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U.S. President Joe Biden enters the stage after an introduction by his daughter, Ashley Biden, on the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2024

Joe Biden begins a long and necessary goodbye

It took grace, maturity and generosity for Biden to bow out. A measure of resentment has also accompanied his exit.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a news conference in Tokyo on Aug. 14
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2024

Kishida to visit U.S. just before stepping down

While in New York, Kishida is expected to hold bilateral meetings with U.S. President Joe Biden and other global leaders.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to members of the press at the David Kempinski Hotel in Tel Aviv on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 21, 2024

U.S. push for Gaza cease-fire falls short on key points, officials say

Israeli and Hamas officials have downplayed the idea that a cease-fire deal could be imminent.
Lawson Bank's automated teller machines. The number of Lawson Bank ATMs installed outside convenience stores rose to 174 as of the end of June from 80 three months before.
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2024

Convenience store ATMs on the increase in Japan

Competition for making ATMs multifunctional, going beyond just withdrawing cash, and more user-friendly has been intensifying.
A glittering cast of Tokyoites comes together in a collection of dreamlike vignettes in Atsuhiro Yoshida’s novella “Goodnight Tokyo.”
CULTURE / Books
Aug 21, 2024

'Goodnight Tokyo': Late-night search for meaning become magical in the big city

Atsuhiro Yoshida's novella, composed of intersecting vignettes, is a fitting introduction to an atmospheric, visually adept writer known for his quirky worldbuilding.
Military vehicles carrying DF-26 ballistic missiles travel past Beijing's Tiananmen Gate during a military parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Beijing in September 2015.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 21, 2024

Biden approved secret nuclear strategy refocusing on Chinese threat

In a new classified document, the U.S. president ordered preparations for possible coordinated nuclear confrontations with Russia, China and North Korea.
Mizuho Financial Group changed its personnel system in July to "role-based pay" that makes salary increases possible regardless of age or number of years in the company.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 21, 2024

Japan banks moving away from seniority-based personnel system

Major banks are attaching more importance to employees' roles as banking operations have diversified.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen in action during the Belgian Grand Prix on July 28
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Aug 21, 2024

Verstappen needs a home win to end losing streak

Verstappen, who leads Formula One by 78 points with 10 rounds remaining, has not stood on top of the podium since Spain on June 23.
Lawmakers leave a Lower House plenary session after the chamber was dissolved in October 2021.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 21, 2024

Signs point toward November general election following LDP race

The advantage gained from the change in LDP leadership may diminish if the snap poll is not called soon after the party's presidential race.
The integration of large language models into war-game simulations and planning promises faster scenario analysis, but recent research highlights significant issues, including a risk of escalation.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2024

Resist the seductive power of AI in military decision-making

The maturation of AI and the creation of large learning models have driven the war-gaming industry — and it is an industry — to new heights of fever and frenzy.
Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra pays her respect to a picture of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn as she receives a royal endorsement to become the 31st prime minister in Bangkok on Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2024

Thailand’s democracy is on shaky ground

Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy is in the middle of yet another political crisis. Citizens deserve better.
In a news conference Wednesday, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan's former chief, Yukio Edano, expressed his resolve to build a party that can challenge the dominance of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in national politics.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 21, 2024

CDP's Edano takes another shot at party leadership after 2021 polls failure

After a poor showing three years ago, Edano is seeking to return to lead Japan's largest opposition party ahead of upcoming polls.
The ability of Xi Jinping's government to control China's  industrial overcapacity crisis is limited, and stimulating domestic demand is difficult amid geopolitical tensions.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2024

Xi’s supply-side panacea has lost its magic

China’s excess capacity problem will have to fester until even its industry leaders call it quits. That may be some years away.
A still image taken from drone footage on Wednesday shows what the 68th Separate Jaeger Brigade "Oleksy Dovbusha" says are multiple launch rocket system strikes on Russian troops, in Novozhelanne, Donetsk Region, Ukraine.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 22, 2024

Ukraine says it hits pontoon bridges in Russia with U.S.-made weapons

A video shows strikes on several crossings in the Kursk region, where Russia has reported that Ukraine has destroyed at least three bridges over the Seym river.
An influencer uses a phone at the United Center, ahead of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), in Chicago on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 22, 2024

At DNC, influencers battle journalists for space and access

The Democratic National Convention has credentialed more than 200 "content creators" to cover the four-day event.
The departure of the head of Apple's App Store comes as the division is being split into two teams: one overseeing Apple’s own store and another responsible for alternative app distribution.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 22, 2024

Apple’s App Store head to leave in reorganization amid global scrutiny

Matt Fischer, a vice president who has run the App Store business since 2010, will leave the iPhone maker in October.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent candidate for president, at Nassau County State Supreme Court in Mineola, New York, on Wednesday
WORLD / Politics
Aug 22, 2024

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expected to end his presidential campaign

Kennedy’s departure from the race would be the end of one of the more bizarre and surprisingly durable third-party presidential bids in modern American history.
An employee pulls a trolley containing boxes of LD Ultra-Slim cigarettes ready for shipping at the Japan Tobacco cigarette plant in the town of Senta in Serbia. JT Group is buying U.S. discount cigarette-maker Vector Group.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 22, 2024

JT Group plans to buy U.S. cigarette-maker Vector for ¥348.6 billion

The move will address a loss of anticipated growth due to Russia's war in Ukraine, and will boost Japan Tobacco's U.S. market share from 2.3% to about 8%.
Bo Nix will be the first rookie to start the season opener for the Broncos since John Elway in 1983.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Aug 22, 2024

Broncos to open season with rookie Bo Nix as starting quarterback

The first-round draft pick will become the first rookie to start a season opener for Denver since Hall of Famer John Elway in 1983.
A Rapidus factory construction site in Chitose, Hokkaido, on July 24. The plan to ramp up renewable energy usage in the region to 60% by 2030 is part of a larger concept known as “Hokkaido Valley.”
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Aug 26, 2024

Hokkaido more plugged in to renewable energy than rest of Japan

The local government aims to raise its share of renewable energy to 60% from the current 40%, but Hokkaido's grid needs to be upgraded first.
In an image provided by federal agencies, a colorized electron microscope image shows avian influenza grown in cultured cells. The virus is poised to become a permanent presence in cattle, raising the odds of an eventual outbreak among people.
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 22, 2024

How U.S. farms could start a bird flu pandemic

The longer the virus circulates in cattle, the more chances it has to acquire the mutations necessary to set off an influenza pandemic.
University students in Varanasi, India, protest against a recent rape and murder of a doctor in West Bengal. Despite some improvements in legislation following high-profile cases, such as the 2012 gang rape, violence against women has worsened, with recorded rapes increasing.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2024

Protests won’t change India's attitude toward rape

Despite some improvements in legislation following high-profile cases, such as the 2012 gang rape, violence against women has worsened, with recorded rapes increasing.
Ebenezer Agyarko tends to his cocoa plantation in Kwabeng, north of Accra, the capital of Ghana.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 22, 2024

Chocolate prices unlikely to decline even as African cocoa harvest improves

Issues that have long hobbled the industry remain, meaning bean prices aren’t likely to fall back to previous levels.
A supermarket worker puts up a sign asking purchasers to buy only one bag per person, in Tokyo on July 25.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2024

Why it's hard to find rice at Japan's supermarkets right now

In recent weeks, store shelves have often been barren, with many shops displaying signs asking purchasers to stick to one bag per person.
Hisako Tokuda left her office job to follow a passion for working with “bekko” (tortoiseshell) and says that even though it has been hard, she doesn’t regret it. 
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Aug 23, 2024

Hisako Tokuda: ‘I believe making things is what makes us human’

After taking an interest in tortoiseshell works, Hisako Tokuda left her office job and pursued her passion as an artisan.
Okayama and Tottori prefectures are some of the least-visited regions in Japan among foreign tourists — which is why they offer such a welcome break from crowd-clogged cities like Tokyo and Kyoto.
LIFE / Travel
Aug 23, 2024

In Japan’s flyover country, 72 hours of hidden gems

Some of Japan’s least-visited prefectures among foreign tourists host opportunities for peace, quiet and rural beauty.
Robert C. Neff, passed away at after a long illness at 77 years old on July 31, 2024, at his home in Hayama, south of Tokyo.
COMMUNITY
Aug 25, 2024

The American journalist ahead of the game on an ascendant Japan

Neff was part of a golden age of magazine journalism as Tokyo bureau chief for Businessweek magazine and a lover of hot spring retreats.
Iga Swiatek hits a return against Mirra Andreeva at the Cincinnati Open on Aug. 17.
TENNIS
Aug 23, 2024

Tennis great Chris Evert expects No. 1 Iga Swiatek to bounce back at U.S. Open

"Iga's very disciplined, very organized, very serious about her game and very mature," Evert, now a tennis analyst for ESPN, told reporters.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, arrives to speak on the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 23, 2024

Harris accepts historic nomination to start election sprint

Her challenge now is to harness the energy and excitement of a party reinvigorated by her rapid ascent.
Canadian National Railway workers picket at the CPKC Toronto yard, after the company and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) locked out employees following unsuccessful negotiation attempts with the Teamsters union, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 23, 2024

Canada moves quickly to end unprecedented rail shutdown

The Canadian Industrial Relations Board will consult the two rail companies and unions before issuing a back-to-work order that should come soon.

Longform

Passengers that were on a morning train attacked by members of the Aum Shinrikyo group wait for medical assistance outside Kasumigaseki Station on March 20,1995.
The day a religious cult brought terror to Tokyo