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Hong Kong has been promised significant autonomy until 2047, but Beijing's actions have undermined fundamental rights essential for its success.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 28, 2024

China says Hong Kong’s ‘one country, two systems’ is permanent

Hong Kong has been promised significant autonomy until 2047, but Beijing's actions have undermined fundamental rights.
Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada attends the red carpet event for FX's "Shogun" at the Academy theater in Los Angeles on Feb. 13.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 27, 2024

Disney’s ‘Shogun’ has a lot to teach the West

Walt Disney returns "Shogun" to the screen and reinvents an epic tale for a new generation.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has upended Communist Party norms since consolidating power and installing a coterie of loyalists in 2022, marking a shift from the more collective decision-making that helped propel China’s economic rise.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 1, 2024

Xi’s one-man rule over China’s economy is spurring unrest

While the Chinese leader attempts to put the China's economy on a more sustainable footing, he is failing to convince the nation that's a good idea.
Haas' Ayao Komatsu is the first Japanese to be named team principal of a non-Japanese Formula One team.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Mar 1, 2024

Ayao Komatsu and a road less traveled to the top of a Formula One team

As the new boss at Haas, Komatsu is the first Japanese team principal for a non-Japanese F1 team.
Factions, cliques, caucuses — whatever they may be called, groupings in legislatures are not unusual in many countries.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Perspectives
Mar 2, 2024

Is the funding scandal unraveling the LDP?

The media is caught up in the money-politics scandal of the moment, framing factions as all good or all bad. Things are a lot more nuanced than that.
What role should money from oil and gas — the very industry that’s the main contributor to global warming — have in funding the work of climate scientists?
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Mar 4, 2024

Two young climate scientists. Two visions of the solution.

The pair's biggest question: What role should money from oil and gas have in funding work like theirs?
Yulia Naumenko is one of many Ukrainians living in Japan as the war in their home country stretches into its third year.
COMMUNITY
Mar 11, 2024

In war’s third year, Ukrainians in Japan still face daily trials

Two years of conflict has left Ukraine scarred and evacuees living in Japan with just as many struggles as when they arrived.
New series "Shogun" focuses on power struggles during Japan's samurai era, with warlord Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) finding himself in danger of being bested — and perhaps beheaded — by rival Lord Ishido and his allies.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Mar 9, 2024

New ‘Shogun’ series is a cut above the original

From the 1980 original to ‘Last Samurai’ to now, Hollywood is getting better at depicting Japan.
A worker at Nakamatsu Meat speaks to an Alexa-powered device at its factory in Uruma, Okinawa Prefecture, in November. At the factory, workers give production updates to Alexa, which then converts this into data that is compiled in the company's computer.
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Mar 11, 2024

Okinawa meat shop uses tech to improve efficiency and raise wages

Nakamatsu Meat's digitalization enabled it to cut its factory operating time and optimize raw material purchases.
Christopher Nolan poses with the Oscars for best picture and best director for "Oppenheimer," in the Academy Awards press room on Sunday.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 11, 2024

The Academy gives Christopher Nolan's masterpiece its highest accolade

It is, in the words of its director, the story of the most important person who ever lived.
The study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine brain activity.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 12, 2024

Study of polyglots offers insight on brain's language processing

The brain's language network consists of a few areas situated in its frontal and temporal lobes.
Investors been pouring money into promising AI startups, eager to uncover the next big thing after ChatGPT.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 11, 2024

AI talent war heats up in Europe

The talent war means workers are increasingly well-placed to make demands of their prospective employers.
Several U.S. lawmakers along with TikTok creators hold a news conference to voice their opposition to the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act in Washington on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY
Mar 13, 2024

America’s TikTok addiction isn’t just China’s fault

If you’ve spent time on the platform, you will know how addictive TikTok is. With 170 million users, at least one in three Americans have accessed it.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is extending his nearly quarter-century rule into a fifth term at a time when his troops are on the offensive in Ukraine.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 18, 2024

Putin warns Russia won’t be stopped after record election win

Putin is extending his nearly quarter-century rule into a fifth term at a time when his troops are on the offensive in Ukraine.
Fans cheer during a friendly match between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Kiwoon Heroes ahead of the Major League Baseball Seoul Series in Seoul on Sunday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 18, 2024

MLB brings Shohei Ohtani, season openers and big dreams to Seoul

With a set of stars from the region, 2024 is turning out to be baseball’s moment in Asia.
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reportedly signed off on introducing a regulation bill after the Premier League failed to agree on a deal to share revenues with smaller clubs.
SOCCER
Mar 19, 2024

U.K. to set out soccer regulation law after club talks stall

The Football Governance Bill will be proposed in the House of Commons on Tuesday.
Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka hits a forehand during a match at Indian Wells on March 13.
TENNIS
Mar 20, 2024

Tennis rallies around Sabalenka at Miami Open after boyfriend's death

Sabalenka's partner, Belarusian former NHL ice hockey player Konstantin Koltsov, 42, died earlier this week, police said.
Visitors view a BYD Dolphin EV car at the 44th Bangkok International Motor Show in Bangkok in 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 25, 2024

Chinese EV makers to take center stage at Bangkok motor show

The popularity of Chinese EVs in Thailand underscores the growing challenge Japanese auto giants face in a vehicle market they have long dominated.
Christian villagers walk inside a church on Feb. 28, 16 years after it was destroyed by a mob following the murder of a Hindu priest, in the village of Irpiguda in the Kandhamal district of India's Odisha state. With India's election on the horizon and Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi widely expected to win, many Christians fear they may once again become targets.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 26, 2024

Christians in India fearful as election looms, recalling past violence

In 2008, mobs targeted churches, prayer halls and Christian homes, killing over 100 people, sexually assaulting women and forcing thousands to flee.
Smoke rises from the Gaza Strip during an explosion following an airstrike on Saturday. The war in Gaza has not stopped and Hamas has not freed anyone despite the adoption of a U.N. resolution on Monday demanding a cease-fire and the release of hostages.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 27, 2024

The U.N. Security Council demanded a Gaza cease-fire. What happens now?

While the U.S. did not veto the cease-fire resolution, its description of the text as "non-binding" sparked an uproar in the world body.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the 344th Army Aviation Center of aircrews combat training and transition in Torzhok in the Tver region of Russia on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 28, 2024

Putin says Russia will not attack NATO but will shoot down Ukraine's F-16s

F-16s sent for use in Ukraine's war effort and used from airfields in third countries would "become for us legitimate targets," the Russian leader said.
Sogo Fitness believes there's no point in working out if you're not having a good time and making new friends while you're doing it.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Apr 1, 2024

Blurring the lines between fitness and social club

Sogo Fitness started with a simple goal — create a community through social events based around keeping fit and healthy.
Elon Musk, X's owner, has been open about his belief that X should carry almost all content that isn’t illegal.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 29, 2024

Elon Musk’s X is testing ‘adult content’ groups for users

Openly offering "NSFW” groups may be another way for X to try to differentiate itself from other mainstream social networking services.
For some fundamentalist Christians, Donald Trump is seen as divine instrument even though his behavior seems at odds with their religious values.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 28, 2024

What fundamentalist Christians see in Trump

Navigating the paradox that is the intersection of fundamentalism and politics in America.
Yogi’s absolute favorite thing is food, but he’s not crazy about other dogs, so he’d probably do best on his own.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Apr 8, 2024

Yogi is smarter than the average dog

This fluffy guy also has a super cute way of getting your attention — he’ll bring you his toys and invite you to join in on his favorite games.
Artificial intelligence is peering into restaurant garbage pails and crunching grocery-store data to try to figure out how to send less uneaten food into dumpsters.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 6, 2024

AI is spying on the food we throw away

The tech is being used to try to reduce the amount of uneaten food that ends up in dumpsters.
Hamas' top leader, Ismail Haniyeh, speaks during a news conference in Tehran on March 26.
WORLD
Apr 11, 2024

Three sons of Hamas leader Haniyeh killed in Israeli airstrike

The Israeli military confirmed carrying out the attack, describing the three sons as operatives in Hamas' armed wing.
Adal’s Look into Nature brand, on show at Salon del Mobile 2024, rethinks "igusa" (Japanese rush grass), traditionally used for tatami, as a sustainable material for furniture.
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Apr 13, 2024

Japan’s best and brightest designers set to shine in Milan

The Salone del Mobile trade fair and its accompanying SaloneSatellite exhibition of up-and-coming talent attracts a pool of talented Japanese designers.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, attends an event in Seoul on Thursday. He is one of the most polarizing political figures in South Korea with a fervent base of supporters on the left and a large block of opponents in the conservative camp.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 13, 2024

Indicted opposition leader is South Korea’s top contender for president in 2027

The victory of his party in Wednesday's parliamentary elections was quite a turnaround for Lee Jae-myung.
Aston Villa's Leon Bailey (right) and Arsenal's Declan Rice vie for the ball during their match in London on Sunday.
SOCCER
Apr 15, 2024

Mikel Arteta challenges Arsenal to 'show character' after title hopes take hit

The Gunners' title hopes suffered a blow in a 2-0 defeat against Aston Villa.

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