Search - 2023

 
 
Korey Kito, left, stands with his father Brian Kito in front of their confectionery, Fugetsu-Do, in Los Angeles.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Nov 4, 2024

How Fugetsu-Do survived the evolution of Little Tokyo in LA

In addition to selling mochi and other treats out of the storefront, Fugetsu-do also stocks other Japanese specialty food stores across California.
The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani embraces teammate Enrique Hernandez following Game 5 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium in New York on Wednesday.
BASEBALL / Sac Bunts
Nov 1, 2024

Shohei Ohtani in position to continue winning after first World Series title

Ohtani finished his first season with the Dodgers with a championship.
In a June paper, six Chinese researchers from three institutions, including two under the People's Liberation Army's leading research body, the Academy of Military Science (AMS), detailed how they had used an early version of Meta's Llama as a base for what it calls "ChatBIT."
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 2, 2024

China researchers develop AI model for military use on back of Meta's Llama

The evidence was believed to be the first showing that Chinese military experts have been systematically trying to leverage the power of open-source LLMs.
Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on Friday.
WORLD
Nov 2, 2024

Cease-fire hopes fade as Israel bombards Gaza and Lebanon

Prospects of a truce between Israel and its foes Hamas and Hezbollah ran aground Friday as Israeli airstrikes killed at least 68 people in the Gaza Strip.
Suzumi Suzuki’s “Gifted,” translated by Allison Markin Powell, centers on a hostess working in Kabukicho. Rather than focusing on the protagonist’s occupation, the story plunges the reader into her strained relationship with her dying mother.  
CULTURE / Books
Nov 3, 2024

A nuanced glimpse into the cloistered world of Kabukicho

Drawing on her own experience working in adult entertainment, Suzumi Suzuki crafts a fresh, visceral work for her debut novel, "Gifted"
The Tokyo Hydrogen Museum in the capital's Koto Ward on Thursday. The capital is targeting the “full use” of hydrogen produced using renewable energy “in all fields” by 2050 as part of its decarbonization drive.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Nov 3, 2024

Tokyo's climate goals rely on a fuel that is falling out of favor

The metropolitan government is targeting the widespread use of hydrogen, but strong competition and its physical properties are limiting its applications.
As the European Commission prepares to make decisions on Google’s practices by the end of 2024, there is hope for a collaborative approach with U.S. regulators to create meaningful structural reforms.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 20, 2024

Google’s breakup needs an international tag team

There’s a growing consensus among regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to redefine antitrust harm beyond just pricing issues.
Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan (center) looks on at a court during her fraud case in Ho Chi Minh City on April 11.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Nov 4, 2024

Appeal begins for Vietnam death row tycoon

The appeal comes after the tycoon was convicted of money laundering and jailed for life in a separate case last month.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
WORLD / Politics
Nov 4, 2024

Netanyahu’s office accused of leaks to foil Gaza cease-fire

Opposition leaders and liberal commentators say it’s the latest example of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's manipulation of the public discourse around the war.
U.K. university tuition fees for domestic students are set to rise for the first time in seven years due to a financial crisis in higher education.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 4, 2024

Britons don't pay enough to go to university

U.K. university tuition fees for domestic students are set to rise for the first time in seven years due to a financial crisis in higher education.
The guidance provided in the White House’s first-ever National Security Memorandum on artificial intelligence is bound to have implications for U.S. allies and partners, some of which are already struggling to keep up with the fast pace of technological change.
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Nov 4, 2024

New U.S. AI guidance puts pressure on allies — and rivals — to adopt tech

The extent to which these guidelines will be fully implemented in Washington may ultimately depend on one important factor, however: Tuesday's presidential election.
People line up outside an Apple store in Beijing on Sept. 20.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 4, 2024

Buffett keeps cutting Apple stake, with value down 60% this year

Berkshire cut its Apple holdings by roughly 25% in the period, after cutting it by almost half in the second quarter.
Flags of the Khalistan separatist movement are seen on Sept. 20, 2023 at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, where Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot and killed in the parking lot three months earlier, in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 4, 2024

Sikh activists see it as freedom. India calls it terrorism.

The cause to carve out a land called Khalistan from Punjab fizzled out decades ago, but the Indian government still frames the movement as a national security threat.
The BayStars toss manager Daisuke Miura into the air after defeating the Hawks in Game 6 to win the Japan Series in Yokohama on Sunday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Nov 4, 2024

BayStars turn tables on Hawks after 2017 loss to capture Japan Series title

For the first time in 26 years, the BayStars are Japan Series champions.
Aryna Sabalenka reacts during her WTA Finals singles group stage match against Jasmine Paolini in Riyadh on Monday.
TENNIS
Nov 5, 2024

Sabalenka advances to WTA Finals last four as Zheng ousts Rybakina

The Belarusian top seed is also just one victory away from locking down the year-end number one ranking.
A Palestinian child sits on top of sacks of flour at a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) aid distribution center in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Sunday.
WORLD
Nov 5, 2024

Israel ends cooperation deal with U.N. Palestinian relief agency

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has for years called for UNRWA to be dismantled, accusing it of anti-Israeli incitement.
An experiment by NITE shows an oil heater catching fire from leaked kerosene.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 5, 2024

Consumers urged to check heater safety ahead of winter accident surge

Past incidents typically surged in November and peaked in December, with elevated levels of heater-related accidents continuing through April.
A worker clears away snow as last-minute grocery shoppers leave a Market Basket supermarket during a fast-moving winter storm in Plymouth, Massachusetts, on Feb. 13.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 5, 2024

In a changing climate, retailers turn to weather data predictions

Weather data, once used strictly for inventory planning, is now helping retailers localize advertising and decide when to discount seasonal items such as sweaters.
A text message sent by a scammer tells a recipient that a refund can be made only through an electronic money transfer.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 5, 2024

Police warn of refund scams involving smartphone payment apps

Scammers are exploiting smartphone payment apps, particularly PayPay, and fake online discount stores to commit fraud.
Operators respond to telephone directory inquiries from Tokyo at a call center in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, in October 1997.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Nov 11, 2024

As NTT ends its Dial 104 service, Okinawa's call centers look elsewhere

Naha and Nago were home to Japan's biggest call center operations, receiving around 125,000 calls a day at their peak in 1999.
In the April-September period, Nintendo logged net profit of ¥108.7 billion ($710 million), down 60% from the same period a year earlier.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 5, 2024

Nintendo lowers sales forecast as first-half profits plunge

The video game giant now expects sales of ¥1.28 trillion, down from the previous estimate of ¥1.35 trillion, and also issued a less optimistic operating profit forecast.
Former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant attends a press conference shortly after he was sacked by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who cited a lack of trust, at the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 6, 2024

Netanyahu fires defense minister, jolting Israeli politics

After Yoav Gallant was fired, protesters in Israel blocked highways and lit bonfires on roads.
A screen grab taken from a live video stream broadcast by the Shizuoka Municipal Government on Wednesday shows Mount Fuji with a dusting of snow on its peak, seen from the Shizuoka side of the mountain.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2024

Snow seen on Mount Fuji after record time without snowcap

Photographs taken from different points around the mountain, where the skies were clearer early on Wednesday, showed a covering of snow on its peak.
Saitama Gov. Motohiro Ono (right) and others call on users to stand still on the escalator in the city of Saitama in September.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 6, 2024

Stop walking on escalators, local Japanese authorities say

Prefectures and cities are using legislation or exploring other measures to discourage pedestrians from walking on escalators in the interest of safety.
Aonishiki competes at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on Jan. 28.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Nov 6, 2024

Head to sumo's second tier and it's a dog-eat-dog world

Jūryō action is something fans of exciting sumo shouldn’t miss.
The National Cancer Center Hospital in Tokyo's Chuo Ward. A study by researchers at the hospital aims to determine whether restoring a healthy intestinal environment can enhance the effectiveness of immunotherapy drugs used in cancer treatment.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 6, 2024

Japan explores intestinal flora transplants for cancer treatment

A study aims to determine whether restoring a healthy intestinal environment can make drugs used in the treatment of esophageal and stomach cancers more effective.
Hyogo Prefectural Police investigators call on people at a station in Kakogawa, Hyogo Prefecture, on Oct. 16 to provide information related to the 2007 murder of a girl in the city.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 6, 2024

Inmate hints at involvement in murder of another girl in western Japan

Hyogo Prefectural Police plan to arrest the man soon on suspicion of attempted murder in another case.
Donald Trump looks on as he speaks at a campaign rally in East Del Valle, Austin, Texas on Oct. 25
WORLD / Politics
Nov 7, 2024

Who has President-elect Donald Trump threatened to prosecute?

Trump has vowed to investigate or prosecute political rivals, election workers and left-wing Americans if he becomes president again.
A child looks out of a tent at a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) school-turned-camp for internally displaced people in Deir el-Balah on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 7, 2024

U.N. to Israel: Replacing UNRWA relief agency would be your responsibility

The United Nations has repeatedly said there is no alternative to UNRWA.
Bundles of Chinese yuan banknotes at the Ninja Money Exchange, operated by Interbank HD, in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo on June 9, 2022.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 7, 2024

Trump’s resurgence sinks emerging markets as dollar soars

Currencies in Eastern Europe led losses, sending the emerging-market currency gauge to its worst day since February 2023.

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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