Search - information

 
 
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, meets with the family of one of the members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who were killed in the Israeli airstrike on the Iranian embassy complex in the Syrian capital Damascus, during a funeral ceremony in Tehran on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 5, 2024

Iran embassy strike shows Israel's growing reach and disregard for norms

"In my view, it's without precedent," one analyst said, adding that he could not recall any state targeting another's diplomatic presence in this way.
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 5, 2024

Judges reject calls to dismiss Trump charges over 2020 vote, secret papers

The former U.S. president has been criminally charged in four cases as he challenges Democratic President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 election.
Yuki Tsunoda attends a promotional event ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix, in Tokyo on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 5, 2024

Japan favorite Tsunoda looks to shift career into higher gear at Suzuka

Without a race seat yet for 2025, the driver's future is up in the air.
A fake website claiming to be that of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (left) and the actual site
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 5, 2024

Tokyo police issue warning on phishing scam involving false claims of arrest warrants

Tokyo police issue warning against scam involving fake websites aimed at getting victims to disclose their personal information and bank account details.
Yayoi Kusama’s “Pumpkin,” once the victim of high waves that dragged it into the sea, sits at the end of a pier on the south side of Naoshima.
CULTURE / Art / Longform
Apr 6, 2024

Why is the most exciting art in Japan so hard to get to?

Japan has a unique movement of public art projects and festivals that are a slog to get to — by design. A writer examines the country's “inconvenient art."
Dogs are long-lived enough to serve as better models for human aging than mice, but short-lived enough that aging treatments can be tested in just a few years.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 5, 2024

Your dog will have an anti-aging drug before you do

Dogs are long-lived enough to serve as better models for human aging than mice, but short-lived enough that aging treatments can be tested in a few years.
A prototype of the Astroscale Holdings ELSA-d in-orbit debris capture and removal craft is displayed at the company's office in Tokyo in December 2018.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 5, 2024

Japan space startup Astroscale aims for June listing, sources say

The 11-year-old company spoke to overseas institutional investors in March to gather feedback before making a decision on a listing.
A chicken in its coop on Fogline Farm in Pescadero, California, on March 1. Unlike the coronavirus, the H5N1 virus has been studied for years. Vaccines and treatments are available should they ever become necessary.
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 6, 2024

Is bird flu coming to people next? Are we ready?

Outbreaks have been found among dairy cows in multiple states, as well as at least one infection in a farmworker in Texas.
Artificial intelligence is peering into restaurant garbage pails and crunching grocery-store data to try to figure out how to send less uneaten food into dumpsters.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 6, 2024

AI is spying on the food we throw away

The tech is being used to try to reduce the amount of uneaten food that ends up in dumpsters.
A helmet jellyfish recorded at depth in the Lurefjord, Norway. The creatures experience acute physical effects from short-term exposure to suspended sediment, which could be caused by deep-sea mining.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / OUR PLANET
Apr 7, 2024

The weird deep-sea world, and how mining threatens it

Demand for metals such as lithium and nickel has driven a rush to take a stake in the seabed, with Japan being a major advocate of deep-sea mining.
James Schoff, senior director at Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA, speaks in an interview in Washington last week.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2024

Expert cites need for stronger U.S. military command in Japan

A U.S. expert has stressed the urgent need for strengthening the functions of the U.S. military command in Japan.
Gen. Charles Flynn at U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys, south of Seoul, on Saturday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 8, 2024

North Korea’s ballistic missiles are getting valuable battlefield testing in Ukraine

Pyongyang is gaining valuable information in technical matters, procedures and the munitions themselves, a top U.S. general has said.
Of 26 fires attributed to pets activating gas or induction heating stove controls, 19 were caused by cats, the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE) said.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 8, 2024

The cat did it: Warnings issued for pet-related household fires

Most of these incidents were caused by cats and dogs — and even a baby goat — triggering gas and induction heating stoves while their owners were away.
During a rally in New York on Nov. 6, protesters call for a cease-fire in Gaza. U.S. President Biden should ensure that Israel abides by a March 25 U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 8, 2024

Biden must show Netanyahu that enough is enough

How can the U.S. president take the moral high ground if he allows Netanyahu to continue disregarding civilian life in Gaza, while arming Israeli soldiers?
Simon Harris, Ireland's prime minister-in-waiting, is among a vanguard of European politicians embracing the Chinese-owned social media platform, calculating that the need to reach younger voters outweighs security concerns.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 9, 2024

European politicians embrace TikTok despite security fears

Ahead of elections, mainstream politicians are wary of ceding ground to fringe parties who have successfully exploited its short video format.
Haruko Obokata speaks to reporters in the city of Osaka in 2014. Ten years after the STAP scandal, structural problems that led to the scandal persist, leaving ample room for researchers to tamper with research data, experts say.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Apr 9, 2024

Little change in Japan’s research sector 10 years after stem cell fraud

A decade after the STAP scandal, there is still a lot of leeway for researchers to tamper with data.
Health ministry officials head to a Kobayashi Pharmaceutical factory in the city of Osaka on March 30 to conduct a search of the premises.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 9, 2024

Kidney doctors report 95 health complaints linked to beni kōji pills

So far, five people have died, 212 people have been hospitalized and 1,224 others have sought medical treatment after taking the supplements.
Vladimir Putin knows that if NATO member states are dragged back into policing a restive Balkans, they will be distracted from their focus on supporting Ukraine.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 2, 2024

Putin’s new front in the Ukraine war is in the Balkans

The Russian leader is pushing propaganda and religious strife in Kosovo and Bosnia to distract NATO from his illegal invasion.
A Boeing 787 Dreamliner lifts off at Paine Field in Everett, Washington.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 10, 2024

Boeing takes further blow after whistleblower alleges 787 ‘shortcuts’

Incorrect treatment of gaps between joined airframe segments could lead to "significant fatigue,” according to the former quality engineer.
A Ukrainian serviceman stands next to a Starlink antenna near Bakhmut, Ukraine.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 10, 2024

Pentagon reveals SpaceX contract for Starlink in Ukraine costs $23 million

A U.S. official characterized the service as a vital part of the security assistance the U.S. is providing to Ukraine.
Get the rubber gloves and cleaning supplies out. This is the time of year when we should clean our homes and prepare them for the upcoming rainy season.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 11, 2024

Dust off your tidying vocabulary with a refreshing spring clean

While most Japanese households take part in a big clean at the end of the year, it doesn't hurt to tidy a little as the weather changes.
The U.S. Department of Commerce building in January 2022
WORLD / Politics
Apr 11, 2024

Firms aiding Chinese military to get AI chips now face blacklist

The companies are "involved with providing AI chips to China's military modernization programs"
Hamas' top leader, Ismail Haniyeh, speaks during a news conference in Tehran on March 26.
WORLD
Apr 11, 2024

Three sons of Hamas leader Haniyeh killed in Israeli airstrike

The Israeli military confirmed carrying out the attack, describing the three sons as operatives in Hamas' armed wing.
Smoke rising above buildings after an aerial bombardment in Khartoum North, Sudan, in May 2023
WORLD / Politics
Apr 11, 2024

Iranian-made drones may be turning tide to army's favor in Sudan civil war

Residents say newer drones appear to monitor RSF movements, target their positions and pinpoint artillery strikes in a city that forms part of the capital.
According to the Tokyo police, 22-year-old student host Yuya Inaba lured an underage girl into spending money by seducing her and making false promises such as, “Let’s get married when you turn 18.”
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 11, 2024

Tokyo host club worker arrested after underage girl racks up ¥6 million in charges

The 15-year-old girl visited the club around 10 times between March and July 2023, and had racked up charges that totaled ¥6 million.
U.S. President Joe Biden welcomes Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during an arrival ceremony at the White House on Wednesday. The two leaders are also meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, where defense ties between the three nations were set to be high on the agenda. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 11, 2024

Hail to the minilateral chiefs: Biden, Kishida and Marcos

This week the U.S. keeps building NATO 2.0 in the Indo-Pacific, even as it prepares to improve NATO 1.0 in July.
Adal’s Look into Nature brand, on show at Salon del Mobile 2024, rethinks "igusa" (Japanese rush grass), traditionally used for tatami, as a sustainable material for furniture.
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Apr 13, 2024

Japan’s best and brightest designers set to shine in Milan

The Salone del Mobile trade fair and its accompanying SaloneSatellite exhibition of up-and-coming talent attracts a pool of talented Japanese designers.
Global banks are responding to increased demand for information about Japan’s companies and markets amid a resurgent stock market.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 12, 2024

Global banks ramp up roadshows for clients eager to bet on Japan

Foreign investors bought the most Japanese equities since 2013, last week.
Dolls of Myaku-Myaku, the 2025 Expo's official mascot, at an official store for the event in Osaka on April 2
JAPAN / Society
Apr 12, 2024

Transport becomes most pressing issue one year out from Osaka Expo

As organizers look ahead to recruiting volunteers and planning events for the six-month expo, another concern has emerged: transportation logistics.
Health experts say the beni kōji supplement scandal should not be treated as a one-off incident. Instead, it should be seen as a cautionary tale about how such health food items could pose more risks than benefits.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Apr 12, 2024

Kobayashi Pharma’s slow response to scandal spotlights deeper issues

Health experts say the scandal should be seen as a cautionary tale, and not a one-off incident.

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go