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Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and the Cook Islands' Prime Minister Mark Brown shake hands during 10th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting on Thursday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 18, 2024

With eye on China, Japan deepens ties with Pacific islands at Tokyo summit

Collaborations have been agreed in seven fields, including technology and connectivity, climate change, people-centered development and security.
More Japanese firms have gone bankrupt in the first half of this year due to soaring costs, labor shortages and the end of pandemic-related support.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 18, 2024

Triple whammy takes Japan bankruptcies to decade high

Soaring costs, labor shortages and the end of pandemic-related financial support are taking a heavy toll on smaller businesses.
A loggerhead sea turtle hatches eggs on a beach in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, in May.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional voices: Chubu
Jul 29, 2024

Aichi sea turtle researchers assess risks of warmer nesting sites

The warmer the nest is, the more likely hatchlings will be female — that bodes ill for the survival of the marine species.
As childish as Ryokan may have been, human suffering wrung his heart. A portrait of the monk and calligraphy by him are shown here. (Ink on paper; early 19th century; replica before 1970)
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Jul 21, 2024

Ryokan and us: 'How wide! How boundless!'

The Edo Period monk could see the world through a child's eyes, maybe even those of a child from our modern era.
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump wears a flesh-colored bandage on his ear as he holds a campaign rally for the first time with his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 21, 2024

Bullet that hit Trump's ear left 2-cm wound, ex-White House doctor says

Former White House physician Ronny Jackson, now a hard-line right-wing lawmaker from Texas, offers one of the first detailed accounts of the Trump's injury.
Xander Schauffele of the U.S celebrates with the Claret Jug trophy after winning The 152nd British Open in Troon, Scotland, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Jul 22, 2024

Schauffele finds inner calm to win British Open and collect second major

The 30-year-old Californian delivered a faultless, zen-like six-under-par final round.
Foreign exchange rates are shown in a shop window in Tehran. Iran's newly elected president, Masoud Pezeshkian, faces the tough challenge of reviving Iran's beleaguered, sanctions-hit economy.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 22, 2024

Iran’s economy needs a new deal with the West, badly

Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran's new president, inherits high inflation and deteriorating public services. His only way out is cutting a deal with the West to lift sanctions.
A lone tree stands near a water trough on the outskirts of Walgett, in New South Wales, Australia, in 2018. Energy analysts said high construction costs, plus Australia's lack of nuclear expertise and abundant land and sunshine, make nuclear a less logical choice in the country.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 23, 2024

Nuclear wildcard reignites Australia's climate wars

Ahead of expected polls, the country's federal opposition has unveiled plans to slow the roll-out of renewable energy and build a network for nuclear reactors.
As of Sunday, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical reported 279 deaths and 2,274 hospital visits due to health issues related to its beni kōji supplements, among which 461 required hospitalization.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 23, 2024

Kobayashi Pharma's president and chairperson resign over health scandal

For the first time in its history, someone outside of the Osaka-based drugmaker's founding family will become its president.
Starbucks mobile app shows an error message on Friday. A botched software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike crashed countless Microsoft Windows computer systems globally.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2024

CrowdStrike meltdown and the price of real security

Catastrophic system failure isn’t part of the equation — until it happens. Which will be occurring with increasing frequency in our deeply interconnected world.
Samsung Electronics' headquarters in Suwon, South Korea, on June 13, 2023
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 24, 2024

Nvidia clears Samsung's HBM3 chips for use in China-market processor

Nvidia's approval of the chips comes amid soaring demand for sophisticated graphics processing units.
Gas and steam rise out of an oil refinery in the Siberian city of Omsk, Russia, on Feb.  8, 2023.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 24, 2024

Russia 'killing' climate, say activists awaiting top rights court ruling

Despite signing the Paris Climate accord, Moscow's fossil fuel extraction and war in Ukraine have spiked its greenhouse gas emissions.
People walk along a flooded street in Manila on Wednesday amid heavy rainfall from Typhoon Gaemi.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 24, 2024

Deadly Typhoon Gaemi floods Philippines, shuts Taiwan

The Philippines is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to extreme weather events, which have cost the nation about $1.2 billion annually between 2000 and 2016.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (right) during a meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 24, 2024

Why Japan's mysterious stash of classified funds escapes scrutiny

The funds can be used by the chief cabinet secretary with no explanation needed, fueling speculation of widespread misappropriation.
The number of residents in Tokyo as of Jan. 1 rose by 0.03% from a year before, data shows, marking a year-on-year increase for the first time in three years, while the country's other 46 prefectures saw their populations continue to decline.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 25, 2024

Japan's population continues to fall even as foreign resident count rises

The number of foreign residents in Japan rose by 329,535 from last year to 3,323,374.
U.S. rugby player Ilona Maher poses for a portrait during the Team USA media summit ahead of the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, at an event in New York on April 15.
BUSINESS
Jul 24, 2024

Athlete influencers compete for likes as well as medals in Paris

In years past, athletes might have needed a manager to negotiate deals with brands. Now, a company will reach out directly to strike a deal.
A construction worker during a heat wave in Folsom, California.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 25, 2024

What the temperature doesn’t tell you about extreme heat’s hazards

After its nationwide rollout in April, the HeatRisk forecasting tool is getting a real-world test as deadly temperatures stress much of the U.S.
American musician and visual artist Kim Gordon released her second solo album, “The Collective,” earlier this year, and it’s a bona fide banger.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 25, 2024

Ahead of her Fuji Rock set, Kim Gordon weighs in on punk and U.S. politics

The former Sonic Youth bassist, guitarist and vocalist is in Japan for the first time in over 10 years to promote her latest album, "The Collective."
Torchbearers Teddy Riner and Marie-Jose Perec light the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony of the Paris Games on Friday.
OLYMPICS
Jul 28, 2024

Upset bishops and mixed reviews for Paris Olympics ceremony

The show's artistic director Thomas Jolly, who is gay, had pledged earlier this month that the ceremony would celebrate "diversity" and "otherness."
While traditional hybrid vehicles use gas to turn the wheels, a new crop of cars are burning it exclusively to charge a large onboard battery.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 28, 2024

A new wave of electric vehicles are ready to charge at 70 mph

But while fossil fuels may be a curious catalyst for sparking EV sales, the strategy is arguably far greener than it looks.
Supporters of Venezuelan opposition protest following the announcement by the National Electoral Council that Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro won the presidential election, in Caracas, Venezuela, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 30, 2024

Protests erupt in Caracas after Maduro claims Venezuela reelection win

Venezuela's opposition leader, María Corina Machado, was also accused of being involved in a plot to alter voting results.
Technicians assemble a component of the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment at the CERN nuclear research facility in Cessy, France, in March 2007. International cooperation in science is essential for solving global challenges and maintaining innovation.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 30, 2024

Geopolitics threatens science and societal progress

In this world, the prospect of greater controls or reduced international cooperation can only be damaging.
Police officers stand near a billboard with an image of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 1, 2024

Venezuela braces for possibility of more opposition arrests

The U.S.-based Carter Center, which observed the vote, said Venezuela's election "cannot be considered democratic."
Protesters are being detained in a police van while protesting outside the High Court building as they demand justice for the victims arrested and killed in the recent countrywide violence in Dhaka on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 1, 2024

Bangladesh police disperse march over excessive use of force

The unrest is the biggest test facing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina since she won a fourth term in January.
Britain's Andy Murray says goodbye after he and teammate Dan Evans lost their men's doubles quarterfinal on Thursday.
OLYMPICS / Tennis
Aug 2, 2024

'Proud' Murray bows out of tennis with Paris Olympics defeat

The former world No. 1 and three-time Grand Slam title winner slipped into retirement at age 37 when he and Dan Evans lost in the men's doubles quarterfinals.
Founded in the early 2000s, Ichiro's Malt has since become a third pole in Japan's whisky world dominated by beverage giants.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 4, 2024

In sleepy Chichibu, Japan's whisky landscape is quietly shifting

Ichiro’s signature flavor profile of rich, woodsy flavors complemented by a clear fruitiness owes in large part to the tempermental 'mizunara' Japanese oak.
Photographer Gaku Lange says Japan's film photography scene is growing, but it still lags behind overseas communities.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Aug 5, 2024

Looking at Japan’s ‘tribal’ photography scene through a new lens

More young people in Tokyo are ditching smartphones for film cameras, but the old guard isn't necessarily pleased about it.
A government white paper stressed the need to pay attention to the impact of interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan on personal consumption.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 2, 2024

Japan warns of weak yen impact on households in government white paper

A weak yen has become a source of concern for policymakers as it has dampened consumption by inflating the cost of importing fuel, food and raw material.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado greets supporters from atop a truck during a demonstration against the presidential election results, in Caracas on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 4, 2024

Venezuela opposition declares 'we have never been so strong'

Thousands gathered peacefully across Venezuela, including in the capital Caracas where Maria Corina Machado thrilled supporters with a surprise appearance.
People pray at the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima to mark the anniversary of the dropping of the A-bomb in 1945. Over half a century on, the global framework to stop nuclear weapons proliferation needs a serious rethink.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 5, 2024

What stands in the way of a nuclear weapon-free world?

Almost 80 years after the A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the world is still far from abolishing nuclear weapons due to a crumbling of the nonproliferation architecture.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.