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Soldiers stand in formation in front of Chinese flags at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sept. 29. China's Ministry of State Security said on Tuesday it had uncovered devices that had been hidden on the ocean floor and were sending back information that could "pre-set the field for battle.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 29, 2024

China reports finding spying devices at sea

Beijing said the devices — it did not specify where they were found — act as underwater "lighthouses" that guide submarines, among other functions.
North Korean special forces soldiers march and shout slogans during a military parade marking the 105th anniversary of the birth of the country's founding father, Kim Il Sung, in Pyongyang in April 2017.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Oct 29, 2024

North Korean troops in Russia could have dangerous ramifications for Asia

Kim Jong Un's decision to send soldiers amid the war in Ukraine highlights the gamble he appears to be willing to take in his strategic relationship with Moscow.
The monthly report identified higher interest rates in the U.S. and Europe, and stagnation in Chinese real estate market as downside risks for the Japanese economy.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 29, 2024

Japan continues to see moderate recovery but cuts factory output view

The government reiterated the need to pay close attention to potential global economic risks and financial market volatility.
Protesters, including supporters of Georgia's opposition parties, hold a rally to dispute the result of a recent parliamentary election won by the ruling Georgian Dream party, in Tbilisi, Georgia on Monday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 29, 2024

Georgia and Moldova votes show challenges of EU enlargement push

The EU has been making a renewed push to bring in new members since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
A Palestinian girl looks through the rubble of a building after an Israeli strike in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Oct 30, 2024

Deadly Israeli strike in Gaza comes amid anger over U.N. agency ban

Israel's military has been conducting a sweeping air and ground assault in northern Gaza since Oct. 6.
Qatar forward Akram Afif speaks during a news conference after being named the Asian Football Confederation's Player of the Year in Seoul on Tuesday.
SOCCER
Oct 30, 2024

Akram Afif driven to make history after securing second Asian crown

Afif joined Japan's Hidetoshi Nakata and Server Djeparov of Uzbekistan as the only players to win the Asian Football Confederation's top accolade twice.
Georgian opposition supporters rally to protest results of the parliamentary elections that showed a win for the ruling Georgian Dream party, outside the parliament building in central Tbilisi on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 30, 2024

Georgia to partially recount votes in disputed poll

Pro-Western opposition parties have refused to recognize the results of Saturday's vote, which they claim was falsified in favor of the ruling Georgian Dream party.
(Right to left) Astronauts Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze attend a see-off ceremony before taking part in the Shenzhou-19 spaceflight mission to China's Tiangong space station, at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, near Jiuquan, Gansu province, China, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Oct 30, 2024

Chinese astronauts to test lunar bricks in space

Should the tests prove successful, the bricks could be a key material used in the construction of a permanent lunar research station.
Masayoshi Son last month invested $500 million in OpenAI through his Vision Fund, having missed out on the AI company’s previous funding rounds.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 30, 2024

Masayoshi Son inflates the AI bubble even more

Masayoshi Son last month invested $500 million in OpenAI through his Vision Fund, having missed out on the AI company’s previous funding rounds.
Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley leaves after attending a press conference hosted by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors to release its first annual report, at the Vatican on Tuesday.
WORLD / Society
Oct 30, 2024

Church must act faster against abusive priests, papal commission says

The detailed global report from the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors was the first since the body was set up by Pope Francis in 2014.
Ukrainian service members rest in a dugout near the front-line city of Toretsk, Ukraine, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 30, 2024

As U.S. election nears, Europe worries over impact on Ukraine war and NATO

A Donald Trump win remains a concern given his strong criticism of the military alliance and his ambivalent view of Kyiv's fight against Russia's invasion.
Ringhals nuclear power plant near Varberg, Sweden
BUSINESS
Oct 30, 2024

Sweden’s nuclear revival in question as green hangover spreads

A policy U-turn that would entail a massive build-out of reactors, the first to come online in more than 40 years, now appears more unlikely.
Tohoku Electric Power workers restart the Unit 2 reactor of the Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant in Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture, on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Oct 30, 2024

A lack of workers threatens Japan's nuclear power revival

The slow revival of nuclear power has dramatically worsened a skills crunch visible across the nation’s nuclear industry.
A bridge linking Izushima and the Oshika Peninsula in Miyagi Prefecture is scheduled to open in December.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 30, 2024

Onagawa nuclear plant's restart sparks concerns over evacuation routes

Residents, particularly those of islands close to the newly restarted plant, lament the limited options for escaping a disaster.
The Liberal Democratic Party's seats in the House of Representatives fell to 191 from 256 in Sunday's election.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 30, 2024

LDP will likely have a 2.5% cut in its subsidies from the government

The LDP's subsidies are expected to total ¥15.65 billion for the year.
Nomura Holdings CEO Kentaro Okuda. In addition to the financial penalties for market manipulation, Nomura is suffering a fresh blow to its reputation following various scandals over recent years including several data leaks.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 30, 2024

Trader's $10,000 spoofing profit haunts Nomura as the fallout widens

The firm’s problems are deepening as Nomura's rivals double down on efforts to poach clients.
Smog in Mumbai. India and China were home to 52 of the world's top 100 polluting plants in 2022.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Oct 30, 2024

Superpolluting coal plants power economies and the climate crisis

Analysis of coal power often miss the local contexts of the world's largest polluters and the development priorities they support.
North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Jan. 16.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 30, 2024

North Korea's top diplomat heads to Moscow as troops gear up for fight

The Pentagon has said there are indications troops deployed to Russia by Pyongyang could be used in an infantry role in the Ukraine war.
Toyota's worldwide production fell for an eighth straight month in September, as both sales and output declined in its two biggest markets, the United States and China.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 30, 2024

Toyota sales fall in Japan and China, as hybrid demand grows in U.S.

Toyota’s sales in Japan shrank nearly 17% this year between January and September.
A Google logo at the firm's Bay View campus in Mountain View, California, on Aug. 13
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 30, 2024

Alphabet's AI investments boost cloud sales and lift maturing ad business

Alphabet shares rose nearly 6% in after-market trading on Tuesday.
A World Series public-viewing event in Oshu, Iwate Prefecture, on Wednesday.
BASEBALL
Oct 30, 2024

'A treasure': Win or lose, Ohtani is a hometown hero in Iwate

Anticipation was high among the roughly 60 supporters who gathered early in the morning to watch Ohtani and the Dodgers try to clinch the World Series.
The Miyagi Prefectural Government Building in Sendai. The prefecture plans to expand the option for a four-day workweek to all prefectural employees from fiscal 2026.
JAPAN
Oct 30, 2024

Miyagi Prefecture to introduce four-day workweek for all employees

The program aims to reduce rising turnover and attract more applicants to government roles in Miyagi, the prefecture said.
A U.S. Army specialist peers out from the shadows during a 12-day jungle operations training course near Honolulu on Oct. 10.
WORLD
Oct 30, 2024

The U.S. army prepares for war with China

What the Pentagon calls a Great Power War would put the world’s two strongest militaries in direct conflict,
One shortcoming of the Freelance Act — a new law designed to improve the working conditions of freelancers — is that freelancers and clients don't know much about it.
JAPAN / Explainer
Oct 31, 2024

What is the Freelance Act, Japan’s first-ever law to help freelancers?

The law introduces new measures to help self-employed workers. However, some shortcomings remain, experts say.
Maruti Suzuki, which is majority-owned by Suzuki Motor, will begin production of a new EV from spring 2025 at its plant in the western Indian state of Gujarat.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 30, 2024

Toyota to get Suzuki's first-ever EV as partnership expands

Maruti Suzuki, which is majority-owned by Suzuki, will begin production of the EV from spring 2025 in Gujarat, India.
While Donald Trump is typically seen as the instigator of the slide in America’s standing and credibility as a global leader, in truth, questions about U.S. commitment and resolve have persisted long before his administration. 
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 29, 2024

This election won’t — can’t — solve U.S. foreign policy woes

While Trump is typically seen as the instigator of this slide, in truth, questions about U.S. commitment and resolve predate his administration.
Plaintiffs seeking the right for same-sex couples to marry react Wednesday to the Tokyo High Court's ruling that Japan's ban on such marriages is unconstitutional.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 30, 2024

Tokyo High Court rules same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional

It is the second high-court ruling in Japan to describe the ban on same-sex marriage in those terms.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during a news conference at the Liberal Democratic Party's headquarters in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 30, 2024

Ishiba Cabinet's approval rating sinks to around 30%

Public support for the LDP and its ruling coalition partner Komeito dropped significantly after they lost their Lower House majority on Oct. 27.
DPP head Yuichiro Tamaki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday. Tamaki has reportedly rejected a request for a meeting with Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 30, 2024

All eyes on DPP ahead of prime minister vote in Lower House

The party — which has quadrupled its seats to 28 — is expected to sway the outcome of the vote, potentially in a way that would benefit Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
A Hello Kitty fan poses with a costumed character at the Sanrio Smile Shop on its opening day at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, California. Hello Kitty marks its 50th anniversary on Nov. 1.
CULTURE
Oct 30, 2024

The 'CEO of supercute': Hello Kitty turns 50

She is the undeniable queen of kawaii culture in Japan — and her likeness continues to make billions for her creators at Sanrio.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone. 
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan