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Staff lower the Chinese national flag in the Central Financial District in Hong Kong in March. Hong Kong is an established trading hub for raising capital while Singapore excels in private wealth management.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 19, 2024

Stop comparing Hong Kong to Singapore

Think of it this way: Hong Kong is where the Chinese can grow their wealth while Singapore is where they can preserve it.
People applaud during a campaign event in Tokyo on Thursday. Those running in the July 7 poll will be battling to govern the sixth-largest city in the world by population.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 20, 2024

Tokyo governor poll campaign kicks off with 56 candidates in running

Ideas on how to reverse the capital's declining birth rate and make spending transparent are topping the agenda.
Electric cars are stacked for export at the international container terminal of Taicang Port in Suzhou, China.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 20, 2024

Europe’s EV battery plans fade on China price war and U.S. subsidies

As electric-vehicle sales slow, companies including Volkswagen, Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz are scaling back or refocusing battery projects.
The University of Tokyo in the capital's Bunkyo Ward
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 21, 2024

Japanese team uses AI to predict cancer risk from fatty liver images

The model has proved that it can predict cancer onset risk with 82.3% accuracy, researchers have said.
The members of bed are (from left to right) vocalist Une, guitarist Joneu, bassist Shinji and drummer Shun.  
CULTURE / Music
Jun 23, 2024

Don't sleep on bed's genre-melding mayhem

The band co-runs a rave called Uzu, and an event series at clubasia called “bedroom” that features an impressive roster of names from the Japanese music scene.
Pedestrians cross a road in Pudong's Lujiazui Financial District in Shanghai. China has long touted itself as the world’s safest nation, making rare outbursts of public violence stand out.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jun 22, 2024

China’s spate of violence prompts outburst of economic anxiety

The reaction of Chinese social media users to a spate of recent violent attacks has exposed widespread discontent about the nation’s downturn.
A Palestinian boy carries food cooked by a charity kitchen amid shortages of aid supplies in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
WORLD
Jun 23, 2024

Food piles up at Gaza crossing as aid agencies say unable to work

Desperation among Gaza's 2.4 million population has increased as fighting rages, sparking warnings from agencies that they are unable to deliver aid.
A sling pistol confiscated by Osaka police
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 24, 2024

Japanese police and experts seek regulations for sling pistols

Sling pistols are classified as harmful toys under Osaka Prefecture's juvenile protection ordinance, however they are available to purchase freely online.
For Japan, carbon credits are seen as important as the nation waits for its climate technology bets to pay off.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Jun 24, 2024

Japan makes a late play on under-fire carbon credit trading

The government and Japanese companies see carbon offsets as important as they wait for their climate tech bets to pay off.
Shanghai’s luxury real estate market is a bright spot in China’s bleak property sector.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 25, 2024

China’s rich spend millions on Shanghai property, bucking crisis

It’s the only one among the country’s mega cities that still attracts people to put down money in an asset class that has otherwise been abandoned.
Fast fashion e-commerce company Shein's logo outside its office in Guangzhou, China, on June 11
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 25, 2024

What is at stake for China-founded Shein as EU rule looms

Shein has faced more than 90 lawsuits alleging it plagiarized others’ designs or products.
Reactors Nos. 3 and 4 of the Oi nuclear power plant in Oi, Fukui Prefecture
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2024

Japan's nuclear watchdog OKs extension of Kansai Electric's Oi plant

It is the first time for the nuclear regulator to approve a long-term facility management plan based on the green transformation law.
An image of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange released on social media on Tuesday. Assange pleaded guilty to a single charge of disseminating classified documents in a plea bargain that leaves him a free man.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 26, 2024

Julian Assange’s saga will forever exist in a legal gray area

WikiLeaks founder Assange’s case lies on the boundary between espionage and protected speech. Its outcome has done nothing to shed light on this gray zone.
Of the 384 people who died from all mpox strains in Congo this year, more than 60% were children, the World Health Organization has said.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 27, 2024

Fears emerge over new 'most dangerous' mpox strain crossing borders

The new deadlier strain transmits more easily between people — including through nonsexual contact — and is killing children and causing miscarriages in Congo.
The rate of the yen against the dollar displayed in the trading room at foreign exchange brokerage Gaitame.com in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 27, 2024

Yen taken back to the '80s by messaging missteps and loss of confidence

Some analysts see the speculative fever as unsustainable, and that any signs of U.S. inflation falling faster than expected could allow a dramatic comeback.
Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani said that the mobile company now has more than 7 million subscribers, and is seeking to hit 10 million subscribers next.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 27, 2024

Money-losing Rakuten Mobile rolls out new 700 MHz service

The new offering, which is being introduced incrementally, will improve connectivity, including in densely populated areas, it says.
Cameras and lenses are displayed at Fujifilm Holdings headquarters in Tokyo on June 7.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 28, 2024

Fujifilm once struggled to sell cameras. Now, it can't keep up with demand.

Fujifilm is struggling to meet demand for the X100 camera, prized by young 20-something social media users for its looks and high-end functions.
American sprinter Noah Lyles poses with a "Yu-Gi-Oh!" card after winning at the U.S. Olympic track-and-field finals on Sunday. The image went viral, once again showing the popularity of Japanese cultural exports like manga.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 28, 2024

Blackstone sees billions in manga. You should too.

Investment firm Blackstone's move to buy manga platform Mecha Comics, betting on the strength of Japan's soft power, looks further ahead than other players have.
An image of U.S. President Joe Biden is displayed as his Republican challenger, former U.S. President Donald Trump, holds a campaign event, in Chesapeake, Virginia, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 29, 2024

Fearful and doubting Biden, Democrats face an uncertain path forward

Some began to reconsider their support after his rough debate showing, but there was no agreement on how, or whether, to urge him to step off the ticket.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ride in an Aurus car in Pyongyang in this image released on June 20.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 29, 2024

Russian-made car that Putin gifted to Kim uses South Korean parts, data shows

Customs records show that the company that builds the car uses millions of dollars in imported parts, many arriving in Russia from South Korea.
Voters listen to a stump speech in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 29, 2024

Candidates turn to AI in Tokyo governor race

Experts warn that while social media give voters more insight into candidates, there are risks of information bias.
Self-Defense Force troops take part in an amphibious landing exercise on Tokunoshima island in Kagoshima Prefecture last November.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 1, 2024

Japan's SDF marks 70th anniversary as it faces change and challenges

The SDF is grappling with dramatic policy shifts while facing down challenges ranging from recruitment to rising Chinese military assertiveness.
Inside the TikTok office in Singapore in 2023
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 1, 2024

China’s AI startups head to Singapore in a bid for global growth

Singapore offers many Chinese artificial intelligence startup companies better access to global investors and customers than China does.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike gives a speech before the start of Toden Pro Wrestling, the first-ever pro wrestling event inside a streetcar of the Toden Arakawa Line, in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 1, 2024

Koike has small lead as Tokyo election campaign enters final week

The Meiji Jingu Gaien redevelopment plan and disaster resilience have emerged as key issues as the race enters the home stretch.
A city street in Kyoto crowded with tourists in April. American tourists headed for Japan have surged this year, according to data from the International Trade Administration.
BUSINESS
Jul 2, 2024

More American tourists head to Japan as battered yen beckons

Airlines are also moving in tandem with this trend, adding 9% more seats between the United States and Japan in the three months through August.
Onosato (left) participates in a training session last month in Ami, Ibaraki Prefecture.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jul 3, 2024

Nagoya ranking list marks the end of one sumo era and the start of another

This month marks the final sumo tournament for Nagoya's Dolphins Arena, and the rankings list could look very different when the new venue opens next year.
A team of lawyers representing bereaved families of victims of the 2022 sightseeing tour boat accident off Hokkaido heads to the Sapporo District Court in Sapporo to file a lawsuit on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 4, 2024

Bereaved families sue operator over Hokkaido boat accident

The 29 family members of 14 passengers of the sunken boat are seeking ¥1.5 billion ($9.2 million) in damages from the boat operator and its president.
The survey found that most groping cases occurred on trains and that 80.4% of victims did not alert the police or train station staff after being groped, out of fears of causing a commotion.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 4, 2024

One in 10 young people in Japan a victim of molestation, survey finds

According to the findings, 10.5% of respondents said that they had experienced being molested, with women accounting for 88.0% of them.
Circulators on display at a Bic Camera store in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district on June 26
JAPAN / Society
Jul 5, 2024

Japan companies beat drum for heat-beating goods

Sales of air conditioners, fans, and circulators are rising with the mercury, as high electricity prices make energy-saving products increasingly popular.
Power lines in the Yanqing district of Beijing in 2021
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 5, 2024

China, struggling to exploit an energy storage boom, calls for more

The drive boosts home-grown battery giants but some experts say more must be done to address low utilization and losses for operators.

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