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Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida take part in a news conference in September 2021 in the lead-up to the Liberal Democratic Party presidential race.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 15, 2023

Takaichi makes another play to become the next PM

With the creation of a new study group, Cabinet minister Sanae Takaichi aims to build support for her bid for the top political job.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appointed David Cameron as foreign secretary, a shock return to government for a man who previously led the country and whose legacy is defined for calling the Brexit referendum.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 15, 2023

Sunak’s gamble on former U.K. leader Cameron is an act of desperation

The return of the former prime minister creates an unprecedented imbalance at the summit of U.K. power.
Students engage in group work during a class at Ogawara Elementary School in Ogawara, Miyagi Prefecture, in September.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Nov 20, 2023

Small Miyagi town excels in national test amid education reforms

This year the average percentage of correct answers by Ogawara's sixth graders in the National Achievement Test was one of the highest.
Rassemblement National member of Parliament Marine Le Pen (left), and the president of the far-right party Jordan Bardella (right) march during a demonstration against antisemitism in Paris on Sunday
WORLD / Politics
Nov 16, 2023

EU's far right joins rally against antisemitism, unsettling some Jews

The strategy is to normalize the party's image, helping politicians bolster their anti-migration agenda while rebutting suggestions they are racist.
The Formula One track in Las Vegas is lit up ahead of the Grand Prix on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 16, 2023

Formula One’s Las Vegas race isn’t living up to the hype

Liberty Media, the owner of F1, has started to lower profit expectations for the race, blaming unexpected costs.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrives in San Francisco on Wednesday to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meeting.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 16, 2023

Public approval for Kishida Cabinet sinks to new low of 21.3%

The support rate fell 5.0 percentage points from the previous month, while the disapproval rate rose 7.0 points to 53.3%.
Bears doing yoga? If you’re in the city, why not?
PODCAST / deep dive
Nov 16, 2023

Bear goes the neighborhood? Japanese wildlife is on the move.

This week, Alex K.T. Martin joins us to discuss why people are encountering bears, boars and other wildlife in the most unlikely of places.
Angels designated hitter Shohei Ohtani rounds the bases after a go-ahead, two-run home run against the Rangers in Arlington, Texas, on June 12.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 17, 2023

Shohei Ohtani wins second American League MVP award

Shohei Ohtani was named the AL MVP for the second time in three seasons.
Mika and Jesse say their landlady prefers a hands-off style of property management, leaving all matters, including maintenence and repairs, to the renting couple.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 18, 2023

Renting akiya: A backdoor into Japan's abandoned homes

“If the choice is between leaving (an akiya) empty or renting it out, please rent it out.”
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida looks on during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders' Week summit in San Francisco on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 17, 2023

Japan ruling bloc shocked as Kishida's approval keeps falling

A Jiji Press survey for November on Thursday showed the Kishida Cabinet's approval at 21.3%, the lowest level since his inauguration in 2021.
Cooling towers at a coal-fired power plant in Germany. While surface temperatures might stabilize quickly after reaching net-zero, other shifting parts of the climate are harder to slow once set in motion.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science
Nov 17, 2023

Amid climate efforts, will net-zero emissions be enough?

A new study suggests uncertainty about how climate systems will respond after emissions stabilize is an argument for reducing them as quickly as possible.
Tyson Fury (left) and Oleksandr Usyk will meet for the undisputed heavyweight championship in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 24, 2024.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
Nov 17, 2023

Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk to meet for undisputed title

Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will meet for the undisputed heavyweight championship in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 24, 2024.
A woman sits where her apartment once stood in Lahaina, Hawaii, after the city was devastated by a wildfire, on Aug. 11.
ENVIRONMENT
Nov 17, 2023

Nowhere is safe from worsening climate change, new U.S. report warns

The report comes at a time of record-shattering heat, with recent months ranking as the hottest on record across the world.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako greet guests during the autumn garden party at the Akasaka Palace in Tokyo on Nov. 2.
JAPAN
Nov 17, 2023

LDP to consider imperial law revision for stable succession

The focus of discussions will be, in part, on whether to allow Japan to have a female emperor.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to face further headwinds at home, despite efforts to highlight his diplomatic achievements.
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2023

Kishida focuses on diplomacy amid poor public support rates

Showing off his contribution to the discussions at the APEC summit, the prime minister expressed his eagerness to continue with diplomacy. 
Chusei Mannami slides into third after hitting a triple as Australia third basemen Luke Smith waits for the throw during the teams' Asia Professional Baseball Championship clash on Saturday at Tokyo Dome.
BASEBALL
Nov 19, 2023

Australia gains crucial experience at Asia tourney in Tokyo

For smaller baseball countries like Australia, the opportunity for its young players to play Japan at a packed Tokyo Dome is invaluable.
Eom Dong-hwan, South Korea's minister for its defense acquisition program and administration, speaks at a ceremony marking Poland's receiving of its first delivery of South Korean K2 Black Panther tanks and K9 self-propelled howitzers in Gdynia, Poland, in December 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 19, 2023

South Korea’s defense ambitions can be met by tech

Decades of facing down North Korea has forced Seoul to slowly build its own arms-producing capabilities instead of relying heavily on the U.S.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and others place a paper rose on an Liberal Democratic Party candidate's name to indicate a victory in the Upper House election, at the party's headquarters in Tokyo in July 2022.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2023

Criminal complaint filed against LDP factions over political funds

According to the complaint, the five LDP organizations are suspected of failing to list the names of organizations that paid more than ¥200,000 at events.
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump in Edinburg, Texas, on Sunday
WORLD / Politics
Nov 20, 2023

Not just Biden: 77-year-old Trump also under age scrutiny

Externally, it's unclear if Trump's gaffes indicate fatigue or decline.
Taiwanese Vice President Lai Ching-te (left), presidential candidate from the Democratic Progressive Party, introduces Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan's de facto envoy to the United States, as his running mate in the 2024 election, during a news conference at Lai's campaign headquarters in Taipei on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 20, 2023

Taiwan presidential front-runner taps U.S. envoy as running mate

Lai Ching-te tapped Hsiao Bi-khim, a fluent English speaker who had been Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the U.S., to join him on the DPP ticket.
Smoke rises during fighting in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on May 3.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 20, 2023

'Libya scenario': war-torn Sudan could break apart, experts warn

By the end of October, fighting had killed over 10,000 and displaced another 6 million.
The labor ministry is planning to review the workers' accident compensation program to cover all freelancers commissioned to work for companies.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2023

Japan to expand workers' accident compensation for freelancers

The measure is aimed at creating an environment in which freelancers can work with a sense of security.
Children with their parents pray in a temporary church at a camp for internally displaced people in Demoso township in Myanmar's Kayah state.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Nov 20, 2023

Myanmar's displaced pray and teach under deadly skies

The junta has battered Kayah with airstrikes from its Russian and Chinese-built jets, and more than 100,000 people are now displaced in the state.
Japan’s national bar exam was held on Nov. 8 with a pass rate of 45%. Though for decades the pass rate was much lower, this seeming improvement has come on the back of several regulatory blunders.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 20, 2023

The failure behind Japan’s bar exam pass rate

The pass rate for Japan's bar exam has fluctuated, with this year's level coming on the back of several misguided interventions.
Japan manager Hirokazu Ibata lifts the trophy after the Asia Professional Baseball Championship at Tokyo Dome on Sunday.
BASEBALL
Nov 20, 2023

Hirokazu Ibata passes first test with Samurai Japan

Japan went through the Asia Professional Baseball Championship with a 4-0 record.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol waves as he and his wife, Kim Keon-hee, arrive in London on Monday for a state visit to the U.K.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 21, 2023

South Korea’s Yoon to talk AI in U.K. as trade negotiations begin

South Korea's Yoon Suk-yeol and British leader Rishi Sunak will try to burnish their international credentials ahead of respective general elections.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose for a family photo during Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in San Francisco on Nov. 16
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 21, 2023

Less than 30% of Japanese firms plan China expansion: survey

Many Japanese businesses have been put off by economic slowdown, increasing competition and geopolitical tension.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. The central bank has yet to step into the real estate investment trusts market this year, after purchases every year since 2010 to help lower risks in the property market.
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2023

BOJ pulls back from risk asset buying in sign of normalization

The lack of buying comes amid simmering speculation that the Bank of Japan will scrap its negative interest rate and control of government bond yields.
The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation's new exhibition lets people experience life with robots.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 22, 2023

Miraikan science museum debuts new permanent exhibition on aging

Visitors will be able to experience various age-related challenges such as blurry vision and heaviness in the legs.
Afghan refugees sit with their belongings near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border on Nov. 20.
WORLD
Nov 22, 2023

Afghans driven from Pakistan rebuilding lives from 'zero'

Many have lived decades, if not their whole lives, outside their country, with no one left in their homeland to return to.

Longform

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