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Filmmaker Kah Wai Lim (left) interviews the owners of 22 independent cinemas across Japan about the difficulties and joys of running a “mini-theater” in “This Magic Moment.”
CULTURE / Film
Dec 7, 2023

‘This Magic Moment’: Mini-theaters keep indie cinema love alive

Kah Wai Lim highlights the resilient determination of small theater owners across the country who keep their businesses afloat against the odds.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 6, 2023

Kishida moves to limit damage as political funding scandal deepens

Kishida has asked party executives to refrain from hosting fundraising events "until the party clarifies its efforts to restore the public’s trust."
Experts have warned that the central government must take decisive action to curb illicit activities related to online casinos.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 12, 2023

Use of illegal online casinos rising, along with debt concerns

Experts warn that the central government must take decisive action to curb illicit activities.
Sailors sit on a truck at the Cambodian Ream Naval Base in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, in 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 7, 2023

U.S. monitoring reports of Chinese warships at Cambodian base

Radio Free Asia reported on Tuesday that Chinese warships had arrived at Cambodia's Ream Naval Base.
Few could have predicted what artificial-intelligence proponents are dreaming up these days.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 7, 2023

Wall Street quants see mixed results from chatbots amid AI boom

As AI tools get more sophisticated, companies are updating their presentations to incorporate a positive vocal tone and upbeat sentences, research shows.
A sign for "Oppenheimer" at a movie theater in Los Angeles. The film will open in Japan next year.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Dec 7, 2023

'Oppenheimer' to screen in Japan next year after nuclear controversy

The film will open in 2024, Tokyo-based distributor Bitters End said in a statement, but it did not give a specific date for the release.
Spectators watch as a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off with a payload of 21 Starlink satellites from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Feb. 27.
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 7, 2023

Starlink arctic test paves way for U.S. government contracts

Smooth performance under extreme conditions makes satellite service a crucial asset in an increasingly vital area of competition with Russia and China.
Beet carpaccio served with fresh cream and caviar, the signature dish of three-Michelin-star chef Mauro Colagreco, features at Cycle, his much-anticipated new restaurant in Otemachi.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 9, 2023

Tokyo dining finally kicked the pandemic blues in 2023

The further we got into 2023, the more it really started to feel like COVID-19 had finally dissipated like a malodorous mist.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during an event in Pyongyang. Smuggling efforts could be directly linked to the North's military ambitions, analysts have said.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 8, 2023

North Korean smugglers disguised under Pacific island flags

With strict sanctions limiting Pyongyang's ability to import fuel, smugglers have adopted increasingly creative methods.
New Year's celebrations in Japan and Western countries can differ wildly, but Tokyo offers plenty of ways for you to ring in 2024 in any way you prefer.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 9, 2023

A Tokyoite’s guide to a Western-style New Year’s Eve

Typically, Ōmisoka (New Year’s Eve) is a family affair — even in the global metropolis that is Tokyo.
The judges' tower in Teahupo'o in Tahiti, French Polynesia, during a pro surfing event in August. Residents of Teahupo'o have protested plans by Olympic organizers to build a 14 meter aluminum tower ahead of the 2024 Games.
OLYMPICS
Dec 8, 2023

Safety is top priority, Paris Games boss says amid surfing tower row

Last week, a barge bringing the aluminum tower to the Tahiti site of Teahupo'o damaged the coral reef, bringing work to a halt.
A radar facility set up for coastal surveillance by the Ground Self-Defense Force's Yonaguni base on Yonaguni island in Okinawa Prefecture.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Dec 14, 2023

Acquiring counterstrike capabilities is no simple matter for Japan

Under its defense and security strategies, deterrence by denial and deterrence by punishment are the essence of Japan’s deterrence capabilities.
Taiwan officials have warned that Beijing is trying to nudge voters toward candidates who seek closer ties with China in the island's Jan. 13 presidential and legislative elections.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 8, 2023

Taiwan intelligence says China leadership met on election interference

Taiwan officials have warned that Beijing is trying to nudge voters toward candidates who seek closer ties with China.
The end-of-year company party has been pretty much on hold for the past few years due to the pandemic. Will people embrace the tradition in bigger numbers as a result?
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 8, 2023

Should we forget the year or forget the party?

After a few years without proper yearend work parties, are Japanese workers ready for a big bash? Or, has the tradition come to an end?
Cinema at Sea film festival entry “God Is a Woman,” directed by Andres Peyrot, examines the complex feelings the Kuna, indigenous people living on Panama’s San Blas Islands, have about an unreleased documentary made about them in 1975.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 9, 2023

Cinema at Sea festival highlights diversity and unheard voices

The inaugural event for the film festival in Naha, Okinawa, boasted a strong lineup of features from places and peoples underrepresented in world cinema.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s future is uncertain as a fund-raising scandal casts a shadow over who will lead the Liberal Democratic Party. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 8, 2023

Unpacking the scandal rocking the LDP to its core

What may be termed as the “faction parties scandal” is a shock to the system that will have deep implications for the Japanese political landscape.
Demonstrators call for action on climate change and environmental justice during a march in Washington in July 2018.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 7, 2023

There can be no climate justice if rich countries don’t pay

Rich countries are responsible for the climate crisis and it's only fair that they bear the burgeoning costs that poorer nations are having to pay.
An Israeli Merkava tank on Thursday
WORLD / Politics
Dec 9, 2023

White House presses Congress to OK tank shells for Israel

The request is being made even as concerns grow about the use of U.S. weapons in a war that has killed thousands of civilians.
U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan (left), South Korean national security adviser Cho Tae-yong (center) and secretary-general of Japan's National Security Secretariat, Takeo Akiba, at a news conference in Seoul on Saturday.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2023

Japan, U.S., South Korea to step up action on North's cyberthreats

The national security advisers of the three countries met in Seoul on Saturday as Pyongyang warned that it would deploy more spy satellites.
Rina Gonoi, a former member of the Self-Defense Forces, who has accused colleagues of sexually assaulting her during her time in the military, speaks in Yokohama on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 11, 2023

Former Japanese soldier fights for justice in landmark sexual assault case

A former Self-Defence Forces member's yearslong fight for justice against the men she has accused of sexually assaulting her will reach a climax on Tuesday when a court delivers a verdict in a trial that has drawn international attention.
Gold ornaments on display for sale at a Chow Tai Fook jewellery store in Shanghai.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 11, 2023

Young Chinese spurn traditional investments in favor of gold

The trend underscores uncertainty about growth prospects in the world's second-largest economy, which has not recovered from COVID-19 as fast as expected.
The COP28 climate conference is being held at Expo City Dubai for a total of 100,000 attendees, 2,000 of which are from fossil fuel companies.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 11, 2023

COP28 like a trade show? That’s not a bad thing.

Some lament the presence of many fossil fuel representatives among the 100,000 attendees of COP28 in Dubai, failing to recognize their key role.
Data has shown that the United States women's team — which has routinely been targeted for online abuse over the years — was subjected to the most abuse during the 2023 Women's World Cup.
SOCCER / Women's World cup
Dec 12, 2023

One in five players at Women's World Cup suffer online abuse: study

Nearly 50% of the verified online abuse was homophobic, sexual or sexist in nature.
Gold medalist Noah Lyles of the U.S. celebrates after the men's 200m final at the World Athletics Championship in Budapest on Aug. 25.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Dec 12, 2023

Lyles and Kipyegon named track athletes of the year

Lyles was recognized for the three gold medals he won at the world championships in Budapest.
COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber in Dubai on Monday
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Dec 12, 2023

COP28 summit goes into overtime with new draft deal in works

The UAE's Sultan Al Jaber has the task of getting almost 200 countries to agree to a text that will govern the global fight against climate change.
FACTEV shows that a Nissan Leaf electric car driven in Hokkaido will get between 106 kilometers and 212 kilometers per charge in its first year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 12, 2023

Using big data to speed up Japan’s slow electric car transition

Gaming company DeNA has developed an EV simulation tool that can assess the lifespan and cruising range per charge of battery cars over time.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at a government meeting on child policies on Monday.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2023

Japan to boost spending on measures to tackle low birthrate

The government will make official a program that will have nursery schools accept children even if both parents do not work, among other measures.
Seihan Mori, chief priest of Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto, writes "zei" (taxes), which was chosen on Tuesday as the kanji of the year.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2023

Talk of taxes spurs choice for Japan’s kanji of the year

The choice came as tax hikes and cuts were heavily covered in the news and discussed among policymakers.
A man holding a child crosses a damaged bridge after Typhoon Doksuri, in Zhuozhou, China, on Aug. 7.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 12, 2023

Storm assault on Chinese ports a wake-up call for climate risks

Typhoon Doksuri delivered Beijing's worst flooding in more than 50 years, shuttering factories, collapsing homes and displacing tens of thousands.
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un waves as he takes poses for photos during the Fifth National Mothers' Convention in Pyongyang.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 13, 2023

Kim Jong Un admits rare weakness as North Korea population falls

The rare admission indicates Kim is just as worried about a demographic crunch as he is about the U.S. forces that he says want to end his regime.

Longform

Visitors to Kyoto walk along a street near Kiyomizu Temple in April. A popular tourist spot, Kyoto has seen what locals feel to be an overwhelming amount of tourists in 2024.
Is Japan ready for 60 million tourists?