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Japan might have created the PlayStation brand, but the cost of the latest generation of the console will exclude all but the most hardcore fans.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 18, 2024

PS5 Pro price is a sticker shock for the country that made the PlayStation

With even an entry-level PS5 now costing some ¥72,980 following the latest hike last month, an entire generation of Japanese could be cut off.
Shohei Ohtani connects on his 50th home run of the season during the seventh inning against the Marlins in Miami on Thursday. Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to reach 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 20, 2024

Shohei Ohtani records baseball's first 50-50 season with huge night in Miami

Shohei Ohtani is the first player in MLB history to reach 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season.
Toyota Gazoo Racing fans cheer on the team at the start of the 6 Hours of Fuji race on Sunday at Fuji Speedway in Oyama, Shizuoka Prefecture.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Sep 20, 2024

For Toyota and its rivals, WEC becomes important arena amid major industry shift

Carmakers' involvement in endurance racing has taken on a new level of importance as the auto industry faces a once-a-generation sea change.
A vaccine that can protect against six types of cancer is available: the human papillomavirus vaccine. Despite its proven effectiveness, many parents and others remain hesitant over its use.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 20, 2024

Boys need the HPV cancer vaccine as much as girls

The virus doesn’t only cause cervical cancer, it’s the culprit behind numerous other cancers
Through trial and error, Tashi Gyamtso and his team meticulously selected a variety of herbs and vegetables best suited to Yufuin’s unique altitude, climate and soil conditions — and which now form the backbone of Jimgu's menu.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Sep 22, 2024

Jimgu: A farm-driven restaurant of outstanding local variety

Three years before chef Tashi Gyamtso served his first meal at Jimgu, he arrived in Oita Prefecture to build the farm that stocks his kitchen today.
Argentina's Joel Sclavi (left), Ignacio Calles (center) and Thomas Gallo celebrate after Los Pumas defeated the Springboks on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Sep 22, 2024

Argentina stuns South Africa in 29-28 win to keep title hopes alive

Flyhalf Tomas Albornoz kicked a penalty 11 minutes from the end to hand Argentina a thrilling 29-28 victory over South Africa.
Decades after Bhutan introduced its Gross National Happiness index, the idea that gross domestic product is an inadequate indicator of human well-being and social progress is gaining ground.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 22, 2024

Is gross national happiness the way forward?

The World Happiness Report's top-ranked countries tended to be smaller Western countries, led by Finland. Larger Western economies tend to perform worse.
The Social Democrats secured a narrow victory in the eastern state of Brandenburg, which is home to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Potsdam constituency.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 23, 2024

Scholz escapes another defeat to far right in German state vote

The Social Democrats edged out the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany in Sunday's election in the eastern state of Brandenburg.
Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wants to ensure the developing world isn't left out of the global AI debate.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 23, 2024

Lula seeks to lead push for global AI rules during Brazil’s G20

Lula aims to use November's G20 summit to push for a Global South-focused AI governance framework and pressure China and the U.S. to engage.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to kill thousands of barred owls in California, Oregon and Washington to protect the endangered spotted owl.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 23, 2024

If killing one species might save another, should we do it?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to kill thousands of barred owls in California, Oregon and Washington to protect the endangered spotted owl.
The Padres' Yu Darvish recorded his 2,000th MLB strikeout during a win over the White Sox on Sunday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 23, 2024

Yu Darvish becomes first Japan-born player to reach 2,000 strikeouts in MLB

Darvish and the Padres were hoping to clinch a playoff berth on Sunday, with the results in other games set to determine that.
Kioxia has scrapped its plan for an initial public offering in October, sources have said.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 24, 2024

Chipmaker Kioxia scraps IPO planned for October after market sell-off

Shares in peers Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron Technology are currently around a third lower than recent highs.
The Justice Ministry said there are now over 250,000 specified skilled foreign workers.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2024

Number of specified skilled visa holders in Japan surpasses 250,000

The government is aiming to attract 820,000 foreign workers under the specified skilled worker program over a five-year period through April 2029.
EV cars are pictured inside BYD's first electric vehicle (EV) factory in Southeast Asia, a fast-growing regional EV market where it has become the dominant player, in Rayong, Thailand, on July 4.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 25, 2024

Biden's car-tech ban is a powerful new weapon against Chinese EVs

The ban on Chinese hardware and software, announced by the U.S. Commerce Department, is the Biden administration's latest salvo.
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Vietnam's President and ruling Communist Party Chief To Lam on the sidelines of the 79th session of the United National General Assembly in New York on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 26, 2024

Biden meets with Vietnam leader to counter ties with China and Russia

A senior U.S. official said the two leaders discussed how to accelerate a strategic partnership agreed to last year.
“A Whisper in the Eye of the Storm,” by Canadian artists Caitlind R. C. Brown and Wayne Garrett is an outdoor installation of around 14,000 recycled lenses of varied prescriptions.
CULTURE / Art
Sep 27, 2024

Weather makes for an unpredictable artist at Nagano art festival

Fram Kitagawa’s Northern Alps Art Festival embraces its inconvenient location and the natural elements.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's special adviser on business, Varun Chandra, used to run Hakluyt, a consultancy that does not disclose its clients.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 27, 2024

Starmer’s ‘business whisperer’ brings connections and complications from past

Varun Chandra‘s previous role in charge of a secretive consultancy introduces a complexity to a government that’s vowed to rebuild trust in public institutions.
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and his teammates celebrate after the club clinched the National League West with a 7-2 victory over the Padres at Dodger Stadium on Thursday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 27, 2024

Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers top Padres to seal NL West title

Will Smith had a game-tying two-run homer and Mookie Betts added a two-run single in the seventh for the Dodgers.
A Russian Yars intercontinental ballistic missile system drives past an honor guard during a military parade on Victory Day in Red Square in central Moscow on May 9.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 27, 2024

Putin draws a nuclear red line for the West

Experts are debating how seriously to take Putin's new nuclear doctrine.
Out of a total of 509,373 foreign technical trainees, 1.9% went missing in 2023, according to Immigration Services Agency data.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 27, 2024

Record number of technical trainees go missing in Japan in 2023

Of the total, 1,765 were Myanmar nationals who had fled conflict in their home country.
Musician Koshi Inaba is the latest artist to be featured on national broadcaster NHK’s Tiny Desk Concerts Japan. Based on a series from America’s National Public Radio, Japan’s version has spotlighted acts that you likely wouldn’t see stateside, like veteran rockers Kirinji and upstart pop artist yama.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 28, 2024

NHK furthers global reach with Tiny Desk Concerts Japan

Musician Koshi Inaba delivered a rollicking set for the stripped-down music series that brings cherry-picked Japanese acts you likely wouldn’t see stateside to new ears.
Intel, once the world’s largest chipmaker, has become the target of takeover speculation since a rapid deterioration of its business this year.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 28, 2024

Arm is rebuffed by Intel after inquiring about buying product unit

Intel, once the world’s largest chipmaker, has become the target of takeover speculation since a rapid deterioration of its business this year.
An employee works on the production line of Nio electric vehicles at a JAC-NIO manufacturing plant in Hefei, Anhui province, in China in 2022.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 30, 2024

China's factory and service sectors skid as stimulus calls grow

The data showed China's manufacturing industry remains a pain point for policymakers, who acknowledged the economy faces "new problems."
Then-Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte addresses a joint news conference with his Finnish counterpart in Helsinki on June 13.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 30, 2024

Trump to Putin: The key challenges facing NATO's new secretary-general

With Russia's war in Ukraine raging through a third year and its leading power the United States set for a crunch election, NATO is grappling with major challenges.
People take shelter on Tuesday during an air raid in central Israel after Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at the country. Iran has targeted Israel twice in recent months with little to show for its efforts, risking further loss of credibility in the region.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 2024

Iran’s missile salvo was yet another strategic blunder

The intended message was clear — we don’t want a real war, but if it comes to one, look what we can do. And yet the attack projected weakness instead.
An electronic ticker at the Tokyo Stock Exchange
BUSINESS
Oct 4, 2024

More stocks trade below book value in Japan despite reforms

About 38% of Topix 500 companies were trading below book value as of the end of September.
For one night in Tokyo last month, Daniel Calvert (left) and Quique Dacosta brought their wildly different culinary styles together into a remarkable service.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 6, 2024

A meeting of Michelin minds at Tokyo's Sezanne

Daniel Calvert says no to most requests for pop-ups at two-Michelin-starred Sezanne — except when the chance to work with three-starred Quique Dacosta came up.
Digital minister Taro Kono attends an Upper House committee session in June. The cautioning of Kono over his use of his smartphone to respond to a question in the Upper House last November attracted significant attention and led to a bipartisan call for digital transformation within parliament.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 4, 2024

Digitalization advances gradually in Japan's parliament

Improvement plans have been adopted but certain practices, such as the use of tablets at the podium during plenary sessions, remain off-limits.
A tea field in Makinohara, the birthplace of Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda, in August. The city in Shizuoka Prefecture, which once thrived on a now-declining tea industry, exemplifies disparities between Japan's struggling rural areas and its bustling megacities.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 4, 2024

In Bank of Japan chief's birthplace, Ueda's policy puzzle is laid bare

Makinohara's mayor says the Shizuoka Prefecture surf town is not keeping pace with Japan's broader recovery.
Paul Watson speaks at a news conference on the sidelines of the U.N. climate summit in Paris in December 2015.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 4, 2024

Japan says Paul Watson case 'nothing to do with whaling'

The co-founder of Sea Shepherd was arrested in Greenland in July on an arrest warrant issued by Japan.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years