Search - 2022

 
 
The National Ignition Facility’s preamplifier module increases laser energy at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory federal research facility in Livermore, California.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 21, 2024

Nuclear fusion backers meet in U.S. as competition with China looms

Scientists, governments and companies are racing to harness fusion to provide carbon-free electricity.
A woman checks a lottery ticket at a lottery ticket store in Shanghai
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Mar 21, 2024

Chinese youth ease economical angst by playing the lottery

"It’s so difficult to make money now, no matter what you do”
Giant cut-outs of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other party leaders are positioned beside a road in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on Feb. 25.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 21, 2024

Hardships and broken promises no hindrance for Modi in India's rural north

If India's prime minister earns a third term in office, it will be in spite of the state of the rural and farming economy — not because of it.
After Donald Trump secured the Republican nomination last week, the buzzword underwent an evolution as he outpaces incumbent President Joe Biden in a number of major polls.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 21, 2024

'What if Trump?' Moshitora reenters Japanese lexicon

The compact Japanese buzzword has resurfaced in local media reports as the ex-president rises through a number of polls.
Ichibata Department Store, located in Matsue, capital of Shimane Prefecture, was the last remaining department store in the prefecture but ended its 65-year history on Jan. 14.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 21, 2024

More prefectures losing department stores even amid pandemic recovery

In 17 prefectures there is currently only one department store and there are none in three, set to rise to four in July.
Afghan schoolgirls in 2022. Boys and men will return to classes when the Afghan new year starts in late March, but girls and women will be left behind again by a Taliban government education blockade that is part of a raft of restrictions the United Nations has labelled "gender apartheid."
WORLD / Society
Mar 21, 2024

Afghan girls and women cling to glitchy, lonesome online learning

Schools in Afghanistan have opened for the new academic year, but girls have been banned from joining classes for the third year in a row.
The Bank of Japan's recent decision to abandon negative interest rates is seen more as a symbolic shift.
COMMENTARY
Mar 21, 2024

BOJ finally ditches negative rates, but this is no liftoff

It's the end of an era for the Bank of Japan as negative interest rates are phased out.
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani talks with interpreter Ippei Mizuhara during a spring training game in Phoenix on March 12.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 21, 2024

For Shohei Ohtani, Ippei Mizuhara was far more than just an interpreter

The 39-year-old has been a ubiquitous presence in Ohtani’s life since his move to the major leagues ahead of the 2018 season.
General Cargo Pegasus 01 vessel offloads cargo at the Port of Bosaso, in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, Somalia, on Jan. 28.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 22, 2024

Somali pirates' return adds to crisis for global shipping companies

The raids reemerge as shipping companies contend with attacks by Yemen's Houthi militia in the Red Sea and other nearby waters.
The Monrovia NSU Challenger bulk carrier transits the expanded canal through the Cocoli Locks of the Panama Canal in April 2023.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Mar 22, 2024

'We all need water': Panama's canal, and people, thirst for more

A severe drought last year caused water levels in Gatun Lake, which provides drinking water and is the main reservoir for the canal, to fall.
Ukrainian rescuers gather outside of a residential building after a missile attack in Kyiv on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 22, 2024

In Putin's growing shadow, EU faces lack of consensus on arming Ukraine

Over two years into Moscow's war against its neighbor, Kyiv's troops are struggling to hold ground as Western deliveries of ammunition have faltered.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. More than a quarter of 47 economists surveyed by Bloomberg said the bank will raise the policy rate again in October while 23% said the hike will come in July.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 22, 2024

BOJ watchers see next rate hike by October and risk of faster moves

More than a quarter of 47 economists surveyed said the bank will raise the policy rate again in October, while 23% said the hike will come in July.
The Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioicho hotel and office complex in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 22, 2024

Seibu may sell 36-story Tokyo office building for ¥300 billion, sources say

Japan's highest value property transaction is currently the ¥436 billion sale by the government in 2022 of its stake in another Tokyo office building.
Russian emergency services vehicles are parked near the burning Crocus City Hall concert venue following a mass shooting claimed by the Islamic State group outside Moscow on Friday.
WORLD
Mar 23, 2024

Gunmen kill at least 143 in attack at concert near Moscow, as IS claims responsibility

Russia has arrested 11 people, including four suspected gunmen, in connection with the rampage.
Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, appears in this still image taken from video released Friday in which she announced that she is undergoing preventative chemotherapy after cancer was found to have been present, following her abdominal surgery in January.
WORLD
Mar 23, 2024

Catherine’s cancer diagnosis puts U.K. royals on even more uncertain terrain

First King Charles and now Catherine, Princess of Wales, are facing grave health concerns, stretching an already slimmed-down monarchy.
The record high, which reflects rising prices, was the worst since the subject was added to the poll in 2008, according to a Cabinet Office official.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 23, 2024

