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JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 19, 2023

Watchdog starts on-site probe of Bigmotor and Sompo Japan

The investigation aims to dig deeper into the insurance fraud scandal by the leading used-car dealer. The probe is likely to take several months.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang holds a copy of China's constitution during a news conference at the Media Center of the National People's Congress in Beijing on March 7.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 19, 2023

China ousted foreign minister over affair in U.S., report says

Top officials in China were told in August that a Communist Party inquiry into Qin uncovered "lifestyle issues.”
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 20, 2023

Two Japanese researchers picked as 2023 Citation Laureates

Clarivate names researchers as Citation Laureates if they have made Nobel Prize-level research achievements and their papers are cited frequently.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 21, 2023

South Korean leader warns Russia and North Korea on arms deals

Both Washington and Seoul say that Moscow has used North Korean weapons against Ukraine for a long time.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 21, 2023

Scandal-tainted Yuko Obuchi's appointment could backfire on Kishida

Obuchi still faces questions over a nearly decade-old political funds scandal, and last week she was hit with fresh allegations of financial impropriety.
Leaves of marijuana plants from which hemp fibers are extracted at Japan's largest legal marijuana farm in Kanuma, Tochigi Prefecture, on July 5, 2016
PODCAST / deep dive
Sep 21, 2023

Does a university cannabis scandal point to a larger trend?

A drugs scandal at Japan’s biggest university draws attention to a troubling statistic: Cannabis use among young people is on the rise.
LIFE / Digital
Sep 21, 2023

Tokyo Game Show returns in full force with ‘largest-ever’ event

Participants at the gaming convention should expect long wait times for demos, but the Final Fantasy remake is worth it.
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly meets with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo in October.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 21, 2023

It's time for Canada to implement a foreign policy reset

Canada should strengthen partnerships with like-minded democratic allies such as Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Singapore.
John Williams (right) and Seiji Ozawa (center) have been friends for decades. Their long-awaited reunion in Japan comes courtesy of a musical collaboration between Williams and the Saito Kinen Orchestra for the 31st edition of Ozawa’s annual music festival.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 24, 2023

Music legends John Williams and Seiji Ozawa reunite at Matsumoto festival

The American composer and conductor led a special program featuring his famous film scores at his long-time friend's annual event in Nagano Prefecture.
Meetings will be held regularly at the vice-minister level, with officials reporting back to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, according to the Treasury.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 23, 2023

U.S. and China form economy working groups in sign of better ties

Meetings will be held at the vice-minister level, with officials reporting back to U.S. Treasury chief Janet Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.
The Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, where Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot and killed in the parking lot in June, in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, on Wednesday. The violent, professional-style killing of Nijjar now lies at the center of a diplomatic clash between Canada and India that comes just as Western allies have been trying to strengthen ties with the Indian government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 24, 2023

Two hooded gunmen, a silver getaway car and a slain Sikh leader

Three witnesses who said they saw the killers of Hardeep Singh Nijjar described the scene.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attends a news conference after addressing the 78th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 24, 2023

Russia accuses West of 'de facto' fighting in Ukraine

This came after Kyiv said that Russian navy commanders had been killed or wounded in a missile attack on Moscow's Black Sea Fleet headquarters.
Oreo is a sweet dog who likes attention. He'll need a patient owner who can teach him new skills.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Sep 24, 2023

A big dog with a sweet center, that's Oreo

This canine came to Japan from the United States but his former owners had to let him go.
A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B fighter jet during a preview of the Singapore Airshow in Singapore in February 2022
WORLD / Politics
Sep 24, 2023

F-35s are rarely flight-ready and repairs are too slow, GAO says

The Marine Corps’ goal for availability of its F-35B is 85%. Instead, the "mission capable” rate for F-35B training jets in 2022 was about 55%.
The Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2023

Japan to discuss carbon storage with Malaysia

Japan plans is to store 120 to 240 million tons of carbon dioxide per year underground, which is 10% to 20% of current output.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 25, 2023

As farmers gray, Japan pins hopes on robots and smart agriculture

The agriculture ministry is currently supporting the development and testing of related technologies by companies in 217 districts across Japan.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo meet Saturday, on the sidelines of the Asian Games.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 25, 2023

South Korea seeks Xi’s visit to mark ‘turning point’ in ties

Seoul is seeking to have Chinese leader Xi Jinping visit for the first time in about a decade, amid South Korea's closer ties with the U.S.
Self-proclaimed president of the "Free Republic of Liberland" Vit Jedlicka (center) poses with the Liberland flag and future citizens in the village of Backi Monostor, Serbia, in May 2015
WORLD / Society
Sep 25, 2023

Breakaway Balkans micronation dreams of a crypto future

"Liberland" has attracted libertarian supporters across the globe who see a natural harmony between libertarianism and crypto.
Zaein, created by artificial intelligence company Pulse9, is one of South Korea's most active virtual humans.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 26, 2023

In South Korea, AI-driven virtual humans go mainstream

Digital humans have been created for some of the country's largest conglomerates, with research indicating the tech could be worth $527 billion by 2030.
Packages to be delivered on Amazon Prime Day in New York in 2022
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 27, 2023

Why Amazon’s online marketplace drew FTC scrutiny

The FTC’s case against Amazon is an important test of whether Lina Khan’s interpretation of the law will hold up in court.
A screen in a shopping area in Beijing broadcasts news footage of military drills by China's People's Liberation Army around Taiwan on Aug. 19.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 27, 2023

China says drills near Taiwan target 'arrogance' of separatists

Taiwan has said this month that it had observed dozens of fighters, drones, bombers and other aircraft, as well as warships operating nearby.
Locally caught seafood at the Hamanoeki Fish Market and Food Court in Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, on Aug. 31
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2023

Russia considers banning Japanese seafood imports

Russian food safety watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor said it had discussed Japanese food exports with its Chinese counterparts.
ASML is the world’s only maker of very high-end semiconductor lithography equipment and is one of Europe’s most valuable technology companies.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 27, 2023

ASML to open Hokkaido facility as Japan's chipmaking push gathers steam

The maker of high-end chip equipment, which currently has eight sites in Japan, plans to grow its headcount by around 40%.
Lina Khan, chair of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), speaks during an interview in Washington on Tuesday. The FTC has sued Amazon.com, accusing the e-commerce giant of monopolizing online marketplace services by degrading quality for shoppers and overcharging sellers.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 27, 2023

U.S. trade watchdog sues Amazon.com in landmark antitrust case

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and 17 states accuse the e-commerce giant of excluding rivals in online marketplace services and stifling competition.
(From left) G.R.D.V., Marao and Ryuseigun Saionji make up BBBBBBB (seven Bs pronounced one letter at a time), an Aichi Prefecture-based project whose brand of digital hardcore has made it one of the up-and-coming figures in Japan’s contemporary underground scene.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 28, 2023

BBBBBBB's sense of humor cuts through the noise

The Aichi Prefecture-based digital hardcore project finds inspiration in the loud chaos of Hollywood blockbusters from the 1990s.
Students from Yanagawa High School and its Thai-affiliated junior high school pose for a photo during an exchange event in August.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Oct 2, 2023

Pioneering Thai-Japanese school aims to nurture global minds

Yanagawa Junior High School Thailand is affiliated with a school in Fukuoka Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 28, 2023

Tokyo hospital hopes to launch baby hatch next year

San-ikukai Hospital is preparing to set up a baby hatch next spring or later, along with a system to allow women to give births confidentially.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen attends the launching ceremony of Hai Kun, the island's first domestically built submarine, in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 28, 2023

How Taiwan's new subs could complicate a Chinese invasion

The way in which Taipei deploys what is set to be a fleet of eight new attack submarines will be crucial in its efforts to deter or counter Beijing.
The cast of Chelfitsch’s play “The Window of Spaceship ‘In-Between’” includes individuals with different levels of Japanese-language proficiency. They participated in workshops hosted by the theater company to promote more inclusivity in Japanese theater.
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 29, 2023

Chelfitsch challenges Japanese theater's language barriers

The theater company questions the status quo of the Japanese stage by casting non-native speakers in new project, 'The Window of Spaceship "In-Between."'
The Nvidia headquarters in Santa Clara, California
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 28, 2023

AI chip crunch: Startups vie for Nvidia's vital component

Generative AI's lifeblood is a book-sized semiconductor known as the graphics processing unit (GPU) — built by one company, Nvidia.

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