Search - 2023

 
 
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visits the bedside of a person injured in Jan. 3 twin blasts in Kerman, at a hospital in the southern city.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 7, 2024

Middle East player Iran weakened by internal woes

Tehran is accused by the West of playing a key role in unrest plaguing the Middle East, but recent twin bombings are a keen reminder of its own weaknesses.
New study questions the trend of scientific breakthroughs and examines the changing landscape of innovation.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 8, 2024

Have scientific breakthroughs declined?

From curing disease to reducing global warming, there’s no shortage of hard scientific problems crying out for solutions.
Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max-9 aircraft grounded at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) on Saturday. Alaska Airlines will ground its entire fleet of Boeing 737 Max-9 aircraft after a fuselage section in the rear part of the brand-new jet blew out shortly after takeoff last Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 8, 2024

Boeing CEO’s comeback plan for 2024 takes a blow five days in

Alaska Airlines incident could hinder the year's manufacturing pace for 737s amid immense pressure on the planemaker to return its factories to 2019 rates.
Office workers in the Central district in Hong Kong on Nov. 20
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 8, 2024

Hong Kong workers demand 6% raise to return to office fully

In a survey, 27% of people asked for a raise if their employers required them to work in the office five days a week.
In late 2023, a Chinese hacker group was blamed for an attack that compromised a Philippine government agency around the same time the two countries clashed in the South China Sea.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 8, 2024

Philippines turns to hackers amid Chinese cyberthreat

In a November report, a Chinese group known as Stately Taurus was blamed for an attack that had compromised a Philippine government agency for five days earlier in 2023.
Poland's Iga Swiatek serves against Germany's Angelique Kerber during their women's singles final match at the United Cup tennis event in Sydney on Sunday.
TENNIS
Jan 9, 2024

Swiatek tunes out the noise in search of first Australian Open title

The player got 2024 underway by winning all of her singles matches at the United Cup mixed team tournament, helping Poland to the final.
A Taiwan Air Force Mirage 2000-5 aircraft prepares to land in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on Jan. 2. In the event of a conflict with China, Taiwan would face a military that rivals that of the U.S.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 9, 2024

Xi, Biden and the $10 trillion cost of war over Taiwan

The price tag — equivalent to about 10% of global GDP — dwarfs the blow from the war in Ukraine, COVID-19 pandemic and 2007-2008 Global Financial Crisis.
JAPAN
Jan 9, 2024

Japan quake death toll tops 200 as police comb burned-down market

Police searched a market devastated by fire in Ishikawa Prefecture following the massive Jan. 1 earthquake, as the number of missing fell from 323 to 102.
Consumer price gains in Tokyo slowed for a second month in December.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 9, 2024

Tokyo inflation slows as thrifty consumers curb some outlays

Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.1% in the capital, decelerating from 2.3% in November.
The yen extended gains Tuesday after the Bank of Japan indicated it will reduce monthly buying of superlong government bonds.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 9, 2024

Yen rises after BOJ indicates cut in superlong bond buying

The BOJ bought ¥150 billion ($1.04 billion) of 10-to-25 year debt on Tuesday.
The logo of language-learning app, Duolingo, on a smartphone
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 9, 2024

Duolingo cuts contractors by 10% amid AI content shift

The company said no full-time employees were affected by the cutback.
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2024

Plummeting temperatures plague Ishikawa quake relief effort

The death toll in the prefecture has risen to 206, nine days after a massive temblor rocked the Noto Peninsula area.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping attends the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, with other leaders in June 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 10, 2024

Xi eyes Global South as China elevates ties with record number of nations

Beijing elevated the way it described ties with 17 countries and territories, most of them from the developing world.
Elon Musk attends an interview in New York on Nov. 29.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 10, 2024

SEC’s ‘compromised’ account amplifies X mistrust, security concerns

The high-profile breach comes at a time when X and billionaire owner Elon Musk are seeking to win back trust from both users and advertisers.
Shinji Aoyama, Honda's chief director of North America, unveils its electric vehicle concept Space-Hub during the CES trade show in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 10, 2024

Honda to launch new electric vehicle series as it plays catch-up

The automaker aims to roll out the first models of its new Honda 0 Series by 2026, with the series to be launched globally, starting with the North American market.
Tourists fill Kiyomizuzaka street near Kiyomizu Temple in the city of Kyoto in November.
BUSINESS
Jan 10, 2024

Kyoto becoming more proactive in tackling overtourism

Threatening social and cultural conflicts, issues arising from overtourism include public transportation congestion.
The New York Times website lists the city of Yamaguchi among its "52 places to go in 2024."
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2024

Yamaguchi among New York Times '52 Places to Go' list for 2024

Noting its moniker as 'the Kyoto of the West,' NYT praised Yamaguchi's traditional charms and smaller crowds
An employee looks at data on screens in the high-tech command center at the Novartis AG campus in Basel, Switzerland.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 10, 2024

Swiss pharma firms plot different paths to blockbuster drugs

Roche has doubled down on Alzheimer’s and boosted research and development spending across its portfolio.
Kaoru Mitoma in action during the World Cup in Qatar in December 2022. Mitoma's availability for the Asian Cup, which begins Friday, is uncertain due to an injury.
SOCCER
Jan 11, 2024

Samurai Blue the favorites as Asian Cup kicks off

Samurai Blue manager Hajime Moriyasu's team has enjoyed a strong year since, losing only once in 12 matches and winning 4-1 in Germany in a friendly.
Naomi Osaka hits a return during her match against Karolina Pliskova on Jan. 3 in Brisbane
TENNIS
Jan 11, 2024

Osaka given tough assignment against Garcia in Grand Slam return

Osaka returns to Grand Slam tennis for the first time since 2022 and will play 16th-seeded Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia in a tricky opener.
The Bank of Japan is fully prepared to put an end to the world’s last negative interest rate, an ex-official has said.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 11, 2024

BOJ fully prepared to end negative rate, likely in April: ex-official

"They are just waiting for one last push from one or two economic data,” said former board member Makoto Sakurai.
Fiction such as Asako Yuzuki’s “Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder” and nonfiction like Robert Whiting’s "Gamblers, Fraudsters, Dreamers & Spies: The Outsiders who Shaped Modern Japan” are just a taste of 2024's exciting releases.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 11, 2024

Anticipated translations and books about Japan to brighten your 2024

From debut novels to classic crime thrillers, the year ahead promises a wealth of must-read titles to add to your reading list.
Hyundai Motor's Casper mini sport utility vehicles on a production line at a factory in Gwangju, South Korea, in October 2021
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 10, 2024

A hidden hero will drive Korean trade closer to the U.S.

The U.S. is fast catching up to China as a destination for South Korean goods, lagging by just 1.4 percentage points last year.
Yoshimi Yamashita is set to become the first woman to referee at the men's Asian Cup on Saturday.
SOCCER
Jan 12, 2024

Japan's Yamashita to become first woman to referee at men's Asian Cup

Yamashita, who was a fourth official at the 2022 men's World Cup, is one of five women who will serve as match officials at the tournament in Qatar.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 12, 2024

Cubs make Imanaga signing official with four-year, $53 million deal

Imanaga's contract includes a team option to extend the deal to become a five-year, $80 million pact, according to MLB Network.
Final Fantasy VII Rebith, the second installment in the modern remastering of the 1997 classic scheduled for a Feb. 29 release, leads the slate of Japan-made games this year.
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON: GAMES
Jan 13, 2024

Final Fantasy and Tekken kick-start exciting year for gamers

Many upcoming titles are legacy franchises with recognizable faces that have withstood the ebb and flow of gaming popularity.
Instead of hoping seats are free and scrambling to find luggage space on the shinkansen, what if you could fly charter across Japan on your next trip instead?
LIFE / Travel
Jan 13, 2024

Can charter flights connect rich tourists with rural Japan?

The tours, which fly to cities in western, central and northern Japan, will be priced from around ¥1.5 million per person for a group of four people staying two nights.
Alex Clavel, co-CEO at SoftBank Investment Advisers, won SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son's trust as a steady hand managing and fixing SoftBank's complex or troubled transactions.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 12, 2024

Behind SoftBank’s investing cleanup, a U.S. dealmaker who survived the turmoil

Unassuming problem solver Alex Clavel is Masayoshi Son's top lieutenant leading the investment group's attempt at a turnaround.
J-pop duo Yoasobi performed its 2023-defining hit, “Idol," during the 74th edition of NHK’s “Kohaku Uta Gassen,” giving the show its best moment — and drawing anger from netizens.
CULTURE / Sound Off
Jan 12, 2024

Yoasobi delivered the standout moment of ‘Kohaku.’ Why did some music fans hate it?

The J-pop duo brought artists from J-pop and K-pop together on stage for the night's best performance, but it didn’t take long for negative voices to emerge on social media.
Naomi Osaka attends a news conference in Melbourne on Friday ahead of the start of the Australian Open.
TENNIS
Jan 12, 2024

It's a changed landscape at the top as Osaka returns to the Australian Open

2023 was all about the continued rise of players like Gauff and Sabalenka and the dominance of Swiatek, and it remains to be seen where Osaka fits in that picture.

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