Record 63% in Japan feel financially uncomfortable, government survey finds

The result, which reflects rising prices, was the worst since the subject was added to the poll in 2008, according to a Cabinet Office official.
A Filipino care worker talks to an elderly resident at a hospital in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 23, 2024

Japan to allow foreign nationals to engage in home care services

Currently, foreign technical intern trainees and foreign workers with so-called specified skills are banned from engaging in the services.
Britain's Prince William and Princess Catherine attend a ceremony in November.
WORLD
Mar 24, 2024

U.K. royal Catherine 'touched' by support after cancer announcement

Kate said she was undergoing preventive chemotherapy after tests done following her major abdominal surgery in January revealed cancer had been present.
Containers transporting coal at a dock in Cam Pha, Vietnam. Enthusiasm for Vietnam’s renewables boom is dampened by factors such as its underdeveloped electricity grid and patchy regulatory framework, while the country’s major source of electricity remains coal.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET
Mar 25, 2024

With Japan’s help, is Vietnam headed for a flawed energy transition?

The climate-vulnerable nation is looking to renewables, but also questionable solutions promoted by Tokyo, for its energy needs.
Then-U.S. President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton tour the American Cemetery in Manila in November 1994, two years before the alleged assassination attempt.
WORLD
Mar 24, 2024

The al-Qaida plot to kill Bill Clinton that history nearly forgot

Four former U.S. officials, including the ambassador in Manila at the time, Thomas Hubbard, confirmed the foiled attack against Bill Clinton.
Despite vast coal reserves, China has always been geopolitically vulnerable on the energy front.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 24, 2024

China navigates myriad of energy-driven challenges

Rising fuel prices are a thorn in the China's side amid deflation concerns.
Some prominent private equity-related dealmakings in Japan in 2023 include the ¥2.1 trillion ($14 billion) takeover of Toshiba.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 25, 2024

Japan private equity deals jump in otherwise gloomy year for Asia

Japan’s momentum is expected to continue into 2024 as companies face pressure to improve shareholder value.
Liberal Democratic Party heavyweight Toshihiro Nikai announces that he will not run in the next Lower House election during a news conference at LDP headquarters in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 25, 2024

LDP heavyweight Nikai says he won't run for reelection

Toshihiro Nikai, 85, said he had conveyed his decision to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, as the LDP grapples with an ongoing political funds scandal.
As early as this month, Kirin Holdings will start selling Kirin Hyoketsu Lemon in barrels to some restaurants through an Australian subsidiary. Each barrel will contain 49.5 liters of the beverage.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 25, 2024

Kirin sending chūhai barrels Down Under

Australian restaurants and bar will be the first to receive barrels of Kirin Hyoketsu Lemon outside Japan following strong sales of the canned variety.
People gather near lit candles outside the Crocus City Hall concert venue on Sunday, declared a day of mourning declared following a deadly shooting, in the Moscow Region, Russia.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 25, 2024

Concert hall attack revives terrorism fears for Russians in Moscow

A series of terror attacks that began in the late 1990s spread a climate of fear across the country as Putin was rising to power.
Japan's Evelyn Mawuli (left) goes on the attack as Canada's Laeticia Amihere plays defense in the first quarter of an Olympic women's basketball qualifier on Feb. 11 in Sopron, Hungary.
BASKETBALL
Mar 25, 2024

Basketball star thrives on court again after putting herself first

Evelyn Mawuli is helping to normalize career breaks for reasons other than physical health.
The Central business district of Hong Kong. Hong Kong IPOs have dried up as stock prices slump and economic prospects wane.
BUSINESS
Mar 25, 2024

Once high-flying bankers in Hong Kong become a lost generation

The damage is underscored by the barrage of layoffs, the retreat of global capital, and the city’s diminishing role as an international financial center.
South Korea's economy is one of the world's most advanced by many metrics but has been unable to shake its classification as an emerging market due to a host of issues, including the way its currency is managed.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 25, 2024

South Korea's push to make its markets global dogged by FX history

The export powerhouse is struggling to loosen the tight currency restrictions that have been a major pain point for investors and traders in the country.
A U.S. Marine prepares to demonstrate the use of night vision goggles to Ground Self-Defense Force troops at the GSDF's Camp Somagahara in Gunma Prefecture in March 2017.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 25, 2024

U.S. eyes revamped military command in Japan, reports say

The allies are expected to announce the landmark agreement when Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visits the White House next month.
Foreign trainees and local residents spend the night around an open fire in a mountain in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, after a strong quake hit the area on Jan. 1.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2024

Foreign trainees traumatized by Jan. 1 Noto Peninsula quake

The local fishing industry heavily depends on foreign trainees amid a shortage of fishers.

Longform

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