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JAPAN / Politics
Jan 16, 2024

Abe faction's seven senior members won't be prosecuted, reports say

Proving a criminal conspiracy between them and the group's treasurer to not report excess income from fundraising parties has been deemed too difficult by investigators.
Volkswagen is casting its net wider in pursuit of a potentially game-changing technology: a "solid-state" electric car battery
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 16, 2024

Volkswagen and rivals plug away at solid-state battery puzzle

An array of technical hurdles are holding back wider development of solid-state technology, seen by its backers as the "holy grail" of EV batteries.
The caucus system is increasingly out of step with how modern America lives and picks its presidential candidates and how modern campaigns roll.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 17, 2024

It’s time to scrap the Iowa caucus

The concept behind the Iowa Caucus was both noble and novel when it debuted in 1972. Now many people think it has no place in modern politics.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui in Moscow on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 17, 2024

Putin meets North Korea’s top envoy as arms flow builds

Putin held talks with Choe Son Hui on Tuesday during a visit to Moscow, the Tass news agency reported
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 18, 2024

In first, 'specified juvenile' handed death sentence over Kofu murder

It is the first time a defendant age 18 or 19 at the time of a crime has been given the death penalty following the lowering of the age of adulthood.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 18, 2024

Taiwan's TSMC to launch Kumamoto chipmaking plant in February

TSMC — whose clients include Apple and Nvidia — controls more than half the world's output of silicon wafers, used in everything from smartphones to cars to missiles.
Locals in the Cook Islands are cynical about the growing attention fixed on their small country, with many saying they don't necessarily trust either superpower to do the right thing by them.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 19, 2024

U.S.-China fight for one Pacific nation mirrors a regional battle

The success of Beijing’s strategy in the Pacific was reinforced just this week when Nauru became the latest island nation to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
Polish military vehicles are transported during NATO exercises in Klusy, Poland, in November 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 19, 2024

NATO to hold biggest drills since Cold War with 90,000 troops

More than 50 ships from aircraft carriers to destroyers will take part, as well as more than 80 fighter jets, helicopters and drones and at least 1,100 combat vehicles.
A mid-19th century ukiyo-e woodblock print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi depicts Xu Fu’s voyage in search of the elixir of life. He can be seen near the left side of the image, with what looks to be Penglai, or Mount Fuji, in the background.
JAPAN / History / Longform
Jan 20, 2024

Eternal pursuits: A history of Japanese quests for immortality

Whether it's a permanent state of meditation or feasting on mermaid, the quest for immortality in Japan isn't too far off from those in other cultures.
A cut out of Lord Ram on a street ahead of the grand opening of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, India, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 20, 2024

A Hindu temple embodies the rise of Modi and India's deep divisions

With national elections a few months away, the inauguration of a controversial temple is symbolic of a changing India and marks the capstone of Modi’s 10 years in power.
A woman prays while reading condolence messages attached to the wall of a narrow alley of Itaewon, where the deadly Halloween crush that killed more than 150 in October happened, in Seoul, in December 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jan 20, 2024

Seoul police chief charged over deadly Halloween crush

Kim Kwang-ho, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, was charged with professional negligence resulting in injury or death.
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz serves against China's Shang Juncheng during the third round of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Saturday.
TENNIS
Jan 20, 2024

Awesome Alcaraz reaches second week at Melbourne for first time

In the unusual position of playing someone younger than himself, two-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz simply dominated 18-year-old Shang.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson rushes in for a touchdown during Baltimore's playoff win over Houston on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Jan 21, 2024

Lamar Jackson and the Ravens blow by Texans

The Ravens will host either the Bills or Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game. Buffalo and Kansas City are set to play Sunday in the other AFC contest.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shake hands during their meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Amur region on Sept. 13.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 21, 2024

In signal of closer ties, Putin to visit North Korea at 'early date'

A visit by Putin would be his first since he traveled to Pyongyang nearly 23 years ago for talks with current North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s father, Kim Jong Il.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 22, 2024

Regional business creators system picks up steam in Japan

The system allows local governments to leverage private-sector know-how in areas including tourism promotion and digitalization.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce had two touchdown catches against the Bills during Kansas City's 27-24 playoff win in Orchard Park, New York, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Jan 22, 2024

Chiefs hold off Bills to reach sixth straight AFC title game

The Chiefs are headed to the AFC championship game for the sixth straight year.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced the dissolution of his LDP faction on Friday, marking a significant shift in the wake of a political funding scandal.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 22, 2024

Mired in scandal, the LDP chips away at its factions

Three LDP factions, including Kishida's, announced their dissolution last week. While it's unlikely that all groupings will meet the same fate, reform is in the air.
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.
American President Joe Biden hugs Brittany Alkonis after giving a State of the Union in February. The wife of jailed U.S. sailor Lt. Ridge Alkonis ran a successful pressure campaign to get her husband released from a Japanese prison into American custody. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 24, 2024

Japan owes no apology for U.S. Navy officer’s treatment

The case of Navy Lt. Ridge Alkonis is a divisive one, which both the U.S. and Japanese governments have tried to keep quiet about.
South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee have been plunged into controversy after hidden camera footage emerged appearing to show Kim accepting a Dior bag as a gift.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 24, 2024

'Dior bag scandal' mars South Korean ruling party before election

The controversy over the apparent acceptance of a gift by his wife may threaten Yoon Suk-yeol's bid to reclaim a parliamentary majority in April's election.
Nippon Steel's plant in Kamisu, Ibaraki Prefecture. The firm submitted a cash offer to acquire U.S. Steel for $55 a share on Dec. 16.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 25, 2024

Sweetened offer in final hours clinched U.S. steel deal for Nippon

Nippon Steel executives submitted a sweetened cash offer to acquire the Pittsburgh-based company for $55 (¥8,120) a share on Dec. 16.
International calls for a cease-fire to spare civilians have been unsuccessful, with Israel vowing to continue until Hamas has been destroyed and all hostages have been freed.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 26, 2024

U.S. sets up channel with Israel seeking answers on civilian casualties

The channel has been set up following concerns about the "constant" reports of Israeli strikes that have resulted in large numbers of civilian deaths.
'Oden' may not be an iconic dish outside Japan, but during winter, there's nothing Japanese diners love more.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Washoku Essentials
Jan 28, 2024

In a Japanese winter, homemade ‘oden’ warms the body and soul

In poll after poll, this warming assortment of slowly simmered foods is the top-ranking comfort food for blustery winter nights.
Unfortunately for Japan, the demographic cliff is approaching and the government will need more than minor course adjustments to fix its Self-Defense Forces' recruitment woes.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 26, 2024

Cosmetic changes won’t fix the SDF’s recruitment problem

Facing demographic decline, Japan explores innovative solutions to boost recruitment in the Self-Defense Forces.
At Crypto HK, a popular crypto store in Hong Kong, customers can buy cryptocurrencies with a minimum 500 Hong Kong dollars ($64) and are not required to provide any identity documents.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 28, 2024

Bruised by stock market, China rushes into banned bitcoin

More and more Chinese investors are using creative ways to own crypto assets they believe are safer than investing in stock and property markets at home.
As a small open economy, Hong Kong is vulnerable to financial contagion and capital flights to and from China.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 24, 2024

Hong Kong is facing a repeat of 1998 Asia financial crisis

As the Hang Seng Index selloff deepens, bankers and traders are preparing for the worst.
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.
The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia, even faster than the shinkansen. However, demand for the new railway service remains lacking.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 29, 2024

Linking 17,000 islands in Indonesia tests a nation on the rise

President Joko Widodo's grand vision for the world’s largest archipelago is colliding with financial realities.
Masanao Saito harvests his mikan tangerines with his grandson, Akihito Oyama, at his farm in Yamamoto, Miyagi Prefecture, on Dec. 8. Behind them are apple trees full of fruit.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Feb 5, 2024

How fruit farmers in Tohoku are coping with climate change

Last year, extreme heat dubbed the "boiling Earth" phenomenon hit the region’s agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries hard.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jan 30, 2024

Local governments in Japan battle overtourism challenges

Officials are seeking ways to solve problems that emerge from higher tourist numbers, such as a shortage of taxis and the accumulation of garbage.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan