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In a boon to Saudi Arabia's government, which is seeking to fund a massive economic transformation plan, Saudi Aramco’s $12 billion share sale sold out shortly after the deal opened on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 3, 2024

Saudi Aramco’s $12 billion stock offer sells out in hours

The extent of foreign participation will be closely watched as an indicator of interest in Saudi Arabia's assets.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks during a trilateral summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang during their meeting at the Blue House in Seoul on May 27.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 3, 2024

South Korea to explore vast oil and gas prospects off east coast, Yoon says

The 500 billion won ($363 million) drilling project is slated to begin towards the end of the year, aiming for results by mid-next year.
Employees assemble an electric transformer on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India, on March 28.
WORLD
Jun 3, 2024

Modi plans post-election reforms to rival Chinese manufacturing

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi plans a raft of business-friendly measures if he wins a third term this week, including pushing through regulations making it easier to hire and fire workers, according to two government officials familiar with the matter.
Fans cheer after Japan's men's volleyball team qualified for the Paris Olympics on Oct. 7 at Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo.
MORE SPORTS / Volleyball
Jun 4, 2024

Japanese volleyball’s fastest growing fan base — female superfans

More than 80% of the fans at men’s domestic competitions are said to be women in their 20s, 30s and 40s.
A hydrogen storage tank and loading system at a liquefied hydrogen receiving terminal in Kobe. Japan and the European Union have agreed to work together on policies related to clean hydrogen.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Jun 4, 2024

Japan and EU agree to work on creating hydrogen demand and supply

Tokyo sees hydrogen as a new and cleaner source to gradually substitute liquefied natural gas, part of Japan's path to carbon neutrality by 2050.
Almost 45% of Japanese nationals living abroad feel lonely, with a language barrier the leading cause of loneliness, a survey finds.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2024

45% of Japanese nationals living abroad feel alone: survey

The survey found that a language barrier is the leading cause of loneliness, cited by 31.6%, followed by a cultural gap, by 27.9%.
Thailand is the latest nation to consider competing for a pie of the global casino industry, which IBIS World estimates generated $263.3 billion in revenue last year.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 5, 2024

Thailand plans bill to legalize casinos, spokesman says

Any opening of casinos will be in line with its recent embrace of a more liberal landscape to revive its tourism industry.
Japan's base pay in April rose 2.3% from a year earlier to drive up nominal wages by 2.1%, but real wages marked a 25th consecutive month of decline as pay growth lagged inflation.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 5, 2024

Japan’s biggest base pay jump since 1994 still leaves doubts

Pay continues to lag inflation, with analysts appearing to latch on to weaker-than-expected growth in cash wages in data that avoids sampling issues.
After a teenage girl loses her parents, she grapples with her new reality under an aunt’s guardianship in “Worlds Apart.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 6, 2024

‘Worlds Apart’ explores family, loss and unconventional ideas of love

A 15-year-old girl is orphaned when her parents die right before her eyes.
Ryu Kawane works at the Costco store in Meiwa, Gunma Prefecture. Costco's high pay has triggered wage hikes at other businesses in town.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 6, 2024

Costco's Japan wages provide pathway to firing up nation's low pay and economy

A sustainable rise in wages is a key goal for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and the Bank of Japan says it's a crucial factor for normalizing monetary policy.
About 1 to 1.8 out of 1,000 people in Japan are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 6, 2024

Japan researchers develop drug to visualize Parkinson’s disease in living patients

The study could help better our understanding of such neurodegenerative diseases, for which there are currently no cures.
Chef Yusuke Murayama’s creative cuisine at Pas Mal spotlights the premium produce of Yamagata Prefecture.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Jun 8, 2024

Pas Mal: French cuisine spotlighting Yamagata’s premium produce

Chef Yusuke Murayama’s signature dessert is a framboise mousse the color of glossy lipstick rouge in the shape of a mouth.
Kyoto University's Center for iPS Cell Research
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 7, 2024

Japan team makes immune-controlling cells from human iPS cells

The team expects that the method can make it possible to mass produce the cells, known for their effectiveness in suppressing rejection in transplantation medicine.
Bharatiya Janata Party supporters celebrate after India's general election results in New Delhi on Tuesday. The BJP emerged with 240 seats, making it the single largest party in the assembly, but well short of the 272 seats it needs for a majority.
EDITORIALS
Jun 7, 2024

India’s election humbles Modi and his party

Even as Prime Minister Modi and the BJP claimed a historic third term, voters recognized the need for moderation in some of its policies.
Russian officials have increasingly been threatening not to extend the visas of African students and young workers unless they agree to join its military and fight against Ukraine, sources say.
WORLD
Jun 10, 2024

Russia is sending young Africans to die in its war against Ukraine

Moscow has also been enlisting convicts from its prisons, one source said.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban applauds after the announcement of the partial results of the European Parliament and municipal elections, in Budapest on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 10, 2024

Europe's far right seeks policy influence to match seat gains

Their election wins reflect a rising trend in the West to turn toward more far-right alternatives.
Lee Kyoung-hyun, a popular YouTuber shaman, at her shaman parlor in Seoul on May 13
WORLD / Society
Jun 10, 2024

South Korea's young shamans revive ancient tradition with social media

Google Trends shows that searches on YouTube for "shaman" and "fortune-telling" in Korean have nearly doubled over the past five years.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 10, 2024

Japan’s jammed AGM season limits shareholder engagement, investors say

Almost 60% of companies will hold meetings this month, with 30% hosting on June 27.
People gather around four American educators from an Iowa university, who were reportedly stabbed in a public park in Jilin, China, in this still image taken from video released on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jun 11, 2024

Four U.S. educators stabbed in park in northeast China

The group had been visiting a temple in Beishan Park when they were attacked by a man with a knife. There were no reports of a motive.
Researchers are still years away from understanding the actual impact of AI on addressing human diseases. But given the speed with which the technology is evolving, its increasingly looking like the impact could be vast.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 12, 2024

Inventing medicines is one of the most exciting uses of AI

AlphaFold has advanced significantly since its earlier version, offering static images of protein interactions.
Pitcher Shohei Ohtani celebrates after he closed out the finals of the World Baseball Classic against the U.S. on March 21, 2023, in Miami.
BASEBALL
Jun 13, 2024

Baseball may have arrived in Japan in 1871, earlier than thought

An NPB historian has found that U.S. sailors may have had a baseball game with Japanese players in the early part of the Meiji Era (1868-1912) in Osaka.
Fire rages after a Russian missile strike in Kyiv on Jan. 2.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 13, 2024

Study details emissions resulting from Russia's invasion of Ukraine

The 175-million-metric-tons estimate the report gave was the equivalent to the annual emissions produced by 90 million cars.
Ukrainian fans attend a training session for the national team ahead of the start of Euro 2024, on Thursday in Wiesbaden, Germany.
SOCCER
Jun 14, 2024

Ukrainians in Germany rally to support team at Euros

More than 1,000 Ukrainians came out to cheer on the team at a public training session in the western city of Wiesbaden on Thursday ahead of the start of the tournament.
By April 2024, dengue fever cases in the Americas passed the total for the previous year.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 15, 2024

What's behind the post-COVID surge in communicable diseases?

Many regions have reported at least one infectious disease resurgence that’s at least ten times worse than the prepandemic baseline.
A person uses a tong with a camera and GPS system attached to pick up litter, part of an initiative to boost participation in collecting trash.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Jun 16, 2024

Japan’s gamified environment apps target a greener mindset

Government funding has helped drive a boom in environmental and social app development.
A welcome sign in Skegness, England, on Tuesday. Britain's last general election was all about leaving the European Union but this time around Brexit is hardly getting a mention.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 16, 2024

Why no one is talking about Brexit in the U.K. election

Brexit fatigue and barely healed scars from the divisive vote have the main parties largely avoiding the toxic issue before the July 4 poll.
The city of Fukuoka. The government plans to draw up guidelines for supporting midsize companies, many of which have headquarters outside big cities and are expected to play key roles in boosting regional economies.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 17, 2024

Japan to compile guidelines on supporting midsize firms

The guidelines will specify how support should be provided to such companies based on their management conditions.
Workers clear the oil slick using plastic bags on Sentosa island's Tanjong Beach in Singapore on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 17, 2024

Singapore works to clean up oil spill after tanker accident

Several beaches have been closed after a tidal current carried the oil from the site to an area more than 30 kilometers away, close to the city-state's airport.
A view of the Unit 4 reactor of Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China, in 2018
BUSINESS
Jun 17, 2024

U.S. as many as 15 years behind China on nuclear power, report says

Beijing's state-backed technology approach and extensive financing give it the edge over its rival, the study by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation said.
A pianist undergoing a crisis of confidence (Taiga Kyomoto, right) falls in love with a mysterious fellow student (Kotone Furukawa) in Hayato Kawai’s “Secret: A Hidden Score.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 20, 2024

‘Secret: A Hidden Score:’ A romantic fantasia played far too straight

Japanese remake of Jay Chou’s 2007 hit love story is tighter, tidier and less fun.

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