Search - 2023

 
 
Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba attends a news conference in Kyiv in April.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 4, 2024

Ukraine foreign minister resigns amid war's biggest reshuffle

The resignation comes amid a major shake-up at a critical juncture for Ukraine and leaves over a third of the cabinet vacant after sackings earlier this year.
Yahya Sinwar, head of the political wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, speaks during a meeting in Gaza City on April 30, 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 4, 2024

U.S. unseals 'terrorism' charges against Hamas leaders

Six leaders of Hamas are accused of "conspiracy to provide material support for acts of terrorism resulting in death" along with six other counts.
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, speaks on stage in front of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the Desert Diamond Arena, in Glendale, Arizona, on Aug. 23.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 4, 2024

How Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s pact took shape

A near assassination, a couple of phone calls, and six weeks of secret talks, embarrassing missteps and private misgivings, led to the unlikely alliance.
Johnny's & Associates President Noriyuki Higashiyama (second from right), unveils Smile-Up as the new name for the talent agency during a news conference in Tokyo in October 2023. The agency decided on the name change after it acknowledged the abuse committed by its late founder and apologized to victims in September 2023.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 4, 2024

Johnny’s victims group to disband one year after agency admitted abuse

The group says it will continue to help victims with unresolved cases — through consultation and other forms of support — despite the disbandment.
Takaaki Saito enters the Metropolitan Police Department's Fukagawa Police Station in Koto Ward, Tokyo, on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 4, 2024

Trio trying to pay off supercar debt arrested for alleged fraud

The trio is believed to have created a total of 34 credit cards in the names of nine people using personal information they obtained.
Fulton County voters cast their ballots during the Georgia primary at Morningside Presbyterian Church in Atlanta on May 21.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 5, 2024

U.S. voters targeted by Chinese influence online, researchers say

The messaging does not appear to favor one side of the political spectrum — either Democrats or Republicans.
Pasocom Music Club’s “Love Flutter” marks an important moment for Japan’s electronic community as project members Aoi Shibata (left) and Masato Nishiyama step into a role other artists once held for them — scene veterans who are inspiring the next generation.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 5, 2024

Pasocom Music Club returns to the pure pleasures of the dance floor

For the Kansai-born duo, new album “Love Flutter” isn’t just an evolution of its sound — it’s the next step in pushing the boundaries of electronic music.
Michie Hino, 77, works at an elderly care home in Chiba Prefecture. She is one of a growing number of senior Japanese citizens working into their 70s.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Sep 5, 2024

Working till your 70s — Japan's prospective gift to the world

A struggling pension system and the highest inflation in decades have led more Japanese people to delay retirement until their 70s or later to make ends meet.
American Jessica Pegula serves to Poland's Iga Swiatek during their women's quarterfinal on Wednesday at the U.S. Open in New York.
TENNIS
Sep 5, 2024

Pegula stuns Swiatek at U.S. Open as Americans continue to surge

Pegula swept past 2022 champion and four-time French Open winner Swiatek 6-2, 6-4 to reach a maiden semifinal at the majors after falling in six quarterfinals.
Demand for electric vehicles in Japan has long been sluggish, and the government this year changed how EV subsidies are calculated, reducing them for BYD and several of its rivals, raising concerns about protectionism.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Sep 5, 2024

BYD's global expansion push runs into a stiff test in Japan

Demand for electric vehicles in Japan has long been sluggish, and the government this year changed how EV subsidies are calculated.
Nippon Steel's proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel is opposed by politicians across the political spectrum, including both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates — Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 5, 2024

Japan miffed but reaction muted after shocking twist to U.S. Steel deal

U.S. President Joe Biden is set to reject Nippon Steel's acquisition of the American steelmaker, according to multiple unconfirmed reports released in recent days.
Inside a gallery influenced by famed architect Kengo Kuma, Nakamura Ningyo's Hakata dolls represent a little-seen side of Japanese crafts.
LIFE / Style & Design
Sep 7, 2024

From Godzilla to martyrs, Hakata doll-making knows no bounds

Since its establishment in Fukuoka in 1917, Nakamura Ningyo has been a cornerstone of the Hakata doll tradition.
Held annually in Cologne, Germany, Gamescom is the world's largest gaming convention, meaning it attracts attendees and exhibitors from near and far.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Sep 7, 2024

Traveling to Germany is ‘worth the cost’ for Japan’s indie studios

"Nothing beats seeing players' faces as they play our game in person, and getting to ask them directly about their experience, both positive and negative.”
Uganda's Rebecca Cheptegei competes at the world championships in Budapest in August 2023.
OLYMPICS / Athletics
Sep 6, 2024

Outrage and sorrow at death of Ugandan athlete Rebecca Cheptegei

Cheptegei's murder was the latest horrific act of gender-based violence in the East African country, where activists have warned of a rising femicide epidemic.
A mock-up of Toyota's next-generation Li-ion batteries for battery electric vehicles
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 6, 2024

Japan to provide new subsidies for domestic EV battery output

Handing out more subsidies will help expand the country's production capacity for storage batteries by around 50%.
Shuzo Fukushi, who heads Rice Meister Kojimachi in Tokyo, shows a bag of Calrose mixed with domestic rice at his store on Thursday.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 6, 2024

Demand for Calrose rice rises amid Japanese rice shortage

The California rice is a medium-grain variety cheaper than the Japanese short-grain cultivar, but with a similar taste.
Rakesh Tomar (right), an activist and founder of Hindu right-wing group Rudra Sena, speaks to people in Dehradun, the capital of the Indian state of Uttarakhand, on Aug. 6.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 6, 2024

India's far-right Hindus seek to drive Muslims out of 'holy land'

Much of the hatred last year was fueled by "love-jihad" conspiracies, claiming predatory Muslim men wanted to seduce Hindu women to convert them.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife, Yuko, are welcomed upon their arrival at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, South Korea, on Friday.
EDITORIALS
Sep 6, 2024

Never take Japan-South Korea relations for granted

The two leader’s final meeting is both an opportunity to review recent achievements and to underscore the centrality of the Japan-South Korean partnership.
The world’s largest system of hydroelectric power has been on standby since late 2022, when droughts drained the reservoirs that feed it. China's torrential downpours of the past few months are switching that immense machine back on.
COMMENTARY
Sep 6, 2024

A flood of hydro is washing coal from China's grid

The world’s largest hydroelectric system, located in China, has been dormant since late 2022 due to droughts, but recent heavy rains are now reviving its operations.
A building housing the Tokyo District Court's Tachikawa branch in the city of Tachikawa
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 6, 2024

21-year-old gets 23 years over robbery-murder in western Tokyo

The case was part of a high-profile series of robberies across Japan allegedly committed by the same group.
Gabon President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema waves as he arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport ahead of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing on Sep. 1.
WORLD
Sep 7, 2024

U.S. pitches deal to thwart Chinese military base in Africa

The U.S. is assembling an economic and security assistance package for Gabon in a bid to prevent China from establishing a military footprint there.
An investor sits in front of a board showing stock information at a brokerage office in Beijing.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 7, 2024

China bulls getting tired of waiting for elusive stock recovery

Weakness in Chinese equities is eroding the confidence of some of Wall Street’s staunchest supporters, with hopes for a turnaround fading in the world’s No. 2 economy.
Brazil's Indigenous Chief Raoni Metuktire at Igarape Park in the country's Para state in 2023
ENVIRONMENT
Sep 7, 2024

As the Amazon’s biggest champion approaches 100, he’s still fighting

The Amazon’s plight set the tone for Raoni Metuktire’s remarkable life, which has taken him out of Brazil’s central Mato Grosso state and all over the world.
Japan's Tokito Oda (L) reacts after beating Britain's Alfie Hewett in the men's singles gold medal match of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games on Saturday.
PARALYMPICS
Sep 8, 2024

Tokito Oda becomes youngest Paralympic men's wheelchair singles champion

Oda prevailed in just over 2 1/2 hours, in front of a virtually sell-out crowd at Roland Garros, in a great advertisement for the event.
 Atsushi Ukawa
BUSINESS
Sep 8, 2024

Japanese bank seeks to help regional economy with bus business

The company is in talks with around 10 municipalities. Senshu Ikeda plans to expand operations possibly to neighboring Hyogo Prefecture.
Nuns walk past a banner on Saturday erected to welcome Pope Francis ahead of his visit in Dili, East Timor.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 8, 2024

Child abuse scandals hang over pope's East Timor visit

There are calls for the 87-year-old pontiff to speak out on child abuse when he lands in the former Portuguese colony Monday as part of his Asia-Pacific tour.
Protesters demonstrate against the country's ban of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 8, 2024

Brazil's right rallies against 'censorship' amid X suspension

The move was the culmination of a legal spat that began when a supreme court Judge ordered the suspension of several X accounts belonging to Bolsonaro supporters.
Debbie Wu tests her pair of sunglasses made from plastic waste at Trash Kitchen in Taipei.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Sep 6, 2024

Taiwan workshop turns trash into sunglasses

Taipei's Trash Kitchen allows customers to create fashion out of plastic waste.
A sheep suffering from Bluetongue virus is injected with an anti-inflammatory medicine on a farm in Saint-Felix-de-Rieutord, south of Toulouse, France.
WORLD
Sep 6, 2024

European farmers grapple with bluetongue virus surge

Explosion of cases of the insect-borne viral disease that affects sheep and cows impacts thousands of farms in Europe.
A steel plant in Shanghai operated by Baoshan Iron & Steel. Nippon Steel said in July it will dissolve its joint venture with the Chinese firm.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 9, 2024

Japanese firms sour on China after long years of brushing off risks

Almost half of Japanese firms in China polled in a recent survey said they won’t spend more or will cut investment this year.

Longform

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