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Sakie Yokota, the mother of Megumi Yokota, who was abducted by North Korean agents decades ago, meets with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Tokyo Thursday.
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2024

Ishiba meets families of North Korean abductees for first time as PM

The prime minister expressed a willingness to hold talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to resolve the abductions.
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in Washington on July 25.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 18, 2024

After Sinwar death, Biden faces big obstacles to Gaza peace

U.S. President Joe Biden's hope for a cease-fire in Gaza is far from certain as he faces a cascade of interlocking Middle East crises.
U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at the Resch Expo Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 18, 2024

Harris campaign shifts strategy as anxiety rises over Trump's gains

The Democratic nominee is in a statistical dead heat in crucial states with Donald Trump.
Rescuers near the rubble of a building that was leveled by an Israeli airstrike in Abbassiyeh, Lebanon, on Friday.
WORLD
Oct 19, 2024

Foreign workers trapped and terrified amid conflict in Lebanon

The International Organization for Migration says Lebanon hosts more than 177,000 migrant workers, primarily from Africa and Asia.
Israeli Home Front Command soldiers walk down a street in Caesarea, Israel, on Saturday following a drone attack from Lebanon.
WORLD
Oct 21, 2024

Israel hones plans to attack Iran after attempt on Netanyahu

While neither the prime minister nor his wife were home, his ministers and he said it was another reason retaliation against Iran is warranted.
A poster for the Voting Rewards program outlines the steps voters need to take to claim the perks on offer.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 22, 2024

Young Japanese encouraged to vote with deals and discounts

A return of the Voting Rewards program will allow voters to claim various perks — at restaurants, cafes and even matchmaking agencies — by submitting proof of voting,
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 22, 2024

Ishiba vows steps against crime-linked social media posts

The Prime Minister said that the government will consider supporting patrol activities by volunteers under a supplementary budget.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party looks set for a bruising election night. The question for its leader, Shigeru Ishiba, is how bad the damage will be.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 23, 2024

Ishiba and the LDP race to stem the electoral bleeding

Weeks into Shigeru Ishiba's premiership and mere days out from a general election, red alert signals are sounding in Tokyo’s corridors of power.
Supporters of one of the candidates running for the Oct. 27 Lower House election applaud at a gathering in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, on Oct. 12.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 23, 2024

LDP-CDP battle heats up in Fukushima after rezoning

The campaign is intensifying as LDP and CDP candidates vie for votes in Koriyama, the largest city in the new constituency.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 24, 2024

Germany is courting India as ties with China sour: What to watch

The trip to India comes at a crucial time for Germany as it struggles to revive its economy, which has been buffeted by the war in Ukraine and competition from China.
“Vote harassment” continues to be a significant barrier to women’s participation in politics, with only two prefectures having passed local ordinances aiming to eliminate the problem.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 24, 2024

1 in 4 female candidates face sexual harassment during campaigns

Despite a record 314 women running in Sunday's Lower House election, harassment continues to be a barrier to women's participation in politics.
A Palestinian boy sits on the rubble of the destroyed Maghazi Camp Services Club building following an Israeli strike on the Maghazi refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 25, 2024

U.S. presses for Gaza truce as negotiators prepare to meet

The U.S. is exploring different options to restart stalled talks between the warring parties.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a news conference at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 25, 2024

Putin appears to hint that North Korean troops are in Russia

Putin's comments came as Ukraine’s intelligence agency said that North Korean soldiers had already arrived in Russia's Kursk region.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who serves concurrently as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, makes a speech at a campaign event for the Lower House election, in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 26, 2024

In tight Japan election, candidates make last-ditch appeals

Opinion polls have suggested the ruling bloc might fall short of a majority, delivering a potentially devastating blow to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who is also LDP president, dissolved the Lower House only eight days after assuming office on Oct. 1
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 27, 2024

Why Ishiba’s strategy of a surprise battle backfired

His dissolution of the Lower House only eight days after assuming office and backtracking on previously touted policies left voters with little to base votes on.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attends a welcoming ceremony upon his arrival to participate in the BRICS summit, at Kazan Airport, Russia, on Oct. 22. Sisi has proposed a truce in the Gaza Strip aimed at securing a complete cease-fire in the territory.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 28, 2024

Egypt proposes two-day Gaza truce in hope of full cease-fire

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi did not say whether the plan involving a limited hostage exchange had been formally presented to either Israel or Hamas.
Koichi Hagiuda thanks his supporters early Monday in Tokyo after his victory in Sunday's general election became certain.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 28, 2024

60% of 'slush fund' candidates lose in Japan Lower House poll

The severe outcome reflected renewed criticism against the LDP that arose in the final stage of the election campaign.
Parents walk their children to school in Guanghzou, China, on Sept. 4, 2019
BUSINESS
Oct 29, 2024

China's private tutoring firms emerge from the shadows after crackdown

There is now tacit consent from policymakers in China to allow the tutoring industry to grow.
The My Number card will function as a driver's license after information such as the type of license is recorded on the integrated circuit chip embedded in the card.
JAPAN
Oct 29, 2024

Government adopts order allowing use of My Number card as driver's license

From March 24, drivers will be able to choose between using only the My Number card, incorporating a driver's license, using only the conventional license, or using both.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba bows to Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers during a news conference at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Monday, a day after the party recorded disappointing results in the Lower House election.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 29, 2024

A disastrous poll puts Japan politics on shaky path

The Japanese public was crying out for change, but Ishiba entirely failed to offer it, instead using warmed-over catchphrases from Kishida.
Qatar forward Akram Afif speaks during a news conference after being named the Asian Football Confederation's Player of the Year in Seoul on Tuesday.
SOCCER
Oct 30, 2024

Akram Afif driven to make history after securing second Asian crown

Afif joined Japan's Hidetoshi Nakata and Server Djeparov of Uzbekistan as the only players to win the Asian Football Confederation's top accolade twice.
The Liberal Democratic Party's panel meets at the party headquarters in Tokyo in April to discuss measures to ensure stable imperial successions.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 30, 2024

U.N. panel urges Japan to revise imperial succession rules

The panel also urged Japan to implement a law revision toward introducing a selective dual surname system for married couples.
Ringhals nuclear power plant near Varberg, Sweden
BUSINESS
Oct 30, 2024

Sweden’s nuclear revival in question as green hangover spreads

A policy U-turn that would entail a massive build-out of reactors, the first to come online in more than 40 years, now appears more unlikely.
A man at a rail station in Seoul watches a news broadcast on Thursday with file footage of a North Korean missile test.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 31, 2024

North Korea fires off ICBM with longest flight time yet

The missile, which flew for 86 minutes, fell outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, landing in waters some 300 kilometers west of Hokkaido's Okushiri Island.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G7 summit in Biarritz, France, on Aug. 25, 2019
WORLD / Politics
Oct 31, 2024

Canada-India tensions could escalate cyber threats and hinder immigration

Canada's deepening dispute with India over its alleged campaign of violence against Sikhs in Canada has so far had no immediate impact on trade.
Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto (front) stands next to Indonesia's new Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin during a handover ceremony at the Ministry of Defense in Jakarta on Oct. 22.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 31, 2024

Indonesia’s new president faces $186 billion debt dilemma

Indonesia might have as little as $70 billion in government coffers after debt servicing and the required fund transfers to regional governments.
The Usasuka Ryuchu throne carving on the second floor of Shuri Castle’s main hall features a unique twisted dragon design — a detail missing from prior reconstructions.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2024

Okinawa's Shuri Castle marks five years since devastating fire

With completion set for 2026, national and Okinawan authorities are working together to restore intricate details.
Japan's Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Tetsuo Saito arrives at Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Oct. 1.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 2, 2024

Land minister Tetsuo Saito set to lead Komeito

Saito will be picked to head the party by its leadership on Thursday, before being formally elected on Nov. 9.
Leaders of Japan’s political parties pose for a group photo at the start of a debate at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Oct. 12. Sunday’s Lower House election saw the ruling coalition led by the Liberal Democratic Party take a drubbing.
EDITORIALS
Nov 1, 2024

The balance of power shifts in Japan’s politics

Despite the LDP's losses at polls, the recent election didn't exactly indicate popular support for an opposition-led government either.
Nobuaki Koga, former president of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, speaks about receiving this year's Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun.
JAPAN
Nov 3, 2024

Japan recognizes 3,987 people in autumn honors

Among the recipients are Nobuaki Koga, the former president of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, and former Environment Minister Sakihito Ozawa.

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