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Iran forward Sardar Azmoun shoots the ball past Japan defender Takehiro Tomiyasu during the teams' quarterfinal clash at the Asian Cup in Qatar on Saturday.
SOCCER
Feb 3, 2024

Iran eliminates Japan from Asian Cup after late penalty

Iran, which won due to a converted penalty from the team's captain, had not beaten Japan in 19 years.
A majority of pollen allergy cases in Japan are caused by cedar trees, which cover 18% of Japan’s forests, due mostly to Japan’s forestation policy after World War II.
JAPAN / Science & Health / EXPLAINER
Feb 4, 2024

As hay fever season approaches, here’s what you need to know to prepare

Your eyes start itching, your nose keeps running and you can’t stop sneezing. It's nearly time for Japan's dreaded hay fever season.
Asia's pandemic-era policies must now be unwound against a backdrop of slower GDP growth, higher inflation and increased debt.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 4, 2024

A new economic policy agenda for Asia

Asia's pandemic-era policies must now be unwound against a backdrop of slower GDP growth, higher inflation and increased debt.
The Fugaku supercomputer at Riken Center for Computational Science in Kobe in June 2020. Many companies leverage its simulation capabilities to streamline processes, saving labor on experiments and calculations crucial for the development of large products.
BUSINESS
Feb 5, 2024

Fugaku supercomputer tops predecessor in corporate usage

While Fugaku has primarily garnered attention for academic applications it has also proved instrumental in product development.
Many young people who feel neglected at home flock to the Toyoko area to find a community where they can fit in.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Feb 5, 2024

Toyoko Kids: The lonely street children of Tokyo

Bound together by shared neglect and marginalization, the group have formed a distinct, social media-linked youth subculture on the streets of Shinjuku.
Giant African snails are unpopular among local residents and are referred to as an alien species that shouldn’t be touched, as they damage crops and sometimes hosts rat lungworms.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 19, 2024

Giant African snails mark 90 years of history in Okinawa

The snails, one of the world’s largest of the kind, are native to East Africa, and their shells can grow to as high as 20 centimeters.
Analysts say the sentencing serves as a reminder of how fraught any improvement in relations will prove even after both Canberra and Beijing affirmed the need to bolster ties.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 6, 2024

Harsh sentence for Australian writer tests ties with China

The sentencing serves as a reminder of how fraught any improvement in relations will prove even after both nations affirmed the need to bolster ties.
Like for other generative AI services, the algorithm behind Rufus is a closely held secret and Amazon declined to discuss how it operates.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 6, 2024

Who benefits when shoppers use Amazon's new AI tool?

The tool raises several questions, as Amazon has a history of steering customers toward products that most benefit the company.
Flags fly at Union Station in Washington on June 27. With the U.S. presidential election approaching, caution is being urged over the widespread proliferation of propaganda.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 13, 2024

The battle to tackle U.S. election propaganda heats up

The race is set to become more and more intense amid increased political polarization and pluralistic values.
Mitsubishi President Katsuya Nakanishi (left), Lawson President Sadanobu Takemasu (center) and KDDI President Makoto Takahashi wear Lawson uniforms during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday to announce the carrier's plan to raise its stake in the convenience chain.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 7, 2024

KDDI to raise stake in Lawson to jointly run convenience chain

Japan's second-largest mobile carrier currently holds 2.1% of shares but will invest about ¥500 billion to increase its stake through a tender offer.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen holds a welcome ceremony in September 2022 for then-Tuvaluan Prime Minister Kausea Natano in Taipei.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 7, 2024

Tuvalu could recognize China, but how much would it affect Taiwan?

Taipei might benefit from shifting its energy and resources away from competing with Beijing over formal recognition.
Opening up to foreign workers may ultimately be Japan’s best hope for stemming a rapid population decline.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 7, 2024

Record 2 million foreign workers are changing the face of Japan

Opening up to job seekers from abroad may ultimately be the country's best hope of stemming a rapid population decline.
A Japan Airlines jet is on fire at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Jan. 2.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 7, 2024

Japan air traffic controllers call for 'significant' staff increase

Last year, the number of air traffic control staff in Japan dropped to its lowest level in at least 19 years, according to transport ministry data.
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi takes part in a training session in Chiba on Tuesday.
SOCCER
Feb 7, 2024

Anger over Messi’s behavior grows in China before Japan game

Many commentators in China have drawn comparisons between Messi’s behavior in Hong Kong and his demeanor in Japan.
A railway crossing in Japan. A railway crossing gate in Osaka city opened before a train passed through on Tuesday, scraping a car that had proceeded to cross.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 7, 2024

Train scrapes car in Osaka after railway crossing gate opens prematurely

No one was hurt in the incident, which was caused by stray bolts causing a malfunction of a system that detects approaching trains.
Taiwanese soldiers train at a base in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on Tuesday. The island has decided to extend compulsory military service for young males from four months to one year amid increasing threats from China.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 7, 2024

Taiwan extends military conscription, a system Japan might want to consider

As Japan struggles to fill its military ranks, compulsory national service might be its only solution.
Today’s Russia is nothing like the citadel of stability and satisfaction nor the bastion of prosperity that the Kremlin tries to claim it is.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 7, 2024

Preparing Russia for permanent war

Today’s Russia is nothing like the citadel of stability and satisfaction nor the bastion of prosperity that the Kremlin claims it to be.
Equinox, ridden by Christophe Lemaire, wins the autumn Tenno Sho horse race on Oct. 29 at Tokyo Racecourse.
JAPAN / History
Feb 15, 2024

Imperial family boasts enduring bond with horse racing

Emperor Meiji saw the need to improve the quality of domestic horses to boost Japan's standing with Europe and the U.S.
A Bengal Tiger pauses in a jungle clearing a Kaziranga National Park, some 280 kilometers east of Guwahati in 2014. Tigers in India have been photographed in high-altitude mountains rarely seen before, with experts suggesting relentless human pressure and a heating climate are driving them from traditional hunting grounds.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Feb 8, 2024

India's tigers adapt to higher ground as temperatures soar and human pressure builds

The animals are venturing into higher mountainous terrain, signifying increased pressure on their habitats.
People walk past a billboard promoting Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia's defense minister and a presidential candidate, and his running mate, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who is the eldest son of Indonesian President Joko Widodo and current Surakarta's mayor, in Jakarta on Jan. 12.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 8, 2024

Generative AI faces major test as Indonesia holds election

Front-runner Prabowo Subianto is using AI tools to create campaign art, track social media sentiment, build interactive chatbots and target voters.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (right) fist bumps U.S. President Joe Biden upon his arrival at Al Salman Palace, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on July 15, 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 8, 2024

Saudi Arabia pushes for U.S. defense pact ahead of presidential election

Such a major regional deal would face numerous political and diplomatic obstacles, not least the uncertainty over how the Gaza conflict will unfold.
Qatar forward Almoez Ali scores his team's third goal during against Iran in the semifinals of the Asian Cup on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Feb 8, 2024

'Best yet to come' after Qatar set up Asian Cup final with Jordan

Almoez Ali struck in the 82nd minute in Doha to send Qatar into their second consecutive final.
A building in Manila where a group of Japanese individuals engaged in fraud
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 8, 2024

Cyber and phone fraud cases in Japan surge, marking 15-year high

National Police Agency officials say that it is premature to conclude that public safety in Japan has deteriorated.
U.S. and U.K. military aircraft have carried out over a hundred bombing missions on Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen, as well as against Tehran's proxies in Iraq and Syria, since last month.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 6, 2024

2024 looks to be a very bloody year

Preventing a conflagration and wider wars depends first on preventing regional crises from escalating, which demands a strong deterrent posture.
Singer Taylor Swift performs at her concert in Tokyo on Wednesday. With her winning her fourth Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards on Monday, sales of her merchandise will likely increase even as fans feel more compelled to purchase them for their premium value.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 8, 2024

'Swiftonomics' to yield ¥34.1 billion economic boost for Japan

The economic ripple effect of an average attendee of Taylor Swift's concerts in Tokyo is estimated at ¥155,090.
Chef Natsuki Suzuki opened Naz in the fall of 2020 on the rural fringe of the resort town of Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Feb 11, 2024

Naz: Bounty from landlocked Nagano's rivers and pastures

Dining at Naz is like sitting down at a bespoke dinner club for a meal catered exclusively for you. And what a meal it is.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during an interview with U.S. television host Tucker Carlson in Moscow on Tuesday. This is the first time the Russian leader has given an interview to a Western media figure since he ordered the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 9, 2024

Vladimir Putin takes hard line on Ukraine in Tucker Carlson interview

Russian president said he would consider negotiations if the U.S. stops supplying weapons to Kyiv.
Michelin guides are published yearly, but there are only a handful of Black chefs whose restaurants have been awarded Michelin stars.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 9, 2024

Black chefs are scoring with new Michelin stars; but they deserve more

Michelin stars were recently announced for restaurants in the U.K. and Ireland: The number of Black chefs increased, but the pace is still too slow.
Taylor Swift kicked off her four-night stint at Tokyo Dome on Wednesday while Lionel Messi played at the Japan National Stadium, just a few kilometers away.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 9, 2024

The Taylor Swift and Messi moment shows Tokyo is back

On Wednesday, Swift and Messi wowed their respective fans, just 5 km away from each other. Their overlap in Tokyo is proof of the city's great resurgence.
Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto speaks during a campaign rally in Jakarta on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 11, 2024

Indonesian election candidates make their case as election day looms

With young people accounting for almost 60% of the electorate, the candidates have needed to factor in their demands and preferences.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?