations of the National Security Law.
A man stands atop a float holding a portable shrine at this year’s Sanja Festival in Tokyo.
PODCAST / deep dive
Jul 20, 2023

Why 2023 will be a deciding year for Japan’s iconic summer festivals

As the population gets older do we risk losing the summer festivals that make Japan unique?
A group of individuals that allege sexual abuse by Johnny Kitagawa was first established on June 26.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2023

U.N. experts to probe Johnny Kitagawa's alleged abuse in Japan

The group will gather its findings and present a report to the U.N. Human Rights Council in June next year.
Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring in his debut for Inter Miami during a Leagues Cup match against Cruz Azul in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 25, 2023

Will Messi’s MLS gambit be good for Latin American soccer?

The superstar’s arrival in Miami will spur investment in the sport throughout the Americas and may finally help slow the exodus of young players to Europe.
Bigmotor President Hiroyuki Kaneshige (center) apologizes for improper conduct by the company's employees at a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 25, 2023

Bigmotor chief to resign in wake of repair fraud scandal

Employees were found to have intentionally damaged the vehicles of some customers in order to charge excessive repair fees and make fraudulent insurance claims.
A man plays video games in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Tuesday. As AI platforms advance at breakneck speeds, hundreds of thousands of jobs in the gaming sector become at risk of being replaced by the technology.
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2023

AI is rewriting the rules of $200 billion games industry

One major Japanese studio believes that half of the company’s programmers and designers could become redundant within the next five years.
People attend a mass rally denouncing the U.S. in Pyongyang on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 27, 2023

North Korea, China and Russia mark Korean War anniversary

The celebrations come at a crucial time for Kim Jong Un as he seeks to ease up on pandemic border controls that slammed the brakes on his economy.
Photo: Mount Fuji is shot from above so that you can see the trails leading to its summit.
PODCAST / deep dive
Jul 26, 2023

A tale of two Fujis: Bullet climbs, crowds and Lizzo

With the borders fully open, Mount Fuji is all booked up and Fuji Rock is back in full force. Drew Damron and Patrick St. Michel join us on the podcast to discuss Japan’s two favorite Fujis.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (left) and Papua New Guinea Defense Minister Win Bakri Daki walk to their meeting in Port Moresby on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 27, 2023

Austin visit signals Papua New Guinea's growing strategic importance

Topping the agenda were discussions with Prime Minister James Marape on the implementation of two landmark security pacts that Washington and Port Moresby negotiated in May.
Members of the media take photos of lawyers Hsu Sung Po (left) and Aiko Ohbuchi (center) and Taiwanese table tennis player Chiang Hung-chieh at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 27, 2023

Table tennis star Ai Fukuhara accused by ex-husband of abducting their son

The ex-husband, Taiwanese table tennis player Chiang Hung-chieh, has said that a court in Japan ruled that Fukuhara was required to hand over their son.
A screen displays Chinese leader Xi Jinping, at the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution in Beijing last October.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 28, 2023

China eyes accelerated plan for ‘world-class military,’ Japan says

An annual defense white paper said the world was facing its greatest test since World War II amid China's military buildup and the Ukraine war.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visits an area in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, which was damaged by heavy rain earlier this month, on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 28, 2023

Kishida seeks reset as My Number woes hit approval ratings

The prime minister has embarked on a nationwide tour to listen to the concerns of local communities in an effort to expand his political reach and prop up his popular support.
From left: Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin hold a news conference in Brisbane on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 29, 2023

U.S. to expand military footprint in Australia

Changes include frequent visits of U.S. submarines to Australia, rotation of U.S. Army watercraft and collaborating on guided missile production.
Rui Matsukawa (center), a Liberal Democratic Party member of the Upper House, is seen in a picture taken in Paris. Matsukawa posted the picture on social media and later deleted it.
JAPAN
Aug 2, 2023

LDP lawmaker cautioned by party executive over France visit photo

The photo, in which Rui Matsukawa mimics the shape of the Eiffel Tower in front of the landmark, has already been deleted after drawing strong criticism.
A woman takes a picture of the poster for the new Hayao Miyazaki film, “The Boy and the Heron.”
PODCAST / deep dive
Aug 2, 2023

Hayao Miyazaki’s confusing new masterpiece

Our critics Thu-Huong Ha and Matt Schley discuss what they thought of the new Hayao Miyazaki film, “The Boy and the Heron.”
A building of the Black Sea Danube shipping company destroyed during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Izmail, Ukraine, on Wednesday.
WORLD
Aug 3, 2023

Global grain prices rise after Russian strike on Danube port

The drone attacks destroyed buildings in the port of Izmail and halted ships in defiance of a de-facto blockade Russia reimposed in mid-July.
Two U.S. Navy sailors have been arrested on charges of providing sensitive U.S. military information to China. Both men are Chinese-born naturalized U.S. citizens.
WORLD
Aug 4, 2023

U.S. sailors charged with selling military secrets to China

Two sailors have been arrested on charges of providing sensitive U.S. military information to China. Both men are Chinese-born naturalized U.S. citizens.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping attends the joint news conference of the China-Central Asia Summit in Xian, China, in May.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 5, 2023

Xi spent two days outside China in 2023 as problems mount

Mounting domestic problems from a faltering economy to rare political scandals have demanded the Chinese leader's attention at home.
Nadeshiko Japan players celebrate Risa Shimizu's goal in their 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup round-of-16 game against Norway in Wellington on Saturday.
SOCCER / Women's World cup / From the Spot
Aug 6, 2023

Nadeshiko Japan is back, but is Japan paying attention?

The team’s lack of media exposure and name recognition is a symptom of the Japan Football Association’s failure to capitalize on its 2011 world title.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump at an event in Columbia, South Carolina, on Saturday
WORLD / Politics
Aug 7, 2023

Trump targets judge in 2020 election case

The former president has said he plans to seek U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan's recusal as well as a change of venue outside of Washington.

Longform

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