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Then-Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang holds a copy of China's constitution during a news conference at the National People's Congress in Beijing in March.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 26, 2023

China ousts foreign minister as world grasps for clues as to why

There are still several questions over Qin Gang's fate and whether he will continue to serve in the government as a state councilor.
A screen displays Chinese leader Xi Jinping, at the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution in Beijing last October.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 28, 2023

China eyes accelerated plan for ‘world-class military,’ Japan says

An annual defense white paper said the world was facing its greatest test since World War II amid China's military buildup and the Ukraine war.
People gather in the center of the capital city of Thimphu, Bhutan, in December 2017.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 28, 2023

Bhutan's employment woes drive exodus to Australia

Student migration to Australia from Bhutan has soared, with over 12,000 long-term arrivals moving there in the 11 months to May alone.
Taiwanese soldiers fire an ML154 Mine Clearance Launcher during the annual Han Guang anti-landing drill at Bali beach, New Taipei City, on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 29, 2023

U.S. to give Taiwan $345 million in arms aid over China’s protest

The U.S. will supply Taiwan with $345 million in defense equipment, services and training, using the fast-track authority that it has relied on to speed arms to Ukraine.
Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and his Sri Lanka counterpart, Ali Sabry, during a joint news conference in Colombo on Saturday
BUSINESS
Jul 29, 2023

Crisis-hit Sri Lanka invites Japan to resume investment

The South Asian island nation is working to restructure its massive debt to continue a $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
An apartment building construction site in Sumida Ward, Tokyo, on July 19. Officials at Daito Trust Construction, which oversees the building project, say heatstroke dangers are a top concern given their aging workforce.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Jul 30, 2023

In Japan, extreme heat and an aging population are a deadly mix

Heat waves combined with high humidity are weighing particularly heavily on the nation’s 36 million people age 65 and over, who are at much greater risk of severe illness and death.
Japan’s unemployment rate fell for the first time in two months in June, feeding into optimism that upward pressure on wages may persist and help sustain inflation.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 1, 2023

Japan's jobless rate falls in positive sign for wages, BOJ goal

The jobless rate fell to 2.5%, the ministry of internal affairs said Tuesday, the lowest since January.
Then-Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attends a news conference in Beijing on May 23.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 1, 2023

China's ex-foreign minister is gone but wait for explanation goes on

A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman on Thursday said Beijing will release information in a timely matter regarding Qin Gang and opposes "malicious hype."
A health ministry panel has approved the messenger RNA vaccine Daichirona.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 1, 2023

Japan panel endorses first domestically developed COVID vaccine

The shot is based on the original strain of the coronavirus, making it unlikely that it will be used in Japan or elsewhere.
Australian Ambassador to Japan Justin Hayhurst (center) walks beside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (right) during the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima in May.
JAPAN
Aug 3, 2023

Tokyo-Canberra ties key to Indo-Pacific’s future: Australian envoy

"We’ve never been more important to each other," says Justin Hayhurst, Australia’s new Ambassador to Japan.
People lie passed out on a sidewalk in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco in February 2020.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 8, 2023

Is America’s soft power eroding?

San Francisco has changed from a hub of hippie culture and freedom in the 1960s and '70s, suggesting America's soft power is abating.
A recent report showed that the number of career bureaucrats leaving government to join startups had quadrupled over the two years through fiscal 2022.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 8, 2023

Japan’s young civil servants are growing disillusioned

Big companies remain the most popular career option, attracting 34% of those who change jobs.
U.S. President Joe Biden is flanked by Labor Secretary Marty Walsh (left) and Celeste Drake while delivering remarks at the White House in Washington in 2022.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 9, 2023

Biden's top labor adviser exits as U.S. navigates strikes: source

The departure comes at a critical time for an administration dealing with a summer of labor unrest.
A popular dinosaur exhibit at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Ueno, Tokyo
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 9, 2023

Crowdfunding success at Japan science museum sends mixed message

While such initiatives provide much-needed cash, they are also a sign of limited government funding for science.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with NATO’s leaders at the bloc’s summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 12. 
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 10, 2023

How Russia could benefit from Ukraine’s NATO membership

While Russian leaders have cited NATO enlargement as a justification for invading Ukraine, ordinary Russians have much to gain from Ukrainian membership.
Visitors at the Todaiji temple in Nara in June
JAPAN / Society
Aug 10, 2023

China lifts pandemic-era ban on group tours to Japan

The decision marks the first time since January 2020 that groups of Chinese tourists will be allowed to visit Japan.
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura attends a ceremony marking the first minting of a commemorative coin for the expo with the event's mascot, Myaku-Myaku, in Osaka on Monday.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 10, 2023

Three hurdles stand between Osaka Expo and 2025 opening

Broadly speaking, the expo faces three high hurdles in its dash toward the finish line, and having everything ready for the April 13, 2025, opening.
Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar has been named caretaker prime minister with the task of leading Pakistan through to elections due by November.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 14, 2023

Little-known senator to be Pakistan's caretaker prime minister

Sen. Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has been named Pakistan's caretaker prime minister, tasked with governing until elections later this year.
Japan’s economy has expanded at a much faster pace than forecast, despite weak domestic consumption.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 15, 2023

Japan’s GDP grows at 6% on strong exports as consumption falters

Capital spending by businesses was flat, versus forecasts of a 0.4% increase, while private consumption unexpectedly declined by 0.5%.
An attendee walks past a wall decorated with binary code during July's World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 15, 2023

Beijing aims to regulate China’s AI sector while maintaining edge

Like Europe, China is moving ahead with government oversight of what may be the most promising — and controversial — technology of the last 30 years.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako attend a memorial service marking the 78th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II at the Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 15, 2023

Japan marks 78th anniversary of the end of World War II

Members of bereaved families from 10 prefectures were unable to participate in the ceremony due to Typhoon Lan.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks at an event in Las Vegas on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 16, 2023

Yellen's Las Vegas stop shows Bidenomics can be a tough sell

Even as Americans feel the benefits, it's not clear this approach will deliver Biden the votes he needs in 2024.
A playful photo of Japanese female politicians on a work trip to Paris drew much criticism back home. The backlash may be one of the reasons women choose to avoid public service.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 16, 2023

Japan has a misery-loves-company problem

The backlash to government officials' lighthearted moment is a prime example of how to undermine workers.
Protesters shout slogans and raise banners reading "Don't throw polluted water into the sea! Keep your promises" during a rally against Japan's plan to discharge treated radioactive water from the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima plant into the ocean, in front of the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 18, 2023

Fukushima water release poses test for Japan-South Korea unity

The dumping of radioactive water may happen days after a summit in which the U.S. wants Japan and South Korea to lock in friendly ties.
Social division and the polarization of the American political system are becoming more and more apparent.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2023

Where is the America I once knew headed?

The sociopolitical transformation I witnessed in San Francisco is not just a West Coast phenomenon, but perhaps a nationwide trend.
U.S. President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean leader Yoon Suk-yeol shake hands during a trilateral summit at Camp David, Maryland, on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 20, 2023

Japan, South Korea and U.S. hail ties, but staying power questioned

While the three nations agreed to bolster ties in an array of areas, inevitable political change could prove to be a stumbling block for trilateral ties.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversees a "strategic cruise missile" test aboard a navy warship in this undated photo released Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 21, 2023

Kim leads missile test as South Korea-U.S. military drills begin

North Korea's test of “strategic cruise missiles” came as the U.S. and South Korea kicked off some of the largest joint military exercises in years.
A Taiwanese air force pilot inspects ordnance on an Indigenous Defense Fighter at an undisclosed military base in Taiwan on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 21, 2023

Taiwan proposes record defense budget, though spending growth slows

It would be the island's seventh consecutive year of growth in military spending, though the rate of growth will be slower than this year's 14% rise.
Members of Johnny’s Sexual Assault Victims Association who allege they were abused by famed-talent agent Johnny Kitagawa speak to reporters in late July in Tokyo following a hearing by United Nations human rights experts.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 23, 2023

Kishida faces leadership test over Johnny's sexual abuse scandal

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who prides himself on his “ability to listen,” faces a test of his leadership amid the Johnny's sexual abuse scandal.
A man walks past a TV broadcasting a report about North Korea's failed rocket launch, at the main railway station in Seoul on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 24, 2023

North Korea fails in latest attempt to put spy satellite into orbit

Pyongyang said it would try again in October, after the failed launch prompted Japan to issue an emergency warning for Okinawan residents to take shelter.

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