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Ukrainian law enforcement officers comfort a woman crying over the body of her 15-year-old son following a missile attack in Kharkiv on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 2, 2024

In Ukraine, hopes of war breakthrough slim whoever wins U.S. election

For many in war-torn county, the outcome of the U.S. election and its impact on the war with Russia feels less likely to be pivotal than it once did.
Nippon Steel Chairman and CEO Eiji Hashimoto told a local weekly that a lawsuit is possible if the company's proposed buyout of U.S. Steel gets blocked without proper procedures being followed.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 13, 2024

Nippon Steel does not rule out lawsuit if U.S. Steel deal nixed, CEO says

If the deal falls through without a legitimate reason or proper procedures, the Japanese steelmaker would consider suing the U.S. government, CEO Eiji Hashimoto says.
An anti-regime fighter tears off a poster depicting Syrian President Bashar Assad (left) and his brother Maher at the airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 3, 2024

Syria flare-up jolts U.S. and offers chance for Trump

The Biden administration has committed more than $1 billion over the past year in humanitarian aid for Syria's displaced.
An employee holds a chocolate bar at Chocovi, in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, on May 10.
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 9, 2024

Could dark chocolate reduce your risk of diabetes?

While a new study links the food to a possible reduced risk, one researcher cautions that it is not a "magic bullet."
When chef Yoshihiro Kitagawa returned to his hometown of Matsusaka to open Shibousai Kitagawa in 2015, he chose a tranquil location on the rural fringe of the city.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Dec 22, 2024

Shibousai Kitagawa: Creative Chinese in the home of Matsusaka wagyu

Alongside the superlative array of vegetable appetizers, a focal point at Shibousai Kitagawa is the revered local Matsusaka wagyu.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow visit St. Sergius monastery, which is considered the spiritual center of the Russian Orthodox Church, in the town of Sergiyev Posad, near Moscow, in June.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 29, 2025

Putin's distortion of Russian spirituality and authority

Vladimir Putin is merely the latest in a series of murderous modernizers stretching from Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great to Catherine the Great and Stalin.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (left) speaks during an executive order signing ceremony with U.S. President Donald Trump and Howard Lutnick, chief executive officer of Cantor Fitzgerald and U.S. commerce secretary nominee, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
BUSINESS
Feb 4, 2025

Trump orders creation of U.S. sovereign wealth fund and says it could buy TikTok

The text of the executive order was sparse on details, and simply directed the Treasury and Commerce Departments to submit a plan for such a fund within 90 days.
While Google may be the restaurant review medium of choice in other countries, Japan largely prefers Tabelog, where five-star reviews are rare and three-star reviews aren't what they seem.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 9, 2025

On Japan's top foodie site, imperfection is gold

Cultural expectations may influence ratings on Tabelog, but reading between the lines might help you find the next hidden gem.
Pigeons — and their droppings — can be extremely difficult to manage once they settle in.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Mar 25, 2025

A new year, a new home and new unexpected guests: pigeons

They might seem harmless at first, but their droppings pose serious health risks to humans and the birds can be extremely difficult to manage once they settle in.
U.S. President Donald Trump's deal-focused approach to diplomacy may prevent a hostile China-Russia-North Korea-Iran alliance, but weakens U.S. global leadership.
COMMENTARY
Mar 27, 2025

The art of the deal meets a four-power axis

Trump's deal-focused approach may prevent a hostile China-Russia-North Korea-Iran alliance but weakens U.S. global leadership.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington on Wednesday, the day of his remarks on tariffs.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 4, 2025

For Trump, tariff gamble brings political risk

If his promises to recast the economy don't work out, it could cause political headwinds for his party and economic pain for his constituents.
Shipping containers at the Port of Los Angeles in Los Angeles on Friday
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 5, 2025

U.S. starts collecting Trump's new 10% tariff, smashing global trade norms

The initial 10% "baseline" tariff took effect at U.S. seaports, airports and customs warehouses at 12:01 a.m.
The scallop carpaccio with strawberries is a harmonious blend of flavors and textures, and one of the standout recipes in "Umai: Recipes From a Japanese Home Kitchen."
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 26, 2025

A modern Japanese cookbook that is ‘a beautiful mess’

With an easygoing tone, Millie Tsukagoshi Lagares’ first cookbook is a vibrant Japanese culinary guide that speaks to a globalized generation.
TikTok is in a race to dominate e-commerce in Southeast Asia.
BUSINESS
Jul 24, 2023

TikTok steps up Southeast Asia presence amid e-commerce push

As the company intermingles social media and e-commerce, it is betting that this vision of shopping will knock aside rivals in the region.
As China slips into deflation, one word is popping up more and more to describe the gloomy atmospherics: "Japanification."
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 30, 2023

'Japanification' for China? It should be so lucky.

China is not on the path to global dominance nor set for collapse, and observers should consider the various shades of gray in analyzing these countries.
Johnny & Associates President Julie Keiko Fujishima (second from right) acknowledged that company founder Johnny Kitagawa had sexually abused agency employees for decades during a press conference in Tokyo on Sept. 7.
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Sep 9, 2023

What’s in a name? A lot of baggage and trauma, unfortunately.

Johnny and Associates' recognition of abuse is a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done to move forward.
While India’s gross domestic product is still smaller than China’s, the country is currently the world’s fastest-growing major economy and is projected to account for 12.9% of global growth over the next five years.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 18, 2023

India’s quiet rise as Asia's other demographic giant

While India appears stable and resurgent under Modi, its future will depend on its ability to maintain political stability and rapid economic growth.
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Oct. 18.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 25, 2023

Biden treads tightrope on Israel-Hamas cease-fire

The balancing act is becoming tougher by the day, with reports that Washington is concerned about Israel's plan of action for a Gaza invasion.
Thon Soukhon, who has been a ranger in Virachey since the forest became one of Cambodia’s first national parks in 1993, holds a rope as he crosses a rain-swollen river within the protected area.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Oct 29, 2023

In the name of sustainability, Cambodia risks its ‘final frontier’ of biodiversity

Virachey National Park is a rare untouched wilderness in Southeast Asia, but potential hydropower plans threaten its future.
Zero carbon energy accounts for 28% of Japan's grid, falling short of countries like Germany, whose share of clean energy generation reached 58% last year.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 6, 2023

How Japan became the land the energy transition forgot

Its symbol may be the rising sun, but a wholesale adoption of renewables by Japan is light years away, mired in bureaucratic and technical hurdles.
Newly arrived Rohingya refugees are stranded on a boat after the nearby community decided not to allow them to land in Aceh province, Indonesia, on Nov. 16.
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 21, 2023

After hellish boat journeys, Rohingya refugees unwelcome in Indonesia

For those able to land in Aceh province, their status there is far from assured, and locals say they could still force the newcomers back to sea.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 22, 2023

LDP faces scrutiny in parliament over underreporting of funds

Sizable omissions in political funding reports by the ruling party took center stage in parliamentary debate as the opposition questioned the government.
Activists dressed up like CEOs take part in a fake banquet near the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Monday where they feign the celebration of company profits over climate responsibility.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2023

We already know what will happen at COP28

It’s beyond time to ask whether the COP gatherings work as they should. After all, we’ve had nearly three decades of summits
The Idaho National Laboratory, Materials and Fuels Complex. Researchers there were the first to generate electricity from splitting the atom back in 1951, and countless scientists have since visited the remote site to test reactor designs.
WORLD
Dec 3, 2023

The future of nuclear energy will be decided in Idaho

It’s been 50 years since the last reactor was switched on there, which speaks to the challenges of harnessing a fission reaction.
Yujiro Nakajimaya's advice for players new to hockey is that you have to know what you want to achieve. Is it a professional career? Then you need to challenge yourself.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 9, 2023

Yujiro Nakajimaya: ‘Overcoming adversity is an art’

At a young age, this hockey-playing Hokkaido native left for Canada and ended his journey playing in the NHL.
Niners running back Christian McCaffrey (right) stiff arms Lions safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson during the first half of the NFC title game in Santa Clara, California, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Jan 29, 2024

Chief and 49ers set up Super Bowl rematch in Las Vegas

The reigning champion Chiefs returned to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in five years.
A new report by the McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility estimates that it could take up to 320 years for Black Americans to catch up to their white counterparts in quality of life.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 8, 2024

Black Americans gain no ground on income and wealth

One study estimates that it could take up to 320 years for Black Americans to catch up to their white counterparts' in quality of life.
When SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son bought Arm in 2016 for $32 billion, he had grand plans for the company to dominate the nascent market for connected devices, also known as the Internet of Things.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 21, 2024

Softbank’s Arm is not the AI play most people think it is

Today, GPUs are the gold standard for AI development and thus the equivalent of toilet paper during the pandemic.
In many cases, the return gift that shows your appreciation should be worth half of what was originally given to you.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 1, 2024

Japan's return-a-gift culture isn't just for White Day

If you received a gift on Valentine's Day, White Day is your chance to return the kindness. Learn the verbs for giving with grace.
An amphibious assault demonstration with joint forces of the Swedish, Finnish, Italian and French army during the Nordic Response 24 military exercise on Sunday near Sorstraumen, above the Arctic Circle in Norway. Nordic Response 24 is part of the larger NATO exercise Steadfast Defender.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 12, 2024

In frozen north, a stronger NATO prepares for Russia's threat

NATO's four-month Steadfast Defender exercise in its Arctic fringe are part of the largest drills staged by the alliance since the Cold War.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.