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Children wash their hands with a new public pump installed as part of a climate resilient water system in Inn Chey in Kratie Province.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Mar 31, 2024

Japan sits at the forefront of climate resilient infrastructure in Southeast Asia

Japanese businesses and government agencies are pouring billions of yen into various programs across Cambodia and Southeast Asia to reduce climate risks.
A woman pays her respects at a makeshift memorial in front of the Crocus City Hall in Moscow on Friday, a week after a deadly attack by gunmen there killed at least 143 people.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2024

Putin's conspiracy theories make Russians less safe

The Kremlin hopes that blaming Kyiv and the West for the attack will turn a difficult domestic political situation to its advantage.
The Bank of Japan's tankan survey showed that large nonmanufacturers saw improvement in their sentiment with the index reaching the highest level since 1991, helped by a surge in inbound tourists.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 1, 2024

Japan service firms’ optimism tempered by softer factory sector

The deterioration in manufacturing sentiment partly reflects the impact from scandals among some vehicle producers.
Clergymen conduct a memorial service for victims at a makeshift memorial near the Crocus City Hall following a deadly attack on the concert venue outside Moscow on Friday.
WORLD
Apr 1, 2024

Russia seeks extradition of Ukraine security service head; Ukraine rejects demand

Russia is demanding that Ukraine hand over all people connected with terrorist acts committed in Russia.
Cardboard beds at an evacuation center in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 31. Because evacuation shelters are operated by municipalities, the quality of disaster relief varies depending on the strength of each local government, one expert points out.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 1, 2024

Over 8,000 still in evacuation centers three months after Noto quake

The patchy progress of Japan's decentralized disaster relief shows that lessons from past disasters have not been learned, experts say.
Around 90% of China’s increased oil demand between 2021 and 2024 comes from chemical feedstocks, driven by the manufacturing of products such as those sold by fast-fashion retailers Shein and Tamu.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 1, 2024

China's Shein and Temu are driving oil, not Toyota and GM

The cause behind recent a surge in China's oil demand is not to be found in people's transport habits, including car use, but in fast-fashion clothing.
The top U.S. military commander in the Indo-Pacific, Adm. John Aquilino, has said that Beijing is maintaining its goal of being able to invade Taiwan by 2027.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 2, 2024

Will China truly be ‘ready’ to invade Taiwan by 2027? It’s complicated.

The most important factor shaping any plan will not be based on just military readiness, but rather on political and strategic objectives, analysts say.
Chinese Coast Guard ships fire water cannons at a Philippine boat during a supply mission near Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on March 5. This incident highlights the danger that such confrontations could have for sparking a wider conflict.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 2, 2024

Beware the steady creep toward crisis in the South China Sea

The Philippines is pushing back. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has adopted a policy of “assertive transparency” to show the world what China is doing.
An audio work by Saga University's Art Works to Listen and Imagine project is available on the internet.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Apr 8, 2024

Experiencing art exhibitions through listening

Events and exhibitions are being held to encourage visitors to appreciate artworks with their ears and imagination.
Heita Kawakatsu, governor of Shizuoka Prefecture, explains his remarks at the prefectural government office on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 2, 2024

Shizuoka Gov. Heita Kawakatsu to resign over latest gaffe

"Unlike (those who) sell vegetables, raise cattle and make things, you are basically highly intellectual people," he said to newly hired officials.
Former Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Hakubun Shimomura attends a Lower House plenary session on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 3, 2024

LDP eyes membership suspension for Shimomura and Nishimura

It also plans to ask Shionoya and Seko to leave the party over the slush funds scandal involving certain factions.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un looks on as he guides a training of the fire division in this picture released on March 19. Pyongyang has spent decades stockpiling millions of rounds of artillery and thousands of rockets in the terrain north of the demilitarized zone, which sits some 40 kilometers away from Seoul.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 3, 2024

Kim Jong Un faces annihilation in nearly all Korea war scenarios

Although North Korea has a manpower advantage, the bulk of its forces rely on "increasingly obsolete equipment” dating back to Soviet era.
An official of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical speaks to reporters on Saturday in Osaka following the health ministry's inspections of the firm's plant.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 3, 2024

166 hospitalized over health issues linked to beni kōji

Taiwan's health ministry said the number of people experiencing ill health after taking Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's beni koji had risen to 11 as of Monday.
Both Godzilla and Kong have a rich screen history to draw on, but “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” feels like a desperate attempt for the crossover franchise to justify both its existence and its continuation.
CULTURE / Film
Apr 4, 2024

‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’: Running out of steam

The latest in the Warner Bros. Monsterverse franchise shows signs of an anemic imagination.
Sebastian Vettel ahead of his last race, in Abu Dhabi in November 2022
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 4, 2024

Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel hints at return to Formula One

The German recorded 53 victories over 16 years before retiring at the conclusion of the 2022 season.
World Central Kitchen’s damaged vehicle hit by an Israeli strike in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Apr 4, 2024

Strikes in Gaza and Iran show limits of Biden’s leverage on Israel

They draw scrutiny to the question of how much leverage the U.S. president has over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and whether he’s willing to exert it.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr., RB's Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull's Max Verstappen, Williams' Alexander Albon, Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly during a news conference in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, on Thursday
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 4, 2024

Five drivers to watch this weekend at Suzuka

The battles that take place further down the grid promise plenty of excitement this weekend.
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani before playing against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Wednesday
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 4, 2024

Ohtani blasts first homer for Dodgers in Giants sweep

"I've just been working on making sure I can swing the way I want to without rushing things," Ohtani said.
Climate change, with its natural disasters, is putting nuclear facilities and weapons complexes at risk.
COMMENTARY
Apr 4, 2024

Climate change and nuclear waste are a toxic stew

Nuclear power could be a crucial part of a clean-energy transition, but not if it comes with a high risk of multiple Fukushima-like catastrophes.
Palestinians carry aid as others struggle to receive their portion amid widespread hunger in Gaza City on Thursday.
WORLD
Apr 5, 2024

Peace feels further than ever at six months of Israel-Hamas war

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed over 33,000 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
A Wheeling-Nippon Steel facility in in Follansbee, West Virginia. Four senior Japanese officials speaking on condition of anonymity said it is still premature to declare the deal dead.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Apr 5, 2024

Why Japan is not giving up on fraught U.S. Steel deal

Four senior Japanese officials speaking on condition of anonymity said it is still premature to declare the deal dead.
Developing nations feel that international trade rules favor developed countries and undermine their interests, particularly in areas like agriculture and fishing subsidies.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 5, 2024

Why have developing countries soured on multilateralism?

The efforts of advanced economies to link trade agreements to labor and environmental standards could disadvantage developing nations.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shakes hands with U.S. President Joe Biden during a trilateral summit at Camp David near Thurmont, Maryland, in August.
JAPAN / Politics / EXPLAINER
Apr 6, 2024

What U.S.-Japan defense shakeup will involve and why

Next week's summit between Biden and Kishida will bring a "historic" upgrade in defense ties between the long-time allies.
Andrew Chafin of the Detroit Tigers pitches during the fifth inning against the New York Yankees at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida, on March 14.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 7, 2024

As more uniform flaws appear, Nike seeks solutions

Andrew Chafin has worn almost every shade and style across 11 seasons in the major leagues. The lefty has pitched in Chicago Cubbie pinstripes and the Kelly green of the Oakland A’s. He has covered his curls with the Detroit Tigers’ D, a timeless classic, and the Milwaukee Brewers’ ball-in-glove,...
A building in Osaka's Chuo Ward housing the Kobayashi Pharmaceutical headquarters
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 7, 2024

Government holds hearings at Kobayashi Pharmaceutical on supplements

Of those who took the supplements, five people have died and 196 people have been hospitalized so far.
Jera's thermal power station in Hekinan, Aichi Prefecture, recently started co-firing coal with 20% of ammonia, a technology supported by the government's "green transformation," or GX, policy.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 7, 2024

Is Japan’s green transformation investing in the past or future?

Japan issued its first green transformation bonds, but the policy breathes new life into fossil fuel-based projects rather than pulling the plug on them.
Supporters of the Senior Women for Climate Protection association outside the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, on March 29, 2023
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Apr 8, 2024

How three European human rights cases could shape climate litigation

The verdicts will set a precedent for future litigation on how rising temperatures affect people's right to a livable planet.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani needs to find a way to keep his eye on the ball as he plays his first 162-game season without his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 9, 2024

Can Shohei Ohtani achieve Michael Jordan-level mental resilience?

One expert says ensuring that he can pivot smoothly into a new support system is crucial for the player.
NATO’s Jens Stoltenberg (left) and the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a news conference in Washington on Jan. 29
WORLD / Politics
Apr 9, 2024

World rush to rearm could cost G7 countries $10 trillion over next decade

Security challenges include an aggressive Russia, a volatile Middle East, and the Chinese military tugging U.S. attention toward the Pacific.
The United States has repeatedly threatened sanctions if China takes substantial action to support Russia.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 10, 2024

U.S. warns it will hold China accountable if Russia gains in Ukraine

Officials say Russian gains in Ukraine could alter the power of balance in Europe in "unacceptable" ways.

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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