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Balaji Srinivasan addresses the Singapore Fintech Festival in November 2022. A techno-libertarian, Srinivasan, who made his name as an anti-government crusader, tried to attach himself to the U.S. government when he was under consideration for a position in the Donald Trump administration.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 19, 2024

How techno-libertarians fell in love with big government

When faced with the prospect of the government becoming a major client for Silicon Valley techno-libertarians, once-principled opposition to state power dissipates.
Is artificial intelligence the future of faith? Advanced algorithms might shape future religious beliefs much like technologies shaped our ancestors' spiritual practices and understandings.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 20, 2024

Can AI foster a global consciousness?

Is artificial intelligence the future of faith? Advanced algorithms might shape religious beliefs as technologies shaped our ancestors' spirituality.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un toast during a reception at the Mongnangwan Reception House in Pyongyang on Wednesday following summit talks.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 21, 2024

New Kim-Putin pact sparks unease — and talk of more aid for Ukraine

An opaque new treaty signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this week could end up bolstering U.S.-allied cooperation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are both international pariahs, struggling to find ways to shore up their increasingly isolated countries.
EDITORIALS
Jun 21, 2024

Don’t be alarmed by the new Russia-North Korea partnership

Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are both international pariahs, struggling to find ways to shore up their increasingly isolated countries.
Japan Airlines jets at Haneda Airport in 2020
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2024

Japan Airlines flight makes emergency landing in Aomori

JAL Flight 2154, an Embraer 170, returned after takeoff from Aomori Airport to land just over 30 minutes later. No one was injured.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump delivers the keynote address at the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in Washington on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 23, 2024

After conviction, Trump presents himself as a martyr to the Christian right

Trump’s appeals to the evangelicals come at a crucial phase in the presidential campaign.
Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive officer of SoftBank Group, speaks during the company's annual general meeting in Tokyo last Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 27, 2024

SoftBank to back AI startup Perplexity at $3 billion valuation

SoftBank will invest between $10 million and $20 million in the firm, which aims to use AI to compete with Alphabet’s Google search.
Then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at an EU-Japan trade summit in Brussels in 2019. Abe was an early believer in the need for Japan to strengthen relations with Europe based on shared values and interests.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 1, 2024

Strong Europe-Japan relations are a legacy of Shinzo Abe

Late former Prime Minister Abe was an early believer in the need for Japan to strengthen its relationship with Europe based on shared values and mutual interests.
U.S. President Joe Biden in the Oval Office in Washington. The idea that the U.S.-China hotline can bridge communication gaps during crises rings hollow.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 2, 2024

If a phone rings in a forest and no one answers, is it a hotline?

Hotlines allow states to talk in crisis situations. But China often doesn't pick up when the U.S. calls, raising doubts about the utility of the communications link.
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo last Friday ended what was known as Chevron deference, a legal doctrine holding that courts should defer to the technical expertise of agency staff in interpreting unclear laws.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 3, 2024

Supreme Court gives Trump ‘sword’ to slash Biden’s climate rules

Its ruling last Friday ended a legal doctrine holding that courts should defer to the technical expertise of federal agency staff in interpreting unclear laws.
Commercial food trucks are seen near a checkpoint near Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on May 28.
WORLD
Jul 5, 2024

Feeding Gaza: Traders run gauntlet of bullets, bombs and bribes

Getting food to the Gaza Strip's mostly displaced population of 2.3 million has been beset by bureaucracy and violence since Oct. 7.
A visitor prays for late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a flower stand set up near the site of his shooting in the city of Nara, on Monday, the second anniversary of his death.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 8, 2024

Ex-PM Abe remembered, two years after fatal shooting

In Tokyo, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that he would continue to carry on agendas pursued by Abe.
An experiment found that, on the collective level, artificial intelligence-assisted stories looked much more similar to each other than those produced without any AI help.
WORLD
Jul 13, 2024

AI makes writing easier, but stories sound alike, study says

The research comes amid rising fears over the impact of AI tools that turn simple text prompts into relatively sophisticated music, art and writing.
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Jul 14, 2024

The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'

Great pianists aren't made overnight, it takes years of practice. It can all be undone in a matter of days, however, due to a medical condition called dystonia.
Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump is surrounded by bodyguards after he was shot in the ear during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 14, 2024

How attacks on presidents and candidates have shaped U.S. history

Even before Saturday’s incident, polls showed voters worried about possible violence surrounding this year’s presidential election.
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 15, 2024

After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn

In a country already on edge, the assassination attempt on the former president has enraged his supporters and paused the Democratic campaign.
The production plant of GCL Technology in Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, China, on July 2
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 16, 2024

Xi Jinping’s great economic rewiring is cushioning China’s slowdown

Tech advances and a resulting export boom have helped to keep economic growth within reach of its targeted pace of around 5%.
Palestinians search through rubble following an Israeli strike in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Monday.
WORLD
Jul 16, 2024

Israel launches fresh Gaza strikes after weekend attack on ‘safe zone’

Israel said it targeted a Hamas military commander in its Saturday strike on Mawasi, which killed at least 90 people, according to Palestinian officials.
J.D. Vance at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Monday. Vance’s proximity to the tech industry has thrilled even former Democrats in tech.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 16, 2024

Silicon Valley’s Trump backers cheer Vance as VP pick

The move puts the technology industry closer to center stage in Washington if the former president takes the White House in November's presidential election.
Dai Nippon Printing's "Midokoro viewer" system displays 3D images of cultural assets on a touch screen.
JAPAN
Jul 19, 2024

Japan firms working on digital cultural assets

Major printing company Toppan has produced more than 60 virtual reality images since launching its digital cultural assets project in 1997.
From left: Kan Kikuchi, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Muto Chozo and Nagami Tokutaro
LIFE / Language
Jul 19, 2024

Dive into Akutagawa's world of creepy 'kappa' and prewar kanji

In order to read Japanese works written before the war, you'll need to watch out for the different roles hiragana play in addition to unfamiliar kanji.
Some economists say a sticky weak yen trend would have a negative impact on Japan's real wage growth.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 24, 2024

Yen rally could help end crushing wage decay in Japan

The Japan Research Institute anticipates real wage growth turning positive in the July-September quarter assuming ¥155 to the dollar.
Foreign ministers from ASEAN member countries pose for a photo before a meeting session in Vientiane, Laos, on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 25, 2024

ASEAN seeks to tackle the Myanmar crisis and South China Sea tensions

ASEAN's foreign ministers will discuss efforts to end the Myanmar conflict that has turned into a civil war.
Ukraine's Olga Kharlan celebrates on the podium after winning Olympic bronze in the women's sabre event at the Paris Games on Monday.
OLYMPICS / Fencing
Jul 30, 2024

Ukrainian fencer dedicates medal to countrymen killed in the war

The war has torn apart old alliances in fencing, and heightened the acrimony between Russia and Ukraine.
Two people in Tokyo walk past a poster meant to evoke a cooling feeling the summer heat.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 31, 2024

Sunscreen bans, UV-cuts and the language of summer skincare in Japan

Get to know Japanese terms for products that will help you protect your skin in the scorching sun.
Temperatures are soaring across Japan, making getting to sleep at night a constant battle between your body and the right setting for your air conditioner to help you nod off.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Boiling Point
Aug 2, 2024

An ideal AC temperature for sleep? Science says yes ... and no.

Keeping your room at 26 degrees Celsius can help you sleep through summer’s steamy nights — but how long should you leave the AC on?
Bales of hard-to-recycle plastic waste piled up at Renewlogy Technologies in Salt Lake City, Utah, on May 17, 2021.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Aug 15, 2024

In shift, U.S. backs global target to reduce plastic production, source says

The change away from earlier calls to leave such decisions up to each country puts the U.S. in direct opposition to countries like Saudi Arabia and China.
Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Aug. 8
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 15, 2024

Hedge funds race to tailor ChatGPT for time-consuming research chores

Fast-money proponents remain steadfast in their conviction that their investments will reap tangible wins.
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 17, 2024

How Trump’s intimidation tactics have reshaped the Republican Party

Those seen as disloyal to Trump and his Make America Great Again agenda have been the target of threats by his most ardent supporters.
Berlin's growing military engagement with Indo-Pacific allies and partners is meant to signal that Germany "stands firmly at the side of those countries that are committed to complying with international law and do not accept it being called into  question," German Navy chief Vice Adm. Kaack told The Japan Times.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2024

Sea lane fears drive German military's Asian engagement, navy chief says

Developments in the Indo-Pacific, both economic and geopolitical, have direct implications for the security and prosperity of Germany, Vice Adm. Jan Christian Kaack says.

Longform

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