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BUSINESS / Tech / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Oct 23, 2023

Hokkaido waits to gauge impact from upcoming Rapidus chip plant

The nationally backed effort to revive Japan’s semiconductor industry has been called the region’s largest-ever development project.
People gather on Wednesday near the al-Ahli hospital where hundreds of Palestinians were killed earlier in a blast that Israeli and Palestinian officials blame on each other.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 19, 2023

Gaza hospital tragedy escalates war risk, no matter who’s to blame

The Gaza hospital tragedy escalates the conflict and raises questions as to what really happened and who is to blame?
Various aspects of Japan’s Sado Island — noh, taiko drumming, business investment and cultural regeneration projects — weave their way into “L’ile d’Or Kanemu-Jima,” with characters and cultures coming together in a melting pot of real-world political problems, theater styles and dark humor.
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 20, 2023

Cultures collide in Ariane Mnouchkine's Sado Island-inspired play

The Kyoto Prize-winning French theater director's latest production, "L’ile d’Or Kanemu-Jima," draws from her experiences in Japan, both old and new.
Arctic climate scientists tend to be a close-knit community, but the war in Ukraine upended that status quo.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Oct 19, 2023

Climate science in Arctic ‘broken’ as U.S. and Europe isolate Russia

Arctic climate scientists tend to be a close-knit community, but the war in Ukraine has upended that status quo.
Shintaro Mochizuki hits a return against Taylor Fritz during their match at the Japan Open on Oct. 19.
TENNIS
Oct 20, 2023

Wild-card Shintaro Mochizuki upsets Taylor Fritz at Japan Open

Mochizuki went into the tournament without a tour-level win to his name.
Meiji University professor and cinema expert Lindsay Nelson writes about 
J-horror (Japanese horror) in her book, “Circulating Fear.”
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Oct 28, 2023

‘Horror has always been a vehicle to talk about social problems’

A J-horror expert gives her take on the essence of the genre and the cultural roots of its creative choices.
Air conditioners on display during an event in Guangzhou
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Oct 20, 2023

Countries asked to slash cooling emissions by 68% by 2050

The Global Cooling Pledge represents a tough request given the cooling industry is only expected to grow.
A woman takes her meal alone in Tokyo's Yanaka neighborhood. As the country ages, Japan's average caloric intake has been shrinking.
PODCAST / deep dive
Oct 20, 2023

Table for one? What depopulation in Japan means for dinner.

As Japan’s population ages and more people find themselves isolated, solving their dietary needs is shaping the way the country feeds itself.
The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. logo atop a building at the Hsinchu Science Park in Hsinchu, Taiwan
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 20, 2023

‘Sell TSMC, buy ASML’ gains traction as China-Taiwan risks grow

Because TSMC’s operations are mostly in Taiwan, it faces heightened geopolitical hazards. ASML, meanwhile, stands to benefit from the fragmentation.
Vagaries in Japanese law mean single mothers are sometimes left without financial support from their former partners.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Oct 23, 2023

Documentary shines a spotlight on Japan’s single mothers

"The Ones Left Behind" explores the successes and struggles of single mothers in modern Japan.
Negotiations are pointless as Vladimir Putin will not offer peace in exchange for Ukrainian territories; his goal is to eliminate the country as a nation.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 18, 2023

Putin's defeat must be democracies’ goal

Only a strategic defeat of Russia can stop this cancer from spreading. Why, then, are many Western leaders allergic to this prescription?
The arrests of an executive and two former employees of WPP, one of the world’s biggest advertising companies, involved WPP’s GroupM media trading division and included a raid on offices in Shanghai.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Oct 21, 2023

WPP employee arrested and offices raided by Chinese police

An executive and two former employees of WPP, one of the world’s biggest advertising companies, have been arrested in China.
People demonstrate against the government on Nov. 5, 2022, after nearly 160 people died in a crowd crush in Seoul's Itaewon district on Halloween that year.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Oct 21, 2023

Little punishment or change after South Korea’s Halloween calamity

Families of the 159 people crushed to death last year say the government has never acknowledged its mistakes or accepted responsibility.
An iceberg melting in Greenland. A crucial meeting on climate "loss and damages" ahead of COP28 ended in failure Saturday, with rich and developing countries unable to reach an agreement, according to sources involved in the talks.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Oct 21, 2023

Climate 'loss and damage' talks end in failure

A crucial meeting on climate "loss and damages" ahead of COP28 ended in failure Saturday, with rich and developing countries unable to reach an agreement, according to sources involved in the talks.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen races in the U.S. Grand Prix sprint at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 22, 2023

Max Verstappen beats Louis Hamilton to Austin sprint race victory

The main event at the Texas track is on Sunday, with Red Bull's Verstappen chasing his 50th grand prix win from sixth on the grid.
A China Coast Guard vessel collides with a Philippine resupply vessel in the disputed South China Sea on Sunday, in this image taken from video.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 22, 2023

Philippines and China trade blame over South China Sea collision

The incident occurred near the Second Thomas Shoal, as a Philippine resupply vessel made its way toward a military garrison.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra on Oct. 16
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 22, 2023

Australian PM to visit China in November to meet with Xi

The widely anticipated trip will be the first of its kind since 2016 and an opportunity to repair a once-frosty relationship.
Collin Morikawa receives the winner's trophy after the final round of the Zozo Championship in Inzai, Chiba Prefecture, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Oct 22, 2023

Collin Morikawa cruises to Zozo Championship title

The two-time major winner was playing his first tournament since being part of the American team that failed to retain the Ryder Cup in Rome.
Speech-generating AI works by sifting through reams of data, categorizing how people speak then using an algorithm, to replicate human vocal patterns and speech characteristics.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Oct 23, 2023

Whose voice is it anyway? Actors take on AI copycats

Artists around the world are joining forces to protect their jobs, and their souls, from the ramifications of AI that sounds just like them.
Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelley pitches against the Phillies during Game 6 of the National League Championship Series in Philadelphia on Monday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 24, 2023

Diamondbacks outplay Phillies to force Game 7 in NLCS

Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo got an earful from Merrill Kelly upon pulling the right-hander in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series Monday.
EF Polymer CEO Narayan Lal Gurjar (right) and COO Kunihiro Shimoji at the company in Onna, Okinawa Prefecture, in August
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Oct 30, 2023

Organic polymer brings water to drought-hit farmlands

The India-born, Okinawa-nurtured product seeks to replace petroleum-derived polymers to promote sustainability.
English and Italian footballers observe a minute of silence for the victims of a deadly shooting in Brussels and of the devastating events in Israel and Palestine, at Wembley Stadium in London on Oct. 17.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 24, 2023

Qatar-owned network altered broadcasts to avoid war references

Instead of tributes and moments of silence at recent games, beIN broadcasts aired extended studio discussions that hewed solely toward soccer.
Voice actors record their parts for a radio drama at a radio station studio in Manila.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Oct 25, 2023

Filipino listeners cheered by last surviving radio dramas

A small team of voice actors and technicians produce shows that are broadcast in Tagalog by DZRH, one of the oldest radio stations in the country.
Over the past decade, China has arrested and indicted hundreds of senior government officials and more than a million low-ranking civil servants in an effort to root out corruption.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 25, 2023

Measuring corruption in China

Over the past decade, China has arrested and indicted hundreds of senior government officials and more than a million low-ranking civil servants.
SkyDrive displays its eVTOL flying car at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 25, 2023

Japan’s largest auto show returns with focus on mobility

The organizer has renamed the event for the first time since 1964, with the Japan Mobility Show replacing the Tokyo Motor Show.
Sections of the forests in Colville, Washington, have already been thinned, allowing trees to grow less densely and reducing the risk for wildfire.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Oct 26, 2023

How to prevent forest fires by building cities with more wood

Not everyone is convinced mass timber will help forest health.
The simplest option for many Japanese industries facing labor shortages might be to do what the taxi sector is doing — keep people in the workforce longer.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 26, 2023

Octogenarian taxi drivers to the labor-crunch rescue

An option for many Japanese industries facing labor shortages might be to do what the taxi sector is doing — keep people in the workforce longer.
Shibuya Mayor Ken Hasebe speaks during an interview at his office on Oct. 19.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 26, 2023

Can Shibuya's mayor turn his ward into a global icon?

For Mayor Ken Hasebe, reining in Halloween revelers is just one step on the way to transforming Shibuya.
A banner at the entrance to Shibuya’s Center Street makes it clear this is no place for a party.
PODCAST / deep dive
Oct 26, 2023

The specter of Itaewon has Shibuya spooked

One year on, Elizabeth Beattie joins us to discuss where Itaewon stands after its Halloween disaster, and what its legacy means for celebrations in Japan.
Ko Itakura (right) and Yukinari Sugawara fight for the ball with Tunisia's Elies Ashley during an international friendly football match between Japan and Tunisia in Kobe on Oct. 17.
SOCCER
Oct 27, 2023

Itakura to undergo ankle surgery, casting doubt on Japan games

Itakura was due to go under the knife on Friday because of a nagging ankle injury.

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