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Former President Jimmy Carter, furthest right, in a group photo with his successors at the White House in 2009. From his re-election defeat in 1980 until his death on Sunday, he was the odd man out, distant from the Republicans and Democrats who followed him.
WORLD
Dec 30, 2024

In the presidents’ club, Carter was the odd man out

Jimmy Carter’s relationship with his successors in the Oval Office, both Republicans and fellow Democrats, was generally tense because of his outspokenness.
At 60, the shinkansen has been mostly stuck in Japan, with only one system ever sold overseas.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 1, 2025

Japan’s go-slow approach to selling high-speed rail globally

The shinkansen has been mostly stuck in Japan as competitors from Europe and China sell their own high-speed trains in an increasing number of countries.
Photos taken from the same place but at different times in the Noto Peninsula towns of Wajima (left) and Suzu illustrate the progress made following the devastating earthquake that hit these areas of Ishikawa Prefecture on Jan. 1, 2024.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 1, 2025

A year after a deadly earthquake, Noto Peninsula still faces long road to recovery

Reconstruction remains a prolonged and complex ordeal for cities in the worst-hit areas, with recovery further hampered by torrential rains in September.
Supporters of impeached South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol hold up placards reading "Opposition to impeachment, Arrest Lee Jae-myung," leader of the opposition Democratic Party, as they gather near the presidential residence in Seoul on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 2, 2025

Right-wing YouTubers back impeached South Korean president's last stand

A small band of supporters spurred on by the YouTubers have refused to leave impeached leader Yoon Suk Yeol's side as he attempts to fend off arrest.
Agnes Keleti performs a split in front of young gymnasts at a training center in Budapest on Jan. 16, 2016. Keleti, a 10-time Olympic medalist, died on Jan. 2 at the age of 103.
OLYMPICS / Gymnastics
Jan 3, 2025

World's oldest Olympic champion Agnes Keleti dies at 103

Keleti's life story, including surviving the Holocaust and Olympic glory, reads like a gripping Hollywood film script.
At the new L'Abysse Osaka, Yannick Alleno both pays homage to and casts aside the tradition around Japan's national dish.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 5, 2025

Now in Osaka, Yannick Alleno wants ‘flavors people have never experienced’

Opened in late October, Sushi L'Abysse Osaka is the Michelin-starred chef’s first outpost in Asia.
Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase looks to race away from Steelers cornerback Cory Trice Jr. during the second quarter of Cincinnati's win over Pittsburgh on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Jan 5, 2025

Ravens secure AFC North as Bengals stay alive

The win means the Ravens will begin the NFL playoffs next week at home against either the Los Angeles Chargers or the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Lions celebrate after a touchdown during their game against the Vikings in Detroit on Sunday night.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Jan 6, 2025

Lions pull away from Vikings in second half to secure top seed in NFC

The heavyweight clash capped the final day of the NFL regular season, which also saw the Denver Broncos and Tampa Bay Buccaneers claim the final two playoff spots available.
The cast of "The Brutalist" celebrate the show's best movie drama win at the Golden Globes in Beverly Hills, California.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jan 6, 2025

'The Brutalist,' 'Emilia Perez' take home Golden Globes' top film honors

The two films received the first major movie prizes of Hollywood's awards season on Sunday.
A missile flies during what North Korea said was a test of a new intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile at an undisclosed location on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 7, 2025

North Korea's Kim says new hypersonic missile can deter Pacific 'rivals'

In a worrying sign for Japan, Pyongyang claimed the new hypersonic intermediate-range weapon is effective at "breaking any dense defensive barrier.”
The number of passengers who used express services operated by Japan Railways Group companies during the 10-day period through Sunday was 2% higher than in fiscal 2018, surpassing the level seen before the COVID-19 pandemic for the first time.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2025

Number of passengers on JR express services during New Year rose 11%, firms say

The figure for the 10-day period through Sunday surpassed the level seen before the COVID-19 pandemic for the first time.
Volunteers take care of children at a children’s play space opened for survivors of the earthquake in the city of Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 31, 2024.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 7, 2025

Professor highlights crucial importance of volunteer aid after major quakes

Although volunteers often face criticism on social media, an expert in disaster management argues that volunteers are essential from the very moment a disaster strikes.
Baby Japanese eels are increasingly seen in Hokkaido but the overall number remains low.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Jan 8, 2025

Japanese researchers connect rise in glass eels to climate change

Researchers said the fact that the Kuroshio Current is shifting north is believed to be behind the rising prevalence of glass eels in Hokkaido.
Five years since COVID-19 started upending the world, the virus is still infecting and killing people across the globe — though at far lower levels than during the height of the pandemic.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 8, 2025

Is the world ready for the next pandemic?

While the U.N. health agency considers the world more prepared than it was when Covid hit, it warns we are still not nearly ready enough.
Migrants queue to board a bus that will take them to a shelter after turning themselves in to agents of Mexico's National Institute of Migration to look for a permit which would allow them to cross the country and reach the northern border with the U.S., in Tapachula, Mexico, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 9, 2025

Anxious but undeterred, migrants brace for Trump presidency

Trump has pledged tougher border controls and immigration enforcement and to launch a mass deportation operation.
People remove snow in the city of Aomori on Thursday.
JAPAN
Jan 9, 2025

Caution urged as heavy snow forecast for Sea of Japan coast

Authorities have warned individuals to consider vehicle safety as well as the risks of traffic disruptions, snow falling from roofs and damage to buildings.
A home is engulfed in flames as the Palisades Fire burns along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California, on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Jan 9, 2025

NFL still planning to stage playoff game between Rams and Vikings in LA

"The NFL's priority is the safety of the Los Angeles community," the league said in a statement.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (second from right) addresses a ministerial meeting held Friday at the Prime Minister's Office to discuss measures to boost exports of farm produce and food products.
BUSINESS
Jan 10, 2025

Japan to step up efforts to increase food exports

The government will support efforts by Japanese food-related companies to team up with foreign businesses.
The Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3 is anchored near the city of Granaa in Jutland, Denmark, on Nov. 20. Sweden's foreign minister said last month that China had denied a request for prosecutors to conduct an investigation of the ship linked to recently severed Baltic Sea cables.
EDITORIALS
Jan 10, 2025

Be ready for the new Cold War, under the sea

In the South China Sea, a least one cable fault is reported in the waterway every few weeks; in other parts of the world it’s one incident a year.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (left) and Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim during a joint news conference at the Malaysian prime minister's office in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on Friday
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 10, 2025

In Kuala Lumpur, Ishiba vows to promote security cooperation with Malaysia

Leaders also agreed to deepen cooperation in the maritime field, cybersecurity and the economy.
Incoming Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya arrives at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Nov. 11 after lawmakers voted in parliament to reappoint Shigeru Ishiba as the country's prime minister.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 11, 2025

Japan foreign minister to attend Trump Jan. 20 inauguration

Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya would be the first Japanese Cabinet member to attend the swearing-in of a U.S. president.
Palm trees burned by the Palisades Fire along the shore in Malibu, California, at sunrise on Friday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jan 11, 2025

‘We’re in a new era’: How climate change is supercharging disasters

Extreme weather events — deadly heat waves, floods, fires and hurricanes — are the consequences of a warming planet, scientists say.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said the Tokyo Metropolitan Government will launch a program to support the repayment of student loans for those who will start working as teachers or technical civil servants in the capital.
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2025

Tokyo to help teachers repay student loans

The metropolitan government also plans to start providing financial assistance to students who study abroad.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters after a three-way virtual summit with U.S. President Joe Biden and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 13, 2025

Ishiba urges Biden to dispel concern about investment in U.S.

Japanese firms invested almost $800 billion in the United States in 2023, more than any other country, and 14.3% of the total, according to official U.S. data.
The influx of foreign tourists in Japan is pushing up hotel room prices, forcing some business travelers to stay at capsule hotels.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 15, 2025

Japan's tourism boom prices out local business travelers

The average price of a basic room at a business hotel in Tokyo has nearly doubled between 2019 and last year.
In only two days, more than 700,000 new users joined Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, a person close to the company said.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 15, 2025

Over half a million ‘TikTok refugees’ flock to China's RedNote app

In only two days, more than 700,000 new users have reportedly joined Xiaohongshu, a popular networking app known for lifestyle content and product recommendations.
It's taken Takuma Watanabe little time to establish himself as one of New York's hottest bartenders.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 16, 2025

From Tokyo to Manhattan, Takuma Watanabe stirs up a stiff drink

Tokyo native Takuma Watanabe offers a formidable addition to New York’s pantheon of cocktail bars.
A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket streaks into orbit after launching from the Kennedy Space Center on its maiden flight, at Cape Canaveral, Florida on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 16, 2025

Blue Origin rocket lifts off in major test in SpaceX rivalry

The firm's new flagship rocket thundered off the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida at 2:03 a.m. local time on Thursday.
More Japanese students are reluctant to study abroad following the pandemic, when borders were closed for many countries.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2025

Tokyo to offer financial aid to students studying abroad

Applicants need to be Japanese nationals who are either enrolled in or set to enter a university or technical college in Japan and whose parents reside in Tokyo.
U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden walk across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington in August 2022, after returning from a trip to Kentucky.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 18, 2025

How Biden’s inner circle protected a faltering president

“Your biggest issue is the perception of age,” Mike Donilon, the president’s longtime strategist, told him in 2022, according to people who heard him.

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.