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Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Longform
Nov 28, 2022

Wood spirits: How Japan made the world’s first liquor from trees

History is being made by a technology that may help aging rural populations, reinvigorate the nation's struggling forestry sector and shake up the global alcohol industry in unforeseen ways.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 28, 2022

Toshiba’s preferred bid delayed amid loan uncertainty, sources say

Banks are considering issuing commitment letters for loans to a consortium led by Japan Industrial Partners and aren't expected to make a decision until mid-December, later than planned.
Japan Times
LIFE
Nov 28, 2022

Beauty over brains: Japan’s skin-deep university pageants

The contests perpetuate a culture that often places women in rigid gender roles, and have seen some contestants face abuse and harassment from organizers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 28, 2022

There’s a job-market riddle at the heart of the coming recession

Almost three years after COVID-19 hit, companies around the world still complain that they can't get the talent they need.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 25, 2022

Tokyo aims to be 'most startup-friendly' city with new support for firms

The capital, which is aiming for a tenfold increase in 'unicorns' over five years, plans to create a hub for young firms and increase its procurement from such companies.
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2022

Japan to extend nationwide travel discount program

The tourism minister told a news conference that the program will be suspended from Dec. 28 and resumed after the New Year holiday period.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 24, 2022

Musk must preserve Twitter’s most vital function

The platform's experience in Japan shows how it can play a crucial role in providing a public service during times of disaster — if Elon Musk doesn't break it.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Nov 23, 2022

Man United sale would bring unpopular Glazer family's era to an end

The Glazers have been unpopular with the Old Trafford fan base since the day Malcolm Glazer took charge in 2005 with a $934 million takeover that leveraged huge debts upon the club.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 23, 2022

Twitter restores anti-trans accounts and fuels hate, groups say

Advocates say the recent shooting highlights the potential real-world violence that can stem from rhetoric against the trans community.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2022

Japan ramps up Unification Church scrutiny with management and adoption probes

The inquiry into the church's management and financial status is another step toward stripping it of its 'religious corporation' status.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 21, 2022

Pfizer’s RSV vaccine succeeds where others failed

Early data bodes well for Pfizer's RSV shot, which would be given during pregnancy to protect infants in the early months of life.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 20, 2022

Kishida Cabinet loses third minister in less than one month

Terada's exit is likely to further damage the prime minister's public approval ratings and raise questions about his political future.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Nov 20, 2022

On eve of World Cup, FIFA chief says: ‘Don’t criticize Qatar; criticize me'

In an extraordinary hourlong soliloquy delivered one day before the opening game, Gianni Infantino railed against critics of the tournament's first Arab host.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 20, 2022

Malaysian coalitions start maneuvering after hung parliament

Saturday's vote may extend a political crisis that has seen the government change three times in four years.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 19, 2022

North Korea, vowing to counter threats with nukes, says test was of new ICBM

Pyongyang said the Hwasong-17 ICBM launch was part of its 'top-priority defence-building strategy,' with the North labeling the missile 'the strongest strategic weapon in the world.'
U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy speaks with reporters after opening the House floor at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Sept. 18.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 25, 2023

Republicans appeal to conservatives to avert U.S. shutdown

Congress so far has failed to finish any of the 12 regular spending bills to fund federal agency programs in the fiscal year starting on Oct. 1.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo meet Saturday, on the sidelines of the Asian Games.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 25, 2023

South Korea seeks Xi’s visit to mark ‘turning point’ in ties

Seoul is seeking to have Chinese leader Xi Jinping visit for the first time in about a decade, amid South Korea's closer ties with the U.S.
Zaein, created by artificial intelligence company Pulse9, is one of South Korea's most active virtual humans.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 26, 2023

In South Korea, AI-driven virtual humans go mainstream

Digital humans have been created for some of the country's largest conglomerates, with research indicating the tech could be worth $527 billion by 2030.
Anti-war demonstrators mark the 78th anniversary of the United States' 1945 atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima with a march and protest in New York's Times Square on Aug. 6.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 26, 2023

Nuclear specter rises as world marks day for eliminating weapons

The goal of ridding the world of nukes appears more distant than ever as the U.S., Russia and China ramp up activity at their test sites.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (center) leaves after the state commemoration ceremony for fallen soldiers on the 50th anniversary of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, at the Memorial Hall on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 27, 2023

Amid optimism for Saudi-Israeli pact, lingering obstacles remain

U.S. President Joe Biden, whose aides are driving the push, is said to be seeking a deal before his re-election campaign next year.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 27, 2023

Tsushima mayor turns down request for nuclear waste site survey

The mayor expressed his decision at a municipal council meeting, saying that “there is not enough consensus building among citizens.”
In Australia, past El Nino events have led to destructive fire seasons, including the catastrophic Black Summer of 2019-2020.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 22, 2023

Australia hoped to dodge wildfires. El Nino has other plans.

The 1983, 2003, 2007, 2010 and 2015 fire seasons, some of the most damaging in the country’s history, all occurred during El Nino.
A man walks past a television showing a news broadcast featuring a photo of U.S. soldier Travis King, who ran across the border into North Korea while part of a tour group visiting the Demilitarized Zone on South Korea's border, in Seoul, on Aug. 16.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 28, 2023

U.S. soldier in American custody after release from North Korea

U.S. Army soldier Travis King was released by Pyongyang more than two months after he sprinted across the border from the South in July.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 28, 2023

Japan politician Super Crazy-kun indicted on sexual assault charges

Makoto Nishimoto was charged on the grounds of nonconsensual sexual intercourse resulting in injury. The victim was a female acquaintance in her 30s.
From left: Prin, Sen and jiGook of QI.X call themselves one of the first openly queer, transgender K-pop acts.
CULTURE
Sep 30, 2023

Queer K-pop group QI.X wants to change South Korea

In conservative South Korea, few LGBTQ entertainers have ever come out. The young members of QI.X don’t see the point of staying in.
A pedestrian walks past a mobile recruitment point located to promote service in the Russian army and invite volunteers to sign a contract with the Defense Ministry, in a street in Moscow on May 3. The slogan reads: "Our profession is to defend fatherland."
WORLD / Politics
Oct 3, 2023

Russia deploys 'punishment battalions' in echo of Stalin

Drunk recruits, insubordinate soldiers and convicts are part of hundreds who've been pressed into Russian penal units known as "Storm-Z" squads.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Press freedom in India has plummeted since Modi came to power in 2014, rights activists and opposition lawmakers say, with Reporters Without Borders warning that such freedom is "in crisis" in the country.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 4, 2023

Indian police launch sweeping raids on journalists, arresting two

Police said the raids were carried out under a stringent anti-terror law that makes it virtually impossible to get bail.
People walk past the Taiwanese flag in Taipei. Ahead of elections, Taiwan routinely flags the risk of interference from Beijing, saying that China seeks to sway the outcome to benefit candidates who may be more favorable toward the country.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 4, 2023

Beijing has 'diverse' ways of interfering in votes, Taipei warns

Military pressure, economic coercion or fake news could create a false choice between "war or peace" in the election, frightening voters.
Marine ecologist Salvador Jorgensen and his research assistant Dylan Moran observe a shark basking off a beach in central California.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Oct 4, 2023

Climate change draws great white sharks north, threatening ecosystem

The main risk from these predators is not to swimmers and surfers, but to otters.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 5, 2023

NTT Docomo to make online brokerage Monex a subsidiary

With the move, the firm aims to strengthen its revenue base by entering in the field of asset formation services.

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