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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un
WORLD / Politics
Jan 11, 2024

North Korea set to send new class of missiles to Russia, Seoul says

By sending more weapons of greater sophistication, Kim is likely receiving substantial aid that keeps his sanctions-hit economy afloat as well as technology from Russia.
First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko (left), Head of the Ukrainian President's Office Andriy Yermak (center) and Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov attend a news conference during the World Economic Forum in Davos on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 15, 2024

Ukraine says China is needed for peace process

Chinese Premier Li Qiang will lead a delegation in Davos this week, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is due to arrive in Bern, Switzerland on Monday.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump greets attendees at a campaign rally in Indianola, Iowa, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 15, 2024

The Trump voters in swing states who are returning to the fold

To try to understand his enduring appeal, reporters spoke to five Trump supporters in five general election battleground states.
Smoke billows above Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 16, 2024

Israel to end war in southern Gaza 'soon' as U.N. demands cease-fire

A day after Israel's prime minister said fighting would continue for months, the Israeli army confirmed one of four divisions in northern Gaza had withdrawn.
A woman who filed a suit claiming damages against her father but had her claim dismissed by the Hiroshima High Court in November has said she felt like she was being accused of making a complaint only when time had run out.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Jan 22, 2024

Passage of time gets in the way for victims of child sexual abuse

The woman, in her 40s, deemed it unfair that the perpetrator gets away scot-free because of the statute of limitation.
Houthi supporters rally to denounce air strikes launched by the U.S. and Britain, in Sanaa, Yemen on Jan. 12.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 17, 2024

U.S. strikes Houthi missiles as Greek vessel hit in Red Sea

Attacks by the Iran-allied militia on ships in the region since November have affected companies and alarmed major powers.
Islamabad said Wednesday that Tehran launched an airstrike on Pakistan's territory, killing two children.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 17, 2024

Iran launches airstrike on jihadist base in Pakistan, killing two

The strikes add to multiple crises across the Middle East, with Israel waging a war against Hamas in Gaza and Houthi rebels in Yemen attacking vessels in the Red Sea.
While global sumo took its first steps toward becoming an organized sport under Hidetoshi Tanaka, it would be an exaggeration to say that everything was plain sailing internationally while the former president was in power.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 17, 2024

Scandal-hit giant of sumo Hidetoshi Tanaka leaves a complicated legacy

For Tanaka, a terse International Sumo Federation statement marked an ignominious end to the life of one of sumo’s most influential figures.
Shimon Ishimaru, the deputy leader of a group of Johnny Kitagawa's sexual abuse victims, said dozens had come to the group for advice after being denied compensation.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 17, 2024

Johnny's abuse victims seek transparency on compensation criteria

Many are unable to prove past affiliations with the agency, with some alleging that the wrongdoings occurred before the signing of contracts.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui in Moscow on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 17, 2024

Putin meets North Korea’s top envoy as arms flow builds

Putin held talks with Choe Son Hui on Tuesday during a visit to Moscow, the Tass news agency reported
The Democratic Progressive Party's presidential candidate, Lai Ching-te, the eventual winner, casts his vote during the island's election in Tainan, Taiwan, on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 18, 2024

Taiwan's election and its potential impact on East Asian politics

China tried to interfere in the Taiwanese elections through the systematic use of "cognitive warfare," but failed.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference on Dec. 13.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 18, 2024

Kishida aims to disband his faction amid political funds scandals

The move would mark a bid to restore public trust toward politics amid a series of political funds scandals.
The health of China's economy will always be a factor in how other Asian economies fare, and some of those are doing OK despite their larger neighbor’s woes.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 19, 2024

The latest indignity for China’s flawed recovery

Neighbors whose economic fortunes were supposed to be tied to the heft of China’s rebound from the pandemic seem to be doing pretty well without it.
A replica of the Statue of Liberty in Taipei. There are markers all over Taiwan of its courtship of the United States.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 21, 2024

Taiwan’s doubts about America are growing. That could be dangerous.

Will deepening skepticism about the United States as a trustworthy nation diminish Taiwan’s belief that it could fend off China?
"Prepare your coffins," a banner warns Iran's adversaries in Tehran, on Jan. 16. After hitting targets in neighboring Pakistan, Iraq and Syria with missiles, Iran has played up not only its military capabilities but its determination to strike enemies at will.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 21, 2024

Attacks in Syria and Iraq ratchet tensions in a region on edge

Some of the attacks had no apparent connection to Gaza but taken together, they underlined how easy a broader conflict could arise.
A Russian military transport plane crashes near Yablonovo, Belgorod Region, Russia on Wednesday in a screen grab from a social media video.
WORLD
Jan 24, 2024

Russia says plane carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners has crashed

The IL-76 aircraft came down while transporting the prisoners for an exchange with Ukraine, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said Wednesday, according to Tass.
Photographer Robert Beck took the famous photo of Brandi Chastain celebrating the United States' victory in the Women's World Cup final in 1999 that appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
SPORTS
Jan 25, 2024

The Sports Illustrated cover, a faded canvas that once defined sports

Sports Illustrated's power to define sports discourse been steadily eroding, but it is hard to overstate the power it once had.
Jumpei Yasuda (second from left) was taken captive by an armed group for about three years and four months after entering Syria from Turkey for news coverage in 2015.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 26, 2024

Japan's passport denial for ex-captive journalist ruled illegal

The presiding judge ruled that the denial of a passport for Jumpei Yasuda was illegal, as it represented an abuse of the government's discretionary power.
Flour is distributed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) at its headquarters in Khan Youni in the southern Gaza Strip on Nov. 22.
WORLD
Jan 27, 2024

U.N. fires Gaza staff over claims they joined Hamas attack

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he "is horrified by the news” that workers with the U.N. agency may have been involved in the attack.
Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda speaks during a news conference in Nagoya on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 30, 2024

World No. 1 but mired in scandal: Toyota sees mixed start to 2024

Despite the steady performance of its business, the carmaker has been shaken by wrongdoing at group firms, leading to an apology from the chairman.
Terunofuji (left) defeats Kirishima at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on Saturday.
SUMO / Inside Sumo
Jan 31, 2024

Ninth title puts Terunofuji on cusp of joining all-time greats

His most recent victory puts him ahead — in terms of silverware won — of all but eight wrestlers to have made their debut in the past 65 years.
U.S. President Joe Biden has come under intense pressure from Republicans to take strong action, up to attacks directly on Iranian assets or territory.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 2, 2024

The world waits as Biden telegraphs attack on Iran-backed groups

The U.S. has accused Iran of funding groups that have attacked American bases and personnel in the region.
A news broadcast showing at a railway station in Seoul on Tuesday shows footage of a previous North Korean missile launch.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 2, 2024

North Korea fires missiles as Kim seeks ‘war preparation’ boost

Kim is likely using the tests to show he many ways to launch a strike, adding to the planning contingencies for the U.S. and its allies in the region.
A Beijing court heard Yang Hengjun's trial in secret in May 2021 and the case against him has never been publicly disclosed. He has denied working as a spy for Australia or the United States.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 5, 2024

Beijing court gives Australian writer suspended death sentence

Yang Hengjun had been accused of spying for a country China has not identified and the details of the case against him have not been made public.
Nippon Ham manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo is trying to turn around the Fighters after last-place finishes in 2022 and 2023.
BASEBALL / Sac Bunts
Feb 5, 2024

Fighters' Tsuyoshi Shinjo needs to match substance with style in third season

Nippon Ham manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo is trying to turn around the Fighters after last-place finishes in 2022 and 2023.
Britain's King Charles leaves the London Clinic with Britain's Queen Camilla after receiving treatment for an enlarged prostate, in London on Jan. 29.
WORLD
Feb 6, 2024

King Charles diagnosed with cancer just 18 months into his reign

Buckingham Palace said that the king would postpone public-facing duties while he undergoes treatment.
Smoke rises over buildings in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip following Israeli bombardment on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 6, 2024

Palestinians hope Blinken visit hastens truce before Rafah strike

Blinken's meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman lasted about two hours.
Nominal cash earnings among workers in Japan rose 1.0% in December from the previous year, government data shows.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 6, 2024

Japan’s wage data likely solid enough to keep BOJ policy shift on track

Nominal cash earnings rose 1.0% in December from the previous year with the help of a 0.5% gain in winter bonuses.
Mitsubishi President Katsuya Nakanishi (left), Lawson President Sadanobu Takemasu (center) and KDDI President Makoto Takahashi wear Lawson uniforms during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday to announce the carrier's plan to raise its stake in the convenience chain.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 7, 2024

KDDI to raise stake in Lawson to jointly run convenience chain

Japan's second-largest mobile carrier currently holds 2.1% of shares but will invest about ¥500 billion to increase its stake through a tender offer.
In the quest for immortality, some researchers believe mind uploading will be our ticket to an eternal existence.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 8, 2024

Japan’s take on immortality; problems in Palworld

As scientists and technologists attempt to tackle the problem of aging and death, we discuss Japanese ideas about immortality.

Longform

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Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat