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Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 7, 2023

Biden's new border plan undercuts campaign vow to restore asylum access

Initial backlash to Biden's policy shift also signals it could be challenged in court, from both those who favor restricting immigration and advocates for asylum-seekers.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 7, 2023

After bitter intraparty dispute, Kevin McCarthy named U.S. House speaker

The California Republican's victory after a week of repeated votes has highlighted divisions within the party and raised questions about their ability to govern.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Jan 7, 2023

China in talks with Pfizer for generic COVID drug

Beijing is in talks with the drugmaker to secure a license that will allow domestic firms to manufacture and distribute a generic version of its Paxlovid antiviral drug.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 7, 2023

International fusion energy project faces delays, chief says

A 2025 deadline 'wasn't realistic in the first place,' even before two major problems surfaced, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor head said.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 7, 2023

'What cease-fire?' Shells fly at Ukraine front despite Putin's truce.

Russian and Ukrainian forces exchanged artillery fire at the front line in Ukraine on Friday, even after Moscow said it had ordered its troops to stop shooting.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Jan 7, 2023

The U.S. keeps offering China its COVID vaccines. China keeps saying no.

China has rebuffed repeated offers to share advanced vaccines as it battles a COVID-19 wave, a rejection that's frustrated American officials concerned about a resurgence of the pandemic.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Jan 7, 2023

China’s deep-pocketed tourists are staying home, for now

The $280 billion force that is Chinese tourism may not reemerge for months, thanks to lingering infections, restrictions for new arrivals and surging costs.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 7, 2023

U.S. Navy cuts Taiwan transits even as China steps up military pressure

The U.S. reduced its number of naval transits through the Taiwan Strait in 2022 to the lowest level in four years.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2023

Local government in Okinawa plans marine research near Senkakus

The city government in Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, will send a research ship near the disputed islands late this month as China continues to send coast guard vessels near the islets.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 7, 2023

Billionaire Jack Ma gives up control of Ant Group

The company will give 10 individuals, including the founder, management and staff, voting rights independently, effectively removing Ma's voting control of Ant.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead
Jan 7, 2023

Is today’s China yesterday’s Soviet Union?

When Soviet-style totalitarianism ultimately collapsed under the weight of its economic failures, China decided to stay the course. But can China's totalitarian experiment last?
Shinjiro Atae, a J-pop idol who came out publicly as gay during a recent fan event, with his stylist and makeup artist in the afternoon prior to his announcement, in Tokyo on July 25.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 3, 2023

In Japan, LGBTQ celebrities fuel impetus for change

Celebrities coming out as LGBTQ can have a big impact in Japan and fuel change. But such announcements are rarely made easily.
An S-400 surface-to-air missile system outside the town of Gvardeysk, near Kaliningrad, Russia, in March 2019. The S-400 is one of the defense items India has procured from Russia.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Aug 15, 2023

A new tide of weapons imports, production and development

Some countries are beginning to diversify when looking for partners for their arms needs.
JAPAN
Aug 3, 2023

Three bodies identified 12 years after March 11 disaster

The identities were confirmed in June this year through mitochondrial DNA testing.
New revelations about dreams and creativity could move people toward more balance, giving sleep and even naps much needed respectability.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 20, 2023

Want to be more creative? Try dream-hacking

New scientific methods are helping researchers understand how dreams can boost brainpower.
You may hear words like "kanshin" used when talking about baseball player Shohei Ohtani, but are people talking about "interest" or "admiration"?
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 3, 2023

Step on a rhyme to better understand Japanese homophones

Spending time to learn the Japanese language's many homophones can result in a better understanding of definitions — and it's fun.
This year’s Fuji Rock Festival, which took place last weekend and featured The Strokes, Foo Fighters and Lizzo as headliners, brought a cumulative total of 114,000 attendees to the mountains of Niigata Prefecture.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 4, 2023

Fuji Rock’s diversity is back — and it feels great

Millennial rock, Gen Z rap and a Sinead O’Connor tribute fill a stellar weekend of music.
Kansai Electric Power's Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 3, 2023

Japan's nuclear restarts this year to hasten LNG import decline

Kansai Electric Power's plan next month to relaunch the last idle reactor at its flagship nuclear plant will mark an energy shift in Japan.
The Keppel Marina East Desalination Plant in Singapore on July 21. Public Utilities Board, which is responsible for Singapore's water management, has a long-term goal of reducing the energy use of water desalination to 1 killowatt-hours per 1,000 liters.
ENVIRONMENT
Aug 3, 2023

Singapore is building the technology it needs for new climate era

Building renewables like solar and wind requires a lot of land, one thing Singapore doesn’t have.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, arrives at Reagan National Airport in Washington en route to his arraignment in federal court on Thursday.
WORLD
Aug 4, 2023

Trump pleads not guilty to charges of obstructing election

After the hearing, the former U.S. president briefly addressed reporters at the Washington airport, calling it a "very sad day for America.”
A policeman stands next to a scene where several people have been stabbed and others hurt in Seongnam, South Korea, on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 4, 2023

14 hurt in South Korea stabbing incident near Seoul

The unexplained attack in Seongnam came days after another rare stabbing attack in South Korea which killed one person and wounded three others.
Two U.S. Navy sailors have been arrested on charges of providing sensitive U.S. military information to China. Both men are Chinese-born naturalized U.S. citizens.
WORLD
Aug 4, 2023

U.S. sailors charged with selling military secrets to China

Two sailors have been arrested on charges of providing sensitive U.S. military information to China. Both men are Chinese-born naturalized U.S. citizens.
Migrants sit onboard an inflatable boat before attempting to illegally cross the English Channel to reach Britain, off the coast of Sangatte, northern France, on July 18.
WORLD
Aug 4, 2023

Migrant boat rescue missions do not encourage crossings, study shows

The finding contradicts claims that ships that save migrants in the Mediterranean incentivize people to risk their lives trying to get to the EU.
A man makes his way through a flooded road after the rains and floods brought by remnants of Typhoon Doksuri, in Zhuozhou, Hebei province, China, on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 4, 2023

China’s ‘sponge cities’ are not built for extreme flood events

China has invested billions of dollars in recent years to protect against extreme rainfall after a 2012 flood in Beijing killed 79 people.
Members of the armed forces stand with flags of Thailand outside the Grand Palace during celebrations to mark King Maha Vajiralongkorn's 71st birthday in Bangkok on July 28.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 4, 2023

Thailand’s wait for a premier gets longer, rattling markets

A revised schedule for a prime minister vote may be set after a Constitutional Court decision on Aug. 16.
The U.S. Capitol in Washington. After its downgrade of the U.S., Fitch’s AAA club now consists of Germany and Australia, along with seven others, including smaller, rich countries such as Switzerland and Luxembourg.
BUSINESS
Aug 4, 2023

Pristine AAA bond universe just got a whole lot smaller

Fitch's U.S. downgrade is the latest example of a decadelong trend in rich economies as worries about high and rising debt burdens come to the fore.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.