Search - 2020

 
 
Notwithstanding the increase in EV sales, there are now more cars than ever powered by internal-combustion engines.
COMMENTARY / World
May 14, 2024

Nevermind those EVs — oil demand keeps growing

The oil bulls still have reason to worry: With OPEC+ trying to keep prices as close as possible to $100 a barrel, non-OPEC supply, including from biofuels, keeps surging.
A Correctional Services vehicle arrives at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts ahead of the verdict hearing in Hong Kong on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 30, 2024

Fourteen Hong Kong democrats found guilty in landmark subversion trial

Critics say the trial could deal another blow to the city's rule of law and its reputation as a global financial hub.
The World Health Organization's headquarters in Geneva
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 2, 2024

WHO countries prolong talks on pandemic accord

Despite increasing momentum in recent months, only 17 of the draft agreement's articles had been fully approved by countries by the deadline.
Pedestrians holding umbrellas during a downpour in Tokyo in June 2023
JAPAN / Science & Health / OUR PLANET
Jun 2, 2024

The growing link between extreme rain and respiratory health in Japan

Researchers have found a strong association between respiratory mortality and severe downpours of the kind being made worse by climate change.
South Korean soldiers examine various objects including what appeared to be trash from a balloon believed to have been sent by North Korea, in Incheon, South Korea, on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 2, 2024

North Korea sends 600 more trash-filled balloons over border

Seoul has warned of strong countermeasures, saying it runs counter to the armistice agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War hostilities.
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures outside Trump Tower, the day after a guilty verdict in his criminal trial over charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in New York on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 3, 2024

Trump warns of 'breaking point' for Americans if he's jailed

Prison time is rare for people convicted in New York state of felony falsification of business records, the charge Trump faced at his trial.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is the world's leading chip contract manufacturer.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 5, 2024

Chinese AI chip firms downgrading designs to secure TSMC production

They submitted the less-powerful designs to TSMC — the world's leading chip contract manufacturer — to comply with U.S. restrictions, sources say.
Kenji Iikura (right), head chef at Akasaka Tantei, and manager Hibiki Kitazawa pose with Okinawan cuisine served at the restaurant in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Jun 17, 2024

How a Michelin-star Okinawan restaurant made a V-shaped recovery

A return to its roots — and Okinawan flavors — struck a chord with new and returning customers.
A monitor shows the GPS tracking of balloons built by a Seoul-based activist group that are designed to distribute anti-Pyongyang messages over North Korean territory, in Seoul on June 3.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 11, 2024

Seoul activists develop 'smart balloons' to send into North Korea

The aim is to drop cargoes deeper into North Korea, including over Pyongyang.
Virtu is located on the 39th floor of the Four Seasons Tokyo hotel in the Otemachi neighborhood of Chiyoda Ward.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 11, 2024

Virtu brings hospitality award home to the country of ‘omotenashi’

This is the first time a bar in Japan has earned the distinction from the Asia's 50 Best Bars organization since it was first awarded in 2020.
A South Korean soldier stands guard near a military facility where loudspeakers dismantled in 2018 used to be, near the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas in Paju, South Korea, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 11, 2024

South Korea fires warning shots after North Korea soldiers briefly cross border

The Sunday incursion took place in an overgrown area of the Demilitarized Zone, the heavily fortified border area, and was likely accidental.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike speaks to reporters Wednesday before declaring her candidacy for the gubernatorial election in the afternoon.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 12, 2024

It’s official: Koike will seek reelection as Tokyo governor in July

The incumbent governor finally declared her candidacy on the last day of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly session.
Midfielder Nicolo Barella celebrates scoring the team's second goal during Italy's win over Albania on Saturday.
SOCCER
Jun 16, 2024

Italy begins Euro 2024 title defense with win as Spain starts in style

Italy, whose line-up at kickoff featured only five players who started the 2020 final against England, now moves on to a heavyweight showdown with Spain on Thursday.
People applaud during a campaign event in Tokyo on Thursday. Those running in the July 7 poll will be battling to govern the sixth-largest city in the world by population.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 20, 2024

Tokyo governor poll campaign kicks off with 56 candidates in running

Ideas on how to reverse the capital's declining birth rate and make spending transparent are topping the agenda.
Sota Fujii (right) and Takumi Ito in the city of Kofu, in Yamanashi Prefecture, on Thursday after Fujii was beaten by his challenger for his Eio title.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2024

Shogi star Sota Fujii loses major title for first time

Fujii, 21, gave up the Eio title in his 23rd title match in Yamanashi Prefecture. The challenger, Takumi Ito, 21, won his first crown with three wins and two losses.
Seaweed in the ocean off Hayama, Kanagawa Prefecture. Local residents aim to restore seagrass and seaweed beds suffering from marine desertification, and their project has also been certified to receive "blue carbon" credits.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET
Jun 23, 2024

Japan looks to 'blue carbon' to cut emissions — and restore its coasts

The nation's net zero goal has driven interest in these ecosystems, but verifying the amount of carbon stored by seaweed presents a challenge.
People await the arrival of the Dalai Lama in New York on Sunday. The Tibetan spiritual leader is in the U.S. to undergo knee surgery.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 24, 2024

China must not choose the next Dalai Lama

The 14th Dalai Lama, who is in the U.S. to undergo knee surgery, should leave instructions to choose his successor, therefore delegitimizing any Beijing-anointed figure.
The investigation into the Chinese telcos is the latest effort by Washington to prevent Beijing from exploiting Chinese firms' access to U.S. data to harm U.S. companies, Americans or its national security as part of a deepening tech war between the geopolitical rivals.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 25, 2024

U.S. probing Chinese telcos over internet and cloud risks

Their cloud services and routing of wholesale U.S. internet traffic raise concerns that they could exploit access to American data by providing it to Beijing.
A firefighter works in a rural area of Corumba, Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil, on Wednesday.
ENVIRONMENT
Jun 27, 2024

'Breathing smoke': Brazil's Pantanal wetlands hit by record fires

In the first half of this year, satellites recorded more than 3,300 fires in the region.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike speaks during an interview at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Tokyo on June 3.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 28, 2024

Koike’s governorship shaped by slogans and questions over follow-through

The Tokyo gubernatorial election is seen as hers to lose, but how did she become Japan's most famous female politician and what has she actually achieved?
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with steelworkers at United Steel Workers headquarters in Pittsburgh in April.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Jun 29, 2024

Biden and Trump battle for blue-collar voters as steel merger looms over vote

Just how many rank-and-file workers ignore union chiefs and vote for Donald Trump could have a decisive impact in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Chesapeake, Virginia, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 2, 2024

U.S. Supreme Court finds Trump has broad immunity from prosecution

The Supreme Court ruling gave Donald Trump much of what he sought but stopped short of allowing absolute immunity for all official acts.
Although air travel in Asia has picked up since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is still below 2019 levels, with many passengers preferring to travel shorter distances.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 5, 2024

Asian airlines face a cold summer

Despite seemingly positive results, air travel in Asia hasn't returned to pre-pandemic levels, with many of the continent's travelers preferring to stay closer to home.
Visitors walk past an Amazon exhibition booth during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on Friday.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Jul 6, 2024

Is AI a major drain on the world's energy supply?

The spread of data centers across the globe is throwing a spotlight on the amount of energy the technology uses as well as its impact on the environment.
Asami Yoshida (center) practices with Japan at the National Training Center in Tokyo in January.
OLYMPICS / Basketball
Jul 8, 2024

Asami Yoshida bringing experience and swagger to Akatsuki Japan for Paris Olympics

The veteran point guard was Japan's captain at the 2016 Olympics.
How policymakers have responded to past economic crises, such as the 2008-09 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, will shape their preparedness in dealing with future recessions. 
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 8, 2024

Policy lessons from recent economic crises

Eventually, the world will face another recession. How will policymakers use the lessons learned from the 2008-09 financial crisis and COVID-19 pandemic to respond?
World Anti-Doping Age President Witold Banka speaks during an event in Lausanne, Switzerland, in March 2023.
OLYMPICS
Jul 10, 2024

Independent probe clears WADA of favoritism in Chinese swimmers case

WADA President Witold Banka was in fighting form after the executive board had met and endorsed the report that cleared his agency.
England's Ollie Watkins (left) celebrates with teammate Marc Guehi after their victory over the Netherlands in their Euro 2024 semifinal in Dortmund, Germany, on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Jul 11, 2024

Gareth Southgate says England hungry for more after dramatic semifinal win at Euro 2024

England's overall performance was an emphatic answer to the criticism that has been heaped on the side after languid showings earlier in the tournament.
Electronic waste — also known as e-waste — from computers in a junk shop in Metro Manila, Philippines
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 11, 2024

U.N. warns digital economy drive is damaging the environment

The U.N. agency called for sustainable strategies to counter the growing environmental toll digitalization creates, particularly in developing countries.
Li Genyuan stands by his wheat fields, which form part of an experiment to turn salty land into arable land, in Nanliuhe village, Shandong province, China, in May. Having returned to farming after working for a decade in construction and textiles, he now manages about 67 hectares of fields where corn and soybeans are also grown.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 12, 2024

Xi’s campaign to feed China is turning wasteland into farms

The Chinese president has placed increased emphasis on self-reliance as ties with the West fray and climate change disrupts harvests.

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