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A man stands next to a model of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, which was used to launch several Indonesian satellites into orbit, at the office of Pasifik Satelit Nusantara, an Indonesia’s satellite-based telecommunication firm, in Jakarta on Jan. 15.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 20, 2024

How a Chinese rocket failure boosted SpaceX's fortunes in Indonesia

Elon Musk seized on the incident to prevail over a state-owned Chinese contractor as Jakarta's company of choice for putting satellites into space.
Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, at a House Oversight Committee meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 10.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 21, 2024

FBI informant got false dirt on Bidens from Russia: prosecutors

Alexander Smirnov, 43, a dual U.S. and Israeli national, was arrested last week.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the government would draw up a political policy package for the next three years or so for system reforms allowing the country's competitiveness and birthrate to improve by 2030.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 1, 2024

Japan may have lowest per capita GDP among major economies in 2060

The government estimate is likely to materialize if the country's productivity growth remains low as in recent years and the population continues to fall.
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.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks before a meeting at the White House on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 7, 2024

Biden and Trump woo Haley voters — the 2024 election's new prize

Political strategists believe a significant number of Haley voters were Democrats who crossed over to vote to try to deliver a blow to Trump.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 15, 2024

Biden’s best shot against Trump lies in ‘blue wall’ states

In Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, his campaign sees signs for optimism.
Awang Suang trims weeds from palm trees on his small plantation in Membakut, Malaysia on Feb. 12. He has been cultivating oil palms for more than 50 years after switching from rubber trees. Palms require less labor and produce more frequent harvests — roughly every two weeks, year round — providing a steadier income, he explained.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Mar 18, 2024

Can Europe save forests without killing jobs in Malaysia?

A new regulation aims to rid the palm oil supply chain of imports that come from former forestland.
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.
Shizuo Aishima's son speaks to reporters next to a photo of his father in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 21, 2024

Ohkawara execs to file criminal complaint against Tokyo police

The complainant's lawyer said that the execs hope to kick-start an internal investigation into the department’s misconduct.
Jacky Im, Elizabeth Chan and Kate Maco are the founders of Neptune Robotics, a firm building robots that remove debris from the hulls of ships to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 27, 2024

Underwater robots offering practical route to greener shipping

Technology that removes the algae, barnacles and debris that accumulate on ships' hulls can reduce drag and improve fuel efficiency.
Among those who experienced physical abuse from their spouses or partners, 12.6% said they felt that their lives were in danger, according to the government survey conducted late last year.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 27, 2024

Record 1 in 5 in Japan report partner abuse, government survey shows

Among married couples, the rate is even higher at 1 in 4.
A helmet jellyfish recorded at depth in the Lurefjord, Norway. The creatures experience acute physical effects from short-term exposure to suspended sediment, which could be caused by deep-sea mining.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / OUR PLANET
Apr 7, 2024

The weird deep-sea world, and how mining threatens it

Demand for metals such as lithium and nickel has driven a rush to take a stake in the seabed, with Japan being a major advocate of deep-sea mining.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike in Tokyo on April 1
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 12, 2024

Tokyo Gov. Koike denies claim she falsified academic credentials

The governor denied allegations published in a monthly magazine that she drafted a fake graduation document from Cairo University.
On average between 1991 and 2020, the highest temperature in Sapporo on April 15 was 11.5 degrees Celsius, but the temperature rose above 25 degrees on Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2024

Japan's Sapporo sees earliest 25C day since records began

A city known for the 1972 Winter Olympics and hosting one of the country's biggest snow festivals saw summer-like temperatures.
A microscopic view of the SARS-CoV-2 virus particles.
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 20, 2024

It’s taken 100 scientists two years to rename airborne viruses after COVID mistakes

While the discussion may seem trivial, terminology carries important economic and public health consequences.
The Chang'e 6 lunar probe and the Long March-5 Y8 carrier rocket combination at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan province, China, on Saturday
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 29, 2024

China set to launch high-stakes mission to moon's 'hidden' side

China is preparing to send a robotic spacecraft on a round trip to the dark side of the moon as they work to land astronauts there by 2030.
As Japan grapples with its population's rapid aging, supporting people who live and age alone is looming larger on the policy agenda.
JAPAN / Society
May 14, 2024

In Japan, 68,000 people over 65 projected to die alone at home this year

In the first official tally of solitary deaths, the National Police Agency said a total of 21,716 people had died alone at home from January through March.
A slogan reads "Accelerate Industrial Transformation With AI" at the Microsoft booth at the Hannover Messe 2024 trade fair in Hannover, Germany, on April 22.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 16, 2024

Microsoft’s AI push imperils climate goal as carbon emissions jump

The company’s total planet-warming impact is about 30% higher today than it was in 2020.
A woman looks on during a protest against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in front of a U.S. consulate in Barcelona, Spain, on June 1, 2020.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 27, 2024

Four years after George Floyd killing, police reform slow to follow

Despite the initial surge of calls for change, federal attempts at wide-ranging reform have been mostly unsuccessful.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) at a trade fair in Hannover Messe, in Hanover, Germany, on April 22
BUSINESS / Companies
May 28, 2024

Amazon in talks with Italy to invest billions of euros in cloud plan, sources say

AWS launched its first cloud region in Italy in 2020 as part of a plan to invest €2 billion ($2.2 billion) by 2029.
The Chinese national flag and the Hong Kong flag outside government headquarters in Hong Kong in November 2017
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 12, 2024

Hong Kong uses new national security law against exiled activists

Hong Kong authorities have outlawed more than a dozen overseas activists based in the United States, Britain and other countries.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike (left) and Renho, a member of the House of Councilors, both candidates in the gubernatorial election, attend a news conference at the Japan National Press Club in the capital on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 20, 2024

The battle to be Japan’s most powerful woman is on

The race to become governor of Tokyo has officially kicked off, and is set to determine who will control a region that makes up more than 20% of the nation’s economy.
Namgyal Phunchok, a Changpa community leader at Chushul village in Ladakh, says the area's pastoralist way of life had been undermined.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 27, 2024

The herders caught up in India and China's icy conflict

Swaths of grazing lands have become demilitarized "buffer zones" to keep rival forces apart.
U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump participate in the first presidential debate of 2024 at CNN's studios in Atlanta on Thursday.
WORLD
Jun 28, 2024

At first debate, Biden stumbles amid Trump's barrage of falsehoods

The two men traded barbs on a host of issues as they each sought to shake up what opinion polls show has been a virtually tied race for months.
You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
PODCAST / deep dive
Jul 4, 2024

Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Summer music festivals are back, but for how long? Climate change is putting the heat on our favorite outdoor entertainment.
American Gregorio Narvasa has gone from baking cookies in his spare to time to working with major Tokyo companies from his new Koenji shop.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jul 7, 2024

Koenji gets a new cookie shop. Its owner gets a community.

After several years of sharing his creations at pop-up events scattered across Tokyo, Gregorio Narvasa opened a physical bake shop in Koenji on April 20 of this year.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event in Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 6, 2024

Crisis? What crisis? Biden rejects Democratic pessimism.

After last week’s devastating debate performance, the president’s prime-time interview with ABC News was an exercise in not just damage control but reality control.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris greets the crowd during a rally where President Joe Biden also spoke, at a community center in Raleigh, North Carolina, in March.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 6, 2024

The reintroduction of Kamala Harris

With U.S. President Joe Biden’s candidacy on the line, Democrats are assessing whether his VP pick is up to being the nominee.
People on a train from India's northeastern states stretch out their hands to collect free food being distributed by an NGO at a railway station in Kolkata in 2012.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 12, 2024

Empty beds, lost jobs: The price of India's crackdown on NGO funds

Only 15,947 NGOs remain active in India, while 35,488 licenses have been cancelled or expired, according to the country's FCRA dashboard.
U.S. President Joe Biden walks out of the Oval Office toward Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD
Jul 16, 2024

In blow to Biden, Teamsters consider no endorsement in 2024 race

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters' decision has not been finalized and is expected to be made in the coming weeks.

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