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The Grand Ring, a symbol of the 2025 World Expo in Osaka
JAPAN
Nov 24, 2024

Preparations for Osaka Expo well underway amid lack of excitement

Enthusiasm for the event has been muted, particularly after criticisms were raised over the venue's construction costs.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman addresses the joint extraordinary leaders summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League in Riyadh on Nov. 11.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 25, 2024

Mohammed bin Salman’s style shift sets up a new world order strategy

The implications of Saudi Arabia’s transformation under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will reverberate far beyond the kingdom’s borders for decades to come.
The sought ¥21.3 billion will be used for making the revised family register law widely known to the public and setting up call centers to receive questions from the public.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 27, 2024

¥21.3 billion sought to help with adding phonetic readings in family registers

The planned funds will be used for making the revision widely known to the public and setting up call centers to receive questions from the public.
A woman carries firewood she bought at a marketplace in Harare, Zimbabwe, on Oct. 2. Telehealth — the use of technology to provide and access health care services remotely — has been growing around the world but is relatively new in Zimbabwe.
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 27, 2024

In Zimbabwe, Starlink’s fast internet gives telehealth a boost

The satellite unit of Elon Musk's SpaceX received the green light in May to operate its internet services in Zimbabwe.
Myanmar's junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing presides over an army parade in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, in March 2021.
WORLD
Nov 27, 2024

ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrant for Myanmar military leader

Soldiers, police and Buddhist villagers are alleged by U.N. investigators to have razed hundreds of villages in the remote western Rakhine state.
Hiroshi Kurosaki’s Netflix series “Beyond Goodbye” centers on a woman (Kasumi Arimura, left) who discovers her dead lover’s heart saved the life of a quiet pianist (Kentaro Sakaguchi).
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Nov 29, 2024

Hiroshi Kurosaki looks beyond Japan for heart-wrenching drama

The director’s Netflix series relies on lush visuals and truths about love and loss to appeal to an overseas audience.
Despite a range of backgrounds and culinary traditions, food served as the ultimate lingua franca for chefs touring Nagano Prefecture.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 1, 2024

Putting mountainous Nagano on a plate

Nagano’s natural bounty became the star attraction as chefs from Europe, Southeast Asia and Oceania showed off their chops with local ingredients.
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te waves ahead of his departure on a Pacific island tour, at Taoyuan International Airport on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 30, 2024

Taiwan's Lai departs on Pacific island tour

Lai, on his first trip abroad since taking office in May, will stop over in Hawaii as he visits Taiwan allies Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau.
Shanghai Pudong International Airport during the Lunar New Year travel rush in February 2024
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2024

China resumes short-term visa waiver for Japanese visitors

The maximum period of visa-free stays was also extended to 30 days from the previous 15 days.
Ryggs Johnston celebrates after winning the Australian Open golf tournament in Melbourne on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 1, 2024

Rookie Johnston wins men's Australian Open as Shin claims women's trophy

While Shin made sure of her win by storming to a seven-stroke lead midway through, Johnston wielded magic on the back nine greens to take the title.
Timeleft uses an algorithm to match its users with five or six strangers in an effort to prompt “human connection” over dinner at a restaurant. It determines the attendees with the help of a simple personality quiz available when you sign up for the service.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Dec 2, 2024

Seven strangers and an algorithm: Can this new dinner app help you make friends?

An app called Timeleft hopes to combat big-city alienation through a simple meal with a diverse group of people.
The challenge for African governments and communities is how to harness this wave of youthful talent — with all their innovation, resilience and determination — rather than lose them to developed economies.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 29, 2024

Africa must act to stem its youth brain drain

African governments must harness youthful talent or risk losing it to developed economies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova in Moscow on May 31.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 4, 2024

Putin's Kremlin planes took away Ukrainian children for adoption, report alleges

The research identified 314 Ukrainian children taken to Russia as part of what it says was a systematic, Kremlin-funded program to "Russify" them.
A woman is arrested for soliciting prostitution near Okubo Park in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward in October.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 5, 2024

88 arrested for soliciting prostitution near Tokyo park so far this year

The arrests reflect ongoing challenges in curbing illegal activities in Shinjuku's Okubo Park area, which has been dubbed a “prostitution haven” on social media.
Lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo sits alone as the only People Power Party lawmaker to remain in the chamber for a vote on the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 7, 2024

Move to impeach South Korea's Yoon in limbo after ruling party walkout

While lawmakers debated the motion, introduced by the main opposition Democratic Party, only a single member of Yoon's People Power Party remained in his seat.
Choi Sang-mok, South Korea's finance minister, during an interview in Seoul on Thursday
BUSINESS / Markets / ANALYSIS
Dec 6, 2024

In South Korea's crisis playbook, currency stability is paramount

In the four decades since South Korea was last under martial law, the nation has significantly evolved its systems to focus on ensuring economic stability.
“Shogun,” created by American channel FX and made by a joint American-Japanese team, utilized the strengths of both Japan and Hollywood to create a bona fide smash that critics adored. 
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / 2024 in Review
Dec 7, 2024

2024 was the year Japanese TV found its prestige

The triumph of “Shogun” at the Emmys served as an exclamation point for an industry taking big swings and opening up to trans-Pacific partnerships.
Employees at large Tokyo companies who travel to the office daily to work fell to 47.4% in 2024 from 53.1% in the previous year, a survey shows.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 8, 2024

Hybrid work on the rise for Tokyo’s office employees: NRI Survey

For the July 2024 Nomura Research Institute survey, the firm polled 3,091 people from ages 20-69 who work for large companies in Tokyo.
Terumi Tanaka, a co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo (center), and other members of the delegation prepare to depart from Haneda Airport for Oslo on Sunday to attend this year's Nobel Prize award ceremony.
JAPAN
Dec 8, 2024

Hidankyo members leave for Nobel Peace Prize ceremony

The Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony will be held from 1 p.m. Tuesday, followed by a banquet.
Terumi Tanaka (front left), co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo, and others arrive at Oslo Airport on Sunday. Norwegian Nobel Committee Chairperson Jorgen Watne Frydnes stands in the back row on the right.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2024

Nihon Hidankyo delegation arrives in Oslo for Nobel Prize ceremony

The delegation comprises 30 people aged 32 to 92, including children and grandchildren of hibakusha.
Japan's current account surplus declined 13% in October from a year earlier to ¥2.46 trillion.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 9, 2024

Japan's current account surplus declined 13% in October

The country's trade deficit decreased to ¥155.7 billion from the year-before level of ¥487.4 billion.
Insurance tycoon Douw Steyn’s 250 million rand home overlooks the luxury residential estate bearing his name near Johannesburg, South Africa.
BUSINESS
Dec 9, 2024

Luxury estates for the rich are a booming business in South Africa

Despite a 20% decline in South Africa’s millionaire population over the past decade, it remains a hub for the continent’s high-net-worth individuals.
The suffering of people with disabilities has been compounded by steep shortages in devices to aid them, including wheelchairs and hearing aids, and in damage to roads, sidewalks and homes with accessible features.
WORLD / Society
Dec 9, 2024

Gaza's disabled people face ‘impossible times’ of chaos and war

The war has forced most of Gaza’s roughly 2 million residents from their homes and has been particularly punishing for people with disabilities and their families.
A TikTok creator and advocate wears a button showing support outside of the U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 16 in Washington, D.C.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 9, 2024

‘It’s for real this time’: TikTok creators react to potential ban

Many of TikTok’s users seemed to have only just begun to grasp that the app could be on its last legs in this country.
A protester holding a cardboard reading "Leader of insurgents" on an image depicting the face of South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol takes part in a protest calling for his ouster outside the National Assembly in Seoul on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 11, 2024

South Korea ex-defense minister formally arrested for insurrection

Former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun's formal arrest came amid concerns that evidence might be destroyed.
Manchester City's Phil Foden, Josko Gvardiol, Mateo Kovacic, Jack Grealish and Kyle Walker during training in Manchester on Tuesday
SOCCER
Dec 11, 2024

City's Foden and Kovacic not expected to face Juventus, says Guardiola

Guardiola's struggling team have three games left to clinch a top-eight spot that would earn a last-16 place and avoid a playoff.
The East Japan Railway Shinjuku Station in Tokyo. Within the next 10 years, JR East will develop automated walk-through gate technology so that passengers can enter the train platform without having to tap their Suica card or phone on the ticket gates.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 11, 2024

JR East announces 10-year plan to drastically overhaul Suica

Dubbed the "Suica Renaissance," the plan involves redesigned ticket gates, new payment features and a subscription service.
Japan's success isn't rooted in mystical Eastern wisdom; it's driven by practical public policies, social standards and education, not secret life hacks.
COMMENTARY
Dec 10, 2024

Two words for current ‘ancient Japanese wisdom’: think again

Japan's success isn't rooted in mystical Eastern wisdom; it's driven by practical public policies, social standards, and education, not secret life hacks.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes passes against the Buccaneers in Kansas City, Missouri, on Nov. 4.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Dec 12, 2024

NFL trio brace for physical toll of playing three games over short period

"It's a unique situation," said Chiefs coach Andy Reid, who shared that he told the team to take one day at a time through the unprecedented stretch.
On Dec. 11, Universal Studios Japan officially unveiled its new Donkey Kong Country area, putting the iconic character in the spotlight for the first time in a while.
LIFE / Travel
Dec 12, 2024

USJ’s new Donkey Kong Country is a barrel of fun

Mine Cart Madness is the area’s only ride, but there are shops and snacking options as well as chances to meet costumed characters from the iconic series.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.