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Japan's household spending dropped 2.7% in July from the previous month, as persistent inflation continued to erode purchasing power.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 5, 2023

Japan’s households cut back spending as Kishida considers measures

Weak data indicate an economy struggling to build momentum as inflation outpaces wage gains and consumer spending remains below pre-pandemic levels.
Employees work on the assembly line at an electric vehicle plant in Shanghai. Cutting salaries is illegal in China, but complex pay structures offer loopholes.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 5, 2023

China's auto workers bear brunt of price war as fallout widens

Cutting salaries is illegal in China, but complex pay structures offer ways around this.
Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits the command post of an operational-tactical group in Donetsk, Ukraine, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 5, 2023

Allies question Ukraine's war strategy, irritating Kyiv

Over the past two weeks U.S. media have been quoting anonymous military sources questioning Ukraine's strategy. On the record, criticism remains muted.
Fishers harvest clams early in August in the lagoon of Scardovari, south of Venice, Italy, where the blue crab threatens local shellfish and fish.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Sep 5, 2023

Italy's clam farmers fear blue crab 'invasion'

The crab, native to the North American Atlantic coast, has been present across the Mediterranean for years but has recently become a major problem.
Leaders and officials from Southeast Asia pose for a family photo during the ASEAN Summit in Jakarta on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 5, 2023

Why Biden's decision to skip the ASEAN summit is a mistake

Though in Asia, Biden won't attend ASEAN this week. The move may be part of Washington's China containment strategy, but it risks alienating key partners.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 5, 2023

Japan OKs additional fisheries aid and ups pressure on China

Support for the industry now tops ¥100 billion, as the government struggles to soothe fears over contaminated water at home and abroad.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel talks to local fishermen on Thursday to show his support for the water discharge from the nearby Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 5, 2023

Fukushima water disposal is leadership opportunity for Japan

Some 1,000 storage tanks that hold the water are almost full and more tanks can’t be installed as they would interfere with the plant’s decommissioning.
Enrique Tarrio (center) leads members of the far-right Proud Boys in protesting President Donald Trump's election defeat, in Washington in December 2020. Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison for the role he played in organizing a gang of pro-Trump followers to attack the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Sep 6, 2023

Proud Boys Leader Tarrio Gets 22 Years Over U.S. Capitol Riot

In a sometimes tearful statement to the judge before he was sentenced, Tarrio said he was sorry for the events of Jan. 6
The Shiodome City Center building in Tokyo's Minato Ward
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 6, 2023

GIC considering sale of Tokyo skyscraper for over $2 billion

The sale plans come as a glut of new office supply is expected in Tokyo over the next two years, potentially tempering investor appetite.
Hajime Takata, a member of the policy board at the Bank of Japan
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 6, 2023

BOJ policymaker sees signs of change in deflationary mindset

Conditions for phasing out the bank's massive stimulus seem to be falling into place, central bank policymaker Hajime Takata said.
A group of Chinese tourists arrive at Haneda Airport in Tokyo in August.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 6, 2023

Japan takes steps toward establishing overtourism countermeasures

The Japan Tourism Agency did not specify when the new countermeasures will be finalized. However, the goal is to have them compiled by the fall.
Disney and cable giant Charter Communications are negotiating over how much Charter will pay Disney to carry its channels.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 6, 2023

Behind the Disney-Charter dispute over the future of TV

Media companies are trying to build profitable streaming services while cable providers feel like they're subsidizing a business that cannibalizes them.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks speaks during a meeting of the National Defense Industrial Association in Washington on Aug. 28. Hicks has said the Pentagon's "Replicator" initiative is meant to help the U.S. overcome China’s biggest military advantage: mass.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 6, 2023

Pentagon drone swarm strategy aims to counter Chinese military

The U.S. is looking to field thousands of cheap, smart and autonomous war drones across multiple domains within 18 to 24 months.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 6, 2023

Kishida meets Chinese premier for first talks since water release

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida sought to tamp down Beijing's concerns, explaining Japan's stance to Chinese Premier Li Qiang during meetings in Jakarta.
A former boxer (Koichi Sato, left) trying to restart his life in Japan takes on a young trainee (Ryusei Yokohama) with aspirations to win big in “One Last Bloom.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 7, 2023

‘One Last Bloom’: Pugilist melodrama feels all too familiar

While the film takes the approach of local TV dramas, with broad narrative strokes and a zero-to-hero arc, the boxing scenes deliver insider details.
JAPAN / Science & Health / ANALYSIS
Sep 7, 2023

In new space race, Japan ups ante with launch of two key missions

The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon and X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission were both launched Thursday following several postponements.
An All Nippon Airways employee escorts a group of Chinese tourists through Haneda Airport in Tokyo last month.
BUSINESS
Sep 7, 2023

Fukushima water release won’t deter Chinese tourists: ANA CEO

The number of inbound visitors from China was about 300,000 in July, he said, compared with 30,000 in January, says Koji Shibata.
Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska speaks in Kyiv during "The Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen," which focused on the stigmatized issue of mental health in the war-torn country.
WORLD / Society
Sep 7, 2023

Tears, stars and 'soft power' at Kyiv mental health summit

Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska has led a high-profile campaign encouraging Ukrainians to openly discuss mental health problems.
People make their way through Tokyo's Ameyoko shopping district. In a sign rising inflation is already taking a toll on consumption, Japan's household spending suffered its biggest drop in nearly 2½ years in July.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Sep 7, 2023

China's economic gloom hangs over Japan's long-awaited recovery

If Beijing fails to shore up demand with meaningful stimulus, that could potentially delay an exit from the Bank of Japan's ultraloose monetary policy.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris (left) shakes hands with Indonesia's President Joko Widodo before their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 7, 2023

Top U.S., China, Russia officials gather at Southeast Asia summit

The gathering offers a rare chance of direct, top-level diplomacy between sparring nations.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom at the 2023 Milken Institute Global Conference in California on May 2
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 7, 2023

California governor signs executive order to explore AI risks

The directive comes as Washington and other governments struggle with how to regulate artificial intelligence technology.
Filmed in black and white, concert film “Opus” focuses on the physicality of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s performance.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Sep 7, 2023

Ryuichi Sakamoto's last performance captured by son in Venice 'Opus'

In late 2022 celebrated Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, stricken with terminal cancer, spent nine days at a Tokyo studio performing 20 of his much-loved pieces from across his career.
Kazuki Paul Tsuyukusa with his dog Sunny in Fukuoka
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Sep 9, 2023

Kazuki Paul Tsuyukusa: 'It’s better to live without being noticed everywhere.’

A former rikishi, Kazuki Paul Tsuyukusa has swapped his sumo stable for the life of a salaryman.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2023

Education ministry asks court to fine Unification Church

The ministry has requested the Unification Church to report on more than 500 items on seven occasions in total, with the group refusing on some issues.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends what state media report was a launching ceremony for a new tactical nuclear attack submarine in North Korea, in this picture released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 8, 2023

North Korea holds ceremony for new ‘tactical nuclear’ submarine

The country’s state media released photos Friday of a ceremony for the vessel, which appeared to have 10 missile tubes, attended by leader Kim Jong Un.
More cooks are pursuing careers in cooking for wealthy clients, but the glitz that makes it into viral TikTok videos isn’t always the whole picture.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 10, 2023

Private chefs toe the line between occupation and isolation

A new chapter in the age of food celebrity is unfolding online as more cooks take up careers as private chefs and go public with the perks of the job.
Pedestrians in front of the Shinsei Bank headquarters in Tokyo in October 2021
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 8, 2023

SBI Shinsei Bank to go private to repay public funds

By going private, SBI Shinsei Bank will free itself from the shackles of stock prices and be able to pay back the public funds "at some point."
The threat of Mosquito-borne dengue fever is not restricted to South Asia as infection rates are rising globally with 4.2 million cases reported in 2022.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Sep 8, 2023

Mosquito-borne dengue grows deadlier in South Asia as planet warms

Disease experts say the worsening outbreaks of dengue are linked to the impacts of climate change.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 8, 2023

New COVID variant detected in Japan amid wave of infections

While there’s no evidence so far that it causes more severe illness, experts say it may be more capable of infecting people who have been infected before.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 8, 2023

Kauan Okamoto finds some closure after recognition of Kitagawa abuse

“I felt a bit better. There’s nothing more I want to say to Johnny & Associates,” Okamoto said.

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go