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Japan's household spending dropped 2.7% in July from the previous month, as persistent inflation continued to erode purchasing power.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 5, 2023

Japan’s households cut back spending as Kishida considers measures

Weak data indicate an economy struggling to build momentum as inflation outpaces wage gains and consumer spending remains below pre-pandemic levels.
A woman shops for medicine at a drugstore in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 5, 2023

More young women overdosing on over-the-counter drugs

In a country where illicit drugs are hard to obtain, many have begun to abuse cough and cold medications, which are legal and easily accessible.
Personnel from the Self-Defense Forces take part in a nuclear, biological and chemical weapons exercise at New Chitose airport in Hokkaido in July 2012.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Sep 7, 2023

Japan has plenty to offer in the field of detecting threats

With the spread of chemical, nuclear and biological weapons, the time is right to put domestic tech to good use.
The Shiodome City Center building in Tokyo's Minato Ward
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 6, 2023

GIC considering sale of Tokyo skyscraper for over $2 billion

The sale plans come as a glut of new office supply is expected in Tokyo over the next two years, potentially tempering investor appetite.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks speaks during a meeting of the National Defense Industrial Association in Washington on Aug. 28. Hicks has said the Pentagon's "Replicator" initiative is meant to help the U.S. overcome China’s biggest military advantage: mass.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 6, 2023

Pentagon drone swarm strategy aims to counter Chinese military

The U.S. is looking to field thousands of cheap, smart and autonomous war drones across multiple domains within 18 to 24 months.
A Progressive Party of Maldives worker poses with an "India Out" flag in Male, Maldives, in March 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 6, 2023

Maldives election could be key for China-India rivalry

A presidential election on Saturday could determine whether China or India wins a competition for influence over the tiny Indian Ocean island chain.
A woman wears traditional Uyghur clothing for a photo shoot in the Old Kashgar tourist area in China's northwestern Xinjiang region.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 6, 2023

State-backed tourism booms in China's troubled Xinjiang

Kashgar, once an ancient Silk Road oasis, was recently on the front lines of Beijing's sweeping anti-terrorism campaign in the northwestern region.
Packs of raw fish at a Japanese food store in Beijing prior to China's ban on Japan's seafood products
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 6, 2023

China takes its anti-science disinformation campaign to a new level

Japan can counter China's disinformation on the safety of the Fukushima water release, and gain people's trust, by sharing the data.
Journalists tour the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and the tanks that contain contaminated water on Aug. 27
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 6, 2023

We need to put low-dose radiation into perspective

Public fear of the effects of low-dose radiation isn’t backed by science. The Fukushima water release shows, once again, that better education is needed.
A screenshot of the Nigetore app (left) five minutes after the start of practice evacuation using a 15-minute setting for “preparation time.” On the right, two screenshots show the outcomes of drills and a map indicating an evacuation route with tsunami inundation areas highlighted.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Sep 11, 2023

Tsunami evacuation app offers realistic quake preparation experience

Personal tsunami evacuation drill app Nigetore allows users to choose their own evacuation routes and evaluate their success.
Indians celebrate the successful lunar landing of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft on the south pole of the moon at a rally in the city of Ahmedabad on Aug. 24.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 5, 2023

India has every right to be proud of its space program and lunar triumph

In 2014, after the Mars Orbiter Mission, known as Mangalyaan, made India the first Asian country to reach Mars' orbit and the first country ever to do so in its maiden attempt,
Part of the deserted Legend of Sea project developed by Country Garden
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 7, 2023

China’s credit wreck exposes governance failings to the world

"Foreign money managers still have willingness to invest in China, but how much we invest is in flux.”
A supporter of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet holds a portrait of him during a demonstration in Santiago in 2018.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 7, 2023

Dictator Pinochet still looms large over Chile, 50 years after coup

A survey conducted in May found that 36% of people believe the general "liberated Chile from Marxism," the highest figure measured in 28 years of polling.
Julie Keiko Fujishima (right), who stepped down as Johnny & Associates president on Tuesday, and new President Noriyuki Higashiyama give a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 7, 2023

Johnny's replaces president as it admits to abuse by late founder

The replacement comes on the heels of a scathing third-party report, which recommended that Julie Keiko Fujishima resign as president.
Kohei Saito, a philosophy professor at the University of Tokyo who appears regularly in Japanese media to discuss his ideas, at home in Tokyo on March 16.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 7, 2023

Can shrinking be good for Japan? A Marxist bestseller makes the case.

Saito has tapped into what he describes as a growing disillusionment in Japan with capitalism’s ability to solve the problems people see around them.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 7, 2023

Taiwan’s ‘silicon shield’ against China is an illusion

China may be reliant on Taiwanese semiconductors, but that doesn't stop Beijing from harboring a military takeover.
An activist in Seoul protests Japan’s plan to release treated wastewater from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
PODCAST / deep dive
Sep 7, 2023

Anger at Fukushima’s wastewater; hope in its renewables

Good news and bad news out of Fukushima.
Aziz Umerov looks at a portrait of his sister Leniye Umerova, a Ukrainian from Russian-annexed Crimea arrested in Russia, on August 11.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Sep 7, 2023

Arrest, detain, repeat: Russian war critics in jail 'carousel'

Consecutive jailings aren't illegal, as Russian law allows judges to order "administrative" detentions of up to 30 days for minor infractions.
The typical priority seat section on a Japanese train will be well marked in numerous languages.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 8, 2023

The priority seats: Are they fair game on an empty train?

Japan is a society with many unspoken rules. Are you aware of the norms that govern your place of business?
Cuban American soprano Lisette Oropesa stars as Violetta in a restaging of Giuseppe Verdi’s “La Traviata” directed by Sofia Coppola in her opera directing debut in 2016
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 8, 2023

Rome Opera's tragic heroes resonate in modern times

For its Japan tour, the company will perform lavish productions of "La Traviata," directed by Sofia Coppola, and "Tosca," by Franco Zeffirelli.
Kazuki Paul Tsuyukusa with his dog Sunny in Fukuoka
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Sep 9, 2023

Kazuki Paul Tsuyukusa: 'It’s better to live without being noticed everywhere.’

A former rikishi, Kazuki Paul Tsuyukusa has swapped his sumo stable for the life of a salaryman.
Children try to salvage their belongings from the rubble of their house after a demolition drive by the authorities at a slum area near the upcoming G20 Summit main venue in New Delhi, in June.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 8, 2023

Many slums disappear from Indian capital ahead of G20 summit

In 2021, housing minister Hardeep Singh Puri, told parliament that 13.5 million people lived in the city's unauthorized colonies.
A joint study by consultant McKinsey and data firm NielsenIQ earlier this year found that 78% of U.S. consumers say a sustainable lifestyle is important to them.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Sep 8, 2023

Shoppers say they want sustainable goods, but won't pay more

When push comes to shove, manufacturers sometimes find consumers aren't buying their sustainable products.
Mizuho Financial Group has been expanding its presence in the United States to tap the world’s biggest fee pool, becoming one of the four global investment banks leading Arm's IPO.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 8, 2023

Mizuho's SoftBank ties boost Wall Street ambitions via Arm IPO

The bank has been expanding its presence in the U.S. to tap the world’s biggest fee pool, even as deals slump globally following the pandemic.
More cooks are pursuing careers in cooking for wealthy clients, but the glitz that makes it into viral TikTok videos isn’t always the whole picture.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 10, 2023

Private chefs toe the line between occupation and isolation

A new chapter in the age of food celebrity is unfolding online as more cooks take up careers as private chefs and go public with the perks of the job.
Flavorless (?) Candy spurred debate over what the "taste of nothingness" tastes like, if anything.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 10, 2023

Sucking on Japan's flavorless candy for a 'state of nothingness'

The candy was developed for people who wanted to moisten mouths that had gone dry from all-day mask wearing but without a sugar rush.
The threat of Mosquito-borne dengue fever is not restricted to South Asia as infection rates are rising globally with 4.2 million cases reported in 2022.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Sep 8, 2023

Mosquito-borne dengue grows deadlier in South Asia as planet warms

Disease experts say the worsening outbreaks of dengue are linked to the impacts of climate change.
The beach at Brighton, on the south coast of England on Thursday, as the late summer heat wave continues.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Sep 8, 2023

How climate change influenced the hottest summer on record

A growing body of attribution science seeks to analyze if or how climate change is making extreme weather worse.
Rachel Culin, a disenchanted Toyota owner, standing between her Toyota Prius and new Chevy Bolt at her home in Mesa, Arizona. The world’s largest carmaker dominates the sales of hybrid cars but has been slow to sell all-electric vehicles, alienating some customers and hurting sales.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 8, 2023

Toyota, a hybrid pioneer, struggles to master electric vehicles

The world’s largest carmaker dominates the sales of hybrid cars but has been slow to sell EVs, alienating some customers and hurting sales.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 8, 2023

Kauan Okamoto finds some closure after recognition of Kitagawa abuse

“I felt a bit better. There’s nothing more I want to say to Johnny & Associates,” Okamoto said.

Longform

It's back to the classroom for some residents as municipal governments across the country conduct lessons to learn how to use new technologies.
Can aging Japan go digital without leaving anyone behind?