Search - i

 
 
A worker at Sakai Seisakusyo prepares to transport metal rods at its factory in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture, on July 8.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Jul 16, 2024

Japan finds a 'stealth' cure for zombie businesses: Let them fail

The shift in thinking is a clear departure for a country that has typically sought to avoid bankruptcies and protect existing jobs at the cost of productivity.
ASML's headquarters and factory in Veldhoven, Netherlands
WORLD
Jul 16, 2024

ASML-backed university is caught in the middle of U.S.-China chip war

The Netherlands is facing increasing pressure from Washington to stem Beijing’s chip-making efforts.
Goki Kusunoki, CEO and co-founder of Samansa, with the company's Loverse app in Tokyo on May 10. The app allows interaction only with generative artificial intelligence.
BUSINESS
Jul 21, 2024

Tiny Japanese startup is bringing AI dating to the masses

Loverse is the latest in a long line of digital solutions to Japan’s loneliness crisis.
England head coach Gareth Southgate walks past the trophy after his side lost the final of Euro 2024 against Spain on Sunday in Berlin.
SOCCER
Jul 17, 2024

Southgate stands down: Who's next for England's hot seat?

Southgate announced his departure less than 48 hours after England's second successive Euro final defeat, this time a shattering 2-1 loss to Spain in Berlin on Sunday.
Guo Wengui holds a news conference with Steve Bannon in New York in November 2018.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jul 17, 2024

Chinese tycoon Guo guilty in U.S. of $1 billion investor fraud

Convicted on nine of the 12 counts against him, he faces as many as 20 years in prison on the most serious charges when he is sentenced on Nov. 19.
Shares in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's largest contract chipmaker and a major Apple and Nvidia supplier, closed 2.4% lower on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 17, 2024

Trump says Taiwan should pay for defense, sending TSMC stock down

The U.S. is Taiwan's key international supporter and arms supplier, although there is no formal defense agreement between them.
The number of teachers in their 20s on leave due to mental conditions has risen, highlighting the need to reduce burdens on young teachers.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 17, 2024

Japan to boost support for young teachers to secure staff

The package addresses concerns about a decline in interest in teaching jobs among young people and aims to reduce teachers' overtime work to 20 hours per month.
Diaper products for babies and adults are displayed at a factory of Daio Paper's subsidiary Elleair in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, in June.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 17, 2024

Japan's diaper-makers look to adult market for revenue as births fall

Japan's population is likely to decline by about 30% to 87 million by 2070, with 4 people in every 10 at the age of 65 or more, estimates show.
Keiju Okada (left) and Miho Yoshioka compete in the 470-class mixed two-person dinghy event of the sailing world championships in August in the Netherlands.
OLYMPICS / Sailing
Jul 17, 2024

Japanese craftsmanship to play vital role in dinghy sailing in Paris

Fifteen of the 19 boats in the new 470-class mixed two-person dinghy event at the 2024 Paris Games will use sails made by North Sails Japan.
Former U.S. President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to his vice presidential pick, Sen. J.D. Vance, during the second day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 17, 2024

Trump's VP pick signals stronger focus on China

J.D. Vance represents a hardening of Trump’s “America First” stance, but could also help push a tougher line on China and support for democratic Taiwan.
Saga Indonesia Dreams players speak with Yuji Fukuhara, who set up the unique Kyushu-based club, during a training session last month in Takeo, Saga Prefecture.
BASEBALL
Jul 18, 2024

Kyushu team nurturing 'baseball evangelists' to spread game in Asia

Kyushu club hopes its players, mostly hailing from parts of Asia where baseball is not popular, will help promote the sport in other parts of the continent.
A commercial district in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, on Sunday. Thomas Crooks, 20, a lifelong resident of the borough, has been identified as the gunman who opened fire during a campaign appearance by former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
WORLD
Jul 18, 2024

Trump gunman Thomas Crooks leaves behind a pile of mysteries

Gunman Thomas Crooks seemed to have a bright future waiting for him after having earned a spot at a college engineering program.
U.S. gymnast Simone Biles competes in the uneven bars during the U.S. Olympic trials in Minneapolis on June 30.
OLYMPICS
Jul 18, 2024

Paris Olympics marketing blitz powered by female athletes

While the Olympics has long been considered the pinnacle of women’s sports, increased attention has prompted more brands to feature female athletes.
Indian Ambassador Sibi George says one of his main tasks in his post is to boost Japanese public and private investments the South Asian powerhouse.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 18, 2024

India’s envoy in Japan calls for boosted supply chain and defense cooperation

The ambassador’s remarks come after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to continue prioritizing ties with Japan.
U.S. President Joe Biden disembarks Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 18, 2024

Biden called ‘more receptive’ to hearing pleas to step aside

Biden has not given any indication that he is changing his mind about staying in the race, but has been willing to listen to rundowns of new and worrying polling data.
Tools at an exploration site run by KoBold Metals in Chililabombwe, Zambia, on June 11. A complex AI-driven technology that data crunchers at KoBold Metals painstakingly built over years helped identify a copper bonanza deep below a site in Zambia, and the company’s process could radically transform the discovery of metal and mineral deposits critical not only to the tech industry but to the fight against climate change.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 18, 2024

AI joins search for needed metals just in time

KoBold’s find comes as the United States and China are increasingly clashing over global access to minerals.
U.S. President Joe Biden leaves after delivering remarks during an event at the College of Southern Nevada North Las Vegas Campus, in Las Vegas, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 19, 2024

Biden faces mounting speculation amid pressure to drop his bid

Conjecture over if, when, or how U.S. President Joe Biden might step aside has dominated the political conversation.
The Sado Gold Mine, so heavily tapped that the mountain bearing it has been cleaved in two, is up for consideration for UNESCO World Heritage Site status.
LIFE / Travel
Jul 20, 2024

Land of punishment, land of gold

The Sado Gold Mine may soon become Japan’s newest UNESCO World Heritage site, but the island’s history is much more complicated than a single tourist destination.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump departs after the third night of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 19, 2024

Fearful or cheerful? World leaders mull Trump's potential foreign policy

With Donald Trump polling ahead of Joe Biden to be reelected president in the U.S., some governments are taking concrete steps to prepare for his possible return.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, gestures during the last day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 19, 2024

Republicans confident of Trump win regardless of Democratic ticket

U.S. President Joe Biden can choose to stay or go — to Republicans, it really doesn't matter who the Democratic candidate is.
Shoko Miyata had been set to lead the Japanese women's gymnastics team at the Paris Games.
OLYMPICS / Gymnastics
Jul 19, 2024

Japanese gymnast Shoko Miyata leaves Olympic team over drinking and smoking

The decision to have Miyata leave the team appeared to strike some observers as being overly harsh.
Jake Sullivan
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 20, 2024

U.S. to support Philippines' efforts to resupply ship on atoll

The U.S. "will do what is necessary" to see that the Manila is able to resupply the vessel in the disputed South China Sea, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.
U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich, accused of espionage, stands inside a glass defendants' cage during the verdict announcement at the Sverdlovsk Regional Court in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on Friday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jul 20, 2024

Russian court jails U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich for 16 years in spy case

Gershkovich went on trial in the city of Yekaterinburg last month after being accused of trying to gather sensitive information about a tank factory.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris arrives aboard Air Force Two in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, traveling to a campaign fundraiser, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 21, 2024

Trump campaign prepares attack plan for Harris in case Biden withdraws

The effort assumes that the U.S. vice president would be the most likely candidate to replace the president at the top of the Democratic ticket.
The 2024 presidential race throws another curveball at the markets with U.S. President Joe Biden dropping out of the race.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 22, 2024

How investors are reacting to Biden dropping reelection bid

Many investors are waiting to see who the new Democratic nominee will be, with some uncomfortable about the uncertainty.
Mai Yamamoto drives to the basket during an Olympic tune-up game against New Zealand in Tokyo on July 4.
OLYMPICS / Basketball
Jul 22, 2024

Akatsuki Japan believes it can 'surprise the world' in Paris

Women's basketball team will be looking to replicate its inspiring Olympic run in Tokyo and make waves in Paris.
The U.S. and its allies have accused China of supporting Russia's war in Ukraine, in part by exporting parts and equipment needed by Moscow's weapons makers, including semiconductors.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 22, 2024

Illicit chip flows to Russia seen slowing in China

Both mainland China and Hong Kong are seen by the U.S. government as key global nodes for Russia to source materials for its military.
Paris is preparing to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which start on Friday. These Summer Games will likely be very different from the previous ones, held in Tokyo in 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 22, 2024

In defense of Tokyo 2020, the loneliest Olympics

As Paris gets ready to host the Olympics, a reflection on the previous Games, held in Tokyo three years ago, prompts doubts about predictions of a COVID-induced disaster.
Passengers go through ticket gates at Tokyo Station Tuesday morning as all Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train services resumed following a partial halt the previous day.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2024

Tokaido Shinkansen train line resumes full services

A derailment accident involving maintenance trains caused a partial suspension Monday, but all services have now been resumed.
U.S. President Joe Biden will get the first test of how much sway he still retains when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives in Washington for a previously planned visit this week.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 23, 2024

Biden looks to project strength abroad despite lame-duck status

Having no electoral pressure may give U.S. President Joe Biden the ability to act more boldly in foreign affairs.

Longform

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