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A man inspects what remains of his liquor shop which was burnt down by a fire, in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Thursday.
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2024

Death toll rises in Ishikawa as rescue effort continues amid poor weather

Rain and snow might lead to landslides where the ground is loose as a result of continuing quakes.
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.
Pedestrians walk past the Trump International Hotel in Washington. House Democrats have released evidence that the former president took in at least $7.8 million from foreign entities while in office, engaging in the kind of conduct House Republicans are grasping to pin on U.S. President Joe Biden.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 5, 2024

Trump received millions from foreign governments as president: report

The report describes how foreign governments and their controlled entities, including a top U.S. adversary, interacted with Trump businesses.
Carbon capture could help mitigate emissions at polluting power plants, but with the technology largely unproven at scale, it also risks extending their lives.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jan 5, 2024

The world’s next big carbon capture challenge? Figuring out how to use it

Fossil fuel industry's involvement raises fears that the technology might be used to prolong oil and gas extraction, while costs and scalability could limit its utility.
A member of the Air Self-Defense Force searches for survivors at the site of a collapsed building in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2024

Rescue operations in quake-hit Ishikawa brace for bad weather

Poor weather conditions have already hindered efforts to find those still buried under collapsed buildings.
Tsumugi-nen is artificial intelligence talent agency Pictoria's most popular AI Vtuber that has garnered thousands of fans through her content, including streaming for five days straight — something a human can not do.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 5, 2024

Is AI a friend or foe of the Japanese entertainment industry?

While proponents tap the technology's potential, others are worried about the possibility of losing their jobs.
NRA chief Wayne LaPierre speaks at the National Rifle Association annual convention in Indianapolis last April.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 6, 2024

Powerful NRA chief Wayne LaPierre resigns ahead of graft trial

LaPierre, 74, chief executive since 1991, steps down just as New York state Attorney General Letitia James brings a corruption trial against the NRA.
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.
The Gunung Padang pyramid site in Cianjur, West Java, Indonesia, on Dec. 22. A study that concluded it may be "the oldest pyramid in the world” is under investigation by its publisher after fueling debate over the age of the partially excavated site and the ethics of archaeology.
WORLD / Society
Jan 7, 2024

‘World’s oldest pyramid’ in Indonesia? A study draws skepticism

Some have suggested that the site may have been built far earlier by an as-yet-undiscovered ancient civilization.
New study questions the trend of scientific breakthroughs and examines the changing landscape of innovation.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 8, 2024

Have scientific breakthroughs declined?

From curing disease to reducing global warming, there’s no shortage of hard scientific problems crying out for solutions.
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2024

Japan warns of strong quakes over next month as number of missing triples

While the likelihood of another quake occurring with the same magnitude as the one on New Year's Day has decreased, seismic activity continues.
The Yangshan Deepwater Port in Shanghai. China’s manufactured goods surplus relative to global gross domestic product is now around 2%, and an estimated 45% of China’s manufacturing output is being exported as the nation’s 1.4 billion people can’t buy enough goods such as electric vehicles, ships and household appliances to meet the increased supply.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 8, 2024

Xi Jinping’s solution for China’s economy risks triggering new trade war

Manufacturing focus sets up Beijing for renewed tensions with both developed countries and emerging economies pushing to reach the lower rungs of the industrialization.
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.
Self-Defense Force personnel taking part in the earthquake-relief efforts help residents in an isolated village in Ishikawa Prefecture on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 9, 2024

The U.S. role in Japan's domestic disaster relief

The U.S. pledge for support offers another example of how the U.S.-Japan alliance contributes to Japan's domestic disaster relief.
Voters wait in line outside a polling station during the last presidential and legislative elections, in Taipei in January 2020. Taiwan is one of only 53 political systems that require in-person voting.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 10, 2024

To protect election from China, Taiwan disenfranchises thousands of voters

In-person voting is hard to infiltrate, but it also deprives those who can't leave their posts or overseas Taiwanese unable to return from casting ballots.
A supporter of KMT presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih in Taipei on Tuesday
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 10, 2024

Cross-strait relations hang in the balance with Taiwan election

Despite voter fatigue with the DPP and Lai Ching-te’s own lackluster campaign, his opponents have failed to articulate a compelling alternative.
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.
The Bank of Japan is fully prepared to put an end to the world’s last negative interest rate, an ex-official has said.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 11, 2024

BOJ fully prepared to end negative rate, likely in April: ex-official

"They are just waiting for one last push from one or two economic data,” said former board member Makoto Sakurai.
A drone soccer match is demonstrated at CES in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
SPORTS
Jan 12, 2024

Buzz, bump, goal! Drone soccer aims high at CES

There was a loud whirring sound at CES in Las Vegas this week. It wasn't a swarm of insects, but instead a demonstration of drone soccer.
Hiromi Uetake has future plans to turn some of the currently unused rooms of the former elementary school into taprooms for visiting customers.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 14, 2024

Craft beer’s hoppy road to the deep north

Beer drinkers in these occasionally frozen lands now enjoy flavors infused with deep stories and their home prefectures’ splendid natural beauty.
Donald Trump’s wealth and foreign ties are under scrutiny after a new report from Democrats on the House Oversight Committee sheds light on financial conflicts during his presidency. 
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 12, 2024

Trump took $7.8 million in foreign cash while in office. He’d do it again.

National security is at stake if a president puts his or her wallet before the public interest.
People cool off on a beach in Rio de Janeiro in November amid a heat wave.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jan 13, 2024

El Nino could make 2024 hotter than record-setting 2023

The U.S. NOAA predicted there is a 1 in 3 chance that 2024 will be warmer than 2023 — and a 99% certainty that 2024 will rank among the five warmest years ever.
A snow plow drives down an empty street in Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 13, 2024

Coldest weather ever during Iowa caucus threatens Trump’s lead

Caucus-time temperatures on Monday are forecast to be as low as minus 27 degrees Celsius, which would be the coldest ever for the event.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump participates in a livestream event with Iowa’s attorney general, Brenna Bird in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 14, 2024

U.S. presidential election heats up as frigid Iowa tests Trump

With a commanding lead in polls, the ex-president is expected easily to win the Midwestern state's first-in-the-nation vote.
Taiwan President-elect Lai Ching-te and his running mate, Hsiao Bi-khim, attend a rally outside the headquarters of the Democratic Progressive Party in Taipei on Saturday night after winning the presidential election.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 14, 2024

Taiwan chooses continuity in pivotal presidential election

Lai's Democratic Progressive Party party won more than 40% of the roughly 14 million votes cast, but lost its majority in Taiwan’s parliament.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump greets attendees at a campaign rally in Indianola, Iowa, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 15, 2024

The Trump voters in swing states who are returning to the fold

To try to understand his enduring appeal, reporters spoke to five Trump supporters in five general election battleground states.
Takayasu Nikaido talks about the January 1995 earthquake that hit the Kobe area while showing videos he took in the aftermath of the quake.
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2024

Efforts underway to digitize videotapes of 1995 Kobe quake

Japanese manufacturers ended production of videotape players by 2016, and videotapes are said to have a lifespan of about 30 years
Participants take part in a 'senior cafeteria' event at a nursing home in Tokyo's Meguro Ward on Dec. 14.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 21, 2024

‘Senior cafeterias’ gaining steam to support elderly

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government launched a subsidy program this fiscal year for municipalities promoting local dining events.
People walk outside a polling station in Uxbridge, Britain, on July 20.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 16, 2024

Millions more overseas Brits now eligible to vote in U.K. elections

The expansion in the electorate follows a change in the law scrapping a previous curb on U.K. citizens voting if they had lived overseas for over 15 years.
A man rides a scooter over a bridge across from the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai on Jan. 9.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 16, 2024

China set to reach 2023 growth goal as focus shifts to new year

The figures for GDP, industrial production and retail sales are likely to show improvements from the same period in 2022, helped by a low base of comparison.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan