Search - 2019

 
 
It’s hard to overstate the importance of the U.S. Treasury market as it sets global stock and bond prices and shapes U.S. deficit financing costs.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 27, 2024

Bessent will have to fix America's finances. Good luck with that.

It’s hard to overstate the importance of the U.S. Treasury market as it sets global stock and bond prices and shapes U.S. deficit financing costs.
Hiroshi Kurosaki’s Netflix series “Beyond Goodbye” centers on a woman (Kasumi Arimura, left) who discovers her dead lover’s heart saved the life of a quiet pianist (Kentaro Sakaguchi).
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Nov 29, 2024

Hiroshi Kurosaki looks beyond Japan for heart-wrenching drama

The director’s Netflix series relies on lush visuals and truths about love and loss to appeal to an overseas audience.
Discovered in the 1930s, the Geisha coffee plant came to worldwide fame in the early 2000s and now represents some of the best coffee on the planet — Tokyo's top cafes included.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 30, 2024

The Geisha bean is the leading lady of Tokyo's coffee scene

Named for a region of Ethiopia (and not Japan’s kimono-clad performers), Geisha has become the crown jewel of Tokyo’s flourishing specialty coffee scene.
Australia coach Joe Schmidt will face his former team when the Australians face Ireland on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Nov 29, 2024

Australia coach Joe Schmidt not expecting hero's welcome in return to Ireland

Current Ireland coach Andy Farrell says the New Zealander deserves "all the accolades" he receives because "of what he did for Irish rugby."
Electric candles at a memorial service for those who died from AIDS on the sidelines of the Japanese Society for AIDS Research conference on Thursday
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 29, 2024

Ahead of World AIDS Day, advocates call for an end to HIV stigma in Japan

While cases are relatively low in Japan, experts and stakeholders say the stigma often attached to patients needs to be addressed.
Environmental activists demonstrate in front of the convention center in Busan, South Korea, where delegates from around the world are seeking to reach a binding treaty against plastic waste.
ENVIRONMENT
Nov 29, 2024

Showdown looms on plastic treaty days before deadline

With just two days of talks left, countries seeking an ambitious treaty urged delegations that "have not moved a centimeter" to make compromises or "get out of the way."
A Chinese J-16 fighter jet is seen during a joint patrol with Russian forces on Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2024

China and Russia conduct joint military air patrol near Japan

This was the eighth large-scale joint flight by military aircraft from the two countries near Japan and the first since December last year.
U.S. President Joe Biden with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in July 2022.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 30, 2024

Saudi Arabia abandons pursuit of U.S. defense treaty over Israel stalemate

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has again made recognition of Israel conditional on it taking concrete steps to create a Palestinian state.
Pete Hegseth, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of defense, speaks to reporters at the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington on Nov. 21.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 30, 2024

Pete Hegseth’s mother accused her son of mistreating women for years

She said on Friday that she regretted the 2018 email and had apologized to him.
An outdated lineup, elevated spending on sales incentives and a lack of hybrids in North America has led Nissan to slash jobs and production.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 30, 2024

Nissan CFO set to step down as carmaker faces raft of challenges

The change follows an announcement last month that the company will eliminate 9,000 jobs and cut a fifth of its manufacturing capacity.
The 225-issue Nikkei stock average jumped on Nov. 6 after it appeared as though Donald Trump had won the U.S. presidential election.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 30, 2024

Rush to ‘value up’ may be Asia stocks best defense against Trump

Governments are rushing to implement their own versions of Japan’s structural reforms that helped drive its benchmark index to a record high this year.
Rachel Accurso, in character as the internet personality Ms. Rachel, in New York on Nov. 4.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 30, 2024

Ms. Rachel’s improbable journey from toddler whisperer to holiday toy sensation

A series of toys depicting children’s YouTube sensation Ms. Rachel is quickly becoming one of the hottest holiday gifts.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum delivers a speech during the inauguration of a family medicine unit in San Nicolas de los Garza, Nuevo Leon State, Mexico, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 1, 2024

Trump’s demand that Mexico stop migrants and drugs may never be met

Mexico's new leader must find ways to appease Trump while avoiding the perception that she easily bends to U.S. demands.
In the absence of a long-term revitalization strategy, the historic city of Venice will remain on the path to becoming a cultural mausoleum.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2024

Venice’s beauty curse

UNESCO’s World Heritage designation for Venice comprises the city in its entirety, rather than select buildings or neighborhoods.
The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Dec 2, 2024

Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?

Shrinking funding and limited support spark fears for the country's scientific prowess moving forward.
Although years have passed since the dramatic arrest and ouster of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn, Nissan remains mired in management upheaval.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 2, 2024

Nissan shares up after news that chief financial officer will step down

The stock gained as much as 1% in early morning trading, though the shares are still down almost 35% this year.
A displaced woman packs up her family's belongings at a school turned into a shelter in Beirut on Nov. 27.
WORLD / Society
Dec 2, 2024

'We have a lost generation': Lebanon's education crisis

At least 500 public schools in Lebanon, roughly one in two in what is a badly underfunded sector, were converted into shelters in recent months to house people.
Supporters of homeless individuals protest against their eviction from a former labor welfare center at its premises in the Airin District in the city of Osaka on Sunday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 2, 2024

Osaka eviction of homeless from former welfare center sparks protest

Protesters clashed with police in defense of the homeless individuals, who they say are day laborers who contributed to building the city.
A 40-year-old house in the city of Fukuoka that has been renovated by Katitas, a company that buys up secondhand houses for resale. The company retained the house's original wooden ceilings and window frames to preserve the property's vintage look.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Dec 9, 2024

As demand rises for abandoned houses, so do cases of hidden defects

Industry experts recommend prospective buyers conduct thorough inspections before concluding transactions for akiya.
Rakuten Group is considering the sale of hybrid perpetual notes that can be called after five years.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 2, 2024

Rakuten plans return to dollar bond market with hybrid notes

Rakuten’s liquidity has improved but an increased reliance on the dollar bond market may indicate weakened domestic funding access.
Sadao Abe, who played the role of a time-traveling Showa Era teacher transported to present day in a popular TV drama, receives the 2024 buzzword of the year award for the word "futehodo," the nickname of the series.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 2, 2024

Japan’s 2024 buzzword of the year urges a reevaluation of past norms

“Futehodo” — a nickname for a TV drama that depicts the generational gap between the Showa and Reiwa eras — has been crowned the most trending word of 2024.
Nomura’s reputation has taken a hit after it admitted to a bond market manipulation in October and following charges brought against a former employee in November on suspicion of robbery, arson and attempted murder of an elderly couple during a customer visit.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 2, 2024

Nomura’s Japan corporate bond market rank slips after probe

Japan’s biggest brokerage saw its position fall to sixth place in November and its market share shrink to 2.1%, the latest data shows.
The goal of the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden, building on years of evolving trade restrictions, is to slow China’s domestic development of advanced semiconductors and artificial intelligence systems that may help its military.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 3, 2024

U.S. tightens curbs on China’s access to AI memory and chip tools

The new measures included exemptions for key allies such as Japan and the Netherlands.
An anti-regime fighter operates a truck-mounted gun as displaced Syrian Kurds drive vehicles loaded with their belongings along the Aleppo-Raqqa highway.
WORLD / FOCUS
Dec 3, 2024

Who are the former jihadis now holding Syria's Aleppo?

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) says it no longer has any links to al-Qaida, but it remains blacklisted by the United States and the European Union.
A farmer burns straw stubble after harvesting a paddy field on the outskirts of Jind in India's Haryana state on Nov. 26.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Dec 3, 2024

The farm fires helping to fuel India's deadly air

Burning is a cheap way to clear fields for new crops, making it hard for farmers to shift to other methods despite the consequences.
An H2A rocket carrying the Hayabusa2 asteroid probe is launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on Dec. 3, 2014.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 3, 2024

Hayabusa2 continues its journey, 10 years after launch

The unmanned asteroid probe was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on Dec. 3, 2014.
People watch South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law and the following announcement that he will lift the martial law, after parliamentary vote, at a railway station in Seoul on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 4, 2024

South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol, embattled conservative

The novice politician took office with some of the lowest approval ratings of any democratically elected South Korean president.
Teck Resources signage during the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada conference in Toronto, Canada, on March 2, 2020
WORLD / Politics
Dec 4, 2024

Canada mining group uses China ban to push back on Trump's tariffs

Trade tensions with the U.S. are escalating after President-elect Donald Trump threatened to slap 25% tariffs on all goods coming from Canada and Mexico.
Elementary school children offer prayers in front of the photograph of Tetsu Nakamura in Omuta, Fukuoka Prefecture, on Nov. 24, five years after his death.
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2024

Nakamura's wishes for Afghanistan live on five years after his death

The Japanese doctor worked in the country for many years providing medical assistance and building irrigation canals.
Mitsubishi has dismissed Gong Huayong, a Shanghai-based copper trader at one of its China units, after finding that he had made unauthorized trades with local companies, including some that were related to him.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 4, 2024

Mitsubishi loses $90 million in suspected China metal fraud

The company has dismissed a Shanghai-based copper trader after finding that he had made unauthorized trades with local companies.

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition