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Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (center right) and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (center left) pose for pictures as Kim Jong-uk, Commissioner General of the Korea Coast Guard (left), and Ronnie Gil Gavan, Commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard, hold up signed agreements during a meeting at the Malacanang Palace in Manila on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 8, 2024

Philippines and South Korea upgrade ties to strategic partnership

They also signed agreements on coastguard cooperation and nuclear energy.
Local activists and tech workers protest against Google and Amazon's Project Nimbus contract with the Israeli military and government, outside the Google Cloud Next Conference in San Francisco, California, on August 29, 2023.
WORLD
Oct 8, 2024

Decoding the role Big Tech plays in the war in Gaza

The Israel-Hamas war has spotlighted how artificial intelligence and machine learning can be used on the battlefield.
Japan's has experienced a significant decline in global economic power, with its share of global gross domestic product dropping from 18% in the 1980s to an anticipated 3% by 2050.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 8, 2024

Japan needs more than mere economic strength

Japan, a country that has long relied on its economic prowess for international stature and standing, must change its perspective.
Coal-fired power plants in Bataan, the Philippines, in June 2023. A third of the 158 agreements signed under the Japan-led Asia Zero Emission Community are linked to fossil fuel technologies, a recent study by a climate research group has found.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Oct 9, 2024

Japan pushes fossil fuel tech in Asia carbon neutrality initiative

A third of the 158 agreements signed under the Japan-led Asia Zero Emission Community are linked to fossil fuel technologies, according to a report.
Former Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp speaks after receiving Germany's Order of Merit in Berlin on Oct. 1.
SOCCER
Oct 9, 2024

Juergen Klopp becomes Red Bull's global soccer chief in first job after Liverpool

Klopp, who ended his successful nine-year stint with Liverpool at the end of last season, will be starting his new role on Jan. 1.
Mindbody ClassPass CFO Tom Aveston speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in September.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 9, 2024

ClassPass lands in Japan with eye on domestic fitness market and visitors

The company, which provides access to gyms on a membership basis, started operating on Sept. 19 with 200 partner gyms and fitness studios, mainly in Tokyo.
Heavy rain in Fort Myers, Florida, on Wednesday as Hurricane Milton approaches
WORLD
Oct 10, 2024

Hurricane Milton marches across central Florida, destroying homes and knocking out power

In a state already battered by Hurricane Helene two weeks ago, as many as 2 million people were ordered to evacuate.
Two of Google's researchers shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work revealing the secrets of proteins through AI.
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 10, 2024

AI steps into science limelight with Nobel wins

The science now bundled together as artificial intelligence has a long history, emerging in the 1950s and 60s with simple algorithms.
Ishiba addresses the ASEAN-Japan Summit meeting in Laos on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 10, 2024

Ishiba keeps low profile as he makes diplomatic debut

The prime minister made pledges to strengthen maritime security and promote decarbonization during his first international trip since taking office.
By windsurfing around the British Isles, Jonathan “Jono” Dunnett says he was rescued from disillusionment and depression.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Oct 10, 2024

Jonathan Dunnett: ‘The ocean is far bigger than we are, and it will humble us.’

With his bright orange sail, windsurfer Jonathan Dunnett is pretty visible out on the water. This means he draws attention from other boaters and the odd shark.
Lauretta is much calmer and more demure than her operatic name might suggest.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Oct 14, 2024

Named for an opera, Lauretta is more adorable than dramatic

Named after the daughter of Gianni Schicchi in the Puccini opera of the same name, it was Lauretta’s big, round face and lovely eyes that won her the name.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends the East Asia Summit during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Vientiane, Laos, on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 11, 2024

Ishiba clears low bar in diplomatic debut

Experts said Ishiba's visit signaled that he would maintain continuity with the policies set by former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
People inspect the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Friday.
WORLD
Oct 12, 2024

After heavy Israeli blows, Hezbollah forges new command for crucial ground war

Friends and foes alike are now watching how effectively the Iran-backed group resists Israeli troops that have crossed into Lebanon.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a debate with other political party leaders at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 13, 2024

Japan to ‘seriously consider’ U.N. nuke ban treaty observer status, Ishiba says

Japan, the sole country to be attacked with nuclear weapons, has faced criticism for not participating in some form in the treaty.
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center in Aurora, Colorado, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 13, 2024

Trump ratchets up rhetoric, calling for death penalty for migrants who kill Americans

He has already proposed an expansion of the death penalty for other offenders, including people convicted of sex trafficking women and children.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba chairs an Asia Zero Emission Community meeting in Vientiane, Laos, on Friday.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Oct 13, 2024

Where does Shigeru Ishiba stand on the climate issue?

