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With so many voters suffering financially and showing an eagerness to throw politicians out of office, delivering higher living standards appears to be a necessary condition for restoring political stability to the world’s democracies.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 1, 2024

Political and economic chaos through 'the looking glass'

America is not alone in experiencing an unanticipated upheaval. Five years ago, it seemed inconceivable that a major ground war would occur on the European continent.
Former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 3, 2024

Anti-nuclear energy stance fades among LDP presidential hopefuls

Candidates' apparent shift in policy stance on nuclear power may be part of a strategy to win the leadership race.
Japan's Naoya Inoue (left) and Ireland's TJ Doheny fight during their super bantamweight title match at Ariake Arena in Tokyo on Tuesday.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
Sep 3, 2024

'Monster' Inoue eyeing Vegas bout after stopping injured Doheny

The unbeaten Inoue was declared the winner when Doheny was left hobbling and unable to continue following a barrage to the body.
Johnny's & Associates President Noriyuki Higashiyama (second from right), unveils Smile-Up as the new name for the talent agency during a news conference in Tokyo in October 2023. The agency decided on the name change after it acknowledged the abuse committed by its late founder and apologized to victims in September 2023.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 4, 2024

Johnny’s victims group to disband one year after agency admitted abuse

The group says it will continue to help victims with unresolved cases — through consultation and other forms of support — despite the disbandment.
Michie Hino, 77, works at an elderly care home in Chiba Prefecture. She is one of a growing number of senior Japanese citizens working into their 70s.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Sep 5, 2024

Working till your 70s — Japan's prospective gift to the world

A struggling pension system and the highest inflation in decades have led more Japanese people to delay retirement until their 70s or later to make ends meet.
Inside a gallery influenced by famed architect Kengo Kuma, Nakamura Ningyo's Hakata dolls represent a little-seen side of Japanese crafts.
LIFE / Style & Design
Sep 7, 2024

From Godzilla to martyrs, Hakata doll-making knows no bounds

Since its establishment in Fukuoka in 1917, Nakamura Ningyo has been a cornerstone of the Hakata doll tradition.
A voter casts a mail-in ballot at a drop box outside the Maricopa County Recorder and Elections Department's southeast Mesa office during the Arizona state primary election in Mesa, Arizona, on July 30.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 6, 2024

U.S. election prompts cities to get a grip on fake news

Local officials are increasingly forced to address false information about public health, migration, and urban planning strategies, which intensify during polls.
By 2018, the number of children registered for adoption had dropped to around 15,000, down from about 44,000 in 2009, according to official statistics.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 6, 2024

China stops foreign adoptions, ending a complicated chapter

The ban raises questions for many of the hundreds of families in the United States who were in the process of adopting children from China.
Sumitomo Chemical President Keiichi Iwata
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 6, 2024

Sumitomo Chemical sells hybrid bond at widest spread this year

Sumitomo Chemical priced ¥100 billion of hybrid debt at 280 basis points over Japanese government bonds.
The agreement follows more than six months of talks between Baghdad and Washington, initiated by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (center) in January amid attacks by Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups on U.S. forces stationed at Iraqi bases.
WORLD
Sep 7, 2024

U.S.-Iraq deal would see hundreds of troops withdraw in first year

The plan has been broadly agreed but requires a final go-ahead from both capitals and an announcement date.
Sergei Kiriyenko, who is the first deputy head in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s administration, oversaw a yearslong Kremlin operation to meddle in U.S. elections and use disinformation to promote pro-Russian narratives online, according to a 277-page affidavit that U.S. officials unsealed Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 7, 2024

The evolution of Putin’s aide accused of gaming the U.S. election

The head of a Russian propaganda campaign that allegedly aimed to influence the upcoming U.S. elections began as a liberal politician.
The Boeing Starliner spacecraft can be seen pulling away from the International Space Station for its unmanned return to the surface of Earth on Friday in this screenshot.
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 7, 2024

Boeing's beleaguered Starliner back home empty

The gumdrop-shaped capsule touched down softly at the White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico, its descent slowed by parachutes and cushioned by airbags.
A Mid-Range Capability, or Typhon, launcher with the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force arrives in the Philippines on April 8, in the capability’s first deployment to the Indo-Pacific region.
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2024

U.S. eyeing midrange missiles in Japan for drills, U.S. Army secretary says

U.S. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said deploying the unit that hosts the missile system had been discussed during her visit to Japan last month.
Brazil's Indigenous Chief Raoni Metuktire at Igarape Park in the country's Para state in 2023
ENVIRONMENT
Sep 7, 2024

As the Amazon’s biggest champion approaches 100, he’s still fighting

The Amazon’s plight set the tone for Raoni Metuktire’s remarkable life, which has taken him out of Brazil’s central Mato Grosso state and all over the world.
Komeito Secretary-General Keiichi Ishii
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 9, 2024

Keiichi Ishii set to replace Natsuo Yamaguchi as Komeito chief

The move would mark the first change in party leadership since 2009.
A steel plant in Shanghai operated by Baoshan Iron & Steel. Nippon Steel said in July it will dissolve its joint venture with the Chinese firm.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 9, 2024

Japanese firms sour on China after long years of brushing off risks

Almost half of Japanese firms in China polled in a recent survey said they won’t spend more or will cut investment this year.
Sengu Capital, based in Hong Kong, will start a new hedge fund focused on Japanese firms improving management quality.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 9, 2024

New hedge fund gains backing for bets on Japan market revival

Investors have been trying to put more money to work in Japan, as the country emerges from more than a decade of deflation.
Fukuoka Prefecture Medical Association executive director Takeshi Inamitsu said schools should take the initiative in deciding the methods used and things to be checked during their students' health exams.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Sep 16, 2024

Students' clothing at school health checkups comes into focus

Doctors worry signs of illnesses or abuse may be overlooked if examinations are performed in gym clothes or other clothing as urged by the education ministry.
Economic security minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 9, 2024

Sanae Takaichi unveils LDP president bid with call for party's rebirth

In an announcement laden with detailed policy proposals, the economic security minister says the party needs to be “reborn” in the wake of its slush funds scandal.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un used a speech Monday marking the 76th anniversary of his country's founding to reiterate a pledge to exponentially increase the number of nuclear weapons Pyongyang possesses.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 10, 2024

North Korea's Kim says 'no limit' on number of nukes country builds

The policy is a response to the “grave threat” posed by an expanding U.S.-led “nuclear-based military bloc” surrounding his country, he said.
James Earl Jones in the Broadway revival of "Gore Vidal’s The Best Man” at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater in New York in March 2012. Jones, once a stuttering farm child who became a voice of rolling thunder as one of America’s most versatile actors in a stage, film and television career that plumbed race relations, Shakespeare’s rhapsodic tragedies and the faceless menace of Darth Vader, died on Monday at his home in Dutchess County, New York. He was 93.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 10, 2024

James Earl Jones, actor whose voice could menace or melt, dies at 93

He gave life to characters like Darth Vader in “Star Wars” and Mufasa in “The Lion King,” and went on to collect Tonys, Golden Globes, Emmys and an honorary Oscar.
The European Court of Justice is set to give a ruling on Irish tax breaks to U.S. company Apple on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 10, 2024

D-Day for Apple and Google as EU court to rule on major cases

The Apple case has been one of several investigations in the previous decade into sweetheart tax arrangements between major companies and several EU countries.
Mauricio Pochettino will take over as the head coach of the U.S. men's national team after his abrupt departure from Chelsea earlier this year.
SOCCER
Sep 11, 2024

Mauricio Pochettino appointed as new coach of U.S. national soccer team

The former Chelsea coach replaces American Gregg Berhalter, who was fired in July after a disappointing Copa America campaign.
A barista fills a customer’s order at a Starbucks in Odessa, Texas. Starbucks has more than 16,000 locations in the United States, including this one in Odessa.
BUSINESS
Sep 10, 2024

A funnel cake macchiato anyone? The coffee wars are heating up.

From the giant Starbucks to small coffee shops, the battle is on for who can come up with the craziest, calorie-laden, not-really-coffee drink.
East Japan Railway plans to run driverless shinkansen by the mid-2030s.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 11, 2024

JR East unveils plans for driverless shinkansen by mid-2030s

The company said it first aims to realize driverless operations for the Joetsu Shinkansen line between Niigata and Tokyo stations.
A survey showed the use of terminal care and attended deaths at home kept increasing after surging in April 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 11, 2024

Terminal care at home surged in Japan during COVID-19 pandemic

Cases of terminal care at home grew for clinics certified to meet standards for supporting home care, such as having doctors available to make house visits.
Pope Francis blesses a child during his visit to Dili, East Timor, on Tuesday. The pontiff's Asia-Pacific tour is a strategic step toward a larger goal: a visit to China, a country that could soon have the largest Christian population in the world.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 10, 2024

Pope Francis’ Asia trip is all about China

The Vatican is among 12 diplomatic allies Taiwan still has left. There are concerns these loyalties could shift as the Holy See attempts to improve ties with Beijing.
The Kangei Maru, a 9,300-ton whaling mothership, was launched in May.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2024

Japan shows first commercial fin whale catch in 48 years

The country this year added the fin whale to a catch list that already includes minke, Bryde's and sei whales.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers a speech in Pyongyang in a photo released Tuesday.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2024

North Korea looks to keep itself on U.S. agenda with missile launches

The launches came just a day after U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris assailed former President Donald Trump for his "love letters" with North Korea's Kim Jong Un.
Mauricio Pochettino was officially announced as the new United States manager on Tuesday.
SOCCER
Sep 12, 2024

Christian Pulisic urges new U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino to change team culture

Pulisic wants to be part of a team willing to fight and take risks.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?