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Toshiko Hamanaka (left), the assistant secretary-general of Nihon Hidankyo, and the organization's co-chair, Terumi Tanaka, during a news conference in Tokyo on Saturday, the day after the group was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
JAPAN
Oct 12, 2024

Nihon Hidankyo members hope surprise Nobel win cements nuclear taboo

Senior members of the group noted that the Nobel committee chose Nihon Hidankyo at a time when the threat of nuclear war is becoming more intense.
Israeli Army soldiers ride in a humvee convoy in the Upper Galilee region of northern Israel near the border with Lebanon on Thursday.
WORLD / FOCUS
Oct 13, 2024

'Very challenging': Israel faces Hezbollah in tricky terrain

After pounding Gaza for nearly a year, Israeli forces began "targeted" ground raids on September 30 intended to push back Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon.
Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) leader Yoshihiko Noda speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 13, 2024

Amid skepticism, CDP faces once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in Oct. 27 polls

The party can capitalize on dissatisfaction against the ruling Liberal Democratic Party over a recent scandal, but it must battle voters' deep-seated doubts against it.
A man searches through the rubble of a wrecked house in the Turkish town of Cankiri after a strong earthquake hit central Turkey in June 2000.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 13, 2024

Earthquakes, hurricanes and other disasters will shape our future cities

The progress of Antakya’s renewal bears watching. However it proceeds, there will be lessons to learn.
A truck drives through a flooded street in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton in South Daytona, Florida, on Friday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 10, 2024

Hurricane Milton shows there’s no ‘normal’ storm season

It may be hard to believe, but about a month ago, people were calling this year’s hurricane season a bust.
A North Korean soldier outside the Panmungak pavilion on the North Korean side of the border is seen from the South Korean side in the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone Paju, South Korea, on May 1, 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 14, 2024

North Korea put border troops on high alert after drone claims

The order was issued on Saturday and was active until Sunday.
A man uses binoculars to look at the North Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas, from South Korea's Odusan Unification Observatory in Paju on Oct. 9.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 14, 2024

South Korea military says 'fully ready' as drone tensions soar

North Korea has accused Seoul of flying drones over its capital to drop leaflets and warned that if another was detected, it would consider it "a declaration of war."
China's Liaoning aircraft carrier takes part in the Joint Sword-2024B military drills east of Taiwan, in this screenshot from video released Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 15, 2024

China says it won't rule out use of force to take Taiwan as war games end

Japan and the U.S. condemned the large-scale Chinese military exercises around Taiwan as Beijing hinted that more could come.
Israeli tanks on the move in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Sept. 22
WORLD
Oct 16, 2024

Israel's demining near Golan signals wider front against Hezbollah, sources say

The move suggests Israel may seek to strike Hezbollah for the first time from further east along Lebanon's border.
ASML shares slumped 16% on Tuesday after third-quarter figures were mistakenly released earlier than scheduled.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 16, 2024

ASML shares plunge as bookings miss signals chipmaker woes

Its 16% tumble — the biggest decline since 1998 — also triggered a broad downturn in chip-related stocks.
Nearly two-thirds of parents of Australian teenagers reported concerns about their children's social media use, according to a 2024 survey by youth service ReachOut.
WORLD / Society
Oct 16, 2024

Australia's planned social media ban raises teen isolation fears

For teenagers from migrant, LGBTQIA+ and other minority backgrounds, an age block could cut off access to essential social support.
With a significant need for renewable energy investment in developing countries, China can help drive the adoption of global green infrastructure and technology. 
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 17, 2024

China’s overcapacity can help transition the world

A collaborative effort between the U.S. and China on clean energy initiatives could significantly accelerate the global transition to green technologies.
Journalist Shiori Ito's documentary "Black Box Diaries," which follows her own investigation into her sexual assault and struggle for justice, was one of 19 Japanese films that screened at the Busan International Film Festival this month.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 18, 2024

Japan-based features generate buzz at Busan International Film Festival

With 278 films on offer, Asia's largest film festival tackled heavy themes such as assisted suicide and struggles faced by migrants.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal after their third-place match at an exhibition in Riyadh on Saturday.
TENNIS
Oct 20, 2024

'Don't leave tennis,' Djokovic tells Nadal after 'amazing rivalry'

Nadal, 38, announced on Oct. 10 that he would retire from tennis after the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, Spain, next month.
An electric stock board at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, operated by Japan Exchange Group, in Tokyo on April 19
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 21, 2024

Asian IPOs set for blockbuster week as ‘animal spirits’ return

Asian markets are seeing a return of "animal spirits," or changes in market behavior often driven by emotions.
Since the Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008, Manchester City has gone from a middling team to winning six of the last seven Premier League titles, an unprecedented success in over 130 years of English soccer.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 21, 2024

Soccer needs to avoid a tyranny of the rich

A dispute between the Premier League and Manchester City has both sides claiming victory.
The addition of an area in Pacific waters east of Chichijima in the Ogasawara Islands saw Japan's continental shelf expanded by 120,000 square kilometers in July.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2024

Japan expands its continental shelf by 120,000 square kilometers

The expansion has sparked optimism for potential resource development.
Xander Schauffele in action during the final round of The Presidents Cup gold tournament in Ile Bizard, Quebec, Canada, on Sept. 29.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Oct 22, 2024

Schauffele targets more success in Japan after major breakthroughs

The golfer has already tasted success in Japan, winning a pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympic gold in 2021.
Smoke billows over the UNESCO-listed port city of Tyre after Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon on Wednesday.
WORLD
Oct 24, 2024

Israel and Hezbollah exchange heavy fire as Blinken pushes for peace

The intensifying exchanges come as Washington makes a final push for peace before the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election that could alter U.S. policy.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pose for a group photo at a meeting on Ukraine reconstruction at the United Nations on Sept. 25.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 24, 2024

Shifting the paradigm in Ukraine

In Ukraine, inaction — the refusal to permit Ukraine’s government to act in self-defense — possesses the quality of death.
General Motors CEO Mary Barrabefore an investor meeting in Spring Hill, Tennessee, on Oct. 8. Barra said that the company had fixed battery-manufacturing problems and that its electric vehicles would soon be profitable.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 24, 2024

Electric vehicles may be struggling. GM’s leader is still a believer.

General Motors CEO Mary Barra says the company is still committed to doing away with combustion engine cars in the United States by 2035.
Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida accepts a gift of 'dekopon' citruses, a specialty product and symbol of Kumamoto Prefecture, from Kumamon, itself a mascot and instantly recognizeable symbol of the region.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Oct 28, 2024

Japan’s ‘meibutsu’-industrial complex is a wonder to behold

If you name a Japanese prefecture, many locals will instantly be able to tell you something that the region is famous for or a product synonymous with that area.
Oracle Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen talks to teammates at the starting grid at the Formula 1 Pirelli United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on Oct. 20.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 25, 2024

Verstappen carries momentum back to a favorite track

Max Verstappen arrives at the high-altitude Hermanos Rodriguez circuit 57 points clear of McLaren's Lando Norris with five rounds remaining.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, pose with other leaders for a group photo during the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, on Thursday. The summit illustrated a collective dissatisfaction with the current global power structure dominated by the U.S.
EDITORIALS
Oct 25, 2024

BRICS once again meet to complain and vent frustrations

While the summit gave the appearance of unity, there are significant differences in how member states perceive issues.
A demonstration calling for the return of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Lucerne, Switzerland, in June. Securing detainees' fair treatment and release isn't important only for resolving the Russia-Ukraine war, but to uphold human rights writ large.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Oct 25, 2024

Human rights are key to resolving the war in Ukraine

The war against Russia can't be won without clear political objectives. This also means not losing sight of the need to uphold human rights in Ukraine, and beyond.
The yen has resumed its declines recently against the dollar on expectations that the U.S.-Japan interest rate divergence will remain wide, posing a headache for authorities who fret of the hit to households from rising import costs from a weak yen.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 26, 2024

IMF sees weak yen as beneficial for Japan's economy

The IMF's Japan mission chief also urged Japan to raise rates at a gradual pace and compile supplementary budgets only when a big shock hits the economy.
Wang Huning, Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, attends a high-level meeting on industrialization and agricultural modernization with African leaders at the National Convention Center in Beijing on Sept. 5.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 26, 2024

The man who shaped China’s strongman rule has a new job: winning Taiwan

Xi Jinping’s top adviser, Wang Huning, is credited with shaping the authoritarianism that steered China’s rise. But can he influence Taiwan?
Flames leap out of an oven where rare-earth-based chemicals are roasted for more than 20 hours, in Changshu, China.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 27, 2024

China tightens its hold on minerals needed to make computer chips

The country already produces nearly all the world’s supply of these materials. The new restrictions solidify that market dominance.
Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Florida, on July 27. A sophisticated breach of American telecommunications systems has extended to the presidential campaigns, raising questions about the group behind the attack and the extent of its efforts at collecting intelligence.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 27, 2024

What to know about the Chinese hackers who targeted the 2024 campaigns

The far-reaching operation has been linked to the Chinese government and attributed to a group experts call Salt Typhoon.
A Nvidia chip during the Taipei Computex expo in Taipei on May 29, 2023
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 28, 2024

How a Mumbai drugmaker is helping Putin get Nvidia AI chips

An inconspicuous pharmaceutical company exported 1,111 units of Dell Technologies' most-advanced servers to Russia in April-August of this year.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji