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Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani runs to the dugout after warming up before a game against the New York Mets at Citi Field in New York on Aug. 27.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 17, 2023

Shohei Ohtani goes on injured list, ending season with Angels

The pending free agent could have played his final game in an Angels uniform, although the Angels remain confident they can re-sign him.
A car is buried in rubble and debris in the aftermath of a devastating flood in al-Bayda, Libya, on Saturday.
WORLD / Science & Health / FOCUS
Sep 17, 2023

'They knew': Warnings went unheeded before deadly Libya flood

Many Libyans are angry that warnings were ignored that could have possibly prevented the worst disaster in the country's modern history.
Visitors climb the slopes of Mount Fuji on Aug. 31. The mountain has long been a popular destination for both domestic and international travelers.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 17, 2023

Tourists have returned to Mount Fuji. Is that sustainable?

A spike in visitors has created various challenges, including overcrowding, littering, strained infrastructure and a shortage of guides and rescue teams.
Plaintiffs and supporters opposed to the expansion of a coal-fired power plant in Kobe protest after the Kobe District Court dismissed their civil case in March.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Sep 17, 2023

Climate litigation remains a tough sell in Japan despite wins overseas

So far, Japan has seen just four climate lawsuits, all concerning the construction and operation of coal-fired power plants.
A document from archives on Pope Pius XII, who reigned from 1939-1958, containing the names of people who were executed during the Ardeatine massacre in Italy in March 1944
WORLD
Sep 17, 2023

Letter shows Pope Pius XII probably knew about Holocaust early on

A letter found in the Vatican archives on the church's knowledge of the Holocaust conflicts with the Holy See's official longtime position.
The aviation industry has promised to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, but harsher weather conditions are already forcing a rethink of critical infrastructure in airports and airfields across the world.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Sep 18, 2023

Extreme weather is forcing redesign of world’s busiest airports

From flooded substations and overheating electronic systems to cracking runways, most airports weren’t built to endure what climate change has in store.
A cross-section illustration of the second Seikan Tunnel proposed by the Japan Project-Industry Council
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Sep 25, 2023

Is the plan to build a second Seikan Tunnel realistic?

Advocates suggest shorter travel times and revitalized communities, while critics worry about the price tag.
A con artist (Sakura Ando, top) and her half-brother (Ryosuke Yamada) try to make a getaway from the Osaka underworld in Masato Harada’s “Bad Lands.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 21, 2023

‘Bad Lands’: Sakura Ando steals scenes in fast-paced thriller

The actor delivers a hypnotic lead turn as a con artist running from the law and a violent ex in Masato Harada’s high-octane film.
Liberal Democratic Party election strategy committee Chair Yuko Obuchi speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Sept. 13.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 21, 2023

Scandal-tainted Yuko Obuchi's appointment could backfire on Kishida

Obuchi still faces questions over a nearly decade-old political funds scandal, and last week she was hit with fresh allegations of financial impropriety.
Leaves of marijuana plants from which hemp fibers are extracted at Japan's largest legal marijuana farm in Kanuma, Tochigi Prefecture, on July 5, 2016
PODCAST / deep dive
Sep 21, 2023

Does a university cannabis scandal point to a larger trend?

A drugs scandal at Japan’s biggest university draws attention to a troubling statistic: Cannabis use among young people is on the rise.
For all the scrutiny at home, many of China’s richest new grads are turning their backs on their lives abroad. Sometimes, they’re responding to the lure of China’s potential. Other times, it’s the alienation they feel overseas.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 22, 2023

China’s wealthy youth flock home as tensions with U.S. rise

For all the scrutiny at home, many of China’s richest new grads are turning their backs on their lives abroad.
The new invoice system, which goes into effect Oct. 1, is forcing many freelancers in Japan to choose between raising their prices or suffer a 10% loss in revenue.
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Sep 25, 2023

Freelancers aren’t happy with Japan’s new invoice system

For many freelancers and small businesses, the result will amount to a 10% increase in taxes.
Jeon Jong-duek, a former mathematics professor, on the Seoul Subway Line 1 during a trip home, in Dongdaemun-gu, a suburb of Seoul, on Aug. 3. With the fare free for those older than 65, some retired people spend their days riding the trains to the end of the line.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 23, 2023

For South Korea’s senior subway riders, the joy is in the journey

The fare is free for those older than 65, and so some retired people spend their days riding the trains to the end of the line.
Women with portable electric fans in the Yurakucho district of Tokyo on Sept. 12. In Japan, Cool Biz became especially popular with women, who tended to wear lighter clothes and often complained about the cold temperatures needed to make business suits comfortable for their male colleagues.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 24, 2023

Where did all the dark-suited Japanese businessmen go?

Under Cool Biz, salarymen and government workers don short-sleeved shirts in the summer as offices are kept above 28 degrees Celsius to save energy.
The U.S. Army's Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, its flagship medical center in Germany, is seen in 2021. The medical center has quietly started admitting Ukrainian Army soldiers who were wounded in combat, most of them American volunteers.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 24, 2023

U.S. Army hospital in Germany treating Americans hurt fighting in Ukraine

Landstuhl Regional Medical Center has quietly started admitting Ukrainian Army soldiers who were wounded in combat, most of them American volunteers.
An exterior view of MGM Grand hotel and casino, after MGM Resorts shut down some computer systems due to a cyberattack earlier this month, in Las Vegas, Nevada
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 25, 2023

'Power, influence, notoriety': The Gen-Z hackers who struck MGM and Caesars

Experts say they appear to be more sophisticated, disciplined and organized than many cybercriminal actors, and probably between 17 and 22 years old.
Amgen's office in South San Francisco, California
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 25, 2023

Big Pharma bets on AI to speed up clinical trials

AI is playing a sizeable and growing role in human drug trials.
Slovaks will vote on Sept. 30 in a tight election that polls show could deliver an unlikely comeback for Robert Fico.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 25, 2023

Russia may be about to get a new friendly leader in Europe

Slovaks will vote on Sept. 30 in a tight election, and former Prime Minister Robert Fico has tapped into concerns over the fallout from the Ukraine war.
Self-proclaimed president of the "Free Republic of Liberland" Vit Jedlicka (center) poses with the Liberland flag and future citizens in the village of Backi Monostor, Serbia, in May 2015
WORLD / Society
Sep 25, 2023

Breakaway Balkans micronation dreams of a crypto future

"Liberland" has attracted libertarian supporters across the globe who see a natural harmony between libertarianism and crypto.
Directed by four different directors, the anthology film “Almost People” focuses on siblings who each lack an emotion.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 28, 2023

‘Almost People’: Anthology on emotions comes together in harmony

The film’s segments, which center on joy, anger, pleasure and loneliness, are beautifully integrated and show compassion for their characters’ flaws.
(From left) G.R.D.V., Marao and Ryuseigun Saionji make up BBBBBBB (seven Bs pronounced one letter at a time), an Aichi Prefecture-based project whose brand of digital hardcore has made it one of the up-and-coming figures in Japan’s contemporary underground scene.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 28, 2023

BBBBBBB's sense of humor cuts through the noise

The Aichi Prefecture-based digital hardcore project finds inspiration in the loud chaos of Hollywood blockbusters from the 1990s.
TikTok can advertise to more than 100 million users in Indonesia, but they now need to go on a different app or site to buy.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 28, 2023

TikTok’s e-commerce ambitions stall as global backlash grows

Complaints about how TikTok is squeezing local players has stalled the Chinese-owned social media platform's e-commerce ambitions
The Nvidia headquarters in Santa Clara, California
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 28, 2023

AI chip crunch: Startups vie for Nvidia's vital component

Generative AI's lifeblood is a book-sized semiconductor known as the graphics processing unit (GPU) — built by one company, Nvidia.
Rickshaw pullers in Tokyo walk or run an average of 20 kilometers a day and, in addition to being physically strong, they must have extensive knowledge of the city.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 3, 2023

Social media inspires Japanese women to dash into rickshaw work

Rickshaw pullers must have extensive knowledge of Tokyo and know how to engage the tourists who mostly hire them for sightseeing.
Jessica Gerrity says kyūdō is for everyone. It's just a matter of finding a dojo that fits you best.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Sep 30, 2023

‘Archery gives me a chance to decompress from a busy life’

Gerrity is trained in several forms of traditional Japanese martial arts and works to promote Japanese culture as a tourism ambassador.
The idea of renting a library bookshelf has proved popular in some areas.
CULTURE
Oct 3, 2023

Libraries with individually owned bookshelves spreading in Japan

Such libraries are helping revitalize local communities by creating a place where people can mingle through events.
Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori gives an interview in Tokyo on July 4.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 29, 2023

Yoshiro Mori's image as LDP kingmaker rubs up against reality

While he remains a strong presence in the LDP, his actual ability to get his way on policy and personnel matters may not be as strong as it first appears.
From left: Prin, Sen and jiGook of QI.X call themselves one of the first openly queer, transgender K-pop acts.
CULTURE
Sep 30, 2023

Queer K-pop group QI.X wants to change South Korea

In conservative South Korea, few LGBTQ entertainers have ever come out. The young members of QI.X don’t see the point of staying in.
Many art critics rank Pablo Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d’Avignon," which hangs in New York’s Museum of Modern Art, as one of his greatest. But other critics describe the masterpiece as racist or exploitative.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 29, 2023

What should be done with art that is seen as racist?

So what exactly should we do when people consider extant art racist?
Look for tempeh in health food stores or online from Japanese producers.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 1, 2023

Recipe: Damascene tempeh kebab

Firmer than tofu, tempeh often works better as a direct substitution for both meat and nuts.

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