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A Tokyo Electric Power Company employee uses a Geiger counter to check for radiation near storage tanks holding contaminated water at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in the towns of Okuma and Futaba in January 2020.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 27, 2024

Tepco's Fukushima decommissioning effort is challenging — but making progress

Tepco believes that diligent monitoring by it and the IAEA over the past year supports the conclusion that water discharges from the Fukushima No. 1 plant are safe.
While Shigeru Ishiba’s victory suggests a shift within the Liberal Democratic Party, he still faces challenges from those who remain loyal to the old party guard. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 29, 2024

Japan’s perennial political underdog finally gets a win

Ishiba margin of victory was slim, meaning that there is still a sizable portion of the party who will be resistant to his initiatives.
Gov. Gavin Newsom of California speaks to reporters in South Haven, Michigan, on July 4, 2024. Newsom vetoed a California artificial intelligence safety bill on Sunday, blocking the most ambitious proposal in the nation aimed at curtailing the growth of the new technology.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 30, 2024

California governor vetoes contentious AI safety bill

The bill’s author, Democratic Sen. Scott Wiener, said legislation was necessary to protect the public before advances in AI become either unwieldy or uncontrollable.
Dikembe Mutombo was one of the NBA's most fearsome shot blockers and earned defensive player of the year honors four times.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Oct 1, 2024

'Larger than life' Hall of Famer Mutombo dies at 58

Mutombo's gregarious personality made him a fan favorite as he played 18 seasons with six different teams.
Fans watch the Super Bowl at the FanDuel sportsbook in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in February 2019.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Oct 2, 2024

FanDuel sued by convicted NFL executive over gambling addiction

The complaint by Amit Patel, who was sentenced to 78 months behind bars in March, alleges that FanDuel ignored its own responsible gaming protocols.
Members of the Taiwan Coast Guard walk along the coast at Sizihwan beach in Kaohsiung on Wednesday. Typhoon Krathon is forecast to hit between Kaohsiung and its neighboring city of Tainan in the early hours of Thursday, then work its way up the west coast toward the capital Taipei.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 2, 2024

Taiwan shuts down ahead of Typhoon Krathon's arrival

The typhoon, while weakening, is forecast to bring storm surges along the island's coast and torrential rain.
Chinese People’s Liberation Army soldiers march in the Victory Day Parade in Moscow in 2020. China and Russia are working together to undermine the liberal international order through military means.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Oct 2, 2024

Tackling an international order in disarray

The liberal international order is fraying at the edges. A more assertive stance against leaders trying to undermine the status quo, Putin and Xi most notably, is needed.
A network camera installed at a nursery school in the city of Chiba monitors children.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 3, 2024

Network cameras offer better views in Japan

Cameras with built-in computing functions are gaining popularity as they allow users to easily check video feeds via the internet.
A gas station damaged by Hurricane Helene in Perry, Florida, on Sept. 27. Extreme weather and climate change are exposing the flaws in how we handle hazardous waste.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 3, 2024

Toxic waste is at the mercy of climate change

Among Hurricane Helene’s roster of disasters is a storm surge that deluged a retired nuclear power plant in Florida. While radioactive material there remains secure, according to operator Duke Energy, one of the plant’s industrial wastewater ponds overflowed amid the flood. With luck, any resulting...
Port workers from the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) participate in a strike at the Virginia International Gateway in Portsmouth, Virginia, on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 4, 2024

U.S. port workers, operators reach deal to end East Coast strike

A tentative agreement for a wage hike of around 62% over six years will immediately end a crippling three-day strike.
Yoshinobu Kimura is not afraid to break the accepted norms when it comes to devising surprising new sips for Sushi M.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Oct 6, 2024

Sake, coffee and fish bones: Anything goes for Sushi M’s cocktails

Yoshinobu Kimura's experiments with coffee, cocktails and sushi are just one facet of his boundary-pushing philosophy.
If the Liberal Democratic Party does not perform well and loses seats in the coming election, Shigeru Ishiba’s tenure may be one of the shortest in modern Japanese political history.
EDITORIALS
Oct 4, 2024

Ishiba faces challenges from the opposition — and his own party

Ishiba needs to be ready for challenges coming from all directions: outside the country, from the opposition and from his own party.
The Japanese market for secondhand items is growing, with more consumers using flea market apps such as Mercari.
BUSINESS
Oct 4, 2024

Japan's used goods market is expanding, but that may hurt its GDP

The trend is seen as friendly to consumers and the environment, but it can have the undesirable consequence of pushing down the country's GDP.
Aziz Ahmed talks about young language carers in Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture, on Sept. 18.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 5, 2024

Young language carer hopes to support others facing hardships in Japan

Aziz Ahmed came to Japan from Pakistan at the age of 9 and remembers the hardships he faced interpreting for family members who do not speak Japanese.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk jumps on stage to join Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 6, 2024

Trump rallies with Elon Musk at site of assassination attempt

For Musk, the chief executive officer of Tesla and SpaceX and the world’s richest man, it’s his most prominent moment yet as part of a political campaign.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his dog, Dekopin, who delivered the ceremonial first pitch prior to a game against the Orioles on Aug. 28
MORE SPORTS
Oct 6, 2024

The furry performance-enhancers that are sweeping the world of sports

Athletes from Shohei Ohtani to Naomi Osaka are using dogs to reduce stress and help enhance performance before and during high-stakes competitions.
A damaged road in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 6, after a major earthquake struck the area on New Year's Day
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / OUR PLANET
Oct 6, 2024

Important tool or alarmism? Japan experts split on megaquake advisories.

Supporters say the advisories are about reducing risk, but critics see a system that isn’t based on science and one in which the cons outweigh the pros.
Voters line up outside a polling station during India's general election in Kairana, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, on April 19.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 6, 2024

From the year of elections to the year of governance

One of the biggest election years in history has already led to significant political shifts around the world, underscoring the resilience of democratic systems.
An Oct. 1 picture of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and his Cabinet posted on the website of the Prime Minister's Office (right) appears slightly different from one taken by a media agency (left). Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi admitted on Monday that the photo underwent minor digital edits before being uploaded to the government website.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 7, 2024

New Cabinet photo on government website had minor edits, Hayashi admits

Media agencies had reported that their pictures appeared slightly different to what was posted on the website of the Prime Minister’s Office.
Ayato (Hayato Isomura) and his younger brother do their best to navigate difficult life circumstances in “The Young Strangers.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 10, 2024

‘The Young Strangers’: A tough watch but thrillingly alive

Takuya Uchiyama’s drama about two brothers trying to make it from one day to the next is audacious and emotionally wrenching.
Hiroshi Moriyama, secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, has a strong influence over the administration of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 8, 2024

LDP linchpin Moriyama has big influence over Ishiba

The newly elected president took his secretary-general's advice on several key matters, including party and Cabinet appointments as well as calling a snap election.
Japan's has experienced a significant decline in global economic power, with its share of global gross domestic product dropping from 18% in the 1980s to an anticipated 3% by 2050.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 8, 2024

Japan needs more than mere economic strength

Japan, a country that has long relied on its economic prowess for international stature and standing, must change its perspective.
Hideki Makihara enters the Prime Minister's Office on Oct. 3 before being appointed as justice minister.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 9, 2024

Japan's new justice minister admits ties with Unification Church

Such ties between Makihara and the controversial religious group had not been confirmed in a survey by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in 2022.
Shonannoumi hits the dirt at the hands of Kotozakura during a bout in Tokyo in May. Shonannoumi is among the many top wrestlers who have dropped out of this month's regional tour due to injury.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Oct 9, 2024

Spate of sumo tour dropouts highlights need to rethink wrestlers' health

While it would be foolish not to capitalize on sumo’s surging popularity, expanded tour schedules cut into recovery time and push wrestlers to their physical limits.
Rory McIlroy leaves the course following the fourth round of the BMW PGA Championship in Virginia Water, England, on Sept. 22.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 10, 2024

Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau set for PGA-LIV showdown in Las Vegas

The 18-hole, made-for television event between four of the biggest names from the upstart Saudi-backed LIV series and the PGA Tour will be staged at Shadow Creek.
Annual festival Peter Barakan’s Live Magic! was born a decade ago when Barakan (left) decided to create a platform to share his love of roots music, which he attributes to growing up in 1960s England.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 11, 2024

Peter Barakan’s Live Magic! takes its final bow

The 11th edition of the annual blues, jazz and roots festival will also be its last, at least in its current form, but the core concept of the event will live on.
Rafael Nadal bites the trophy after winning the French Open in Paris on June 5, 2022. Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam winner, said he will retire following this year's Davis Cup.
TENNIS
Oct 10, 2024

Rafael Nadal to retire at end of season

"It has been some difficult years, these last two especially," the 38-year-old, who won a record 14 French Open titles, said in a video.
X owner Elon Musk and Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump meet prior to a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 5.
WORLD
Oct 11, 2024

Disinformation stirred by Musk and Trump adds strain to hurricane recovery

Conspiracy theories and hate speech targeting the government’s storm response erupted across social media after Hurricane Helene devastated the Southeast.
People in Japan get some of the least sleep in the world, so when the rare time comes to turn in, many are turning to bedtime stories to drift off to sleep.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Oct 12, 2024

Can't stop tossing and turning at night? Perhaps a bedtime story would help.

“Bedtime routines vary from family to family, from person to person,” says one researcher. “It's important to find what works best for each person.”
The Specialty Coffee Association of Japan's World Specialty Coffee Conference and Exhibition runs through Oct. 12 at Tokyo's Big Sight convention center, where Ogawa Coffee Laboratory is one of many companies showing off advances in coffee roasting and brewing.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 11, 2024

On the ground at Japan's biggest coffee conference

The biggest impact the java-centric event will have on most people might be how their local brewers make their lattes and pour-overs in the near future.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.