Search - 2020

 
 
Materials derived from cabbage (left), iyokan (center) and onion by Tokyo-based startup Fabula, which is working to develop new materials that can replace concrete.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Aug 27, 2023

Japan’s scrap-and-rebuild culture faces an environmental reckoning

The nation's tendency toward new construction — rather than renovation — is coming under renewed scrutiny amid concerns over sustainability.
A woman carries food to customers at a Japanese restaurant in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 27, 2023

Hong Kong turns to tycoons to get party scene back on track

The government is urging major property groups to help boost the nighttime economy via drink coupons, free events and later shopping hours.
U.S. President Joe Biden has so far not commented on 91 felony counts in four indictments leveled at Donald Trump this year.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 28, 2023

Trump trials: A challenge and opportunity for Biden

So far, Biden hasn't weighed in on Trump's legal woes, which could boost the Republican's campaign while also shedding light on his alleged crimes.
Pham Minh Chinh, Vietnam's prime minister, at a summit in Brussels in December 2022
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 28, 2023

Flagging growth fuels tensions clouding Vietnam premier’s future

Despite some successes, failure to hit the country's ambitious growth target could be career-damaging for PM Pham Minh Chinh.
Paris, where self-service electric scooters will be banned from Sept. 1, is about to join the few cities in the world that have opted for a ban, with many other municipalities opting for more or less strict restrictions.
WORLD / Society
Aug 29, 2023

Boon or blight? E-scooters around the world

While users hail them as eco-friendly ways to avoid gridlock, detractors consider them as an unsightly menace with the power to maim and kill.
Noah Lyles of the United States celebrates after winning the men's 200m final during the World Athletics Championships in Budapest on Friday.
BASKETBALL
Aug 29, 2023

Sprint king Lyles draws NBA players' ire over 'world champion' claims

Lyles said he is offended when teams declare themselves "world champions" for winning an NBA crown.
In its quake damage estimates updated last year, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government expects that 4.53 million people will be unable to return home in the aftermath of a massive quake hitting the capital.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2023

Over-concentration in Tokyo raising risks from possible quake

The government estimate that up to 23,000 people would be killed if a massive quake hits the capital.
Just 17.4% of small and midsize companies in Tokyo have developed business continuity plans to prepare for emergencies including natural disasters, according to a recent survey.
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2023

Only 23% of Tokyo companies have business continuity plans, survey shows

Efforts to create such plans did not spread widely among companies although many had their operations disrupted due to the March 2011 quake and tsunami.
Then Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and U.S. President Donald Trump meet during their final debate ahead of the 2020 election, in Nashville, Tennessee, in October of that year.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 29, 2023

Trump vs. Biden: Do American voters want either?

Confidence among the American public in their leaders and in their political system continues to erode.
As China slips into deflation, one word is popping up more and more to describe the gloomy atmospherics: "Japanification."
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 30, 2023

'Japanification' for China? It should be so lucky.

China is not on the path to global dominance nor set for collapse, and observers should consider the various shades of gray in analyzing these countries.
People celebrate in support of a military coup, in a street in Port-Gentil, Gabon, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 30, 2023

President Ali Bongo detained as military coup declared in Gabon

Officers declared on television that election results had been canceled, borders were closed and state institutions were dissolved.
Police and security personnel stand outside the entrance of the Japanese Embassy in Beijing on Tuesday. Japan said that harassment being faced by its citizens in China after the Fukushima water release was "extremely regrettable," confirming that a brick was thrown at the country's embassy in Beijing.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 31, 2023

Fukushima water release dampens chances of Japan-China detente

Japan is now bracing for a new period of wide-ranging tensions with its neighbor as the strained ties look likely to continue into the months ahead.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Hyuga destroyer leads the MSDF fleet during the International Fleet Review to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the MSDF's foundation, in Sagami Bay, off Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, last November.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 31, 2023

Japan seeks record ¥7.7 trillion defense budget as buildup continues

The budget request signals that Tokyo remains committed to following through on historic defense reforms instituted in December.
Members of the Ground Self-Defense Force disembark from a V-22 Osprey aircraft during a live-fire exercise in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in May 2022.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Sep 5, 2023

Why building an effective Japan-U.S. kill chain will enhance defense

The conflict in Ukraine has demonstrated that modern warfare necessitates advanced coordination of operations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (center) and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose for a picture during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka on June 28, 2019.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 31, 2023

Xi likely to skip G20 summit in India: sources

The summit was considered an opportunity for Xi and U.S. President Joe Biden to smooth over recent trade and geopolitical tensions.
National Forest and Wild Fauna Service personnel check on a sea lion, amidst rising cases bird flu infections in Peru in February 2023.
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 31, 2023

After racing across continents, bird flu threatens Antarctica

Unlike earlier versions of bird flu, H5N1 has also spread widely in wild birds and routinely spilled over into wild mammals.
An air raid shelter converted into luxury apartments at Ungererstrasse 158 in Munich, Germany
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Sep 4, 2023

Market flop: How Germany's property boom ended

The country's property sector in Europe's largest economy is suffering its worst slump in decades.
A Kyoto Animation studio in Kyoto on July 18, 2019, following an arson attack
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 4, 2023

Trial to start over 2019 Kyoto Animation arson attack

The focus is on what Shinji Aoba, accused of murder and attempted murder, will have to say about his motive for the arson incident.
A schoolgirl wears a padded hood for protection from falling debris during an earthquake simulation exercise at an elementary school in Tokyo. The government estimates a 70% chance of a magnitude 7 event striking directly underneath the capital in the next 30 years.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 4, 2023

Tokyo has lived on the brink of the ‘Big One’ — for a century

The Great Kanto Earthquake demolished the nascent Japanese capital, killing more than 100,000 people — some 3% of the city’s population at the time.
Buildings in Guangzhou, China. Aside from short-term solutions, economists see three options for China to restructure its economy.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Sep 4, 2023

Part of China's economic miracle was a mirage. Reality check is next.

While many analysts see a slow drift towards Japan-style stagnation as the most likely outcome, there is also the prospect of a more severe crunch.
Tourists walk in front of Crown and Anchor pub on Neal Street in London in 2018. Pubs are big part of British culture.
WORLD / Society
Sep 4, 2023

What’s really killing Britain’s historic pubs

With each time-honored spot that’s shuttered, another little piece of British history is lost.
A rainbow at the site of this year’s Burning Man festival in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada
WORLD / Society
Sep 4, 2023

What is Burning Man, and why have Paris Hilton and Elon Musk shown up?

The festival has been described as a site of countercultural revelry that draws both hippies and Silicon Valley types.
Construction work continues on Monday at the Henoko coastal area of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 4, 2023

Japan top court upholds ruling against Okinawa over Futenma move

The decision may accelerate the relocation effort, as it requires the prefectural government to approve design changes.
A building that houses the Tokyo District Court
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 4, 2023

Ex-Recruit employee given 25 years by Tokyo court for raping 10 women

Kenshiro Maruta sexually assaulted the women, including a job-hunting college student, between April 2017 and October 2020.
People line up Tuesday for a lottery to get a seat for the first trial hearing of Shinji Aoba, the suspect in the 2019 Kyoto Animation arson attack, at the Kyoto District Court.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 5, 2023

Suspect in 2019 Kyoto Animation arson attack admits setting blaze

The focus of the trial will now shift to the defendant’s motive and whether he can be held criminally responsible for the attack.
Women work in a warehouse in on the outskirts of Chennai, India.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 5, 2023

India's women gig workers organize with WhatsApp and secret meetings

Once seen as promising greater autonomy and higher earnings for women in India, the system is now riddled with issues.
A woman shops for medicine at a drugstore in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 5, 2023

More young women overdosing on over-the-counter drugs

In a country where illicit drugs are hard to obtain, many have begun to abuse cough and cold medications, which are legal and easily accessible.
A statue of Lady Justice is seen at the Court of Final Appeal building in Hong Kong on Tuesday as the city's top court ruled in favor of same-sex partnerships, including civil unions, though it stopped short of granting full marriage rights in a partial win for the city's LGBTQ community.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Sep 5, 2023

Hong Kong's top court rules to recognize same-sex civil unions

The ruling, a partial win for the city's LGBTQ community, stopped short of granting full marriage rights.
The Huawei Technologies Co. booth at the Smart China Expo in Chongqing, China, on Monday
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 6, 2023

Huawei's new chip breakthrough likely to trigger closer U.S. scrutiny: analysts

The most advanced chip that chipmaker SMIC had previously been known for making was 14 nanometers.
A lifesaver keeps watch at Sunset Beach in Chatan, Okinawa prefecture. Around 6 billion metric tons of sand and other sediment are extracted from the ocean every year, wreaking havoc on coastal communities and biodiversity.
ENVIRONMENT / Oceans
Sep 6, 2023

Extracting sand from world's oceans devastates biodiversity: U.N.

The United Nations Environment Program warned that the scale of dredging was growing, with dire consequences.

Longform

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