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Rivers and canals meander through many of the townships in Ningbo, with some homes built close to the water.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 19, 2024

Can China shield the biggest uninsured economy from floods?

Only about 10% of Chinese families have a home insurance policy, compared to nearly 90% in the U.S.
Riot police march in front of the main building of Ssangyong Motor in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on Aug. 6, 2009.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Dec 25, 2024

The real-life violence that inspired South Korea's 'Squid Game'

A struggling car giant in South Korea announcing in 2009 it was laying off more than 2,600 people resulted in an occupation of its factory.
​SSPP Forum #03
ESG CONSORTIUM
Dec 31, 2024

NTT’s SSPP Forum shares ideas on forming communities of future

NTT’s Sustainable Smart City Partner Program (SSPP) supports the development of communities of the future that maximize residents’ well-being. The SSPP Forum was launched in 2022 to provide an opportunity for sharing SSPP case studies on community formation, and its third session was held recently....
Apollo Global Management is discussing a commitment of as much as ¥1.5 trillion for an equity stake in a bid by Seven & I’s founding Ito family to take the convenience store operator private.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 10, 2025

Apollo weighs $9.5 billion stake in Seven & I management buyout

Under the current proposal, Apollo would join the Ito family and Itochu, the operator of FamilyMart in Japan, as key investors.
Smoke from the Pacific Palisades fire blankets the area in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Researchers see a growing health danger from the vast plumes of pollution spawned by wildfires like the ones devastating Los Angeles.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jan 12, 2025

Far from the Los Angeles fires, the deadly risks of smoke are intensifying

By some estimates, wildfire smoke causes as many as 675,000 premature deaths a year worldwide, as well as a range of serious health problems.
The U.S. Supreme Court justices on Friday expressed skepticism about a challenge from TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 13, 2025

What happens after the TikTok ban?

TikTok's future in the U.S. is uncertain as the Supreme Court weighs security concerns, with a potential ban or forced sale looming on Jan. 19. Here's how it could play out.
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.
U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as reporters ask questions aboard Air Force One during a flight from Las Vegas to Miami on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 27, 2025

Trump, at zenith of power, moves quickly to 'take over' Washington

Trump's agenda faces roadblocks going forward, and the opening weeks of his administration may represent the height of his power, some supporters acknowledge.
A worker at a Kongo factory in Kashima, Kumamoto Prefecture, carefully processes an aluminum plate using a forming press.
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Jan 28, 2025

Companies in Kyushu struggle to enter TSMC’s supply chain

One report shows that firms in the region make up less than 10% of Japanese companies doing business with TSMC or its unit in Japan.
Institutional security officers stand during a ceremony to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the United States ceding control of the Panama Canal to the government of Panama in 1999, in Panama City on Dec. 31, 2024.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 1, 2025

Why the U.S. is claiming China’s presence violates the Panama neutrality treaty

U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to take back the waterway during his Jan. 20 inauguration speech, falsely claiming that China is operating it.
Risshaku-ji Buddhist temple in the snow, with the valley and town in the background.
SATOYAMA CONSORTIUM
Feb 4, 2025

Yamagata’s Zao Onsen Ski Resort is a classic beauty

Each year between mid-November and April, winter sports fans from around the world flock to Japan for the country’s renowned powder snow. Aussie snowboarders, in particular, have made Niseko in Hokkaido and Hakuba in Nagano their winter homes, escaping the hot summers Down Under.
Mizuho’s sustainability report for 2024
ESG CONSORTIUM
Feb 4, 2025

Mizuho report aims to spur action to move into alternative energy

To achieve carbon neutrality in an increasingly uncertain world, Japanese companies should focus on innovations for alternative energy and shift their business models toward building a carbon-neutral economy, Mizuho Financial Group says in a recent report.
Too many people die from treatable diseases in places with little access to health care. To prevent this from happening, affordability, availability and acceptability considerations must be at the core of medical products' lifecycles, starting with R & D.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 13, 2025

To stop preventable deaths, start with the fundamentals

Treatable diseases like malaria are still causing too many deaths in places with poor health care. To prevent these, accessibility must be baked into medical development.
Tokyo Koon stands at the forefront of tackling the so-called 2025 issue, also known as the “Magnetic Tape Alert.”
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Feb 17, 2025

The race to save 20th-century history

Analog recordings are at risk of disappearing as old tech breaks down and spare parts run out.
Discussion that took place at the the reconstruction and future creation conference
ESG CONSORTIUM
Feb 18, 2025

NRI helps Noto town of Anamizu grow back better following quake

The major earthquake that jolted Ishikawa Prefecture’s Noto Peninsula on Jan. 1, 2024, drew attention to the area’s severe issue of an aging and shrinking population, but efforts to revive the Anamizu Town, which is in the center of the Noto Peninsula, will aid the overall recovery, according to...
A 7-Eleven convenience store, operated by Seven & I Holdings, in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 26, 2025

Seven & I buyout talks stall over management control

The founding Ito family and Itochu have yet to reach consensus on the composition of the board of the post-buyout entity, sources said.
To achieve a stable supply chain and propel semiconductor innovation, Japan's government and chipmakers are increasingly building bridges with foreign firms.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Mar 3, 2025

Japan is no island when it comes to semiconductors. Rightly so.

To achieve a stable supply chain and propel semiconductor innovation, Japan's government and chipmakers are increasingly building bridges with foreign firms.
Seino is working with Japan Post as part of an OPP initiative.
ESG CONSORTIUM
Mar 17, 2025

Seino drives collaborative, sustainable transportation

The logistics company Seino Holdings Co. Ltd. has been promoting an open public platform (OPP) with the aim of improving the industry’s efficiency and reducing its environmental impact through collaboration among companies and the utilization of joint transportation and digital technology.
Newcastle defender Dan Burn (center) celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal of the English League Cup final between Liverpool and Newcastle United at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
SOCCER
Mar 17, 2025

Newcastle stuns Liverpool to end 56-year trophy drought

Eddie Howe's side made history at Wembley with a superb display that left the runaway Premier League leaders shell-shocked.
A conceptual image of a jacket that can automatically adjust the temperature inside it to a level that is the most comfortable for the wearer, to be showcased by Tohan Denshi Kiki and others at the Osaka Expo
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 17, 2025

Local manufacturers to show futuristic products at Osaka Expo

Products to be showcased at the Expo include a jacket that can automatically adjust the temperature inside it.
U.S. President Donald Trump (left), who had stormy exchanges earlier with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, described their call on Wednesday as "fantastic.”
WORLD / Politics
Mar 20, 2025

Trump and Zelenskyy pledge in phone call to work for end to war in Ukraine

Describing the move as a step toward fully ending Ukraine's war with Russia, the Ukrainian president said his country is "ready to implement it."
Others in the running to buy TikTok are Microsoft, Oracle and a group that includes Internet personality MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 22, 2025

AI startup Perplexity confirms interest to buy TikTok

Perplexity in a blog post laid out a vision for integrating its AI-powered internet search capabilities with the popular video-snippet sharing app.
A worker cuts Inada granite, which is used in various buildings in Tokyo.
ESG CONSORTIUM
Apr 1, 2025

Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones

In 2024, the Tsukuba massif granite of the Mt. Tsukuba Area Geopark was certified by the International Union of Geological Sciences as one of the first 55 IUGS Heritage Stones, which have been “used in significant architecture and monuments” and “recognized as integral aspects of human culture.”...
A doctor administers COVID-19 vaccinations to members of the Latino community in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, in August 2021.
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 5, 2025

As U.S. ditches diversity in clinical trials, all eyes on Europe

The United States once led the world in running clinical trials that aimed to look like the nation at large.
The TikTok logo is seen outside the Chinese video app company's Los Angeles offices on Friday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 7, 2025

Trump says China tariff objections stalled TikTok deal

ByteDance is required to divest TikTok’s U.S. unit but the company has balked at selling a business valued in the billions.
Chieko Asakawa, chief executive director of Miraikan, with an AI-powered suitcase designed to assist people with visual impairments, in Tokyo's Koto Ward on Jan. 22
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 11, 2025

AI suitcase for visually impaired to be tested at expo

The device incorporates generative artificial intelligence technology, enabling it to describe the surrounding environment through voice feedback.
A Doctors Without Borders nurse conducts a malaria test on a young Sudanese refugee suffering from malnutrition, at the group's hospital at the Touloum refugee camp in the Wadi Fira province, Chad, on April 11.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 28, 2025

U.S. aid cuts create 'perfect storm' for malaria in Africa

Experts warn that U.S. funding cuts could lead to an upsurge in the disease across Africa and beyond.
OpenAI had backpedaled on plans to convert its for-profit arm into a public benefit corporation.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 6, 2025

OpenAI dials back conversion plan, with nonprofit to retain control

The announcement follows a storm of criticism and legal challenges, including a high-profile lawsuit filed by rival and co-founder Elon Musk.
The Indian Air Force's Rafale fighter jets. India and Pakistan aircraft engaged in a dogfight on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 9, 2025

Global militaries to study India-Pakistan fighter jet battle

This week's dogfight is a rare opportunity for militaries to study the performance of pilots, fighter jets and air-to-air missiles in active combat.
People shop inside a tax-free drug store at the Ameyoko shopping district in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 16, 2025

Emergency contraceptive pill may be approved for over-the-counter sales

In most cases, women in Japan must undergo a medical examination and obtain a prescription to access such pills.

Longform

Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.
Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?