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Anna Sawai (left), winner of the outstanding lead actress in a drama series award, and Hiroyuki Sanada, outstanding lead actor in a drama series for "Shogun," at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Sep 18, 2024

Japanese are jubilant over 'Shogun' — even without having watched the series

"Shogun" is only available via Disney's streaming platform, which is relatively new in Japan. Nonetheless, people are buzzing with excitement over the show's Emmy wins.
One of the coffins is carried during the funeral of Mohammed Bilal Kanj, Mohamed Hassan Nour al-Din, Abbas Fadel Yassin and Mohammad Mahdi Ammar, son of Hezbollah member of the Lebanese parliament, Ali Ammar, who were killed amid the detonation of pagers across Lebanon, in Beirut on Wednesday.
WORLD
Sep 19, 2024

Hezbollah devices explode again in Lebanon, raising fears of wider Israel conflict

Lebanon's health ministry said 20 people were killed on Wednesday, while Tuesday's explosions killed 12 and injured 3,000.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell holds a news conference following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on interest rate policy in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 19, 2024

Fed cuts rates by half-point in decisive bid to defend economy

It is the Fed’s first rate cut in more than four years.
Giants quarterback Eli Manning drops back to pass during a game against the Dolphins in December 2019.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Sep 19, 2024

Eli Manning and Marshawn Lynch lead 2025 Hall of Fame nominees

Kicker Adam Vinatieri, defensive end Terrell Suggs and late wide receiver Demaryius Thomas are also among first-year nominees with Super Bowl resumes.
Candidates for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election take part in a debate in Tokyo on Saturday. Of the nine candidates, three — Takayuki Kobayashi, Taro Kono, and Shigeru Ishiba — have been particularly vocal with their views on the country's energy strategy.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 19, 2024

LDP presidential hopefuls face tough choices on Japan's energy future

Candidates must decide what role nuclear power will play in the government's long-term energy strategy.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks during a news conference at the presidential office in Seoul on Aug. 29.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 19, 2024

Yoon confident Czech nuclear plant deal will be completed

Westinghouse and EDF have appealed a deal made between the Czech Republic and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power.
The flags of the U.S. and China sit in a room where U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with China's Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, in Beijing on April 26.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 19, 2024

The challenges posed by China exceed those of the Cold War, U.S. says

Analysts and members of the U.S. Congress have said escalating global competition between China and the U.S. resemble a different but new style of cold war.
Indian soldiers participate in a mock drill exercise in New Delhi in 2016. The transfer of Indian munitions to support Ukraine's defense against Russia has occurred for more than a year, according to the sources and customs data.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 19, 2024

Ammunition from India enters Ukraine, raising Russian ire

The transfer of munitions to support Ukraine's defense against Russia has occurred for more than a year, according to the sources and the customs data.
Bulk carriers float offshore from Singapore, on Feb. 19.
WORLD
Sep 19, 2024

The shadow fleet transporting sanctioned gas for Russia

In the short term it could provide some wartime profit, but Moscow's ultimate goal is to triple LNG exports by 2030.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell injected uncertainty as to where future rates will ultimately land during his news conference following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting in Washington on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 19, 2024

The Fed’s uncertain destination troubles the bond market

The upshot is that longer-term bond yields don’t have much room to fall in the near-term unless the economy weakens materially.
Shohei Ohtani connects on his 50th home run of the season during the seventh inning against the Marlins in Miami on Thursday. Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to reach 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 20, 2024

Shohei Ohtani records baseball's first 50-50 season with huge night in Miami

Shohei Ohtani is the first player in MLB history to reach 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season.
A man holds a walkie-talkie device after he removed the battery during a funeral for those killed after hundreds of paging devices exploded in a deadly wave across Lebanon the previous day, in Beirut's southern suburbs on Wednesday.
WORLD
Sep 20, 2024

Exploding pagers attack shakes global trust in supply-chain security

While booby-trapped devices have been used in spycraft for years, the scale and violence of the attacks in Lebanon alarmed even some seasoned officials.
OpenAI announced a new reasoning model on Thursday that it said was capable of surpassing human experts in a number of technical benchmarks for the first time. The new model received the company's first "medium" rating on bioweapon risk.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 20, 2024

Battle rages over U.S.' first binding AI safety bill in California

The legislation has exposed a deep divide across the tech industry and the political establishment, upending the usual coalitions.
A drone view shows a burned area following a recent wildfire on Mount Penteli, near Athens in August.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Sep 20, 2024

As wildfires wipe out forests, Greeks debate: To replant, or not?

Tree loss raises the risk of flash floods from rains on denuded grounds no longer protected by tree canopies and root systems, as well as higher air temperatures.
A man holds a new iPhone 16 at an Apple store in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward on Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 20, 2024

Apple's iPhone 16 released in Japan

The Japanese version of Apple Intelligence will be launched next year.
Toyota Gazoo Racing fans cheer on the team at the start of the 6 Hours of Fuji race on Sunday at Fuji Speedway in Oyama, Shizuoka Prefecture.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Sep 20, 2024

For Toyota and its rivals, WEC becomes important arena amid major industry shift

Carmakers' involvement in endurance racing has taken on a new level of importance as the auto industry faces a once-a-generation sea change.
Plaintiffs living in Tokyo and the neighboring city of Kawasaki had sued the government saying the Haneda routes posed risk of falling objects and aircraft crashes, as well as causing noise and exhaust gas pollution.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 20, 2024

Court rejects petition against low-altitude Haneda routes

Residents said that the routes posed the risk of falling objects and aircraft crashes, as well as causing noise and exhaust gas pollution.
A vaccine that can protect against six types of cancer is available: the human papillomavirus vaccine. Despite its proven effectiveness, many parents and others remain hesitant over its use.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 20, 2024

Boys need the HPV cancer vaccine as much as girls

The virus doesn’t only cause cervical cancer, it’s the culprit behind numerous other cancers
Hashim Safieddine, a Shiite Muslim cleric and the head of Hezbollah's Executive Council, speaks Wednesday during a funeral in Beirut for some of those killed after paging devices exploded in a deadly wave across Lebanon the previous day.
EDITORIALS
Sep 20, 2024

Pager bombs just add more fuel to the Middle East fire

The tale that is emerging after the pager bombs is one that resembles a spy novel, a feat of derring-do by Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency.
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan presidential candidates Harumi Yoshida (far left), Kenta Izumi (center left), Yukio Edano (center right) and Yoshihiko Noda pose at a news conference in Tokyo on Sept. 7.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 20, 2024

CDP leader hopefuls must bridge internal and external differences

Once elected, the leader of the main opposition party must both unify the different groups within and choose who to work with to win the next general election.
A shopper browses through locally caught seafood at a fish market in Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, in August 2023. China has not imported any seafood from Japan since September last year.
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2024

Japan agrees to stricter monitoring of Fukushima plant's treated water

Tokyo's nod to greater involvement of third-party inspectors — a key demand from Beijing — paves the way for a lifting of China's ban on Japanese seafood imports.
People inspect the site of an Israeli strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Friday.
WORLD
Sep 21, 2024

Top Hezbollah commander among 14 killed in Israeli strike on Beirut

Ibrahim Aqil was killed with other senior members of an elite Hezbollah unit, sharply escalating the yearlong conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed group.
Warships and fighter jets of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy take part in a military display in the South China Sea in April 2018.
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Sep 21, 2024

U.S. leans on shipbuilding prowess of allies to compete with China

America’s shipbuilding industry has virtually collapsed over the last generation, raising concerns amid its rivalry with China.
Fiji's Vuate Karawalevu races to score a try during the Pacific Nations Cup final against Japan at Hanazono Rugby Stadium in Higashiosaka, Osaka Prefecture, on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Sep 22, 2024

Young Brave Blossoms squad outmatched against Fiji in Pacific Nations Cup final

Head coach Eddie Jones said the 41-17 loss was a "good reminder of how far we are off the mark."
Through trial and error, Tashi Gyamtso and his team meticulously selected a variety of herbs and vegetables best suited to Yufuin’s unique altitude, climate and soil conditions — and which now form the backbone of Jimgu's menu.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Sep 22, 2024

Jimgu: A farm-driven restaurant of outstanding local variety

Three years before chef Tashi Gyamtso served his first meal at Jimgu, he arrived in Oita Prefecture to build the farm that stocks his kitchen today.
A woman passes an "akichi" (vacant lot) in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo. The capital is littered with such small lots in part because of Japan's aging and shrinking population.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Sep 21, 2024

Dealing with rising land vacancies as Japan shrinks

"Akichi," or vacant plots of land, are nothing new to the urban landscape. As the population decreases, however, the challenge is how to handle their steady increase.
Many of today’s cars — both gas and electric — are equipped with devices connecting them to the internet or cloud services, making them potential targets for hacking.
BUSINESS
Sep 22, 2024

Biden administration to prepare ban on Chinese car software

The U.S. Commerce Department has been meeting with industry experts as it looks to address security concerns raised by a new generation of so-called smart cars.
A destroyed car in the Biala Ladecka river following flooding in Zelazno, Poland, on Friday
ENVIRONMENT
Sep 22, 2024

U.S. election uncertainty clouds U.N. climate finance progress

Governments are analyzing a possible win by Kamala Harris, who promotes climate spending, or by Donald Trump, a climate denier who wants to boost fossil fuels.
Manchester City midfielder Rodri (left) battles with Inter Milan's Carlos Augusto during Champions League action on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Sep 22, 2024

Will Premier League players really go on strike?

The debate over soccer’s crowded calendar has rumbled on and on, but a recent comment by Manchester City's Rodri feels like a significant moment.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden meet at Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware, on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 22, 2024

Biden and Kishida affirm strong ties ahead of leadership transition in both nations

The leaders agreed to "advance cooperation" on a range of security, economic and diplomatic issues as both leaders prepare to leave office.

Longform

Wealthier women in the prewar era had been the targets of various media-related health campaigns that mistakenly encouraged them to avoid everything from riding bicycles to reading novels when their monthly cycles came around.
Menstruation in Japan: Breaking the silence, slowly