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JAPAN / Politics
Jan 30, 2024

Japan foreign minister brushes off controversial remarks by Taro Aso

Yoko Kamikawa appeared unfazed after Aso called her an old lady and said she's "not that good looking.”
Mario Andretti is "devastated" that his team's bid to join Formula One was rejected on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Feb 1, 2024

Formula One rejects Andretti's bid to join circuit

Racing legend Mario Andretti said he was devastated after learning his team's bid to join Formula One was rejected.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivers his keynote address at the f8 Developers Conference in San Francisco in 2011.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 1, 2024

Facebook, the social network old-timer, turns 20

"Facebook, when it launched, was revolutionary"
A Japan Airlines jet is on fire at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Jan. 2.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 7, 2024

Japan air traffic controllers call for 'significant' staff increase

Last year, the number of air traffic control staff in Japan dropped to its lowest level in at least 19 years, according to transport ministry data.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 8, 2024

Cyber and phone fraud cases in Japan surge, marking 15-year high

National Police Agency officials say that it is premature to conclude that public safety in Japan has deteriorated.
Kansas City Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Feb 12, 2024

Chiefs edge 49ers in overtime to win Super Bowl

The win makes Kansas City the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls since the New England Patriots.
Indonesian Defense Minister and presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto salutes supporters during a campaign rally in Jakarta on Feb. 2.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 12, 2024

How could Indonesia’s presidential vote affect foreign relations?

While all three candidates portend continuity with their predecessor, only the front-runner vows more visible leadership in the region.
Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant driver Fernando Alonso (front) during the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix on Nov. 18
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Feb 13, 2024

Alonso says he is 'attractive' to other F1 teams

Fernando Alonso said he is "attractive" to other Formula One teams but denied any contact with Mercedes, after Lewis Hamilton announced he was quitting to drive for Ferrari in 2025.
Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto votes at a polling station during the general election in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 14, 2024

Prabowo on track to win Indonesia’s presidential election

This is Prabowo’s third time to run for the country’s top job, after losing in 2014 and 2019 to incumbent Joko "Jokowo" Widodo.
Nvidia's shares slipped 0.17% on Tuesday, leaving its stock market value at $1.78 trillion, eclipsing Amazon's $1.75 trillion value after the online shopping and cloud-computing heavyweight's stock declined 2.15%.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 14, 2024

Nvidia market cap threatens Alphabet after overtaking Amazon

The chipmaker's stock market value at the end of Tuesday's trading session was $1.78 trillion, while that of Google's owner was $1.81 trillion.
U.S. Special Envoy on North Korean Human Rights Issues Julie Turner speaks to media at the U.S. embassy in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 15, 2024

U.S. supports Japan's push for talks with North Korea, envoy says

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told parliament last week that he wants to hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
An in-house design by Yamagiwa, the Sui drop-shaped light uses traditional Japanese chōchin lantern techniques and is made with Mino washi paper.
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Feb 17, 2024

Japan-made standouts from one of Paris' biggest design fairs

Maison & Objet is now such a popular event that it is often nicknamed the Paris Fashion Week of the interior design industry.
Protesters hold a Palestinian flag as they gather outside the International Court of Justice as judges rule on emergency measures against Israel following accusations by South Africa that the Israeli military operation in Gaza is a state-led genocide, in The Hague on Jan 24.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 19, 2024

U.N. court to weigh consequences of Israel occupation

Nations including the United States, Russia and China will address judges in a weeklong session at the Peace Palace in The Hague.
Washington Nationals relief pitcher Dylan Floro during spring training workouts in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Feb 20, 2024

Owners say MLB's Nationals no longer for sale

Under the tenure of the Lerner family, the Nationals have reached the playoffs five times.
When Fighters interpreter Shinju Sakuma set her mind on becoming a language liaison in sports, she picked a sport she enjoyed watching and an employer who thinks outside the box.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Feb 26, 2024

Rookie female interpreter provides voice for foreign baseball stars in Japan

Shinju Sakuma, who will graduate from Rikkyo University in Tokyo this spring, is believed to be the first female interpreter in NPB history.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 27, 2024

What to know about the ethics committee probing the LDP funds scandal

When the committee convenes later this week, at least five senior ruling party officials are expected to testify on what they knew about the scandal.
Warriors guard Stephen Curry drives to the basket during a game against the Wizards on Tuesday.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Feb 28, 2024

Stephen Curry is battling the clock to win over sneaker fans

Curry, 35, is still a commanding presence in the NBA, but he has work to do when it comes to winning over "sneakerheads."
Migrant workers harvest and package vegetables in a greenhouse in Gasan-myeon, South Korea, in December.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Mar 3, 2024

South Korea needs foreign workers, but often fails to protect them

Though a shrinking population makes imported labor vital, migrant workers routinely face predatory employers, inhumane conditions and other abuse.
A woman holds a picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin during a rally organized by Serbian ultra nationalist organizations in Belgrade in 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 12, 2024

As Russia prepares to vote, Putin's sights remain set on new world order

Running for a fifth term in office this week, the Russian president has built up a system of domestic repression almost certain to guarantee his success.
Built for two artists, Ishii House is a simple, rectangular timber structure with a double-height window facing the veranda.
LIFE / Style & Design
Mar 16, 2024

Architecture of community won Riken Yamamoto the Pritzker Prize

Unlike many other laureates, Yamamoto is not a household name. But his work and approach have long been admired within the Japanese architectural scene.
Nearly half of married couples in Japan are “sexless,” a recent survey shows.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 18, 2024

Nearly half of Japanese married couples are 'sexless,' survey finds

The most common reasons include “my partner doesn’t respond to my advances" for men, and “it’s too much hassle” for women.
Awang Suang trims weeds from palm trees on his small plantation in Membakut, Malaysia on Feb. 12. He has been cultivating oil palms for more than 50 years after switching from rubber trees. Palms require less labor and produce more frequent harvests — roughly every two weeks, year round — providing a steadier income, he explained.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Mar 18, 2024

Can Europe save forests without killing jobs in Malaysia?

A new regulation aims to rid the palm oil supply chain of imports that come from former forestland.
Known in Hokkaido business circles as an internationalist due to his close ties with the United States and the International Olympics Committee, Yoshiro Ito headed dozens of Hokkaido and national organizations during his decadeslong career.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Mar 25, 2024

Hokkaido mourns Yoshiro Ito, promoter of Japan-U.S. ties

Ito was known in Hokkaido business circles as an internationalist due to his close ties with the United States.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 22, 2024

Seibu may sell 36-story Tokyo office building for ¥300 billion, sources say

Japan's highest value property transaction is currently the ¥436 billion sale by the government in 2022 of its stake in another Tokyo office building.
People lay flowers at a makeshift memorial near Crocus City Hall, a concert venue outside Moscow that was the site of a mass shooting on Friday night.
WORLD
Mar 24, 2024

Deadly Moscow attack shatters Putin’s security promise to Russians

The tragedy outside Moscow is a blow to a leader riding an aura of confidence only days after a stage-managed election victory.
People lay flowers at a makeshift memorial Saturday near the Crocus City Hall, a popular concert venue where more than 130 people were killed Friday night in an attack outside Moscow.
WORLD
Mar 24, 2024

Russia mourns victims of deadly concert hall attack as airstrikes rock Ukraine

A national day of mourning over the attack was declared as Russian forces unleashed a fresh large-scale missile barrage against Ukraine.
Takeru Satoh (right) and Masami Nagasawa play an engaged couple whose relationship is put to the test by memories of an earlier romance in Tomokazu Yamada’s “April, Come She Will.”
CULTURE / Film
Mar 28, 2024

‘April, Come She Will’ promises more than it delivers

Tomokazu Yamada’s ruminative romantic drama sets out to interrogate love story cliches, but ends up succumbing to them.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga (left) and Yuichiro Tamaki (right), leader of the Democratic Party for the People, hold a party leaders' debate in June 2021.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 28, 2024

Is Japan-style 'question time' facing abolition in parliament?

Both ruling and opposition parties have shown a lack of enthusiasm for holding such events, with some forces even advocating for its abolition.
China coach Li Tie reacts during a soccer match between China and Australia in Qatar in September 2021.
SOCCER
Mar 29, 2024

Former China coach pleads guilty to taking millions in bribes

"Li Tie made his final statement, pleaded guilty and expressed remorse," a court said.
Instead of entering its recent operating loss as negative retained earnings, the European Central Bank treated it as a positive asset on its balance sheet, which is being criticized as misleading.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 28, 2024

Central banks need to be more transparent about losses

The ECB, Fed and other central banks would do well to abandon financial machinations, work out recapitalization agreements and prepare for large losses.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’