Search - 2020

 
 
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks at an event in Las Vegas on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 16, 2023

Yellen's Las Vegas stop shows Bidenomics can be a tough sell

Even as Americans feel the benefits, it's not clear this approach will deliver Biden the votes he needs in 2024.
U.S. President Joe Biden during an event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Tuesday. The president has crisscrossed the nation visiting groundbreakings and factories to sell his agenda, dubbed Bidenomics, with the Inflation Reduction Act as the centerpiece.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 17, 2023

Fires and heat block Biden from taking victory lap for climate law

It’s not the first time circumstances beyond Biden’s control have undone his efforts to revel in a victory.
In 1990, there were five times as many men who had alcohol use disorder than women — now it’s two times, according to the director of a research institute on alcoholism and alcohol abuse.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2023

Women are drinking more alcohol and it’s killing them

Analysis of data from the CDC found that alcohol-related deaths among women increased by nearly 15% per year between 2018 and 2020.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during Round 3 at the LIV Golf-Bedminster 2023 at the Trump National in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Aug. 13.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 19, 2023

Trump center stage despite threat to skip Republican debate

The 77-year-old former president, who is rarely out of the headlines, has been vocal about possibly skipping the event in the city of Milwaukee.
Residents walk past trees and powerlines that were downed following the passage of Hurricane Fiona, later downgraded to a post-tropical storm, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in September 2022.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 19, 2023

Climate haven no more? Floods and fires ravage eastern Canada

Storms, floods, a cold snap and record wildfires have all battered the eastern province of Nova Scotia over the past year.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 20, 2023

Tokyo aiming to eliminate areas congested with wooden houses

As of 2020, Tokyo had some 8,600 hectares of such areas that are expected to suffer particularly severe damage in the event of a large quake.
While most players in the field of neurotechnology are exclusively concerned with medical uses, Elon Musk is touting the possibility of telepathy, using the technology to store memories or to enable humans to continue their existence without their bodies.
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 21, 2023

The race to link our brains to computers is heating up

Brain implants have long been trapped in the realm of science fiction, but medical trials suggest the devices could play a big part in humanity's future.
Spanish midfielder Alexia Putellas (left) battles for the ball against English forward Lauren James during in the final of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Sydney on Sunday. Spain won the match 1-0.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2023

FIFA boss should read the pitch on women’s pay

More than 2 billion people are expected to have tuned in. About 2 million attended matches in person. Both records. The FIFA Women’s World Cup generated more than $570 million to break even.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (left), former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence (center) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at the first debate between Republican candidates on Wednesday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 24, 2023

Absent Trump still steals show at raucous Republican debate

Trump's snubbing of the event deprived a chasing pack of rivals, whom he leads in polls, of the opportunity to direct shots at him live on stage.
A woman stands on one side of the wall texting in front of a nightclub while, on the other side of the wall, a man works in an izakaya.
PODCAST / deep dive
Aug 24, 2023

One night out in Tokyo

As the last trains leave the central hubs of Shinjuku and Shibuya for the suburbs, much of the city heads home. However, Tokyo never sleeps.
Since Waifu began, inclusivity goals have become more common in clubs across Tokyo.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 26, 2023

Queer clubbing moves beyond Ni-chome

Those looking for a safe space to party don't have to stick to one neighborhood in the capital.
Spectators gather in the gallery of the House Chamber during a special session on public safety to discuss gun violence in the wake of the Covenant School shooting, at the Tennessee State Capitol, in Nashville, Tennessee, last Tuesday.
WORLD / Society
Aug 28, 2023

Record number of U.S. children killed by guns in '21, study shows

Gun violence has been the number one cause of death for children in the United States since 2020.
The Sasso 2 Geothermical power plant in Italy
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Aug 28, 2023

Dante’s inferno may have the answer for Europe’s energy bind

One geothermal site in Italy generates more than 5% of the nation’s clean power production.
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, on July 29.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 29, 2023

Donald Trump faces up to six trials during 2024 primary season

The four criminal indictments pose the greatest threat to the former U.S. president because they all carry potential prison terms.
Kanji Matoba offers a prayer in front of a touch screen displaying a portrait of his late wife, at a columbarium in Sendai.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 4, 2023

