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Members of the Ground Self-Defense Force hold a live-fire exercise at the GSDF's training grounds in the East Fuji Maneuver Area in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in May. Japan's Defense Ministry is seeking another record-breaking budget for fiscal 2025.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 30, 2024

Japan seeks another record-breaking defense budget for fiscal 2025

The request by the Defense Ministry is expected to send a clear message to both its allies and adversaries.
Big Blue head coach Mike Phair (front, right) participates in the X League 2024 Season Kickoff news conference.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Aug 30, 2024

Japan ties guide veteran NFL coach Mike Phair to Big Blue in X League

The Arizona native had long been thinking about rekindling his involvement with Japanese football.
Local miners collect small rocks as they mine for gold in Benguet province in the northern Philippines.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 1, 2024

Toxic, deadly, cheap: Life for women gold miners in the Philippines

One in three of the illegal mining workforce is female — and women are 90 times more at risk of dying on the job than men.
Jannik Sinner hits a shot against Christopher O'Connell during the third round of the U.S. Open in New York on Saturday.
TENNIS
Sep 1, 2024

Jannik Sinner avoids upset bug to advance to fourth round at U.S. Open

Sinner thumped Christopher O'Connell 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.
An elevator at the Stade de France commuter train station in Saint-Denis, near Paris, France. Paris built highly accessible accommodation for competitors in the 2024 Paralympic Games, but overall, the city remains difficult to navigate for people with disabilities.
PARALYMPICS
Sep 2, 2024

Paris is utopia for Paralympians until they leave the athletes village

It will be decades before the city's streets, sidewalks and parks achieve even a semblance of the Paralympic Village’s accessibility.
Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing is following global peers in expanding its derivatives offerings in a bid to boost trading.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 2, 2024

A new way of betting on tech stocks is emerging in Hong Kong

The bourse was launching weekly options on the Hang Seng Tech Index, which tracks stocks including Alibaba Group Holding and JD.com that also trade in the U.S.
Job seekers crowd a job fair at Liberation Square in Shijiazhuang, China, in 2018.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Sep 2, 2024

New unproductive forces: the Chinese youth owning their unemployment

Urban youth unemployment for the roughly 100 million Chinese aged 16-24 spiked to 17.1% in July, a figure analysts say masks millions of rural unemployed.
Factory activity in China contracted for a fourth straight month in August, with subindexes showing deepening deflationary pressures.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 2, 2024

China faces calls for stimulus as growth engines stall amid property woes

Factory activity contracted for a fourth month in August, with subindexes showing deflationary pressures and latest sales figures showing a worsening residential slump.
An abandoned house in Urayama, Saitama Prefecture. Buying an <i>akiya</i>, which means empty house in Japanese, can be a rewarding experience that yields a unique space and a livable home, competitively priced. Or it could turn out to be a money pit.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 2, 2024

First lesson of Japan’s akiya gold rush: No such thing as a free house.

Renovations are usually the most expensive part of the journey and the laundry list of what needs to be done is long and tends to get longer after the process starts.
In the first quarter of fiscal 2024, the combined profits at both the manufacturing and nonmanufacturing sectors marked record highs.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 3, 2024

Japanese companies mark record combined profits in April-June

Nonfinancial companies' internal reserves at the end of fiscal 2023 grew 8.3% from a year earlier, topping ¥600 trillion for the first time.
A welcome message for Pope Francis is displayed on an electric billboard at a roundabout in Jakarta on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 3, 2024

Pope heads to Indonesia as the first stop of his four-nation tour

The tour — the longest and farthest of his 11 years leading the worldwide Catholic Church — will test Pope Francis' increasingly fragile health.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2024

Australia firms should invest in Southeast Asia, foreign minister says

Southeast Asia is expected to be the world’s fourth-largest economy by 2040 with an expanding population.
When it comes to trade disputes between the U.S. and China, not even the game of golf is spared.
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2024

U.S. golf cart industry reveals how China tariffs are a blunt instrument

In factories and shops around the country, finding complaints about cheaper Chinese competitors is easy — but reaching a consensus on how to combat them is harder.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi announces his candidacy in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 3, 2024

Yoshimasa Hayashi announces candidacy in LDP leadership race

The chief cabinet secretary has proposed a new independent agency to regulate the financing of electoral campaigns.
Linda Sun, a former aide to New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul, exits Brooklyn Federal court after she was charged with acting as an unregistered agent of China’s government in New York on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 4, 2024

Ex-aide to New York governor charged with acting as Chinese agent

Federal prosecutors said Linda Sun was acting as an agent of the Chinese government in exchange for millions of dollars in compensation and gifts.
American Taylor Fritz celebrates after defeating Germany's Alexander Zverev in the U.S. Open quarterfinals on Tuesday.
TENNIS
Sep 4, 2024

Tiafoe, Fritz and Navarro boost American hopes of U.S. Open title sweep

The 12th-seeded Fritz won a big-hitting battle against fourth-seeded 2020 runner-up Alexander Zverev of Germany 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3).
Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba attends a news conference in Kyiv in April.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 4, 2024

Ukraine foreign minister resigns amid war's biggest reshuffle

The resignation comes amid a major shake-up at a critical juncture for Ukraine and leaves over a third of the cabinet vacant after sackings earlier this year.
Yahya Sinwar, head of the political wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, speaks during a meeting in Gaza City on April 30, 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 4, 2024

U.S. unseals 'terrorism' charges against Hamas leaders

Six leaders of Hamas are accused of "conspiracy to provide material support for acts of terrorism resulting in death" along with six other counts.
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, speaks on stage in front of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the Desert Diamond Arena, in Glendale, Arizona, on Aug. 23.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 4, 2024

How Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s pact took shape

A near assassination, a couple of phone calls, and six weeks of secret talks, embarrassing missteps and private misgivings, led to the unlikely alliance.
Johnny's & Associates President Noriyuki Higashiyama (second from right), unveils Smile-Up as the new name for the talent agency during a news conference in Tokyo in October 2023. The agency decided on the name change after it acknowledged the abuse committed by its late founder and apologized to victims in September 2023.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 4, 2024

Johnny’s victims group to disband one year after agency admitted abuse

The group says it will continue to help victims with unresolved cases — through consultation and other forms of support — despite the disbandment.
Takaaki Saito enters the Metropolitan Police Department's Fukagawa Police Station in Koto Ward, Tokyo, on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 4, 2024

Trio trying to pay off supercar debt arrested for alleged fraud

The trio is believed to have created a total of 34 credit cards in the names of nine people using personal information they obtained.
Fulton County voters cast their ballots during the Georgia primary at Morningside Presbyterian Church in Atlanta on May 21.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 5, 2024

U.S. voters targeted by Chinese influence online, researchers say

The messaging does not appear to favor one side of the political spectrum — either Democrats or Republicans.
Pasocom Music Club’s “Love Flutter” marks an important moment for Japan’s electronic community as project members Aoi Shibata (left) and Masato Nishiyama step into a role other artists once held for them — scene veterans who are inspiring the next generation.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 5, 2024

Pasocom Music Club returns to the pure pleasures of the dance floor

For the Kansai-born duo, new album “Love Flutter” isn’t just an evolution of its sound — it’s the next step in pushing the boundaries of electronic music.
Michie Hino, 77, works at an elderly care home in Chiba Prefecture. She is one of a growing number of senior Japanese citizens working into their 70s.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Sep 5, 2024

Working till your 70s — Japan's prospective gift to the world

A struggling pension system and the highest inflation in decades have led more Japanese people to delay retirement until their 70s or later to make ends meet.
American Jessica Pegula serves to Poland's Iga Swiatek during their women's quarterfinal on Wednesday at the U.S. Open in New York.
TENNIS
Sep 5, 2024

Pegula stuns Swiatek at U.S. Open as Americans continue to surge

Pegula swept past 2022 champion and four-time French Open winner Swiatek 6-2, 6-4 to reach a maiden semifinal at the majors after falling in six quarterfinals.
Demand for electric vehicles in Japan has long been sluggish, and the government this year changed how EV subsidies are calculated, reducing them for BYD and several of its rivals, raising concerns about protectionism.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Sep 5, 2024

BYD's global expansion push runs into a stiff test in Japan

Demand for electric vehicles in Japan has long been sluggish, and the government this year changed how EV subsidies are calculated.
Nippon Steel's proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel is opposed by politicians across the political spectrum, including both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates — Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 5, 2024

Japan miffed but reaction muted after shocking twist to U.S. Steel deal

U.S. President Joe Biden is set to reject Nippon Steel's acquisition of the American steelmaker, according to multiple unconfirmed reports released in recent days.
Inside a gallery influenced by famed architect Kengo Kuma, Nakamura Ningyo's Hakata dolls represent a little-seen side of Japanese crafts.
LIFE / Style & Design
Sep 7, 2024

From Godzilla to martyrs, Hakata doll-making knows no bounds

Since its establishment in Fukuoka in 1917, Nakamura Ningyo has been a cornerstone of the Hakata doll tradition.
Held annually in Cologne, Germany, Gamescom is the world's largest gaming convention, meaning it attracts attendees and exhibitors from near and far.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Sep 7, 2024

Traveling to Germany is ‘worth the cost’ for Japan’s indie studios

"Nothing beats seeing players' faces as they play our game in person, and getting to ask them directly about their experience, both positive and negative.”
Uganda's Rebecca Cheptegei competes at the world championships in Budapest in August 2023.
OLYMPICS / Athletics
Sep 6, 2024

Outrage and sorrow at death of Ugandan athlete Rebecca Cheptegei

Cheptegei's murder was the latest horrific act of gender-based violence in the East African country, where activists have warned of a rising femicide epidemic.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami