Search - 2023

 
 
President Donald Trump’s order making English the official language of the country is unnecessary, as nearly 80% of people in the U.S. already speak it at home.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 14, 2025

America doesn’t need an official language

After all, what is our shared culture if not the mix of cultures — including languages — that make and remake America every day?
Dentsu's headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2025

Watchdog finds Dentsu and other Japanese firms reluctant to accept price hikes

Dentsu, Nippon Express and Kohnan Shoji have kept their transaction prices with their partners unchanged without consultation despite rising raw materials costs.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington on March 3.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 15, 2025

Trump administration weighs travel ban on dozens of countries, memo says

The move harkens back to Trump's first term ban on travelers from seven majority-Muslim nations.
Then-U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean leader Yoon Suk Yeol attend an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework event at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco in November 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 15, 2025

U.S. designated South Korea a 'sensitive' country amid talk of nuclear weapons

The move after the South Korean president briefly imposed martial law and amid talk of Seoul potentially developing nuclear weapons.
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in Bangkok in August 2023. Thaksin has vowed cheaper power in Thailand to allow the country to emerge as a data center hub.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 15, 2025

Thaksin vows cheaper power to turn Thailand into data center hub

Thailand aims to slash electricity costs by more than 25% by next year to emerge as a hub for data centers and artificial intelligence infrastructure.
France's scrumhalf Nolann Le Garrec holds the trophy as France's players celebrate winning the Six Nations tournament on Saturday at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, near Paris.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Mar 16, 2025

Record-breaking France clinches Six Nations title with Scotland win

Les Bleus matched England's number of titles since Italy joined the championship in 2000 and did so in style, scoring 30 tries in a pulsating campaign.
Hanshin pitcher Hiroto Saiki threw five scoreless innings as the Tigers topped the Dodgers in an exhibition game on Sunday in Tokyo.
BASEBALL
Mar 16, 2025

Tigers shut down Ohtani to take exhibition game over Dodgers

After giving up a home run to the Dodgers star two years ago, Hiroto Saiki got the best of Shohei Ohtani on Sunday as the Tigers completed a weekend sweep of MLB clubs.
A ship fires missiles toward an undisclosed location, after U.S. President Donald Trump launched military strikes against Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on Saturday over the group's attacks against Red Sea shipping, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video released on Saturday.
WORLD
Mar 17, 2025

U.S. vows to keep hitting Houthis until shipping attacks stop

The Houthi-run health ministry said U.S. airstrikes on Saturday killed at least 53 people.
Mirra Andreeva with the championship trophy after defeating Aryna Sabalenka in three sets in the women’s final of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Sunday.
TENNIS
Mar 17, 2025

Russian teen Andreeva beats top seed Sabalenka in Indian Wells final

The 17-year-old Andreeva is the youngest women's champion at the tournament since Serena Williams in 1999.
Newcastle defender Dan Burn (center) celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal of the English League Cup final between Liverpool and Newcastle United at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
SOCCER
Mar 17, 2025

Newcastle stuns Liverpool to end 56-year trophy drought

Eddie Howe's side made history at Wembley with a superb display that left the runaway Premier League leaders shell-shocked.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Dragon spacecraft launches from NASA's SpaceX Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov onboard, on Friday.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 17, 2025

Stranded U.S. astronauts to return to Earth on Tuesday

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been on the ISS since June after the Boeing Starliner spacecraft they were testing was deemed unfit to fly them back to Earth.
This combination picture shows candidates for the presidency of the IOC (from top left) Sebastian Coe, Kirsty Coventry, Johan Eliasch, Prince Feisal al-Hussein of Jordan, David Lappartient, Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. and Morinari Watanabe speaking during a press conference following a presentation before fellow IOC members, in Lausanne on Jan. 30.
OLYMPICS
Mar 17, 2025

Heavyweight seven eye finish line in race to succeed Olympics chief

Surprises from the electorate of 100-plus IOC members cannot be ruled out in the battle to become the most powerful figure in sport governance.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro speaks during a gathering of his supporters, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 17, 2025

Thousands back Bolsonaro at Rio rally despite coup allegations

The former president of Brazil is looking to contest in 2026's election in the hopes of emulating U.S. President Donald Trump's political comeback.
Bleached and dead coral around Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef, located 270 kilometers north of the city of Cairns, Australia, on April 5, 2024
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science
Mar 17, 2025

From oil spills to new species: How tech reveals the ocean

New technologies are helping to reveal hidden oil spills, speed up the discovery of new species and uncover the impact of light pollution.
The Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto during training at Tokyo Dome on Monday
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 17, 2025

How Yoshinobu Yamamoto rebounded after his disastrous MLB debut

Yamamoto is a different pitcher than he was a year ago when he was still adjusting to the transition from NPB to MLB.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (right) speaks to officials of Miyada in Nagano Prefecture on Saturday during his visit to the village.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 17, 2025

Japan to extend financial aid to more people moving out of Tokyo

The government plans to expand eligibility to include people taking up jobs in agriculture, medicine and welfare, as well as those becoming self-employed.
Johan Leutwiler checks a sword he made at his workshop studio in the Kui district of Mihara, Hiroshima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Mar 24, 2025

Japan's first foreign swordsmith opens workshop in Hiroshima Prefecture

Johan Leutwiler hopes to promote the charm of Japanese swords following the completion of his five-year apprenticeship.
Tourists gather at the Fuji Subaru Line 5th station, which leads to the popular Yoshida Trail for hikers climbing Mount Fuji, ahead of its reopening for the season in Narusawa, Yamanashi Prefecture in June 2024.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 17, 2025

Mount Fuji hikers to be charged ¥4,000 on all trails

Yamanashi Prefecture is doubling its ¥2,000 ($14) entry fee for the Yoshida Trail, while Shizuoka Prefecture will charge the same amount for its three trails.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin hold a bilateral meeting at the Group of 20 leaders summit in Osaka in June 2019.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 18, 2025

Trump discussion with Putin to focus on what Ukraine will lose

In an echo of the Yalta Conference in 1945, the American and Russian leaders will talk on Tuesday about who gets what in the process of ending the war in Ukraine.
Shohei Ohtani greets manager Dave Roberts before the team's game against the Tigers at Tokyo Dome on Sunday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 18, 2025

In Tokyo, Dodgers get taste of the Shohei Ohtani experience

The Dodgers have explored various parts of the Japanese capital, and it's a safe bet that wherever each player went, Ohtani was not far behind in some form.
A man walks through the rubble in a school-turned-camp after an Israeli strike in Gaza City on Tuesday.
WORLD
Mar 18, 2025

Israel strikes Hamas targets throughout Gaza as ceasefire frays

The Israeli military, which said it hit dozens of targets, said the strikes would continue for as long as necessary and would extend beyond airstrikes.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump's attack on DEI is making waves at international companies in Europe, Asia and beyond — but quietly, many businesses are standing firm on diversity initiatives.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Mar 18, 2025

Trump has companies in Europe and Asia walking a DEI tightrope

Outside of the United States, many businesses are quietly standing firm on diversity initiatives.
Shares of major trading houses Mitsubishi, Marubeni, Mitsui, Itochu and Sumitomo climbed 4% Tuesday in Tokyo after Berkshire Hathaway increased its stakes in them.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 18, 2025

Berkshire Hathaway increases stakes in Japan’s biggest trading houses

Warren Buffett has indicated that the trading houses have agreed to 'moderately' relax a previous ceiling of 10% on his stakes, leaving room for further buying.
Okayama goalkeeper Svend Brodersen reaches for the ball against Urawa's Thiago Santana (front) at Saitama Stadium on March 8.
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 18, 2025

Manga-loving German goalkeeper finds peace, and himself, in Japan

Svend Brodersen moved to Japan in 2021 and now plays for top-tier J. League side Fagiano Okayama, but he admits that initially he felt like he was "on another planet."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks to members of the media, as images are displayed of U.S. President Donald Trump receiving information on military strikes launched against Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, in the briefing room at the White House on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 18, 2025

Trump ramps up pressure on Iran with fresh Houthi threats

The U.S. president has raised the possibility of retaliatory strikes against Tehran if the militant group in Yemen doesn’t stop its attacks.
Yields on Japanese government bonds have climbed to the highest since 2006 as traders expect the Bank of Japan to keep hiking interest rates this year while peers from the U.S. to Australia ease monetary policy.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 18, 2025

Pimco takes profit on Japan bond trade as interest rates rise

The American investment management firm has turned "overall neutral” on Japanese government bonds.
Despite recent market volatility and trade tariff concerns, Japan continues to see fund launches as global investors are drawn to its stock market.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 18, 2025

Hong Kong hedge fund Polymer joins rush to debut pure Japan funds, sources say

The move will see the heavyweight joining a wave of fund launches in Japan.
Saul Luciano Lliuya in his home in Huaraz, Peru, on March 2. Lliuya is pursuing a lawsuit against German energy utility RWE, whose emissions he says have contributed to the melting of Andean glaciers, swelling a lake above his hometown to dangerous levels.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Mar 18, 2025

Facing glacial melt-water flood risk, Peruvian farmer tests global climate law

Lawyers in the case say German energy firm RWE is responsible for 0.5% of global emissions, so should pay 0.5% of the costs for a local $3.5 million flood defense project.
The Intel headquarters in Santa Clara, California
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 18, 2025

Intel's new CEO plots overhaul of manufacturing and AI operations

Intel reported an annual loss of $19 billion in 2024, its first since 1986.
The Voice of America building in Washington on Sunday, a day after more than 1,300 of the employees of the media broadcaster, which operates in almost 50 languages, were placed on leave
WORLD / Politics
Mar 18, 2025

China and Russia eager to fill void as Trump axes U.S.-funded media

Trumps moves come after years of efforts by Beijing and Moscow to promote their own worldview on the global media landscape.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.