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People wave Palestinian flags while celebrating the announcement of a ceasefire in Ramallah in the West Bank on Wednesday.
WORLD
Jan 16, 2025

Israel and Hamas reach ceasefire deal to end 15 months of war in Gaza

Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire agreement that includes a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces, the release of hostages and humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Firefighters battle flames during the Eaton Fire in Pasadena, California, on Jan. 7
WORLD / Society
Jan 16, 2025

Hundreds of firefighters 'just get up and go' to aid Los Angeles

"We all got into this as a service, to make somebody's day better at the worst time."
Hino Motors was charged with fraud in the U.S. District Court in Detroit for unlawfully selling 105,000 heavy-duty diesel engines in the United States from 2010 through 2022 that did not meet emissions standards.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 16, 2025

Hino Motors reaches $1.6 billion U.S. diesel emissions settlement

Hino said it booked an extraordinary loss of ¥230 billion in its second quarter results in October to cover the expected costs of resolving the litigation.
The new Switch is a tablet-style device with detachable controllers that can be played in handheld mode or hooked up to a TV, like its predecessor.
LIFE / Digital
Jan 17, 2025

Nintendo announces Switch 2, its first new console in eight years

Japan residents can apply via lottery for a hands-on demo of the Switch 2 on April 26 and 27 at Chiba’s Makuhari Messe convention center.
Filmmaker David Lynch at his Hollywood Hills home in Los Angeles in 2002. The painter turned avant-garde film artist, whose fame, influence and distinctively skewed worldview extended far beyond the movie screen, died on Thursday at 78.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 17, 2025

David Lynch, maker of florid and unnerving films, dies at 78

A painter turned artist whose films included “Eraserhead,” “Blue Velvet” and “Mulholland Drive,” Lynch also brought his visionary view to the small screen with “Twin Peaks.”
Nintendo said it will reveal its next-generation Switch 2 on April 2, setting in motion the retirement of the nearly eight-year-old flagship model.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 17, 2025

Nintendo hopes to reprise blockbuster Switch with 2025 successor

It will host several "Nintendo Switch 2 Experience" events in major cities around the world from April 4 to give gamers an opportunity to test the new console.
Firefighters spray the rubble of homes that were demolished by the Eaton Fire on Wednesday.AFP-JIJI
OLYMPICS
Jan 17, 2025

Critics question Los Angeles' ability to host Olympics after wildfires

Governor Gavin Newsom has already moved to assure that Los Angeles will be ready to host the Games.
People stand as the U.S. Capitol is seen behind the frozen Capitol reflecting pool on Friday after it was announced that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration is being moved indoors due to dangerously cold temperatures expected on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 18, 2025

Trump inauguration moved indoors due to extreme cold

The move could undercut the Republican's hopes for a grandiose spectacle to kick off his second term.
Then-Rep. Brandon Williams, a Republican from New York, during a House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing in Washington last May
WORLD / Politics
Jan 18, 2025

Trump picks one-term congressman to manage U.S. nuclear arsenal

Brandon Williams represented a New York congressional district for one term, but little is known about his experience in the management of atomic weapons.
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama speaks to reporters after meeting with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 19, 2025

LDP heavyweight Moriyama boosting profile within party

Moriyama's increased presence within the Ishiba administration has failed to shore up low levels of public support.
Although direct Chinese exports to the U.S. have shrunk a little in importance over the past four years, the world’s largest economy is still the most important source of final demand for China.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 20, 2025

China faces Trump’s return just as reliance on exports soars

China’s record trade surplus of nearly $1 trillion last year was equivalent to more than 5% of its gross domestic product.
Former Seattle Mariners player Ichiro Suzuki during spring training workouts in Peoria, Arizona, in March 2022
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 21, 2025

Ichiro could be unanimous pick in Baseball Hall of Fame voting

Suzuki will likely become the first Hall of Famer born in Japan and may become the first position player to earn unanimous election.
Then President-elect Donald Trump enters the stage of his inauguration as the 47th president of the United States inside the Capitol Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 21, 2025

Trump faces stiff challenges delivering on his promised 'Golden Age'

Many of Donald Trump's proposals are so norm-shattering, they are certain to result in extensive litigation that tests the boundaries of constitutional law.
U.S. President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 21, 2025

Trump declares U.S. exempt from previously agreed global corporate tax pact

The landmark 2021 agreement with nearly 140 countries set a global corporate minimum tax rate of 15%.
A reproduction experiment was conducted by placing two gas stoves side by side and heating large iron plates (top photo). The canister on the left stove overheated and ruptured (bottom photo).
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2025

Warnings issued for portable stoves as winter usage increases

The most common issue was improper canister placement leading to overheating and rupture, resulting in fatalities, burns and property damage.
During his first term, U.S. President Donald Trump took a hard line against China. As Trump takes office again, this confrontation is likely to continue and potentially escalate over issues such as Taiwan and economic security interests.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jan 20, 2025

Politics and the economy: Bedfellows of U.S.-China relations

Since Trump's first term, China has shown its willingness to use aggressive economic measures in its confrontation with the U.S., setting the stage for a potential escalation.
French workers load a replica of the Statue of Liberty, or Lady Liberty, onto a truck outside the Musee des Arts et Metiers in Paris in June 2021, before it departs for Ellis Island in New York to arrive on Independence Day.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 19, 2025

Liberal democracy faces doubts. But collapse? Not likely.

Democracy, it is often heard these days, is in crisis.
Ichiro Suzuki finished his career with 3,089 MLB hits and is one of 33 players in the 3,000-hit club.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 22, 2025

Iconic Japanese outfielder Ichiro Suzuki elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

Ichiro, who rose to global superstardom with the Mariners, was elected in his first year on the ballot, but fell one vote short of becoming the second player voted in unanimously.
In this long exposure photo, a helicopter surveys the scene during the Lilac fire in unincorporated San Diego County, California, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Jan 22, 2025

Fire-scarred Los Angeles to face dry winds with promise of weekend rain

This weekend could bring much-needed rain, with up to 1.3 centimeters forecast for the drought-stricken Los Angeles area.
Top "Quad" diplomats — Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi (left to right), Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong — walk to their meeting at the State Department in Washington on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 22, 2025

'Quad' diplomats meet in signal of Trump commitment to grouping

Coming just a day after Trump’s inauguration, the meeting was seen as a veiled warning to Beijing, which has lambasted the Quad as a tool for containing China.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Republican from New York and U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, speaks during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 22, 2025

Trump sees 'great promise' in U.N., his pick for ambassador says

Rep. Elise Stefanik pledges to ensure that the U.S. mission to the world body represents Trump's "America First peace-through-strength foreign policy."
A charred chimney is all that remains at a fire-ravaged ocean front home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Jan. 16.
WORLD
Jan 22, 2025

After the fire, should some parts of Los Angeles never rebuild?

Researchers warn that wildfires pose very different risks from more predictable events like sea-level rise and riverbank flooding.
Attendees inside the Congress Center at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday. The annual Davos gathering of political leaders, top executives and celebrities runs from Jan. 20 to 24.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 23, 2025

China tones it down at Davos this time ahead of Trump tariffs

Donald Trump has warned that a 10% levy could be imposed on China as soon as Feb. 1.
Shipping containers at an industrial port in the Keihin Industrial Zone in Kawasaki. Japanese businesses see a larger role for Japan if global trade breaks down and multilateral trade institutions become less effective without U.S. participation.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 23, 2025

Japan contemplates global free-trade leadership as U.S. goes protectionist

Tokyo could find opportunity in the turmoil while avoiding direct confrontation with Washington.
A business district in Tokyo. Japan plans to strengthen pre-screening measures for overseas investors that could potentially cooperate with foreign intelligence gathering efforts, addressing rising national security concerns.
BUSINESS
Jan 23, 2025

Japan to tighten investment pre-screening amid security concerns

While the updated regulations will impose an additional step for a broader range of investors, those who pass the screening can still invest in Japanese companies.
Syrian police members attend their graduation ceremony at the Police Academy under the Syrian Salvation Government in Damascus, Syria, on Jan. 14.
WORLD
Jan 24, 2025

Syria's new leaders turn to Islamic law in effort to rebuild Assad's police

Syria's new authorities are using Islamic teachings to train a fledgling police force.
Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka reacts after a point against Spain's Paula Badosa during their women's singles semi-final match at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Jan. 23, 2025.
TENNIS
Jan 24, 2025

Sabalenka and Keys book big-hitting Australian Open final

The Australian Open women's final will pit two of the game's big hitters against each other.
Upon the release of Dragon Quest VII in 2000, hundreds of customers lined up outside stores in Tokyo to secure a copy of the new game. With a remake of a 1988 title, the rest of the world is understanding why Japanese gamers love the series so much.
LIFE / Digital
Jan 25, 2025

Japan’s love affair with Dragon Quest spreads worldwide

The remake of a 1988 game serves as the latest chance for the rest of the world to learn why Japan loves Dragon Quest so much.
With abundant rains and formidable humidity in summer, Japan does not seem to be an ideal land for wine, but winegrowers in Yamanashi Prefecture have gradually been able to adapt.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 26, 2025

Of sake and spirits: Indulging in Yamanashi’s best

Visits to Grace Wine’s vineyard and the Suntory Hakushu Distillery turn a tour of the mountainous prefecture into a gourmet treat.
New Yorker Kenny Colvin opened Sanita, an Italian American-style cocktail bar, in Tokyo’s Hatagaya neighborhood in 2020.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 24, 2025

Kenny Colvin: ‘Work hard, drink hard, eat hard … relax hard’

The owner of Sanita, a cozy cocktail bar in Hatagaya, shares his journey and inspirations.

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.