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As China slips into deflation, one word is popping up more and more to describe the gloomy atmospherics: "Japanification."
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 30, 2023

'Japanification' for China? It should be so lucky.

China is not on the path to global dominance nor set for collapse, and observers should consider the various shades of gray in analyzing these countries.
Artificial intelligence may well enable the automation of many tasks and the replacement of some workers. But AI tools are still fallible and are unlikely to replace humans any time soon.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 30, 2023

AI and the productivity imperative

The global economic outlook for the next decade appears grim. But a surge in productivity — fueled by artificial intelligence — could change that picture.
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.
A coal-fired power plant in Shanghai in October 2021
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2023

More focus on mine safety could help China’s energy security too

China has seen success in improving safety in a coal industry that killed thousands of miners every year during the 2000s, but methane remains a threat.
A fire breaks out in the Yurakucho area of Tokyo after the Great Kanto Earthquake in September 1923.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2023

Century since Kanto quake, expert warns of 'blind faith' in disaster resilience

For many, grasping the potential devastation of a future major quake remains as elusive as it was 100 years ago.
Silicon Valley's AI tycoons believe discussions on AI's current carbon footprint underplay its revolutionary potential.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 4, 2023

Tech's carbon footprint: Can AI revolutionize responsibly?

Across the globe, data servers are consuming precious natural resources for the digital world, raising the question: can AI revolutionize responsibly?
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.
Children learn about nature on one of Odyssey's fishing trips in 2022.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET
Sep 6, 2023

After 3/11, an environment education rethink takes shape in Japan

The thinking behind Odyssey is that interacting with nature will foster an ability to think critically about current socioenvironmental issues.
Tourists visit Venice as the municipality prepares to charge them up to 10 Euro for entry into the city in order to cut down the number of visitors.
WORLD
Sep 6, 2023

Venice to trial ticketing system from spring 2024

Residents, commuters, students, and children under the age of 14 will be exempt, as will tourists who stay in the city overnight.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom at the 2023 Milken Institute Global Conference in California on May 2
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 7, 2023

California governor signs executive order to explore AI risks

The directive comes as Washington and other governments struggle with how to regulate artificial intelligence technology.
Cargo ships wait in the anchor zone to cross the Panama Canal from the Pacific entrance near Panama City, Panama, on Sept. 1
ENVIRONMENT / Oceans
Sep 8, 2023

Top global ports may be unusable by 2050 without more climate action: report

Of the world’s 3,800 ports, a third are located in a tropical band vulnerable to the most powerful effects of climate change
The beach at Brighton, on the south coast of England on Thursday, as the late summer heat wave continues.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Sep 8, 2023

How climate change influenced the hottest summer on record

A growing body of attribution science seeks to analyze if or how climate change is making extreme weather worse.
Tokyo's Ginza district. On Thursday, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said one person tested positive for BA.2.86 on Aug. 24.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 8, 2023

New COVID variant detected in Japan amid wave of infections

While there’s no evidence so far that it causes more severe illness, experts say it may be more capable of infecting people who have been infected before.
Masanobu Ogura, minister in charge of policies related to children, speaks at a government meeting on measures to prevent suicides among children, in April.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 12, 2023

Japan steps up efforts to prevent suicides among children

The number of suicides among elementary, junior high and senior high school students has been on the rise, reaching 514 in 2022.
The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, a nuclear fusion demonstration project, in Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, France, in October 2016
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 12, 2023

Fusion research shouldn’t be a nuclear weapons side hustle

Some question the wisdom of improving nuclear weapons while advocating for the separation of fusion research from weapons development.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks at a news conference during the trilateral summit at Camp David, Maryland, on Aug. 18.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 13, 2023

South Korea’s political bifurcation will stifle any trilateral agreement

The South Korean left, which is currently out of power, has a foreign policy agenda that is incompatible with the Camp David Principles.
Ko Wen-je rides a train from Taipei to Taichung, Taiwan.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 14, 2023

Socially awkward outsider is surprise contender to lead Taiwan

64-year-old Ko Wen-je, a former trauma surgeon, entered politics just a decade ago and is running as a third-party candidate.
In a city known for sparse youth accommodation, investors are buying up hotels and converting them into student housing or rental units.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 14, 2023

Investors scour Hong Kong hotels for student dorms and rentals

Hong Kong’s government has launched a slew of initiatives that fuel the demand for student housing and rental properties.
Olive producers check a tree surrounded by a living cover crop in an olive grove in Santiesteban del Puerto, near Jaen, Spain.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Sep 15, 2023

In climate fight, Europe's farmers turn to tech and tradition

Spain and Italy are the world's top producers of olive oil, but the industry is under threat from desertification and drought.
Many scientists say more research into volcanoes is vital to gauge how far eruptions can briefly affect the long-term trend of global warming, which is primarily driven by burning fossil fuels.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / ANALYSIS
Sep 15, 2023

Why is 2023 so hot? A rare Pacific volcano is among the suspects

Greenhouse gas emissions are overwhelmingly to blame, scientists say, but water vapor from the Tonga eruption last year may have played a role too.
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.
A self-driving Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle in San Francisco in 2017
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 17, 2023

With self-driving cars, it's the ethics we have to navigate

Do accidents involving self-driving cars today save lives tomorrow? When it comes to self-driving cars, the challenges aren't just technical, but ethical.
U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington on Sunday
WORLD / Politics
Sep 18, 2023

Can Joe Biden and a wad of cash win rural America for Democrats?

Billions of dollars in federal funding have flowed to rural areas' infrastructure since Biden took office.
Montse Tome, the new coach of Spain's women's soccer team, speaks at a news conference in Las Rozas, Spain, on Monday.
SOCCER
Sep 19, 2023

Spain's women's players say their boycott remains, deepening crisis

Should they refuse the call-up, the players could face sanctions including fines of up to $32,000 and the suspension of their federation licence.
China with its government subsidies has become a dominant player in the EV market, causing concern in Europe and the United States.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 19, 2023

EV leadership means more than just sales figures

EV dominance matters because electric vehicles are the future.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
WORLD / Politics
Sep 20, 2023

Janet Yellen defends climate progress as critics push harder

The U.S. Treasury chief has made climate change a top priority. For some that’s a great relief. For others, it’s a distinction that’s too easy to claim.
An installation view of "Ruth Asawa Through Line" at the Whitney Museum in New York shows one of her signature suspended sculptures, a study in form, air and shadow.
CULTURE
Sep 21, 2023

Ruth Asawa: Solid form meets thin air

The Japanese American sculptor helped erase boundaries between art, craft and the decorative arts. A New York show explores her luminous connections.
Takao Masuda, executive vice president of research management at Hokkaido University, speaks at a news conference in Sapporo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 21, 2023

Hokkaido University admits misconduct by chemistry research team

Unnatural gaps and signs of data manipulation were found in research related to artificial catalysts used to facilitate chemical reactions.
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.
Burnt olive groves following a wildfire in the village of Dikella, west of Alexandroupolis, Greece, on Aug. 29. Nature-based investment aims to back projects that tackle land degradation, rectify biodiversity loss and combat climate change.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 22, 2023

Japan an outlier as interest in nature-based investment grows

Such investments aim to back projects that tackle land degradation, rectify biodiversity loss and combat climate change.

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