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July 06, 2025
 

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Elizabeth Beattie
Workers walk past an underconstruction area with completed office towers in the background in Shenzhen's Qianhai new district on Aug. 25, 2023.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 1, 2024
China's strained economy casts shadow over 2024
Last year, the economy was roiled by a real estate crisis, falling consumer confidence, deflation and the disappearance of foreign investment.
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 2018
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Dec 17, 2023
A made-in-Japan solution for space junk that goes against the grain
As space junk clogs Earth's orbit, a Kyoto University team has a new solution: wooden satellites.
A Chinese national flag flutters at the headquarters of a commercial bank on a financial street near the People's Bank of China in Beijing.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 6, 2023
Officials hit back after Moody’s downgrades China's credit outlook
The ratings agency downgraded its outlook from stable to negative, saying a need for bailouts could weigh on the country’s economic strength.
Pedestrians along the Bund in Shanghai on Oct. 29. The Chinese government is pushing a narrative that the city will play an important role in reinvigorating the nation’s economy.
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2023
Xi’s Shanghai visit sells city’s ‘innovation’ image
State media video footage using soaring music showed a stoic Xi making a visit to the Shanghai Futures Exchange and watching a robot demonstration.
Pedestrians walk past stores in the Koenji district in Tokyo on Oct. 29.
BUSINESS
Nov 23, 2023
Personal shopping services in Japan buoyed by weak yen
Shoppers who cannot physically be in Japan are outsourcing their hunt for bargains to remote shopping services.
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2023
Japan to create ¥1 trillion fund to develop outer space industry
The ¥1 trillion fund will be allocated over a 10-year period for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), as a new global space race heats up.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks at an event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in October.
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 10, 2023
South Korea boosts diplomatic reach while North Korea retreats
Seoul has said the expansion is part of efforts to “exert global leadership and bolster our diplomatic power.”
A JD.com advertisement in Beijing promoting the Singles Day shopping festival
BUSINESS
Nov 10, 2023
China’s Singles Day downbeat amid slumping consumer confidence
Shoppers are increasingly seeking value, looking for cheaper brands amid an overall mood of restraint.
A Grab food delivery cyclist makes a delivery in Singapore on Aug. 21.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 5, 2023
Consolidation looms for Southeast Asia’s food delivery giants
With growth in the sector slowing, companies are slimming down or bolstering their ties with other operators.
BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference on Tuesday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 31, 2023
Bank of Japan to allow 10-year yields to top 1%
The development is significant as the central bank has long maintained its strategy of buying up government bonds to control interest rates.
A woman walks past newly unveiled lettering that references the Oct. 29 Itaewon crush in Seoul. A more fully developed memorial was later built to commemorate the event and the more than 150 people who lost their lives.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society / Longform
Oct 27, 2023
One year on, Itaewon's scars remain
A year on from the Itaewon crush, foot traffic in the Seoul neighborhood is picking back up. But what the future of the area is still in doubt.
Li Keqiang, former Chinese premier and head of China's Cabinet, served under President Xi Jinping for a decade from 2013, retiring in March.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 27, 2023
Li Keqiang, the former No. 2 to Xi Jinping, dies at 68
The former Chinese premier had found himself overshadowed by Xi's expanding grip on power.
A banner at the entrance to Shibuya’s Center Street makes it clear this is no place for a party.
PODCAST / deep dive
Oct 26, 2023
The specter of Itaewon has Shibuya spooked
One year on, Elizabeth Beattie joins us to discuss where Itaewon stands after its Halloween disaster, and what its legacy means for celebrations in Japan.
SkyDrive displays its eVTOL flying car at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 25, 2023
Japan’s largest auto show returns with focus on mobility
The organizer has renamed the event for the first time since 1964, with the Japan Mobility Show replacing the Tokyo Motor Show.
A pedestrian walks past an electronic signboard showing data from the Tokyo Stock Exchange and on the Japanese yen after the currency rebounded slightly after hitting ¥150 to the U.S. dollar in overnight trading, along a street in central Tokyo on Oct. 4.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 24, 2023
Germany set to eclipse Japan as No. 3 economy in 2023, IMF says
The yen’s widely watched depreciation has played an outsized role in its projected slide in position.
Elon Musk, owner of the X social media platform and carmaker Tesla, attends the opening ceremony of a new Tesla factory in Gruenheide, Germany, in March 2022.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 18, 2023
X unveils ‘Not a Bot’ paid program and new Japan feature
The new “Not A Bot” subscription method is Elon Musk’s latest way of nudging users toward paying for the platform.
Elon Musk’s X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, is allowing child sexual exploitation material to rampantly proliferate, according to Australian regulators, the latest in a growing list of legal challenges the company is facing.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 17, 2023
Australian regulators latest in series of legal woes for Musk's X
X is allowing child sexual exploitation material to rampantly proliferate across the platform, according to Australian regulators.
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of social media site X, attends the Viva Technology conference in Paris in June.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 11, 2023
EU warns Musk over 'illegal' disinformation on X after Israel attack
Everything from video game and movie clips to old images of conflicts are being used to push false narratives across Elon Musk's platform.
Dendrobium orchids — highly sought after due to their use in traditional Chinese medicine — growing in the wild in Nepal.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Oct 8, 2023
The orchid obsession: How science and smuggling meet in a global trade
Love of the flowers has a dark side, with the desire for rare varieties underpinning a robust illegal trade believed to have wiped out entire species.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 4, 2023
Yen rebounds from ¥150 to dollar as Japan mum on intervention
The yen quickly strengthened to ¥147.30 against the dollar, with its swift recovery sparking chatter that a quiet intervention had occurred.
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
U.S. military apologizes over Okinawa sexual assault case
Col. Neil Owens (right), chief of staff for the 3rd Marine Division, bows in apology at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office in Naha on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

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

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Muji has been sustainable from the beginning
Muji has been sustainable from the beginning

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