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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shakes hands with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a high-level Security Council meeting on the situation in Ukraine on the sidelines of the 78th U.N. General Assembly, at the U.N. headquarters in New York City on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 22, 2023

As Kishida takes center stage, Japan's diplomacy enters a new phase

The prime minister looks set to take on a larger role in representing the country on the world stage as he struggles to build a legacy domestically.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda during a news conference at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Friday
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 22, 2023

BOJ maintains its dovish monetary easing amid policy speculation

Comments by Gov. Kazuo Ueda in an interview earlier this month had sparked speculation that the BOJ might move to change policy at an earlier date.
Visual AI allows us to see more than meets the eye when looking at cities like Tokyo.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 22, 2023

AI will show us the future of cities, if we guide the way

Visual AI can help us better see our cities, from crime rates to property values, but only human intelligence can tell the forest from the trees.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 22, 2023

Is this the end for Japan’s iconic Studio Ghibli?

It’s tough to find an appropriate analogy for the Ghibli sale; the only one that comes close is Disney's purchase of Pixar for $7.4 billion in 2006.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel gives a speech at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 23, 2023

U.S. envoy to Japan slams China in speech and social media post

Rahm Emanuel posted pictures of Chinese boats he said were fishing near Japan despite Beijing's seafood ban over the Fukushima water release.
Light from the opening ceremony of the 2022 Asian Games in the sky over the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium in Hangzhou, China on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 24, 2023

China opens Hangzhou Asian Games with dazzling ceremony

Spectators in the city's 80,000 capacity stadium let out a huge roar as Chinese leader Xi Jinping was introduced and sat with visiting dignitaries.
Katsuura in Chiba Prefecture — around 90 minutes by express train from Tokyo — has never seen the mercury climb above 35 degrees Celsius, a benchmark the meteorological agency uses to describe “extremely hot” weather, since records began in the city in 1906.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Sep 24, 2023

Japan’s endless summer pushes some toward cooler places

Amid a summerlong heat wave, more people are showing interest in moving to places like Katsuura that are known for their milder temperatures.
Apart from the direct economic costs, governments that conspire to thwart the dollar system risk losing America’s security guarantees as well.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 20, 2023

The greenback’s full-spectrum dominance is here to stay

Debates about the future of the international monetary system often fail to appreciate the greenback’s full-spectrum dominance.
Australia head coach Eddie Jones directs his team before their match against Wales at the Rugby World Cup in Lyon, France, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Sep 25, 2023

Eddie Jones affirms commitment to Australia despite link to Japan job

Jones previously coached Japan for three years from 2012 and led the Brave Blossoms to a stunning upset of South Africa at the 2015 World Cup.
Amgen's office in South San Francisco, California
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 25, 2023

Big Pharma bets on AI to speed up clinical trials

AI is playing a sizeable and growing role in human drug trials.
Rupert Murdoch in his office in New York in 2007. Murdoch's decision to step down from the boards of News Corp. and Fox Corp. marks the end of a decadeslong media career.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 25, 2023

Rupert Murdoch, the last of the press barons

No living person has influenced the media landscape like Rupert Murdoch. Should we view his career in a favorable light, or is his legacy one of darkness?
Steve Kerr, who coached Team USA at the recent FIBA Basketball World Cup, is entering the final year of his contract with the Warriors.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Sep 26, 2023

Steve Kerr sees future at Warriors despite expiring contract

Kerr has led the Warriors to four NBA championships since taking over as coach in 2014.
U.S. President Joe Biden poses for a photograph with Pacific Islands Forum leaders on the South Portico of the White House in Washington on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 26, 2023

Biden seeks to reassure Pacific islands in push to counter China

U.S. President Joe Biden sought to reaffirm Washington’s commitment to the Pacific islands as he again hosted leaders from the region at the White House.
Anon Numpa, a prominent activist and former human rights lawyer, speaks to media ahead of a Thai criminal court's verdict in a case of him allegedly having insulted the monarchy, at the criminal court in Bangkok on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Sep 27, 2023

Top Thai protest leader jailed on royal insult charges

Thailand has some of the world's strictest royal defamation laws, which shield King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his close family from criticism.
Packages to be delivered on Amazon Prime Day in New York in 2022
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 27, 2023

Why Amazon’s online marketplace drew FTC scrutiny

The FTC’s case against Amazon is an important test of whether Lina Khan’s interpretation of the law will hold up in court.
Members of the United Auto Workers pickett outside of the Michigan Parts Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 27, 2023

Japanese automakers stand to gain from Detroit’s labor strike

Many firms receive a large percentage of their overall revenue from U.S. markets, so the labor action there may give a tailwind to Japanese carmakers.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Sep 27, 2023

Frustrating September tournament contained silver linings

The worst possible outcome for a playoff has set up an even more intriguing storyline for the final grand tournament of the year in November.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has overseen foreign policy successes during his two years in power, including on the nation's approach to development aid and climate change.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 28, 2023

Kishida's mixed bag of successes and shortcomings

Kishida has also been adept in terms of diplomacy in at least four areas: the war in Ukraine, the Taiwan issue, development aid and South Korea relations.
The cast of Chelfitsch’s play “The Window of Spaceship ‘In-Between’” includes individuals with different levels of Japanese-language proficiency. They participated in workshops hosted by the theater company to promote more inclusivity in Japanese theater.
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 29, 2023

Chelfitsch challenges Japanese theater's language barriers

The theater company questions the status quo of the Japanese stage by casting non-native speakers in new project, 'The Window of Spaceship "In-Between."'
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets Russian President Vladimir Putin on  Sept. 13.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 28, 2023

Mystery Russian plane in Pyongyang stokes concerns of arms deals

Data from FlightRadar24 indicates the plane returned to Russia on Thursday after having been on the ground in North Korea for about two days.
Aoi Suzuki and her two sons head back down to a barbecue after watching the sun set.
PODCAST / deep dive
Sep 28, 2023

Traveling Okinawa with a broken heart

Writer and photographer Lance Henderstein reads us his article on traveling Okinawa during the rainy season.
The race to develop ever bigger and more efficient wind turbines may have been too hasty, some executives and analysts said.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / ANALYSIS
Sep 29, 2023

Wind power industry drifts off course

The race to reduce reliance on fossil fuels is putting pressure on manufacturers and supply chains
Jessica Gerrity says kyūdō is for everyone. It's just a matter of finding a dojo that fits you best.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Sep 30, 2023

‘Archery gives me a chance to decompress from a busy life’

Gerrity is trained in several forms of traditional Japanese martial arts and works to promote Japanese culture as a tourism ambassador.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 29, 2023

With help from GM, Honda tries again in U.S. EV market

The carmaker unveiled the brand’s first electric SUV on Thursday, marking a renewed push into fully electric vehicles.
French President Emmanuel Macron, then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel and then-U.S. President Donald Trump during a photo opportunity at a NATO leaders summit in the U.K. in 2019.
WORLD
Sep 29, 2023

Europe is trying to ‘Trump proof’ the transatlantic relationship

Trump, 77, holds a commanding lead over his rivals in the contest for the Republican nomination, despite his mounting legal troubles.
The Mikomotojima Lighthouse in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture, was designed by Richard Henry Brunton, a Scotsman who was employed by the Meiji government to build lighthouses across Japan in the 19th century. In "The Japan Lights," author Iain Maloney connects his personal travels and experiences in Japan to Brunton's pursuits.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 1, 2023

'The Japan Lights' traces a journey of self-discovery in the wake of 3/11

Iain Maloney's wise book connects his travels in Japan to the pursuits of Richard Henry Brunton, a Scotsman who built lighthouses across the country.
A farmer at his cocoa farm in Gabeadji near San Pedro, Cote d'Ivoire, in January
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 1, 2023

Chocolate could get even pricier if Africa’s cocoa crop flops

Cocoa prices have soared on fears that bad weather and crop disease will hurt output in Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana, which make up two-thirds of world supply.
A harvest at a palm oil plantation in Khammam, India, in 2022
BUSINESS
Oct 1, 2023

Aging trees show a crisis looms for the world’s everything oil

Malaysia and Indonesia provide 85% the world's most versatile edible oil — but their trees are growing old, and replacing them is expensive.
A video grab shows the acting President of Myanmar's National Unity Government, Duwa Lashi La, speaking during an interview from an undisclosed location in Myanmar, in November 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 2, 2023

Myanmar resistance leader claims majority control over territory

Violence has intensified as the military dictatorship faces a crumbling economy, growing dissent and a multi-front conflict.
The U.S. Supreme Court justices
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Oct 3, 2023

Curtain rises on new term for conservative U.S. Supreme Court

The nine-month legal journey that will test how far its 6-3 conservative majority is willing to steer American law in a rightward direction.

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