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Having grown up in North Carolina, where people are chatty and friendly, Duane Levi says Kansai and Osaka in particular had a similar vibe.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Sep 27, 2024

Duane Levi: 'Once you are able to create something that has sustainability … you’re going to get help and support.'

Unable to get a job in PA and recording, Duane Levi forged his own path in the Japanese music scene and has introduced many artists to the market here.
An aerial view of damaged houses are seen after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Horseshoe Beach, Florida, on Saturday.
WORLD
Sep 29, 2024

U.S. southeast faces daunting cleanup from Helene as death toll rises

Damage estimates range between $95 billion and $110 billion, potentially making this one of the most expensive storms in modern U.S. history.
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani hits a single against the Rockies during the eighth inning in Denver on Sunday.
BASEBALL
Sep 30, 2024

Shohei Ohtani misses out on Triple Crown in final game of historic season

Ohtani finished with a .310 average after going 1-for-4. He also stole his 59th base of the year.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola addresses a news conference in Bratislava on Monday.
SOCCER
Oct 1, 2024

Guardiola promises strong City side in Slovan Champions League tie

Team will play without Rodri, who will miss the rest of the season after suffering a serious knee injury.
The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington on June 1
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Oct 3, 2024

Guns and transgender rights cases loom as U.S. Supreme Court returns

The justices return from their summer recess under intense scrutiny by many politicians and the public.
Students hold posters of Hassan Nasrallah, the assassinated chief of Lebanon's Hezbollah, during a rally in Sanaa, Yemen, on Wednesday.
WORLD
Oct 3, 2024

Iran's Khamenei warned Nasrallah of Israeli plot to kill him, sources say

Iran is now deeply worried about Israeli infiltration of senior government ranks in Tehran, three Iranian sources said.
People walk with water collected from a truck following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Asheville, North Carolina, on Wednesday.
WORLD
Oct 3, 2024

Many in North Carolina still without water after Helene's destruction

The powerful storm inundated the western part of Georgia in the U.S. with catastrophic flooding, destroying pipes, damaging water plants and cutting off power.
A flag with the logo of the COP29 United Nations Climate Change Conference in front of the Baku Olympic Stadium, the venue of the summit, in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Sept. 19
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Oct 7, 2024

Environment takes center stage as global summits loom

The upcoming session isn't expected to break new ground but will take stock of progress since the last summit secured historic assurances for biodiversity.
Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe (left) in action against Villarreal's Santi Comesana in Madrid on Saturday
SOCCER
Oct 8, 2024

Mbappe under fire for skipping France duty but playing for Real Madrid

"As a captain (Mbappe) must be an example for the fans, and he has not been," said a spokesperson for a France supporters' group.
A Ukrainian tank drives toward the front line in Pokrovsk, Ukraine, on Sept. 30.
WORLD
Oct 10, 2024

Meeting of Western leaders on Ukraine is postponed, a setback for Kyiv

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had hoped to use the gathering to rally allies around his so-called "victory plan.”
Annual festival Peter Barakan’s Live Magic! was born a decade ago when Barakan (left) decided to create a platform to share his love of roots music, which he attributes to growing up in 1960s England.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 11, 2024

Peter Barakan’s Live Magic! takes its final bow

The 11th edition of the annual blues, jazz and roots festival will also be its last, at least in its current form, but the core concept of the event will live on.
By windsurfing around the British Isles, Jonathan “Jono” Dunnett says he was rescued from disillusionment and depression.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Oct 10, 2024

Jonathan Dunnett: ‘The ocean is far bigger than we are, and it will humble us.’

With his bright orange sail, windsurfer Jonathan Dunnett is pretty visible out on the water. This means he draws attention from other boaters and the odd shark.
The wellness amenities at Six Senses Kyoto are just the latest example of hotels in Japan bolstering their relaxation offerings to attract guests.
LIFE / Travel
Oct 12, 2024

Can't choose a Kansai hotel? Perhaps a wellness screening will help you decide.

The holistic offerings at Six Senses Kyoto and Four Seasons Osaka are part of a growing wellness travel trend sweeping Japan.
Performers at Stand Up Indonesia Tokyo shows crack plenty of jokes, but the main purpose behind the group, organizers say, is to provide a space where Indonesian expats can express themselves about any struggles they may have about living abroad.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Oct 14, 2024

Tokyo’s Indonesians get through life abroad with a couple of laughs

Stand Up Indonesia Tokyo is a community of comedians, comedy fans and others with connections to Indonesia seeking a reminder of home.
Japan has been trying to boost its fertility rate for 30 years and now the rest of the rich world is, too.
WORLD / Society
Oct 14, 2024

Can the government get people to have more babies?

The number of babies born in Japan last year fell to the lowest level since the government started collecting statistics in 1899.
Rohingya refugee children look on from their shelter at a refugee camp, in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, on Sept. 28.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 15, 2024

Stateless speak up as world misses its #Ibelong deadline

They are often deprived of the most basic rights, exposing them to exploitation, destitution and detention.
The Tokaido Shinkansen platforms at Nagoya Station are packed with passengers on Aug. 9, when the operator ran a record 483 trains in a single day.
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional Voices: Chubu
Oct 21, 2024

Timetable planners form backbone of Tokaido Shinkansen's 60-year journey

Timetables based on precise demand predictions and the efforts of staffers on the ground have been integral to the evolution of bullet trains.
A Louis Vuitton store under construction in the Sanlitun area of Beijing on Oct. 12
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 17, 2024

LVMH sales drop as Chinese demand for costly handbags cools

Organic revenue at its key fashion and leather goods unit fell 5% in the third quarter, its worst performance since the second quarter of 2020.
A woman holds a banner during a demonstration in support of surrogate motherhood in Rome on April 5. The banner reads: "We are families not crimes."
WORLD / Society
Oct 17, 2024

Italy extends ban on surrogacy to couples who seek arrangements abroad

The highly divisive bill makes Italians who seek surrogacy in other countries liable for prosecution on their return home.
This year’s T3 Photo Festival features work by contemporary artists such as Fuyuhiko Takata, whose video piece “Cut Suits”shows white-collar workers becoming naked by cutting their business attire off of each other. 
CULTURE / Art
Oct 18, 2024

T3 Photo Festival reflects on past and present of the medium

The Tokyo event marks the 50th anniversary of a landmark New York show of Japanese photography by juxtaposing images from that era with works by contemporary artists.
Ubitus, which received funding from Nvidia earlier this year, joins a growing list of tech companies at the forefront of a global revival in nuclear power.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 18, 2024

Nvidia-backed firm eyes a data center near nuclear power in Japan

The Nvidia-backed company Ubitus joins a growing list of tech companies at the forefront of a global revival in nuclear power.
Stays at Aman Kyoto start at around $2,500 (about ¥375,000) and increasing to $4,000 (about ¥600,000) per night, but for the right traveler, it's not money entirely wasted.
LIFE / Travel
Oct 19, 2024

Kyoto’s most expensive hotel offers inner peace — for a price

Aman Kyoto is one of the most luxurious options for stays in Japan’s ancient capital — but is it worth the hefty price tag?
Indonesia's new leader, Prabowo Subianto, arrives for his presidential inauguration ceremony in Jakarta on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 20, 2024

Prabowo Subianto, a former general, sworn in as Indonesian president

The inauguration marks a noteworthy comeback for a man who faced Western-imposed sanctions and had two failed election bids against Widodo, the man he is now replacing.
Claudio Worm, a German university student who came to Japan on a sightseeing trip on Sept. 21, has gone missing in Wakayama Prefecture.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2024

German tourist goes missing in Wakayama

Claudio Worm, 21, was last seen in Tokyo before heading to Wakayama on Sept. 30. His family last heard from him on Oct. 10.
Russian army deserter and dissident Alexander on July 22
WORLD / Politics
Oct 22, 2024

In a first, France welcomes Russian army deserters

The Russian deserters said they hoped their actions would encourage other Russian men to defy Moscow authorities and flee the war.
The South Korean Coast Guard vessel Taepyongyang, the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Waesche and the Japan Coast Guard vessel Wakasa patrol in formation during a trilateral exercise in the Sea of Japan in June.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 23, 2024

With ramped-up activities, U.S. Coast Guard plots greater Indo-Pacific role

The move comes at a time when a growing number of coast guards in the region are becoming deeply involved in patrolling disputed waters.
People from Thailand look at used smartphones in Tokyo's Akihabara district in October 2022.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 23, 2024

Japan's secondhand smartphone market booms as households struggle

Sales of used goods in Japan have grown rapidly as households struggle to make ends meet.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a training base at an undisclosed location in North Korea in a photo released on Oct. 4.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 24, 2024

U.S. says North Korean troops in Russia, possibly to fight in Ukraine war

But the U.S. defense chief and other officials said that it remained to be seen what exactly the North Korean troops would be doing in Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pose for a group photo at a meeting on Ukraine reconstruction at the United Nations on Sept. 25.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 24, 2024

Shifting the paradigm in Ukraine

In Ukraine, inaction — the refusal to permit Ukraine’s government to act in self-defense — possesses the quality of death.
General Motors CEO Mary Barrabefore an investor meeting in Spring Hill, Tennessee, on Oct. 8. Barra said that the company had fixed battery-manufacturing problems and that its electric vehicles would soon be profitable.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 24, 2024

Electric vehicles may be struggling. GM’s leader is still a believer.

General Motors CEO Mary Barra says the company is still committed to doing away with combustion engine cars in the United States by 2035.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji