Search - international-reports

 
 
Sanae Takaichi (left) celebrates Shigeru Ishiba’s victory in becoming the head of the Liberal Democratic Party along with then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo in September. Takaichi appears to be the only woman in any party who is close to breaking the glass ceiling to become the nation’s first female leader. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 26, 2024

The derailing of potential female prime ministers

Sanae Takaichi stands as the closest woman to breaking the glass ceiling and becoming Japan's first female prime minister.
Members of a Lebanese NGO clear debris from their office that was damaged in an Israeli strike on a nearby building, in Beirut's southern suburbs on Monday.
WORLD / Society
Dec 4, 2024

In Lebanon, people with disabilities isolated and abandoned by war

More than 900,000 people in Lebanon are classified as living with disabilities, according to the United Nations Development Program.
A grapnel, used to retrieve cables, on the deck of the Leon Thevenin in Cape Town on April 30. In a wireless world, it is easy to forget the all-too-real cables that snake across the turbulent ocean floor — until they snap.
WORLD
Dec 4, 2024

When undersea cables break, a wireless world’s vulnerability is exposed

Landslides, a ship dragging its anchor, military skirmishes and sabotage can all damage cables.
Yoshiki Taniguchi (right), mayor of Aioi, Hyogo Prefecture, apologizes to Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito ahead of a meeting between prefectural government officials and leaders of municipalities in the prefecture held in Kobe on Nov. 26. Taniguchi publicly questioned whether Saito had the credentials to become governor before his election.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 5, 2024

'Old' media blames 'new' media for success of 'populist' candidates

Many young voters, especially those in their 20s, are believed to have supported Hyogo Gov. Saito due to his social media outreach.
A woman waves a Syrian opposition flag as she celebrates at Umayyad Square in Damascus on Sunday as celebrations erupted around Syria after Islamist-led rebels swept into Damascus and declared President Bashar Assad had fled the country.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 9, 2024

Assad’s fall in Syria puts world on watch for more Middle East chaos

Multiple Arab and U.S. officials said that a power vacuum could now be dangerous, with memories of Moammar Gadhafi in Libya and Saddam Hussein in Iraq still fresh.
A sign warns of a nearby bear sighting in Takikawa, Hokkaido, on Oct. 17.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Dec 30, 2024

Hokkaido 2024: Looking back on Rapidus, bears and shinkansen

The key topics are expected to continue making headlines in 2025.
The aftermath of an overnight strike attributed to Israel is seen on the Barzeh scientific research center affiliated with the Syrian defense ministry in northern Damascus on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 11, 2024

Israel steps up airstrikes and sends troops deeper into Syria

The Israel Defense Forces said it struck most of the strategic weapons stockpiles in Syria to prevent them from falling into the hands of terrorists.
Prince Hisahito, who is second in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne, is currently a third-year student at the University of Tsukuba’s affiliated high school.
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2024

Prince Hisahito to enroll at University of Tsukuba

The 18-year-old, who is a student at the university’s affiliated high school, secured admission through a recommendation-based exam.
People wave the flag of the Syrian National Coalition as they celebrate the fall of the Assad regime in Aleppo, Syria, on Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Dec 13, 2024

The Syrians have a chance to be free. They need our help.

The future of Syria, and the wider Middle East, remains uncertain, however, and the ultimate outcome could be more threatening than that of the Assad era.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Papua New Guinea leader James Marape address a news conference in Sydney on Dec. 12.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2024

Australia shows how smart diplomacy is done

Recent deals reflect the laser focus the Australian government is devoting to its closest neighbors and a bureaucratic reorganization that translates into action.
A man eats his lunch inside his shop near Moscow on Nov. 21. Under the impact of the explosion of military orders, Russian inflation is expected to approach 9% at the end of the year.
WORLD
Dec 19, 2024

Economic woes mount for Russia's war machine

Russian media, usually reluctant to report on any sign of social discontent, are turning increasing attention to hard-pressed families.
North Korean special forces soldiers march and shout slogans during a military parade marking the 105th birth anniversary of the country's founding father, Kim Il Sung, in Pyongyang in April 2017.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 22, 2024

North Korea aiding Russia where it needs it most, Canadian general says

Pyongyang's provision of troops as well as weapons and munitions that Moscow can't produce fast enough carries a symbolic element.
Steam rises from a geothermal plan in Yuzawa, Akita Prefecture. Despite its long history and potential, geothermal provided just 0.3% of Japan's overall energy mix in the fiscal year from April 2023
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Dec 22, 2024

Is Japan finally ready to tap its abundant geothermal energy potential?

Japan boasts the world’s third-largest potential supply of geothermal energy, but this renewable energy resource has mostly been untapped.
A customer uses a bank card at a contactless payment terminal on a stall at the Bauveau Market in Paris on Feb. 15, 2023.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 30, 2024

Drama-prone fintechs face mixed regulatory environment in 2025

The incoming U.S. administration has made financial deregulation a policy priority for the next four years while European policymakers continue to take a cautious approach.
Investigators inspect he remains of a Tesla Cybertruck that burned at the entrance of Trump Tower Las Vegas on Wednesday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 2, 2025

Tesla Cybertruck explodes outside Trump Las Vegas hotel, killing one

The FBI is joining the investigation of the blast, which Tesla CEO Elon Musk said "was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck."
A United Steelworkers sign is seen outside the Great Lakes Works United States Steel plant in River Rouge, Michigan, in September.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 3, 2025

Biden to block U.S. Steel sale to Nippon Steel, source says

Biden's call to block the deal was taken despite contrary efforts by some senior advisers concerned that it could hurt U.S.- Japan relations.
Then-economy minister Yasutoshi Nishimura marks the opening of the carbon credit market at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in October 2023. The GX League, which includes the emissions trading system, already covers over half of Japan’s emissions.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 3, 2025

Japan poised to lead in a brighter carbon market era

The patchy, voluntary nature of carbon markets around the world is finally changing after world leaders agreed to a new system for trading emissions reductions across borders.
A portable charger containing a lithium-ion battery that overheated in an accident during a reenactment experiment in December at the Consumer Affairs Agency
JAPAN / Society
Jan 7, 2025

Consumer Affairs Agency warns of risks from battery-powered heated devices

Injury reports linked to lithium-ion battery-powered heating gear have surged over the last 10 years.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg tries on a pair of Orion augmented reality glasses at the Meta Connect annual event at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Sept. 25.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 8, 2025

Meta shelves fact-checking in policy reversal ahead of Trump inauguration

It plans to implement on Facebook, Instagram and Threads a system of "community notes" similar to that used on rival X.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado addresses supporters at a protest in Caracas on Thursday ahead of the Friday inauguration of President Nicolas Maduro for his third term.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 10, 2025

A two-hour arrest rocks Venezuela as Maduro targets opposition

The arrest of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado marks a significant escalation by Nicolas Maduro, who was declared the winner of last year's election without evidence.
A firefighting helicopter flies past downtown Los Angeles as it goes back and forth dropping water on the Eaton Fire near Altadina, California, on Monday. At least two rounds of vicious, dry Santa Ana winds are expected to blast through Southern California early this week, bringing powerful gusts that will challenge fire crews struggling to contain two destructive blazes and likely force thousands more residents to evacuate.
WORLD
Jan 14, 2025

Fire-scarred Los Angeles braces for more extreme winds

Extreme fire conditions are forecast across a wide region, whipping flames with gusts that could reach speeds similar to those that caused last week's fires.
Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
BUSINESS / Companies / Longform
Jan 17, 2025

Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go

The CEO and president of Rapidus says the chip venture in Hokkaido is key to Japan's fortunes.
A boy runs with a Palestinian flag atop a mound of rubble at a camp for people displaced by conflict in Bureij, in the central Gaza Strip, on Friday following the announcement of a ceasefire amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 18, 2025

Israeli Cabinet approves Gaza ceasefire accord due to take effect Sunday

The six-week ceasefire, which will also see a series of hostage-for-prisoner exchanges, could pave the way to ending the 15-month war.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg
BUSINESS
Jan 20, 2025

Meta's move to halt fact-checking program in U.S. prompts concern

Instead of using trusted media organizations to fact-check, Meta plans to use "community notes" to check content.
U.S. President Donald Trump reviews troops during his inauguration ceremony at the Capitol in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 21, 2025

'America first' returns as Trump ditches focus on allies and rules-based order

The U.S. under his new administration will be a dominating force that will take whatever steps necessary to advance American interests, the newly inaugurated president said.
Shipping containers at an industrial port in the Keihin Industrial Zone in Kawasaki. Japanese businesses see a larger role for Japan if global trade breaks down and multilateral trade institutions become less effective without U.S. participation.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 23, 2025

Japan contemplates global free-trade leadership as U.S. goes protectionist

Tokyo could find opportunity in the turmoil while avoiding direct confrontation with Washington.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda had sounded dovish after the central bank's December policy meeting, which led some analysts to say that rate hikes might only emerge in March.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 24, 2025

BOJ takes rates to 0.5% amid calm markets after Trump inauguration

The 25-basis-point move marks the first rate increase since July and takes rates to their highest level since the 2008 global financial crisis.
A pipe for transporting carbon dioxide to removal equipment at a carbon capture and storage (CCS) test site in Tomakomai, Hokkaido.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Jan 26, 2025

How Japan is looking deep underground to solve its carbon problem

Japan is investing billions of yen to get carbon capture and storage off the ground, but the technology is dogged by high costs and uncertainty.
An Egyptian doctor tests a patient for hepatitis C in Cairo in 2018.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 27, 2025

Egypt’s malpractice law could speed up doctor exodus, medical professionals warn

Medical professionals say the real issue is underfunding and inefficiency in Egypt's health care system and that the malpractice law could harm an already strained system.
A worker drives past residential buildings under construction by Chinese real estate developer Vanke in Hangzhou, in eastern China's Zhejiang province. The indebted Chinese property developer warned on Monday that it incurred major losses in 2024, a filing at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange showed.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 28, 2025

Rare China support shows Vanke may be too big to fail

The unusual support shows that Vanke holds a special place within China’s moribund property sector.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami