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An employee prepares tables and chairs outside a restaurant in Bucharest, Romania.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 3, 2023

EU membership supercharged Romania. Ukraine faces a tougher task.

Romania’s accession offers lessons that can help Kyiv along the way and offer an indication of the potential rewards.
The classic Japanese ghost story often features a vengeful female ghost.
PODCAST / deep dive
Oct 12, 2023

[Rebroadcast] Japan’s got ghosts

This week we discuss a few horror movies before “Uncanny Japan” podcast host Thersa Matsuura tells a classic Japanese ghost story.
Various aspects of Japan’s Sado Island — noh, taiko drumming, business investment and cultural regeneration projects — weave their way into “L’ile d’Or Kanemu-Jima,” with characters and cultures coming together in a melting pot of real-world political problems, theater styles and dark humor.
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 20, 2023

Cultures collide in Ariane Mnouchkine's Sado Island-inspired play

The Kyoto Prize-winning French theater director's latest production, "L’ile d’Or Kanemu-Jima," draws from her experiences in Japan, both old and new.
AI software is being used to detect cognitive decline in older Japanese drivers in order to help prevent accidents.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 22, 2023

AI startup helps insurers spot cognitive decline in elderly drivers

Once reliant on a driver's age and model of car, some insurers now rely on AI to expedite settlements and craft more precise risk assessments.
Speech-generating AI works by sifting through reams of data, categorizing how people speak then using an algorithm, to replicate human vocal patterns and speech characteristics.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Oct 23, 2023

Whose voice is it anyway? Actors take on AI copycats

Artists around the world are joining forces to protect their jobs, and their souls, from the ramifications of AI that sounds just like them.
Ryo and Kaho Nagata greet a regular customer from the second floor of their cafe in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Nov 6, 2023

Young migrants bring vitality to rural Hiroshima

Some new residents found a place where they could try something new, as well as having cheaper rents for stores and homes compared to Tokyo.
U.S. President Joe Biden signs an Executive Order about Artificial Intelligence as Vice President Kamala Harris looks on, at the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 31, 2023

Biden inks executive order to curb AI risks to national security

Artificial intelligence technology has been making rapid gains in capability and popularity in an environment of, so far, limited regulation.
The midway in Springfield, Massachusetts, lit up at night. Framingham, Massachusetts mayor Charlie Sisitsky said its geothermal pilot project could more than halve emissions and cut energy consumption for some properties by up to 70%.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Nov 2, 2023

U.S. cities expand geothermal energy to whole neighborhoods

The U.S. federal government is to back 11 pilot geothermal projects.
"The Ones Left Behind" documents the successes and struggles of single mothers in Japan.
PODCAST / deep dive
Nov 2, 2023

Why single mothers in Japan have been left behind

Filmmaker Rionne McAvoy joins us to discuss the hidden poverty present in one of the world’s richest nations.
A Grab food delivery cyclist makes a delivery in Singapore on Aug. 21.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 5, 2023

Consolidation looms for Southeast Asia’s food delivery giants

With growth in the sector slowing, companies are slimming down or bolstering their ties with other operators.
Mika and Jesse say their landlady prefers a hands-off style of property management, leaving all matters, including maintenence and repairs, to the renting couple.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 18, 2023

Renting akiya: A backdoor into Japan's abandoned homes

“If the choice is between leaving (an akiya) empty or renting it out, please rent it out.”
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, along with his daughter, walks away from an intercontinental ballistic missile in this undated photo released on Nov. 19, 2022
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 17, 2023

Kim Jong Un’s daughter marks a year as country’s propaganda star

The preservation of the family rule is inextricably tied to the country’s weapons program
Singapore national flags hang from the facade of a Housing & Development Board public housing estate in the Selegie area of Singapore, in 2021.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 17, 2023

China puts money behind Singapore model in major housing shift

Details are undisclosed, outlined in a classified "Document 14" last month.
Cabs not in operation are parked at a taxi company in Naha in October. Finding a taxi in parts of Okinawa Prefecture is becoming increasingly difficult because of a shortage of drivers.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Nov 27, 2023

Getting a taxi in Okinawa harder than ever amid driver shortage

The number of cab drivers working in the prefecture peaked at 10,041 in 2009 and declined to 5,246 in 2021.
Argentina's president-elect Javier Milei at a polling station in Buenos Aires on Sunday
WORLD / Politics
Nov 22, 2023

How AI shaped Milei's path to Argentina presidency

"It is going to be a huge problem in global elections in the future"
Akina Shu has visited around 50 countries as a speaker and ambassador on the digital nomad lifestyle since 2020.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Nov 27, 2023

Japan is enticing for digital nomads, but visa hurdles remain

While the country does not offer a digital nomad visa, the government is working on introducing one sometime in 2024.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 28, 2023

Japan approves first domestically developed COVID-19 XBB vaccine

The XBB-adapted coronavirus vaccine will be available as a booster under the nation’s free COVID-19 vaccination program beginning next week.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s new factory in Kumamoto Prefecture. New chipmaking plants in Japan are raising questions about securing workers and adequate water supplies.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 19, 2023

Kumamoto and Hokkaido face common tasks of securing water and talent

With ambitious projects advancing, the two prefectural governments forged an agreement in August, aiming to facilitate exchanges of information.
A still from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
PODCAST / deep dive
Dec 14, 2023

Big in Japan 2023: Anime, Murakami and The Legend of Zelda

Our guests tell us why anime dominated in 2023, which books stood out among a lackluster crowd and why the Zelda franchise is experiencing a renaissance.
In Toshiba, JIP takes on a sprawling company far bigger and more complex than any it acquired before.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Dec 19, 2023

In buying Toshiba, JIP takes on corporate Japan's toughest job

While the fund has quietly built up a track record by carving out businesses from big manufacturers, Toshiba is more complex than any it acquired before.
Author Yasunari Kawabata’s “The Rainbow” seems to suggest it is never too late to heal, so long as we face our pain rather than run away.
CULTURE / Books
Dec 21, 2023

‘The Rainbow’: Artistic world underscores truths of the human heart

Despite resonant themes, this translation of Nobel Prize-winner Yasunari Kawabata’s novel about lingering grief and regrets feels strangely distant.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un views the launch of a Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile, during what North Korea has described as a drill, at an unknown location on Dec.18.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 26, 2023

At peak of his powers, Kim Jong Un set to lead 2024 policy address

Arms transfers to Russia in recent months have likely boost Kim's sanctions-hit economy, while his weapons program has also made significant gains.
Public scrutiny is key to defending internet privacy amid growing calls by governments for more surveillance.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 27, 2023

Time to curb government internet surveillance

Democracies are often leading the internet surveillance charge, inadvertently paving the way for the world’s autocrats.
Prime minister Fumio Kishida reviews Japan Self-Defense Forces troops at Camp Asaka in Tokyo in November 2021.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 27, 2023

Reviewing Japan's security moves in 2023

With Japan's economic malaise and scandals eroding political capital in Tokyo, 2024 may yield an extended waiting period for new security measures.
Rising directorial star Sho Miyake's new relationship drama, "All the Long Nights," centers on two colleagues (Hokuto Matsumura, left, and Mone Kamishiraishi) who form a bond when they discover they both struggle with health issues.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 19, 2024

Familiar faces return to the big screen in 2024

Amid a roster of hits such as "Demon Slayer," “Doraemon” and “Detective Conan," Japanese cinema gets a little more inclusive in the year ahead.
Following the death of manga artist Hinako Ashihara, X users are going in search of clues, treating the internet as a virtual crime scene — and appointing themselves the arbiters of law and order.
CULTURE / Wide Angle
Jan 31, 2024

The internet goes in search of blame after the death of Hinako Ashihara

To piece together what happened, social media users are going in search of clues, treating the internet as a virtual crime scene.
Mario Andretti is "devastated" that his team's bid to join Formula One was rejected on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Feb 1, 2024

Formula One rejects Andretti's bid to join circuit

Racing legend Mario Andretti said he was devastated after learning his team's bid to join Formula One was rejected.
The Final Fantasy-inspired plate was supposed to arrive in Tokyo on Jan. 5, but the Noto craftsmen moved up the schedule to the day before the destructive Noto tremblor.
LIFE / Style & Design
Feb 3, 2024

Spared from Noto quake, Final Fantasy lacquerware inspires hope

A group committed to preserving local lacquerware hopes that the decorative plate will help turn the region's dire disaster recovery situation around.
Foreign investors are seeking more English-language disclosure from companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 6, 2024

Foreign investors want more English info from TSE firms

The TSE plans to make Prime firms release key information in Japanese and English simultaneously.
Tokyo is filled to the brim with anime-related activities and attractions, but the best require a little digging to enjoy to the fullest.
LIFE / Travel
Feb 10, 2024

An anime otaku's blueprint to nerding out in Tokyo — and beyond

The first step to taking anime otaku-dom to the next level is to educate yourself on the history and evolution of the medium.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past