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The success of Seven & I's major restructuring plan depends on the retailer's ability to roll out a new store format in Japan, and improve profit margins overseas, analysts say.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Oct 15, 2024

7-Eleven's turnaround plan requires heavy lifting to stop takeover bid

Much depends on the retailer's ability to roll out a new store format in Japan and improve profit margins overseas.
Context has always been the key to successfully translating a video game from Japanese to English. Recently, though, cultural sensitivities come into play as well.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 17, 2024

How your favorite Japanese video games are translated into English

Localizers have to grapple with challenging issues of tone and nuance. Even a simple "thank you" may not be what it seems.
England coach Thomas Tuchel speaks during his introductory news conference at Wembley Stadium in London on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Oct 17, 2024

Thomas Tuchel takes England job with visions of winning 2026 World Cup

England head coach Thomas Tuchel strode confidently into Wembley Stadium on Wednesday with a single-minded vision to win the 2026 World Cup for the success-starved soccer nation.
U.S. President Joe Biden's letter on Sunday appeared to be the clearest ultimatum yet to the Israeli government since the conflict in the Gaza Strip began, outlining specific steps Israel must take within 30 days to improve the humanitarian situation in the territory.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 17, 2024

Biden offers both a carrot and a stick to Israel as his term nears an end

His sending of U.S. soldiers to Israel along with an advanced anti-missile system comes with a warning that it must improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
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.
Teruo Naka (right) and Hironori Kondoh, both lawyers for a plaintiff stating the nationality law is unconstitutional, speak to reporters on Thursday at the Tokyo District Court.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 17, 2024

Tokyo court upholds dual nationality ban, rejecting teen's citizenship case

The lawsuit centered on whether the parents' decision to acquire British citizenship for the child could be regarded as a decision made by the plaintiff.
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting in Moscow on Sept. 25 where he called for changes to rules on the use of Russia's nuclear deterrent.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 18, 2024

Putin's nuclear doctrine isn't his worst threat

These kinds of signals should be seen as weapons in and of themselves, which makes it vital to distinguish between what’s real and feigned.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda can point to Washington all he wants, but his inability to settle on a consistent message is part of what ails his nation's currency.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 18, 2024

The yen pays the price for a timid Bank of Japan

Ueda can point to Washington all he wants, but his inability to settle on a consistent message is part of what ails his nation's currency.
The Tokyo District Court on Friday sentenced Australian Daniel Mathew Otto, 32, to two years in jail for breaking into a home in Shinjuku Ward in June 2023 and injuring an elderly man who lives there. Otto had claimed that a language mix-up led to the victim thinking he was a robber.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 18, 2024

Australian man claiming language mix-up jailed over Tokyo break-in

He claimed he was trying to warn the home owner of danger by telling him to “Go to a door.” The victim heard him shout "gōtō da" (This is a robbery) instead.
An image from South Korea's National Intelligence Service released on Friday shows Russia's Khabarovsk military facility, where the spy agency says North Korean troops gathered on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 18, 2024

Ukraine and South Korea warn of North Korean troops helping Russia

A statement from the office of South Korea's president called it "serious security threat” to South Korea and the international community. 
The ASML headquarters in Veldhoven, Netherlands, on Thursday. Semiconductor equipment makers such as ASML have unusually long-range views of how their customers are feeling, and at the moment, they’re flashing a caution signal for everything other than artificial intelligence.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 21, 2024

ASML shows chasm in chip land: AI winners versus everyone else

The semiconductor equipment makers’ results sparked worries about the health of the chip industry, which is being hurt by weakness in non-AI businesses.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto arrives for his inauguration ceremony in Jakarta on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 21, 2024

What to expect in the first 100 days of Prabowo’s rule in Indonesia

The former general has set an ambitious 8% growth target for Indonesia in the next two to three years.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Fall meetings signage outside the IMF headquarters in Washington on Sunday
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 21, 2024

As poor nations' default wave peaks, a cash shortage could replace it

The issue, and what to do about it when Western countries are increasingly loath to send money overseas, is a key topic at the IMF World Bank autumn meetings this week.
Komeito leader Keiichi Ishii shakes hands with a voter in his district in Saitama Prefecture on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 21, 2024

Komeito's new leader faces trial by fire in general election

Once local allies, Komeito and Nippon Ishin no Kai are going head-to-head for the first time ever, adding to the challenge facing Keiichi Ishii.
North Korean special forces troops take part in training at a base in an undisclosed location in the country in this image released on Oct. 4.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 22, 2024

U.S. warns against North Korean troops in Ukraine as Seoul eyes arms to Kyiv

South Korea, Japan and the U.S. are rushing to address the high possibility of Pyongyang sending combat troops to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 22, 2024

Ishiba vows steps against crime-linked social media posts

The Prime Minister said that the government will consider supporting patrol activities by volunteers under a supplementary budget.
Asako Osaki attends the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, in New York in March.
BUSINESS / WOMEN AT WORK
Nov 3, 2024

How global lessons can improve prospects for women in rural Japan

Through motherhood, education and work, Asako Osaki worked to bring global standards to the front lines of gender issues.
A sculpture representing Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, located on the grounds of a park in Budapest
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 22, 2024

Who was Bitcoin’s Satoshi? I need to know and so do you.

It’s only natural, and even healthy, to be curious about who could have created more than $1 trillion in market capitalization.
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto throws during the first inning of Game 4 against the Mets on Oct. 17.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 23, 2024

Flaherty to start World Series opener for Dodgers as Yamamoto gets Game 2

Yamamoto is 1-0 with a 5.11 ERA in three playoff starts and hasn't pitched beyond five innings in any of those outings.
Trump has threatened blanket 60% tariffs on China, forcing some companies to consider shifting their supply chains to Southeast Asia.
BUSINESS
Oct 23, 2024

China's exporters run for cover as U.S. election nears

A Trump trade war 2.0 would be a moment of reckoning for many Chinese exporters, whose profits are dwindling under heavy deflationary pressure.
Yahya Sinwar gives a speech in Gaza City in April 2023. Israeli forces cornered and killed the leader of Hamas in a ruined house in Gaza on Oct. 16.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 23, 2024

The killing of Sinwar presents a tricky opportunity

It’s always a mistake to speak of "solutions” in the Middle East, but plausible grounds for optimism can do a lot to dissolve the allure of fanaticism.
Naoko (Ayaka Onishi, right) starts moonlighting as a paid companion for older men under her missing colleague’s identity in “Strangers.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 24, 2024

‘Strangers’: A satisfyingly unnerving stolen identity drama

Kenta Ikeda and his cinematographer imbue the thriller about a woman who takes on the identity of her more carefree and flirtatious colleague with a sense of paranoia.
Preparations ahead of the Bloomberg New Economy event at the B20 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Wednesday
WORLD / Politics
Oct 24, 2024

Brazil's business leaders reluctant to pick between U.S. and China ties

Brazil’s agriculture minister has called for the country to join China’s Belt and Road, the superpower’s flagship global trade and infrastructure program.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to voters in Aichi Prefecture on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 25, 2024

LDP rapped over funds for local chapters of scandal-tainted candidates

The LDP secretary-general said the funding was provided to the local chapters to expand the party’s influence, not to support individual candidates.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 24, 2024

China and India bury the hatchet — for now, at least

Despite the agreement to disengage, the lack of trust is palpable. We are still just one misstep from an army patrol from another dangerous flare-up.
A cyclist cools off at a fountain at Madrid Rio park during a heat wave in Madrid in July.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Oct 25, 2024

U.N. says world is on course to warm up to 3.1 degrees Celsius

Little progress has been made over the past few years despite repeated calls for stronger action plans.
In Japan, terms like "progressive," "liberal," "conservative," and "nationalist" may sound familiar but do not align with their meanings in other democracies.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 25, 2024

How to understand labels in Japanese politics

The issues that define political labels are often unique to Japan. As a result, quite a few Western authors will pick them up and use them.
Kazuhiro Soda’s “The Cats of Gokogu Shrine” follows not only the felines that live on the grounds of the title shrine in Ushimado, Okayama Prefecture, but also the local community members, many of whom are of retirement age.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 25, 2024

‘The Cats of Gokogu Shrine’: Documentary paints intimate portrait of a community in decline

While stray cats that inhabit the grounds of a local shrine take center stage, the film also celebrates the aging humans doing their best to preserve their neighborhood.
Nvidia's stock market value on Friday briefly touched $3.53 trillion, slightly above Apple's $3.52 trillion, LSEG data showed.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 26, 2024

Nvidia overtakes Apple as world's most valuable company

Nvidia's stock market value briefly touched $3.53 trillion, slightly above Apple's $3.52 trillion, LSEG data showed.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who serves concurrently as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, makes a speech at a campaign event for the Lower House election, in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 26, 2024

In tight Japan election, candidates make last-ditch appeals

Opinion polls have suggested the ruling bloc might fall short of a majority, delivering a potentially devastating blow to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

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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