Search - 2018

 
 
The Justice Ministry is considering revising the law that requires wills to be handwritten so that people can write them on computers and smartphones.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 4, 2023

Japan considers law revision to allow computer-written wills

The Justice Ministry hopes that not requiring wills to be handwritten will both ease the burden of creating the documents and promote their use.
Lin Te-wang, chairman of Taiwan People's Communist Party, in 2022
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 5, 2023

Taiwan communist party head indicted on China infiltration charge

Lin Te-wang, chairman of the Taiwan People's Communist Party, has been charged with violating the Anti-infiltration Act.
The PayPay app now seeks to keep its pace of double-digit growth with help from other SoftBank portfolio companies.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 5, 2023

SoftBank’s PayPay app showcases Masayoshi Son’s clout in Japan

Seen to be next in SoftBank’s initial public offering pipeline, the startup now holds two-thirds’ share in QR-code payments in Japan.
Volunteers work at a Salvation Army mobile health clinic in Montreal on Sept. 22. Canada, despite being a wealthy nation, is gripped by a surge in homelessness that has seen thousands of people living in the streets after being priced out of real estate and rental markets.
WORLD / Society
Oct 5, 2023

Homelessness explodes in Canada as rents and housing prices soar

Researchers warn government data is vastly underestimating the number of homeless across the country.
Generative AI will change work for young professionals, but their reasoning skills will still be needed.
COMMENTARY
Oct 5, 2023

Is ChatGPT coming for entry-level jobs?

If entry-level workers get that much faster and better, won’t companies be able to get by with fewer of them? Maybe.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 6, 2023

Sapporo to push back Winter Olympics bid to 2034 or later

Sapporo mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto will meet with the Japanese Olympic Committee next week to request the change.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump, accompanied by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, announces a slew of retaliatory measures against China, including sanctions, at a news conference at the White House in May 2020.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 6, 2023

Protectionism started the geopolitical fire

The protectionism in the post-pandemic economic shutdowns will also impact international relations.
A lithium mine near Itinga, Minas Gerais state, Brazil
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 6, 2023

We’re not even close to running out of green minerals

Rising reserves challenge fears of mineral shortages in green transition.
Taylor Swift attends the MTV Video Music Awards at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Sept. 12.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 8, 2023

Taylor Swift and the political needle

With hundreds of millions of social media followers and a staunchly loyal fan base, she can move any dial with the tiniest of efforts.
A woman takes her meal alone in Tokyo's Yanaka neighborhood. As the country ages, Japan's average caloric intake has been shrinking.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Oct 9, 2023

Downsizing dinner: Aging Japan is eating less

As older citizens' shrinking appetites lead to less on the plate, businesses are having to adjust to a new market.
Japan's women's volleyball team celebrates its silver medal during the podium ceremony at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, on Saturday.
OLYMPICS
Oct 8, 2023

Japan looks to youth at Paris Olympics after mixed Asian Games

Japan is looking to its young talent to impress at next year's Paris Olympics after finishing a distant second in the Asian Games medals table to host China.
Israeli flags flutter at Ofer Park in Petah Tikva, Israel.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Oct 11, 2023

War threatens funding recovery in Israel's vital tech industry

A global slowdown and the Israeli government's divisive judicial reforms had prompted a sharp drop in funding earlier this year.
Ground Self-Defense Force members take part in a military review in Asaka, Saitama Prefecture, in October 2018.
JAPAN
Oct 15, 2023

'Not proud at all': Japan struggles to recruit for Self-Defense Forces

Experts have said that the country's armed forces could be weakened because of a lack of personnel.
A view of the outside of the OSIRIS-REx sample collector, with sample material from the asteroid Bennu seen on the middle right at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, in a recent undated photograph.
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 12, 2023

NASA unveils newly returned carbon-rich asteroid sample

A small quantity of the material collected by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu was unveiled at NASA's Johnson Space Center.
Signage for Japan's top banks, MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 12, 2023

Japan’s top banks pay women about half of what men earn

The country has a relatively high labor participation rate for women, but many of the positions they occupy have little prospect of better pay.
An official speaks during a government-sponsored tour of the 2025 Osaka Expo site on Yumeshima island, Osaka, on Sept. 14.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 12, 2023

As 2025 Osaka Expo nears, foreign pavilion woes continue to mount

Over 50 countries had been expected to design and build their own pavilions. So far, only two have been greenlighted by Osaka city to begin construction.
Japan faces tough choices amid the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas. The issue now is how Tokyo will navigate the conflict.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 12, 2023

Hamas tests the limits of Japan's Israel-Palestine policy

Japan is the lone outlier in the Group of Seven, condemning the Hamas attacks but also expressing concern over potential casualties in the Gaza Strip.
A breaker performs during the Red Bull BC One 2023 Camp Day and National Finals at the Fillmore in Philadelphia on Aug. 26
MORE SPORTS
Oct 12, 2023

Breakers grapple with hip-hop’s Olympic moment

B-boys and B-girls wonder if their art will translate into sport when breaking makes its debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Pedestrians walk past a McDonald's restaurant in Hong Kong.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 13, 2023

Hong Kong takes economic hit as Chinese tourists fail to splurge

Changes in travel habits come as the Chinese economy weakens and youth unemployment remains high.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 13, 2023

One of the world’s most common cockroaches may have origins in Japan

The discovery marks what could be the first evidence of the presence of the species during Japan’s Kofun Period.
Fukushiro Nukaga
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 13, 2023

LDP to recommend former finance minister as Lower House speaker

Fukushiro Nukaga, 79, is expected to take over for Hiroyuki Hosoda when parliament resumes next week.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping walks past then-Foreign Minister Qin Gang (front left) and defense chief Li Shangfu (front right) as he arrives for the closing session of the National People's Congress at Beijing's Great Hall of the People in March.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 13, 2023

With purges of top officials, is China’s Xi in trouble? Hardly.

The well-known opacity in Beijing may have clouded assessments of how the turbulence is affecting Xi’s grip on power
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem in July 2017.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 11, 2023

India’s realism comes of age in response to Israel-Hamas war

Unlike other Global South country leaders, Modi wasted no time expressing solidarity with Israel, an ally of India.
Tesla, which opened a factory in Lingang, China, was expected to be one of many large, foreign companies to open facilities in the region. Few have followed.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 15, 2023

China’s slowdown casts pall over Xi’s Yangtze Delta project

The setback is particularly obvious in Lingang, a free-trade zone in the southeastern tip of Shanghai and a key part of the Yangtze Delta project.
Ireland captain Johnny Sexton leaves the pitch following his team's quarterfinal defeat to the All Blacks at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in Paris on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 15, 2023

Ireland's Johnny Sexton ends storied career with 'gutting' RWC exit

A tearful but dignified Sexton appeared at the post-match news conference after his dreams of a fairytale ending were dashed by the All Blacks
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 17, 2023

Japan resumes babysitter discount coupon program amid high demand

The babysitter coupon system was implemented in 2016 as part of the government’s efforts to offer financial aid to working families with children.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 18, 2023

Japan panel compiles new system for foreign technical interns

The report clearly states that the new system is aimed at “securing and developing human resources in fields facing labor shortages.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov takes part in a welcoming ceremony upon his arrival in Pyongyang on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 19, 2023

Russian foreign minister pledges support for North Korea

The trip by Sergey Lavrov is part of a series of high-profile meetings between the neighbors that started in July.
Obtaining dual nationality and having it uniformly recognized by authorities in Japan is no simple matter.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 19, 2023

When Japan's dual nationality ban meets a legal gray zone

Lawyer Yuri Kondo decided to naturalize as an American citizen. What followed was a mix of ambiguity and the feeling of a loss of identity.
Jobseekers attend a Business and IT Career Fair at Cape Fear Community College in Castle Hayne, North Carolina, on Sept. 20.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 19, 2023

Biased bots? U.S. lawmakers take on 'Wild West' of AI recruitment

Around 85% of large U.S. employers now use some form of automated tool or AI to screen or rank candidates for hire, according to recent surveys.

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