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Masanao Saito harvests his mikan tangerines with his grandson, Akihito Oyama, at his farm in Yamamoto, Miyagi Prefecture, on Dec. 8. Behind them are apple trees full of fruit.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Feb 5, 2024

How fruit farmers in Tohoku are coping with climate change

Last year, extreme heat dubbed the "boiling Earth" phenomenon hit the region’s agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries hard.
Gold badges distributed to Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly members after the April 2023 election. The prices for both types doubled from four years ago.
JAPAN / Politics / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Feb 19, 2024

Gold assembly badges worth millions of yen unreturned in Kyushu

Each elected member receives a new badge for every election and is supposed to return them on losing an election or retiring from politics.
The newly appointed leader of the Japanese Communist Party, Tomoko Tamura (front left), addresses the party convention on Jan. 18. The JCP is hoping its recent leadership change will improve its electoral fortunes.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 30, 2024

What the future holds for the Japanese Communist Party

After a decade of steadily declining seat counts in the Diet, the Japanese Communist Party has turned to its first-ever female leader.
The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) is seen on the surface of the moon in an image released Jan. 25.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 2, 2024

Japan’s historic moon landing was right on target

Japan made history last month when it became the fifth nation to soft land on the moon.
Giant African snails are unpopular among local residents and are referred to as an alien species that shouldn’t be touched, as they damage crops and sometimes hosts rat lungworms.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 19, 2024

Giant African snails mark 90 years of history in Okinawa

The snails, one of the world’s largest of the kind, are native to East Africa, and their shells can grow to as high as 20 centimeters.
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi takes part in a training session in Chiba on Tuesday.
SOCCER
Feb 7, 2024

Anger over Messi’s behavior grows in China before Japan game

Many commentators in China have drawn comparisons between Messi’s behavior in Hong Kong and his demeanor in Japan.
While online influence campaigns are increasingly common as powerful people and governments around the world seek to manipulate public opinion, experts tracking such operations say China is one of the biggest sources of such drives alongside Russia and Iran.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 8, 2024

Chinese firm behind ‘news’ sites pushes pro-Beijing content globally, report says

Spread over websites in 30 countries, the propaganda material is interspersed with news aggregated from local news outlets and Chinese state media.
Copies of the Apple Daily newspaper, published by Next Digital Ltd., at the company's printing facility in Hong Kong on Nov. 5, 2020.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 12, 2024

In Trump-Biden rematch, the only sure loser is China

Trump’s rhetoric may pressure Biden to take harsher measures in the run-up to election day — bad news for China’s economy and slumping stock market.
An anti-seismic reinforced building at the Keiju Medical Center in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, suffered broken pipes and water leakage following a New Year's Day earthquake.
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Mar 4, 2024

Hospitals in Japan slow to adopt seismic isolation in their buildings

Facilities severely hit by the New Year's Day quake have not been able to resume surgeries and other medical services.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the North Korean Ministry of National Defense on the occasion of the 76th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army, in Pyongyang in this picture released on Feb. 9.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 14, 2024

North Korean arms trade is China’s problem too: U.S. official

Jung Pak's comments reflect long-running frustration in Washington over China’s unwillingness to help influence Pyongyang’s behavior.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 18, 2024

‘Dictators do not go on vacation,’ Zelenskyy warns Washington and Europe

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on world leaders not to abandon his country saying that Russia would continue to test the international order.
Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic had a season-high 73 points in a single game. Scoring has risen across the NBA, but the league's commissioner, Adam Silver, says he isn't concerned.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Feb 18, 2024

NBA season's scoring surge doesn't worry Adam Silver

Speaking Saturday to reporters on the eve of the NBA All-Star Game, Silver said scoring was only about one point per game higher than last season.
Kites are flown over Rafah as smoke billows following Israeli bombardment on Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 21, 2024

Israel-Hamas war splits G20, risking paralysis at meeting

The group is so split on the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine that they may be forced to reduce the forum’s scope and avoid geopolitical issues.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Jerusalem on Feb. 18.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 24, 2024

Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu issues first plan for postwar Gaza

The proposal, which calls for indefinite Israeli military control and buffer zones in the territory, was rejected by Palestinians.
Vitol, the world's biggest trader, has increased its total equity to $26 billion even after paying $5 billion in record dividends after earning $15 billion in 2022.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 26, 2024

Top global energy traders face multibillion cash quandary

Most trading houses, which are privately owned and controlled by their employees, disclose little about their cash position, equity or dividends.
Koichi Kondo plays the harmonica. Playing harmonica was like life itself for members of the Bluebird Band, according to his words.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Mar 4, 2024

Harmonica melodies of Hansen's disease patients live on

A band featuring the instrument was founded in 1953, at a time when prejudice against the disease was still strong
Hong Kong has been promised significant autonomy until 2047, but Beijing's actions have undermined fundamental rights essential for its success.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 28, 2024

China says Hong Kong’s ‘one country, two systems’ is permanent

Hong Kong has been promised significant autonomy until 2047, but Beijing's actions have undermined fundamental rights.
A poster for digital coupons at a store in the city of Fukushima
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Mar 11, 2024

Fukushima’s welfare coupon campaign highlights digital divide

A call center dedicated to the initiative received so many calls that telephone lines were overloaded.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference in Sao Paulo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 1, 2024

BOJ governor says price target not already in sight

Kazuo Ueda played down the significance of Japan’s slide back into a technical recession.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has upended Communist Party norms since consolidating power and installing a coterie of loyalists in 2022, marking a shift from the more collective decision-making that helped propel China’s economic rise.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 1, 2024

Xi’s one-man rule over China’s economy is spurring unrest

While the Chinese leader attempts to put the China's economy on a more sustainable footing, he is failing to convince the nation that's a good idea.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a news conference at the Vatican on Saturday
WORLD / Politics
Mar 3, 2024

Germany caught out by leak of secret Ukraine war talks

The leak was a 38-minute audio recording of German army officers apparently discussing potential Ukrainian strikes on Crimea in a Feb. 19 videoconference.
Chai Wanrou at the Daming Palace National Heritage Park, in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, China. The 28-year-old is part of a growing movement that envisions a future with no husband and no children.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Mar 7, 2024

More Chinese women choosing singledom as economy stutters

Chinese President Xi Jinping last year stressed the need to "cultivate a new culture of marriage and childbearing."
Demonstrators hold a banner as they take part in a march to call for gender equality and protest against gender discrimination as part of an International Women’s Day march in Tokyo in 2021.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 8, 2024

Recognizing the vocabulary surrounding International Women’s Day

Many of the terms describing issues women are facing in Japan have a string of complex kanji. Knowing the basics can go a long way in aiding understanding.
A worker at Nakamatsu Meat speaks to an Alexa-powered device at its factory in Uruma, Okinawa Prefecture, in November. At the factory, workers give production updates to Alexa, which then converts this into data that is compiled in the company's computer.
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Mar 11, 2024

Okinawa meat shop uses tech to improve efficiency and raise wages

Nakamatsu Meat's digitalization enabled it to cut its factory operating time and optimize raw material purchases.
French President Emmanuel Macron greets Germany Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Feb. 26.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 9, 2024

Macron and Scholz, never close, spar over policy toward Ukraine and Russia

A fraught relationship has recently turned bitter, with insults and barbs threatening European unity at a critical moment.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves to supporters from a car after offering prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath Hindu temple in Varanasi on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 13, 2024

Modi ramps up campaign to position India as alternative to China

Efforts to integrate the country into global supply chains come ahead of elections in which the Indian premier is seeking to extend his decade in power.
Shintaro Tajima (left) and his son, Daisuke, pose in their forest in Hita, Oita Prefecture, in January. At their feet is wasabi growing in clusters.
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Mar 18, 2024

Oita forestry firm signs carbon trade deal with Line operator

LY, which operates Line and Yahoo services, will purchase 1,500 tons of carbon credit per year from Tajima Forest for 10 years.
Phytochemical Products CEO Makiko Kato (second from right) and Chief Technology Officer and professor Naomi Kitakawa (right) at the startup's laboratory in Sendai
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Mar 18, 2024

Tohoku University startup opens path to waste oil recycling

Its proprietary technology allows it to extract useful compounds from waste oil to produce biofuel and other products.
Wakana Nukui has been described as having a knack for storytelling and vividly sharing her vision with those around her.
BUSINESS / WOMEN AT WORK
Mar 24, 2024

A social entrepreneur who is determined to lift Cambodian women's status

Wakana Nukui has fostered new talent in design while opening shops dedicated to local products.
Despite Japan's still-nascent domestic winemaking scene, wine drinkers in the country have long enjoyed an obsession with obtaining certifications around the beverage.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 17, 2024

What’s driving Japan’s love affair with wine certifications?

Studying wine is an extremely popular pastime in Japan — despite the number of students without a professional need to do so.

Longform

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