Search - 2023

 
 
Casey Harrell, who is diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and observers react as a brain-computer interface system developed by University of California, Davis, works on the first attempt.
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 16, 2024

Brain tech breakthrough restores ALS patient’s ability to speak

The brain-computer interface developed by University of California, Davis, is aimed at restoring movement, but its improvement of speech underscores its broader promise.
The Afriski slope in the Maluti Mountains of Lesotho
MORE SPORTS
Aug 16, 2024

Skiing in Lesotho: An African adventure under pressure

As enthusiastic as the visitors are, high running costs threaten the unique African ski adventure, which relies on artificial snow when snowfalls are patchy.
Efforts to hold the Kremlin accountable for the war in Ukraine have begun, with the International Criminal Court already issuing arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and others for unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children to Russia.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 16, 2024

The rule of law is coming for Putin

Though the ICC has jurisdiction over war crimes and genocide in Ukraine, it can't prosecute Russian leaders for aggression.
The display window of a brokerage showing the closing numbers of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, along a street in the capital on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 17, 2024

Foreign investors are trading Japan’s stocks like never before

The Nikkei 225-issue average slumped 12% on Aug. 5, the biggest percentage fall since Black Monday in 1987, before rebounding 10% the next day.
Produced by Toei Animation, “Girls Band Cry” follows five young women who form a band and navigate the Japanese rock landscape.
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Aug 17, 2024

Prepare for a new wave of anime-born bands

'Girls Band Cry' and its in-real-life band Togenashi Togeari offer the latest evolution of mixed-media music projects.
A growing number of ransomware attacks has forced Japanese firms to take measures to combat computer viruses that encrypt data until a ransom is paid.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 17, 2024

Ransomware attacks force companies to take precautionary measures

In many cases, attackers apparently gain entry via network devices for remote work, through clients and affiliated companies or systems at data centers.
The volunteer lifesavers of Nishihama Surf Lifesaving Club never know what's in store at the start of their day.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Aug 19, 2024

It's no simple day at the beach for Japan's volunteer lifesavers

Protecting beachgoers from drowning, heatstroke and possible tsunami, lifesavers are seeking formal recognition for what they do.
If there is one person who can tell you all about the building that used to be the Bank of Japan's Hiroshima branch, which survived the atomic bombing, it's Yasuhiro Nanba.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Aug 19, 2024

A building that survived the A-bomb, and the man who tells its story

A security guard's fascination with the Bank of Japan's Hiroshima branch led him to compile personal accounts of people who were there when the bomb was dropped.
This season's first batch of saury that fetched a record high price of ¥500,000 ($3,400) per kilogram at the Toyosu market in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Aug 19, 2024

Season's first saury sell at record ¥500,000 at Toyosu market

Some large fish weighing around 140 grams each fetched prices exceeding ¥70,000 for one fish.
Wind turbines in Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture
BUSINESS
Aug 19, 2024

Japan offers lifeline to ESG investing amid backlash overseas

In light of the anti-ESG sentiment in the U.S. and Europe, analysts said that Japan can play a key role in driving sustainable finance globally.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to members of the press at David Kempinski Hotel in Tel Aviv on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 20, 2024

Blinken says Israel accepts Gaza proposal and urges Hamas to do the same

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier said this latest push for a cease-fire was probably the best and possibly last opportunity for a deal.
The Metropolitan Police Department holds a workshop on dealing with cybercrimes in February.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 20, 2024

Tokyo police expand team for initial cybercrime investigations

The team will focus on investigations pertaining to online fraud, distribution of indecent images of children and drug trafficking.
E-scooter startup Lime has launched its service in some of Tokyo’s most densely populated neighborhoods
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 20, 2024

Uber-backed e-scooter startup Lime enters Japan after Korea exit

Lime, which has a global fleet of around 200,000 e-bikes and scooters, on Monday launched its service in some of Tokyo’s most densely populated areas.
A non-genuine battery for electric bicycles catches fire in an experiment conducted by the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2024

Number of fires linked to 'fake' lithium-ion batteries on the rise

Non-genuine alternatives are not subject to the same rigorous design and quality control standards, making them more prone to causing fires.
North Korean soldiers are seen outside a guard post (top) from near South Korean guard post in the South Korean border city of Paju in April 2022. A North Korean has defected to the South by walking across the heavily fortified border that separates the peninsula, Seoul's military said Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 20, 2024

Second North Korean soldier defects to South this month

Preliminary figures from the Unification Ministry show this year until June some 105 people had defected.
The Supreme Court has upheld a damages order against police for removing a heckler during a stump speech by then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2019.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 21, 2024

Japan's top court finalizes damages order over removal of heckler

Hokkaido police officers grabbed the heckler's shoulder and arm, moved her away from the location, and followed her for about an hour afterwards.
The World Health Organization is not recommending the use of masks amid the recent mpox outbreak, a spokesperson for the organization said.
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 21, 2024

Mpox 'is not the new COVID,' World Health Organization says

Mpox's risk to the general population is low, the organization said.
Maria Branyas Morera celebrates her 117th birthday in March in this image posted to her official X social media account.
WORLD
Aug 21, 2024

Maria Branyas Morera, the world’s oldest person, dies at 117

Morera died peacefully in her sleep in Olot, Spain at her nursing home, Residencia Santa Maria del Tura, according to family.
An electronic ticker at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo earlier this month
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2024

Sticky money stays in Japan while short-term players dump stocks

Foreign investors sold $5.28 billion in Japanese equities, cash and futures combined in the first week of August.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara (left) and Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (second from left) pose for a photo with Indian defense chief Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in New Delhi on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 21, 2024

Japan and India to update key document on security cooperation

Tokyo is also looking to provide New Delhi with advanced naval antennas and exploring the possibility of repairing Japanese warships in India.
A recruiter holding a placard advertising jobs talks to young men at an unofficial job market in the suburbs of Beijing.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Aug 21, 2024

China's rising youth unemployment breeds new working class

Millions of graduates are being pushed into a tough bargain, with some forced to accept low-paying work or even subsist on their parents' pensions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, look at weapons said to have been captured during Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, as they visit the Russian Special Forces University in Gudermes, Chechnya, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Aug 21, 2024

Ukraine's drone attack on Moscow 'one of largest ever,' mayor says

Russian air defense units destroyed at least 11 drones flying toward the capital, as well as 34 over the border Bryansk region and others, officials said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Rostec CEO Sergei Chemezov in Moscow on July 30.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 21, 2024

In rare interview, key Putin ally says West risks global war over Ukraine

The head of the Rostec arms maker slams U.S. over moves to "provoke" the Ukraine conflict by allowing Kyiv to attack Russian territory.
The integration of large language models into war-game simulations and planning promises faster scenario analysis, but recent research highlights significant issues, including a risk of escalation.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2024

Resist the seductive power of AI in military decision-making

The maturation of AI and the creation of large learning models have driven the war-gaming industry — and it is an industry — to new heights of fever and frenzy.
Existential risks like bioterrorism or climate change, created by humans, are not being treated by governments with anything like the seriousness or urgency they deserve.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2024

Will we survive the next 100 years?

Existential risks like bioterrorism or climate change, created by humans, are not being treated by governments with anything like the seriousness or urgency they deserve.
A Ukrainian Humvee passes through the destroyed Russian border post at the Sudzha border crossing with Ukraine, on Aug. 12.
WORLD
Aug 22, 2024

Ukraine attacks Moscow in one of largest ever drone strikes on Russian capital

For months, Ukraine has fought an increasingly damaging drone war against the refineries and airfields of Russia.
Revised guidelines on municipal governments' postpartum care programs will likely include care for women who temporarily stay at their parents' homes to give birth.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2024

Japan to revise guidelines for local government postpartum care

The upcoming revision comes as some local governments face difficulties implementing postpartum care projects by themselves.
Venezuelan opposition supporters participate in a global protest against Venezuela's disputed presidential election, in San Jose, Costa Rica, on Aug 17.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 22, 2024

Venezuela at a crossroads: Democracy or dictatorship?

The government of strongman Nicolas Maduro is doubling down on his disputed reelection victory while the opposition vows to resist "to the end."
An influencer uses a phone at the United Center, ahead of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), in Chicago on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 22, 2024

At DNC, influencers battle journalists for space and access

The Democratic National Convention has credentialed more than 200 "content creators" to cover the four-day event.
Shoppers outside a Sephora store in Vancouver on Aug. 15
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 22, 2024

LVMH’s Sephora cuts around 10% of staff in China as its woes deepen

While Sephora has expanded to some 300 stores since entering China in 2005, the country is increasingly difficult for higher-end retailers to navigate.

Longform

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