New types of graves and services reflect changes in tradition

The COVID-19 pandemic made such services as grave visiting in place of families or ones using virtual reality technology take root.
The trend of people getting married later could be causing a vicious cycle of fewer children begetting fewer children, says Takuya Hoshino, senior economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 30, 2023

Third of Japan's 18-year-old women may never have children: study

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has promised to tackle the country's population crisis with "unprecedented" measures.
Japan center Dylan Riley (left) escapes from Italy's center Luca Morisi during a match on Aug. 26.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Aug 31, 2023

Japan ready to shake off COVID-19 legacy at Rugby World Cup

The Brave Blossoms beat Ireland and Scotland to reach the quarterfinals for the first time four years ago, sparking rugby-mania across the nation.
An aircraft drops flame retardant on burning vegetation in Sicily, Italy, on Sunday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 31, 2023

Climate change boosts risk of extreme wildfires 25%, study finds

In certain partly dry conditions, global warming pushed areas beyond key thresholds, making extreme fires much more likely
Serbia's Novak Djokovic during his second round match against Spain's Bernabe Zapata Miralles at the U.S. Open in New York on Wednesday.
TENNIS
Aug 31, 2023

Djokovic ramps up U.S. Open bid as Swiatek and Gauff stroll

Djokovic climbed through the gears against 76th-ranked Bernabe Zapata Miralles, winning 13 of the last 15 games to ease through 6-4, 6-1, 6-1.
A supporter of the main opposition Kuomintang party shows their fingernails painted with the Taiwan flag, during the party's annual conference in New Taipei City, Taiwan, on July 23.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 31, 2023

Taiwan parties spar for young vote as high-stakes elections loom

The outcome of the closely watched January 2024 vote will set the tone for Taipei's tumultuous relationship with Beijing.
Personnel from the Self-Defense Forces take part in a nuclear, biological and chemical weapons exercise at New Chitose airport in Hokkaido in July 2012.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Sep 7, 2023

Japan has plenty to offer in the field of detecting threats

With the spread of chemical, nuclear and biological weapons, the time is right to put domestic tech to good use.
An industrial park in Shanxi Province, in the heart of China’s coal country
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 9, 2023

World falling dangerously short of climate goals: U.N. report card

The Paris Agreement has successfully driven climate action, but "much more is needed now on all fronts," the U.N.'s first official progress report said.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Sep 10, 2023

Yama-no-no: Orix ace puts world on notice with second no-hitter

The right-hander's superb form for the PL-leading Buffaloes is expected to bring him more awards this offeseason — as well as a bidding war by MLB clubs.
An Apple store in Beijing. The iPhone has increased its percentage of total smartphones sold around the world while expanding its share of sales in four of the world’s largest regions: China, Japan, Europe and India.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 12, 2023

As smartphone industry sputters, the iPhone expands its dominance

The iPhone has about one-fifth of the world’s smartphone sales, up from a low of 13% in 2019.
JAPAN / History / Longform
Sep 16, 2023

Rugby turns 200: A history of the sport in Japan

As the sport of rugby turns 200, Japan hopes to celebrate its own success in a game that first arrived in the 1860s.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Family Research Council and FRC Action annual Pray Vote Stand Summit in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 17, 2023

Sinner, savior or both? Trump woos evangelicals and women

Despite the legal, moral and sexual escapades of the Republican front-runner, support among his devotees remains strong.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Sep 17, 2023

Climate litigation remains a tough sell in Japan despite wins overseas

So far, Japan has seen just four climate lawsuits, all concerning the construction and operation of coal-fired power plants.
Identifying a sustainable product can involve evaluating claims about emissions, plastic use, water waste and packaging recyclability.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Sep 19, 2023

Regulators are trying to stop greenwashing before it gets worse

The range of agencies tackling dubious sustainability claims is indicative of its ambiguity and breadth.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Sep 21, 2023

Buffaloes' fans finally get to experience team's resurgence

Fans packed Kyocera Dome Osaka for the sellout game in hopes of finally seeing a clinching victory with their own eyes.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 21, 2023

Hokkaido University admits misconduct by chemistry research team

Unnatural gaps and signs of data manipulation were found in research related to artificial catalysts used to facilitate chemical reactions.

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person