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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.
U.S. border guards in Eagle Pass, Texas, in February
ENVIRONMENT
Sep 21, 2024

The Biden administration is fighting smugglers of a potent greenhouse gas

Since the start of fiscal 2024, the Biden administration has stopped roughly 25 illegal shipments of hydrofluorocarbons.
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.
Anthony Joshua gets knocked down by Daniel Dubois during their IBF heavyweight title bout on Saturday in London.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
Sep 22, 2024

Dubois destroys Joshua to retain IBF world heavyweight crown

The 27-year-old dominated the bout from the start in front of 96,000 passionate fans, dropping the former two-time heavyweight champion multiple times.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Sri Lanka's president-elect, center, departs from the Sri Lankan Election Commission after the announcement of the presidential election results in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 23, 2024

Sri Lanka leftist wins election after vowing to rejig IMF deal

Anura Kumara Dissanayake defeated incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa in the country’s first-ever runoff.
Feeling overshadowed by U.S. elections, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un might conduct a nuclear test, fire missiles, annul the Korean War armistice or demand territorial concessions.
COMMENTARY
Sep 23, 2024

Kim Jong Un will have his October surprise

Feeling overshadowed by U.S. elections, Kim Jong Un might conduct a nuclear test, fire missiles, annul the Korean War armistice or demand territorial concessions.
A Russian IL-38 patrol aircraft is seen in this image taken by the Air Self-Defense Force on Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2024

Japan fighters fire flares after Russian military plane enters airspace

A Russian IL-38 patrol aircraft violated Japanese airspace off Hokkaido’s Rebun Island three times, with the ASDF firing flares for the first time in response.
Satish Sethi
COMMUNITY / The Big Questions
Sep 24, 2024

Emirates works to fly better, cleaner and smarter

Born in New Delhi, he joined Emirates in 2001 where he developed an international career until becoming Emirates’ country manager for Japan in 2021
A climbing wall at a kindergarten in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture. The sport has been on the rise in Japan, mainly due to the popularity it gained from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and new climbing walls are popping all over the place.
MORE SPORTS / Sport climbing
Sep 24, 2024

People of all ages and sizes scale new heights amid climbing boom in Japan

The sport gained a boost from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and new climbing walls are popping up all over the place.
A Maritime Self-Defense Force P-1 patrol plane fires off flares during a demonstration at an international fleet review ceremony in November 2022. The firing of flares is intended to confuse heat-seeking missiles but they are also commonly deployed to warn away other aircraft.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Sep 24, 2024

Moscow and Beijing unlikely to stop testing Tokyo's limits

Tokyo’s unprecedented decision to fire flares as a warning after a Russian military plane entered Japanese airspace may not be enough to prevent a recurrence.
The Justice Ministry said there are now over 250,000 specified skilled foreign workers.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2024

Number of specified skilled visa holders in Japan surpasses 250,000

The government is aiming to attract 820,000 foreign workers under the specified skilled worker program over a five-year period through April 2029.
Choi Min-kyong (right), a North Korean defector who said she was deported by China four times before making it to South Korea in 2012, and Shin Ju-ye (left), who fled North Korea in the 1990s and settled in China before defecting to South Korea last year, speak during an interview in Seoul on July 19.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 25, 2024

China cracks down on North Korean defectors with biometric surveillance

Facial-recognition cameras now monitor China's border with North Korea, documents show, while police have collected biometric data of North Koreans in the country.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 26, 2024

Canadian PM Trudeau survives no-confidence vote but remains vulnerable

Canada's main opposition Conservatives are already vowing to try again to topple the government as soon as Tuesday.
Chung Pui-kuen, former chief editor of the now-shuttered Stand News, and Patrick Lam, former acting chief editor, leave the Hong Kong District Court on June 27, 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 26, 2024

Hong Kong court to sentence two former editors found guilty of sedition in landmark case

The case marks the first time journalists have been found guilty of sedition since the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China in 1997.
Helping your child through their first experience with a school bully can be a difficult situation to navigate — doubly so if you're trying to do so as a non-Japanese resident in Japan.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Sep 30, 2024

What’s a mother to do when your non-Japanese child is bullied in school?

The school experience in conformist Japan can be difficult for students who don't share things like skin color and language in common with their fellow classmates.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo. Japanese companies with directors that sit on multiple boards are facing the equity market’s displeasure as the bourse steps up pressure to improve corporate governance.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 27, 2024

‘Moonlighting’ directors are problem for company boards in Japan

The Tokyo bourse has demanded that firms in its blue-chip Prime section get at least a third of their board members externally.
The Federal Reserve building in Washington. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said last week he felt that the pre-pandemic years during which the Fed's rate hovered near zero for years and Europe delved into the exotic world of negative rates are gone for good.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 27, 2024

A global hunt for neutral rates to shape world finance costs

Policymakers are exploring whether the rates required to keep inflation in check and economies growing are higher now than the ultra-low ones before the pandemic.
People chant slogans as they participate in a protest marking one month since the rape and murder of a trainee medic at a government-run hospital, in Kolkata, India, on Sept. 8.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Sep 27, 2024

India cuts target for fast-track sex crime courts as states fall short

India's strained judicial system has a backlog of tens of millions of cases.
A Japanese Self-Defense Force jet was forced to fire flares recently as a warning to Russian aircraft that violated the country's airspace, highlighting how both China and Russia tried to test Japan’s leadership during a period of political transition.
EDITORIALS
Sep 27, 2024

China tests Japan. Are its new leaders ready?

Most of China's moves require considerable planning. That means that the signals they sent were anticipated and approved by political decision-makers.
Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns drives to the basket against Mavericks center Daniel Gafford during a playoff game in May.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Sep 29, 2024

Knicks acquire Karl-Anthony Towns from Wolves

In a major offseason blockbuster, the New York Knicks have acquired All-Star forward Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves, multiple media outlets reported.
Wozme, founded by dancer and choreographer Wakaba Kohei, is composed of Kana Kitty, Ami Ishii, Akane Watanabe and Natsuki. Its aim is to inject elegance and beauty, traits traditionally associated with femininity, into the sometimes grotesque art form of butoh dance.
CULTURE / Stage / Longform
Sep 29, 2024

Wozme, an all-women dance troupe, wants to move the needle in butoh

The art form’s younger dancers are experimenting with long-standing approaches to the choreography, marketing and image of this captivating piece of Japanese culture.
Naomi Osaka hits a return against Katie Volynets during their match at the China Open in Beijing on Monday.
TENNIS
Sep 30, 2024

Naomi Osaka advances at China Open to set up showdown with Coco Gauff

Osaka defeated 60th-ranked American Katie Volynets 6-3, 6-2 and will face Gauff in a showdown of former U.S. Open champions in Beijing.
The former treasurer of the Liberal Democratic Party's former largest faction has been found guilty in a case tied to a major political funds scandal that the party has been mired in since late last year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 30, 2024

Former Abe faction treasurer given suspended three-year prison term

Junichiro Matsumoto underreported political funds totaling ¥670 million between 2018 and 2022.
Japan's declining population has made it more difficult for convenience store operators to grow.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Oct 1, 2024

Some 7-Eleven owners in Japan welcome foreign bid, hoping for change

Some franchisees are concerned about competition from rivals and say they are struggling with rising costs.
Takashi Kobayashi, a professor at Kyoto University Hospital's urology department, speaks at a news conference in Kyoto on Monday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 1, 2024

Kidney transplant between same-sex couple conducted in Kyoto

This is the first time that a living organ transplant between same-sex partners has been disclosed in Japan.
The French government and Paris Games organizers had promised to leave a legacy that would help tackle the problem of people spending too much time on screens and doing too little exercise.
OLYMPICS
Oct 2, 2024

Frustrated French clubs turn away players in post-Olympics sports boom

Swimming clubs have registered around 10,000 new members, while table tennis clubs are expecting around 20% more players.
Fans watch the Super Bowl at the FanDuel sportsbook in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in February 2019.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Oct 2, 2024

FanDuel sued by convicted NFL executive over gambling addiction

The complaint by Amit Patel, who was sentenced to 78 months behind bars in March, alleges that FanDuel ignored its own responsible gaming protocols.
British Shadow Home Secretary and Conservative Party leadership candidate James Cleverly (left) speaks at the Conservative Party's annual conference, in Birmingham, U.K., on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 2, 2024

After being ousted, Britain's Conservatives plan their return to power

At their conference, many Conservatives were optimistic about unseating Labour at the next election, which must take place by mid-2029.
Takerufuji, the most recent Emperor’s Cup winner apart from Terunofuji and Onosato, claimed the second-tier title in September in his first full tournament back from injury after a six-month absence.
SUMO
Oct 2, 2024

Who can challenge Onosato's dominance? Takerufuji might be the best bet.

Onosato is sumo's new dominant force, but Takerufuji might have something to say about that as he works his way back from injury.
Kim Sang-man’s “Uprising” has attracted significant attention ahead of its world premiere thanks largely to the involvement of  its producer Park Chan-wook, best-known for directing ultra-violent thrillers like 2003’s “Old Boy,” which played a key role in bringing South Korean cinema to the global forefront.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 3, 2024

Netflix war epic to open Asia's largest film festival

Streaming-only content has contributed to a significant surge in the global visibility of Korean and Korean diaspora stories.

Longform

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