Search - 2022

 
 
Naomi Osaka attends a news conference in Melbourne on Friday ahead of the start of the Australian Open.
TENNIS
Jan 12, 2024

It's a changed landscape at the top as Osaka returns to the Australian Open

2023 was all about the continued rise of players like Gauff and Sabalenka and the dominance of Swiatek, and it remains to be seen where Osaka fits in that picture.
Clara Kumagai’s young adult debut, “Catfish Rolling,” follows a teenager who lost her mother during a major earthquake caused by the movements of a powerful catfish, which fractured Japan into different “time zones.”
CULTURE / Books
Jan 13, 2024

Genre-defying novel 'Catfish Rolling' navigates grief in a fractured land

Mixing folklore, science and philosophy with magical realism, Clara Kumagai’s impressive young adult debut explores the emotional aftermath of a powerful earthquake.
A H2-A rocket carrying an information gathering satellite takes off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2024

Spy satellite race in Asia heats up with Japan rocket launch

The probe will monitor North Korean missile sites, according to Mitsubishi Heavy, and the launch comes amid a busy period for spy satellite launches in Asia.
Eleven of 21 sectors surveyed saw increases in winter bonus payments at major Japanese firms.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 13, 2024

Winter bonuses at major Japan firms see modest rise

The average increased for the second year in a row, though at a slower pace than the 7.77% growth marked in winter 2022.
People cool off on a beach in Rio de Janeiro in November amid a heat wave.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jan 13, 2024

El Nino could make 2024 hotter than record-setting 2023

The U.S. NOAA predicted there is a 1 in 3 chance that 2024 will be warmer than 2023 — and a 99% certainty that 2024 will rank among the five warmest years ever.
Qatar players celebrate after defeating Lebanon in the opening match of the Asian Cup on Friday in Lusail, Qatar.
SOCCER
Jan 13, 2024

Qatar puts World Cup heartache behind it to win Asian Cup opener

The hosts beat Lebanon 3-0 at the 88,000-capacity Lusail Stadium, where a Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina beat France on penalties in the World Cup final 13 months ago.
U.S. President Joe Biden in Charleston, South Carolina, on Jan. 8
WORLD / Politics
Jan 14, 2024

Biden refines economic pitch for 2024 in bet worst is behind him

Biden’s messaging blitz hinges on whether consumers buy it.
An intermediate-range ballistic missile, said to be solid-fueled, is launched during a test at an unspecified location in North Korea in this picture released Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 15, 2024

Test of latest North Korean weapon adds to threat facing Japan

Pyongyang said the missile was “loaded with a hypersonic maneuverable controlled warhead" that experts say is capable of evading defenses.
First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko (left), Head of the Ukrainian President's Office Andriy Yermak (center) and Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov attend a news conference during the World Economic Forum in Davos on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 15, 2024

Ukraine says China is needed for peace process

Chinese Premier Li Qiang will lead a delegation in Davos this week, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is due to arrive in Bern, Switzerland on Monday.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump greets attendees at a campaign rally in Indianola, Iowa, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 15, 2024

The Trump voters in swing states who are returning to the fold

To try to understand his enduring appeal, reporters spoke to five Trump supporters in five general election battleground states.
Soichiro Watanabe, Panasonic's chief technology officer for EV batteries, says production of a revamped version of the firm's 2170 cells will begin at its manufacturing plant in Nevada as early as this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 15, 2024

Panasonic to make upgraded electric car battery as early as 2024

Production of a revamped version of the company's 2170 cells will begin at its manufacturing plant in Nevada sometime during 2024 or 2025.
Resonac CEO Hidehito Takahashi says the company may buy a stake in chip materials maker JSR.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 15, 2024

CEO who drove $7 billion deal is eyeing Japan chip linchpin JSR

Resonac's Hidehito Takahashi believes Japan's chip materials sector needs to consolidate to stay competitive against overseas rivals.
Keiji Furuya (left), head of a Japanese group of lawmakers promoting Japan-Taiwan relations, meets with Taiwanese President-elect Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party in Taipei on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 15, 2024

Japan finds ally in new Taiwan president-elect amid fears of war

Lai Ching-te signaled he will deepen cooperation with Japan by meeting with Tokyo’s de facto ambassador and a Japanese lawmaker just a day after the election.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (right) met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on her visit to Kyiv on Jan. 7.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 15, 2024

Kamikawa’s surprise visit to Ukraine sent an important signal

As international support for Ukraine's war effort wavers, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa's visit to Kyiv last week showed that Japan remains a key Kyiv ally.
Farmers dry coffee beans at the Thiririka farming cooperative in Kiambu County, Kenya, in November 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 15, 2024

Is it time for a coffee cartel?

If farmers in the developing world are prevented from getting their fair share from coffee production they should take matters into their own hands.
Japan's Naomi Osaka reacts during her first round match against France's Caroline Garcia at the Australian Open at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, on Monday.
TENNIS
Jan 15, 2024

No regrets as Osaka loses at Australian Open on Grand Slam comeback

A single break proved enough for Caroline Garcia to win the opening set against her rusty opponent and she dominated the second set tie-break.
U.S. climate envoy John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, speak during a news conference in Dubai on Dec.13.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jan 16, 2024

U.S. and China start new climate era after veteran envoys step down

The challenge now is building a system that can continue even without the connection shared by the departing envoys.
People walk outside a polling station in Uxbridge, Britain, on July 20.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 16, 2024

Millions more overseas Brits now eligible to vote in U.K. elections

The expansion in the electorate follows a change in the law scrapping a previous curb on U.K. citizens voting if they had lived overseas for over 15 years.
A man rides a scooter over a bridge across from the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai on Jan. 9.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 16, 2024

China set to reach 2023 growth goal as focus shifts to new year

The figures for GDP, industrial production and retail sales are likely to show improvements from the same period in 2022, helped by a low base of comparison.
Japan's input inflation was flat in December, the weakest showing in almost three years.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 16, 2024

Japan’s input inflation flatlines for weakest result since 2021

Input prices were unchanged last month from a year earlier, the weakest showing in almost three years as the yen’s recent gains helped cap import costs.
A vehicle carrying Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang arrives during an official visit in Kehrsatz, near Bern, in Switzerland, on Monday. Li is visiting Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 16, 2024

China set to woo global elites with large delegation at Davos forum

Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang will make a special address on Tuesday, and will be the most senior Chinese official to attend Davos since President Xi Jinping in 2017.
Guards raise Taiwan's national flag on the Democracy Boulevard at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 16, 2024

China plays waiting game in run-up to Taiwan inauguration

China's muted response to the weekend victory by Taiwan President-elect Lai Ching-te may be the start of an uneasy four months before he takes office.
Volkswagen is casting its net wider in pursuit of a potentially game-changing technology: a "solid-state" electric car battery
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 16, 2024

Volkswagen and rivals plug away at solid-state battery puzzle

An array of technical hurdles are holding back wider development of solid-state technology, seen by its backers as the "holy grail" of EV batteries.
Saudi Arabia's Ali Al-Bulayhi (5) looks to head the ball as he's guarded by Oman's Jameel Al Yahmadi on Tuesday at Khalifa International Stadium in Qatar during round robin play at the Asian Cup.
SOCCER
Jan 17, 2024

VAR confusion as Saudi Arabia roars back to beat Oman at Asian Cup

Saudi Arabia's opening match at the Asian Cup started badly when it conceded a penalty — and finished in farcical scenes in front of a bemused crowd of 41,987.
Naomi Osaka waves to the Australian Open crowd after losing her first round match on Monday in Melbourne.
TENNIS
Jan 17, 2024

Osaka vows not to mope after 'bittersweet' Australian Open exit

"I remember last year I wished I had an opportunity to play again on Rod Laver Arena and this year that happened, so one of my dreams already came true," she said.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 17, 2024

Musk's warning about Tesla stake raises governance questions

CEOs and directors are prohibited from taking any business opportunity for themselves that belongs to the firm.
Daihatsu President Soichiro Okudaira speaks to reporters at the transport ministry on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 17, 2024

Daihatsu may lose production rights for three models in safety scandal

An inspection by the transport ministry found that air bags had been set to inflate automatically in tests rather than when a crash was detected.
People cross a street in the Mong Kok district in Hong Kong in 2011.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Jan 17, 2024

Hong Kong loses global lead for life expectancy, trailing Japan

Women in Hong Kong were expected to live for 86.8 years on average in 2022, compared with 87.1 for their Japanese counterparts, according to the latest statistics.
While global sumo took its first steps toward becoming an organized sport under Hidetoshi Tanaka, it would be an exaggeration to say that everything was plain sailing internationally while the former president was in power.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 17, 2024

Scandal-hit giant of sumo Hidetoshi Tanaka leaves a complicated legacy

For Tanaka, a terse International Sumo Federation statement marked an ignominious end to the life of one of sumo’s most influential figures.
Tokyo's Ginza shopping district on Wednesday. Spending by visitors totaled a record ¥5.3 trillion in 2023, up by roughly 10% compared with the tally in 2019.
BUSINESS
Jan 17, 2024

Japan’s economy gets boost from 25 million visitors in 2023

A weak yen has helped boost tourists’ spending power, making Japan a much more affordable and attractive destination.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?