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As Japan’s borders opened back up and tourists eager to document their long-awaited trips to the country streamed back in, 2023 saw a handful of prominent content creators stir up trouble with local residents to grab attention online.
LIFE / Digital / 2023 in Review
Dec 29, 2023

Social media binged on bad behavior in 2023

Mischief makers like Johnny Somali and "sushi terrorism" instigators gained attention online amid a deluge of Japan-related content this year.
Vishnu Dabad, a Gau Rakshak, or cow protector, and a politician with the regional political party Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), in Chamdhera village, Haryana, India.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 29, 2023

India's far-right cow vigilantes mobilize before high-stakes elections

Some say cow vigilantism has become a way for young men to use popularity built through taking on alleged cattle smugglers to catapult into politics.
Police officers examine a scene where South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun was found dead at a park in Seoul on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Dec 29, 2023

In South Korea, an unrelenting stance on drugs batters suspected users

Treatment experts say that authorities focus too much on punishment rather than rehabilitation.
Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a meeting in Hanoi earlier this month.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 30, 2023

China plans strategy to challenge America’s global leadership

President Xi Jinping and other senior leaders pledged during a conference this week to raise China’s influence on world events "to a new level."
A colorful coral reef made out of wool to raise awareness about climate change, at a museum in Baden-Baden, Germany, in January 2022
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Dec 31, 2023

The art world's big planetary problem

Over the last five years, it’s become increasingly clear to major art institutions in Japan and around the world that the sector has a sustainability issue.
A poster of Pakistan's ex-prime minister, Imran Khan, in the city of Lahore
WORLD / Politics
Dec 31, 2023

Pakistan ex-Prime Minister Khan barred from election candidacy

The former cricket star was found guilty of graft earlier this year, but a court suspended his three-year sentence and the conviction is being appealed.
A consumer market in New Delhi on Dec. 12, 2023. Long-term investment in India by businesses is stagnant, and foreign money is falling, even as the government is driving growth with infrastructure spending.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 2, 2024

India is chasing China’s economy. Something is holding it back.

While money is flying into India’s stock markets, long-term investment from overseas has been declining.
A Japan Airlines (JAL) passenger plane burns on the tarmac at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2024

Runway safety concerns in focus as Japan probes Tokyo crash

The collision of two airplanes at Haneda Airport comes just weeks after the global airline industry heard fresh warnings about runway safety.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands inside an enclosure for defendants during a court hearing on espionage charges in Moscow on Oct. 10.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2024

Remember the world’s political prisoners. One could be you.

Hostage diplomacy and arbitrary arrests by autocratic governments are a growing threat.
A South Korean soldier stands guard at the Joint Security Area in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas on Feb. 7, 2023. Since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a stalemate, both nations have had policies that treat each other differently than other countries.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 4, 2024

In threatening shift, Pyongyang moves to redefine relations with Seoul

Changes to North Korean policy and government organizations effectively treat South Korea as a separate, enemy state.
January may be the month of new diets, but it doesn't have to be a month of short tempers as a result.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 6, 2024

Your 2024 diet isn't a blank check to be hangry

The neologism combining "hungry” and "angry” has been around since at least 1956 and made it into the Oxford English Dictionary in 2018.
People watch a news broadcast showing file footage of North Korea firing artillery, at a railway station in Seoul on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 5, 2024

South Korea evacuates islands after North fires artillery nearby

The firing by North Korea caused no civilian or military damage in the South, South Korea's military said.
David Warner walks off the pitch in his final test cricket match on Saturday in Sydney.
MORE SPORTS / Cricket
Jan 6, 2024

Entertainer Warner bows out of cricket test game a winner

Australia opener David Warner said he hoped to be remembered as an entertainer after retiring from cricket's longest format at his home ground in the wake of a third test victory over Pakistan on Saturday.
Boeing's 737 Max 9 under construction at the company's production facility in Renton, Washington, in 2017.
WORLD
Jan 6, 2024

Alaska Air grounds Boeing 737 Max 9 fleet after fuselage blowout

The airline is taking the "precautionary step” to temporarily ground the fleet of 65 planes until completion of full maintenance and inspection.
People visit the Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin, China, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 7, 2024

Fairy-tale ice sculptures lure droves of tourists into China's Harbin

This year the ice park spans 810,000 square meters with 250,000 cubic meters of sculptured ice, harvested from the nearby frozen Songhua River.
Kotaro Seki, CEO of Ellange, in front of the truck that he uses to collect nets from fisheries
JAPAN / Society / OUR PLANET
Jan 7, 2024

Trash into treasure: Can fishing net waste be the future of fashion?

