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Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Wednesday evening.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 17, 2024

Kishida agrees to further deepen ties with South Korea's Yoon

The prime minister informed the South Korean leader about his summit earlier this month with U.S. President Joe Biden.
An aircraft from the Thai Department of Royal Rainmaking deposits a sodium chloride-based material in an effort to produce rain.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science
Apr 18, 2024

How cloud seeding boosts rainfall — and why that’s controversial

Developed in the 1940s, cloud seeding can boost rain and snowfall, but the World Meteorological Organization warns we don't know enough about it yet.
The combination of subsidence and rising sea levels is set to be a defining problem for Chinese cities; last year thousands of residents were evacuated from apartments in Tianjin after nearby streets split apart.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Apr 19, 2024

China’s cities are sinking below sea level, study finds

An estimated 16% of the country’s major cities are losing more than 10 millimeters of elevation per year.
Israel's Iron Dome antimissile system intercepts rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, on Jan 15.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 19, 2024

In any air war, Israel's defenses would trump Iran's, but at a high cost

Iran's obsolete air force means Israel would have few problems striking back, but diplomatic and strategic costs serve as a strong deterrent.
A group of plaintiffs in a lawsuit demanding that they be recognized as Minamata disease patients hold a news conference in Niigata on Thursday following a ruling by the Niigata District Court.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 19, 2024

Japanese court orders damages over Niigata Minamata disease

Similar lawsuits have been filed at four district courts across the country.
Members of the North Pacific Fisheries Commission have agreed to cut the 2024 catch quota for saury in the high seas in the northern Pacific in response to declining resources.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2024

Japan and others agree to cut northern Pacific saury catch quota

Nine economies agreed to introduce the rule to calculate catch quotas based on scientific evidence.
The average daily room rate of hotels in Japan for March marked the highest level since August 1997, as the country saw a record number of foreign visitors in March.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 19, 2024

Japan hotel prices near 30-year high as weak yen lures record tourists

The average daily room rate for March was about ¥20,986 ($136), the highest level since August 1997 and a nearly 20% increase from the same period in 2023.
The Pentagon building in Arlington, Virginia. Current and former U.S. officials say the Pentagon may have to revisit assumptions about military needs in the Middle East if the crisis deepens.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 20, 2024

U.S. military strategy tested as Iran-Israel warfare comes out of shadows

The tit-for-tat attacks have raised fears of an unpredictable regional war that the United States has sought to prevent.
The Malaysian state of Sarawak is blessed with the rivers and heavy rainfall needed to create hydropower that can generate clean electricity needed for emissions-free hydrogen.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Apr 20, 2024

Clean hydrogen’s best bet may be a rainforest state in Borneo

The state is hoping an abundance of hydropower can help it defy challenges that are clouding the fuel’s prospects elsewhere.
The dollar's resurgence has come on the back of a slew of signs that the U.S. economy avoided the slowdown many anticipated.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 23, 2024

U.S. dollar’s extended reign delivers stark wake-up call to markets

Global investors are talking about "U.S. exceptionalism” after a predicted slowdown to the nation's economy didn't transpire.
Sicily and organized crime have been synonymous since at least the 19th century. The island's mafia infiltration is extending beyond violence, manifesting in subtle economic coercion and sophisticated tax evasion schemes.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 23, 2024

Sicily's mafia is expanding its white collar crime

Economic inequality fuels mafia exploitation, with wealthy enclaves thriving while impoverished areas provide fertile ground for criminal activity.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has repeatedly expressed his commitment to bring about a revision of the Political Funds Control Act during the current session of parliament, which is slated to end on June 23.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 23, 2024

LDP pledges tougher action on errant lawmakers in reform blueprint

The ruling party will seek to review legislation on the handling of political funds in the wake of a slush funds scandal involving its members.
Construction near Mailuu-Suu in the Jalal-Abad region, Kyrgyzstan. Dams in Kyrgyzstan holding uranium mine tailings have become unreliable after a 2017 landslide.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Apr 24, 2024

Unstable nuclear-waste dams threaten fertile Central Asia heartland

One more earthquake or landslide, and dams in Kyrgyzstan holding back radioactive waste water could burst, rendering the area uninhabitable.
The Fukushima nuclear power plant
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2024

Fukushima water release suspended due to partial power outage

Tepco said the system to cool reactors remained operational and "no meaningful change" had been detected at plant facilities that monitor radioactivity.
An electronic board in Tokyo showing the yen-dollar rate on Wednesday
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 24, 2024

Japan ‘very close’ to yen intervention, former top currency official says

Market reaction to U.S. data could encourage Japanese authorities to act about the yen, according to Mitsuhiro Furusawa.
Exporters will be helped both by the stronger dollar, and also by their exposure to the U.S. economic resilience.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 25, 2024

Dollar wrecking ball forces investors to seek cover in exporters

Those with significant dollar earnings are set for a windfall, with major beneficiaries including heavyweight Asian chipmakers.
The government, and the Tokyo Stock Exchange in particular, have been pushing for better governance among the country’s 3.7 million companies.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 25, 2024

Japan’s retail investors care about governance too, poll shows

Investors are increasingly aware of the need to hold corporate boards and executives to high standards.
Vapor rises from cooling towers of a nuclear power station in Bugey, France. Geopolitical instability and war are putting the growth of nuclear power, a key clean energy source to combat climate change, at risk.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Apr 26, 2024

Nuclear power’s expansion risks collapse on widening conflicts

Meeting nuclear energy targets requires adding 800 gigawatts over 25 years, equivalent to launching 30 large reactors annually until 2050.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida rides on a forestry processor during an inspection of afforestation in Hitachiomiya, Ibaraki Prefecture, in October.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2024

Japan groups eye online market to promote use of domestic lumber

The process of reforestation has faced obstacles, primarily stemming from the considerable burdens placed on forest owners.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Friday
WORLD / Politics
Apr 26, 2024

Top U.S. and China diplomats talk tough amid warnings of new ‘downward spiral’

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi did not mince words when addressing a raft of contentious topics, including trade, Ukraine and Taiwan.
Members of a group of former second-generation Jenovah's Witnesses speak during a news conference in Tokyo in November.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 26, 2024

Japan finds 47 cases of abuse of 'second-generation followers'

Victims were temporarily taken into protective custody in 19 of the total cases.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo on Friday
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 27, 2024

Japan party leaders make final pitches ahead of Sunday by-elections

The outcome of the Shimane by-election is expected to affect Kishida's grip on power and his strategy for a possible dissolution of the Lower House.
A key aspect of AI technology that is often forgotten is that it requires an enormous amount of energy to develop and run. And that’s where utilities come in.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Apr 28, 2024

AI boom’s secret winners? The companies expected to power it

Across the U.S., utilities are preparing for historic increases in electricity demand led by data centers and AI.
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Apr 28, 2024

Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers

As Japan’s rice farmers prepare for a new planting season, many will be hoping that this summer brings a reprieve from 2023’s brutal weather conditions.
At the State Department, an eight-person group informally known as "the firm” is taking steps to help embattled nations when China responds to political disputes with what the U.S. and its allies call "economic coercion."
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 29, 2024

U.S. ‘firm’ steps in when China is seen as a bully, not a partner

At the U.S. State Department, an eight-person group is taking steps to help nations when China responds to political disputes with "economic coercion."
The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan's Natsumi Sakai (center) celebrates with other CDP officials and supporters on Sunday in Tokyo's Koto Ward after being announced as the winner of the Tokyo No. 15 district by-election.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 29, 2024

Election trouncing a blow to Kishida, but snap election unlikely

The PM might order a Cabinet reshuffle and make leadership changes within the LDP to boost his popularity ahead of the party's presidential election.
A liquefied natural gas tanker arrives at a Tokyo Gas LNG terminal in Yokohama. Despite a decline in domestic gas demand, Japanese companies are looking to maintain their stake in overseas LNG markets, especially in Asia.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 29, 2024

The double standard of Japan’s energy companies abroad

In Japan, energy companies like Tokyo Gas are striving to cut emissions. But overseas, they're shoring up LNG markets, making for a very different picture.
Staff from ANA group pose during a Tokyo event in February to commemorate the launch of a comic featuring women in airport ground handling roles.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Apr 30, 2024

Japan steps up drive to secure airport ground handling workers

The initiative seeks to ramp up interest in the workforce responsible for ensuring on-time airplane departures behind the scenes.
The Ibaraki Prefectural Government has introduced an optional four-day workweek to serve as a model for work style reform.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 30, 2024

Are local governments in Japan ready to embrace a four-day workweek?

Several municipalities are testing the waters by allowing employees to opt for longer workdays in exchange for an extra weekday off.
Researcher Mercury Wong holds a rice plant on April 1.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Apr 30, 2024

Hong Kong team plants seeds to safeguard legacy grains

Scientists and farmers in Hong Kong are tending to local varieties of grain they say could be an important food source in the face of climate change.

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