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A rally in support of Israel is held in Tokyo on Oct. 11 during which participants, including Israelis living in Japan, demanded the immediate release of all hostages captured by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 30, 2023

A primer on the Israel-Hamas war


Japan's image of Israel is shallow and distorted, as many people fail to understand the existential threat that Hamas' aggression poses.
Palestinians search for casualties at the site of Israeli strikes on houses in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday.
WORLD / Society
Nov 1, 2023

Israel kills at least 50 in military strike on Gaza refugee camp

An Israel Defense Forces statement said the strike by fighter jets on Jabalia, Gaza's largest refugee camp, had killed a Hamas commander.
Protesters wave Palestinian flags as they walk over Westminster Bridge near the Houses of Parliament in London on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 1, 2023

Immigration, politics and the West's foreign policy

On the same day that a 100,000 strong pro-Palestinian march took place in London, the police pressured a pro-Israeli prayer walk to cancel the event.
Kyung An, an associate curator of Asian art at the Guggenheim, curated “Only the Young” with Kang Soojung of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea.
CULTURE / Art
Nov 2, 2023

American museums keep the spotlight on Korean art

There are at least five exhibitions of Korean art at major U.S. museums this fall.
The civil case centers on whether a foreign national in a same-sex partnership with a Japanese citizen should be granted “long-term resident status,” which allows residency for up to five years in Japan.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 2, 2023

Tokyo High Court rejects same-sex couple's residence status lawsuit

The civil case centers on whether a foreign national in a same-sex partnership with a Japanese citizen should be granted “long-term resident status.”
From left: Yusuke Nagai, Taiyo Someya and Kaori Sakakibara formed their band Lamp in 2000, developing a cult following over the years with their own blend of 1960s pop harmonies, ’70s folk craft and ’80s bossa nova brightness.
CULTURE / Music
Nov 3, 2023

The slow and steady rise of Lamp, a cult favorite

With new album 'Dusk to Dawn,' the folk rockers bring light to the new Japanese music canon.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, a pilgrimage site for Christians since the fourth century 
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 3, 2023

Many evangelicals see Israel-Hamas war as part of a prophecy

The bloodshed in Israel is seen by some as a sign of Second Coming of Christ, a worldview held by significant number of evangelical Christians.
Palestinian Hamas militants take part in a rally marking the 31st anniversary of Hamas' founding, in Gaza City, in the Gaza Strip, in December 2018.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 4, 2023

How Hamas aims to trap Israel in Gaza quagmire

The militant group has prepared for a drawn-out war and believes it can hold up Israel's advance to force its archenemy to agree to a cease-fire.
Former FTX chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried leaves Manhattan federal court in New York in January.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Nov 4, 2023

Swift FTX case vindicates prosecution ‘need for speed’

ON Thursday, the jury took only a few hours to convict Sam Bankman-Fried of treating FTX as his personal piggy bank.
Uruguay forward Luis Suarez celebrates a win after a World Cup match in 2018 in Sochi, Russia.
SOCCER
Nov 4, 2023

Luis Suarez reportedly set to join Inter Miami

Inter Miami are continuing with their Barcelona reunion plan, as Suarez is set to join Lionel Messi with the MLS club.
In some cases, it's up to individual foreign residents to understand the unique tax implications of their home countries and Japan in order to avoid a penny-pinching retirement.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / Age Wise
Nov 5, 2023

Retiring in Japan? Be prepared to foot your own bills.

“In an ideal world, everyone should have retirement planning on their radar as soon as possible when working life begins.”
Rapid improvements in image generation have spurred artists to push back on generative AI startups, which ingest vast troves of internet data in order to generate content like pictures or text.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 6, 2023

Dall-E 3 is so good it’s stoking a revolt against AI scraping

It hasn’t helped much that OpenAI’s new process for artists who want to exclude their data from the system is time-consuming and complex.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu points to a red line he drew on the graphic of a bomb used to represent Iran's nuclear program as he addresses the United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York in September 2012.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 6, 2023

Israeli minister's Gaza nuclear comments spotlight opaque arsenal

The country has long had a policy of ambiguity as to whether it has nuclear weapons, though it is widely believed to possess a sizable number.
Zero carbon energy accounts for 28% of Japan's grid, falling short of countries like Germany, whose share of clean energy generation reached 58% last year.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 6, 2023

How Japan became the land the energy transition forgot

Its symbol may be the rising sun, but a wholesale adoption of renewables by Japan is light years away, mired in bureaucratic and technical hurdles.
Poland's Iga Swiatek kisses her trophy on the podium after winning the WTA Finals Championship in Cancun, Mexico, on Monday.
TENNIS
Nov 7, 2023

Swiatek wins WTA Finals and regains world No. 1 ranking

The Polish player broke Pegula five times and won the final 11 games in a 59-minute slaughter to capture her first WTA Finals title.
Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla, discusses artificial intelligence in London on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 7, 2023

Elon Musk's X curtails disinformation research, spurring legal fears

Restrictions on critical methods of gathering data on the platform have suppressed the ability to untangle the origin and spread of false information.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden meet on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Nusa Dua, on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, in November last year.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 7, 2023

Biden wins global vote of confidence over China's Xi, survey finds

A survey has found that nearly two-dozen countries are nearly three times more likely to the U.S. president more positively than the Chinese leader.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's approval ratings have dropped significantly with his economic stimulus package being met with disapproval.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 7, 2023

Kishida is so unpopular, he can't even give money away

Kishida has seen his popularity plummet as his tax rebate leaves residents with the impression that it’s just a cynical ploy to win votes.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa speak as they wait for a group photo session during the Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 8, 2023

G7 top diplomats call for ‘humanitarian pauses’ in Israel-Hamas war

The statement didn’t mention a cease-fire, only noting the necessity of humanitarian action.
Displaced residents of the city of Gaza walk to the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 9, 2023

Tens of thousands flee as Israel tightens 'stranglehold' on Gaza

U.N. rights chief Volker Turk described Israel's collective punishment of Palestinian civilians and their forcible evacuation as war crimes.
ICBC Financial Services said in a statement a ransomware attack resulted in disruption to certain systems and it was conducting an investigation and "progressing its recovery efforts."
BUSINESS
Nov 10, 2023

China's biggest lender ICBC hit by ransomware attack

The lender said it was investigating the attack that disrupted some of its systems, and making progress toward recovering from it.
Destroyed buildings in Gaza on Thursday amid ongoing battles between Israeli forces and the Hamas militant group.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 10, 2023

Why are oil prices falling while war rages in the Middle East?

Intense fighting is underway in a region that holds much of the world’s petroleum resources. Yet, energy markets have been slumping.
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks with entrepreneur Elon Musk during a chat session on the rewards and risks of artificial intelligence in London, earlier this month.
EDITORIALS
Nov 10, 2023

Can the world harness AI’s fire without getting burned?

Calls are increasing for governance of artificial intelligence, the world-changing tech that bears both major rewards and risks.
Smoke and flares dropped by Israeli forces over the Gaza Strip is seen amid ongoing battles between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 11, 2023

As Gaza toll rises, Israel faces pressure to protect civilians

Global calls for Israeli restraint increased as the number of Palestinians killed rose above 11,000 in a 5-week-old Israeli conflict.
People carry posters and chant slogans on Saturday during a demonstration in Tel Aviv calling for the release of Israeli hostages taken by Palestinian militants that are currently being held in the Gaza Strip.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 13, 2023

Friends and relatives fight to keep spotlight on Israeli hostages

Many of the hostages' loved ones have traveled to Western capitals to make their cause heard among diplomats and the international media.
The curtain is closing on the Lee dynasty's leadership of Singapore. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced his resignation, which could come next year, and the handing of power to deputy Lawrence Wong.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 10, 2023

Singapore contemplates the end of the Lee political era

Prime minister Lee Hsien Loong has announced his resignation, marking the end of his dynasty's leadership and a new chapter in Singapore's politics.
Executives were scrambling for seats for dinner with Xi or to be put on a waiting list, according to people familiar with the situation.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 15, 2023

Elon Musk among cadre of CEOs hoping to woo China’s Xi

CEO summit on the sidelines of APEC will coincide with the most challenging trade climate in a generation.
Japan's decision to provide patrol boats to Bangladesh will make Dhaka the second beneficiary of defense equipment under Tokyo’s new official security assistance military aid program.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 15, 2023

Bangladesh to get patrol boats under Japan's military aid program

The move makes Dhaka the second beneficiary of defense equipment under Tokyo’s new aid program.
U.S. President Joe Biden shakes hands with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at Filoli estate in Woodside, California, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 16, 2023

Xi and Biden agree to restart high-level military-to-military talks

The leaders of the two superpowers looked to stabilize a relationship that has been in freefall amid fears it could devolve into outright conflict.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei meets with Hamas' top leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in June. Both men met again in early November during which the former told the latter that Iran would not intervene directly following the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 16, 2023

Iran's 'Axis of Resistance' against Israel faces trial by fire

Iran has built a military alliance over four decades to oppose Israeli and American power in the Middle East.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes