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People visit Semicon China, a trade fair for semiconductor technology, in Shanghai in 2021
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2023

China quietly hires overseas chip talent as U.S. tightens curbs

The revamped recruitment drive is said to offer perks including home-purchase subsidies and typical signing bonuses of $420,000 to $700,000.
Materials derived from cabbage (left), iyokan (center) and onion by Tokyo-based startup Fabula, which is working to develop new materials that can replace concrete.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Aug 27, 2023

Japan’s scrap-and-rebuild culture faces an environmental reckoning

The nation's tendency toward new construction — rather than renovation — is coming under renewed scrutiny amid concerns over sustainability.
A concept model of the Global Combat Air Programme's fighter jet is displayed at the DSEI Japan defense show at Makuhari Messe in Chiba in March.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Aug 31, 2023

What the trilateral fighter jet program means for Japan

The program, also involving the U.K. and Italy, is the first such project with countries other than the U.S.
In its quake damage estimates updated last year, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government expects that 4.53 million people will be unable to return home in the aftermath of a massive quake hitting the capital.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2023

Over-concentration in Tokyo raising risks from possible quake

The government estimate that up to 23,000 people would be killed if a massive quake hits the capital.
As China slips into deflation, one word is popping up more and more to describe the gloomy atmospherics: "Japanification."
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 30, 2023

'Japanification' for China? It should be so lucky.

China is not on the path to global dominance nor set for collapse, and observers should consider the various shades of gray in analyzing these countries.
A married couple (Arata Iura, left, and Rena Tanaka) returning to their home village from a posting in occupied Korea become witnesses to a bloodbath in Tatsuya Mori’s historical drama, “September 1923.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 31, 2023

‘September 1923’ stylizes an oft-overlooked brutality

Tatsuya Mori’s drama is an important act of historical reclamation, but it’s practically indigestible.
Singaporean presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian gives speech on Aug. 22 in the lead-up to Friday's election.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 31, 2023

Singaporeans should vote in their imperfect elections

While the selection process for presidential candidates and the behavior of some of them may not be perfect, Singaporeans should vote on Friday.
Gigi Chao, vice chair of Cheuk Nang Holdings, in Hong Kong on July 19
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 31, 2023

More LGBTQ rights could help Asian financial hubs draw global talent

In Japan, the only Group of Seven nation without legal protection for same-sex unions, corporations are seen as a key driver for change.
Mizuki Yoneyama is the Kodo taiko troupe's first female odaiko (large-scale drum) player, an indication that things are changing in the traditional community.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 2, 2023

For these women, taiko drumming is no longer a man's art

Ensemble taiko shows were developed in the 1950s, primarily by male leaders. Women taking part in Kodo’s early recitals only performed dance routines.
From June to August, Japan's weather agency recorded "considerably higher" average summer temperatures in "northern, eastern, and western Japan."
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2023

Record shattered as Japan sees hottest summer ever

From June to August, the weather agency recorded "considerably higher" average summer temperatures in "northern, eastern, and western Japan."
Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” follows a young boy who enters a strange realm on a quest to find his missing stepmother.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 4, 2023

‘The Boy and the Heron’ hype ramps up ahead of English release

Pairs of tickets to the Hayao Miyazaki film’s international debut at the Toronto International Film Festival are reselling for as much as ¥45,000.
A rainbow at the site of this year’s Burning Man festival in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada
WORLD / Society
Sep 4, 2023

What is Burning Man, and why have Paris Hilton and Elon Musk shown up?

The festival has been described as a site of countercultural revelry that draws both hippies and Silicon Valley types.
Nestled behind a seawall on the Pacific coast are the Minamisoma Mano-Migita-Ebi solar power plant and the Manyo no Sato wind farm. The 2011 tsunami struck this portion of the coast with a wave that is reported to have been around 18 meters high.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Sep 5, 2023

How a nuclear disaster turned Fukushima into a renewables leader

Following 3/11 — and the cratering of support for nuclear energy — Fukushima positioned itself at the forefront of Japan’s low-carbon transition.
Carlos Alcaraz of Spain celebrates after beating Matteo Arnaldi of Italy on day eight of the 2023 U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York on Monday. Alcaraz is aiming to defend his title after winning the U.S. Open last year.
TENNIS / Tennis
Sep 5, 2023

Alcaraz into U.S. Open last eight as Pegula and Jabeur crash out

The 20-year-old Alcaraz is bidding to become the first man since Roger Federer in 2008 to successfully defend the U.S. Open.
Naomi Osaka participates in a forum on mental health during the U.S. Open in New York on Wednesday.
TENNIS
Sep 7, 2023

Naomi Osaka makes U.S. Open return. But not for tennis.

Naomi Osaka returned to the U.S. Open to participate in a forum on mental health and sports alongside former Olympian Michael Phelps.
Mizuho Financial Group has been expanding its presence in the United States to tap the world’s biggest fee pool, becoming one of the four global investment banks leading Arm's IPO.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 8, 2023

Mizuho's SoftBank ties boost Wall Street ambitions via Arm IPO

The bank has been expanding its presence in the U.S. to tap the world’s biggest fee pool, even as deals slump globally following the pandemic.
"Lost in Translation" was a sleeper hit about two people meeting in an unfamiliar city and forming an intense and fleeting emotional bond.
CULTURE / Film / Longform
Sep 9, 2023

'Lost in Translation' at 20: A Tokyo perspective

The Japanese cast and crew of Sofia Coppola's "Lost in Translation" reflect on their experiences decades later.
Chinese President Xi Jinping may have to relinquish some control as his strategy of keeping a firm grip on the economy comes under pressure.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 11, 2023

China’s economic pain is a test of Xi’s fixation with control

Recent troubles have brought into focus long-term problems, and fed unusually candid domestic debate about the direction of economic policy under Xi.
Coco Gauff celebrates with the trophy after winning the U.S. Open to capture her first Grand Slam title on Sunday in New York
TENNIS
Sep 11, 2023

Coco Gauff says she’s ‘ready’ for the headiest levels of fame

Gauff has demonstrated a composed maturity in her time in the public eye, and she declared herself up for the challenge of becoming even more famous.
Yuko Obuchi (left), picked as the Liberal Democratic Party's new election campaign chief, poses for a photo with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other LDP executives at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics / Notebook
Sep 13, 2023

What Kishida’s reshuffle says about female participation in politics

Political family ties of most of the female appointees speaks to the difficulty women face in entering the political arena.
New Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa is seen in formal attire to attend an attestation ceremony after a Cabinet reshuffle in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 13, 2023

In Kishida's Cabinet reshuffle, two changes stand out

It will be the first time in 20 years that a woman has been foreign minister, while the new defense chief arrives amid dramatic shifts in defense posture.
The Toronto International Film Festival opened on Sept. 7 with admiring applause for "The Boy and the Heron," Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki's latest movie — a meditation on love, loss and the horrors of World War II.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 16, 2023

Hayao Miyazaki has ideas for next project after 'The Boy and the Heron'

Junichi Nishioka, Studio Ghibli's vice president for international distribution, says the director "shows the willingness to create something new."
Visitors climb the slopes of Mount Fuji on Aug. 31. The mountain has long been a popular destination for both domestic and international travelers.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 17, 2023

Tourists have returned to Mount Fuji. Is that sustainable?

A spike in visitors has created various challenges, including overcrowding, littering, strained infrastructure and a shortage of guides and rescue teams.
Bank of Japan officials view Gov. Kazuo Ueda’s scholarly communication style as the most obvious difference from the previous governor.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 19, 2023

Ueda abandons ‘shock and awe’ on path toward BOJ normalization

BOJ officials view Ueda’s scholarly communication style as the most obvious difference from the previous governor.
An installation view of "Ruth Asawa Through Line" at the Whitney Museum in New York shows one of her signature suspended sculptures, a study in form, air and shadow.
CULTURE
Sep 21, 2023

Ruth Asawa: Solid form meets thin air

The Japanese American sculptor helped erase boundaries between art, craft and the decorative arts. A New York show explores her luminous connections.
A surgical center designed by Shigeru Ban Architects for a hospital in Lviv, Ukraine
JAPAN / Society
Sep 24, 2023

Shigeru Ban’s humanitarian architecture reaches Ukraine

Architect Shigeru Ban is working with the mayor of Lviv, in Ukraine, to expand a hospital and serve the growing number of people displaced by the war.
Liberal Democratic Party election strategy committee Chair Yuko Obuchi speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Sept. 13.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 21, 2023

Scandal-tainted Yuko Obuchi's appointment could backfire on Kishida

Obuchi still faces questions over a nearly decade-old political funds scandal, and last week she was hit with fresh allegations of financial impropriety.
Leaves of marijuana plants from which hemp fibers are extracted at Japan's largest legal marijuana farm in Kanuma, Tochigi Prefecture, on July 5, 2016
PODCAST / deep dive
Sep 21, 2023

Does a university cannabis scandal point to a larger trend?

A drugs scandal at Japan’s biggest university draws attention to a troubling statistic: Cannabis use among young people is on the rise.
What recent reports indicate is that, while abusers are being outed, the institutions that protected them for so long remain in place.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 23, 2023

As #MeToo outs more abusers, is anything changing for good?

After years of assault revelations, the institutional responses that have long enabled abuse must start to change.
Ayrton Senna (center) of Brazil talks with his McLaren team member during the final practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circut in Mie Prefecture on Oct. 29, 1988.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Sep 24, 2023

The Japanese GP: Often the scene of title deciders — and controversy

For an event often defined by drama, the stakes won’t be quite as high starting next year as the race settles into its spring date.

Longform

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