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The Black unemployment rate fell to 5% in March, the lowest level ever recorded in the monthly data, but then rose to 6% in June, showing how erratic it can be.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2023

The mysterious fall and rise of Black unemployment

After a roller-coaster move this spring, it’s now essentially back to where it was in February. How much is statistical noise?
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Kursk during World War II in Russia's Kursk region on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 26, 2023

Russia pushes long-term influence operations aimed at U.S. and Europe

Russian spy agencies are using the techniques to hide the Kremlin’s involvement in cultivating pro-Russia messages, a U.S. analysis has shown.
A billboard promoting contract army service in front of the Private Military Company Wagner Center in St. Petersburg on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 27, 2023

Kremlin eyes how to bring private military group under its control

The organization’s military prowess, experienced operators and ties to African governments may be too valuable to lose.
Jerome Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, from left, Kazuo Ueda, governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ), and Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), walk the grounds at the Jackson Hole economic symposium in Moran, Wyoming, on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 28, 2023

At Jackson Hole, post-inflation challenges vex central bankers

The bankers stressed the need to keep interest rates high until inflation is contained, and wrestled with deep shifts that will make their jobs harder.
Over the last decade, the attention given to falling income and wealth inequality has been tiny, creating a view of the issue that may be seriously out of date.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 29, 2023

We should concentrate on fighting poverty, not income inequality

Wealth inequality has recently gone down in the U.S. and the West, and the decline has been going on for the better part of the last decade.
Foxconn founder Terry Gou announces his bid for Taiwan's presidency in Taipei on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 29, 2023

Foxconn chief Terry Gou could upend Taiwan presidential poll

The tech titan has touted his business experience in announcing his presidential bid, but a number of challenges — including his ties to China — await.
Kotonowaka surely has his eyes on eventually emulating his grandfather, former grand champion Kotozakura.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Aug 30, 2023

New sumo ranks highlight rise of next generation

Ahead of the autumn tournament in Tokyo, it's the up-and-coming wrestlers who are making waves.
Rough guidelines on gifting cash at a Japanese wedding recommended between ¥10,000 and ¥50,000, depending on your own financial standing and your relationship to the married couple.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 2, 2023

The unwritten rules around cash at Asian weddings

Should a gift reflect the cost of your banquet meal? How do you put a numerical value on a friendship?
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng meet in Beijing on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 1, 2023

U.S.-China 'de-risking' will face stress test in election season

While Democrats favor de-risking, Republicans are firmly in the decoupling camp and are attacking Biden's China policy for being too meek.
Atsuyoshi Koike (second from left), president of Rapidus, and IBM Senior Vice President Dario Gil (second from right) during a news conference in Tokyo in December.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 1, 2023

Rapidus breaks ground on key Hokkaido chip factory

Rapidus aims to position itself as a prominent worldwide supplier of cutting-edge 2-nanometer-wide semiconductors.
A clothing packaging warehouse near Barcelona last month
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Sep 1, 2023

Fast fashion firms prepare for EU crackdown on waste mountain

Fast fashion, or making and selling cheap clothes with a short lifespan, is "highly unsustainable," the European Commission said in July.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is seen on a screen during a video address for the Global Trade in Services Summit, at the media center for the China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 2, 2023

The U.S., allies see opportunity and risk in slowing China economy

The U.S. and other G7 nations increasingly see evidence of deep-seated structural problems that ultimately will strengthen the West’s hand.
Tokyo Metropolitan Police investigators raid the dormitory of the Nihon University football team in Tokyo's Nakano Ward on Aug. 22.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 2, 2023

Nihon University suspends football team over cannabis allegations

Tokyo police searched the team's dormitory on Aug. 22, after more players were suspected of possessing cannabis, investigative sources said.
Susan Barber, an AP English teacher at Atlanta's Midtown High School, in class Tuesday. Barber said using AI chatbots could make students' college essays too generic.
WORLD / Society
Sep 2, 2023

Ban or embrace? Colleges wrestle with AI-generated admissions essays.

A.I. chatbots could facilitate plagiarism on college applications or democratize student access to writing help. Or maybe both.
Sen. Mitch McConnell appears to freeze up for more than 30 seconds during a public appearance before he was escorted away, the second such incident in a little more than a month, after an event with the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce in Covington, Kentucky, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 2, 2023

Mitch McConnell may be experiencing small seizures, doctors say

Two episodes, where the Republican senator froze and did not respond to some questions, may be symptoms of a serious illness.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is greeted by Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining, in Shanghai on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 2, 2023

U.S. officials are streaming to China. Will Beijing return the favor?

Such visits could help convey Beijing’s interest in stabilizing ties with Washington. But China has been noncommittal.
Local residents in the city of Tama in Tokyo protest against the Unification Church's plan to build a facility in the area in July.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 3, 2023

Japan may seek court order to disband Unification Church

The ministry is trying to determine whether or not the group's practices are organizational, malicious and continuous.
Emperor penguin chicks perished at multiple breeding grounds in Antarctica last year, drowning or freezing to death when sea ice was eroded by global warming.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 3, 2023

Our addiction to fossil fuels is killing baby penguins

Global warming is decimating sea ice and, with it, baby penguins. But why should we care about this and other species dying off?
Silicon Valley's AI tycoons believe discussions on AI's current carbon footprint underplay its revolutionary potential.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 4, 2023

Tech's carbon footprint: Can AI revolutionize responsibly?

Across the globe, data servers are consuming precious natural resources for the digital world, raising the question: can AI revolutionize responsibly?
Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrives for the Group of 20 leaders' summit in Bali, Indonesia, last November. Xi is set to skip this year's G20 summit in India, marking a major shift in how he operates.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 4, 2023

Xi’s G20 snub marks shift from statesman to China ‘emperor’

Chinese leader eyes different approach to diplomacy, reinforcing investor concerns that Beijing is becoming increasingly unpredictable.
Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits the command post of an operational-tactical group in Donetsk, Ukraine, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 5, 2023

Allies question Ukraine's war strategy, irritating Kyiv

Over the past two weeks U.S. media have been quoting anonymous military sources questioning Ukraine's strategy. On the record, criticism remains muted.
Argentina's forward Lionel Messi celebrates after the Qatar 2022 World Cup final match against France in Lusail, Qatar, on Dec. 18.
SOCCER / World cup
Sep 6, 2023

Messi back as 2026 World Cup qualifiers kick off

Nine months ago, Messi crowned his glittering career by leading Argentina to a World Cup crown in Qatar.
Personnel from the Self-Defense Forces take part in a nuclear, biological and chemical weapons exercise at New Chitose airport in Hokkaido in July 2012.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Sep 7, 2023

Japan has plenty to offer in the field of detecting threats

With the spread of chemical, nuclear and biological weapons, the time is right to put domestic tech to good use.
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura (center left) attends a meeting on the Osaka Expo in Tokyo on Aug. 31.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 6, 2023

Nippon Ishin’s political path in focus amid differing party views

There are growing differences over the party’s future direction, including whether to remain an opposition party or consider joining the ruling coalition.
Daieisho (left) and Kirishima take part in a practice session at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on Saturday.
SUMO / Inside Sumo
Sep 6, 2023

Power of ozeki trio on display in muted return of open practice session

The first Yokozuna Deliberation Council sōken training session open to the public in four years has taken place at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.
Journalists tour the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and the tanks that contain contaminated water on Aug. 27
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 6, 2023

We need to put low-dose radiation into perspective

Public fear of the effects of low-dose radiation isn’t backed by science. The Fukushima water release shows, once again, that better education is needed.
Actor Nahana says she considers her role as a punk rocker who falls in love with an avenging hero in Takahisa Zeze’s four-hour epic “Heaven’s Story” a turning point in her career.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 6, 2023

Indie film royalty Nahana looks back on 22 years

The Cinema Novecento theater in Yokohama is set to screen 12 of the versatile actor's films as a tribute to her long career.
Kohei Saito, a philosophy professor at the University of Tokyo who appears regularly in Japanese media to discuss his ideas, at home in Tokyo on March 16.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 7, 2023

Can shrinking be good for Japan? A Marxist bestseller makes the case.

Saito has tapped into what he describes as a growing disillusionment in Japan with capitalism’s ability to solve the problems people see around them.
Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi attends the 80th Venice Film Festival for the premiere of his new movie, "Evil Does Not Exist."
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Sep 7, 2023

Ryusuke Hamaguchi revives himself with dark nature film

The Japanese director found solace in nature with his new film "Evil Does Not Exist," which premiered at Venice on Monday.
An activist in Seoul protests Japan’s plan to release treated wastewater from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
PODCAST / deep dive
Sep 7, 2023

Anger at Fukushima’s wastewater; hope in its renewables

Good news and bad news out of Fukushima.

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