Search - 2021

 
 
Models of military equipment and a giant screen displaying Chinese leader Xi Jinping are seen at an exhibition at the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution in Beijing last October.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 17, 2023

In risky hunt for secrets, U.S. and China expand global spy operations

The rival nations are taking bold steps in the espionage shadow war to try to collect intelligence on leadership thinking and military capabilities.
Shi Tieniu, 39, sits in a room of an unfinished residential building at Gaotie Wellness City complex in Tongchuan, Shaanxi province, China.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society / FOCUS
Sep 18, 2023

Broken dreams, shattered families in China's unfinished apartments

Since the property debt crisis began in 2021, thousands of homeowners have faced tough situations as smaller developers face liquidity issues.
Workers at a production line of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles at a factory in Huzhou, Zhejiang province, China
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 18, 2023

By 2030, EU may rely on China's batteries as it did Russian energy

The document will be the basis of discussions on Europe's economic security during a meeting of EU leaders in Granada in Spain on Oct. 5.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa during a news conference at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Friday
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 18, 2023

Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa's diplomatic chops to be tested at U.N.

The visit to New York marks the top diplomat's first overseas trip since she became foreign minister in last week's Cabinet reshuffle.
The aviation industry has promised to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, but harsher weather conditions are already forcing a rethink of critical infrastructure in airports and airfields across the world.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Sep 18, 2023

Extreme weather is forcing redesign of world’s busiest airports

From flooded substations and overheating electronic systems to cracking runways, most airports weren’t built to endure what climate change has in store.
Farmers harvest rice in a field in Chai Nat province, Thailand.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 18, 2023

Soaring rice prices sow hope and trouble for Thai farmers

Thailand's centuries-old rice cultivation system is under severe stress from climate change and unsustainable farm debts.
Astronomers focus on Jupiter because it’s big, making it easy to see and more likely to suffer the impact of cosmic debris.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 18, 2023

A fireball whacked into Jupiter, and astronomers got it on video

In August, stargazers in Japan recorded a bright flash on the giant gas planet. Scientists want to use data like this to study our solar system’s birth.
Mia Lee Sorensen with her Danish mother, Lilian Hansen, 72, and father, Bent Hansen, 74, on the coast of Korsor, Denmark, on July 13. South Korean adoptees have been returning to the country to hold the government accountable for what they call a corrupt and predatory adoption system.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 18, 2023

World’s largest ‘baby exporter’ confronts its painful past

South Korean adoptees have been returning to the country to hold the government accountable for what they call a corrupt adoption system.
The far-right Confederation Liberty and Independence party rally against measures imposed by the Polish government to stem the spread of COVID-19, in Warsaw in October 2020.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 18, 2023

The far right is advancing in a vulnerable Europe again

Disruptors in far-right political parties are taking advantage of resentment born out of COVID-19, a cost-of-living crisis and the war in Ukraine.
Banking on strong investor appetite for emerging market growth in the absence of Chinese stock offerings, some Southeast Asian companies are considering listing in the U.S.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 19, 2023

More Southeast Asian firms consider U.S. IPOs

Senior executives at some firms have said they were looking into New York as one of their initial public offering venues.
A construction site where workers fell, with at least two killed, in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on Tuesday
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2023

Two workers killed after accident at Tokyo construction site

The workers were caught up in the incident when steel beams fell from the seventh floor to the third floor of the site in Nihonbashi, Chuo Ward.
Couples prepare to have their photo taken during a wedding photography shoot on a in Shanghai on Sept. 6.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 19, 2023

Fewer 'I dos' ruin the party for China's $500 billion wedding industry

The trend is worrying officials trying to revive marriage rates and birth rates, which dropped to record lows last year.
A specialist removes a Kirin 9000s chip fabricated in China by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) from a Huawei Technologies Mate 60 Pro smartphone earlier this month.
BUSINESS / Tech / ANALYSIS
Sep 20, 2023

U.S. likely to tighten tech curbs as China advances chip production

The chips powering a new Huawei phone represent a jump forward in China’s chipmaking capability as it boosts efforts to catch up with rivals.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang holds a copy of China's constitution during a news conference at the Media Center of the National People's Congress in Beijing on March 7.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 19, 2023

China ousted foreign minister over affair in U.S., report says

Top officials in China were told in August that a Communist Party inquiry into Qin uncovered "lifestyle issues.”
Shohei Ohtani had surgery on his right elbow in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 20, 2023

Shohei Ohtani not expected to pitch in 2024 after elbow surgery

Shohei Ohtani underwent a procedure on his elbow on Tuesday.
North Korea's Ri Jo Guk (center) celebrates his goal against Taiwan in the men's soccer competition of the Asian Games in Jinhua, China, on Tuesday.
SOCCER
Sep 20, 2023

North Korea wins in international return as rival South hits nine

North Koreans are competing at the Hangzhou-hosted Asian Games in sports including athletics, gymnastics, basketball, football, boxing and weightlifting.
Fiji can credit its historic Pool C win over Australia on Sunday to significant investment by World Rugby as well as the inclusion of a local team in the Super Rugby Pacific competition.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Sep 20, 2023

Fiji shows the way, but it is unlikely many others will follow

More investment and structural changes will be needed before rugby union's minnows can regularly challenge the sport's leading nations.
An image of Jathedar Hardeep Singh Nijjar at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, on Tuesday. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has demanded that India treat Canada's allegations of Nijjar's killing with "utmost seriousness."
WORLD / Politics
Sep 20, 2023

Canada worked closely with U.S. on India's possible link to killing: source

U.S. authorities, earlier on Tuesday, said they supported Canada's investigation.
Pedestrians pass an advertisement for Huawei's Mate 60 series smartphones outside a Huawei store in Shanghai on Sept. 8. Huawei's Mate 60 Pro uses an advanced chip and is said to be capable of 5G speeds.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 20, 2023

Huawei ships Chinese-made surveillance chips despite tech curbs

The developments, as well as advances in Chinese-made smartphone chips, indicate the technology giant is overcoming Washington's export controls.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addresses the 78th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 20, 2023

In speech, Kishida seeks to maintain momentum for U.N. reform

Kishida stressed the importance of human security and alluded to the increasing dysfunction of the U.N. Security Council caused by Moscow's vetoing power.
Fans watch the F1 Tokyo Festival outside Kabukicho Tower in Shinjuku Ward on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Sep 20, 2023

Formula One fans fill up Tokyo festival ahead of Japanese Grand Prix

Thousands skipped work and school to get a glimpse of two-time champion Max Verstappen, hometown hero Yuki Tsunoda and other drivers.
A TV director (Kanna Hashimoto, left) is haunted by the dead wife of an old office crush (Daiki Shigeoka) in “The Forbidden Play.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 21, 2023

‘The Forbidden Play’: J-horror mishmash offers satisfying scares

Horror legend Hideo Nakata's latest flick is a halfway return to form, in part due to actor First Summer Uika's chilling turn as a vengeful wraith.
Kioxia's Kitakami plant in Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture. Western Digital and Kioxia initially aimed to reach a decision on a merger in August, but discussions have dragged on as the companies tried to iron out details.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 20, 2023

Banks prepare ¥2 trillion funds for Kioxia-Western Digital merger

The moves towards a refinancing commitment would mark a step forward in the merger, which has faced months of delays.
Hidemi Kataoka, a counselor in charge of policy planning at the Personal Information Protection Commission, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2023

Digital Agency given guidance over My Number issues

The agency submitted a report on the problems with the system in June, but the government commission judged the report insufficient.
The U.S Navy's Ranger unmanned vessel docks at Yokosuka Naval Base in Kanagawa Prefecture. The ship is one of two U.S. Navy unmanned prototype vessels that were recently dispatched to Japan as part of a long-range deployment exercise.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 21, 2023

Unmanned U.S. Navy vessels make Japan debut

The U.S. Navy debuted the unmanned prototype vessels as it prepares to increase both the number and use of drones amid growing tensions with China.
Toshiba said the Japan Industrial Partners-led consortium had gained 78.65% of Toshiba’s outstanding shares through the bid, which began Aug. 8, paying ¥4,620 per share.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 21, 2023

Toshiba to go private after success of ¥2 trillion takeover bid

The Japan Industrial Partners-led consortium has gained 78.65% of outstanding shares, paying ¥4,620 per share.
Yusuke Hashimoto (center) leaves the Metropolitan Police Department in a police car on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 22, 2023

Former Japan cancer center doctor arrested over bribery

The doctor allegedly had Zeon Medical company pay ¥1.7 million into his bank account in 2021 in exchange for ensuring the usage of their products.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau answers questions during a news conference in New York on Thursday as relations between Ottawa and New Delhi deteriorate.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 22, 2023

After China, India crisis tests 'naive' Canadian diplomacy

Experts say a growing number of autocracies are exerting influence on Canadian soil.
Tuvalu's Finance Minister Seve Paeniu shows a picture of his grandchildren on his phone while attending the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November 2021.
ENVIRONMENT / Oceans
Sep 22, 2023

Tuvalu partners with Australia as rising seas threaten survival

The project will test a new U.N. blueprint under which one rich nation takes responsibility for raising funds to support a climate-vulnerable country.
For all the scrutiny at home, many of China’s richest new grads are turning their backs on their lives abroad. Sometimes, they’re responding to the lure of China’s potential. Other times, it’s the alienation they feel overseas.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 22, 2023

China’s wealthy youth flock home as tensions with U.S. rise

For all the scrutiny at home, many of China’s richest new grads are turning their backs on their lives abroad.

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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