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Few could have predicted what artificial-intelligence proponents are dreaming up these days.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 7, 2023

Wall Street quants see mixed results from chatbots amid AI boom

As AI tools get more sophisticated, companies are updating their presentations to incorporate a positive vocal tone and upbeat sentences, research shows.
A pharmacist holds a box of Novo Nordisk A/S Wegovy brand semaglutide medication.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 7, 2023

Can Wegovy fight alcoholism? For Big Pharma, this isn’t a priority

Reluctance underscores reasons why no new treatment has been approved for alcoholism in nearly 20 years.
After becoming a TikTok trend in Japan in 2022, artist imase’s song “Night Dancer” found popularity abroad in 2023, particularly in South Korea, where it became the first Japanese song to ever enter the nation’s Melon Top 100 Song Chart.
CULTURE / Music / 2023 in Review
Dec 8, 2023

J-pop's global ambitions came closer to reality in 2023

Duo Yoasobi's "Idol" was a true international breakout, while a viral trend turned imase into a pop ambassador between Japan and South Korea.
The destruction of tunnels is advancing Israel’s stated aim of dismantling Hamas infrastructure so the group can’t repeat its deadly Oct. 7 assault. At the same time, it is reducing much of Gaza to rubble.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 8, 2023

Israeli warning on Hamas tunnels means months of destruction

The devastating outcome of a drawn-out campaign against the militant group is likely to leave many of about 2.2 million Palestinians homeless.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. Half of the 52 economists surveyed by Bloomberg said the central bank will scrap its negative rate in April, up from 29% in the October survey.
BUSINESS
Dec 8, 2023

Most BOJ watchers predict end of negative rate regime by April

"The most beautiful scenario is the end of the negative rate in April”
The day after the Fukuoka District Court dismissed her lawsuit questioning the constitutionality of Japan's dual nationality law, Yuri Kondo, 76, was in high spirits as she drove to see family and friends.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 8, 2023

Japan-born U.S. national Yuri Kondo continues dual citizenship fight

The dismissal of her lawsuit over the dual nationality ban has implications for tens of thousands of people, and Kondo says she'll keep fighting for them.
The end-of-year company party has been pretty much on hold for the past few years due to the pandemic. Will people embrace the tradition in bigger numbers as a result?
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 8, 2023

Should we forget the year or forget the party?

After a few years without proper yearend work parties, are Japanese workers ready for a big bash? Or, has the tradition come to an end?
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s future is uncertain as a fund-raising scandal casts a shadow over who will lead the Liberal Democratic Party. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 8, 2023

Unpacking the scandal rocking the LDP to its core

What may be termed as the “faction parties scandal” is a shock to the system that will have deep implications for the Japanese political landscape.
Shipping containers at a commercial port in Vladivostok, Russia, in August
BUSINESS
Dec 9, 2023

Putin's economic challenges are numerous — but surmountable — as election looms

Russia's success in evading a Western oil price cap is helping drive a recovery in economic growth.
Local men survey the damage after an Israeli airstrike on Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, on Dec. 1.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 11, 2023

While Palestinians suffer, Hamas reaps the benefits

Gaining prestige among Palestinians while poisoning Israel’s relations with the Arab world, the group has put the Palestinian issue back on the agenda.
As many as 31 squirrels at the Inokashira Park Zoo in Tokyo are believed to have been accidentally killed with anti-parasitic medicine this month.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2023

Tokyo zoo probes suspected mass squirrel poisoning after 31 die

Keepers at the zoo injected the animals with anti-parasitic medicine earlier this month as part of a sanitary precaution.
Shingo Takashima, a 26-year-old doctor, killed himself three months into his specialty doctor training at a general hospital in Kobe.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Dec 13, 2023

Young doctor’s suicide highlights overwork culture at Japan hospitals

The issue is coming into sharper focus ahead of the April implementation of a legal cap on doctors’ overtime.
Milei won Argentina’s presidency last month by wielding a roaring chainsaw on the campaign trail to symbolize the slashing he planned for the nation’s government.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 13, 2023

Argentina’s new ‘anarcho-capitalist’ president starts slashing

Javier Milei unveiled deep spending cuts and a sharp devaluation of the peso days after taking office, forewarning the nation of the economic pain ahead.
Palestinians gather to receive food rations for their families outside a United Nations warehouse in Rafah, Gaza, on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 11, 2023

International law is failing displaced Gazans

Where international law fails, the international community has the moral imperative to step in and assist displaced Gazans.
Japan head coach Eddie Jones before a game against Scotland at the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Jones will be returning to the post, the Japan Rugby Football Union announced Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Dec 14, 2023

Wounded Eddie Jones has plenty to prove on Japan return

The 63-year-old is revered in Japan for masterminding their "Miracle of Brighton" win over South Africa at the 2015 World Cup.
Newly recruited Houthi fighters march during a parade in Sanaa, Yemen, on Dec. 2.   REUTERS
WORLD
Dec 14, 2023

U.S. working with allies to stop Houthi Red Sea attacks

The Houthis — based in Yemen and backed by Iran — vowed to target Israel’s assets until it abandons its campaign to destroy Hamas.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 14, 2023

Japan’s next-gen fighter project with U.K. and Italy hits milestone

The three countries agreed to establish an intergovernmental organization, divide up work share and set out the roles of each partner.
A law requires the Pentagon to inform Congress and extensively justify any program when costs exceed the original estimate by 15%, 25% or as much as 50% depending on the categories measured.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 15, 2023

New U.S. ballistic missile costs risk project termination

A U.S. Air Force review will take about 45 days before a determination is made as to whether the ICBM program exceeds congressional cost thresholds.
Dodgers owner Mark Walter puts a jersey on Shohei Ohtani during the superstar's introductory news conference on Thursday. The structure of Ohtani's contract could help the Dodgers get a full return on their investment in the two-way player.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 15, 2023

For the Dodgers, Ohtani's megadeal could end up being a bargain

The Dodgers have the makings of a juggernaut, and success on the field will allow the franchise to cash in on Ohtani’s transcendent marketability.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Wednesday
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 15, 2023

Kishida's approval rate falls into dangerous territory amid scandal

The rate is the worst figure for a prime minister from the Liberal Democratic Party in more than a decade.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pays his respects at the graves of Ukrainian soldiers in Lviv on Friday.
WORLD
Dec 16, 2023

Zelenskyy returns to Ukraine with little aid and a raft of needs

Political infighting in Washington and the European Union has blocked further aid to Ukraine.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani leaves a U.S. courthhouse in Washington on Friday
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Dec 16, 2023

Rudy Giuliani ordered to pay $148 million in defamation trial

The jury in federal court in Washington found that Giuliani, a former Trump lawyer, owes the workers after he made false accusations of election-rigging.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after testifying in his civil fraud trial at the State Supreme Court building in Manhattan,  New York, on Nov. 6.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 16, 2023

Material from Russia probe went missing as Trump left office

A binder given to the Trump White House contained details that intelligence agencies believe could reveal secret sources and methods.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda, who took office in April, has been considered a skeptic of negative interest rates.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 17, 2023

One small step for BOJ. One giant leap for the yen.

Japan can hold off on undoing negative interest rates
Smoke rises from damaged buildings in the Gaza Strip on Friday. Washington has appealed to Jordan, Egypt and Gulf states to persuade Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to pursue institutional reforms with urgency to prepare for post-war Gaza.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 18, 2023

U.S. wants overhauled Palestinian Authority to run Gaza after Hamas

Washington considers the Mahmoud Abbas-led administration as the the only realistic post-war solution despite its unpopularity.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he was against banning abortion, but that terminations were against state interests.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 18, 2023

'Give birth to more soldiers': hard-line Russia turns on abortions

Over the last few months a flurry of regions have rushed to restrict abortions in private clinics, yielding to demands from the Russian Orthodox church.
Tiger Woods walks onto the 18th green with his daughter Sam Woods during the PNC Championship at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Dec 18, 2023

Woods optimistic following family weekend at PNC Championship

Woods said his surgically repaired right ankle continues to hold up well and that he recovered quickly after the Hero World Challenge earlier this month.
Michael Bloomberg, U.N. special envoy for climate ambition and solutions, speaks during a summit on methane and other greenhouse gases at COP28 in Dubai on Dec. 2.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2023

What did COP28 achieve?

With pledges to cut methane, among other achievements, COP28 may have helped reduce the costs of decarbonization — an essential stepping stone.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 19, 2023

Prosecutors search sites linked to scandal-hit LDP factions

Prosecutors searched the biggest faction, once led by late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and another led by former LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai.
Koo Yeon-kyung, the eldest daughter of LG's former chairperson Koo Bon-moo, at her home in Seoul on Oct. 3. The death of Koo Bon-moo in 2018 without a will sparked a power struggle within the Koo family and LG over the inheritance of his estimated $1.5 billion fortune — including his 11% stake in the company.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2023

Family split at LG tests corporate succession in South Korea

Wife and daughters of late chairman accuse adopted son and other executives of deception to steal their inheritance to bolster his claim to the company.

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