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Naotoshi Iwamoto of Kansai Transmission and Distribution explains about how power grid operators cooperated to restore electricity in areas affected by the Jan. 1 Noto Peninsula earthquake.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2024

Industry collaboration leads to early power recovery in Noto

Eight regional utility groups dispatched a total of more than 4,000 workers to help restore power to more than 90% of outage-hit areas within about a month of the quake.
An illustration of the Japan Coast Guard's planned patrol ship, which will be its biggest ever
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2024

Japan Coast Guard to build its biggest patrol ship

The coast guard's new ship will be around 200 meters long and will weigh about 30,000 tons.
A U.S. Navy CMV-22 Osprey transport aircraft
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2024

Iwakuni allows deployment of U.S. Navy's Osprey

The mayor said the city judged that the aircraft will not have a large impact on the lives of people living near the base.
Naomi Osaka serves during her match against Jelena Ostapenko in the first round of the U.S. Open on Tuesday in New York.
TENNIS
Aug 28, 2024

Tearful Osaka triumphs in U.S. Open return

Osaka cruised in her first round match while wearing a Harajuku-inspired outfit that quickly attracted attention on social media.
People hold the Paralympic torch at the entrance of the Channel Tunnel in Coquelles, France, on Sunday.
PARALYMPICS
Aug 28, 2024

IPC president hails Paris Games as turning point for Paralympics

More than 1.75 million tickets had been sold by Friday ahead of Wednesday's opening ceremony.
Thailand's former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, arrives at Ratchada Criminal Court in Bangkok on Aug. 19. The former leader's views at a dinner event last week have been closely dissected by analysts and media for days after.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 28, 2024

Thaksin’s dinner talk signals his clout in new Thai government

His comments have been interpreted as a blueprint that’s likely to be adopted by his daughter and her Cabinet when they take office in the next couple of weeks.
Japan is facing a pilot shortage, but hiring foreign pilots is not easy due to opposition from unions. Japanese carriers also typically pay less than airlines elsewhere.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 28, 2024

Pilot shortage threatens Japan’s goal for 60 million tourists

Falling short may mean missing out on lucrative tourism money as carriers simply can’t find the crew to fly the necessary number of planes.
A foreign laborer works at a construction site amid scorching heat in Riyadh in 2022.
SOCCER / World cup
Aug 28, 2024

Saudi Arabia's World Cup bid renews fears for migrants' welfare

Foreign laborers who dealt with harsh conditions in Saudi Arabia are warning about a pending construction boom for stadiums for the 2034 World Cup.
Go Sugiyama, head of wealth management at Nomura Holdings
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 28, 2024

Nomura is hiring wealth managers after years of staff overhaul

Nomura’s wealth management segment that serves domestic clients has been a consistent performer over the years.
Political polarization in the U.S. is fueling domestic social divisions, eroding democratic norms and leading to a more self-centered U.S. foreign policy that threatens the global liberal order.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Aug 28, 2024

The transformation of American liberalism

Liberalism in the U.S. is the product of overextending the idea of individual autonomy, resulting in selfishness, and, at the same time, a return to traditional morality.
Gen. Waker-uz-Zaman, Bangladesh's army chief, arrives at Dhaka International Airport to receive Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus on Aug. 8 to lead the country's interim government.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 29, 2024

Will Bangladesh go the way of Pakistan?

The Islamist resurgence poses a serious law-and-order challenge in Bangladesh, as it has long done in Pakistan.
Former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is the second CDP lawmaker to join the leadership contest after party veteran Yukio Edano announced his decision to run last week.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 29, 2024

Noda announces CDP leadership bid with eye on a comeback for the opposition

The former prime minister emphasized that a certain degree of experience is required to tackle the challenges Japan is facing.
A map of western Japan shows the Nankai Trough and, to its north, the hypocentral region where the energy for an earthquake is thought to be building.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 30, 2024

Did you feel that? It may be time to refresh your disaster kits — and vocabulary.

Part of Japan got a scare when the first-ever megaquake alert was issued earlier this month, a reminder that knowing the right terms in a disaster is crucial.
From mid-August through late September, eggplants reach their height of flavor in Japan.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Washoku Essentials
Sep 1, 2024

Japan’s autumn eggplant: Too delicious for your daughter-in-law

In Japan, autumn eggplant has become a shorthand symbol for keeping the most pleasurable things in life to yourself.
Naomi Osaka hits a return against Karolina Muchova during the second round of the U.S. Open in New York on Thursday.
TENNIS
Aug 30, 2024

Naomi Osaka reflects after losing to Karolina Muchova in second round of U.S. Open

Osaka, who won the title in 2018 and 2020, missed last year's edition after the birth of her daughter.
The Foreign Ministry in Tokyo
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 30, 2024

Japan's Foreign Ministry seeks ¥66.2 billion to fight false info

The total amount of funds sought in the budget request for fiscal 2025 is ¥814.6 billion, up 12.3% from the initial budget for the previous year.
A sketch of Shinichi Mitate, a key suspect in a 2012 murder case, created by police investigators imagining his current appearance
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 30, 2024

Tokyo police release new sketches of 2012 nightclub murder suspect

The police are calling for information on the suspect, saying the 2012 murder should not be forgotten.
Torrential rain in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward on Friday as Shanshan brought heavy precipitation to the capital.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 30, 2024

How climate change made Shanshan more likely and more devastating

The devastating winds of Shanshan were 26% more likely due to climate change, a rapid analysis has found, highlighting the impact of warming on severe storms.
Big Blue head coach Mike Phair (front, right) participates in the X League 2024 Season Kickoff news conference.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Aug 30, 2024

Japan ties guide veteran NFL coach Mike Phair to Big Blue in X League

The Arizona native had long been thinking about rekindling his involvement with Japanese football.
Bureaucrats had envisioned payments of up to ¥600,000 for women who got married and settled outside of Tokyo, according to media reports.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 30, 2024

Japan scraps idea to woo women out of city with cash

Bureaucrats had envisioned payments of up to ¥600,000 for women who got married and settled outside of Tokyo.
Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown (left), Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele (second left), Tongan Prime Minister Hu'akavameiliku (second right) and Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Baron Waqa, announce the Pacific Resilience Facility decision at a meeting in Nuku'alofa, Tonga, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 31, 2024

Pacific bloc scrubs Taiwan from document after China complaint

A new joint declaration by Pacific leaders was reissued Saturday morning after China slammed an earlier version as a "mistake" that "must be corrected."
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump dances during a campaign rally at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena in Johnstown, Pennsylvania,  on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 31, 2024

Trump moves to contain fallout of abortion and IVF rows

The ex-president has been under fire from conservatives over an announcement that in a second term he would ensure free in vitro fertilization.
Ko Wen-je, then-presidential candidate of Taiwan People's Party, attends a news conference ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections, in Taipei last January.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 31, 2024

Former Taiwan opposition leader held on corruption allegations

Ko Wen-je was taken into custody late Friday night due to concerns about possible collusion, after he refused to continue overnight questioning.
Workers restore a high-voltage line destroyed in a Russian missile attack in Kyiv on Feb. 7.
WORLD
Aug 31, 2024

Ukrainians fear grim winter amid massive attacks on power plants

This week’s air raids on Kyiv and other cities across the country were the largest since Russia’s full-scale invasion began 2½ year ago.
Hayao Miyazaki at an award ceremony in Los Angeles in November 2014
CULTURE / Film
Aug 31, 2024

Hayao Miyazaki wins prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award

The award, often called Asia's Nobel Prize, is given to people and groups who have made major contributions to the region.
Elevated water levels on the Tama River in Kawasaki on Friday after Shanshan dumped torrential rain on wide areas of Japan.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2024

Slow-moving storm Shanshan downgraded to tropical depression

The storm lingered south of Mie Prefecture on Sunday afternoon, unleashing widespread torrential rain across the country.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to the media in front of an F-16 fighter at an undisclosed location in Ukraine on Aug. 4.
WORLD
Sep 1, 2024

Ukraine's Zelenskyy presses U.S. to green light deeper strikes into Russia

Washington has provided Ukraine with more than $50 billion worth of military aid since 2022, but has limited the use of its weapons.
Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, parents of Hersh Goldberg Polin, speak at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 21.
WORLD
Sep 1, 2024

Israel recovers bodies of six hostages in Gaza, including an American captive

U.S. President Joe Biden, who has closely followed the fate of the hostages seized on Oct. 7, said the six included Israeli American Goldberg-Polin.
Two women died near Yokohama Station on Saturday after one of them apparently fell from a building and landed on the other, who was walking below.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2024

Apparent suicide jumper falls onto pedestrian in Yokohama, killing both

According to the police, the two deceased individuals were a 17-year-old from Chiba Prefecture and a 32-year-old corporate worker.
Tokyo needs to leverage its political, economic, diplomatic and security strengths to shape Washington's engagement and regional stability in the Asia-Pacific no matter who wins the U.S. presidential election.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 1, 2024

Japan's strategy for navigating an uncertain U.S. election

Japan needs to continue its role as a diplomatic bridge in shaping U.S.-China strategic competition to ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

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?