Search - 2023

 
 
The Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant (background)
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2024

Tepco starts fresh release of treated water from Fukushima nuclear plant

This is the fifth round in total since the water release started in August 2023.
CDP head Kenta Izumi speaks to reporters in Tokyo on April 13.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 19, 2024

Kishida and Izumi to campaign in must-win Shimane as by-election looms

For Kishida and the LDP, the Shimane race is a must-win contest, while the opposition is looking to gain ground in a ruling party stronghold.
An Israeli soldier celebrates after returning home from Gaza amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas militants in November.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 19, 2024

No barbarism without poetry

The collective abandonment of reason and where it leads is all too familiar — and yet remains all too appealing.
Four-piece Atarashii Gakko! and Okinawan rapper Awich (center) shared the Mojave Stage at 88Risings’s “Futures” showcase at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival last weekend.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 19, 2024

Japanese acts seize Coachella's spotlight — and this ain't your typical J-pop

Yoasobi, Awich and Atarashii Gakko! shine at the California festival, proving just how much J-pop has made strides in reaching international audiences.
A gallery of cars at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama. The carmaker revised downward its profit and sales forecasts for the fiscal year that ended in March.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 19, 2024

Nissan cuts sales and profit forecasts

The firm said the revision was made because of lower sales volumes and higher costs paid to suppliers, among other factors.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak deliver remarks on the AUKUS partnership, after a trilateral meeting, at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego, in March last year.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 20, 2024

U.S. 'fully expects' to finalize new AUKUS trade exemptions in next 120 days

The announcement signals a further delay in the move, but offers the prospect of a positive outcome in the project to counter China.
Vitor Gaspar, director of fiscal affairs at the International Monetary Fund, speaks at a news conference during the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 19, 2024

Japan should pursue fiscal consolidation, IMF economist says

With Japan's inflation mostly in line with the Bank of Japan's 2% target, an IMF economist is encouraging fiscal consolidation.
Ukrainian service members fire a multiple launch rocket system toward Russian troops. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago, arms manufacturers have experienced something of a reversal of fortune.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 20, 2024

Defense companies are luring Germany’s struggling autoworkers

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago, arms manufacturers have experienced something of a reversal of fortune.
China's Olympic gold-medal winning 4 x 200 meter freestyle relay team celebrates on the podium at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre on July 29, 2021.  Zhang Yufei (third from left) is among 23 top Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a banned substance in the lead up to the Games.
OLYMPICS
Apr 20, 2024

Top Chinese swimmers tested positive for banned drug, then won Olympic gold

The episode sharply divided the anti-doping world, where China’s record has long been a flashpoint.
The legality of products that contain cannabinoids, a group of substances derived from the cannabis plant, has been somewhat murky in Japan.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 21, 2024

Japan’s cannabis market growing rapidly amid regulatory shift

Robust sales of products using CBD, a compound found in marijuana, are attributed to rising demand for products that offer relaxation and stress relief.
From left: Willy Mnangat, Robert Keter, He Jie and Dejene Hailu Bikila cross the finish line in the Beijing half-marathon on April 14. He crossed first but the top three were later disqualified after it appeared they let He win.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Apr 21, 2024

Beijing half-marathon runners stripped of medals after controversial finish

A Chinese runner crossed the line first in a bizarre finish after three others seemed to deliberately allow him to win.
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani hits a two-run home run against the Mets during the third inning at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Sunday. The home run was the 176th of his MLB career, breaking a tie with Hideki Matsui for the most by a Japanese-born player.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 22, 2024

Shohei Ohtani breaks Hideki Matsui's mark for MLB homers by Japanese-born player

Ohtani's two-run homer helped the Dodgers beat the Mets and snap a three-game skid.
The "style architect" for Jay-Z since 1994, June Ambrose sees influences of her work across the Japanese fashion landscape.
LIFE / Style & Design
May 1, 2024

June Ambrose: ‘Cultural appropriation is the best form of flattery’

Ambrose has been Jay-Z’s designated “style architect” since the billionaire started Roc-A-Fella Records back in 1994.
Yassine Alaoui Ismaili, who goes by Yoriyas, turned to photography, shooting motion while in motion himself, after an injury forced him to give up his career as a professional breakdancer.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 22, 2024

Kyotographie's strong 12th edition shines light into the margins

This year’s installment of the photography festival highlights underrepresented groups from around the world — while avoiding anything too challenging.
Home electric vehicle chargers during the Montreal Electric Vehicle Show in Quebec, Canada, on Friday. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is offering more tax breaks to automotive firms to put their electric vehicle factories in Canada.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 22, 2024

Honda nears deal with Canada to boost electric vehicle capacity

The auto sector is particularly important to Ontario, Canada’s largest province by population and home to assembly plants.
Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
CULTURE / Books / Longform
Apr 22, 2024

The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores

Shops without staff, shelves for rent, cafes and meetups are some of the ways the country's dwindling bookstores are trying to survive.
Polish President Andrzej Duda speaks during a news conference at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on March 14.
WORLD
Apr 22, 2024

Poland 'ready' to host nuclear weapons, president says

Discussions about nuclear cooperation between the U.S. and Poland have been in the works for some time.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi says the government is  closely monitoring reports about a missing Chinese professor from a Japanese university.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2024

Japan monitoring reports of professor 'missing' in China

Media reports have said the professor may have been questioned by Chinese authorities before he disappeared.
Shohei Ohtani has been appointed as the new technology ambassador for Rapsodo, the company announced Monday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 22, 2024

Shohei Ohtani signs deal with sports technology company Rapsodo

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani has signed a deal to become the technology ambassador for Rapsodo, the company announced on Monday.
U.K. Prime Minster Rishi Sunak speaks during a news conference on his flagship Rwanda migration policy in London on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 23, 2024

Sunak’s Rwanda deportation bill to become law after long fight

The U.K. is set to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda in around July after Parliament approved the prime minister's plan.
Tesla remains the dominant EV maker in the U.S. market, but its earnings have been under pressure for several quarters.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 24, 2024

Tesla speeding up release of cheaper cars after sales miss

The maker of electric vehicles plans to release more affordable models by the end of this year or in early next year.
Princess Aiko attends an imperial garden party in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2024

Princess Aiko makes debut at imperial garden party

The princess joined the party hosted by the emperor and empress at the Akasaka Imperial Gardens after graduating from Gakushuin University last month.
Chinese President Xi Jinping. Ever-growing tensions in the South China Sea all point to an uncomfortable truth for Southeast Asian nations, as well as the U.S.: In this standoff, China is winning.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 24, 2024

Xi’s armada is winning the battle for energy in South China Sea

China’s increasingly assertive stance has sparked a flurry of diplomatic and military efforts aimed at countering Beijing’s footprint.
Migrants travel in an inflatable boat across the English Channel, bound for Dover on the south coast of England.
WORLD / Society
Apr 24, 2024

U.K. Rwanda law sparks fear among migrants hoping to cross Channel

At least 15 people have died trying to cross this year so far, already more than in all of 2023.
Toshihiro Nikai, former secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, announced in March that he would not run in the next Lower House election to take responsibility for the political funds scandal that rocked his party and his own faction.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 24, 2024

LDP veteran Nikai's youngest son expected to succeed him in Wakayama

Nobuyasu Nikai, who serves as secretary to his 85-year-old father, has been asked to stand for election by local leaders in the prefecture.
Sanrio is marking Hello Kitty's 50th anniversary this year. The character's rise mirrors that of kawaii culture globally, and her longevity offers important clues as to the future of cute culture.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 22, 2024

Hello Kitty turns 50. What will the next cat's meow be?

The global rise of Hello Kitty, who turns 50 this year, tracks that of Japanese culture. What, then, does the next half-century of kawaii have in store?
Despite the potential benefits AI might have for bank customers, like finding the best interest rates, there are concerns about the destabilizing effects it may have on financial stability.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 24, 2024

Generative AI is coming for your bank. Maybe.

Tech investors reckon that supersmart agents will soon upend the business model of traditional banks, but there are caveats.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s government has so far shown restraint in responding to a drumbeat of U.S. trade curbs, but driving TikTok out of the U.S. could challenge that calibration.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 25, 2024

TikTok ultimatum puts U.S. firms in firing line for China response

Legislation approved on Wednesday would give parent company ByteDance nearly a year to divest the video-sharing platform before facing an outright ban.
Masahiro Moro, CEO of Mazda Motor, speaks next to EZ-6 electric vehicles during the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 25, 2024

Nissan and Mazda roll out new models for China as they aim for comeback

The models, including some concept cars, were introduced at the Beijing Auto Show.
While some publicly traded bitcoin mining companies release details of their energy use, there is no reliable data on exactly how much electricity the industry as a whole consumes.
BUSINESS / Tech / ANALYSIS
Apr 25, 2024

Bitcoin miner environmental battles heat up in U.S.

As cryptocurrency groups work to shield mines from local regulations, U.S. President Joe Biden proposed an excise tax on bitcoin energy use.

Longform

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