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If the number of births falls at a similar pace in the second half of 2024, the annual total could fall below 700,000 for the first time.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 31, 2024

Births in Japan hit record low for January to June period

If the number of births falls at a similar pace in the second half of 2024, the annual total could fall below 700,000 for the first time.
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the government, via video link at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow on Aug. 22.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 31, 2024

Kremlin says not worried Putin could be arrested in Mongolia

Putin will travel to Mongolia on Tuesday, his first trip to an ICC member since The Hague-based court issued a warrant for his arrest.
NPB Commissioner Sadayuki Sakakibara (left) Samurai Japan manager Hirokazu Ibata (second from left) and WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari pose for photos during a news conference on Friday.
BASEBALL
Sep 1, 2024

Hirokazu Ibata looking to keep Japan on top of baseball world by winning Premier12

Japan will enter the Premier12 as the defending champion.
Students participate in a mock lay judge trial session with a lawyer serving as a lecturer at Tokyo Metropolitan Mitaka Secondary School in March.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Sep 2, 2024

15 years on, Japan's lay judge system faces low participation

Fifteen years after its launch, Japan's lay judge system continues to grapple with a high refusal rate among candidates.
People at the Sensoji temple in Tokyo in July. The three months between June and August were 1.76 degrees Celsius hotter than average in Japan.
JAPAN / Boiling Point
Sep 2, 2024

Japan sees joint hottest summer on record

The three months between June and August were 1.76 degrees Celsius hotter than average, matching the record set only last year.
One in three workers say they want to return to companies they have worked for before, a survey has found.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 3, 2024

Many job changers in Japan consider returning to former employer, survey says

Reasons varied from shifts in personal circumstances after they quit their jobs, to a newfound appreciation for their former workplace after leaving.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa attends a new conference for the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) Ministerial Meeting in Tokyo on Aug. 25.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 3, 2024

Africa's rising importance for Japan’s Indo-Pacific goals

Africa is becoming an increasingly important element of Japanese FOIP strategy. It is a work in progress, but it is proceeding.
U.S. Steel's Edgar Thomson Works steel mill in Braddock, Pennsylvania
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 4, 2024

U.S. Steel to remain American-led, Nippon Steel says

The Japanese firm said post-acquisition the majority of U.S. Steel's board of directors and all members of core senior management would be U.S. citizens.
The future of 133-year-old remains, which lay buried beneath Kitakyushu for a century, is unclear amid the city's redevelopment plans.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2024

Global conservation body calls on Kitakyushu to halt redevelopment plans

The city said the project will proceed as planned as there are no alternative sites and further delays could threaten the provision of public services.
Damaged buildings in the Mellah, or Jewish quarter of Marrakech, Morocco, in October 2023, in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake the previous month.
WORLD / Society
Sep 5, 2024

One year on, Morocco's quake victims still wait for homes

The 6.8 magnitude quake killed more than 2,900 people and damaged vital infrastructure.
Liquor store P&V Wine + Liquor Merchants owner Louise Dowling
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 6, 2024

Cash-strapped consumers are giving Australia's liquor makers a headache

Australia's alcohol industry is in its sharpest downturn in memory as more people cut back on discretionary spending and turn to healthier ways to relax.
Red Square in Moscow. According to U.S. authorities, the Kremlin used an elaborate scheme to use American influencers to spread propaganda.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 6, 2024

Russia used a fake investor to dupe influencers, U.S. says

U.S. authorities have highlighted what they say is an elaborate scheme by the Russian government to spread propaganda.
A new deal may mark a big step in China’s yearslong ambition to create an "aircraft carrier-sized" brokerage to take on Wall Street banks.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 6, 2024

China creates its largest brokerage to take on Wall Street

The deal would mark a big step in China’s yearslong ambition to create an "aircraft carrier-sized” brokerage.
A Toyota Lexus UX 250h Hybrid vehicle stands on display during the Seoul Motor Show in Goyang, South Korea, in March 2019.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 6, 2024

Japanese cars and beer gain ground in South Korea as relations thaw

Monthly sales of Japanese cars, including Toyota and Lexus, jumped 31% in August from a year earlier.
Jessica Pegula hits a return during her U.S. Open women’s final against Aryna Sabalenka, at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens on Saturday.
TENNIS
Sep 8, 2024

Sabalenka downs Pegula to win U.S. Open thriller

The 26-year-old from Belarus clubbed 40 winners to become the first woman since Angelique Kerber in 2016 to capture both hardcourt majors in the same season.
Attorney General Merrick Garland sits between Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and FBI Director Christopher Wray during a meeting of the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force, in Washington on Sept. 4. Federal prosecutors say Russia secretly paid the American company Tenet Media to push pro-Kremlin messages from social media influencers including Benny Johnson, Tim Pool and Dave Rubin.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 9, 2024

Russia secretly worms its way into America’s conservative media

The latest indictment reflects the growing sophistication of the Kremlin’s long-standing efforts to shape American public opinion and advance its geopolitical goals.
Unclaimed luggage in the Delta baggage claim area at Los Angeles International Airport on July 25 following a catastrophic system outage.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 11, 2024

U.S. airlines may soon face cash penalties for delayed flights

A proposed compensation program would mean U.S. airlines would have to pay a set cash payment amount to each passenger on a disrupted flight
Job-seekers take a Japanese class at an employment placement company in Hanoi in October 2022.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 11, 2024

Is Japan an attractive option for foreign talent from Asia?

The uptick in young foreign workers is driven by growing interest in Japanese society and culture and difficulty in finding jobs at home.
A firefighter sprays water to fight a forest fire in the city of Sao Carlos, Sao Paulo State, Brazil, on Wednesday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Sep 13, 2024

A continent ablaze: South America surpasses record for fires

Satellite data has registered 346,112 fire hot spots so far this year, topping the earlier 2007 record of 345,322.
An event to support Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate prefectures is held in Sendai in March, with booths offering local specialties.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Sep 30, 2024

Nearly 40% of Fukushima municipalities want hometown tax system revised

Some want the central government to implement measures to establish a system that narrows disparities among municipalities.
The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani goes through his throwing routine before a game against the Rays at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Aug. 23.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 15, 2024

Dodgers manager leaves door slightly open for Shohei Ohtani to pitch in playoffs

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Friday that there is a slight possibility the 30-year-old star could be able to return in October from elbow surgery.
A protester holds a placard as she takes part in a march in Paris on Sunday, the second anniversary of a protest movement sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, who was arrested for allegedly violating the dress code for women in Iran.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 16, 2024

Iran two years after Mahsa Amini: Persecution and defiance

Even though a U.N. mission in March found that many of the violations in the crackdown amount to crimes against humanity, not one official has been brought to account.
Ryan Routh speaks during an interview at a rally to urge foreign leaders and international organizations to help provide humanitarian aid in central Kyiv in April 2022, amid Russia's invasion of its neighbor. Routh, 58, was charged with two gun-related crimes in a federal court in Florida on Monday, a day after he was spotted with a rifle hiding in shrubbery on the property line of Trump's golf course.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Sep 17, 2024

Suspect in second Trump assassination attempt had criminal history

Ryan Routh was charged with two gun-related crimes in a federal court in Florida a day after he was found with a rifle hiding near Donald Trump's golf course.
A uranium stone. Russia is the world's largest exporter of enriched uranium.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 18, 2024

U.S. probes uranium imports from China amid concerns over Russian ban

The U.S. banned Russian enriched uranium in December 2023 as part of an effort to disrupt Russia's ability to fund its war on Ukraine.
Marc Benioff, chief executive officer of Salesforce, speaks during a press conference at the 2024 Dreamforce conference in San Francisco, California, on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 18, 2024

Salesforce’s new AI strategy acknowledges that AI will take jobs

The new strategy by Salesforce addresses the investor fear that job losses from AI could hurt the software-as-a-service business model.
Sony last month officially unveiled a digital ledger, Soneium, while other Japanese firms like Toyota explore various blockchain-related initiatives.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 18, 2024

Sony joins a crypto push in Japan as calls grow for looser rules

The question for the government is whether to heed requests from the crypto industry for less onerous rules to lower costs and spur growth.
A group of older women performs during a midautumn festival at a mall in Jinan, in eastern China, on Sept. 6. China’s shrinking population poses threats to growth but has opened opportunities for businesses that serve older adults.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 18, 2024

China’s ‘silver economy’ is thriving as birthrate plunges

Births in China fell to 9 million in 2023, down about 6% from the previous year, with the number of preschool children plummeting nearly 12%.
This year, American Coco Gauff was not able to replicate her 2023 success, which included her first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open.
TENNIS
Sep 19, 2024

Gauff splits with Gilbert as coach after 14-month run

The move comes after a disappointing run of form over the summer for the young American.
Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy speaks during a news conference ahead of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club in England on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Sep 19, 2024

McIlroy says players among hurdles to PGA Tour-PIF deal

The four-time major champion said there were different opinions among all the players about the best way forward.
Shiretoko Yuransen President Seiichi Katsurada (center) in Shari, Hokkaido, in May 2022. Katsurada admitted to having little knowledge of ships in an interview before his arrest on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 19, 2024

Hokkaido boat operator in 2022 fatal sinking had little knowledge of ships

He made himself the company's safety and operational manager despite lacking the necessary qualifications after dismissing key employees during the pandemic.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan