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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, along with his daughter, walks away from an intercontinental ballistic missile in this undated photo released on Nov. 19, 2022
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 17, 2023

Kim Jong Un’s daughter marks a year as country’s propaganda star

The preservation of the family rule is inextricably tied to the country’s weapons program
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose for a family photo during an APEC summit in San Francisco on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 17, 2023

Kishida and Xi aim for trade progress despite lingering tensions

Their talks signaled initial momentum toward a cautious detente, although the two countries appeared to prioritize an improvement in economic ties.
The risk of unsecure nuclear weapons or a vengeful leader such as Vladimir Putin going down with his finger on the trigger may seem far-fetched, but the world must prepare for the worst-case scenario. 
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 16, 2023

Preparing for a Russian nuclear meltdown

The risk of “loose nukes” or a vengeful leader going down with his finger on the trigger may seem far-fetched, but the chances are not zero.
U.S. President Joe Biden greets his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Woodside, California, on Wednesday during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
EDITORIALS
Nov 17, 2023

Biden-Xi meeting long on symbolism, short on substance

The Biden-Xi meeting aimed to set a floor under U.S.-China bilateral relations, but the results provided few grounds for optimism.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping during the final session of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco on Friday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 18, 2023

A rare opportunity to see China’s leader up close and (sort of) personal

President Xi Jinping of China is one of the most self-contained Chinese leaders in decades, who reveals next to nothing about his personal life.
An Israeli soldier gestures from a tank, near a border area with Gaza, in southern Israel, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 19, 2023

Is Israel’s military strategy to eradicate Hamas working?

Israel is making progress in ground control of Gaza, but it has not vanquished Hamas or freed most of the hostages as global condemnation grows.
U.S. Marines stand by a transfer case during a repatriation ceremony for the possible remains of unidentified service members lost in the Battle of Tarawa during World War Two in the Republic of Kiribati, July 18, 2019.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 19, 2023

The bloody, 76-hour battle on a tiny atoll that helped end World War II

The Battle of Tarawa, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, took a heavy toll on American forces and led to outrage at home.
Japanese stock markets have already rallied to around their highest since 1990, with consumer and financial stocks outperforming domestic indexes.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Nov 21, 2023

Japan's inflation comeback prompts investors to tear up playbooks

Investors are tearing up their playbooks to focus on expected higher interest rates, more generous dividends and a revival in consumer spending.
A wind turbine and an electricity pylon in Finedon, Britain. Developers can no longer use financial modeling that assumes gas power plants are used constantly throughout their 20-year-plus lifetime, analysts said.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 21, 2023

Giant batteries drain economics of gas power plants

Batteries that ensure stable power supply are becoming cheap enough to make developers abandon scores of projects for gas-fired generation worldwide.
A redacted online resume of a North Korean IT worker is shown in this screenshot obtained on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Nov 21, 2023

North Koreans use fake names to land remote IT work for cash

Landing a job outside North Korea to secretly earn hard currency for the country demands highly-developed strategies to convince Western firms.
A North Korean rocket carrying a military spy satellite is launched in this undated photo released Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 22, 2023

North Korea calls spy satellite launch a success, but questions linger

A rocket carrying the payload passed over the Japanese archipelago late Tuesday, but Tokyo said it had not confirmed the veracity of Pyongyang's claims.
Despite being a global leader in more costly offshore wind production, the number of new turbines going up in the English countryside has been at a virtual standstill for nearly a decade.
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2023

Winds of change? The bid to revive England's onshore sector

The number of new turbines going up in the English countryside has been at a virtual standstill for nearly a decade.
Hamas fighters take part in a military parade in Gaza in July to mark the anniversary of the 2014 war with Israel.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 21, 2023

Israel's historical role in the rise of Hamas

The complicated relationship between Israel and Hamas with the the "Frankenstein" Jewish state help create
Microsoft's artificial intelligence prospects just got a boost from Sam Altman's return to his CEO role at OpenAI.
COMMENTARY
Nov 23, 2023

Altman’s comeback is a strategic triumph for Microsoft

Sam Altman's termination and swift rehiring will shift the dynamics at OpenAI.
Parents take their children to see a doctor at the pediatric emergency department of a hospital in Shanghai on Nov. 14
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Nov 24, 2023

China says no unusual pathogens found in respiratory outbreaks

Other nations also faced respiratory illness surges post-pandemic
At KIPI, a 1.06 gigawatt coal-fired plant will power the $2 billion Adaro Minerals Indonesia aluminum smelter due to begin operating in 2025.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 24, 2023

A coal-powered industrial boom is testing Indonesia’s green goals

The reality to support a low-emission ambition lies years in the future
MORE SPORTS / Horse Racing
Nov 24, 2023

Domestic horses look to continue home dominance

It’s the weekend of the Group 1 Japan Cup in association with Longines, when one of the most prestigious horse races in Japan, if not the world, will be run at Tokyo Racecourse on Sunday. Having grown in stature over the past 40 years or so, the race has made a real name for itself over that time in...
An illegal money changer checks old U.S. dollars at a marketplace in Harare, Zimbabwe.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 24, 2023

As Argentina eyes dollarization, Zimbabwe and Ecuador offer clues

Adopting the greenback in place of the local currency might bring stability, but it is not without its pains.
Was Japan's "sakoku" a prison? What else, when rulers were absolute, and law a weapon in the hands of high against low.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Nov 24, 2023

Tales of a Closed Country: Part 1

Long before COVID-19 was known, the gates to Japan slammed shut. It was an era of "sakoku," the closed country, but was it a prison?
Many moods come and go, inspiring our art. Though love could be fleeting, it proved the most inspirational of all.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Nov 27, 2023

Tales of a Closed Country: Part 2

Even Japan's "sakoku" policies couldn't deter the lovers, artists and poets from their muses. After all, we humans tend to look for beauty where we can.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the control center of the National Aerospace Technology Administration in Pyongyang to inspect the operational readiness of a new military spy satellite and view photographs in this image released Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 25, 2023

North Korea's Kim views satellite photos of South Korea and Hawaii

Pyongyang claimed the images showed “major target areas,” including Seoul and cities home to U.S. military bases in South Korea.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 26, 2023

Kamikawa conveys ‘comfort women’ stance to South Korean envoy

Kamikawa urged Seoul to "immediately take appropriate measures" to rectify the situation.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan speaks at an event in June.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 26, 2023

London’s mayor tries to unite a city divided by war in Gaza

The fighting between Israel and Hamas is shaking Muslim and Jewish people, who have lived side-by-side in London for generations.
Ukrainian military members fire a howitzer at Russian forces in the Zaporizhzhia Region of Ukraine in December. Ukraine’s war effort is highly dependent on the U.S. and the other Western nations who comprise the country’s largest military and economic backers. 
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 26, 2023

The wars shaping the new world order

From Gaza to Urkaine to Taiwan, there is an unfolding geopolitical drama and global rebalancing among the great-powers.
A pipeline transporting seawater is part of the facility for releasing treated radioactive water into the ocean from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 27, 2023

Japan’s wastewater release could bring the region together

The release of treated radioactive water from Fukushima No. 1 could be a springboard for more transparency around nuclear energy in Japan and all of Asia.
Chinese tourists buy gold bars and gold accessories at LukFook, a jewelry store, in Hong Kong.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 28, 2023

Gold bars and Tokyo apartments: How money is flowing out of China

The outbound shift of money in part indicates unease inside China about the sputtering recovery after the pandemic as well as deeper problems.
The buzz surrounding MediaTek casts a spotlight on growing competition between semiconductor firms that are exploiting the use of AI to grab a larger share of the smartphone business.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 28, 2023

AI chip boom fuels Taiwan firm’s 40% rally, beating Qualcomm

A five-month rally in MediaTek looks set to extend as booming demand for smartphones and a promising new AI chip brighten the company’s outlook.
Elon Musk and Benjamin Netanyahu visit Kibbutz Kfar Aza in Israel on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 28, 2023

Amid antisemitism uproar, Elon Musk pitches Starlink in Israel

Musk's satellite internet provider is at the heart of the billionnaire's political clout.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un chats with senior officials during a banquet to celebrate the launch of a reconnaissance satellite, at the Mulan Pavilion in Pyongyang, in this image released Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 28, 2023

North Korea says satellite took photos of White House and Pentagon

The assertions by the nuclear-armed country were the latest about its new spy satellite's capabilities — though it has yet to release any images.
People walk past the booth of fashion retailer Shein during the first China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 29, 2023

Shein’s IPO plan to fuel scrutiny over cotton and China roots

In addition to fighting skeptics, Shein is also locked in a battle with rival Temu

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