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Members of the Self-Defense Forces march at the GSDF Camp Asaka, which straddles Tokyo and Saitama, on Nov. 9. As part of a five-year defense buildup launched in 2022, the government has said it will raise personal income, corporate and tobacco taxes to cover the added costs.
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2024

Japan wobbles on tax hikes to pay for historic defense buildup

A decision on raising taxes to help cover rising defense spending may be delayed again, a senior ruling coalition official has said.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group took a 15% stake in WealthNavi earlier this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 29, 2024

MUFG considering bid for Japanese robo-adviser WealthNavi

MUFG took a 15% stake in WealthNavi earlier this year
Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court. Former Guangming Daily editor and journalist Dong Yuyu, 62, was detained by police in Beijing in February 2022 while having lunch with a Japanese diplomat.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Nov 29, 2024

China court sentences journalist Dong Yuyu to seven years on spy charges, family says

Former editor and journalist Dong Yuyu was detained by police in Beijing in February 2022 while having lunch with a Japanese diplomat.
Residents check a residence heavily damaged by Israeli bombardment in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on Thursday, a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
WORLD
Nov 29, 2024

In Lebanon's Tyre, returning residents find no water, little power

Entire neighborhoods have been ravaged and with them hundreds of homes and vital infrastructure in the city.
Designed by Kei Atsumi and Motoya Iizawa, "The Warp" was a 3D-printed tea pavilion with organic, twisting curves placed in downtown Dubai.
LIFE / Style & Design
Nov 30, 2024

Far East meets Middle East at Dubai Design Week 2024

This year's Dubai Design Week functioned much like a portal between continents, philosophies and futures.
Discovered in the 1930s, the Geisha coffee plant came to worldwide fame in the early 2000s and now represents some of the best coffee on the planet — Tokyo's top cafes included.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 30, 2024

The Geisha bean is the leading lady of Tokyo's coffee scene

Named for a region of Ethiopia (and not Japan’s kimono-clad performers), Geisha has become the crown jewel of Tokyo’s flourishing specialty coffee scene.
Australia coach Joe Schmidt will face his former team when the Australians face Ireland on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Nov 29, 2024

Australia coach Joe Schmidt not expecting hero's welcome in return to Ireland

Current Ireland coach Andy Farrell says the New Zealander deserves "all the accolades" he receives because "of what he did for Irish rugby."
A stone pillar at Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, on which the word "toilet" was spray-painted in May
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 29, 2024

Chinese man pleads guilty to role in vandalizing Yasukuni Shrine

Jiang Zhuojun said he assisted with the vandalizing to protest against Japan's discharging of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
Should Trump-o-phobes emulate Ellen DeGeneres, the comedian and ex-talk show host, who has apparently bolted for Britain to avoid the incoming administration?
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 27, 2024

Do you dislike Trump so much you’d quit the U.S. like Ellen?

DeGeneres’s escape from Trump may look like a political statement, but she’s not really a desperate pilgrim in reverse, risking all for new beginnings.
Brain adaptations during pregnancy may enhance efficiency rather than cause loss of function, similar to transformations seen during adolescence and menopause.
COMMENTARY
Nov 29, 2024

We’re finally starting to understand the pregnant brain

Brain adaptations during pregnancy may enhance efficiency rather than cause loss of function, similar to transformations seen during adolescence and menopause.
An observation deck at a Starbucks store with views of North Korea in Gimpo, South Korea, on Friday
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 29, 2024

Starbucks serves South Koreans coffee and a glimpse into the North

Hundreds showed up on Friday for the opening of the U.S. coffeehouse chain's newest store in an observatory near the city of Gimpo.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a meeting during the Group of 20 leaders' summit in Rio de Janeiro on Nov. 18.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 30, 2024

Ishiba considering visit to South Korea in early January

The two East Asian countries will next year mark the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te gives a keynote address on the island's national day in Taipei on Oct. 10.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 30, 2024

China urges utmost caution by U.S. ahead of Taiwan leader's Hawaii trip

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te starts a trip this week that will see him transit both Hawaii and Guam, as part of a Pacific tour.
This combination of pictures shows rubble and the cross at the altar inside the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris a month after it sustained major fire, on May 15, 2019 (top), and the tabernacle designed by French artist and designer Guillaume Bardet in the heart of the cathedral on Friday.
WORLD
Nov 30, 2024

France shows off restored Notre Dame after 'impossible' restoration

Some 250 companies and hundreds of experts were brought in for restoration work costing hundreds of millions of euros.
Miao Hua, China's director of the political affairs department of the Central Military Commission, disembarks his aircraft after arriving at Pyongyang International Airport on October 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 30, 2024

China probes top military official overseeing political loyalty

Beijing has abruptly suspended Miao Hua from the nation’s top military body led by Xi Jinping, ramping up a graft probe that’s roiling the upper echelons of the PLA.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets with Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov in Pyongyang in this image released Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 30, 2024

North Korea's Kim and Russian defense chief agree to boost military ties

Experts say Kim Jong Un is eager to gain advanced technology and battle experience for his troops.
The Nikkei stock average outside a brokerage in Tokyo in late October.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 30, 2024

Japan companies boosting benefits for long-term shareholders

Behind the move are growing calls for listed companies to reward shareholders more through measures including dividend hikes.
An outdated lineup, elevated spending on sales incentives and a lack of hybrids in North America has led Nissan to slash jobs and production.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 30, 2024

Nissan CFO set to step down as carmaker faces raft of challenges

The change follows an announcement last month that the company will eliminate 9,000 jobs and cut a fifth of its manufacturing capacity.
Debris from Hurricane Helene on a roadside as residents evacuate before the arrival of Hurricane Milton on Oct. 7 in St. Pete Beach, Florida.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science
Nov 30, 2024

Atlantic hurricane season ends, leaving scientists to ponder the future

The Atlantic spawned 11 hurricanes this season, above the annual average of seven. Also above average was the number of major hurricanes.
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te waves ahead of his departure on a Pacific island tour, at Taoyuan International Airport on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 30, 2024

Taiwan's Lai departs on Pacific island tour

Lai, on his first trip abroad since taking office in May, will stop over in Hawaii as he visits Taiwan allies Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau.
Shanghai Pudong International Airport during the Lunar New Year travel rush in February 2024
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2024

China resumes short-term visa waiver for Japanese visitors

The maximum period of visa-free stays was also extended to 30 days from the previous 15 days.
FIFA's headquarters in Zurich
SOCCER
Nov 30, 2024

Saudi Arabia's 2034 World Cup bid gets higher score than U.S., Canada and Mexico

The higher score came despite the fact the Middle East nation has yet to construct several stadiums proposed for the tournament.
Britain's Andy Murray and Serbia's Novak Djokovic during a practice session ahead of the 2022 Laver Cup in London on Sept. 22, 2022.
TENNIS
Dec 1, 2024

Shared experiences make Murray the 'perfect coach,' Djokovic says

Murray, a three-time major winner, retired after the Paris Olympics at the age of 37, finally admitting defeat in his long battle against injury.
Former chief of staff to the U.S. secretary of defense Kash Patel speaks during a campaign rally for former U.S. President Donald Trump in Las Vegas in October.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 1, 2024

Trump picks Kash Patel to head FBI

Patel has called for stripping the FBI of its intelligence-gathering role and purging anyone who refuses to support Trump's agenda.
Princess Aiko on Nov. 22 ahead of her 23rd birthday on Sunday at the Imperial Palace
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2024

Princess Aiko, only child of emperor, turns 23

This year, the princess graduated from Gakushuin University in Tokyo and began working at the Japanese Red Cross Society in April.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on the campaign trail pledged that he would make it costly for countries to move away from the U.S. dollar. And he’s threatened to use tariffs to ensure they complied.
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2024

Trump demands ‘commitment’ from BRICS nations on using dollar

Backlash against the dollar’s dominance gained traction in 2022 when the U.S. led efforts to impose economic sanctions on Russia.
Charles Kushner attends the funeral for Ivana Trump, socialite and first wife of former U.S. President Donald Trump, at St. Vincent Ferrer Church in New York in July 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 1, 2024

Trump taps Charles Kushner, father of his son-in-law, as envoy to France

The choice is in keeping with Trump's pattern, so far, of selecting people, often wealthy, who are close to his family or of proven loyalty.
Political funds reports have shown that Japanese political parties and other lawmakers were keen to utilize social media and the internet for their political activities last year.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 1, 2024

Social media use rising among politicians: funds reports

Political parties see smartphones and online messaging as a vital way of reaching voters and affecting their voting behavior.
Kaja Kallas, who was set to take up her post as the European Union's top diplomat, looks on during a plenary session of the European Parliament, before a vote to approve the new European Commission, in Strasbourg, France, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 1, 2024

New EU chiefs visit Kyiv on first day of mandate

The visit by the EU's new top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, and head of the European Council, Antonio Costa, was a symbolic show of support for Kyiv.
Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte holds a news conference in Quezon City, in Metro Manila, on Tuesday. She denied she was plotting to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., saying recent comments that sparked a government probe only reflected "consternation" with her one-time ally.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2024

Philippines politics is often mad. It just got crazier.

Manila cannot afford to be distracted by the latest round of clan rivalry and violent threats.

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Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
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