Search - world

 
 
The government made it mandatory for companies to disclose their gender pay gap in 2022, but disclosure alone isn’t enough to improve the situation, data suggests.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 29, 2024

Disclosure rules fail to narrow Japan’s yawning gender pay gap

There has been little progress toward equality, with the highest-paying firms showing some of the biggest disparities.
Full-time homemaker Momoko (Noriko Eguchi, left, with Kotaro Koizumi) finds her world falling apart in Yukihiro Morigaki’s “Rude to Love.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 29, 2024

‘Rude to Love’ gives Noriko Eguchi her tour de force moment

The perennially underused actress gives a bravura performance as a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown in Yukihiro Morigaki's drama.
Naoto Ooka inspects a new heat-resistant rice breed called Emihokoro that has been planted at the government-run Saitama Agricultural Technology Center in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, on Aug. 7.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2024

As sweltering summers ravage crops, Japan bets on heat-resistant rice

Supermarkets have struggled to keep rice shelves stocked in recent months.
Ukrainian troops operate a tank near the Russian border, in the Sumy region of Ukraine, on Aug. 12.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 29, 2024

Russia faces tough fight to retake Ukraine-held territory, says CIA No. 2

Ukrainian troops are building defensive lines and appear to intend to retain "some of that territory for some period of time," CIA Deputy Director David Cohen said.
Police officers attend a workshop on cyberattack countermeasures in February.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 29, 2024

Japan's police agency requests ¥6 billion to tackle cyberattacks

The funds will mainly be used to enhance investigation capabilities and improve measures to fight phishing using generative artificial intelligence technology.
Some fans lined up for over seven hours for a chance to get a Shohei Ohtani bobblehead at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 29, 2024

Fans line up hours before Dodgers game to get Shohei Ohtani bobblehead

Fans began arriving around noon for the night game against the Baltimore Orioles.
The Kia Tigers' cheerleaders a racking up millions of views on social media with one of their dance routines.
BASEBALL
Aug 29, 2024

Korean baseball team's cheerleaders taking over TikTok with viral dance

The dance has spawned numerous imitators, who, smitten by the cutesy number and its accompanying ear worm, mimic the cheerleaders’ blank stares and hip swivels.
Former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is the second CDP lawmaker to join the leadership contest after party veteran Yukio Edano announced his decision to run last week.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 29, 2024

Noda announces CDP leadership bid with eye on a comeback for the opposition

The former prime minister emphasized that a certain degree of experience is required to tackle the challenges Japan is facing.
A poll shows that many Israelis support expanding the war to confront Hezbollah in Lebanon, though this poses risks of involving Iran and other international actors.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 29, 2024

Should Israel want a bigger conflict with Iran now?

A poll shows that many Israelis support expanding the war to confront Hezbollah, though this poses risks of involving Iran and other international actors.
Toyota Motor's global sales — including subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor and Hino Motors — rose 0.7% to 924,918 units in July.
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2024

Toyota sales overcome U.S. woes for first growth in six months

Toyota Motor’s sales eked out growth for the first time in six months on strong demand in Europe and Japan.
Shohei Ohtani walks through the dugout with his dog Decoy before the Dodgers' game against the Orioles at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 29, 2024

Shohei Ohtani signs exclusive trading card deal with Topps

Ohtani has had a nonexclusive relationship with Topps since 2018.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton announced in February that he will race for Ferrari next season.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Aug 30, 2024

Lewis Hamilton preparing for final Italian Grand Prix before moving to Ferrari

Hamilton announced in February that he will leave Mercedes to race with the Italian team next season.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris applauds during a campaign event in Savannah, Georgia, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 30, 2024

Harris widens lead over Trump with boost from women and Hispanics

Harris leads Trump 45% to 41% in the poll published Thursday.
Ukrainian F-16 jets. Ukraine received its first batch of F-16s this summer after the country’s leaders argued to the White House and allies in Europe for many months that they were essential to the war effort.
WORLD
Aug 30, 2024

F-16 fighter jet, recently supplied to Ukraine, crashes

The jet, one of just a handful, crashed while defending against a large Russian aerial assault on Monday, killing the pilot, Ukraine’s military said.
Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris waves during a campaign rally in Savannah, Georgia, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 30, 2024

In CNN interview excerpts, Harris defends ideological shift to center

In her interview, Kamala Harris sought to stake out political ground that would appeal to swing voters even as she assured progressive supporters she was still with them.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's public search facility in Alexandria, Virginia
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 30, 2024

U.S. funded over 1,000 patents for China-based researchers, data shows

The U.S. patent data could amplify calls to cancel or renegotiate the landmark U.S.-China Science and Technology Agreement.
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he attends a town hall event in La Crosse, Wisconsin, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 30, 2024

Trump's high-wire act on abortion angers conservatives

The Republican nominee, who often brags about his role in overturning the constitutional right to abortion in the U.S., now claims to promote "reproductive rights."
The Foreign Ministry in Tokyo
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 30, 2024

Japan's Foreign Ministry seeks ¥66.2 billion to fight false info

The total amount of funds sought in the budget request for fiscal 2025 is ¥814.6 billion, up 12.3% from the initial budget for the previous year.
Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally at Enmarket Arena during a two-day campaign bus tour in Savannah, Georgia, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 30, 2024

Seven takeaways from Harris’ first major interview

The vice president answered questions in the CNN interview without causing herself political harm or providing herself a significant boost.
A protestor hold what they called a Stand up to Racism rally in Liverpool, England, on Aug 3. Savvy anti-populists should concentrate their rhetorical fire on populist leaders, rather than on their supporters.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 30, 2024

The counteroffensive against populism

One lesson from the past few months might sound like a truism: All parties that value democracy must unite to face down anti-democratic threats.
Despite the challenges, including sluggish consumption and market volatility, the Bank of Japan's recent policy adjustments reflect a strategy aimed at ensuring a stable path toward its inflation goals.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 30, 2024

BOJ’s recent policy changes highlight a shift toward global monetary practices

The BOJ's approach is influenced by global financial regulations and aims to balance market stability with effective monetary policy.
Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike on Zibqin, in southern Lebanon, on Sunday. AFP-JIJI
EDITORIALS
Aug 30, 2024

The Middle East remains on a precipice

Israel's retaliations in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran have not led to a wider conflict. But neither Iran nor its proxies seem eager to expand the fighting either.
Bureaucrats had envisioned payments of up to ¥600,000 for women who got married and settled outside of Tokyo, according to media reports.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 30, 2024

Japan scraps idea to woo women out of city with cash

Bureaucrats had envisioned payments of up to ¥600,000 for women who got married and settled outside of Tokyo.
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the government, via video link at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow on Aug. 22.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 31, 2024

Kremlin says not worried Putin could be arrested in Mongolia

Putin will travel to Mongolia on Tuesday, his first trip to an ICC member since The Hague-based court issued a warrant for his arrest.
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump dances during a campaign rally at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena in Johnstown, Pennsylvania,  on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 31, 2024

Trump moves to contain fallout of abortion and IVF rows

The ex-president has been under fire from conservatives over an announcement that in a second term he would ensure free in vitro fertilization.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic plays a backhand return against Australia's Alexei Popyrin during their third-round match at the U.S. Open in New York on Friday.
TENNIS
Aug 31, 2024

Djokovic admits to 'worst tennis ever' in shock U.S. Open exit

The 37-year-old Djokovic, a four-time champion in New York, lost 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in the third round to 28th-ranked Alexei Popyrin of Australia.
Kimi Antonelli (left) speaks with Toto Wolff, Mercedes' team principal, on Friday during a practice session for the Italian Grand Prix.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Aug 31, 2024

18-year-old Kimi Antonelli to replace Hamilton at Mercedes in 2025

The Italian Antonelli, who has won two races for Prema Racing in Formula Two this year, will join George Russell as Hamilton moves on to Ferrari.
Workers restore a high-voltage line destroyed in a Russian missile attack in Kyiv on Feb. 7.
WORLD
Aug 31, 2024

Ukrainians fear grim winter amid massive attacks on power plants

This week’s air raids on Kyiv and other cities across the country were the largest since Russia’s full-scale invasion began 2½ year ago.
A construction worker in Tokyo's Akasaka district on Aug. 21. With 886 cases, 54 of them fatal, during the period from 2019 to 2023, the construction industry leads Japan’s tally for occupational heatstroke.
BUSINESS / Boiling Point
Sep 1, 2024

Clocking off: Japan’s hotter summers put limit on outdoor work

Climate change is forcing businesses to sacrifice productivity in the name of safety in industries ranging from construction to transportation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to the media in front of an F-16 fighter at an undisclosed location in Ukraine on Aug. 4.
WORLD
Sep 1, 2024

Ukraine's Zelenskyy presses U.S. to green light deeper strikes into Russia

Washington has provided Ukraine with more than $50 billion worth of military aid since 2022, but has limited the use of its weapons.

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