Search - 2022

 
 
Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan (center) looks on at a court during her fraud case in Ho Chi Minh City on April 11.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Nov 4, 2024

Appeal begins for Vietnam death row tycoon

The appeal comes after the tycoon was convicted of money laundering and jailed for life in a separate case last month.
While NATO membership is unlikely until the war concludes, some NATO members are open to allowing Ukraine to strike deep into Russia, though U.S. President Joe Biden remains hesitant.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 4, 2024

Biden has a crucial decision to make on Ukraine

Biden may not be the U.S. president to make the congratulatory call to Ukraine's leader when peace is declared, but he can help keep him in the fight until it happens.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu speaks after winning the presidential election runoff in Chisinau on Monday. The pro-EU incumbent won a tense presidential runoff, beating her rival backed by a pro-Russian party in what she described as a "lesson in democracy."
WORLD / Politics
Nov 4, 2024

Moldova's pro-Western Sandu claims election win after meddling allegations

With 98% of the ballots counted, Sandu led Stoianoglo with 54.35%, the Central Election Commission said.
Smoke billows from a chimney at a combined-cycle gas turbine power plant in Drogenbos, Belgium, on Dec. 6, 2023.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 4, 2024

The world promised to tame methane, but emissions are still rising

World leaders and fossil fuel executives have declared tackling methane — and doing so quickly — a crucial priority.
Men's winner Abdi Nageeye and women's winner Sheila Chepkirui celebrate after the New York City Marathon on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 4, 2024

Abdi Nageeye holds off Evans Chebet to win New York City Marathon

Sheila Chepkirui led a Kenyan sweep of the women's podium.
An experiment by NITE shows an oil heater catching fire from leaked kerosene.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 5, 2024

Consumers urged to check heater safety ahead of winter accident surge

Past incidents typically surged in November and peaked in December, with elevated levels of heater-related accidents continuing through April.
Toyota is expected to report a 14% year-on-year operating profit decline in July-September, to ¥1.2 trillion ($7.9 billion), according to an average estimate by analysts.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 5, 2024

Toyota to post first profit drop in 2 years as demand cools after big run

Toyota is expected to report a 14% year-on-year operating profit decline in July-September, to ¥1.2 trillion ($7.9 billion), according to an average estimate by analysts.
Alongside foreign students, some Japanese students attend a special lecture held entirely in English at Nagoya University in early October.
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Nov 11, 2024

Amid rising costs, universities try to help students study abroad

The cost of studying abroad, including travel and living expenses, is much higher now compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Operators respond to telephone directory inquiries from Tokyo at a call center in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, in October 1997.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Nov 11, 2024

As NTT ends its Dial 104 service, Okinawa's call centers look elsewhere

Naha and Nago were home to Japan's biggest call center operations, receiving around 125,000 calls a day at their peak in 1999.
Manga artist Kazuo Umezu
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Nov 5, 2024

Japanese manga artist Kazuo Umezu dies at 88

Kazuo Umezu started drawing comics from his childhood and made his debut as a manga artist in 1955, when he was a high school student.
While economic sanctions have not caused Russia’s economy to collapse as some had hoped, they have imposed significant costs on Vladimir Putin's government and his war aims.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 5, 2024

Punishing Putin is more important than ever

In reality, the-Russian-sanctions-aren’t-working-why-bother argument is straight out Putin’s propaganda playbook.
There will be considerable consistency in U.S. policy regardless of who wins the presidential election, however, and, unfortunately, many of them will trouble allies and partners.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 5, 2024

Regardless of election results, U.S. foreign policy is sure to trouble allies

“Strategic competition between the United States and China is poised to intensify no matter who assumes the U.S. presidency in January 2025.”
The topics nominated for this year’s buzzwords of the year ranged from new banknotes and Olympian quips to political scandals and rice shortages.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 5, 2024

From cat memes to Olympians with too much rizz, these are Japan's 2024 buzzword nominations

The buzzword of the year, along with the top 10 picks, will be decided from the 30 nominated terms on Dec. 2.
An exhibition of captured military hardware from NATO countries in Moscow in May.  Whatever the results of the U.S. presidential election, the prospect of improved U.S.-Russia relations seems even more distant.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 6, 2024

Whether Trump or Harris, pessimism reigns in Russia over U.S. election winner

The sentiment is prevalent in a Russia that feels scorned and underestimated by Democrat administrations and betrayed by Trump.
Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk speaks during a rally for Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. president Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 5.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 6, 2024

Elon Musk-led election falsehoods hang over vote as tally begins

Elon Musk has become Republican candidate Donald Trump’s most high-profile donor and supporter.
Singtel uncovered the breach of its network after detecting suspicious data traffic in a core back-end router and finding what it believed was sophisticated, and possibly state-sponsored, malware on it, according to a person familiar with the investigation.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Nov 6, 2024

Chinese group accused of hacking Singapore's Singtel in telecom attacks

The breach of Singtel, which has operations throughout Southeast Asia and Australia, was seen as a test run by China for further hacks against U.S. firms.
The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office will reinvestigate the case against the former secretary of lawmaker Koichi Hagiuda and consider again whether to seek criminal punishment.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 6, 2024

Citizen panel nixes decision not to indict Hagiuda's secretary

The panel said it is unreasonable not to prosecute the secretary in view of the maliciousness of the acts relating to the Liberal Democratic Party's slush funds scandal.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang speaks during the launch of the supercomputer Gefion in Kastrup, Denmark, on Oct. 23. Nvidia's recent strength has come as the company calmed investor concerns about issues involving its Blackwell chip, which was delayed due to engineering snags, as well as its long-term growth prospects.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 6, 2024

Nvidia rides AI wave to surpass Apple as world’s largest company

Its share price rose 2.9% to $139.93 on Tuesday, taking its market capitalization to $3.43 trillion, ahead of Apple's $3.38 trillion.
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump points to supporters as he holds hands with his wife, Melania, before claiming victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election during a rally at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 7, 2024

Trump defeats Harris, returning U.S. to era of uncertainty

Kamala Harris congratulated her rival on a win expected to have a dramatic impact on the United States' relationships with allies like Japan and rivals like China.
The National Cancer Center Hospital in Tokyo's Chuo Ward. A study by researchers at the hospital aims to determine whether restoring a healthy intestinal environment can enhance the effectiveness of immunotherapy drugs used in cancer treatment.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 6, 2024

Japan explores intestinal flora transplants for cancer treatment

A study aims to determine whether restoring a healthy intestinal environment can make drugs used in the treatment of esophageal and stomach cancers more effective.
The film character Godzilla poses on the red carpet during a ceremony to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California, in November 2004.  
COMMENTARY
Nov 6, 2024

After nearly three-quarters of a century, Godzilla’s monstrous empire is thriving

The famed Japanese monster went from serious metaphor for nuclear destruction to a kitschy pop culture icon.
U.S. President Joe Biden
WORLD / Politics
Nov 7, 2024

Biden in Ukraine sprint as Trump victory throws U.S. support in question

The Biden administration is looking to push out the more than $9 billion of remaining funding appropriated by Congress.
Defense equipment such as tanks and ships often require time to build, leading the government to conclude contracts spanning multiple fiscal years.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2024

Japan's future payment obligations for defense goods balloon

An increase in such obligations may put constraints on spending to procure new equipment and build facilities, resulting in budget rigidity.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attends a media briefing after sacking Finance Minister Christian Lindner, in Berlin on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 7, 2024

Germany faces snap election as Scholz's coalition crumbles

Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected to head a minority government with his Social Democrats and the Greens after sacking his Free Democrat finance minister.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, China's president, shake hands during a news conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Nov. 9, 2017.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 7, 2024

Xi is better prepared for Trump even as 60% tariffs risk chaos

Xi would much prefer to avoid a tariff battle that risks proving much more devastating than the first round.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani visited a South Korean naval ship in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Thursday.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2024

Japan defense chief visits South Korean naval ship

The visit marks the first time Japan's defense minister has boarded a South Korean military vessel, according to the Japanese Defense Ministry.
Indian and Bangladeshi girls rescued from sexual exploitation stand near the window of a house provided by a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Kolkata on Sept. 11.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Nov 7, 2024

Trafficked: The girls sold for sex in India

A 2023 U.S. report on trafficking said that India is making "significant efforts" but still falls below minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.
Sakuya Ishikawa (Sosuke Ikematsu) wakes up from a coma to find his mother gone and decides to virtually re-create her with harvested data in “The Real You.”
CULTURE / Film
Nov 7, 2024

‘The Real You’: Provocative dystopia combines sci-fi concerns with melodrama

In Yuya Ishii’s drama, a young man’s existential crisis amid the rise of artificial entities feels very much of the present moment.
Rikuto Nagata was handed an indefinite prison term for his involvement in a total of six robberies in four prefectures in recent years.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 7, 2024

Man sentenced to indefinite term for serial robberies in Japan

Rikuto Nagata was indicted on charges including robbery resulting in death
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who serves as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, speaks during a party meeting in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 7, 2024

LDP lawmakers urge Ishiba to step down after budget passage next year

But neither the prime minister, nor LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama, said they would step down.

Longform

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