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November 28, 2024
 

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The Gunung Padang pyramid site in Cianjur, West Java, Indonesia, on Dec. 22. A study that concluded it may be "the oldest pyramid in the world” is under investigation by its publisher after fueling debate over the age of the partially excavated site and the ethics of archaeology.
WORLD / Society
Jan 7, 2024

‘World’s oldest pyramid’ in Indonesia? A study draws skepticism

Some have suggested that the site may have been built far earlier by an as-yet-undiscovered ancient civilization.
An employee looks at data on screens in the high-tech command center at the Novartis AG campus in Basel, Switzerland.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 10, 2024

Swiss pharma firms plot different paths to blockbuster drugs

Roche has doubled down on Alzheimer’s and boosted research and development spending across its portfolio.
Noriyuki Sato, head of asset management at Mizuho Financial Group, says the bank plans to ramp up its expansion into private markets.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 18, 2024

Mizuho considers U.S. deal to supercharge private markets growth

The lender’s $460 billion money-management arm is considering buying a stake in a U.S. or European firm specializing in alternative investments.
In August 2019, Toru Takamatsu became the youngest master sommelier in history at just 24 years old.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 21, 2024

Japan’s first master sommelier dreams of Hokkaido wine glory

Why would a master sommelier go from Michelin-starred restaurants to the hands-on life of an apprentice winemaker in Hokkaido?
Israeli soldiers fire a mortar toward Gaza on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 24, 2024

Unmoved by Gaza carnage, Israel remains committed to war at any cost

There is an intensifying sense within Israel that the world is more focused on the response to Oct. 7 than on the original act of savagery itself.
Celebrations mark the Dalai Lama's 80th birthday in Dharamsala, India, in July 2015. The question of who will succeed the Tibetan leader, Tenzin Gyatso, now 88, looms large.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 29, 2024

Atheist China should have no say in Dalai Lama's reincarnation

Beijing views the Dalai Lama as a wolf in sheep's clothing. Why, then, is it obsessed with controlling the succession of someone it despises?
Today’s Russia is nothing like the citadel of stability and satisfaction nor the bastion of prosperity that the Kremlin tries to claim it is.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 7, 2024

Preparing Russia for permanent war

Today’s Russia is nothing like the citadel of stability and satisfaction nor the bastion of prosperity that the Kremlin claims it to be.
Japan is the only country with a law requiring married couples to adopt the same surname. In 95% of cases, it is women who take their husband's name.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 7, 2024

The land where single surnames are the only option

The business lobby recently joined calls for Japan to accept separate surnames after marriage. What, then, is standing in the way of change? Politics.
Michelin guides are published yearly, but there are only a handful of Black chefs whose restaurants have been awarded Michelin stars.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 9, 2024

Black chefs are scoring with new Michelin stars; but they deserve more

Michelin stars were recently announced for restaurants in the U.K. and Ireland: The number of Black chefs increased, but the pace is still too slow.
The Japanese government forecast that number of digital workers in 2026 will fall short of projected needs by 2.3 million.
EDITORIALS
Feb 9, 2024

Japan struggles with digital transformation

Japan's general tendency toward risk aversion reduces the readiness to adopt new policies, procedures and technologies.
A tsugumi (dusky thrush). Bird-watching increasingly plays a critical role in mapping bird behaviors and paving the way for policy and conservation initiatives.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / OUR PLANET
Feb 11, 2024

How a new flock of bird-watchers is contributing to science

The hobby increasingly plays a critical role in mapping bird behaviors and paving the way for policy and conservation initiatives.
Canned ready-to-drink cocktails, including Asahi Breweries' 9% Clear Cooler Strong chūhai produced in conjunction with Seven & I Holdings, at a 7-Eleven store in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Tuesday
BUSINESS
Feb 13, 2024

Asahi calls time on new strong chūhai amid low-alcohol shift in Japan

New versions of the canned fizzy cocktails with alcohol content of 8% or higher will not be launched in order to “reduce inappropriate drinking.”
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and other Baltic politicians placed on Russia's wanted list risk arrest if they cross the Russian border, but otherwise declaring them as "wanted" is unlikely to have any practical consequence.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 14, 2024

Moscow puts Estonia PM on wanted list for destroying Soviet-era monuments

After Russia invaded Ukraine, Baltic governments demolished the monuments they considered their former imperial overlords' propaganda tools.
Established in December 2021 in the middle of the pandemic-fuelled gaming craze, Sega Sapporo Studio is remarkable for growing amid a recent slump in the industry.
LIFE / Digital
Feb 17, 2024

Sega developers say new Sapporo studios lead to better lives

Aside from quality-of-life benefits that come from living outside a major metropolis, Sapporo also has a history of game development.
Doosan Bears fans during a game in Seoul in April 2022
SPORTS
Feb 21, 2024

Women outnumber men in South Korea’s sports stadiums

Women in South Korea make up 55% of fans at professional sporting events, including baseball, basketball, soccer and volleyball.
High tides in Funafuti, Tuvalu, in February. About 40% of the main atoll and capital district Funafuti is already underwater at high tide, and the tiny nation is forecast to be submerged by the end of the century.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Mar 4, 2024

Tuvalu preserves history online as rising seas threaten existence

"We cannot outrun the rising tides, but we will do what we can to protect our statehood, our spirit, our values," minister Simon Kofe said.
An ukiyo-e print by Utagawa Kuniteru depicts the assault of Asano Naganori on Kira Yoshinaka, an incident that triggered the tragedy of the 47 Ronin and one that was re-created in the play “Chushingura.”
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Mar 8, 2024

Revenge: A dish seldom served in Japanese history but still cold as ice

When Confucius was asked, "Should we kill those who are evil?" The response came, "What need is there for you to kill?"
"Godzilla Minus One" director Takashi Yamazaki (second from left) celebrates with members of his visual effects team after they won the Oscar for best visual effects.
EDITORIALS
Mar 15, 2024

The night Godzilla trampled Hollywood

The humanity behind visual effects and animation won in the end, and Japan should be proud.
Kaori Yamada grew up surrounded by bonsai her whole life and was expected to carry on her family's 170-year-old legacy when she became an adult.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 23, 2024

The bonsai master working to branch out an age-old craft

Kaori Yamada grew up surrounded by bonsai her whole life and was expected to carry on her family's 170-year-old legacy or otherwise end it.
Catherine, Princess of Wales, received an outpouring of global sympathy after her video message on Friday revealed she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy.
WORLD / Society
Mar 25, 2024

Wild theories persist despite U.K. royal Catherine's cancer revelation

Conspiracy theorists continue to push claims of digital manipulation, cancer misinformation and anti-vaccine myths on social media.
Two people try to take a selfie under the illuminated cherry blossoms in Kyoto’s Gion district last year.
PODCAST / deep dive
Mar 25, 2024

Sakura stories revisited: Getting in the mood for hanami

We are revisiting some past content on the science, economics and culture of cherry blossom season.
An online army of Chinese nationalists have taken it upon themselves to punish perceived insults to the country — including from some of China’s leading business figures.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 27, 2024

Why are China’s nationalists attacking the country’s heroes?

Many of the grievances seem to be fueled by discontent over China’s economic malaise, potentially making it harder for authorities to quell public anger.
A mural showing Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani is seen on the side of the Miyako Hotel in Little Tokyo, downtown Los Angeles, on Thursday. The mural is by artist Robert Vargas and is 46 meters tall.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 1, 2024

Ohtani’s arrival brings hope and nostalgia home to Little Tokyo

In Los Angeles, home to one of the nation’s oldest Japanese American enclaves, rooting for the Dodgers is a cherished tradition.
Reindeer that belong to Sami herder Nils Mathis Sara, 65, run in a winter pasture near Geadgebarjavri up on the Finnmark plateau, Norway, last month.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Apr 3, 2024

Reindeer herders battle power line needed for Norway's climate goal

The conflict illustrates the difficult choices countries must make to cut greenhouse gas emissions and power future growth.
In an emergency move, Bob Iger returned to Disney in November 2022, just 11 months after retiring, to rescue the company from his hand-picked successor as CEO, Bob Chapek.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 4, 2024

Hunt for Disney CEO Bob Iger's successor kicks into high gear

Board members are seeking to reassure investors that they are taking the matter of succession seriously, having extended Iger's retirement date five times.
If it's too hot to do much (and the costs for air conditioning continue to surge) during the day, it might be time to consider shifting the bulk of our activities to cooler nighttime hours.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 6, 2024

A solution for scorching days: Do everything at night.

Working night shifts, however, comes with a host of health problems, increasing the risk of diabetes, heart disease and even cancer.
Migrant workers from Tajikistan in an apartment shared by 18 people in Moscow in May 2020. The main suspects in the deadly assault are from Tajikistan. Now many other Tajiks, who fill jobs in Russia’s wartime economy, are being deported and harassed.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 6, 2024

In Moscow attack, a handful of suspects but 1 million Tajiks under suspicion

Many Tajiks who fill jobs in Russia’s wartime economy are being deported and harassed.
"Great Japan History Briefing Session, the 15th Empress Jingu." Expedition in Korea. The legendary Empress Jingu setting foot in Korea. Painting by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi in 1880.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Apr 18, 2024

What would Sigmund Freud have thought of Japan’s largely peaceful history?

In an exchange of letters, Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud discussed human nature when it comes to why people go to war. How does Japan fit in?
Police officers stand guard in front of the entrance to the venue of the so-called Palestine Conference in Berlin on April 12. Anger over Israeli aggression in Gaza is growing in the U.S. and in other parts of the world, including in the West.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 26, 2024

The world cannot just cancel Palestine

Germany and other Western governments are appropriating cancel culture to stop demonstrations against Israeli aggression, using antisemitism as a shield.
A human tooth discovered at Taforalt Cave in Morocco. Isotopic analysis has uncovered unexpected dietary habits among preagricultural communities in the country.
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 30, 2024

New study offers insight into what people ate before agriculture

Chemical markers in the bones and teeth from the remains of seven individuals were analyzed, along with several isolated teeth, dating back 15,000 years.
Funeral held for Princess Yuriko at Tokyo cemetery
Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, followed by Princess Aiko and Princess Kako, prepare to attend a funeral service for Princess Yuriko at Toshimagaoka Cemetery in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Trump team weighs direct talks with North Korea's Kim
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, in Panmunjom, South Korea, in June 2019.
Bluesky is booming in Japan — mainly for reasons other than U.S. politics
According to Similarweb, average monthly user numbers for Bluesky on Android in Japan quintupled in the 12 months to October.
Israel-Hezbollah cease-fire, brokered by U.S. and France, takes effect
People near Martyrs Square in Beirut watch as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces a cease-fire on television on Tuesday.
Suspected arson in Sapporo leaves four injured
Firetrucks outside a building in Sapporo where an explosion left four people injured on Tuesday.
Bluesky is booming in Japan — mainly for reasons other than U.S. politics
According to Similarweb, average monthly user numbers for Bluesky on Android in Japan quintupled in the 12 months to October.
How Japan can exit the fossil fuel subsidies it can’t seem to quit
A man walks past a gasoline station in Tokyo on Thursday.
Are you leaving your loved ones digital legacies or headaches?
The National Consumer Affairs Center reports a growing number of consultations regarding "digital legacies" — data and online services left behind when people die.
Rayssa Leal and Chloe Covell on Japan’s teen skaters: We are friends, not rivals
Brazil’s Rayssa Leal celebrates after winning the women's Street League Skateboarding competition on Saturday in Tokyo.
An iconic 32-foot doughnut might give Randy’s an edge in Japan
Randy's Donuts in Inglewood, California. Replicas of the giant doughnut sculpture will be installed, where possible, at shops in Japan.

Podcast

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

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat
By Greg Dvorak

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’
Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’

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