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The mascot character of the Osaka Expo promotes the event at Tokyo's Haneda Airport last week.
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2025

Osaka Expo kicks off pavilion reservation lottery amid sales concerns

Winning the lottery guarantees entry to popular pavilions, and this benefit is being promoted to help boost ticket sales, which have struggled to gain momentum.
To counter the impact of aging rural demographics, the agriculture ministry is introducing a new initiative to dispatch corporate personnel to rural areas to increase the number of people engaged with farming communities.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 13, 2025

Japan farm ministry aims to dispatch corporate workers to rural areas

The initiative aims to promote rural revitalization through corporate-sponsored training programs and employee side jobs connecting businesses with farming villages.
Multiple fires cover the skyline with smoke in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
OLYMPICS
Jan 14, 2025

Devastating LA fires prompt 2028 Olympics debate

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has said that planning for the 2028 Olympics and the FIFA World Cup in 2026 is on track.
A damaged school bus is seen after residents fled from the Eaton fire, one of six simultaneous blazes that have swept across Los Angeles County, in Altadena, California, on Saturday.
WORLD / Society
Jan 15, 2025

LA schools rush to reopen as memories of COVID-19 disruption linger

Educators, administrators and parents are taking steps to mitigate learning loss and provide relief to families adversely affected by wildfires.
Former MUFG Bank employee Yukari Imamura, a suspect in the theft of gold ingots worth ¥260 million, leaves the Nerima Police Station in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 15, 2025

Ex-MUFG Bank employee arrested over theft of 20 kg gold deposits

At least 60 clients have been victims of the safe deposit box thefts, with the total damage expected to exceed ¥1 billion.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 15, 2025

BOJ’s Ueda joins deputy chief in flagging chance of January hike

Following Ueda’s remarks, the yen strengthened as much as 0.4% to ¥157.34 against the dollar.
The "madman theory" in foreign policy, which some apply to Donald Trump, relies on perceived irrationality to intimidate adversaries and generally fails to achieve its goals, leading to dangerous miscalculations.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 15, 2025

There is no place for ‘madmen’ in international diplomacy

Historians root the madman theory in Machiavelli, who wrote that “at times it is a very wise thing to simulate madness.”
Elon Musk, the world's richest man, has expressed ambitions to build an "everything app," and adding TikTok to X, formerly Twitter, could bring him closer to that vision.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2025

Elon Musk won’t save TikTok

A Musk takeover of TikTok remains far from a done deal. It would require a wildly complex spinoff and it’s not immediately clear how he would fund a purchase.
The new Switch is a tablet-style device with detachable controllers that can be played in handheld mode or hooked up to a TV, like its predecessor.
LIFE / Digital
Jan 17, 2025

Nintendo announces Switch 2, its first new console in eight years

Japan residents can apply via lottery for a hands-on demo of the Switch 2 on April 26 and 27 at Chiba’s Makuhari Messe convention center.
Firefighters walk next to the remains of beachfront houses that burnt down in the Palisades Fire, in Malibu, California, on Thursday.
WORLD
Jan 17, 2025

Los Angeles evacuees told not to go home for at least another week

Emergency responders are removing toxic waste from incinerated neighborhoods and cutting off electricity and gas lines that pose a hazard amid the ruins.
Sunflowers grow in an empty plot of land in 1995 in Kobe where a home once stood before being destroyed by the Great Hanshin Earthquake.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2025

30 years after the Kobe earthquake, sunflowers serve as a ray of hope

The sunflowers that grew in an empty plot of land in Kobe became the topic of picture books and textbooks.
Parents and municipal staff share their concerns during a workshop held by volunteer group Cotohana in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Jan 27, 2025

Towns near Fukushima plant struggle to attract families with children

Futaba County, home to the Fukushima No.1 nuclear plant, has seen a drastic reduction in the number of children in the area.
People stand as the U.S. Capitol is seen behind the frozen Capitol reflecting pool on Friday after it was announced that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration is being moved indoors due to dangerously cold temperatures expected on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 18, 2025

Trump inauguration moved indoors due to extreme cold

The move could undercut the Republican's hopes for a grandiose spectacle to kick off his second term.
Eugene Kangawa's Atelier iii is a space where visitors are invited to engage directly with the artist’s evolving practice.
CULTURE / Art
Jan 18, 2025

Eugene Kangawa’s art space embraces impermanence

The artist’s Atelier iii studio resists spectacle and asks visitors to slow down and commit to being present.
Reporters listen as President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Jan. 7
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 18, 2025

Once an interloper, Trump returns to White House more powerful than before

The former real-estate developer now plausibly stands as the defining political figure of the early 21st century.
The frame of a building amid the rubble of burned-out homes by the Palisades Fire along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California, on Friday
WORLD
Jan 19, 2025

Milder winds help Los Angeles firefighters as Trump vows to visit

The reprieve may be short-lived, as there is "virtually zero chance of rain" over the next week, which is also expected to see a return of the notoriously powerful Santa Ana winds.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a rally at Capital One Arena ahead of the 60th presidential inauguration in Washington on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 20, 2025

On inauguration eve, Trump promises harsh immigration limits

Donald Trump repeated his campaign pledge to launch the largest deportation effort in U.S. history.
Fuji TV President Koichi Minato speaks at a news conference on Friday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Media
Jan 20, 2025

What went wrong at Fuji TV's news conference on allegations against Nakai?

The broadcaster, which imposed various restrictions for the event that included denying access to many media agencies, ended up worsening the scandal.
Yoshiteru Murosaki, professor emeritus of disaster prevention planning at Kobe University, says poor environments at evacuation centers following disasters remain a concern.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2025

Expert calls for more discussions on earthquake preparedness

The expert mentioned poor environments at evacuation centers as one of the problems persisting since the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995.
Susumu Hyodo, director of the University of Tokyo's Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute (right), and others announce a project to analyze seawater temperatures during an event in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 21, 2025

Japan to study sea changes using fishers' data

Japanese catches of major fish species such as salmon and saury have been slumping since around 2010, according to a national fishing industry group.
As Donald Trump begins his second term, the U.S. holds a strong position in the Indo-Pacific. However, missteps, economic policies and shifting alliances could undermine the Biden administration's progress in strengthening partnerships and countering China.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 21, 2025

Will Trump sustain or squander Biden's Indo-Pacific gains?

The legacy of the Joe Biden administration could prove fleeting, however, the result of missteps by Washington or developments in allied states.
Members of the far-right Proud Boys gather on the day of the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 22, 2025

Trump's pardons will embolden far-right groups, experts say

In a few pen strokes, Donald Trump reversed the largest U.S. Justice Department investigation and prosecution in history.
In this long exposure photo, a helicopter surveys the scene during the Lilac fire in unincorporated San Diego County, California, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Jan 22, 2025

Fire-scarred Los Angeles to face dry winds with promise of weekend rain

This weekend could bring much-needed rain, with up to 1.3 centimeters forecast for the drought-stricken Los Angeles area.
Ayumu Hirano competes at the X Games Oslo in 2016.
MORE SPORTS / Snowboarding
Jan 22, 2025

Was that a 900 or 1080 on the halfpipe? X Games can now ask AI.

During the snowboard SuperPipe competitions, video cameras will capture the moves of each athlete, and AI will provide an unofficial score for the routine.
A charred chimney is all that remains at a fire-ravaged ocean front home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Jan. 16.
WORLD
Jan 22, 2025

After the fire, should some parts of Los Angeles never rebuild?

Researchers warn that wildfires pose very different risks from more predictable events like sea-level rise and riverbank flooding.
Takuya Mori, a curator of Yokkaichi Municipal Museum in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, works on converting magnetic recordings kept at the museum into digital files.
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Mar 3, 2025

Magnetic tapes at risk without digitization, archive groups warn

UNESCO has called for the digitization of audio and video recordings kept in academic and cultural institutions.
A portrait of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny is placed amid flowers at his grave at the Borisovskoye cemetery in Moscow on March 2, 2024.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 23, 2025

Navalny's lawyer regrets she couldn't stop his return to Moscow

Olga Mikhailova says she feels she "did not push hard enough" to change the mind of the Russian opposition leader, who eventually died in an Arctic penal colony.
Lewis Hamilton drives a Ferrari F1 car around the Fiorano circuit during testing in Fiorano Modenese, Italy, on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Jan 23, 2025

Lewis Hamilton calls first laps in Ferrari car 'one of the best feelings'

The 40-year-old Briton shocked the paddock last February when he announced he was departing for the iconic Italian team after 12 highly successful years with Mercedes.
Jannik Sinner signs autographs after his win over Alex De Minaur in the Australian Open quarterfinals in Melbourne on Wednesday.
TENNIS
Jan 23, 2025

Jannik Sinner taking nothing for granted ahead of Australian Open semifinal

Sinner is just two matches away from a first successful Grand Slam title defense after winning his maiden Grand Slam crown in Melbourne last year.
Transparent Display installed at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
JAPAN / Society
Jan 31, 2025

Smoother communication breaking barriers in Tokyo with Transparent Display

The Transparent Display can translate and project the text in 32 different languages.

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.