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Some 20% of Japanese companies have stropped creating medium-term management plans to respond more flexibly to changes in the business environment and achieve long-term goals, a recent survey has found.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 21, 2024

20% of Japan firms have no medium-term plans, poll finds

A survey found that about 10% of companies with medium-term plans are considering changing the duration of their plans or making other reviews.
Secret Service officers surround U.S. former President Donald Trump, the Republican  presidential candidate, as he attends the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 21, 2024

Secret Service says it denied earlier Trump requests for more federal resources

The denied requests for additional resources were not specifically for the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where the former president survived an assassination attempt.
Lamposts and other signs throughout Hirogawa, Wakayama Prefecture, display warnings, evacuation routes and measurements of height above sea level. The town has been hit by eight tsunami in its recorded history.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science
Jul 21, 2024

Why Japanese researchers are looking to submarine cables for faster tsunami warnings

While Japan boasts one of the world's most sophisticated earthquake and tsunami detection systems, gaps still remain.
The annual number of Self-Defense Forces personnel quitting mid-career has reached around 6,000, accounting for around 2% of all SDF staff.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 22, 2024

Defense ministry concerned as more SDF staff quit citing workplace issues

The government's Defense Buildup Program, formulated in 2022, emphasized curbing mid-career resignations of SDF personnel as an "urgent issue."
Fireworks during Irumagawa Tanabata Festival in Sayama, Saitama Prefecture in July 2023
JAPAN / Society
Jul 22, 2024

Many summer fireworks festivals in Japan canceled due to complaints

Property damage caused by debris, and littering and trespassing by those looking for a better view are among the reasons for the cancellations.
Homes are surrounded by flood waters after Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Sargent, Texas, on July 8.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 22, 2024

The great climate change wealth transfer is here

Fossil fuel profits are sky-high, as are the costs of climate change. By subsidizing oil and gas while putting tariffs on green tech, governments are making things worst.
A lone tree stands near a water trough on the outskirts of Walgett, in New South Wales, Australia, in 2018. Energy analysts said high construction costs, plus Australia's lack of nuclear expertise and abundant land and sunshine, make nuclear a less logical choice in the country.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 23, 2024

Nuclear wildcard reignites Australia's climate wars

Ahead of expected polls, the country's federal opposition has unveiled plans to slow the roll-out of renewable energy and build a network for nuclear reactors.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks aboard the USS Howard destroyer at the Yokosuka Naval Base, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in September 2022.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 23, 2024

Continuity in Asia: Harris' policies likely to assuage concerns in Japan

Tokyo is already quite familiar with the approach of the U.S. vice president, who will likely continue her predecessor's foreign policy if she is elected president.
Green products must meet customer needs at competitive prices to succeed. If such technologies gain traction, both the planet and consumers will benefit.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2024

Going green doesn’t have to be a giant money suck

Green products must meet customer needs at competitive prices to succeed. If such technologies gain traction, both the planet and consumers will benefit.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jul 24, 2024

'Dark and sorrowful day': New Zealand PM promises reform after inquiry finds 200,000 abused in care

Nearly one in three children and vulnerable adults in care from 1950 to 2019 experienced some form of abuse, according to a public enquiry.
Run from a two-hectare plot of land in the island's north, LivFresh has been supplying major supermarkets with spinach, lettuce and other green vegetables since 2022.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Jul 24, 2024

Singapore’s homegrown farming dream is beginning to fade

Since the start of 2023, at least half a dozen large farms in Singapore have shut down or scaled back operations.
The Hengshan Calligraphy Art Center (HCAC) aims to serve as a base for calligraphy research and education and function as a hub for calligraphy art in Asia.
CULTURE / Art
Jul 25, 2024

In uncertain times, Taiwanese art flourishes

New museums and a lively creative scene reflect an evolving, forward-looking society.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 25, 2024

What the ‘extreme’ Project 2025 says and who wrote it

Recent polling shows there has been a dramatic uptick in awareness and negative views of Project 2025 since late June, when U.S. Democrats began emphasizing it.
A construction worker during a heat wave in Folsom, California.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 25, 2024

What the temperature doesn’t tell you about extreme heat’s hazards

After its nationwide rollout in April, the HeatRisk forecasting tool is getting a real-world test as deadly temperatures stress much of the U.S.
Holly Graham's bartending journey has literally taken her around the world, and her latest stop is Azabu-Juban's Tokyo Confidential.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Jul 28, 2024

The star-studded bar ‘so incoherent that it’s coherent’

Tokyo Confidential is a buzzy new watering hole launched by ascendent bartender Holly Graham in the capital’s upscale Azabu-Juban neighborhood.
London Stadium, which hosted track and field during the 2012 Olympics. The stadium's primary tenant is West Ham United, but it hosts a variety of major events throughout the year.
OLYMPICS
Jul 26, 2024

How London paved the way for Olympics sustainability

Before Paris, London demonstrated in the 2012 Olympics that host cities didn’t have to end up with empty venues long after the Games are over.
A medical technician selects eggs for an in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure Paris in 2019.
WORLD / Society
Jul 25, 2024

IVF mistakes are opening a new front in the fight over reproductive rights

The $40 billion U.S. industry is expected to triple in size over the next decade as more people delay having babies until later in life.
A gas blending station for testing gas and hydrogen mixtures in Germany. The energy transition in Germany became urgent after its supply of relatively inexpensive gas from Russia ended following the Ukraine war.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / EXPLAINER
Jul 26, 2024

How Germany's hydrogen economy could transform energy use

For some, Germany's bet on green hydrogen is a gamble, but for others, it is a world-leading example.
Waves crash against the coast of Sansha town in Ningde, Fujian province, China, on Thursday as Typhoon Gaemi approaches.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 26, 2024

Climate change driving change in rainfall and fiercer typhoons

About 75% of the world's land area has seen a rise in "precipitation variability," or wider swings between wet and dry weather, scientists have found.
Flames and smoke rise from a burning wildfire, as seen from a highway in Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Tuesday.
ENVIRONMENT
Jul 26, 2024

Wildfire roars through a Canadian town popular with tourists

The town is in the heart of Jasper National Park, which is one of Canada’s premier tourist destinations, receiving about 2.5 million visitors each year.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meet on the sidelines of Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings in Vientiane, Laos, on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 27, 2024

As foreign ministers meet, China says relations with Japan at 'critical stage'

The pair discussed thorny issues, including Japanese nationals detained in China, food import bans and semiconductor curbs.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump during a rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota, on Saturday
WORLD / Politics
Jul 28, 2024

Trump tells Christians ‘You won’t have to vote anymore’ if he’s elected

The former President has further embraced a brand of conservatism that experts on autocracy have said veers toward totalitarian.
Local residents of Sado, Niigata Prefecture, celebrate the decision to register the island's now-defunct gold mines as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site on Saturday.
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2024

Sado faces tourism challenges after World Heritage listing

Thanks to its new UNESCO status, Sado forecasts an approximate 20% rise in visitors staying on the island.
The latest research indicates that heat stress is likely to worsen the condition of people with Alzheimer’s disease — which accounts for over half of all dementia cases in Japan — by making them more irritated or exacerbating their cognitive decline.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Boiling Point
Jul 29, 2024

For aging Japan, a troubling link between heat and dementia

The latest research indicates that heat can exacerbate cognitive decline and worsen dementia symptoms.
A crystallizer, used in the process of manufacturing nickel sulphate hexahydrate, stands at the BHP Group Kwinana Nickel Refinery in Kwinana, Western Australia, in 2019.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 29, 2024

Companies ‘paralyzed’ as Australia prepares tough climate rules

Over 6,000 companies in Australia will need to make fully comprehensive disclosures on emissions that include climate impacts across supply chains.
A screen shows news coverage of Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni meeting with China's Premier Li Qiang in Beijing on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 29, 2024

Italy's Meloni vows to 'relaunch' cooperation with China

Rome seeks to improve trade ties with Beijing after exiting the Belt and Road infrastructure investment plan last year.
A man cools himself in a water mist spray in Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Multiple regions topped 40 degrees Celsius for the first time this year on Monday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 29, 2024

Multiple places in Japan see mercury top 40 C for first time this year

Notable readings include a peak of 41 degrees Celsius in Sano, Tochigi Prefecture, as well as 40.2 C in the city of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture.
Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (left) speaks with Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (center left) as Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong (center right) is greeted by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (right) after the four delivered remarks to the media after their "Quad" ministerial meeting at the Iikura Guest House in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 29, 2024

'Quad' top diplomats decry situation in South China Sea

The top diplomats from Japan, Australia, India and the U.S. also pledged to boost maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region.
Aomori Gov. Soichiro Miyashita holds a news conference Monday over the prefecture's plan on a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2024

Safety deal to be signed for Aomori nuclear fuel storage

A safety agreement is necessary for a spent nuclear fuel interim storage facility to start operations.
Skateboarding women's street gold medalist Coco Yoshizawa (left) alongside silver medalist and compatriot Liz Akama in Paris on Monday.
OLYMPICS / Skateboarding
Jul 30, 2024

A star is born as teen Coco Yoshizawa basks in the glow of skateboarding gold

Yoshizawa has been receiving congratulatory messages from all corners after her golden performance on Sunday in Paris.

Longform

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