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The Bank of Japan's surprise rate increase on July 31 led to Japanese stocks plummeting into bear-market territory, with the benchmark 225-issue Nikkei average falling 12.4% on Aug. 5 alone.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 11, 2024

Bank of Japan vows better messaging to avoid more market turmoil

There is "strong will" within the central bank to learn from what had happened during its last rate increase, BOJ Deputy Gov. Ryozo Himino.
Toshiyuki Mimaki, the co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo, speaks at an event held in November at United Nations headquarters in New York on the sidelines of the second meeting of state parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
JAPAN
Oct 12, 2024

Nihon Hidankyo awarded Nobel Peace Prize for efforts to achieve nuclear-free world

The organization was given the honor for its work to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons.
Chinese Finance Minister Lan Fo’an (center) during a news conference in Beijing on Saturday
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 14, 2024

China leaves economists wanting more action to defeat deflation

The supportive measures announced by Finance Minister Lan Fo'an over the weekend gave little indication Chinese authorities feel any urgency to boost consumption.
Israeli soldiers escort a group of international journalists along a trail just across the border in southern Lebanon on Sunday.
WORLD
Oct 15, 2024

How Israel’s army uses Palestinians as human shields in Gaza

Seven Israeli soldiers interviewed presented the practice of using detainees as human shields as routine, commonplace and organized.
Members of Lebanon's Civil Defense prepare before responding to an emergency at their station in Beirut's Cola neighborhood on Sunday.
WORLD
Oct 15, 2024

Lebanon rescuers defy danger and lack of resources to keep working

The latest escalation between Israel and Hezbollah comes with Lebanon still in the grips of a crippling economic crisis.
A gravely ill man (Arata Iura) starts to question if it’s worth sacrificing the life of his clone in order to save his own in Sayaka Kai’s “Adabana.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 17, 2024

‘Adabana’: Existential sci-fi will have you seeing double

Sayaka Kai’s drama set in a world where a privileged elite extend their lives by keeping clones in reserve is imbued with literal and figurative darkness.
A young woman named “Chacha” (Marika Ito) defies the rules of Japanese society in the romantic drama “Cha-Cha.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 17, 2024

‘Cha-Cha’: Romantic drama doesn’t take itself too seriously

Mai Sakai’s twisty and quirky film features a protagonist who is about as untethered from conventional roles and rules as it is possible to be in Japanese society.
England coach Thomas Tuchel speaks during his introductory news conference at Wembley Stadium in London on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Oct 17, 2024

Thomas Tuchel takes England job with visions of winning 2026 World Cup

England head coach Thomas Tuchel strode confidently into Wembley Stadium on Wednesday with a single-minded vision to win the 2026 World Cup for the success-starved soccer nation.
Members of the rock band Bright Eyes Super-Duper perform a song using sign language at a venue in Nagoya on Sept. 15.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 27, 2024

Sign-language rock band marks 35 years in Japan

To keep rhythm for their performances, the members of Bright Eyes Super-Duper with impaired hearing feel the vibrations of the music.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 20, 2024

LDP shaken by low public support for Ishiba Cabinet

Shigeru Ishiba had often been the top pick for the next prime minister in opinion polls but public expectations now seem to have faded.
Construction of temporary housing for people who lost their homes due to heavy rain in the Noto Peninsula a month ago began in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Saturday.
JAPAN
Oct 21, 2024

More than 400 still unable to return home after Noto rain disaster

The number has not decreased very much since a few days after the disaster a month ago.
Waight Keller, who designed Meghan Markle’s wedding dress, finds a different kind of luxury at a mass market brand.
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 22, 2024

A designer moves easily from royal gowns to Uniqlo

Clare Waight Keller, who designed Meghan Markle’s wedding dress, finds a different kind of luxury at a mass market brand.
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 23, 2024

Indian, Chinese and South African leaders bolster Putin at key summit

Putin is hosting around 20 world leaders for a three-day gathering of the BRICS group in the central city of Kazan.
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto throws during the first inning of Game 4 against the Mets on Oct. 17.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 23, 2024

Flaherty to start World Series opener for Dodgers as Yamamoto gets Game 2

Yamamoto is 1-0 with a 5.11 ERA in three playoff starts and hasn't pitched beyond five innings in any of those outings.
Nanako Fujita competes during a race in 2019. The recent news of Fujita quitting after her suspension for breaking horse racing's strict phone rules shows that bad habits related to smartphone use don't discriminate.
MORE SPORTS / Horse Racing
Oct 25, 2024

Horse racing in Japan has a smartphone problem

Nanako Fujita's recent retirement over breaches of smartphone rules put a spotlight on a big issue for horse racing in Japan.
BayStars slugger Tyler Austin hit two homers against the Giants during the final stage of the Central League Climax Series.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 26, 2024

BayStars aim to complete Cinderella run against Hawks in the Japan Series

To say the Yokohama DeNA BayStars are underdogs against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in the Japan Series would be putting it mildly, but titles are not decided on paper.
Kazuhiro Soda’s “The Cats of Gokogu Shrine” follows not only the felines that live on the grounds of the title shrine in Ushimado, Okayama Prefecture, but also the local community members, many of whom are of retirement age.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 25, 2024

‘The Cats of Gokogu Shrine’: Documentary paints intimate portrait of a community in decline

While stray cats that inhabit the grounds of a local shrine take center stage, the film also celebrates the aging humans doing their best to preserve their neighborhood.
Andrea Galeano, head of amphibian and reptile collections at the Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute, holds an Atelopus marinkellei frog captured during the Humboldt Institute's expeditions, in Villa de Leyva, Colombia, on Oct. 11.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Oct 28, 2024

Colombia's peace opened wildlife to discovery, but new violence frustrates progress

Colombia is now the world's most dangerous place for environmentalists, with 79 killed last year — the most ever in one country in a single year.
Then-manager Erik ten Hag celebrates with the trophy after Manchester United won the FA Cup on May 25.
SOCCER
Oct 29, 2024

Manchester United sack Erik ten Hag after woeful start to the season

United assistant coach and ex-striker Ruud van Nistelrooy will take over on an interim basis.
Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley leaves after attending a press conference hosted by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors to release its first annual report, at the Vatican on Tuesday.
WORLD / Society
Oct 30, 2024

Church must act faster against abusive priests, papal commission says

The detailed global report from the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors was the first since the body was set up by Pope Francis in 2014.
A World Series public-viewing event in Oshu, Iwate Prefecture, on Wednesday.
BASEBALL
Oct 30, 2024

'A treasure': Win or lose, Ohtani is a hometown hero in Iwate

Anticipation was high among the roughly 60 supporters who gathered early in the morning to watch Ohtani and the Dodgers try to clinch the World Series.
Fans watch Game 5 of the World Series at Fields, a sports bar in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward, on Thursday morning.
BASEBALL
Oct 31, 2024

Fans gather early at Shibuya bar to watch Shohei Ohtani's big night

Game 5 of the World Series started at around 9 a.m. on Thursday for fans in Japan.
Akira Oishi (left) and Shinichi Okanobori have taken on the responsibility of surveying the flora and fauna of Mount Tenran and Mount Tonosu in Saitama Prefecture.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / Longform
Nov 2, 2024

Inside Japan's 100-year project to monitor its deteriorating biodiversity

With researchers and an army of volunteers on its side, the Monitoring Sites 1,000 project aims to bring attention to our fragile ecosystems.
People line up outside an Apple store in Beijing on Sept. 20.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 4, 2024

Buffett keeps cutting Apple stake, with value down 60% this year

Berkshire cut its Apple holdings by roughly 25% in the period, after cutting it by almost half in the second quarter.
Unattended picket signs are piled up outside a Boeing facility in Seattle on Monday, after unionized workers voted to end their strike.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 6, 2024

Boeing CEO in battle to mend rifts after bitter strike ends

The strike exposed divides that run right through the company.
Chinese Maritime Militia vessels are pictured near the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea on March 5.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 13, 2024

Philippines says China is pushing it to cede claims in South China Sea

The fifth meeting between Australia and the Philippines since August 2023 reflects growing security ties between them, with both having voiced concerns about China.
The Israeli team practices at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France, on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Nov 14, 2024

Israel coach Ran Ben Shimon urges team to focus on soccer

Israel has urged its citizens to avoid attending cultural and sporting events abroad following last week's violence in Amsterdam.
Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring against Bolivia during their World Cup qualifier in Buenos Aires on Oct. 15.
SOCCER
Nov 14, 2024

Paraguayan Football Association bans Lionel Messi shirts before match with Argentina

Paraguayan Football Association manager Fernando Villasboa warned the home crowd to wear only Paraguayan shirts to the match.
A factory in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture. Even among profitable small and medium-sized enterprises, it is not uncommon for business owners to shut down due to aging and a lack of successors.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Nov 16, 2024

Japan issues warning over bad-faith buyers in small business M&As

As M&As gain attention as a viable option for business succession, measures are being introduced to raise awareness and safeguard companies.
Japan's Eri Hozumi (left) and Shuko Aoyama talk during their doubles match against Italy's Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani during the Billie Jean Cup in Malaga, Spain, on Saturday.
TENNIS
Nov 17, 2024

Japan comes up short at Billie Jean King Cup as Italy reaches semifinals

Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani earned a decisive victory over Shuko Aoyama and Eri Hozumi.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight