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The trend of people getting married later could be causing a vicious cycle of fewer children begetting fewer children, says Takuya Hoshino, senior economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 30, 2023

Third of Japan's 18-year-old women may never have children: study

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has promised to tackle the country's population crisis with "unprecedented" measures.
Police and security personnel stand outside the entrance of the Japanese Embassy in Beijing on Tuesday. Japan said that harassment being faced by its citizens in China after the Fukushima water release was "extremely regrettable," confirming that a brick was thrown at the country's embassy in Beijing.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 31, 2023

Fukushima water release dampens chances of Japan-China detente

Japan is now bracing for a new period of wide-ranging tensions with its neighbor as the strained ties look likely to continue into the months ahead.
A Ukrainian serviceman walks near a destroyed Ukrainian tank, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near the village of Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, on Friday.
WORLD
Aug 31, 2023

Ukraine says gains on southern front pave way to Crimea

Progress has been costly and staggered, but Ukrainian forces announced they had pushed through key Russian defensive lines this week.
Manufacturing machinery and electronic components were among the biggest drags on Japan's industrial output in July.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 31, 2023

Japan output drops in July as global slowdown reverberates

Factory output declined 2% from June, the industry ministry said Thursday.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Hyuga destroyer leads the MSDF fleet during the International Fleet Review to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the MSDF's foundation, in Sagami Bay, off Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, last November.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 31, 2023

Japan seeks record ¥7.7 trillion defense budget as buildup continues

The budget request signals that Tokyo remains committed to following through on historic defense reforms instituted in December.
Load and haul operations at Thungela's thermal coal mining operation, Isibonelo Colliery (formerly Anglo American), in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, in March 2019
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 1, 2023

Coal miners forced to insure themselves amid climate concerns

Dozens of insurers have announced restrictions on their cover for the coal industry, particularly for new projects
Students at Wakaura Elementary School in the city of Wakayama eat lunch in 2019. Wakayama Prefecture's school lunch program began in April 2017.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 3, 2023

Why a movement for free school lunches is spreading across Japan

By the end of this year, most of Tokyo’s wards will have policies to make lunch free in some form.
The price for regular gasoline is ¥192 per liter at a gas station in the city of Nagano on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Sep 1, 2023

Extended gasoline subsidy risks harming Japan's net-zero efforts

The politically tricky decision on ending the program could hamper the shift to EVs and efforts to reach climate change goals.
Russian Communist Party supporters attend a ceremony in Red Square on March 5, 2021, marking the 68th anniversary of Soviet leader Josef Stalin’s death.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 1, 2023

In Russia and Israel, national derangement runs wild

How can a priest bless a statue of Stalin and rabbis praise Nazism? In societies that are coming undone, absurd claims take root.
A clothing packaging warehouse near Barcelona last month
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Sep 1, 2023

Fast fashion firms prepare for EU crackdown on waste mountain

Fast fashion, or making and selling cheap clothes with a short lifespan, is "highly unsustainable," the European Commission said in July.
Japan's economic output ran above full capacity in April-June for the first time in nearly four years, a government estimate showed, suggesting that conditions for ending its policy of ultralow interest rates could be falling into place.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 2, 2023

Japan's economic output runs above capacity in signal for BOJ

The data suggests that conditions for Japan to end its policy of ultralow interest rates could be falling into place.
Huge waves pummel the city of Yilan as Typhoon Haikui makes landfall in eastern Taiwan on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Sep 3, 2023

Typhoon Haikui makes landfall in Taiwan

Authorities said they had evacuated more than 2,800 people across seven cities — the majority of them from the mountainous county of Hualien.
Ons Jabeur defeated Marie Bouzkova to reach the fourth round of the U.S. Open in New York on Saturday.
TENNIS
Sep 3, 2023

Ons Jabeur beats Marie Bouzkova to reach fourth round at U.S. Open

Jabeur said she was feeling like a "zombie" due to illness but came back from the dead to overcome Bouzkova.
Niger's Army sergeant and artist Maman Sani Maigochi performs as supporters of Niger's National Council of Safeguard of the Homeland gather at Place de la Concertation in Niamey.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 4, 2023

Civilian and military artists back Niger coup with rousing tunes

Videos mix footage from army promotional videos with images of swaying military dancers, against a soundtrack of silky rhythms.
A schoolgirl wears a padded hood for protection from falling debris during an earthquake simulation exercise at an elementary school in Tokyo. The government estimates a 70% chance of a magnitude 7 event striking directly underneath the capital in the next 30 years.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 4, 2023

Tokyo has lived on the brink of the ‘Big One’ — for a century

The Great Kanto Earthquake demolished the nascent Japanese capital, killing more than 100,000 people — some 3% of the city’s population at the time.
Fishermen work at a port in Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, on Aug. 24.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2023

Japan boosts fishing sector aid after Fukushima water release

The increased aid comes as more than 100 fishermen and locals living near Fukushima prepare to file a lawsuit this week seeking to stop the discharge.
The total value of unpaid household tasks was ¥111 trillion for women and ¥32 trillion for men in 2021, according to a recent Cabinet Office report, indicating the amount of men's work around the home is less than a third of what women do.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 4, 2023

Japanese women are missing out on ¥111 trillion in unpaid wages

A recent report has highlighted both the wage gap between men and women, as well as the sheer amount of uncompensated work that gets done in Japan.
Nihon Coffin showcases its products at Endex Japan 2023, an annual funeral and cemetery exhibition that was held at Tokyo Big Sight from Aug. 29 to 31.
BUSINESS
Sep 4, 2023

End-of-life companies look to innovate as Japan's deaths keep rising

A record 1.57 million people died in 2022, up from 1.25 million in 2012, and facilities to store dead bodies are becoming increasingly scarce.
Japan's Michael Leitch attempts to break free during a match against Italy in Treviso, Italy, on Aug. 26.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Sep 4, 2023

Japan's veterans prepare to scale Everest again at Rugby World Cup

The Brave Blossoms will start their World Cup campaign against Chile in Toulouse, France, on Sept. 10.
A rainbow at the site of this year’s Burning Man festival in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada
WORLD / Society
Sep 4, 2023

What is Burning Man, and why have Paris Hilton and Elon Musk shown up?

The festival has been described as a site of countercultural revelry that draws both hippies and Silicon Valley types.
Nestled behind a seawall on the Pacific coast are the Minamisoma Mano-Migita-Ebi solar power plant and the Manyo no Sato wind farm. The 2011 tsunami struck this portion of the coast with a wave that is reported to have been around 18 meters high.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Sep 5, 2023

How a nuclear disaster turned Fukushima into a renewables leader

Following 3/11 — and the cratering of support for nuclear energy — Fukushima positioned itself at the forefront of Japan’s low-carbon transition.
Southeast Asian officials at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 5, 2023

ASEAN leaders seek to assert bloc's relevance at annual summit

ASEAN is seeking to clarify its relevance as cracks emerge in its response to the conflict in Myanmar.
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting in Sochi, Russia, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 5, 2023

Turkey's Erdogan says Black Sea grain deal can be restored soon

Russia quit the deal in July, complaining that its own food and fertilizer exports faced serious obstacles.
Women work in a warehouse in on the outskirts of Chennai, India.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 5, 2023

India's women gig workers organize with WhatsApp and secret meetings

Once seen as promising greater autonomy and higher earnings for women in India, the system is now riddled with issues.
A rendering of the planned Pace Gallery, scheduled to open in the first half of 2024, at the Azabudai Hills complex in central Tokyo
CULTURE / Art
Sep 5, 2023

New York’s Pace Gallery plans Tokyo expansion in 2024

The move comes as Japan looks to more seriously position itself as an art market hub, with officials seeking to capitalize on Tokyo’s cultural cache.
Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits the command post of an operational-tactical group in Donetsk, Ukraine, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 5, 2023

Allies question Ukraine's war strategy, irritating Kyiv

Over the past two weeks U.S. media have been quoting anonymous military sources questioning Ukraine's strategy. On the record, criticism remains muted.
A woman shops for medicine at a drugstore in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 5, 2023

More young women overdosing on over-the-counter drugs

In a country where illicit drugs are hard to obtain, many have begun to abuse cough and cold medications, which are legal and easily accessible.
Japan flanker Kazuki Himeno takes part in a training session in Toulouse, France, on Tuesday, ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 6, 2023

Japan will not take 'gritty' Chile for granted at World Cup

Chile will be making its Rugby World Cup debut on Sunday when the side runs out against Japan, the hosts of the 2019 edition.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang is attending the Association of Southeast Asian nations' summit in Jakarta and the Group of 20 summit in New Delhi.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 6, 2023

China’s No. 2 steps onto world stage as Xi skips G20 in India

Chinese Premier Li Qiang's debut at the ASEAN and G20 summits will increase his global visibility, but they're unlikely to boost his political influence.
Personnel from the Self-Defense Forces take part in a nuclear, biological and chemical weapons exercise at New Chitose airport in Hokkaido in July 2012.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Sep 7, 2023

Japan has plenty to offer in the field of detecting threats

With the spread of chemical, nuclear and biological weapons, the time is right to put domestic tech to good 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?