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November 24, 2024
 

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Preliminary data suggests that updated COVID-19 boosters, which are matched to a previous variant known as XBB, could still offer protection against the new edition.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 7, 2023

New Pirola COVID-19 variant shows value of booster shots

Data suggests the updated COVID-19 boosters, which are matched to the XBB variant, could still offer decent protection against the new edition.
Leaves of marijuana plants from which hemp fibers are extracted at Japan's largest legal marijuana farm in Kanuma, Tochigi Prefecture, on July 5, 2016
PODCAST / deep dive
Sep 21, 2023

Does a university cannabis scandal point to a larger trend?

A drugs scandal at Japan’s biggest university draws attention to a troubling statistic: Cannabis use among young people is on the rise.
Sogo & Seibu’s flagship store in Ikebukuro is closed due to a strike on Aug. 31. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 19, 2023

As goes the Sogo department store, so goes Japan

The number of department stores located outside Japan's 10 biggest cities has dropped by 30% in the past decade.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 22, 2023

Zelenskyy under pressure as Ukraine's allies shift priorities

Allies are pushing the Ukrainian leader to turn his attention to what kind of country will emerge from the war, even as Kyiv struggles for a breakthrough.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's disapproval ratings stood at 59%, according to a recent poll, up from 37% when elected last year.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 22, 2023

South Korea's Yoon lambasts critics, calling them ‘communists’

The remarks may rally his conservative base and distract from unease about some of his policies, but it risks fueling division and alienating some voters.
Protesters on Thursday held a rally in the Armenian capital Yerevan urging the government to intervene in the Nagorno-Karabakh region after Azerbaijani forces entered the enclave earlier this week.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 22, 2023

Azerbaijan may have won the war, but a bigger test begins

The strength of a cease-fire and peace talks over Nagorno-Karabakh will be tested by Azerbaijan's commitment to a true, long-term transition.
An exhibition featuring Studio Ghibli films, including calligraphy by film producer Toshio Suzuki with famous film lines, is held in Bangkok in February 2022.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 22, 2023

Is this the end for Japan’s iconic Studio Ghibli?

It’s tough to find an appropriate analogy for the Ghibli sale; the only one that comes close is Disney's purchase of Pixar for $7.4 billion in 2006.
Since the arrival of ChatGPT and other bots, fears over the potential for abuses and unintended consequences have gripped the public conscious.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 15, 2023

Worried about rogue chatbots? Hire a hacker.

It’s the good hackers being dangerous that allows us to find out what are the risks to artificial intelligence.
Wales' Aaron Wainwright celebrates with fans after his team's win over Australia at the Rugby World Cup in Lyon, France, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Sep 25, 2023

Wales blows out Australia to punch ticket to World Cup quarterfinals

Wales became the first team to qualify for the quarterfinals of the Rugby World Cup after producing a record-breaking performance against Australia.
The Nikkei stock index on June 1. Japan equity has gained 95% since 2020, the highest rate among G7 nations.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 25, 2023

Japan shows how to defeat secular stagnation

Outperforming other G7 countries on several economic indicators, Japan is demonstrating how prosperity can grow despite a shrinking population.
Rupert Murdoch in his office in New York in 2007. Murdoch's decision to step down from the boards of News Corp. and Fox Corp. marks the end of a decadeslong media career.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 25, 2023

Rupert Murdoch, the last of the press barons

No living person has influenced the media landscape like Rupert Murdoch. Should we view his career in a favorable light, or is his legacy one of darkness?
A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) banner outside the party's state office in Kolkata, India.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 26, 2023

Modi's ruling BJP plots election drive of epic scale

Growing anti-incumbency sentiment is conspiring with a newly formed national alliance to pose what BJP officials say will be Modi's toughest test by far.
Ukrainian refugees arrive at Haneda airport in Tokyo on April 5, 2022.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 26, 2023

Japan to introduce new residency status for asylum-seekers

A program to offer a long-term residence status that will allow asylum-seekers to work in Japan will be introduced in December.
Prominent Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed on the grounds of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple in British Columbia, Canada, in June.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 26, 2023

India-Canada clash should be a wake-up call on diaspora extremism

Western countries are failing to keep the radicalization of certain migrant communities in check. They have much to lose.
Finnish Army conscripts with the 2nd Military Police Company during a training exercise in a suburb of Helsinki on Sept. 6. After decades of going it alone in security issues, Finns are finding that life in a large alliance is complex, expensive and deeply political.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 26, 2023

Finland raced to join NATO. What happens next is complicated.

The country must integrate itself into the alliance and its requirement of collective defense — with all of its financial, legal and strategic hurdles.
Customers load their shopping into a vehicle at a New World supermarket in Wellington, operated by Foodstuffs New Zealand.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Sep 27, 2023

Cost-of-living stress fuels crime wave in Australia and New Zealand

While the thefts are brazen, organized and increasingly violent, experts say the shoplifting underscores the hardship many people are facing.
Nintendo Tokyo at the Shibuya Parco department store complex, the first such official Nintendo store in Japan
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 27, 2023

Microsoft buying Nintendo would have been a disaster

Imagine the clash of cultures. Nintendo executives famously cut their own salaries rather than lay off workers during the failure of the Wii U.
A cryptocurrency mining center in Russia
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 27, 2023

Bitcoin’s power-hungry history offers lessons for AI’s future

As AI grows, so does its energy footprint, but its developers needn't look much further than bitcoin's recent past to find climate-friendly solutions.
Takakeisho's (right) henka against Atamifuji in Sunday's Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament title playoff drew significant ire from sumo fans.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Sep 27, 2023

Frustrating September tournament contained silver linings

The worst possible outcome for a playoff has set up an even more intriguing storyline for the final grand tournament of the year in November.
Tsushima Mayor Naoki Hitakatsu addresses the city's municipal assembly on Wednesday, announcing his decision not to take part in the government's preliminary survey to assess the suitability of a location as a nuclear waste disposal site.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 27, 2023

Tsushima mayor turns down request for nuclear waste site survey

The mayor expressed his decision at a municipal council meeting, saying that “there is not enough consensus building among citizens.”
Members of sexual minority groups and experts at a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 27, 2023

Supreme Court may adjust requirements for gender status change

If the court deems the surgery requirement for a gender change to be unconstitutional, it is expected to pave the way for an amendment of the law.
In Australia, past El Nino events have led to destructive fire seasons, including the catastrophic Black Summer of 2019-2020.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 22, 2023

Australia hoped to dodge wildfires. El Nino has other plans.

The 1983, 2003, 2007, 2010 and 2015 fire seasons, some of the most damaging in the country’s history, all occurred during El Nino.
The higher interest rates that many countries are now experiencing are raising the costs of renewable electricity, the prices of which are dependent on the upfront expenditures needed to build new facilities.
COMMENTARY
Sep 28, 2023

What happens when renewable energy isn’t so cheap?

Renewable prices are determined by the upfront cost of building facilities whereas fossil-fuel energy prices are a mix, including fuel costs.
Many art critics rank Pablo Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d’Avignon," which hangs in New York’s Museum of Modern Art, as one of his greatest. But other critics describe the masterpiece as racist or exploitative.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 29, 2023

What should be done with art that is seen as racist?

So what exactly should we do when people consider extant art racist?
The yen's slide to the cusp of ¥150 per dollar has put investors on high alert for the risk of intervention.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 29, 2023

Yen intervention a hard sell even as 'red line' beckons

To make even a ripple in the $5 trillion currency market, the BOJ would need to draw down massive amounts of dollar reserves.
Supporters of Niger's National Council of Safeguard of the Homeland wave a flag of the private Wagner military company during a protest near the capital Niamey on Sept. 16.
COMMENTARY
Sep 30, 2023

If the U.S. exits Niger, the terrorists and Russians win

What transpired in Niamey was obviously a coup. Nonetheless, the U.S. has global responsibilities that require it to stay in Niger.
Yukio Edano, former leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, speaks in Miyazaki Prefecture last month.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 1, 2023

Yukio Edano moves to return as CDP leader

Yukio Edano, former leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, is believed to have begun his bid to return as party leader.
Striking writers and actors stage a solidarity march through Hollywood on Sept. 13.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 1, 2023

The Writers Guild had a PR strategy like no other

So how did the Writers Guild union do it? First and foremost, it’s impossible to overstate the importance of social media in the equation.
Smer-SSD party leader Robert Fico (center) celebrates his victory in general elections alongside party members, in Bratislava on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 1, 2023

Slovak populists opposed to Ukraine aid win election

Analysts predict a Robert Fico government could radically change Slovakia's foreign policy to resemble that of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Polish opposition leader, former premier and head of the centrist Civic Coalition bloc, Donald Tusk addresses participants of a rally in Warsaw on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 2, 2023

Polish opposition takes to the streets to energize campaign

Protesters supporting Donald Tusk’s Civic Coalition swelled into Warsaw in last-ditch attempt to boost momentum and narrow the gap.
U.S. aircraft carrier returns to Japan carrying navy’s ‘most capable fighter’
U.S. 7th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Fred Kacher speaks to reporters shortly after the arrival of aircraft carrier USS George Washington at Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Friday.
Japan approves ¥21.9 trillion stimulus plan
The policy chiefs of the Democratic Party for the People, Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito — Makoto Hamaguchi (left), Itsunori Onodera (center) and Mitsunari Okamoto — shake hands after reaching an agreement on an economic stimulus package on Wednesday.
Japan will spend ¥325 million in government funds on Princess Yuriko's funeral
Princess Yuriko waves during the New Year's public greeting at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in January 2019.
MUFG fires worker over ¥2 billion theft from clients’ safe deposit boxes
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is investigating the incident and consulting with the police.
China reinstates visa-free travel for Japanese nationals
Beijing Daxing International Airport
Shohei Ohtani wins National League MVP award
Shohei Ohtani celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Padres during the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles last month.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

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

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