A pair of Japanese startups are looking to solve a problem for the nation's fisheries: What to do with old fishing nets.
An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 is grounded at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Saturday.
WORLD
Jan 7, 2024

U.S. regulator orders temporary grounding of some 737 Max jets after mishap

The move affects about 171 planes worldwide, according to a statement by the U.S. regulator.
South Korean residents walk past a shelter sign at a village on Yeonpyeong Island on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 7, 2024

South Korean border island warns residents on third day of North Korean drills

The drills come after the powerful sister of North Korea's leader denied Seoul's claims that Pyongyang had fired dozens of artillery rounds near their border a day earlier.
Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is set for a fifth term in office following polls that her opponents and voters have boycotted.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 8, 2024

Bangladesh prime minister extends rule in poll shunned by rivals

Voters heeded a campaign by the opposition to shun the election and draw attention to the sweeping crackdown Sheikh Hasina's government carried out in its run-up.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 8, 2024

Storage media from offices of arrested LDP lawmaker were found damaged

Prosecutors believe that Yoshitaka Ikeda or his staff damaged the storage media in an attempt to destroy evidence.
U.S. golfer Tiger Woods reacts on the 9th green on day 2 of the British Open Golf Championship in 2022.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 9, 2024

Tiger Woods and Nike end partnership after 27 years

Despite rumors, Nike maintains that it’s still committed to golf.
A Taiwan Air Force Mirage 2000-5 aircraft prepares to land in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on Jan. 2. In the event of a conflict with China, Taiwan would face a military that rivals that of the U.S.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 9, 2024

Xi, Biden and the $10 trillion cost of war over Taiwan

The price tag — equivalent to about 10% of global GDP — dwarfs the blow from the war in Ukraine, COVID-19 pandemic and 2007-2008 Global Financial Crisis.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 9, 2024

Arrested lawmaker Ikeda allegedly ordered disposal of fundraising data

Tokyo prosecutors suspect that ex-LDP member Yoshitaka Ikeda led the destruction of evidence related to alleged slush funds.
Animal rights activists hold placards reading "Good bye dog meat!" during a rally welcoming a bill banning the dog meat trade, at the National Assembly in Seoul on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 9, 2024

South Korea parliament passes bill banning dog meat trade

Lawmakers voted 208-0, and the legislation will come into effect after a three-year grace period and final approval from President Yoon Suk-yeol.
Friday's mid-air panel blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight left a gaping hole on the 737 Max 9 plane.
WORLD
Jan 10, 2024

Boeing CEO admits mistakes, says mid-air blowout 'can never happen again'

Dave Calhoun tells employees that the probe on loose parts and broader checks of systems and processes will be done with 'complete transparency every step of the way."
Ayao Komatsu speaks during an event ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture on Sept. 21.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Jan 11, 2024

Tokyo native Komatsu takes over as Haas F1 boss after Steiner's departure

"In appointing Ayao Komatsu as Team Principal we fundamentally have engineering at the heart of our management," the team owner said.
Security guards along the Bund in front of buildings in the Lujiazui Financial District in Shanghai on Tuesday. The pivot away from China may accelerate as positive catalysts are missing at a time when the U.S. Federal Reserve shifts toward monetary easing.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 11, 2024

China is fast losing its place as a must-have in global portfolios

An analysis of filings by 14 U.S. pension funds with investments in Chinese stocks show most of them have reduced their holdings since 2020.
Meiji's canned liquid baby formula is in high demand following the New Year's Day quake that hit central Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 11, 2024

Meiji to boost liquid baby formula production after quake

The company has received more than twice the usual number of orders for such products so far this month.
Grounded Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 airplanes on the tarmac at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Monday
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 11, 2024

Boeing's latest Max problem creates more headaches for airlines

Alaska Airlines and United Airlines together have 70% of the Max 9 planes in service and have canceled hundreds of flights.
Outgoing New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick holds a news conference in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Thursday to announce his departure from the team.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Jan 12, 2024

Why Bill Belichick fit in so well, for so long, in New England

Belichick departed Thursday as the head coach of the New England Patriots after 24 years of unmatched dominance in America’s most popular sport.

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