Ishiba appears to be charting a new course on renewable energy, especially with a nascent effort to tap Japan's bountiful geothermal potential.
China's Liaoning aircraft carrier takes part in the Joint Sword-2024B military drills east of Taiwan, in this screenshot from video released Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 15, 2024

China says it won't rule out use of force to take Taiwan as war games end

Japan and the U.S. condemned the large-scale Chinese military exercises around Taiwan as Beijing hinted that more could come.
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (center), with Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly (right), and Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc, takes part in a news conference about the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's investigation into "violent criminal activity in Canada with connections to India," on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 15, 2024

Canada expels top India diplomats, linking them to murder of Sikh leader

India retaliated by ordering the expulsion of six high-ranking Canadian diplomats.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event in Flint, Michigan, on Oct. 4.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 15, 2024

Harris to raise concern about Trump's 'enemy from within' comments

Harris' trip to Pennsylvania is her 10th to the battleground state since she announced her candidacy for president in July.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends the East Asian Summit in Vientiane, Laos, on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 15, 2024

Ishiba openness to nuke ban treaty involvement puts pact in spotlight

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said his government will “seriously consider” participating as an observer in a conference of signatories to the U.N. treaty.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) welcomes Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau upon his arrival at the Group of 20 Summit in New Delhi on Sept. 9, 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 16, 2024

Canada-India rift seen as a momentary gain for Modi and Trudeau

The divide could bolster Narendra Modi's image as a hawk on national security while taking the spotlight off of Justin Trudeau reportedly being asked to step down.
Nearly two-thirds of parents of Australian teenagers reported concerns about their children's social media use, according to a 2024 survey by youth service ReachOut.
WORLD / Society
Oct 16, 2024

Australia's planned social media ban raises teen isolation fears

For teenagers from migrant, LGBTQIA+ and other minority backgrounds, an age block could cut off access to essential social support.
A pig bone is hung at the entrance to the Shiokawa district in the village of Tamara, Okinawa Prefecture, in August 2021.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Oct 21, 2024

Okinawan pig slaughter ritual blocked by public health authorities

The ban presents a dilemma to residents who say making changes takes away the practice's meaning.
Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto (right) talks with the country's outgoing leader, Joko Widodo, after the latter delivered the annual State of the Nation Address in Jakarta on Aug. 16.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 16, 2024

Indonesia’s new president will keep the world guessing

Eliminating hunger is one thing — ensuring the economy is able to provide enough jobs for young people as they graduate from school and university is quite another.
Demonstrators burn an Indian flag and deface a placard depicting Indian prime minister Narendra Modi during a Sikh rally outside the Consulate General of India in Toronto on Sept. 25.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 16, 2024

The notorious syndicate Canada says is India's proxy

Ottawa said there was "credible" evidence linking New Delhi to the killing of a Sikh separatist in Canada.
The Champayan Lagoon in Altamira, Tamaulipas, Mexico. A new report finds that nearly 3 billion people and more than half of the world’s food production are in areas experiencing a worsening water shortage.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Oct 17, 2024

Water crisis endangers 8% of GDP in high-income countries, report warns

The report finds that nearly 3 billion people and more than half of the world’s food production are in areas experiencing a worsening water shortage.
The vast space and massive pillars of the Metropolitan Outer Area Underground Discharge Channel dwarf visitors.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 24, 2024

Massive underground infrastructure protects the Tokyo metropolitan area from floods

The Metropolitan Outer Area Underground Discharge Channel is a unique feat of engineering built to keep homes and businesses safe and dry.
A new report said that fires in the northern boreal forests, which span from Russia to North America, have almost tripled during the past 20 years.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Oct 18, 2024

Global forest fire carbon emissions have jumped 60% in 20 years

Forest fire severity — a measure of how much carbon is emitted per unit of area burned — is also up by nearly 50% globally.
Stays at Aman Kyoto start at around $2,500 (about ¥375,000) and increasing to $4,000 (about ¥600,000) per night, but for the right traveler, it's not money entirely wasted.
LIFE / Travel
Oct 19, 2024

Kyoto’s most expensive hotel offers inner peace — for a price

Aman Kyoto is one of the most luxurious options for stays in Japan’s ancient capital — but is it worth the hefty price tag?
New and strengthened rules aim to make street drinking a thing of the past in Shibuya's nightlife center — but the reality may not be that simple.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Oct 21, 2024

Can you drink in Shibuya and Shinjuku this Halloween? It depends.

Shibuya and Shinjuku are both planning on cracking down on street drinking this Halloween and beyond. But the problem might be bigger than a night of drunken revelry.

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan