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New study questions the trend of scientific breakthroughs and examines the changing landscape of innovation.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 8, 2024

Have scientific breakthroughs declined?

From curing disease to reducing global warming, there’s no shortage of hard scientific problems crying out for solutions.
Shu Kokaji (center) speaks with fellow volunteers on Saturday at Sunlife Plaza, an evacuation center in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture. At the facility, he aims to bring people joy in some aspects of evacuee life.
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2024

Noto quake: 'In times of crisis, all we have is each other'

A team from Iwate Prefecture is just one of many grassroots campaigns mobilizing to support quake victims.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jan 15, 2024

All ¥500 coins that glitter are not gold

Twenty years on and the ¥2,000 note can almost certainly still be described as a “novelty" — what if the new ¥500 coin is destined for the same fate?
Clara Kumagai’s young adult debut, “Catfish Rolling,” follows a teenager who lost her mother during a major earthquake caused by the movements of a powerful catfish, which fractured Japan into different “time zones.”
CULTURE / Books
Jan 13, 2024

Genre-defying novel 'Catfish Rolling' navigates grief in a fractured land

Mixing folklore, science and philosophy with magical realism, Clara Kumagai’s impressive young adult debut explores the emotional aftermath of a powerful earthquake.
Qatar players celebrate after defeating Lebanon in the opening match of the Asian Cup on Friday in Lusail, Qatar.
SOCCER
Jan 13, 2024

Qatar puts World Cup heartache behind it to win Asian Cup opener

The hosts beat Lebanon 3-0 at the 88,000-capacity Lusail Stadium, where a Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina beat France on penalties in the World Cup final 13 months ago.
Migrants picked up at sea attempting to cross the English Channel from France disembark from a U.K. border force cutter in Dover, England, on Saturday.
WORLD
Jan 14, 2024

Four die trying to cross Channel to U.K. in freezing cold

The fatalities were the first reported migrant deaths on the Channel in 2024.
A worker carries a tray containing steamed kamaboko at a factory in Ise, Mie Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Jan 22, 2024

As costs rise, kamaboko producers struggle to stay afloat

Many have little choice but to raise the prices of their own products after having exhausted other measures.
Around 100 YouTube channels actively deny climate change, while also spreading videos attacking solutions such as wind and solar.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 17, 2024

Attacks on renewable energy are proliferating on YouTube

While videos espousing climate denial are declining across nearly 100 YouTube channels, videos attacking solutions such as wind and solar are growing.
While global sumo took its first steps toward becoming an organized sport under Hidetoshi Tanaka, it would be an exaggeration to say that everything was plain sailing internationally while the former president was in power.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 17, 2024

Scandal-hit giant of sumo Hidetoshi Tanaka leaves a complicated legacy

For Tanaka, a terse International Sumo Federation statement marked an ignominious end to the life of one of sumo’s most influential figures.
Russian President Boris Yeltsin announced his resignation after eight years in office on New Year’s Eve, 1999. His chosen successor was then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who succeeded him.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 17, 2024

Putin’s search for a usable past

Money was the one thing that would animate his reign. It was clear from the start that the businessman took precedence over the politician in Putin’s personality.
People gather on top of Tata Consultancy Services pavilion on which a slogan related to Artificial Intelligence (AI) is displayed, during the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland,on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 18, 2024

Philippines to propose ASEAN AI regulatory framework

The move will be a challenge in ASEAN, a region comprised of 10 countries with widely differing views on censorship, intellectual property, misinformation and social media.
A volunteer stirs food to be distributed to people in Omdurman, Sudan, in September 2023.
WORLD
Jan 18, 2024

War pushes Sudan to brink of first famine in decades

A nine-month war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has cut off huge swaths of Sudan to aid groups.
Israeli soldiers fire a mortar toward Gaza on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 24, 2024

Unmoved by Gaza carnage, Israel remains committed to war at any cost

There is an intensifying sense within Israel that the world is more focused on the response to Oct. 7 than on the original act of savagery itself.
Omicho Market, "the kitchen of the Kanazawa people," has seen very small numbers of visitors, with some restaurants still closed.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2024

Cancellations hit tourist-favorite Kanazawa after Noto quake

Tourism industry professionals are calling on tourists to "visit Kanazawa to back up the Noto region."
An Oppenheimer film poster at AMC Lincoln Square Theater in New York in July
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jan 24, 2024

'Oppenheimer' to be shown in Japan, eight months after meme outrage

The release date is almost eight months after memes mixing visuals from the film "Barbie" with atomic blasts provoked anger from people in Japan.
Protesters during a nationwide strike near the National Congress in Buenos Aires on Wednesday. Argentina's labor movement is staging a general strike that will test popular support for President Javier Milei's austerity blitz less than two months into his presidency.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 25, 2024

Thousands protest Javier Milei’s reforms months into Argentine presidency

The mass protests in Buenos Aires come as the libertarian economist attempts to slash the size of the state in a bid to tame triple-digit inflation.
Official toy mascots for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games are displayed in Villepinte, France, on Sunday.
OLYMPICS
Jan 25, 2024

Former IOC exec says Paris has chance to reignite Olympic golden age

The onus falls on Paris to reboot the image of the Olympics after recent editions marred by COVID-19 restrictions and doping scandals.
The first batch of new recruits listen to instructions as they prepare to begin one-year compulsory military service in Taiwan, after the previous four-month conscription period was extended, in Taichung, Taiwan, on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 26, 2024

Taiwan begins extended conscription in response to China threat

China has ramped up military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan to assert its sovereignty claims.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson scores against the Texans during the fourth quarter of their playoff game in Baltimore, Maryland, on Jan. 20.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Jan 26, 2024

Ravens' Lamar Jackson ready for 'heavyweight fight' in AFC title game

The AFC championship showdown will determine which team advances to next month's Super Bowl in Las Vegas.
Some 5 million people globally die of causes related to air pollution from fossil fuels each year and climate change has a huge impact on people's health and psychological well-being.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 24, 2024

We’re finally recognizing climate change’s mental health toll

Climate change's impact on health, including psychological well-being, is overwhelming. COP28 took stock of this and put youth at the center of discussions like never before.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov shakes hands with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar during a joint news conference in Moscow in December.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 28, 2024

India pivots away from Russian arms, but will retain strong ties

Russia supplied 65% of India's weapons purchases during the last two decades but the Ukraine war hastened New Delhi's impetus to diversify.
A woman grills a piece of beef at a barbeque restaurant in Yokohama. Greenhouse gas emissions from food amount to a third of all human-caused emissions.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Jan 28, 2024

The complicated balance between health and climate in the Japanese diet

In Japan, people with higher-emitting diets also tend to eat healthier, raising questions for the health- and environment-conscious consumer.
Mesut Hancer holds the hand of his 15-year-old daughter Irmak, who died in a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, the day after the quake struck the country's southeast, on Feb. 7, 2023.
WORLD
Jan 29, 2024

'Time has stopped': Grieving father relives Turkish quake

An image of Mesut Hancer's daughter Irmak, lying dead among debris, was picked up by world media.
Iran's Mehdi Taremi celebrates after scoring against Syria during their Asian Cup match in Doha on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Feb 1, 2024

Iran promises to be 'more united' against Japan in Asian Cup quarterfinals

Midfielder Saeid Ezatolahi said he saw Iran being dragged through extra time and penalties will make the team stronger for its match with Japan.
A fundraising event for the LGBTQ+ community in New Delhi in 2022. Sexual minorities say it is hard enough being openly gay or transgender in India, and the pressure only mounts in the online world.
WORLD / Society
Feb 2, 2024

Gay, teenaged and online: LGBTQ+ Indians fight for safe space

Sexual minorities say it is hard enough being openly gay or transgender in India, with the pressure only increasing in the online world.
A native of Seoul who grew up in Shanghai, Hana Yoon moved to New York to attend the prestigious Culinary Institute of America when she was 20 years old.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 4, 2024

In Japan’s age-old capital, a young head chef stirs the pot

Upon her arrival in Kyoto, Yoon spent four months delving into the distinctive varieties of “kyōyasai,” vegetables grown in Kyoto and its suburbs.
Police in riot gear stand guard next to a barricade near a fire outside the European Parliament in Brussels on Feb. 1 during a protest by farmers from Belgium and other EU countries over price pressures, taxes and green regulation.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 6, 2024

Green backlash looms over EU elections

Polls show that while a large majority of Europeans support action to fight climate change, a many are also worried about the cost of doing this.
Foreign investors are seeking more English-language disclosure from companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 6, 2024

Foreign investors want more English info from TSE firms

The TSE plans to make Prime firms release key information in Japanese and English simultaneously.
Japanese fans of Taylor Swift take a selfie before entering Tokyo Dome for the pop star's Eras Tour show in Japan on Feb. 7.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Feb 7, 2024

Taylor-mania hits Tokyo as Swift resumes tour before Super Bowl

Excited fans from countries such as Australia, Thailand and China joined the vast crowd at Tokyo Dome ahead of the megastar's Eras Tour show on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 9, 2024

Football fans embrace 'Taylor Swift effect' before Super Bowl

Pop superstar Taylor Swift is no distraction to the upcoming Super Bowl — she's an enhancement, excited fans in Las Vegas said Wednesday.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji