Search - 2023

 
 
Simon Humphries, head of design at Toyota, speaks during the world premier of the new Land Cruiser in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 2, 2023

Toyota’s iconic Land Cruiser returns to North America

The world’s biggest carmaker has unveiled three variations of one of its most enduring models, starting at around $50,000.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Aug 2, 2023

Hakuoho hints at what's to come with breakout makuuchi debut

Last month's Nagoya Basho may have just been the coming out party for sumo’s newest superstar.
Migrants at a base near Tripoli hand out food to other migrants after they were detained by the Libyan navy in September 2015.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 2, 2023

An immigration wake-up call

Well-designed immigration policies in advanced economies could ease inflationary labor-market shortages and preventing humanitarian tragedies.
Storage tanks containing treated radioactive water at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings' Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Futaba, Fukuahima Prefecture, on July 21
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 2, 2023

Tepco back to profit in first quarter on lower fuel cost

The firm paid ¥50.3 billion in compensation in the first quarter of the 2023 fiscal year, which began in April, it said in a statement.
Alpine's Pierre Gasly and his teammate, Esteban Ocon, during the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Aug 3, 2023

Alpine facing more upheaval a year on from Oscar Piastri saga

On track, the team has slumped from fourth last season to a distant sixth and suffered more retirements than any team.
An S-400 surface-to-air missile system outside the town of Gvardeysk, near Kaliningrad, Russia, in March 2019. The S-400 is one of the defense items India has procured from Russia.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Aug 15, 2023

A new tide of weapons imports, production and development

Some countries are beginning to diversify when looking for partners for their arms needs.
Kansai Electric Power's Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 3, 2023

Japan's nuclear restarts this year to hasten LNG import decline

Kansai Electric Power's plan next month to relaunch the last idle reactor at its flagship nuclear plant will mark an energy shift in Japan.
Four Italian Air Force F-35 fighter jets are lined up next to an Air Self-Defense Force F-15 fighter shortly after arriving at Komatsu Air Base in Ishikawa Prefecture on Friday evening in this image posted to the base's official X social media account.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2023

Japan and Italy to elevate ties with first joint fighter drills

The drills highlight how Rome and Tokyo are expanding defense and security ties as their strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific converge.
Japan midfielder Hikaru Naomoto (right) and Spain's Aitana Bonmati compete for the ball during their Group C match at the Women's World Cup at Wellington Stadium on July 31.
SOCCER / Women's World cup
Aug 4, 2023

Nadeshiko Japan taking momentum into Women's World Cup knockout stage

Japan stormed through the group stage at the Women's World Cup with three dominant wins, and playmaker Yui Hasegawa says it is vital that it maintains that level of performance against Norway in Saturday's last 16 clash.
Australian players celebrate after a goal by Haley Raso (second from left) against Canada, during their Group B match at the Women's World Cup in Melbourne on July 31.
SOCCER
Aug 5, 2023

Women's World Cup on pace to smash attendance records

So far, more than 1.2 million fans have passed through the turnstiles, and organizers now expect that figure to rise to 1.9 million.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Aug 4, 2023

Somalia suspends athletics chair after sprinter's slow time goes viral

Somalia's minister of youth and sports suspended the chairwoman of the country's athletics federation and is set to initiate legal action after a female sprinter took more than 21 seconds to complete the 100 meter at the World University Games.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping attends the joint news conference of the China-Central Asia Summit in Xian, China, in May.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 5, 2023

Xi spent two days outside China in 2023 as problems mount

Mounting domestic problems from a faltering economy to rare political scandals have demanded the Chinese leader's attention at home.
An installation for The North Face Moon Parka, which uses a Spiber-produced protein material
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Aug 6, 2023

A Japanese startup is using biotech to ‘brew’ greener fashion

Fashion has a huge environmental impact, and Spiber thinks its products can help curb the industry's footprint.
A stock board at an intersection in Shanghai in October
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 6, 2023

China is losing out as global funds chase returns in Japan stocks

Foreign buying of Japanese equities has exceeded that of Chinese peers for the first time since 2017, according to a Goldman Sachs Group report.
A farmer plants rice seedlings using a rice transplanter in a paddy field in Kobe in June.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2023

Japan's demand for rice falls 10 years in a row

As demand wanes, the agriculture ministry has begun urging farmers to switch to growing soybeans and wheat, as well as rice used for animal feed.
An Air Self-Defense Force Kawasaki C-2 military transport aircraft is put on display at the Dubai Air Show in November 2019.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2023

Japan mulls mounting long-range missiles on C-2 transporters

The missiles could be used for operations to attack enemy bases such as missile launch sites in counterstrike operations.
A highway runs through Saudi Arabia's arid landscape. A new horticulture project marks the biggest food-tech investment for the country, whose extreme summer temperatures have long left it reliant on food imports.
WORLD
Aug 7, 2023

Saudi city of future enlists Dutch help to grow crops in desert

The Netherlands is now the world’s second-largest agricultural exporter after the U.S., despite being one of Europe’s smallest nations.
A participant operates the "Flappy Bird," a self-made flying machine, during an event in Hong Kong in May 2014. Vietnam first caught the attention of global gamers in 2013 after Hanoi developer Dong Nguyen created, Flappy Bird, a simple but addictive game app.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 7, 2023

A decade after Flappy Bird, Vietnam becomes gaming powerhouse

Moving beyond outsourced software and sneaker factories, Hanoi views mobile games as a crucial part of its emerging tech sector.
Eisuke Sakakibara, former top finance official, says Japanese authorities are unlikely to intervene in foreign exchange markets to prop up the yen.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2023

Japan's 'Mr. Yen' Sakakibara expects no intervention

The yen has fallen around 14% since the Fed began rapidly raising rates to combat soaring inflation in March 2022.
A camp of informal gold miners in Los Amigos, in the Madre de Dios region, Peru. The Peruvian government estimates that illegal miners dump about 180 metric tons of mercury in Madre de Dios annually.
WORLD
Aug 7, 2023

Gold mining in the Amazon poisoning scores of threatened species

Miners in southeast Peru use mercury to find gold — inadvertently contaminating hundreds of species native to the area.
Sweden goalkeeper Zecira Musovic makes a save against the United States during their match at the Women's World Cup in Melbourne on Sunday.
SOCCER / Women's World cup
Aug 7, 2023

Sweden's Zecira Musovic 'in the zone' ahead of clash with Japan

The Chelsea stopper exploded on the global stage with her breathtaking performance in the penalty shootout win against the defending champion U.S.
U.S. star Megan Rapinoe reacts after the team's loss against Sweden in the round of 16 at the Women's World Cup in Melbourne on Sunday. Rapinoe is among the U.S. veterans who might have played in the World Cup for the final time.
SOCCER / Women's World cup
Aug 7, 2023

United States' Women's World Cup exit signals end of dominant era

This edition of the Women's World Cup confirmed that the rest of the world has caught up to the Americans.
Australia's Sam Kerr (left) and head coach Tony Gustavsson celebrate after progressing to the quarterfinals of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Sydney on Monday.
SOCCER / Women's World cup
Aug 8, 2023

Sam Kerr returns as Australia downs Denmark to reach quarters

Kerr, who has been absent with a calf injury, came on as a 78th-minute substitute to the biggest roar of the night from the crowd of 75,784.
A busy 2024 schedule will see the PGA Tour expand to 36 events for the first time since 2012.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 8, 2023

Pebble Beach joins signature stops as PGA unveils 2024 schedule

The PGA Tour unveiled a lineup of 36 tournaments in a calendar-year schedule for the first time since 2012.
Taro Aso, a former prime minister and current vice president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, speaks during the Ketagalan Forum in Taipei on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 8, 2023

Taiwan situation ‘tilting toward emergency,’ former Japan PM says

Taro Aso said this shift was “definitely not out of the blue” but was now “more evident,” pointing to military exercises by China around Taiwan.
U.S. President Joe Biden is flanked by Labor Secretary Marty Walsh (left) and Celeste Drake while delivering remarks at the White House in Washington in 2022.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 9, 2023

Biden's top labor adviser exits as U.S. navigates strikes: source

The departure comes at a critical time for an administration dealing with a summer of labor unrest.
New Zealand's Football Ferns earned their first-ever Women's World Cup win in their Group A opener against Norway on July 20.
SOCCER / Women's World cup
Aug 9, 2023

Kiwi players hope World Cup leaves legacy in rugby-mad homeland

Half of the tournament's 32 teams were based in New Zealand, often sharing training facilities with local clubs.
Sven Hannemann manages the forest surrounding Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, Germany. Its ancient oak trees are suffering from drought induced by climate change.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 9, 2023

In Germany's Versailles, drought is killing ancient trees

Drought induced by climate change is decimating trees in Potsdam's Sanssouci Palace, forcing park managers to rethink its centuries-old forest.
Now in their fourth year, Hong Kong's security crackdowns have led to the exodus of hundreds of thousands of people, resulting in grave manpower shortages and a stain on the city's image as place to do business.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 9, 2023

Hong Kong needs to protect its image as a financial center

In Lee’s view, while reviving Hong Kong’s role as a global financial center, it is vital to continue the crackdown on perceived threats.
Phillies starter Michael Lorenzen is doused with water by teammate Alec Bohm after throwing a no-hitter against the Nationals in Philadelphia on Wednesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 10, 2023

Michael Lorenzen tosses no-hitter in home debut for Phillies

Lorenzen struck out five and walked four in a remarkable 124-pitch outing as the Phillies completed a 7-0 victory at Citizens Bank Park.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami