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Japan's core inflation stayed above the central bank's 2% target in December but slowed for a second straight month, reinforcing expectations it will be in no hurry to phase out its massive monetary stimulus.
BUSINESS
Jan 19, 2024

Japan’s slowing inflation supports case for BOJ to wait longer

Growth in consumer prices excluding fresh food slowed to 2.3% in December from a year earlier.
A worker builds a home in Lillington, North Carolina, in June. Appetite among Japanese companies in the U.S. homebuilding market is growing as they struggle with a declining population at home.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 19, 2024

A $4.9 billion Japan deal for a U.S. builder heralds more M&A

Appetite among Japanese buyers in the U.S. homebuilding market is growing as they struggle with a declining population at home.
Rie Qudan speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Wednesday after being awarded the Akutagawa Prize.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 19, 2024

Akutagawa Prize draws controversy after win for work that used ChatGPT

Rie Qudan won Japan’s most important prize for early career writers for “Tokyo-to Dojo-to,” a novel that “exposes the prophecy of the AI generation.”
Taiwan's election results reflect the democratic aspirations of its citizens but is a cause for disappointment in Beijing.
EDITORIALS
Jan 19, 2024

The winner of Taiwan's election was democracy

The biggest disappointment was felt in Beijing, where inducements, threats and warnings failed to sway Taiwan’s voters.
The health of China's economy will always be a factor in how other Asian economies fare, and some of those are doing OK despite their larger neighbor’s woes.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 19, 2024

The latest indignity for China’s flawed recovery

Neighbors whose economic fortunes were supposed to be tied to the heft of China’s rebound from the pandemic seem to be doing pretty well without it.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in the East Room of the White House during an event to welcome mayors attending the U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting in Washington, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 20, 2024

Biden open to asylum changes to clinch Ukraine and border deals

The U.S. president said he is open to "massive changes” in border policy, including to asylum laws, in order to secure a deal that would unlock Ukraine aid.
Microsoft said a Russian-linked hacking group attacked its corporate systems, but said the group doesn’t appear to have accessed customers’ systems or Microsoft servers that run outward-facing products.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 20, 2024

Microsoft says Russia-linked group hacked employee emails

The company said it’s acting immediately to fix older systems, which will probably cause some disruption.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Jan. 4.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 20, 2024

Kishida takes risky gamble by dissolving LDP faction

Members of the factions led by LDP Vice President Taro Aso and Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi have resisted following suit, potentially endangering the PM.
India supporters wave the country's flag before the start of the national soccer team's Asian Cup game against Uzbekistan on Thursday in Al-Rayyan, Qatar.
SOCCER
Jan 20, 2024

Not just cricket: Qatar's Indians cheer on soccer minnows

At the Asian Cup in Qatar, Indian fans have been showing the world that their passion for sports doesn't end with cricket.
Smoke billows over the Lebanese village of Odaisseh on Saturday during Israeli bombardment amid cross-border tensions in the Middle East.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 21, 2024

Missile attacks across Middle East raise Gaza escalation risks

Missiles and rockets launched by Iran-backed militants in Iraq hit al-Asad air base, where a number of U.S. personnel were being evaluated for traumatic brain injuries.
Northern lights observed in Bihoro, Hokkaido, on Dec. 1
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 21, 2024

Northern lights likely to be seen in Hokkaido again in 2024

Solar activity is forecast to increase toward 2025, likely leading to opportunities to see the ethereal curtains of lights.
Philippine Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner walks past an honor guard during the arrival ceremony at Western Command, in Puerto Princesa, on the Philippine island of Palawan last August.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 21, 2024

Manila gets tough in the South China Sea as a showdown looms

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has taken a tough stance on territorial disputes with China — and he is backing this up with bold moves.
People remove debris at a food market following what local Russian-installed authorities said was a Ukrainian military strike in Donetsk, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 22, 2024

Ukraine shelling of Russian-controlled Donetsk kills 27, local officials say

Russia condemns attack as "a barbaric act of terrorism" but Ukrainian forces said they were not responsible for it.
The Nikkei stock average rose above 36,570 Monday morning, a level not seen since February 1990.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 22, 2024

Japan's Nikkei scales 34-year peak on Wall Street record

The S&P 500 posted its first record-high close in two years, as AI fever drove big gains for chip shares and other heavyweight tech stocks.
Brighton & Hove Albion's Kaoru Mitoma (left) in action with Crystal Palace's Nathaniel Clyne at Selhurtst Park, London, on Dec. 21. Mitoma has not played since hurting his ankle in the game, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
SOCCER
Jan 23, 2024

'Worry' for Japan as Mitoma misses training ahead of Asian Cup clash

The Brighton winger has not played since hurting his ankle in a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace on Dec. 21.
Ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, resentment lingers over the handling of ticket sales last year that saw many locals priced out.
OLYMPICS
Jan 23, 2024

French gloom clouds Paris Olympics, six months from start

Several recent announcements have led to a spike in negative publicity for the sporting mega-event, which will start in just six months.
Ethnic Uyghurs protest against China in Istanbul on July 5.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 23, 2024

China to face rare scrutiny on rights record in U.N. review

The Universal Periodic Review is an examination all 193 U.N. member states must undergo every four to five years to assess their human rights record.
Monday's winter yellowtail catch at Takojima port in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture.
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2024

Fishing resumes at central port damaged by Noto quake

Most of the port's quays, which can also be used by large fishing vessels, were so damaged by the earthquake that boats could not approach.
Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank Group, during a panel session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 17
BUSINESS
Jan 23, 2024

World Bank chief eyes 'bigger' institution to tackle climate crisis

Ajay Banga said the bank is working to widen the way it looks at problems and increase collaborations with other institutions.
Coming out of the pandemic, job vacancies were historically high in the U.S. because firms needed workers and could not find them.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 23, 2024

This year will mark the end of the post-pandemic economy

The trade-off between bringing down inflation and harming growth will come back with a vengeance in the post-pandemic economy.
Palestine forward Mahmoud Wadi (19) and midfielder Oday Kharoub (6) greet supporters after the team's win over Hong Kong at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha on Tuesday.
SOCCER
Jan 24, 2024

Palestine 'fulfills promise' after historic Asian Cup win

The 3-0 victory over Hong Kong was also their first win in the history of the competition and enough to squeeze into the last 16 as one of the four best third-placed teams.
Fighters loyal to the Houthis ride on the back of a pick-up truck during a military parade for new tribal recruits amid escalating tensions with the U.S.-led coalition in the Red Sea, in Bani Hushaish, Yemen on Monday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 24, 2024

Red Sea attacks could disrupt shipping for months, driving up costs

With sailors demanding double pay and insurance rates skyrocketing, shipping lines are steering clear of a waterway that normally carries 12% of seaborne trade.
South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee have been plunged into controversy after hidden camera footage emerged appearing to show Kim accepting a Dior bag as a gift.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 24, 2024

'Dior bag scandal' mars South Korean ruling party before election

The controversy over the apparent acceptance of a gift by his wife may threaten Yoon Suk-yeol's bid to reclaim a parliamentary majority in April's election.
Masato Kanda, vice finance minister for international affairs, is closely watching how an expected end to negative interest rates in Japan affect markets.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 25, 2024

Top forex diplomat vigilant over market impact from BOJ stimulus exit

As vice finance minister for international affairs, Masato Kanda oversees currency policy.
NATO, which celebrates its 75th birthday this year, has been successful at keeping the peace — but American underpinning can’t be guaranteed in perpetuity, especially with the possible reelection of Donald Trump. 
COMMENTARY
Jan 25, 2024

Europe should arm against the barbarians at its gates

Donald Trump told Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, that "NATO is dead." It would be prudent to take him at his word.
Girl group Atarashii Gakko! will be joined by two other Japanese acts, Yoasobi and Hatsune Miku, at this year's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California.
CULTURE / Music
Jan 25, 2024

Pack your bags, J-pop acts. There's a whole world of fans to meet!

Expect Ado, King Gnu and Lamp to revel in the spotlight abroad with overseas tours, while the sounds of Shibuya-kei look to make a welcome return.
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi (left), Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and the party's vice president, Taro Aso, attend a party reform panel in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 25, 2024

LDP’s reform report appears light on firm actions targeting faction politics

Two weeks of hurried debate is unlikely to eradicate factionalism, which has long been seen as a defining trait of the party, experts say.
Core inflation in Tokyo slowed below the central bank's 2% target to hit the lowest level in nearly two years.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 26, 2024

Tokyo’s sharp cooling of inflation complicates BOJ’s policy outlook

Tokyo consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 1.6% in January, compared with 2.1% growth in December.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addresses a meeting of the government's Tax Commission at the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday, as the commission's new chief Yuri Okina looks on.
BUSINESS
Jan 26, 2024

Yuri Okina tapped as new chief of government tax panel

Okina is the first female chief of the panel, which advises the prime minister, and its first new chair in roughly 10 years.
To mitigate China’s growing tech influence and establish a foothold in the budding artificial intelligence ecosystem, Taiwan budgeted some 17.4 billion New Taiwan dollars ($555.6 million) through 2026 to develop expertise and tools in the industry.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 26, 2024

Taiwan builds own AI language model to counter China’s influence

Taiwan is spending $7.4 million for a tool free of China’s political influence

Longform

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