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People stand in front of a temporarily closed McDonald's in Tokyo's Shimbashi district on Friday as the chain experienced widespread tech issues.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 15, 2024

McDonald's suffers widespread tech outage in Japan and abroad

Many McDonald's stores in Japan stopped taking in-person and mobile customer orders because of the system disruption.
Shohei Ohtani works out with his Dodgers teammates in Seoul on Saturday ahead of the team's two-game opening series against the Padres next week.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 16, 2024

Ohtani lifts Dodgers past Yankees for baseball's hottest ticket

The Dodgers are the top-selling team for the first time in StubHub’s history, after finishing eighth last season in the firm's annual preseason rankings.
Call loan brokers at Tokyo Tanshi in Tokyo in November. After decades of setting its benchmark rate near zero, the Bank of Japan is poised to tighten, spurring new opportunities for veteran traders after decades of setting its benchmark rate near zero.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 17, 2024

Japan’s $4 trillion offshore funds will ignore first BOJ hike

Only 40% of 273 respondents said the BOJ's first interest-rate hike since 2007 will prompt investors to sell foreign assets and repatriate the proceeds.
Fans cheer during a friendly match between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Kiwoon Heroes ahead of the Major League Baseball Seoul Series in Seoul on Sunday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 18, 2024

MLB brings Shohei Ohtani, season openers and big dreams to Seoul

With a set of stars from the region, 2024 is turning out to be baseball’s moment in Asia.
Women attend a singing class at Mama Sunset, a learning center for middle-aged and senior people, in Beijing in January.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Mar 18, 2024

Silver lining: Tutoring the elderly is growing fast in China

The growth potential of the industry contrasts sharply with the decline of the after-school private tutoring sector following a crackdown in 2021.
U.S. lawmakers last week overwhelmingly backed a bill to ban TikTok unless Chinese parent company ByteDance divested itself within six months.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 18, 2024

Monsters, asteroids, vampires: AI conspiracies flood TikTok

YouTube tutorials show users how to create "viral conspiracy theory videos" and profit off TikTok's Creativity Program.
Nearly half of married couples in Japan are “sexless,” a recent survey shows.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 18, 2024

Nearly half of Japanese married couples are 'sexless,' survey finds

The most common reasons include “my partner doesn’t respond to my advances" for men, and “it’s too much hassle” for women.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol delivers remarks during the Third Summit for Democracy in Seoul on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 18, 2024

South Korea-hosted summit warns of AI risks to democracy

South Korea is hosting the Summit for Democracy conference, an initiative aimed at discussing ways to stop the erosion of rights and freedoms.
Japan welcomed 2.79 million visitors in February, a record for the month and the most for any month since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2024

Japan sees record 2.79 million visitors in February due to Lunar New Year boost

The travel industry is getting a major boost from a weak yen that has made Japan a bargain destination for foreign travelers.
Denys Kostev, a Ukrainian teen who lived in an orphanage in southern Ukraine and ended up in Russian-controlled territory following Moscow's full-scale invasion
WORLD / Politics
Mar 20, 2024

Poster child for Russia's removal of Ukraine orphans says he was coached, threatened

Kyiv says many Ukrainian orphans taken to Russian-controlled territory have been subjected to an orchestrated program to make them accept Kremlin ideology.
Ichibata Department Store, located in Matsue, capital of Shimane Prefecture, was the last remaining department store in the prefecture but ended its 65-year history on Jan. 14.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 21, 2024

More prefectures losing department stores even amid pandemic recovery

In 17 prefectures there is currently only one department store and there are none in three, set to rise to four in July.
Kaori Yamada grew up surrounded by bonsai her whole life and was expected to carry on her family's 170-year-old legacy when she became an adult.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 23, 2024

The bonsai master working to branch out an age-old craft

Kaori Yamada grew up surrounded by bonsai her whole life and was expected to carry on her family's 170-year-old legacy or otherwise end it.
A protest against the extradition law in Hong Kong in June 2019
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 22, 2024

Where are Hong Kong’s leading pro-democracy figures now?

In 2019, Hong Kong erupted into the most stunning expression of public anger with Beijing in decades.
Baseball player Shohei Ohtani poses with his Japanese interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara (right), and his agent, Nez Balelo, during a news conference after signing a 10-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers last year.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 22, 2024

Shohei Ohtani scandal raises the stakes on sports betting

The speed at which U.S. sports leagues have embraced betting put the Japanese star's fastball to shame.
Hisashi Yagi is full of enthusiasm as he reopens Iroha Bookstore at a temporary location in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Thursday.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 22, 2024

Beloved bookstore in quake-hit Ishikawa reopens at temporary site

The reopened Iroha Bookstore, which has a 75-year history, is lined with picture books taken from the original store and manga related to the prefecture.
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani and his then-interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, attend a news conference at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on March 16, ahead of the 2024 MLB Seoul Series baseball game between the Dodgers and San Diego Padres.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 23, 2024

MLB launches investigation into scandal involving Ohtani and ex-interpreter

MLB is expected to request interviews with all parties, including Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara, the slugger's longtime interpreter and close friend.
The record high, which reflects rising prices, was the worst since the subject was added to the poll in 2008, according to a Cabinet Office official.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 23, 2024

Record 63% in Japan feel financially uncomfortable, government survey finds

The result, which reflects rising prices, was the worst since the subject was added to the poll in 2008, according to a Cabinet Office official.
Participants take part in a matchmaking event organized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government at Jindai Botanical Gardens on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 23, 2024

Tokyo, Tokyo, make me a match! Metropolis hopes AI app will spur marriages

The app will ask matrimonial hopefuls more than 100 questions as the capital seeks to curb declining numbers of marriages and births.
Britain's Prince William and Princess Catherine attend a ceremony in November.
WORLD
Mar 24, 2024

U.K. royal Catherine 'touched' by support after cancer announcement

Kate said she was undergoing preventive chemotherapy after tests done following her major abdominal surgery in January revealed cancer had been present.
People lay flowers at a makeshift memorial near Crocus City Hall, a concert venue outside Moscow that was the site of a mass shooting on Friday night.
WORLD
Mar 24, 2024

Deadly Moscow attack shatters Putin’s security promise to Russians

The tragedy outside Moscow is a blow to a leader riding an aura of confidence only days after a stage-managed election victory.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 25, 2024

Ohtani to speak Monday on allegations surrounding ex-interpreter

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he hoped two-way superstar's plans to speak on the press would bring "clarity."
Visitors view a BYD Dolphin EV car at the 44th Bangkok International Motor Show in Bangkok in 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 25, 2024

Chinese EV makers to take center stage at Bangkok motor show

The popularity of Chinese EVs in Thailand underscores the growing challenge Japanese auto giants face in a vehicle market they have long dominated.
A big selling point for Starlink is its ease of setting up and use.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 26, 2024

Elon Musk’s Starlink terminals are falling into the wrong hands

A thriving black market results in kits being smuggled into territories where the service has no agreement to operate and their use by repressive regimes.
South Korean pop group BTS perform during the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards on April 3, 2022.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 27, 2024

Universal Music to distribute BTS and rappers in new Hybe deal

As part of the agreement, the companies will collaborate on artist promotions and marketing activities in North America.
Demonstrators on Tuesday in Washington, where the U.S. Supreme Court signaled it's likely to preserve full access to a widely used abortion pill as the justices heard arguments in a case carrying major stakes for reproductive rights and potentially this year's elections.
WORLD / Society
Mar 27, 2024

Judges' mention of 1873 obscenity law opens new front in U.S. war on abortion

Those opposed to the womens' health procedure cite the law as a reason to roll back a 2021 FDA decision allowing an abortion drug to be sent by mail.
A ban on propositional betting in collegiate sports isn’t expected to have a material impact on DraftKings’ financial performance.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 28, 2024

DraftKings shares slump after NCAA proposes college prop bet ban

The NCAA says it is "drawing the line on sports betting to protect student-athletes and to protect the integrity of the game.”
Kelly Zong Fuli
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 28, 2024

China's ‘Princess of Wahaha’ to lead beverage empire fighting for relevance

Sales at Hangzhou Wahaha Group have fallen in an increasingly competitive market as the firm has proven slow to adapt to consumers’ changing tastes.
An installation titled "Ukiyo-e" by Atsushi Kaga is displayed at Art Basel in Hong Kong on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 28, 2024

Art Basel Hong Kong’s full-scale return tests city’s events appeal

The art fair will serve as a test of the city’s ability to stage major events, in the wake of several big-name controversies and cancellations.
Hitoshi Matsumoto
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 28, 2024

Comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto's defamation trial kicks off

Identities of two women accusing the comedian of forcing them into having sex, as reported by Shukan Bunshun, becomes the focus on Day 1.
Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia has made on-the-ground reporting increasingly dangerous and illegal since it sent troops into Ukraine two years ago, arresting and fining those who defy the Kremlin's narratives.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 29, 2024

Russia sentences journalist to two years in prison and detains others

Russia has made on-the-ground reporting increasingly dangerous and illegal since it sent troops into Ukraine two years ago.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear