Search - 2023

 
 
A fan poses for photos next to a poster of trot singer Lim Young-woong before attending his concert in Seoul in May.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 9, 2024

Trotting ahead of K-pop? South Korean crooner Lim Young-woong rivals BTS

The traditional South Korean music genre of trot includes elements of jazz, swing and enka.
Junya Ito (right) plays in a friendly match between Machida Zelvia and Stade de Reims at the Machida Gion Stadium in Tokyo on July 31.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 9, 2024

Japanese soccer player Ito avoids indictment over sexual assault

Two women filed a complaint in January accusing the 31-year-old soccer player of making them drunk and sexually assaulting them.
Foreign airlines are pulling services or opting not to restart flights to China after the pandemic, whereas Chinese airlines are expanding overseas operations.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 10, 2024

Foreign airlines lose interest in China as domestic carriers expand abroad

Foreign rivals are struggling with weak China travel demand, rising costs and extended flight times because of the need to avoid Russian airspace.
Gold medalist Imane Khelif celebrates on the podium after her victory in the women's boxing 66-kg class at the Paris Olympics on Friday.
OLYMPICS / Boxing
Aug 11, 2024

Gender row Olympic boxing champion Khelif files complaint for online harassment

Imane Khelif won the women's 66-kg final against China's Yang Liu in a unanimous points decision.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference after the central bank's policy meeting in Tokyo on July 31.
BUSINESS
Aug 11, 2024

BOJ’s policy path fraught with risks after global market turmoil

Markets erupted with volatility within days of a BOJ rate hike on July 31.
Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands crosses the line to win gold in the Olympic women's marathon on Sunday in Paris.
OLYMPICS / Athletics
Aug 12, 2024

With marathon gold, Sifan Hassan tests the limits of endurance

Hassan had described her grueling Olympic schedule — which included three long-distance events — as one driven by curiosity.
A tree burns as flames and smoke rise from a wildfire burning in the village of Varnavas, near Athens, Greece, on Sunday.
WORLD
Aug 12, 2024

People flee wildfire near Athens as it spreads 'like lightning'

Flames as high as 25 meters swallowed up trees and shrubland Sunday in the village of Varnavas near Athens.
Disney resorts division head Josh D’Amaro
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 12, 2024

Disney plots villains-themed land and new cruise ships in resorts push

Disney is providing details after announcing plans for its parks and resorts unit last year that included doubling capital investment to $60 billion over 10 years.
A tourist picks up an aloha shirt at the Samurai Aloha store at Narita Airport in June.
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Aug 12, 2024

Aloha shirts made from recycled kimono in Tohoku prove to be huge hit

The shirts, called Samurai Aloha, were launched in the hopes of helping the area recover from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
Fireworks are set off during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics at Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Sunday.
OLYMPICS
Aug 12, 2024

France brings down the curtain on its Olympic party with Tom Cruise and Leon Marchand

Following a tumultuous buildup to the Games, France staged a successful and mostly problem-free Olympics.
Ukrainian military vehicles pass a sign reading Ukraine (left) and Russia (right) near the destroyed Russian border post on the Russian side of the Sudzha border crossing with Ukraine, on Monday.
WORLD
Aug 13, 2024

Ukraine pummels Russia in bid to carve out bigger slice of territory

Vladimir Putin said the attack was aimed at improving Kyiv's negotiating position while slowing Russian forces along the rest of the front.
California Assemblymember Dr. Jasmeet Bains, the first Sikh-American politician to be elected in the California State Legislature, poses for a picture with fellow assembly member Sharon Quirk-Silva while attending a luncheon gathering in Artesia, California, on June 8.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 13, 2024

Some U.S. Sikhs fear Modi government is threatening them

Some Sikhs in the U.S. described experiencing online harassment and surveillance at their homes.
Adult diaper products made by Daio Paper and academic institutions. The company, which produces products for hospitals and care facilities, is collaborating with the University of Tokyo and other academic institutions to enhance the quality of its products.
BUSINESS
Aug 13, 2024

Adult diaper market to surpass ¥100 billion by year-end

Manufacturers are ramping up efforts to develop a wider variety of products to cater to Japan's postwar baby boomers who are turning 75 or older.
An unmanned cargo aircraft developed by Sichuan Tengden Sci-tech Innovation takes part in a maiden flight at an airport in Zigong, Sichuan province, China, on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 13, 2024

China test-flies biggest cargo drone as low-altitude economy takes off

China's civilian drone makers are testing larger payloads as the government pushes to build a low-altitude economy.
Elon Musk held a conversation with Donald Trump on the tech mogul’s X platform on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 13, 2024

Musk pitches White House role in glitchy Trump conversation on X

The conversation gave Elon Musk an opening to increase his influence with Donald Trump if the former president returns to power.
Visitors take selfies at Kinkaku-ji Golden Temple in Kyoto.
BUSINESS
Aug 13, 2024

Overtourism isn’t the conundrum it’s made out to be

142 countries are projected to exceed their pre-pandemic tourism performance this year, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council.
When water temperatures are high, particularly when they rise to 33 degrees Celsius or above, the difference between water and body temperatures is smaller, preventing heat from escaping into the water and increasing the risk of heatstroke.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 13, 2024

Heatstroke a risk even in swimming pools, Japanese experts warn

Experts say the body's ability to regulate temperature is compromised, especially when the water temperature is high.
A Bank of Japan report said input prices for firms gained 3.0% from a year earlier.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 13, 2024

Japan’s producer inflation quickens for sixth straight month

The increase reflected rising prices of materials due to a weaker yen and the suspension of subsidies to ease the impact of higher electricity and gas prices.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference Wednesday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 14, 2024

Kishida to step down in September in bid to show ‘LDP has changed’

The surprise move came amid growing criticism from rank-and-file party members and bad poll numbers.
In the past 11 months, health minister Keizo Takemi has been charting his own path, seeking to make Japan's health care policies more global and digitalized.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 14, 2024

Global mindset crucial for reform of Japan's health care, minister says

International strategies and domestic health care reform are inextricably linked, says health minister Keizo Takemi.
Former Kobayashi Pharmaceutical President Akihiro Kobayashi, currently director in charge of compensation, speaks during a news conference in Osaka earlier this month.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 14, 2024

Chinese shoppers’ infatuation with Japanese brands wears thin

The backlash is reminiscent of last year’s outcry over the Fukushima wastewater release
Officials of JR Kyushu Jet Ferry bow at a news conference in Fukuoka on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2024

JR Kyushu ferry unit found covering up leak problem

The jet ferry service has been suspended since Tuesday, seen affecting about 22,000 people in the middle of the Bon summer holiday season.
A ward for heatstroke patients at a hospital in Chennai, India, in May. The country experienced a severe heat wave over the spring and summer, raising concerns about the long-term impact of climate change-induced extreme heat on human health.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 14, 2024

Climate change: A health emergency in the making

Global warming's impact on health is an increasingly urgent issue — just look at excess deaths caused by extreme heat. But are health care systems well-equipped enough?
The chance of open civil unrest in the United States within the next year is low — just 2.9% — but is third highest among the Group of 20 major economies, according to the analysis.
WORLD / Society
Aug 15, 2024

Threat of U.S. civil unrest is low but rising, analysis finds

The U.S. trails only Turkey and Russia among the world’s biggest economies likeliest to see violent political turmoil in the next year.
Elon Musk, co-founder of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of X Holdings Corp., speaks at the Milken Institute's Global Conference on May 6 in Beverly Hills, California.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 15, 2024

Musk’s free speech mantra collides with crackdowns on hate speech and disinformation

Since taking over, Musk has largely abandoned X’s prior efforts to curb misinformation, instead asking users to police themselves.
Considering there is another full year left before the current term of the Lower House expires, Fumio Kishida’s announcement he is standing down as the Liberal Democratic Party's leader has many wondering why.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 15, 2024

With Kishida’s sudden departure, who will lead Japan?

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s unexpected decision to not seek reelection has prompted a leadership race within Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and LDP Vice President Taro Aso attend an executive meeting in Tokyo on July 23.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 15, 2024

With resignation, Kishida looks to LDP's political future

Once it became clear that his chances of winning the September vote were minimal, Kishida chose to prioritize the party’s interests.
Pheu Thai party leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra greets members of the media at local news outlet Voice TV in Bangkok on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 16, 2024

Thaksin’s 37-year-old daughter becomes new Thai premier

Paetongtarn Shinawatra will become the youngest Thai prime minister and only the second woman to occupy the position, after her aunt.
Tourists at a water fountain at the Acropolis archaeological site during extreme hot weather conditions in Athens in July 2023.
BUSINESS
Aug 16, 2024

Extreme weather drives travelers to cooler destinations this summer

Cruise operators, hotel companies and airlines are adding trips and accommodations to meet rising demand for temperate destinations.
Defending champion Coco Gauff suffered a surprise defeat against Yulia Putintseva at the Cincinnati Open on Thursday.
TENNIS
Aug 16, 2024

Defending champion Gauff crashes out in her WTA Cincinnati opener

The second-round shock to America's Paris Olympic flag bearer stunned a partisan crowd in the U.S. heartland in the final major tuneup for the U.S. Open.

Longform

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