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Donald Trump supporters wait for the former U.S. president to speak at a campaign rally in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 29, 2024

Wake up America! What happened to your exceptionalism?

What is tragic is that both the Democratic and Republican parties effectively decided on their final presidential nominees long before the primaries began.
Aoi Suzuki’s son runs past a home in Taketomi on Iriomote Island (not to be confused with Taketomi Island, which lies to the east of Iriomote). The Suzukis run the Takemori Inn, one of the few hotels on Iriomote.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 29, 2024

[Rebroadcast] Traveling Okinawa with a broken heart

This week on Deep Dive we get contributing writer and photographer Lance Henderstein to read us his article on traveling Okinawa during the rainy season.
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.
The real question is whether Hong Kong’s revival plan is moving in the right direction and bettering the lives of most ordinary people.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 1, 2024

Is Hong Kong over? The answer lies beyond stock prices

When it comes to determining its future, Hong Kong may have no sway over the big forces, such as China’s policies.
U.S. President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Friday. Biden announced the U.S. would begin airdropping humanitarian aid into Gaza, joining other nations in a bid to relieve increasingly dire conditions wrought by the Israel-Hamas war.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 2, 2024

Biden says U.S. military to airdrop food and supplies into Gaza

U.S. President Joe Biden said the airdrop would take place in the coming days but offered no further specifics.
Artillery shells and primers in a self-propelled howitzer operated by Ukraine’s 80th Brigade, near Kreminna, Ukraine, in January 2023.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 2, 2024

Europe battles gunpowder shortage to supply shells for Ukraine

Hard-to-find gunpowder is hindering Europe's scramble to provide hundreds of thousands of shells to Kyiv.
Elon Musk arrives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington to participate in the A.I. Forum in September of last year.
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2024

Elon Musk sues OpenAI and Sam Altman for violating the company’s principles

Musk sued OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, accusing them of breaching a contract by putting profits ahead of the public good.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks to reporters outside the White House in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 3, 2024

For Democrats pining for an alternative, Biden team has a message: Get over it.

While a new poll shows that 2 in 5 Democrats say the president shouldn't be the nominee, no one who matters to Biden is willing to suggest he step aside.
Solar panels on display at PV Expo in Tokyo on Wednesday. Japan's "transition bonds" will cover cutting-edge solar cells, as well as more controversial projects.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Mar 3, 2024

Japan wants cash for its green transition. But what are investors actually backing?

"Transition bonds" are intended to fund a wide variety of net-zero projects, but it's not clear all of them will actually help with decarbonization.
Remember, Vladimir Putin ridiculed the idea that he would invade Ukraine, right up until he ordered close to 200,000 troops over the border.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2024

Would Putin stop if he wins in Ukraine? Let’s not find out.

Just because the Russian leader is a serial liar doesn’t prove he is being untruthful now.
High tides in Funafuti, Tuvalu, in February. About 40% of the main atoll and capital district Funafuti is already underwater at high tide, and the tiny nation is forecast to be submerged by the end of the century.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Mar 4, 2024

Tuvalu preserves history online as rising seas threaten existence

"We cannot outrun the rising tides, but we will do what we can to protect our statehood, our spirit, our values," minister Simon Kofe said.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo speaks during an interview on the sidelines of the Australia-ASEAN summit in Melbourne on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 4, 2024

Philippines foreign minister urges China to 'stop harassing us'

Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo was speaking on the sidelines of an ASEAN-Australia summit in Melbourne.
What role should money from oil and gas — the very industry that’s the main contributor to global warming — have in funding the work of climate scientists?
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Mar 4, 2024

Two young climate scientists. Two visions of the solution.

The pair's biggest question: What role should money from oil and gas have in funding work like theirs?
Bangladeshi Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus addresses the media as he prepares to leave after filing an appeal for the extension of his bail at the Labor Appellate Tribunal in Dhaka on Sunday.
WORLD / Society
Mar 4, 2024

Bangladesh Nobel winner fears for future as woes mount

Several of Muhammad Yunus' firms have been "forcefully" taken over, weeks after his conviction in a case his supporters say was politically motivated.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang chat at the end of the opening session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 5, 2024

China sets robust economic growth goal but no big bang stimulus

Premier Li Qiang targets growth of about 5% this year but signals continued reluctance to use deficit spending for economic stimulus.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Colorado's attempt to keep Donald Trump off the ballot with an obscure and almost discarded provision that could have determined the outcome of the presidential election.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 5, 2024

Supreme Court buries the fantasy of keeping Trump off the ballot

An obscure, almost discarded provision of the U.S. Constitution shouldn’t have the potential to determine the outcome of a presidential election.
The U.S and Japan are working together to secure a stable semiconductor supply chain and maintain their leading position in this critical technology amid concerns over China.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 5, 2024

Semiconductors are back to center stage in the Japan-U.S. alliance

It is impossible to overestimate the importance of semiconductors to the 21st century. They’re everywhere and in every digital item.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group said it is already managing to enhance its tolerance to an anticipated rise in yen interest rates.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 6, 2024

Japan’s biggest bank readies for BOJ shift on rate policy within weeks

Hiroyuki Seki, head of global markets business at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, predicts that the BOJ will raise rates not once but twice by October.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks at a forum in Tokyo on Tuesday. Tackling a bloated balance sheet is set to be a challenging hurdle for the central bank.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 6, 2024

Normalizing Bank of Japan's balance sheet will take nine years, says ex-official

Failing to issue guidance on the planned normalization could lead to high market volatility in yields, former Executive Director Kenzo Yamamoto warns.
A childhood snapshot of Shohei Ohtani and his mother, Kayoko, posted on MLB’s account on social media website X.
BASEBALL
Mar 7, 2024

'Sporting geniuses are made, not born': How to be an all-star sports parent

If you want your child to be a top 1% athlete like Shohei Ohtani, a good place to start is to take a look at what his parents did.
The Bank of Japan in January. The BOJ is monitoring wage trends closely for signs of a virtuous cycle linking higher pay with demand-led price gains.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 7, 2024

Japan wage growth beat forecasts in January, in fastest rise since June

The data comes as annual wage negotiations between firms and unions are reaching their climax, with the first results expected next week.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman attends a session of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 18.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 9, 2024

OpenAI’s Sam Altman returns to board after probe clears him

Altman was cleared of any wrongdoing that would have mandated being fired, according to a report based on a monthslong investigation.
A worker checks the carbon fiber at the composite production line at the Swancor factory in Nantou, Taiwan, in February.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Mar 9, 2024

Recycling wind turbine blades can solve the industry’s biggest problem

Swancor is one of several firms globally trying to develop products that mimic the physical properties of current blade material but can be recycled.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv in October
WORLD / Politics
Mar 10, 2024

Netanyahu approach to Gaza war 'hurting Israel more than helping,' Biden says

The comments highlighted the U.S. leader's growing impatience with his Israeli counterpart over his approach to the war in Gaza.
Rescuers clear debris from a multistory building heavily damaged following a drone strike, in Odessa, Ukraine, on March 3.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Mar 10, 2024

The $1 trillion race to rebuild Ukraine is slowly getting going

Firms are boosting their presence in Ukraine, in anticipation of the conflict's end — and the biggest investment opportunity since at least World War II.
Two of the country’s four major makers of alcoholic beverages are reportedly going to stop releasing new products with alcohol content of 8% or more, citing health concerns.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 10, 2024

Japan asks when a stiff drink is a bit too stiff

Two of the country’s four major makers have taken the unusual step of retreating from a lucrative and growing market: strong premixed drinks.
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, attends a conference in Paris in June of last year.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 10, 2024

Led by Musk, Silicon Valley inches to the right

Musk and other tech mavens are pushing themes cherished by Fox News and far-right movements from a place that electorally remains a liberal stronghold.
The upcoming election is set to secure Vladimir Putin's long-term leadership and is raising questions about the direction of Russia's political landscape.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 10, 2024

'Generation Putin' — young Russians reflect on his 24 years in power

Vladimir Putin's legacy through young eyes: Insights from Russia's youth on the only president most have known and their hopes for the future.
Knives displayed for sale at the "Survival & Prepper Show" in Longmont, Colorado, on March 2
WORLD / Society
Mar 11, 2024

Disaster 'prepping' finds broad appeal as climate and politics threaten safety

Researchers say the number of Americans getting ready to survive political upheaval and natural catastrophes has doubled in size since 2017.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has publicly said he prefers U.S. President Joe Biden to Donald Trump, but the remark was widely interpreted to mean exactly the opposite.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 11, 2024

Putin hopes a Trump win would change course for Russia

While Putin has said he prefers U.S. President Joe Biden to Donald Trump, the remark was widely interpreted to mean exactly the opposite.

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