Search - 2023

 
 
Israeli soldiers mount an Israeli flag on a military vehicle near the Israel-Gaza border on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 16, 2024

Israel vows response to Iran attack amid growing calls for restraint

Israel's military chief of staff said Iran's direct attack "will be met with a response" as world leaders call for no further escalation.
Japan and other countries are holding annual talks on saury catch quota.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2024

Japan and eight other countries discuss saury catch rules

Slated to run until Thursday, the talks will focus on setting calculation rules to allocate catch quotas.
Black bears have been added to the list of "designated wildlife species for control" by the Environment Ministry.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2024

Japan adds black and brown bears to subsidized hunting list

The government is stepping up the control measures as bear attacks on humans hit a record high in fiscal 2023 that ended in March.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addresses a joint session of Congress in Washington on Thursday. Kishida’s recent summit with U.S. President Joe Biden is being lauded as a success.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 16, 2024

Give credit where credit’s due after prime minister's outstanding U.S. summit

The Japan-U.S. summit has been rightly called historic and a big deal for Tokyo and the alliance — if its long list of deliverables is realized.
A direct military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities by the U.S. and its allies would likely only delay its program while risking regional war and increasing the likelihood of Tehran acquiring nuclear weapons in the long run.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 16, 2024

Iran hawks want to strike now. They're wrong.

One thing Iran hawks get right, starting with the contention that by attacking Israel directly on Saturday night, Iran changed rules of engagement.
Solomon Islanders queue up to vote outside a polling station in Honiara on Wednesday. The election could reshape regional security, with citizens effectively choosing if their Pacific nation will deepen ties with China.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 17, 2024

China and Taiwan ties hang in the balance in Solomon Islands vote

While domestic issues will be key to voters’ choices, the result will have repercussions for the islands’ ties with China.
Caitlin Clark poses with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert after she was selected with the No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever on Monday in New York.
BASKETBALL
Apr 17, 2024

Caitlin Clark helps WNBA obliterate previous draft viewership mark

The audience was more than four times as many viewers when compared to the 2023 draft, which drew 572,000.
Tesla's troubles started in October when it warned that demand for EVs was starting to slow, but the full extent of that weakness only became apparent this month.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 17, 2024

Tesla’s value dips below $500 billion in blow to stock bulls

The electric vehicle maker's troubles started in October when it warned that demand for EVs was starting to slow.
A woman walks past a banner depicting missiles bearing the emblem of the Islamic Republic of Iran being launched, in central Tehran on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 17, 2024

Iran strikes showcase disinformation thriving and incentivized on X

Falsehoods amplified by cloud-chasing accounts that feign digital expertise highlight the potential for information chaos during a fast-unfolding crisis.
Entrepreneurs Yusaku Maezawa (second from right) and Takafumi Horie (third from right) attend a study session on fake social media ads and investment scams at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on April 10.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 17, 2024

Police warn against investment scams on social media

Scammers are posing as prominent businesspeople to increase credibility and to lure victims into "get rich quick” schemes.
A member of Ukraine’s 17th Tank Brigade on patrol near the front line in the Donetsk region of southeastern Ukraine on Jan. 4.
WORLD
Apr 17, 2024

Ukraine’s big vulnerabilities: Ammunition, soldiers and air defense

Even if outside aid comes through, Ukraine's third year pushing Russia back will be extremely tough as they continue to be outgunned.
Ryoma Shimoseki (90) was playing at Kosei Gakuen High School in Tokyo when he was discovered by NFL Academy coaches.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Apr 17, 2024

Japanese NFL hopeful gets dream chance on football field in U.K.

Ryoma Shimoseki was recently announced as the newest addition to the NFL Academy as he bids to become the first Japanese to make an NFL roster.
In the new Disney+ series “House of the Owl,” Min Tanaka (left) plays a powerful political fixer, or “kuromaku,” who has a troubled relationship with his adult children, particularly his idealistic son, played by Mackenyu.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Apr 18, 2024

'House of the Owl' brings Hollywood values to Japanese TV

Min Tanaka plays a powerful political fixer in the 10-episode show, which centers on the behind-the-scenes machinations of "kuromaku."
Once one of the country’s biggest employers, Toshiba has been trying to cut costs in its sprawling operations and focus on its infrastructure and digital technology operations.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 18, 2024

Toshiba considers cutting thousands of jobs in Japan

The electronics and machinery maker plans to focus resources on its infrastructure and digital operations.
Efforts by Russia and China to shape U.S. politics through propaganda and cyberattacks have been less pronounced during this year’s election cycle than they were in 2016 and 2020, Microsoft said on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 18, 2024

Microsoft sees slowing in Russian and Chinese efforts to sway U.S. vote

Researchers concluded that there have been few signs of people being broadly swayed by sophisticated deepfake videos made with AI by the nation-states.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during the signing of the Rasht-Astara railway agreement in May 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 18, 2024

New 'sanctions-proof' transport routes put Russia at heart of global trade

Shipping and rail networks via Iran and an Arctic sea passage could strengthen Moscow’s pivot toward China and India and away from Europe.
An aircraft from the Thai Department of Royal Rainmaking deposits a sodium chloride-based material in an effort to produce rain.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science
Apr 18, 2024

How cloud seeding boosts rainfall — and why that’s controversial

Developed in the 1940s, cloud seeding can boost rain and snowfall, but the World Meteorological Organization warns we don't know enough about it yet.
The IMF has singled out the U.K. and Italy alongside the U.S. and China as nations that face serious fiscal risks as debt continues to creep upward.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 18, 2024

U.S. and China debts pose risks for global public finances, IMF says

Public debt in China and the U.S. is projected to almost double by 2053, which could "have profound effects on the global economy," the IMF reports.
Lt. Saw Kaw, a soldier of the Karen National Liberation Army in charge of the Cobra column, walks with his team members after inspecting the house of a high-rank Myanmar soldier at Infantry Batallion 275 at Myawaddy in Myanmar on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 18, 2024

In rebel-held Myanmar town, fragile unity pushes junta to the brink

Armed groups in Myanmar are striving to work together to repel the junta after rebels took control of a crucial trading-post town last week.
Spain's Rafael Nadal serves to Australia's Alex de Minaur at the Barcelona Open on Wednesday.
TENNIS
Apr 18, 2024

French Open the moment to 'give everything': Nadal after Barcelona defeat

Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of the 2023 season, is hoping to compete at the French Open in May where he is the record 14-time champion.
Animator Hayao Miyazaki is among Time's 100 most influential people of 2024.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2024

Hayao Miyazaki among Time's 100 most influential people

Miyazaki, who won his second Oscar last month, was described as a "one-of-a-kind creator" in the magazine.
Iran is now enriching uranium to up to 60% purity and has enough material enriched to that level, if enriched further, for two nuclear weapons, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency's theoretical definition.
WORLD / Politics / EXPLAINER
Apr 19, 2024

As the 2015 nuclear deal crumbles, how close is Iran to weaponization?

With the possibility of Israel retaliating, a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander said the nation might review its "nuclear doctrine."
Lizi Haidarzhy, whose mother and 4-month-old brother, Tymofii, were killed in a Russian drone attack, wakes up from a nap in Odesa, Ukraine.
WORLD / Society
Apr 19, 2024

A drone strike in Odesa shatters a family’s life

The family’s story and grief have resonated widely in Ukraine.
Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa poses for photos during a news conference ahead of the London Marathon on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Apr 19, 2024

Tigst Assefa ready to chase women's record at London Marathon

The 27-year-old Ethiopian smashed the world record when completing the Berlin Marathon in 2 hours, 11 minutes and 53 seconds.
Members of the North Pacific Fisheries Commission have agreed to cut the 2024 catch quota for saury in the high seas in the northern Pacific in response to declining resources.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2024

Japan and others agree to cut northern Pacific saury catch quota

Nine economies agreed to introduce the rule to calculate catch quotas based on scientific evidence.
The Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant (background)
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2024

Tepco starts fresh release of treated water from Fukushima nuclear plant

This is the fifth round in total since the water release started in August 2023.
CDP head Kenta Izumi speaks to reporters in Tokyo on April 13.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 19, 2024

Kishida and Izumi to campaign in must-win Shimane as by-election looms

For Kishida and the LDP, the Shimane race is a must-win contest, while the opposition is looking to gain ground in a ruling party stronghold.
An Israeli soldier celebrates after returning home from Gaza amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas militants in November.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 19, 2024

No barbarism without poetry

The collective abandonment of reason and where it leads is all too familiar — and yet remains all too appealing.
Four-piece Atarashii Gakko! and Okinawan rapper Awich (center) shared the Mojave Stage at 88Risings’s “Futures” showcase at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival last weekend.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 19, 2024

Japanese acts seize Coachella's spotlight — and this ain't your typical J-pop

Yoasobi, Awich and Atarashii Gakko! shine at the California festival, proving just how much J-pop has made strides in reaching international audiences.
A gallery of cars at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama. The carmaker revised downward its profit and sales forecasts for the fiscal year that ended in March.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 19, 2024

Nissan cuts sales and profit forecasts

The firm said the revision was made because of lower sales volumes and higher costs paid to suppliers, among other factors.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan