Tag - focus

 
 

FOCUS

Kenta Izumi, leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, holds a news conference Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 14, 2024
Japan's CDP in dilemma over election cooperation with JCP
Both the DPP and the Japanese Trade Union Confederation have repeatedly called for the CDP-JCP cooperation to end.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and others at a position of Ukrainian servicemen in the town of Kupiansk last November.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 13, 2024
Being Volodymyr Zelenskyy: How war has changed Ukraine's leader
His ambition when he was elected in 2019 had been to help Ukraine become a modern democracy, before that was shattered by Russia's invasion in 2022.
A worker passes a sign for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 13, 2024
Republicans to anoint Trump at party convention
The 78-year-old billionaire will be the star of the show as Milwaukee rolls out the red carpet for the Republican National Convention.
Beds that once were used by children to take naps at a kindergarten-turned-elderly center in Taiyuan, in China's northern Shanxi province, on July 2
ASIA PACIFIC / Society / FOCUS
Jul 13, 2024
Chinese kindergartens pivot to senior care as population ages
Some educational facilities are remaking themselves as a recreational center for people of retirement age and above.
Politicians pay their respects to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday in the city of Nagato, Yamaguchi Prefecture.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 11, 2024
Two years after Abe’s death, LDP's conservatives still lack direction
The absence of a figure who is able to embody conservative ideals and marshal widespread consensus within the party has weighed heavily on conservatives.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike meets with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday following her victory in Sunday's gubernatorial election.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 11, 2024
Sense of crisis remains in LDP over next general election
The LDP suffered a major defeat in Sunday’s Tokyo metropolitan assembly by-elections, adding to their string of recent national and local losses.
Ground Self-Defense Force members participate in a seminar to prevent harassment at Camp Asaka in Tokyo in April.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jul 10, 2024
Spate of scandals threaten to tarnish Defense Ministry and SDF’s reputation
The emergence of multiple scandals is the latest challenge for the Defense Ministry as it seeks to strengthen Japan’s defense capabilities.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at a meeting of a government panel on information related to economic security last month as economic security minister Sanae Takaichi looks on.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Jul 9, 2024
New security clearance system to bring Japan in line with other G7 nations
Individuals qualified to handle classified information will receive certification from the government, facilitating easier participation in global research and business.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 8, 2024
Koike eases to victory but Ishimaru's performance signals shift in Tokyo
Koike saw off a tougher challenge than in previous votes, with Ishimaru pointing to a path forward for lesser-known candidates.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris greets the crowd during a rally where President Joe Biden also spoke, at a community center in Raleigh, North Carolina, in March.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 6, 2024
The reintroduction of Kamala Harris
With U.S. President Joe Biden’s candidacy on the line, Democrats are assessing whether his VP pick is up to being the nominee.
Newly appointed British Foreign Secretary David Lammy leaves No. 10 Downing St. following the results of the election, in London, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 6, 2024
David Lammy: Friend of Obama now U.K. foreign minister
The 51-year-old's ancestors were enslaved in Guyana, South America — a family history that Lammy says will inform his approach to foreign policy.
International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan speaks during an interview at The Hague, in the Netherlands, in February.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 6, 2024
ICC prosecutor opted for warrants over visit to Gaza
The sudden cancellation of a planned visit to the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem and Ramallah has angered Washington and London.
Visitors walk past an Amazon exhibition booth during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on Friday.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Jul 6, 2024
Is AI a major drain on the world's energy supply?
The spread of data centers across the globe is throwing a spotlight on the amount of energy the technology uses as well as its impact on the environment.
U.S. President Joe Biden waves as he boards Air Force One prior to departure from Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, Wisconsin, o Friday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 6, 2024
Biden allies abroad think it’s untenable for him to stay on
Some officials are now saying that Biden should step aside for someone with a better shot at beating rival Donald Trump.
As interest rates rise, the Bank of Japan will have to pay more on deposits, resulting in a mismatch between what it pays out and how much it receives on bonds it holds.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jul 2, 2024
The Bank of Japan’s $3 trillion problem
As interest rates rise and the deposits it holds become far more expensive, the central bank could end up becoming unprofitable.
Self-Defense Force troops take part in an amphibious landing exercise on Tokunoshima island in Kagoshima Prefecture last November.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 1, 2024
Japan's SDF marks 70th anniversary as it faces change and challenges
The SDF is grappling with dramatic policy shifts while facing down challenges ranging from recruitment to rising Chinese military assertiveness.
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves tour a Morrisons supermarket during a Labour general election campaign event in Wiltshire, England, on June 19.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 29, 2024
Revolt against Starmer’s Labour by long-time backers puts star candidates at risk
There’s little prospect the trend will cost Labour the election, but some of the party's leading lights could lose their seats.
Estonian Prime Minister and newly nomiated EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas addresses a news conference at the end of the European Council summit at EU headquarters in Brussels on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 29, 2024
A lifetime fighting Putin’s aggression drives EU’s next diplomatic chief
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, the bloc's next foreign policy chief, will be charged with shaping its response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with steelworkers at United Steel Workers headquarters in Pittsburgh in April.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Jun 29, 2024
Biden and Trump battle for blue-collar voters as steel merger looms over vote
Just how many rank-and-file workers ignore union chiefs and vote for Donald Trump could have a decisive impact in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Foreign tourists visit Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo on June 14.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jun 29, 2024
Why it feels like everyone in the world is heading to Japan right now
The yen’s historic collapse coupled with the post-pandemic surge in global tourism has sparked interest in the nation like never before.

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'