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Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda, who took office in April, has been considered a skeptic of negative interest rates.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 17, 2023

One small step for BOJ. One giant leap for the yen.

Japan can hold off on undoing negative interest rates
Fighters quaterback Shuta Hoshino scores a touchdown against the Orange during the Koshien Bowl on Sunday in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Dec 17, 2023

Kwansei Gakuin crushes Hosei University for sixth straight title

The win continued the Kansai region's dominant run in the national football title game.
A woman walks past a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at the main railway station in Seoul on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 18, 2023

North Korea launches long-range ballistic missile for fifth time in 2023

Japan said the missile was estimated to have a range of 15,000 kilometers, putting the entire U.S. within striking distance.
A woman who is against the proposed new constitution holds up a banner as she reacts to results of the referendum on a new Chilean constitution, in Santiago on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 18, 2023

Weary Chileans reject second proposed constitution

With 99% of votes counted in the referendum, 56% rejected the text while 44% backed the document.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton removes his helmet after the qualifying session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Nov. 25.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Dec 18, 2023

Button expects Hamilton to bounce back 'with the right car'

For the second year running, Mercedes driver Hamilton has failed to win a grand prix.
Market players see the yen rallying next year as the Bank of Japan exits the world’s last negative interest rate regime and its global peers cut borrowing costs.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 18, 2023

2023's big currency flop is top pick for year ahead, again

The BOJ's expected unwinding of its ultraeasy monetary policy and the prospects of lower borrowing costs elsewhere set the stage for the yen to rebound.
F-16s will help Kyiv address a problem that has persisted from the start of the invasion in February 2022: Russia’s more modern combat aircraft have been difficult for Ukraine’s military to counter with its own aging fighters.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 18, 2023

How F-16 fighter jets could reshape Ukraine's aerial battlefield

Russia’s more modern combat aircraft have been difficult for Ukraine’s military to counter with its own aging fighters.
Researchers prepare to conduct a mapping survey of a reforested area on a hillside near Chiang Mai, Thailand.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Dec 18, 2023

In Thailand, drones help solve forest carbon capture riddle

Drones are part of an increasingly sophisticated arsenal used by scientists to understand forests and their role in the battle against climate change.
X owner Elon Musk
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 19, 2023

EU targets Musk's X in first illegal content probe

The probe will focus on countering the dissemination of illegal content and the effectiveness of measures taken to combat information manipulation.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (right), Finland's Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen (left) and Finland's Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen sign a defense cooperation agreement in the Treaty Room of the U.S. State Department in Washington on Dec. 18.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 19, 2023

Finland bolsters military ties with U.S. after Putin warning

The Defense Cooperation Agreement formalizes greater ties with the United States, including joint training of forces and military interoperability.
A volcano spews lava and smoke as it erupts in Grindavik, Iceland, on Monday.
WORLD
Dec 19, 2023

Volcano erupts near evacuated town in Iceland

The eruption near capital Reykjavík has not affected flights in the country's main international airport.
A mobile missile launcher awaits the order to fire a Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile from an undisclosed location in North Korea in this undated picture released Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 19, 2023

Japan, South Korea, U.S. begin sharing real-time data on North Korean missiles

The data-sharing system was activated as Pyongyang confirmed that it tested a solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile a day earlier.
Senior members of the Abe faction, the largest in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, attend a fundraising event in Tokyo on May 16.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 19, 2023

LDP's Abe faction faces possible collapse under weight of scandal

Its fractured leadership and an expected exodus of members amid an unfolding political funds scandal has put its future in question.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda attends a news conference after a policy meeting at BOJ headquarters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 19, 2023

BOJ holds off from policy normalization moves amid growing pressure

BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda’s comment during a parliamentary session on Dec. 7 increased expectations that the bank might send some signals of a policy change.
Narendra Modi, India's prime minister, speaks during a news conference ahead of the winter session of Parliament in New Delhi on Dec. 4.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 19, 2023

Five elections in 2024 that will shape the global order

With half the world heading to the polls in 2024, and some 30 countries electing a president, here are five key elections to watch.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a presidential campaign rally at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center in Reno, Nevada, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 20, 2023

Trump ineligible for ballot, Colorado Supreme Court rules

The case centers on a post-Civil War-era provision of the U.S. Constitution that bans insurrectionists from holding public office.
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2023

Japan’s post-pandemic tourists shift spending to crafts and jewelry

Average spending on traditional handicrafts per visitor was ¥13,338 ($92) in the July-September quarter, up 80% from the same period in 2019.
Sacks of coffee beans at a storage unit in the Sidama region of Ethiopia.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 20, 2023

Coffee firms switch sources, evading impact of EU deforestation law

Under the new law, importers of various commodities and products that use them must prove goods did not originate from deforested land.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 20, 2023

Japan to partially lift ban on ride-hailing services from April

Drivers will be allowed to operate in specific areas at certain times under the guidance of taxi companies when there is a lack of rides available.
A suspected Chinese spy balloon is shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4. Taiwan is on high alert for Chinese activities, both military and political, ahead of Jan. 13 elections, and such balloons factor into its defense plan.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 20, 2023

Taiwan to 'handle' Chinese balloons based on threat level

The potential for China to use balloons for spying became an issue in February when the U.S. shot down what it said was a Chinese surveillance balloon.
Music streaming service Spotify started offering audiobooks in October, but not everyone in the book industry is thrilled.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 20, 2023

Spotify's push into audiobooks sparks concern among authors

Spotify began offering complimentary audiobooks to millions of customers in October as part of their monthly subscriptions.
Ukrainian refugees who were flown to Japan by the Foreign Ministry arrive at Haneda Airport in Tokyo in April 2022. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 20, 2023

Moving beyond ‘checkbook diplomacy’: Japan’s changing refugee policy

Japan's stance on admitting refugees appears to be changing amid greater global engagement by Tokyo.
The Shimbashi area of Tokyo's Minato Ward is crowded with office workers on Friday.
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2023

Pubs in Japan thriving again as year-end parties return

On Friday night, many drinking places in the Shimbashi district of Tokyo's Minato Ward were packed with customers.
Fishermen land scallops at Nemuro Port in Nemuro, Hokkaido, in April 2022.
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2023

Japan to test scallop processing in Mexico

Under the plan scallops will be processed in Ensenada in the Mexican state of Baja California, about 100 kilometers from the border with the U.S.
Author Yasunari Kawabata’s “The Rainbow” seems to suggest it is never too late to heal, so long as we face our pain rather than run away.
CULTURE / Books
Dec 21, 2023

‘The Rainbow’: Artistic world underscores truths of the human heart

Despite resonant themes, this translation of Nobel Prize-winner Yasunari Kawabata’s novel about lingering grief and regrets feels strangely distant.
Surfers hold banners as they gather during a demonstration in Guethary, France, against the construction of a tower at the Olympic surfing venue in Polynesia.
OLYMPICS
Dec 21, 2023

Surfing tower will be built, Paris Games chief says

Tony Estanguet explained the option offered by the surfing body had been studied but was deemed insufficient.
Yamanashi Gov. Kotaro Nagasaki speaks at a news conference at the prefectural government office on Wednesday. The prefecture is set to begin charging people to climb Mount Fuji.
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2023

Yamanashi Prefecture to collect fees from Mount Fuji climbers

The prefecture will also control the number of climbers to ease congestion and prevent visitors from climbing through the night.
Donald Trump vowed to seek Supreme Court review after Colorado’s top court on Tuesday barred him from the 2024 presidential ballot there.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 21, 2023

Trump’s fate rests with the U.S. Supreme Court he shaped

The court will play a pivotal role in determining whether Trump will land in prison — or return to the White House.
Police officers stand guard outside the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on Dec. 14. The ruling party is currently trying to contain a funding scandal that threatens the future of the Kishida administration. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 20, 2023

'Strategic Communication' is a missing link in Japan's crisis management

From gaffes to governance, lessons in "strategic communications" for Japanese politicians.
An employee inspects integrated circuit boards at a factory in Suzhou, China.
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2023

U.S. to scrutinize Chinese chipmakers as Biden mulls tariffs

Over 100 companies in various sectors to be surveyed on their procurement and use of legacy chips

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?