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Chinese President Xi Jinping meets former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in November 2018.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 7, 2023

If Kissinger was serving as the U.S. secretary of state

There was no other U.S. diplomat whose reputation in Japan and China was as polar opposite as that of Henry Kissinger.
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.
New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman completed a seven-player deal this week, with the centerpiece headed to New York in 25-year-old slugger Juan Soto.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 8, 2023

Yankees want Juan Soto long-term. Is Yamamoto next?

The Yankees had a representative at every start made by Yamamoto, who has become a hot commodity in the MLB free agent market.
The judges' tower in Teahupo'o in Tahiti, French Polynesia, during a pro surfing event in August. Residents of Teahupo'o have protested plans by Olympic organizers to build a 14 meter aluminum tower ahead of the 2024 Games.
OLYMPICS
Dec 8, 2023

Safety is top priority, Paris Games boss says amid surfing tower row

Last week, a barge bringing the aluminum tower to the Tahiti site of Teahupo'o damaged the coral reef, bringing work to a halt.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno attend a Cabinet meeting in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 8, 2023

Kishida walks tightrope after new funds allegations against Matsuno

The top government spokesperson is believed to have received kickbacks from his faction totaling more than ¥10 million over the last five years.
Cinema at Sea film festival entry “God Is a Woman,” directed by Andres Peyrot, examines the complex feelings the Kuna, indigenous people living on Panama’s San Blas Islands, have about an unreleased documentary made about them in 1975.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 9, 2023

Cinema at Sea festival highlights diversity and unheard voices

The inaugural event for the film festival in Naha, Okinawa, boasted a strong lineup of features from places and peoples underrepresented in world cinema.
Kubura fishing port and Kubura district on the island of Yonaguni, Okinawa Prefecture
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2023

Frontier islanders decry lack of plan to aid fleeing Taiwanese

Concerned about the potential for a China-Taiwan conflict, Japan has embarked on its biggest defense buildup since World War II.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a ceremony to present medals to soldiers in Moscow on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 9, 2023

Putin, bidding to cement his legacy, will seek re-election

In the absence of genuine political opposition, Putin is all but assured of winning another six-year term that will prolong his authoritarian grip.
A United Nations Security Council meeting to debate a resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza at U.N. headquarters in New York on Friday
WORLD
Dec 9, 2023

U.S. vetoes Security Council move calling for Gaza cease-fire

Washington dashed a growing clamor for an immediate cease-fire that had been led by U.N. chief Antonio Guterres and Arab nations.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2023

Empress expresses feelings of gratitude and hope as she turns 60

Empress Masako turned 60 on Saturday as she expressed her deep gratitude to all those who have helped her.
Delegates arrive at Dubai's Expo City during COP28 on Saturday
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Dec 9, 2023

Oil is everywhere at COP28, vexing those seeking its demise

To many of the activists in attendance, the prominence of the oil and gas industry is a travesty.
Drag queen Kylie Sonique Love performs at the third edition of Opulence. While the LGBTQ community suffered a few setbacks this year, there were also many occasions in which people could let loose and celebrate the scene.
LIFE / Lifestyle / 2023 in Review
Dec 10, 2023

Politics and pageantry for Japan's LGBTQ community in 2023

The year was one in which more Japanese members of the LGBTQ community began to push for rights such as marriage equality.
Trucks line up in a queue to cross the Polish-Ukrainian border at the Dorohusk-Jagodzin crossing, in Brzezno, Poland, on Dec. 4.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 11, 2023

Front-line troops in Ukraine feel bite of Polish truckers’ protest

A monthslong border blockade by Polish truckers is starting to have an effect on Ukrainian soldiers.
Split over the leadership of Sam Altman, board members and executives at OpenAI turned on one another. Their brawl exposed the cracks at the heart of the artificial intelligence movement.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 11, 2023

Inside OpenAI’s crisis over the future of artificial intelligence

From the moment it was created in 2015, OpenAI was primed to combust.
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.
Gold ornaments on display for sale at a Chow Tai Fook jewellery store in Shanghai.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 11, 2023

Young Chinese spurn traditional investments in favor of gold

The trend underscores uncertainty about growth prospects in the world's second-largest economy, which has not recovered from COVID-19 as fast as expected.
Former England player Sarah Hunter (right), now a member of the team's coaching staff, says her side will set its sights on winning the 2025 Rugby World Cup.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Dec 12, 2023

Women's Rugby World Cup to start in Sunderland, end at Twickenham

England, runners-up at the last two editions, will kick off the tournament at the 48,707-seater Stadium of Light on Aug. 22.
Palestinian children grieve those killed following Israeli airstrikes, at the Nasser Medical Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 12, 2023

Palestinians starve as Israel's war on Gaza drives fear of exodus

Most of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been driven from their homes and residents say it is impossible to find refuge or food.
Parents take their children for infusion treatment at a hospital in Shenyang, Liaoning province, on Friday.
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 12, 2023

China’s battle with child pneumonia shows risks of drug resistance

In China nearly 80% of child cases of mycoplasma pneumoniae are resistant to macrolides, compared with under 10% elsewhere.
Former Self-Defense Forces member Rina Gonoi arrives Tuesday at the Fukushima District Court, which found three ex-soldiers guilty of sexually assaulting her.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 12, 2023

Guilty verdicts in SDF sexual assault case

Rina Gonoi, 24, took to YouTube last year to share her account after an internal military probe was dropped for lack of evidence.
Naoya Maekawa, an associate professor at Fukushima University, speaks of the importance of passing on lessons from Japan's 2011 disasters.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Dec 18, 2023

Knowledge of 2011 disaster declining among young, survey shows

An academic behind the survey says memories of the disaster are fading.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 12, 2023

Funding scandal deepens as parliament session draws to a close

The probe into a Liberal Democratic Party funds scandal looks likely to deepen in the coming days, making the political scene increasingly unpredictable.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng meet for talks in Beijing on Aug. 29.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 12, 2023

The Washington-Beijing tech war is just getting started

U.S. Commerce Secretary Raimondo emphasizes the need to prevent China from accessing cutting-edge technology, citing national defense concerns.
The development of AI worries many, including Sam Altman, who testified in Congress in May that he was "nervous" about the technology's ability to compromise election integrity.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 12, 2023

A look at the world's first AI-powered political campaign caller

Ashley is one of the first examples of how generative AI is ushering in a new era of political campaigning.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2023

Marijuana sees image shift as Japan revises control law

The revised cannabis control law, enacted in early December, will allow the use of medicines containing substances derived from cannabis.
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.
The problems afflicting Afghan society today, such as the repression of women’s rights and conflict, are also global issues.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 13, 2023

Neglecting Afghanistan could have global repercussions

The problems afflicting Afghan society today, such as the repression of women's rights and conflict, are a reflection of those facing the wider world.
Eddie Jones is set to become the head coach of the Brave Blossoms six weeks after the Australian quit the Wallabies following their dismal showing at the World Cup.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Dec 13, 2023

Eddie Jones named as Japan head coach, ending weeks of speculation

Jones will officially commence his duties from Jan. 1, the Japan Rugby Football Union said on its website.
Sareee holds Konami by the limbs during a Sukeban event in Miami on Dec. 6. A unique form of Japanese wrestling that mixes fashion and theatrics has arrived in the United States.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 14, 2023

Can Sukeban make Japan-style female wrestling fashionable with Americans?

In Japanese women’s wrestling, athletes perform theatrical, hard-hitting punches and clever defenses while telling a story with their moves and costumes.
An undated file photo shows Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos archipelago and site of a major United States military base in the middle of the Indian Ocean, leased from Britain in 1966.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 14, 2023

Indian Ocean could become China's Achilles' heel in war on Taiwan

A struggle to protect energy lifelines even as demands increase could make a protracted war over Taiwan difficult for Beijing to sustain.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear