Search - 2021

 
 
Watanabe has made shapes of (from left) a monkey, an elephant and a giraffe by folding oak leaves with his hands.
CULTURE / Art / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Jan 8, 2024

Kumamoto artist embodies re-evaluation of 'outsider art’ in Japan

Dubbed a "genius autistic paper cutout artist," Yoshihiro Watanabe's works are now being alongside those by trained artists.
An ambulance (left) carrying the body of South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun leaves a park in central Seoul on Wednesday. Lee, best known for his role in the Oscar-winning film "Parasite," was found dead in an apparent suicide, Yonhap news agency reported.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Dec 27, 2023

'Parasite' actor Lee Sun-kyun found dead amid drug allegations

Lee had been under investigation amid an ongoing government crackdown on illegal drug use.
A female member of the Mandalay People's Defense Forces repairs and cleans a weapon at their base camp in the forest near Namhsan Township in Myanmar's northern Shan State. In the hills of northern Myanmar young women fly combat drones, treat wounded comrades and patrol the front lines — new roles in the battle to overthrow the military junta.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 27, 2023

'Mandalay girls' upending gender norms on Myanmar's front lines

Hundreds of women in pro-democracy fighting units, some still teenagers, are operating drones, joining patrols and working as medics.
The Colorado Supreme Court in Denver, Colorado, on Dec. 20. The court ruled on Dec. 19 that Trump is ineligible for the White House under a provision of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment prohibiting officials who engage in "insurrection or rebellion" against the U.S. government from holding elected office.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 27, 2023

Police probe threats against Colorado justices after Trump ruling

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled last week that Trump is ineligible for the White House under the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment .
Next year, U.S. President Joe Biden will seek a mandate to govern into his mid-80s. His likely opponent, former President Donald Trump, is only three years younger.
COMMENTARY / The Year Ahead
Dec 27, 2023

Making or breaking democracy

As 2024 approaches, one milestone looms menacingly on the horizon: The U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5.
The No. 6 and No. 7 reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture in April 2021
JAPAN / Society
Dec 27, 2023

NRA lifts ban on operations at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant

When the plant will be reactivated remains uncertain as Tepco, the operator, needs to gain consent from local governments as well.
Xi Jinping
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 27, 2023

Xi touts alternative to Western capitalism in speech on Mao

Xi described "Chinese modernization” as "a cause passed down from veteran revolutionaries including Mao Zedong.”
As president of Japan's largest opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Kenta Izumi has the unenviable task of mounting a challenge against the ruling coalition led by the Liberal Democratic Party.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 28, 2023

Amid LDP woes, a familiar question reappears: Is the opposition ready?

Faced with a divided opposition and voter skepticism, CDP President Kenta Izumi says he is looking to adopt a stronger tone.
An Afghan woman holds her newborn child at a maternity hospital in Khost, Afghanistan. According to the latest World Health Organization figures, from 2017, 638 women die in Afghanistan for every 100,000 viable births, compared with 19 in the United States.
WORLD / Society
Dec 28, 2023

For women in Afghanistan, every birth carries heavy risks

Afghanistan is among the worst countries in the world for deaths in childbirth, "with one woman dying every two hours," according to the U.N.
A woman points at a Glock handgun during the annual National Rifle Association convention in Dallas in 2018.
WORLD / Society
Dec 28, 2023

Gaston Glock, inventor of cult guns, dies at 94

His gun, wielded by police and outlaws alike, certainly made its mark worldwide, matched by few other weapons.
Veteran politician Alan Leong in the now-empty headquarters of the Civic Party, once the city's second largest opposition party, in Hong Kong. Six lapel pins bearing the Civic Party's founding date are all Hong Kong veteran politician Alan Leong kept when the once-prominent opposition group cleared its headquarters and shuttered its doors days before the new year.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 28, 2023

Hong Kong's former second-largest opposition party shuts down

Since China imposed its security law, the Civic Party has seen members jailed, elected politicians unseated and a former lawmaker listed as a fugitive.
Masimo's headquarters in Irvine, California. The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled earlier this year that the Apple Watch violates two Masimo patents related to blood-oxygen sensing and imposed an import ban on the Ultra 2 and Series 9 models.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 28, 2023

The email to Tim Cook that set the Apple watch saga in motion

Masimo, based in Irvine, California, is the rare company to wound Apple in a patent dispute.
From movies, anime, manga and even to sports stars, 2023 was a year where global audiences demonstrated their increasing fondness for Japanese soft power.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 27, 2023

From Godzilla to Shohei: Japan's soft power had a big year

Little by little, Japan is getting better at pitching its copious wares overseas, and 2023 proved that.
Tampa Bay shortstop Wander Franco during a game in Kansas City in July.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 29, 2023

Wander Franco a no-show to answer complaint in Dominican Republic

At least two people have filed lawsuits against Franco amid probes into claims he had improper relationships with minors.
Japanese model Dulmi, 24, was selected as one of eight models in Vogue Open Casting's class of 2023.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 3, 2024

Dulmi: The biracial model bringing change to modeling in Japan and beyond

In a still-rare recognition of the diversity that exists in Japan, the Osaka native was chosen for the 2023 class of Vogue's Open Casting initiative.
Police officers examine a scene where South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun was found dead at a park in Seoul on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Dec 29, 2023

In South Korea, an unrelenting stance on drugs batters suspected users

Treatment experts say that authorities focus too much on punishment rather than rehabilitation.
Among the issues that defined 2023 were the U.S. economy's "soft landing," the war in Ukraine, Hamas's terrorist attack and explosive advances in AI.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2023

The most important developments of 2023

The year reminds us that the world is in desperate need of new leaders who are both competent and inspiring.
Smart chemotherapy is in the spotlight again as Big Pharma invests billions in next-generation cancer drugs.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2023

Targeted cancer drugs finally live up to the hype

The newfound understanding of how these cancer drugs work could lead to broader applications in treating various tumors
The entrance lobby of Accor's Mercure Tokyo Hibiya, which recently opened in the capital
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 2, 2024

Backed by tourism potential, hotels keen to cultivate Japanese market

Because Japan was slow to reopen its borders, there appears to be robust, pent-up demand to visit the country.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump campaigns in Waterloo, Iowa, on Dec. 19.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Dec 30, 2023

Trump ballot fights put pressure on Supreme Court to act soon

The case would be unprecedented and brings Trump’s conduct after losing the 2020 election back to the forefront of his likely 2024 rematch with Biden.
Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a meeting in Hanoi earlier this month.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 30, 2023

China plans strategy to challenge America’s global leadership

President Xi Jinping and other senior leaders pledged during a conference this week to raise China’s influence on world events "to a new level."
A Khudi Bari tiny home in Char Shildaha, Bangladesh
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 30, 2023

Bangladesh's tiny houses tackle giant flood challenge

The Khudi Bari — resilient tiny homes made on bamboo stilts rising out of the floodwaters that are also easy to move to safer locations when needed — offers hope to millions.
A colorful coral reef made out of wool to raise awareness about climate change, at a museum in Baden-Baden, Germany, in January 2022
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Dec 31, 2023

The art world's big planetary problem

Over the last five years, it’s become increasingly clear to major art institutions in Japan and around the world that the sector has a sustainability issue.
Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hold discussions in Kyiv in September 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2023

Europe needs a new Ukraine strategy

The European Union’s decision to start accession talks with Ukraine represents a symbolic victory rather than a practical one.
A warship at a joint naval exercise between the Iranian, Chinese and Russian navies in the northern Indian Ocean in January 2022. Iran's Alborz destroyer has entered the Red Sea, a region where Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels have been conducting attacks on merchant vessels.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 2, 2024

Iranian warship enters Red Sea

News agency in Tehran did not specify reason for vessel's deployment but maintained that Iran's military had operated in the region since 2009.
2024 marks the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac, with the year predicted to be a good time for fresh starts.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Jan 2, 2024

Opportunities await the bold in the Year of the Wood Dragon

From February, you can expect a rush of creativity, passion, courage and confidence with the arrival of the Wood Dragon, say astrologers.
People's Liberation Army forces walk near the Sagaing Region in Myanmar on Nov. 23.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 2, 2024

Myanmar's 'watermelons': Soldier on the outside, rebel inside

Opposition groups say it is difficult to determine how many members of the security forces supplied information to the resistance, but they play a crucial role.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida awaits the results of a no-confidence vote against his Cabinet in the country's parliament on Dec. 13.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 2, 2024

Unpacking the LDP's expected leadership race

LDP politicians are already talking about a leadership change, and the polls have shifted to who the public wants to see in the prime minister’s office.
Spain's Rafael Nadal hits a return against Austria's Dominic Thiem during his match in Brisbane on Jan. 2.
TENNIS
Jan 3, 2024

Nadal happy to win in return but says confidence still recovering

Nadal marked his singles comeback after hip surgery with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Austrian former world No. 3 Dominic Thiem.
Naomi Osaka leaves the court after losing her match against Karolina Pliskova on Wednesday in Brisbane.
TENNIS
Jan 3, 2024

Pliskova rallies to oust Osaka in Brisbane

Osaka had eased through her first tour match in 15 months on Monday but former world No. 1 Pliskova proved an altogether tougher prospect.

Longform

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