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Shohei Ohtani's success symbolizes a broader resurgence in Japanese sports, with contributing factors including increased investment in sports, modern coaching techniques and a generational shift in mindset.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 11, 2024

What baseball star Shohei Ohtani’s success says about Japan

The phenom has had what many are calling the greatest season ever. But his success is also a story of change in his home country.
An Israeli soldier stands next to the remains of an Iranian Emad ballistic missile at a military base in southern Israel on Monday, days after Iran launched a massive missile attack on the Jewish state.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 11, 2024

A dangerous dance for Israel and Iran

Israel and Iran are in a precarious position, with Israel coping with reduced inviolability after the Hamas attack and Iran trying to maintain its regional influence.
Justice Minister Hideki Makihara speaks during a joint interview with media outlets at his office in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 11, 2024

Justice minister says he has severed all ties with Unification Church

Hideki Makihara has promised to follow the Liberal Democratic Party’s commitment on ceasing ties with the group moving forward.
“The Cats of Gokogu Shrine” centers on a local shrine in Ushimado’s Honmachi district, which has become home to a colony of street cats.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 12, 2024

Kazuhiro Soda embraces the wisdom of street cats

The filmmaker turns his camera closer to home in his new documentary, “The Cats of Gokogu Shrine,” and brings a community into focus.
Thursday night's electronic dance music-infused event had the signature trappings of Elon Musk's salesmanship, but some Tesla investors and experts said they were hoping for more concrete details.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 12, 2024

Tesla's robotaxi event was long on Musk promises. Investors wanted more details.

Concrete details on how the company plans to transform from an automaker into an autonomous driving and artificial intelligence titan were missing.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of an international forum in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on Friday.
WORLD
Oct 12, 2024

Russia's Putin cements ties with Iranian president in Central Asia meeting

The two leaders hailed their countries growing economic ties and similar views on world affairs, an entente viewed with concern by the United States.
The remains of the Prefectural Industry Promotion Building after the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima in September 1945.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 12, 2024

Nobel Prize is a warning to a world on the nuclear brink

The awarding of the prize to Nihon Hidankyo — a group of atomic bomb survivors — reflects a widely held fear that nuclear war is now closer than ever.
Palestinians sit next to the rubble of houses destroyed in Israel's military offensive in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 7
JAPAN
Oct 12, 2024

Nobel laureate Nihon Hidankyo co-chair worries about children in Israel and Gaza

While the group's co-chair said the prize would give a boost to efforts to show that it was possible to abolish nuclear weapons, he expressed sorrow over ongoing wars.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a debate with other political party leaders at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 13, 2024

Japan to ‘seriously consider’ U.N. nuke ban treaty observer status, Ishiba says

Japan, the sole country to be attacked with nuclear weapons, has faced criticism for not participating in some form in the treaty.
Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, arrives at the Vostochny Сosmodrome before a meeting of Russia's President Vladimir Putin with her brother in the far eastern Amur region of Russia in September last year.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 13, 2024

North Korean leader's powerful sister warns of 'horrible' response to drones

The drones allegedly sent by the South had dropped anti-regime propaganda, North Korean state media claimed.
Tomoko Tamura, leader of the Japanese Communist Party, says it is "crucial" for the JCP to increase its parliamentary share in the upcoming Lower House election.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 13, 2024

JCP unlikely to withdraw candidates for opposition cooperation

The foundations for electoral cooperation among opposition parties "have collapsed," Tamura said in a recent interview.
Starting on Nov. 5, the Tokyo Stock Exchange will extend its stock trading hours by 30 minutes to 3:30 p.m.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 13, 2024

200 listed firms in Japan to postpone earnings disclosure

The delay in disclosure signals that companies make light of investors and increases the risk of insider trading, critics said.
Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw five scoreless frames against the Padres in Game 5 of their division series.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 13, 2024

Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto finds redemption with series-clinching performance

Yamamoto permitted only two hits across five innings while pacifying the relentless Padres lineup in a 2-0 Game 5 victory.
The U.S. Federal Reserve's cutting of the federal funds rate from 5.3% to a range of 4.75-5%, its first monetary-easing cycle in over four years, has provided China with greater flexibility to stimulate its struggling economy.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 10, 2024

What U.S. interest-rate cuts mean for China

The Fed's easing cycle means lower debt burdens and higher liquidity, allowing countries to cut rates without fearing excessive capital outflows.
Israeli soldiers carry the body of a victim of the earlier Hamas attack at on a kibbutz in southern Israel, during clean-up operations on Oct. 10, 2023.
WORLD
Oct 13, 2024

Secret documents show Hamas tried to persuade Iran to join its Oct. 7 attack

Minutes of Hamas’ secret meetings obtained by The New York Times show Sinwar’s determination to persuade Hamas’ allies, Iran and Hezbollah, to join the assault.
A map released Monday shows the locations of the Joint Sword-2024B military drills being conducted by China around Taiwan. China deployed planes and ships to encircle the island in drills Beijing said were aimed at sending a "stern warning" to "separatist" forces on the self-ruled island.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 14, 2024

China kicks off fresh round of large-scale war games around Taiwan

The exercises, code-named Joint Sword-2024B, are intended to 'test the joint operations capabilities of the theater command's troops.'
Starship's Super Heavy Booster is grappled at the launch pad in Starbase near Boca Chica, Texas, on Sunday, during the Starship Flight 5 test.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 14, 2024

SpaceX captures booster rocket in step toward Musk’s Mars dream

The successful test underscores the astonishing progress SpaceX is making with its launch capabilities.
Members of the emergency services help each other to remove their protective suits at the site of the grave of Luidmila Skripal, wife of former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal, at London Road Cemetery in Salisbury, U.K., on March 10, 2018.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Oct 14, 2024

Public hearings start into death of Briton by Russian nerve agent

The first week of public hearings will take place in Salisbury Guildhall, before moving to the International Dispute Resolution Center in London on October 28.
Afghan women after an earthquake in Herat, Afghanistan, on Oct. 10, 2023
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 14, 2024

Poorest nations in worst financial shape since 2006, World Bank says

The World Bank report finds these economies are poorer today, on average, than they were on the eve of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptor is launched during a successful intercept test, in this undated handout photo.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 14, 2024

U.S. to send antimissile system and troops to Israel, Pentagon says

The move is meant 'to defend Israel,' U.S. President Joe Biden said.
Jannik Sinner celebrates after winning the Shanghai Masters title on Sunday.
TENNIS
Oct 14, 2024

Jannik Sinner blocks out turmoil from doping case to win Shanghai Masters

Sinner beat Novak Djokovic 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 to claim the Shanghai Masters crown.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (center right) makes a speech Sunday in Soka, Saitama Prefecture, along with Komeito leader Keiichi Ishii (center left).
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 14, 2024

General election campaigning to kick off Tuesday

Rocked by a political funds scandal that engulfed the party and led to the dissolution of most of its factions, the LDP faces its toughest election since 2012.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo delivers his annual State of the Nation Address, ahead of the country's Independence Day, in Jakarta on Aug. 16.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 14, 2024

A decade of Joko Widodo: Popular Indonesian leader leaves rocky legacy

When Widodo steps down on Oct. 20, he will leave Indonesia in the hands of Prabowo Subianto, the former son-in-law of an authoritarian ruler.
A man uses binoculars to look at the North Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas, from South Korea's Odusan Unification Observatory in Paju on Oct. 9.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 14, 2024

South Korea military says 'fully ready' as drone tensions soar

North Korea has accused Seoul of flying drones over its capital to drop leaflets and warned that if another was detected, it would consider it "a declaration of war."
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said in an interview on Monday that the alliance will do what's necessary to make sure that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not get his way.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 15, 2024

NATO will not be intimidated by Russia's threats, Rutte says

The NATO secretary-general made the remarks on his first visit to the alliance's Ukraine mission in Wiesbaden, Germany.
Nobuyuki Baba, leader of Nippon Ishin no Kai, says the party aims to secure seats in single-seat constituencies outside the Kansai region.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 15, 2024

Nippon Ishin may cooperate with LDP coalition if it loses majority

In a recent interview, Nippon Ishin leader Nobuyuki Baba hinted at the possibility and said he will decide after seeing the results of the Oct. 27 election.
Hiroshi Moriyama, secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, is interviewed at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN
Oct 15, 2024

LDP says it will abolish policy activity funds in the future

"There is no doubt about moving toward abolishing the allowances," the LDP's secretary-general said in an interview.
The success of Seven & I's major restructuring plan depends on the retailer's ability to roll out a new store format in Japan, and improve profit margins overseas, analysts say.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Oct 15, 2024

7-Eleven's turnaround plan requires heavy lifting to stop takeover bid

Much depends on the retailer's ability to roll out a new store format in Japan and improve profit margins overseas.
A newly constructed guard post and fences in North Korea are seen in this picture taken from an observatory in Incheon, South Korea, on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 15, 2024

North Korea blows up parts of inter-Korean roads, Seoul says

In response, South Korea's military fired warning shots south of the military demarcation line dividing the neighbors.
The winners of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry are announced in Stockholm, Sweden, on Oct. 9. They are, as seen on the display screen, David Baker (left), of the University of Washington; Demis Hassabis (center) and John M. Jumper (right), both from Google DeepMind, U.K.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 15, 2024

Google's DeepMind Nobel Prize showcases AI’s medical potential

Google’s AlphaFold tool is already widely used by pharmaceutical researchers searching for groundbreaking new medicines.

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Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition