Search - 2019

 
 
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.
The town of Jasper, Alberta, on Aug. 15 after a wildfire devastated the tourism hot spot
WORLD
Sep 12, 2024

Canada's tourism continues to reel from threat of wildfires

Scientists paint a gloomy future for Canada, with more and larger blazes sparked by a warming climate.
Tokyo's Asakusa area, a popular location among foreign tourists
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2024

Japan, China, South Korea set 40 million tourist target

The number of foreign visitors to Japan hit a monthly high of some 3.29 million in July, with about half being from China and South Korea.
Nine candidates, including Toshimitsu Motegi at the podium, attend a kick off event on Thursday for their campaigning in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 12, 2024

Ishiba and Koizumi speed ahead as LDP presidential race kicks off

Despite a decline in the LDP’s image due to a large-scale political funds scandal, Ishiba and Koizumi have remained surprisingly popular with the public.
A vendor attends to a customer at the secondhand books section of Panjiayuan antiques market in Beijing
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 13, 2024

China wants academic exchanges, but censorship could stand in the way

The Chinese Communist Party has exerted control over all publications since establishing the People's Republic of China in 1949.
Palestinians search for survivors of an Israeli strike in the Shejaiya suburb east of Gaza City on Thursday. A report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development described the economy of the Gaza Strip as being "in ruins" more than 11 months after the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 13, 2024

Gaza economy shrinks to less than a sixth of its pre-war size, U.N. says

A document from the U.N.'s trade agency also describes "a rapid and alarming economic decline" in the occupied West Bank.
A Russian Tu-142 aircraft that circled Japan on Thursday
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2024

Japan scrambled jets after Russian military aircraft circled country

Russia's planes did not enter Japanese airspace but flew over an area subject to a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia.
Pope Francis holds a news conference aboard the papal plane on his flight back to Rome after his 12-day journey across Southeast Asia and Oceania, on Friday.
WORLD / Society
Sep 14, 2024

Pope says Trump and Harris 'against life' as Asia tour ends

The comments on the U.S. presidential hopefuls came as he defied health concerns to connect with believers from Papua New Guinea to Singapore.
A guest uses chopsticks to grab and taste raw meat from a fin whale at the exhibition and business meeting of domestically produced fin whales hosted by Japan's whaling company Kyodo Senpaku at Tokyo's Toyosu market on Friday.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 14, 2024

Hearts, tails and blubber at Japan fin whale tasting

"Once young people eat it and they realize it's good, they will eat it more and more," said Hideki Tokoro, the head of Japan's main whaling firm.
Naomi Osaka and coach Wim Fissette attend a training session ahead of the Brisbane International tennis tournament at Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane, Australia, last December.
TENNIS
Sep 14, 2024

Former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka announces split with coach

The four-time Grand Slam champion has struggled to put together victories since she returned to the WTA Tour at Brisbane in January.
The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani goes through his throwing routine before a game against the Rays at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Aug. 23.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 15, 2024

Dodgers manager leaves door slightly open for Shohei Ohtani to pitch in playoffs

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Friday that there is a slight possibility the 30-year-old star could be able to return in October from elbow surgery.
Keiko Fujimori mourns near the casket of her father, former Peru President Alberto Fujimori, during his funeral service at a local cemetery in Lima on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 15, 2024

Peru bids farewell to polarizing ex-President Alberto Fujimori

For some, he was a hero, crushing insurgencies and bolstering the economy. For others, he was a power-hungry autocrat and flagrant human rights abuser.
As team principal, Kamui Kobayashi's role with Toyota Gazoo Racing goes far beyond his performance behind the wheel.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Sep 15, 2024

Kamui Kobayashi still driven by passion after long career in driver’s seat

Despite turning 38 on Friday, Kobayashi is not ready to pump the brakes on his auto racing career. 
Japan's Malo Tuitama runs with the ball during his team's match against Samoa in the Pacific Nations Cup semifinals on Sunday. Japan won 49-27.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 16, 2024

Japan cruises past Samoa to reach Pacific Nations Cup final

Japan scored four tries in the first half and three in the second of the semifinal.
The flags of China (right) and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) in the Tsim Sha Tsui district in Hong Kong on June 23
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Sep 16, 2024

First person convicted under Hong Kong's new national security law

Under the new security law, the maximum sentence for the offense of "doing with a seditious intention an act" has been expanded from two years to seven years in prison.
Fruits and vegetables sit wrapped in plastic in a supermarket in Tokyo in 2021
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Sep 16, 2024

'Easy, convenient, cheap': How single-use plastic rules the world

Negotiators hope to reach the world's first treaty on plastic pollution this year, but single-use plastic remains hugely popular as a cheap and convenient choice.
Men use a stole to cover themselves from the sun as they wait in a line outside a polling station to cast their votes during the sixth phase of India's general election in Bhubaneswar, India, on May 25.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 16, 2024

Surviving a climate disaster isn’t likely to change how you vote

If people are in fact casting ballots based on their experiences of disasters, it appears to be a small number of them.
South Africa loose forward Kwagga Smith scores a try during the Rugby Championship Test match between South Africa and New Zealand in Johannesburg on Aug. 31.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Sep 17, 2024

Springboks wary of Argentina menace in Rugby Championship showdown

Victory in Santiago del Estero will ensure a fifth title for South Africa and a first since 2019.
Ryan Routh speaks during an interview at a rally to urge foreign leaders and international organizations to help provide humanitarian aid in central Kyiv in April 2022, amid Russia's invasion of its neighbor. Routh, 58, was charged with two gun-related crimes in a federal court in Florida on Monday, a day after he was spotted with a rifle hiding in shrubbery on the property line of Trump's golf course.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Sep 17, 2024

Suspect in second Trump assassination attempt had criminal history

Ryan Routh was charged with two gun-related crimes in a federal court in Florida a day after he was found with a rifle hiding near Donald Trump's golf course.
President Masoud Pezeshkian takes questions during his first news conference in Tehran on Monday.
WORLD
Sep 17, 2024

Iran president pledges to stop morality police confronting women

The death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in 2022, days after the morality police arrested her for an alleged breach of dress code, triggered monthslong protests.
Researchers from Waseda University have revealed the possibility of using urine for the early detection of cervical cancer.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 17, 2024

HPV proteins detected in potential cervical cancer patients' urine

Researchers highlighted the possibility of using urine for early detection of the type of cancer.
Tokyo's Ginza area marked the highest commercial land prices this year for the 19th consecutive year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 17, 2024

Japanese average land price rises for third consecutive year

Overall land prices showed the first increase in 32 years in locations outside the three metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka.
Injured Angels outfielder Mike Trout in the dugout during a game against the Mets in August.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 18, 2024

Injured star Mike Trout acknowledges move from center field is possible

Mike Trout, working his way back from two knee surgeries, acknowledged that a move away from center field could be in his future.
A group of older women performs during a midautumn festival at a mall in Jinan, in eastern China, on Sept. 6. China’s shrinking population poses threats to growth but has opened opportunities for businesses that serve older adults.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 18, 2024

China’s ‘silver economy’ is thriving as birthrate plunges

Births in China fell to 9 million in 2023, down about 6% from the previous year, with the number of preschool children plummeting nearly 12%.

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