Search - 2022

 
 
Mike Sunda at a concert in Haikou, China
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Feb 20, 2025

Mike Sunda: ‘Creative production comes with a bigger responsibility than ever before’

Creative strategist Mike Sunda talks about his influences and the filming of Megan Thee Stallion’s “Mamushi” music video.
An example of utilizing waterfront spaces, such as developing public waterfront embarkments and privately owned roads into a unified plaza, and operating moored ships as hotels. The land ministry views this as a reference case for a public-private partnerships system. The photo was taken in December, in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 20, 2025

Private funds tapped for revitalization of Japan's port green areas

Many local governments across the nation are inviting businesses to boost the appeal of port areas by developing commercial facilities and cafes.
Rebel fighters with the Rwanda-backed M23 militia secure Congolese soldiers who had surrendered in Goma, Congo, on Jan. 30.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 18, 2025

Sanctions on Rwanda alone won't stop war in DRC

Past peace efforts collapsed as Rwanda accused the DRC of sheltering the FDLR, a Hutu militia tied to the 1994 Tutsi genocide.
Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (center) runs during a 100-meter heat at the Paris Olympics on Aug. 3, 2024.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Feb 20, 2025

Abdul Hakim Sani Brown ready to sprint past Paris disappointment

Despite setting a personal best with a time of 9.96 seconds, Sani Brown finished fourth in his semifinal heat in the 100-meter sprint in Paris.
“Yasuko, Songs of Days Past” centers on a real-life love triangle between poet Chuya Nakahara (Taisei Kido, left), actor Yasuko Hasegawa (Suzu Hirose, center) and literary critic Hideo Kobayashi (Masaki Okada).
CULTURE / Film
Feb 20, 2025

‘Yasuko, Songs of Days Past’ puts overlooked star in the spotlight

Kichitaro Negishi’s drama, based on a real-life love triangle among notable figures of the Japanese literati, captures the flavor of a bygone era.
The Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia on July 1, 2016
WORLD
Feb 20, 2025

In Russia, dozens of dissenters are held as psychiatric patients

The practice carries echoes of a method of control used widely in the Soviet Union and known as "punitive psychiatry."
People shop in a supermarket as inflation affected consumer prices in Manhattan, New York City, in June 2022.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Feb 21, 2025

'Stagflation' fears haunt U.S. markets despite Trump's pro-growth agenda

The dreaded scenario has crept back as a key risk for investors in recent weeks.
Students make speeches in Japanese at Linguist, a school in Irpin, near Kyiv, earlier this month.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2025

Kyiv school seeks peace through language education

In 2024, the Japanese government provided about 1 million textbooks to Ukraine as grant aid through the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky speaks during an interview at the Ukrainian Embassy in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 21, 2025

As Ukraine rift emerges, Kyiv's envoy says Japan must take on bigger global role

The remarks by Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky came amid what appears to be a dramatic reversal in years of U.S. support for Ukraine since Russia's invasion.
Former death row inmate Iwao Hakamata (left) and his sister, Hideko, attend a gathering of his supporters after his acquittal in a retrial over a 1966 murder case was finalized in October last year.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 22, 2025

Over 80% of Japanese say death penalty system is 'unavoidable'

The Cabinet Office survey, which is conducted every five years, found that 16.5% of respondents believe the death penalty should be abolished.
U.S. Marines during training in Okinawa last month.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 22, 2025

U.S. Marines start to leave Japan, decades behind schedule

The U.S. base on Okinawa has relocated 105 Marines. But an agreement to move 9,000 in total is colliding with the perceived threat from a rising China.
Akie Abe meets with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te (left) at the Taiwan Presidential Office in Taipei on Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 22, 2025

Taiwan President Lai meets with Akie Abe, widow of slain prime minister

Lai told Akie at the meeting that Taiwan aims to protect the values of freedom and democracy, and deepen its friendship with Japan.
Donald Trump, then the Republican presidential candidate, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet at Trump Tower in New York City in September.
WORLD
Feb 23, 2025

Trump says U.S. wants return on Ukraine aid money

The comments came as Washington and Kyiv negotiate a mineral resources deal being pushed by Trump.
People demonstrate in support of Ukraine ahead of the third anniversary of the war with Russia, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 23, 2025

Trump shakes transatlantic alliance with Russia pivot

Fears are growing in European capitals that the bond forged from the ruins of World War II is on the verge of collapse.
Ancient trees and animals play crucial roles in ecosystems, carbon storage and even human health, yet their populations are dwindling due to deforestation, fishing and climate change.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 2025

Who will speak for the trees?

A slew of scientific discoveries shows why we should protect not just 1,000-year-old trees but also 200-year-old whales, 400-year-old fish and 10,000-year-old sea sponges.
A makeshift memorial for Ukrainian soldiers who died fighting invading Russian forces and the Monument to Independence in Kyiv on Feb. 14
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 2025

Ukraine can survive with the ‘least worst’ peace deal

Clearly the main issue and unfortunately it looks like Trump’s idea of ending the war fast means doing very little for the people who were actually invaded.
Children do exercises in a hall during a break between classes in an underground school in Zaporizhzhia on Jan. 27.
WORLD / Society
Feb 24, 2025

Ukraine's underground schools helping children feel safe

Such schools allow students to return to in-person learning and socialize with their classmates while keeping them safe from attacks.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a news conference in Warsaw on Feb. 14.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 24, 2025

U.S. defense chief and national security adviser avoid naming Russia as aggressor in Ukraine

Asked if Russia attacked Ukraine without provocation, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and national security adviser Mike Waltz both portrayed the question of as a distraction.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (far right), Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (second from right), Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics (left) and Finland President Alexander Stubb (second from left) gather on the day of a news conference after the Support Ukraine summit, marking the third anniversary of the Russian invasion, in Kyiv on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 25, 2025

European leaders in Kyiv to mark three years of war, but top U.S. officials stay away

Trump's rush to end the war has stoked fears of an undermined Kyiv and an altered geopolitical landscape.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba addresses Group of Seven leaders during a teleconference from the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo late Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 25, 2025

Japan urges G7 to avoid 'wrong lessons' in Ukraine peace process

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has urged leaders to be careful in backing any Ukraine peace process that could validate the use of force to change borders.
There’s keen interest in the market on whether Japan’s regional banks will pour back into benchmark 10-year notes, whose yields jumped to the highest levels since 2009 in Tokyo trading on Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 25, 2025

One of Japan's top regional banks holds JGB buying on bet rates to climb

There’s keen interest in the market on whether Japan’s regional banks will pour back into benchmark 10-year notes.
The logo of Rheinmetall is displayed at the Eurosatory international defense and security trade fair in Villepinte, near Paris, in June 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 25, 2025

Rheinmetall to convert German factories to make defense equipment

The move by Europe's top ammunition maker to repurpose two automotive plants highlights the impact of an expected surge in spending in the region.
A Chinese ship, the bulk carrier Yi Peng 3, is anchored and monitored by a Danish naval patrol vessel (unseen) in the sea of Kattegat, near the City of Granaa in Jutland, Denmark. Denmark's navy said on November 20, 2024 it was shadowing a Chinese cargo vessel in the Baltic Sea, a day after Finland and Sweden opened investigations into suspected sabotage of two severed undersea telecoms cables.
WORLD
Feb 25, 2025

Damage to Baltic Sea telecoms cable may have occurred in January

Swedish and Finnish police said they were investigating a suspected case of sabotage of the C-Lion1 cable running along the seabed from Finland to Germany.
Warren Buffett's plans to increase holdings in Japanese trading houses are seen as a stamp of approval for the undervalued sector.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 25, 2025

Buffett’s fervor for Japan trading firms sparks share rally

Buffett praised Japan’s trading firms for increasing dividends when appropriate and for being less aggressive in their executive pay than U.S. counterparts.
While Osaka’s 2025 World Expo may strengthen Japan’s global ties through diplomatic engagements, its success will depend on fostering long-term innovation, economic cooperation and international collaboration beyond visitor numbers.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 25, 2025

Will Expo 2025 in Osaka be a success?

Osaka has hosted the Expo twice before, in 1970 and 1990, with the 1970 affair in particular occupying a special place in many local residents’ hearts.
Visitors line up to take photos in front of a convenience store with Mount Fuji in the background at the town of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Jan. 29.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 25, 2025

Japan’s ‘hidden gems’ overwhelmed as social media drives influx of tourists

Local stakeholders struggle to cope with the surge in visitor numbers whenever a location suddenly goes viral.
The weak yen is often cited as one reason why many Japanese don't go abroad.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 25, 2025

Only 17% of Japanese people own passports, Foreign Ministry says

Around 3.7 million passports were issued domestically in 2024, a 8.8% increase from the year before but down 15.2% from prepandemic numbers in 2019.
The Chinese embrace of DeepSeek comes as governments from South Korea to Italy remove the artificial intelligence from national app stores, citing privacy concerns.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 25, 2025

DeepSeek rushes to launch new AI model as China goes all in

Deepseek had planned to release R2 in early May but now wants it out as early as possible.
An Apple store in Walnut Creek, California, on Monday. Apple Inc. Apple investors rejected a proposal to end the iPhone maker’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, but CEO Tim Cook some some adjustments may occur.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 26, 2025

Apple to keep DEI efforts, though some adjustments possible

The proposal to abolish DEI efforts came after competitors like Meta and Google have started winding down such programs.
Hoshoryu holds up the latest "banzuke" sumo ranking chart in Osaka on Tuesday.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Feb 26, 2025

Latest sumo ranking sheet has plenty to catch the eye

The release of every new "banzuke," or ranking list, signals the imminent arrival of the next official tournament — and the latest has some striking changes.

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Pedestrians commute through Shibuya Station in central Tokyo, an area that is almost never devoid of people.
As the rest of Japan shrinks, Tokyo grows