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A woman takes her meal alone in Tokyo's Yanaka neighborhood. As the country ages, Japan's average caloric intake has been shrinking.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Oct 9, 2023

Downsizing dinner: Aging Japan is eating less

As older citizens' shrinking appetites lead to less on the plate, businesses are having to adjust to a new market.
A breaker performs during the Red Bull BC One 2023 Camp Day and National Finals at the Fillmore in Philadelphia on Aug. 26
MORE SPORTS
Oct 12, 2023

Breakers grapple with hip-hop’s Olympic moment

B-boys and B-girls wonder if their art will translate into sport when breaking makes its debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach speaks on the first day of the 141st IOC Session in Mumbai on Sunday.
OLYMPICS
Oct 16, 2023

IOC members call on Bach to stay on past 2025

Elected in 2013, Bach is due to step down in 2025 in line with current Olympic Charter rules.
Chinese President Xi Jinping during the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on Wednesday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 20, 2023

Europe’s snub turns Xi’s Belt and Road into Global South party

The Chinese leader appears to have reformed the initiative as a club for emerging economies known as the Global South.
Hamas’ Ismail Haniyeh (left) and the former emir of Qatar arrive at a cornerstone-laying ceremony for the new Hamad residential neighborhood in Gaza in 2012.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 30, 2023

Israel-Hamas war escalation puts Qatar’s clout to the test

The nation has positioned itself as an key go-between, but has been criticized for housing Hamas leaders while maintaining channels to Israel.
Smoke rises from northern Gaza after an Israeli airstrike, seen from Sderot, Israel, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 30, 2023

Israel pounds Gaza's north as it steps up ground assault

Palestinians in northern Gaza reported fierce air and artillery strikes early Monday as Israeli troops backed by tanks pressed into the enclave.
Then-Chinese Premier Li Keqiang takes the oath after he was re-elected for a second term during the sixth-plenary session of the National People's Congress in Beijing in March 2018.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 30, 2023

Remembering Li Keqiang, who retired with a broken heart

He is best known outside of China for the Li Keqiang Index, created by The Economist to measure the nation’s economic growth.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends an extraordinary session at the Lower House of parliament in Tokyo on Oct. 23.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 31, 2023

Prime Minister Kishida and a month of misery

The challenges Fumio Kishida faces are eroding confidence in his leadership and are likely to influence policy decision-making.
Former Prime Minister Naoto Kan celebrates on Oct. 23, 2017, after prevailing in a close race in a single-seat constituency in Tokyo in a general election the previous day, winning on the ticket of the then-newly created Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 3, 2023

With Naoto Kan's exit from the CDP, some see a generational shift

The exit of the former prime minister, a high-profile figure and political veteran from the CDP’s liberal wing, comes at a time of change for the party.
The Self-Defense Forces face numerous obstacles in meeting their recruitment targets: Demographics, private-sector competition and image and morale issues.
EDITORIALS
Nov 3, 2023

The SDF has a big problem: Filling its ranks

The Japanese government needs to take steps to address SDF recruitment challenges that put the nation's security at risk.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators rally in front of the White House in Washington on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 5, 2023

The global consequences of the Israel-Hamas war

The EU’s shambolic response to the Israel-Hamas war has made China’s forceful reaction all the more notable.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa meets with the families of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas militants to the Gaza Strip, during a visit to Tel Aviv on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 6, 2023

Israel-Hamas conflict to dominate Tokyo summit of top G7 diplomats

Japan will be looking to further align the bloc’s responses to the war amid growing calls for a humanitarian pause in the fighting.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida looks on during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders' Week summit in San Francisco on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 17, 2023

Japan ruling bloc shocked as Kishida's approval keeps falling

A Jiji Press survey for November on Thursday showed the Kishida Cabinet's approval at 21.3%, the lowest level since his inauguration in 2021.
Indo-Pacific Economic Framework leaders pose for a family photo at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 18, 2023

Indo-Pacific trade deal prospects dim as U.S. election year looms

Election-year pressures and resistance to tough commitments from some countries make a deal unlikely anytime soon, observers say.
An official shot for this year’s lineup for NHK’s annual “Kohaku Uta Gassen.”
PODCAST / deep dive
Nov 22, 2023

Things get warmer with Xi; Johnny’s get the cold shoulder

While Japan and China look to ease tensions, NHK makes things tense with a Johnny’s-less “Kohaku” announcement.
South Korean and U.S. soldiers stand guard next to the United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission building on the South Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone at Panmunjom in July 2017.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 28, 2023

South Korea’s lessons for Ukraine’s reconstruction

Ukraine needs ironclad security guarantees, specifically NATO membership and the collective security that ensures.
A Japan Coast Guard ship and helicopter search the area on Thursday where a U.S. military Osprey aircraft crashed off Yakushima in Kagoshima Prefecture a day earlier.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2023

Japan asks U.S. to suspend Osprey flights until safety is confirmed

The U.S. air station in Futenma continued its operation of Osprey aircraft after Wednesday’s incident, causing local residents to voice their concern.
The Bank of Japan board member Toyoaki Nakamura says more time is needed before the bank phases out its massive stimulus.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 30, 2023

BOJ policymaker says more time needed before easing can be curbed

While a continued economic recovery and tight labor market hold promise for wage growth, inflation continues to suppress down real wages.
Ethnic Ta'ang National Liberation Army fighters stand guard at a check point in the town of Namhkam in Myanmar's northern Shan state on Nov. 10.
EDITORIALS
Dec 1, 2023

We must stop Myanmar’s descent into a failed state

Myanmar is at a crossroads and needs international support to prevent a collapse amid increased fighting.
A fundraising party for the LDP's largest faction, which was led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe until his death
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 1, 2023

Abe's former faction in focus as LDP political fund scandal deepens

Prosecutors are investigating the faction as part of a scandal involving the alleged underreporting of funds by groups within the ruling party.
People walk through Dubai's Expo City during COP28 on Monday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Dec 5, 2023

COP28 crowds: A dangerous distraction or sign of success?

With a record 84,000 registered attendees, this year's COP28 is a far cry from the first in 1995, a low-key affair with fewer than 4,000 delegates.
Eiko Takeuchi talks about a traffic jam during last winter’s heavy snow along National Route 8 in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, on Sept. 18.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Dec 11, 2023

Evacuation plans for nuclear incidents called into question

Effectiveness of preparations as a “last line of defense” to save residents in the event of a nuclear disaster are in doubt.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy unexpectedly canceled a scheduled videolink appeal to U.S. senators for more funding.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 6, 2023

U.S. senators face off at Ukraine briefing after Zelenskyy pulls out

Several Republican senators walked out of a classified briefing on Ukraine as it descended into a row over the border crisis.
After more than 33 hours of negotiations this week, delegates from the European Commission, the European Parliament and 27 member countries agreed to a set of controls for generative artificial intelligence tools.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 9, 2023

EU strikes deal to regulate AI tech in landmark act

The bloc’s internal market chief said the deal strikes a balance between fostering innovation and protecting the rights of people and companies.
A United Nations Security Council meeting to debate a resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza at U.N. headquarters in New York on Friday
WORLD
Dec 9, 2023

U.S. vetoes Security Council move calling for Gaza cease-fire

Washington dashed a growing clamor for an immediate cease-fire that had been led by U.N. chief Antonio Guterres and Arab nations.
Yuka Tada and her friend pose for a photograph at a BTS fan cafe in Tokyo.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Dec 12, 2023

BTS members head for South Korea military service; fans vow to wait

With three members already serving, the remaining four members of the K-pop supergroup begin their 18-month service.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the start of a bilateral meeting in Tokyo on Saturday
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 16, 2023

Japan-ASEAN summit aims to advance 'security cooperation'

Japan is also expected to use the summit to push energy cooperation as it seeks to export emissions-reducing tech that critics have questioned.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 16, 2023

Kishida losing grip on LDP as funds scandal unfolds

As the Cabinet's approval rate continues to fall, officials and are beginning to discuss a scenario in which the prime minister is forced to step down.
Keiichi Ishii
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 16, 2023

Komeito demanding 'bold' reforms over LDP scandal

The party is concerned that the public is rapidly losing trust in the government due to the unfolding political funds scandal inside the LDP.
Ten or more lawmakers of the LDP's largest faction, including former Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, may have received over ¥10 million each in kickbacks, according to the sources.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 17, 2023

Ten or more Abe faction members may have received over ¥10 million in kickbacks

Among other LDP factions, Shisuikai, led by former party Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai, is also suspected of failing to report fundraising revenues .

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat