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While FromSoftware's Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is a strong contender for game of the year, Black Myth: Wukong, the first AAA game made by a Chinese developer, offers some stiff competition.
LIFE / Digital / 2024 in Review
Dec 6, 2024

It’s Japan versus China for 2024’s game of the year

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree and Black Myth: Wukong both have a claim to the best game of 2024, a year marked by cultural scandals and lawsuits.
People demand South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's resignation at the National Assembly in Seoul on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 6, 2024

South Korea's leader is likely to hang on, despite being reviled

For the impeachment movement to be successful, the opposition needs only eight of the 108 lawmakers in the ruling party to switch sides.
People walk around an outlet mall in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture. At stores across Japan, clerks use a form of polite language called "manyuaru keigo," literally, “manual honorifics,” named for the service manuals they study it from.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 6, 2024

Japan's honorific language can be challenging for native speakers, too

According to surveys, more than half of those in their teens, 20s and 30s, believe they cannot use "keigo," or honorific language, appropriately.
The South Korean government holds its own memorial service for Korean gold miners on Nov. 25 in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, after skipping the one organized by local authorities the day before.
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2024

Kyodo News to remove senior editors over Yasukuni Shrine report

The agency reported in August 2022 that a lawmaker had visited the shrine based on unconfirmed information.
Newly arrived asylum-seekers take advantage of phone chargers and free Wi-Fi to connect with family back home at an immigrant service center in Oceanside, California, in October 2023.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 26, 2024

Sanctuary cities may be having an identity crisis

So far, the mayors and governors of these sanctuary cities and states have remained largely undeterred, even defiant in the face of such threats.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te speaks during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday for a new government facility in Palau that Taipei helped fund.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 6, 2024

Taiwan's Lai says he is 'confident' of deeper cooperation with Trump

Trump caused jitters during his campaign by suggesting Taiwan should pay the United States for its defense.
David Sacks during an event in San Francisco in 2016. President-elect Donald Trump announced on Thursday that Sacks would take on the role of "White House A.I. & Crypto Czar."
BUSINESS / Tech / ANALYSIS
Dec 7, 2024

Trump's crypto team takes shape but questions remain over who will drive policy

Some analysts said the creation of a crypto czar, a new role, sowed ambiguity over who would drive policy and flagged the potential for clashes.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani gets a hit during Game 1 of the World Series on Oct. 25. The Golden At-Bat is an idea that would change everything about how baseball — the ultimate team sport — has always worked.
BASEBALL
Dec 7, 2024

Golden At-Bat could give MLB a new shine. Is it worth it?

What if a team could choose one at-bat in every game to send its best hitter to the plate even if it wasn’t that guy’s turn to hit?
A Nippon Express facility in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 7, 2024

Fraudulent transport insurance claims found at Nippon Express

The offices falsified data and documents related to insurance contracts and claimed insurance money for cargoes without insurance contracts.
People gather at Umayyad Square in Damascus on Sunday. The Islamist-led rebels declared that they have taken the city.
WORLD
Dec 8, 2024

Syrian rebels topple President Assad; prime minister calls for free elections

Syrian rebels seized Damascus, ending President Bashar Assad's 13-year rule and raising uncertainty over a transition led by Islamist group HTS in a war-torn nation.
Filipino housekeepers undergo training to work for a Japanese staffing company. By applying the same criteria when hiring overseas and local workers, Japanese firms tend to underutilize the unique skills that foreign nationals can bring.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 8, 2024

Firms should quit turning foreign workers into Japanese ones

Many foreign nationals struggle with the idiosyncrasies of Japan's employment system. Firms tend to assimilate overseas personnel rather than utilize their unique skills.
A protester holding a cardboard cutout of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol takes part in a demonstration calling for his ouster outside the National Assembly in Seoul on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 9, 2024

After failed martial law, South Koreans ask: Who’s in charge?

President Yoon Suk Yeol's move has created a power vacuum in his governing camp, pushing the country deeper into what analysts call a constitutional crisis.
A Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle (EV) at a dealership in Colma, California, on Jan. 26
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 9, 2024

Trump's EV skepticism threatens $54 billion in Korean investments

Some Korean companies have slowed or hit the pause button on any ongoing construction of some plants in the U.S. because they’re concerned about reduced demand for EVs.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks at the White House in Washington on Nov. 2, 2017.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 9, 2024

Trump says he has no plan to remove Powell as Fed chair

Powell, whose term expires in May 2026, told reporters last month that he wouldn’t step aside early if Trump asked for his resignation.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer sits down with leaders from the Council's eight Member Administrations for the plenary meeting during a British-Irish Council (BIC) Summit in Edinburgh, Scotland on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 9, 2024

Starmer plans reform of U.K. state in bid to counter criticism

The newly introduced fund will help deploy teams of people around the country with the aim of solving issues in public services.
Protesters tear signs, depicting the names of ruling People Power Party lawmakers who didn't vote during the impeachment motion against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol last Saturday, as they attend a rally calling for the impeachment of Yoon, who declared and quickly reversed a martial law order last week, in front of the PPP's headquarters in Seoul on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 9, 2024

South Korea's Yoon banned from foreign travel as leadership crisis deepens

On Monday, the Defense Ministry said Yoon was still legally commander in chief, but his grip on power has come into question.
There has been intense speculation about the possibility of China launching military drills in response to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te's Pacific tour last week that included two stopovers on U.S. soil.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 9, 2024

Taiwan on high alert after China's military restricts airspace

There has been speculation about the possibility of China launching military drills in response to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te's Pacific tour last week.
X owner Elon Musk and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump attend a viewing of the launch of a SpaceX test flight on Nov. 19.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 10, 2024

Trump is on collision course with EU over big tech crackdown

In the coming months, several U.S. tech companies could face billions in fines or even mandatory divestment orders from EU investigations.
A poster advertising a reward for information is posted near the site where Brian Thompson, chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, was fatally gunned down in New York on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 10, 2024

CEO killing and rage over insurance plunges UnitedHealth into crisis

Instead of eliciting sympathy from the public, the death of UnitedHealth’s CEO has spawned a hate machine against the insurance industry.
Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo in action with Al Ittihad's Abdulrahman in a Saudi Pro League match in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Friday
SOCCER
Dec 10, 2024

'Humanizing' Saudi soccer': Netflix show paves way for World Cup

The series depicts how the Saudi Pro League has been transformed by the arrival of global stars.
People hold a banner featuring Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as members of the Syrian community and supporters gather to celebrate the fall of Syrian president Bashar Assad in the face of an offensive by Islamist-led rebels, in Istanbul on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 10, 2024

With Assad’s fall, Erdogan oversees Turkey’s growing regional clout

Erdogan’s clout over his southern neighbor has increased dramatically with the fall of his onetime friend Bashar Assad.
The aftermath of an overnight strike attributed to Israel is seen on the Barzeh scientific research center affiliated with the Syrian defense ministry in northern Damascus on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 11, 2024

Israel steps up airstrikes and sends troops deeper into Syria

The Israel Defense Forces said it struck most of the strategic weapons stockpiles in Syria to prevent them from falling into the hands of terrorists.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attends a signing ceremony at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, on Nov. 28.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 11, 2024

Lula faces Biden parallels as surgery raises questions over age

The operation raises difficult questions about whether the 79-year-old leftist leader is fit to meet the challenges that are piling up in front of him.
“Ainu Puri” is a nuanced portrait of Shigeki Amanai (left), a modern Ainu man who strives to uphold his culture and heritage in daily life.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 12, 2024

‘Ainu Puri’: A vital portrait of indigenous culture in contemporary Japan

Takeshi Fukunaga’s documentary is an engaging examination of the life and community of a Hokkaido man devoted to his Ainu heritage.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers his speech declaring martial law in Seoul on Dec. 3.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 10, 2024

Impending fallout from Yoon's political problems

It is conceivable that a potential Lee administration, with its pro-Beijing positions, may annul Yoon’s positive contributions to stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
Georgian anti-government protesters face off against police during consecutive days of mass demonstrations against the government's postponement of European Union accession talks in central Tbilisi on Dec. 3.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 8, 2024

Georgia has crossed a Russian Rubicon

A tipping point came last week when authorities in the capital Tbilisi sent masked police to raid the headquarters of opposition parties.
A liquefied natural gas plant operated by Sakhalin Energy in Sakhalin, Russia. Japan, the world's second biggest LNG buyer, depends on Russia for 9% of its LNG.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Dec 12, 2024

Rival supplies and depleting fields give Japan an exit from Russian gas

Japan, the world's second-biggest liquefied natural gas buyer, depends on Russia for 9% of its LNG.
The leader of Syria's rebel group, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, addresses a crowd in Damascus on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 12, 2024

Militant leader's endgame is big unknown in post-Assad Syria

Abu Mohammed al-Golani has sought to project a moderate image so far, but there is distrust in the air.
The vast amount of money poured into the 2024 U.S. presidential election did not have a decisive effect on the outcome: Donald Trump won, despite being significantly outspent by Kamala Harris.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 12, 2024

Big money beat bigger money in the U.S. election

The vast amount of money that poured into the 2024 race did not have a decisive effect on the outcome.
A student at the University of Toronto campus. New immigration laws drastically reduce the number of foreign students in Canada.
WORLD / Society
Dec 12, 2024

Immigration whiplash hits Canada’s colleges in warning for economy

Concerns are mounting about damage to Canada’s reputation as a higher-education hub for talented young people who aim to join the workforce.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years