Search - 2023

 
 
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban meet in Budapest in October 2021. Modern autocrats focus on manipulating public opinion while gradually weakening the democratic institutions from which they claim legitimacy.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 5, 2023

No, the world's democracies are not 'backsliding'

Fears that we're turning the clock back on democracy are inaccurate — and unhelpful for dealing with new shades of authoritarianism.
A gender-equality supporter protests against discrimination at an event held in Tokyo for International Women's Day in March 2021
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 13, 2023

Japan’s gender gap has never been wider. Can Kishida close it?

The government emphasizes the need to improve gender equality, but correcting Japan's dismal record requires a nuanced approach.
Palestinians in Gaza City evacuate after an Israeli airstrike on Oct 9.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 13, 2023

The spiral of violence that led to Hamas

If Palestinians are ever to regain the moral high ground, they must hope for the destruction of Hamas.
Visitors walk down the main shopping street of Nanjing East Road, one of Shanghai's main commercial and tourist areas, on Sept. 30.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 17, 2023

China data likely to show fragile economy in need of support

Data due Wednesday will likely show gross domestic product expanded 4.5% in the July-to-September period from a year earlier.
When COVID-19 first emerged, companies across the health care industry raced to reconfigure themselves. That transformation is now unraveling.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 18, 2023

Life after COVID turns rocky for reshaped health care businesses

When the coronavirus first emerged, companies across the health care industry raced to reconfigure themselves. That transformation is now unraveling.
U.S. Army soldier Travis King. Details are still scarce about King's treatment in North Korean custody and the soldier has not publicly explained why he fled to one of the world's most reclusive nations on July 19.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 20, 2023

U.S. Army charges Travis King with desertion over North Korea dash

Details are still scarce about King's treatment in North Korean custody
As G7 leaders pledge to combat economic coercion with an eye on China, this could be counterproductive and end up hurting global trade.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 23, 2023

The G7's anti-coercion campaign against China could backfire

When G7 trade representatives convene in Osaka starting Saturday, Chinese “economic coercion” is expected to be high on the agenda.
Participants hold a giant rainbow flag during a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Pride Parade in Hong Kong
WORLD / Society
Oct 25, 2023

How nations allow or restrict legal gender change

A small number of countries have made it easier for transgender people to change their legal gender, while other nations have restricted such changes.
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.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 27, 2023

Kansai superiority at stake in this year's Japan Series

The Buffaloes and the Tigers meet in Game 1 in Osaka on Saturday night.
An assembly engineer works on a lithography system at chipmaker ASML in Veldhoven, Netherlands, on June 16.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Nov 2, 2023

How can the EU strengthen its strategic autonomy regarding chips?

The bloc has felt a sense of crisis over the fact that its growth strategy has been largely dependent on third countries.
Blair Masters and Talisker Scott Hunter pose for a photo with their kei truck, nicknamed “KT,” outside Ebisu Circuit in Fukushima Prefecture.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Nov 6, 2023

The little truck that could: A fresh way to tour Japan's north

Travelers have documented almost every corner of Japan. Perhaps a new kind of adventure would be doing those same journeys by different means.
China's dominance in the electric vehicle market has prompted the European Union to take action regarding economic security.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Nov 7, 2023

How electric vehicles became subject to EU economic security

The bloc has felt the pressure from China in the EV market, leading it to take steps to better protect vehicles, batteries and materials.
Los Angeles Angels two-way player Shohei Ohtani fist-bumps Angels employees as he heads onto the field to receive the Angels team MVP Award before a game at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, on Sept. 30.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 7, 2023

Ohtani among seven players to receive qualifying offer

Ohtani is the favorite to win the American League's MVP award, though elbow and oblique injuries forced an early end to his season.
SUMO
Nov 10, 2023

Young ozeki duo may be ready to step into spotlight at Kyushu Basho

Kirishima and Hoshoryu have generated much of the excitement in Japan’s national sport over the past 12 months.
A Komatsu dump truck at the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine in Khanbogd, the South Gobi desert, Mongolia
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 14, 2023

China tightens grip on copper, key to world’s energy transition

China’s copper smelting capacity will increase by another 45% by 2027
Japan Airlines is planning to pay a winter bonus equivalent to three months' salary in this fiscal year, up from the 1.7 months' salary for the fiscal 2022 winter bonus.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 15, 2023

JAL to pay highest winter bonus since 2012 relisting

The planned bonus is up sharply from the 1.7 months' salary for the fiscal 2022 winter bonus.
Toru Yamano, chairman of the Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives, tastes Koshihikari brand rice from Niigata Prefecture that contains immature grains, during a news conference in Tokyo on Nov. 9.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2023

Torrid summer heat hits crop production in Japan

The extreme weather over the summer is now leading to lower shipments and sharp price increases.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Nov 15, 2023

Top wrestlers' hot starts set stage for dramatic Kyushu tourney

The opening three days of action at the Fukuoka International Center has seen the six highest-ranked wrestlers that are taking part go a combined 17-1.
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in San Francisco on Tuesday to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' week.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 15, 2023

Biden and Xi must not forget North Korea

China is still the first stop on the road to managing the arms race with North Korea and the growing danger that tensions could lead to conflict.
The risk of unsecure nuclear weapons or a vengeful leader such as Vladimir Putin going down with his finger on the trigger may seem far-fetched, but the world must prepare for the worst-case scenario. 
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 16, 2023

Preparing for a Russian nuclear meltdown

The risk of “loose nukes” or a vengeful leader going down with his finger on the trigger may seem far-fetched, but the chances are not zero.
A woman sits where her apartment once stood in Lahaina, Hawaii, after the city was devastated by a wildfire, on Aug. 11.
ENVIRONMENT
Nov 17, 2023

Nowhere is safe from worsening climate change, new U.S. report warns

The report comes at a time of record-shattering heat, with recent months ranking as the hottest on record across the world.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Nov 22, 2023

Takakeisho falters as sumo’s wait for next superstar continues

The good news for Takakeisho is that slip-ups elsewhere mean he remains in the title race.
The European Union finds itself at a crossroads of balancing national borders, economic autonomy and liberal values.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 23, 2023

The geopolitics of EU enlargement

The European bloc appears to be moving toward radical reinvention.
The question of when a person dies is a scientific and moral issue with far-reaching implications in the area of organ transplants, among others.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 16, 2023

When does science say we die?

Debates about when a human being dies are yet unresolved, with profound implications for the medical profession and areas such as organ transplants.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping in Riyadh on Dec. 8, 2022.
BUSINESS
Nov 25, 2023

Mideast wealth funds draw greater U.S. scrutiny over China ties

A U.S. committee is reviewing several multibillion dollar deals this year on concerns they could pose national security risks.
A person walks past a COP28 sign in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 1.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 28, 2023

Biggest climate talks ever confront global chaos and record heat

Greenhouse gas emissions are still rising, and promises to cut pollution remain insufficient to take the risk of unmanageable warming off the table.
GMC Hummer electric vehicles on the production line at General Motors' Factory ZERO all-electric vehicle assembly plant in Detroit, Michigan, on Nov. 17.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 30, 2023

GM commits billions to shareholder returns as EV push stalls

"We have confidence in the cash generation of this company”
Singapore is again the world's most expensive city to live in, an honor it shares with Zurich this year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 30, 2023

Singapore and Zurich are the world's most expensive cities

Tokyo fell to 60th place while Osaka dropped to 70th amid a weak Japanese yen.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets leaders of the Group of 20 countries in New Delhi on Sept. 9.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 30, 2023

India’s G20 presidency is marked by a dawn of new multilateralism

From empowerment to climate change action, India ends an impactful year as the G20 president.

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