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French police evict migrants from a squat in a disused industrial building not far from the Paris 2024 Olympic Village in Ile-Saint-Denis, near Paris, in April.
WORLD / Society
Dec 25, 2023

Asylum-seekers and Roma evicted from Paris squats ahead of Olympics

Advocates and some officials say the evictions appear to be a policy aimed at beautifying the area for the sporting event.
The New York Times headquarters in New York. The New York Times has sued Microsoft and OpenAI for using its content to help develop artificial intelligence services, in a sign of the increasingly fraught relationship between the media and a technology that could upend the news industry.
BUSINESS
Dec 28, 2023

NYT sues Microsoft and OpenAI for copyright infringement

While OpenAI has been sued by prominent authors, the suit is the first challenge to its practices by a major media organization.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida makes a toast with Indonesian President Joko Widodo at a Japan-ASEAN luncheon meeting at the Japan Business Federation in Tokyo on Dec. 18. Kishida’s chance of reelection in the LDP presidential race in September will largely depend on his administration’s response to the current funding scandal and its entanglement in it.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 31, 2023

Scandal, economic policy and LDP race to weigh on Kishida in 2024

How he balances all three will determine whether he keeps his job as LDP party president and, by extension, prime minister.
A Ukrainian tank crew member looks out from a tank as he holds his position near the town of Bakhmut, in the country's Donetsk region, on Dec. 13.
WORLD / FOCUS
Jan 6, 2024

As losses mount, Ukrainians fiercely debate future of draft

The debate comes following heavy casualties and almost two years of grinding trench warfare and as the army struggles to fill its ranks.
South Korean residents walk past a shelter sign at a village on Yeonpyeong Island on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 7, 2024

South Korean border island warns residents on third day of North Korean drills

The drills come after the powerful sister of North Korea's leader denied Seoul's claims that Pyongyang had fired dozens of artillery rounds near their border a day earlier.
U.S. golfer Tiger Woods reacts on the 9th green on day 2 of the British Open Golf Championship in 2022.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 9, 2024

Tiger Woods and Nike end partnership after 27 years

Despite rumors, Nike maintains that it’s still committed to golf.
Roberta Wilson-Garrett, who has Parkinson's disease, poses with her GyroGlove, made by GyroGear, which uses a gyroscope to help stabilize tremors before this week's Consumer Electronics Show on Jan. 8 in Las Vegas.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 12, 2024

High tech glove stymies Parkinson's disease tremors

GyroGear has built the world's most advanced hand stabilizer, with strategic partners that include Taiwanese technology group Foxconn, according to founder Dr. Faii Ong.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen greets former U.S. national security adviser Stephen Hadley (center) and former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg during a visit to the Presidential Office in Taipei on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 15, 2024

In Taipei visit, ex-U.S. official says commitment to Taiwan 'rock solid'

An unofficial U.S. delegation said Washington looks forward to continuity in the Taiwan-U.S. relationship under the new Taiwanese administration.
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.
Russian President Boris Yeltsin announced his resignation after eight years in office on New Year’s Eve, 1999. His chosen successor was then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who succeeded him.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 17, 2024

Putin’s search for a usable past

Money was the one thing that would animate his reign. It was clear from the start that the businessman took precedence over the politician in Putin’s personality.
Cars drive past a damaged road, in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture.
PODCAST / deep dive
Jan 18, 2024

Japan rings in 2024 with an unwelcome disaster

Join us for the first episode of 2024 as we recap the massive New Year’s Day earthquake and its impact on the people of Ishikawa Prefecture.
Doubts about China’s official investment statistics — which measure spending on things like housing, factories and infrastructure — have been fueled by frequent revisions in recent years, and the latest data implies an unusually large adjustment.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 19, 2024

Did China’s economy really grow 5.2% in 2023? Not all agree

Doubts over Chinese data, particularly on investment, have resulted in alternative calculations that put its GDP growth last year at as low as 1.5%.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s sudden announcement on Thursday regarding the dissolution of his Liberal Democratic Party faction came after the group became caught up in a slush funds scandal that continues to shake his administration and the party.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 19, 2024

LDP turmoil continues as three major factions announce dissolution

Lawmakers from the 98-member political faction that was previously led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made the decision during a meeting Friday night.
A man walks out of a game store displaying a promotional poster for Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, the latest in the Yakuza series of video games. Behind the worldwide success of Japanese video games lies a delicate task: appealing to overseas players whose expectations on issues like sexism are increasingly influencing the content of major titles.
LIFE / Digital
Jan 25, 2024

From Japan to the world: how to translate a game

Everything from slang to costumes needs to be considered in an era where international success is crucial to making a blockbuster.
Valentine's Day in Japan is one way when it comes to chocolate, but the sweets are reciprocated on White Day in March.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 2, 2024

Prepare for date night by practicing reservations in Japanese

Whether its chocolates or a full-course meal, food is the language for Valentine's Day.
Judges at the Kyoto District Court hear a case involving Yoshikazu Okubo, a doctor accused of the consensual killing of a woman with a fatal neurological disease, on Jan. 11. The court is scheduled to deliver its ruling on March 5.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 1, 2024

Prosecutors seek 23 years for Japanese doctor in consensual killing case

They claim the accused had an "interest" in killing the elderly and people with disabilities under the false pretense of medical care.
A news broadcast showing at a railway station in Seoul on Tuesday shows footage of a previous North Korean missile launch.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 2, 2024

North Korea fires missiles as Kim seeks ‘war preparation’ boost

Kim is likely using the tests to show he many ways to launch a strike, adding to the planning contingencies for the U.S. and its allies in the region.
The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) is seen on the surface of the moon in an image released Jan. 25.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 2, 2024

Japan’s historic moon landing was right on target

Japan made history last month when it became the fifth nation to soft land on the moon.
Equinox, ridden by Christophe Lemaire, wins the autumn Tenno Sho horse race on Oct. 29 at Tokyo Racecourse.
JAPAN / History
Feb 15, 2024

Imperial family boasts enduring bond with horse racing

Emperor Meiji saw the need to improve the quality of domestic horses to boost Japan's standing with Europe and the U.S.
Seoul may be a cosmetic surgery mecca, but Tokyo has its fair share of high-quality clinics as well.
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Feb 12, 2024

A wrinkles-and-all guide to cosmetic surgery in Japan

Japan is uniquely positioned between two opposing hot spots of the beauty industry: Seoul and Tokyo.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is seeking a broad ruling that would end the push around the country to kick him off state ballots.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 9, 2024

Supreme Court casts doubt on efforts to bar Trump from ballot

The high court is handling the case on an expedited basis, meaning a ruling could come in weeks.
U.S. Senators raced on Thursday to revive a sweeping emergency national security aid bill for Ukraine and Israel that has stalled yet again on Capitol Hill amid Republican resistance.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 9, 2024

U.S. Senate votes to start work on Ukraine aid in shock turnaround

The procedural vote to at least consider the bill marked a stunning about-face by Senate Republicans.
Pop superstar Taylor Swift delighted fans at her sold-out Tokyo Dome show on Wednesday by confidently telling the audience, “Eras Tour e yokōso!” (“Welcome to The Eras Tour!”)
CULTURE / Music
Feb 9, 2024

Taylor Swift slays her Tokyo era

Pop's reigning queen gets sold-out crowd singing along to her hits for the Japan leg of the global Eras Tour.
Masashi Okada, project manager in charge of H3’s development at JAXA, speaks during a news conference on Tuesday in Minamitane, Kagoshima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 16, 2024

Japan’s space agency set to retry H3 rocket launch

With H3, JAXA aims to maintain Japan’s prowess in rocket development technologies and give a jolt to related industries.
The second test model of Japan's H3 rocket lifts off from the launchpad at Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on Saturday morning.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 17, 2024

Japan’s space agency successfully launches latest H3 rocket

With the H3, JAXA aims to maintain Japan’s prowess in rocket development technologies and give a jolt to related industries.
French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a news conference at the presidential Elysee Palace in Paris on Friday after signing a bilateral security agreement.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 17, 2024

Bilateral accords offer Ukraine a way to shore up security

New agreements with Germany and France deal with both current military support for Ukraine and its future defense against Russia.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal is flanked by security personnel as he arrives at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan for a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 20, 2024

Ukrainian PM cautions of war’s spillover as he looks to tamp down fatigue fears

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal warned in Tokyo that a Russian victory would prompt more conflicts across the globe.
Laws governing global e-commerce and the growing tidal wave of data that crosses borders may soon change.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 22, 2024

Streaming a movie abroad may soon come with taxes at the border

It's still unclear exactly how governments would implement digital tariffs.
An adult Natsuki (Manami Goto, center) and her husband (Hiromichi Aramaki, right) enter into a twisted relationship with her cousin (Mittsun, left) in “Earthlings.”
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 24, 2024

Sayaka Murata's 'Earthlings' is a fittingly wild ride on stage

The book’s gore and guts make for a fun, zany stage adaptation.
Jamie George learned of his mother's cancer diagnosis on the same day he found out he would be the England captain.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 23, 2024

Jamie George to captain England with heavy heart after mother's death

George learned his rugby-fanatic mother, Jane, had contracted lung cancer the same day he was appointed England captain.

Longform

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