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Students sit under a misting system during recess at Hikarigaoka Haru no Kaze Elementary School in Nerima Ward, Tokyo, on Sept. 6.
JAPAN / Society / Boiling Point
Sep 16, 2024

Japan’s schools battle to keep kids cool, with or without AC

With extreme heat affecting both health and study, schools are racing to plug AC gaps while experimenting with creative, cheaper solutions.
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, speaks during a campaign rally at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania on Aug. 17.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Sep 16, 2024

Trump stalks global climate talks as COP29 draws near

The election lands awkwardly as governments try to build global consensus in coming months not just around climate but stronger protections for the environment.
Hiroyuki Sanada and the cast and crew of "Shogun" accept the award for best drama series at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Sep 16, 2024

‘Shogun’ and the painstaking art of ‘getting it right’

The Emmys-sweeping period drama went to great lengths to achieve historical accuracy — but that's just one piece of a bigger puzzle.
Ronald Rowe, the acting Secret Service director, speaks during a news conference regarding the apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday.
WORLD
Sep 17, 2024

U.S. Secret Service, the agency with a 'no fail' mission

The Secret Service provides lifelong protection for current and former presidents, vice presidents and their families.
Japan's export growth slowed sharply in August as shipments to the United States dropped for the first time in three years.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 18, 2024

Japan’s export growth slows as external demand moderates

Imports climbed 2.3%, falling short of the 15% gain forecast by economists, with trade deficit widening to ¥695.3 billion.
Tokyo Metro is expected to announce on Friday details of its initial public offering, with sources saying the firm is considering introducing shareholder benefits.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 18, 2024

Tokyo Metro considers a shareholder benefits program

The subway operator is expected to announce details of its IPO on Friday, which may value the company around ¥700 billion ($5 billion).
Onosato shoves out Mitakeumi on Sunday in Tokyo to continue his perfect run at the Autumn Basho. At 192-centimeters-tall and 177 kilograms, Onosato may be neither the tallest nor the heaviest wrestler in the makuuchi division, but he is very close to the top in each of those two categories.
SUMO
Sep 18, 2024

Onosato’s meteoric rise is stunning — but not surprising

Well on his way to ozeki, for Onosato, further promotion to yokozuna has become a question of when, not if.
A group of older women performs during a midautumn festival at a mall in Jinan, in eastern China, on Sept. 6. China’s shrinking population poses threats to growth but has opened opportunities for businesses that serve older adults.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 18, 2024

China’s ‘silver economy’ is thriving as birthrate plunges

Births in China fell to 9 million in 2023, down about 6% from the previous year, with the number of preschool children plummeting nearly 12%.
A woman shows her ink-marked finger after casting her vote at a polling station during the first phase of the assembly election in south Kashmir's town of Bijbehara, India, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 18, 2024

Modi faces new test in Kashmir after bruising election battle

Elections will also take place over the next five months in two opposition-ruled states, Jharkhand and Delhi.
The street where a 10-year-old boy is said to have been stabbed with a knife, on Thursday in Shenzhen in southern China.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 19, 2024

Japanese school student stabbed in Shenzhen dies

The assault echoes an earlier incident of violence in June, when a man attacked a bus used by a Japanese school in Suzhou, China.
Giants quarterback Eli Manning drops back to pass during a game against the Dolphins in December 2019.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Sep 19, 2024

Eli Manning and Marshawn Lynch lead 2025 Hall of Fame nominees

Kicker Adam Vinatieri, defensive end Terrell Suggs and late wide receiver Demaryius Thomas are also among first-year nominees with Super Bowl resumes.
Scientists used a version of ChatGPT to challenge conspiracy theories and beliefs and found people more open to evidence than expected, contradicting the "post-truth" era idea.
COMMENTARY
Sep 20, 2024

AI can debunk conspiracy theories better than humans

Believers often invest huge amounts of time in researching their theories online. Maybe only LLMs can keep up.
The Japanese Embassy in Beijing on Thursday. The embassy and other organizations have urged swift and resolute actions to protect Japanese citizens in China.
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2024

China works to avoid rift with Japan over killing of schoolchild

Beijing is characterizing the murder as a lone act and downplaying the political implications.
A car is seen in a crevice that opened up in a road amid heavy rains in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Saturday.
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2024

'Unprecedented' rains in quake-hit Ishikawa leave at least one dead

Rain across a swath of the Noto Peninsula — still recovering from the Jan. 1 earthquake — triggered floods and landslides that also left a handful of people missing.
U.S. border guards in Eagle Pass, Texas, in February
ENVIRONMENT
Sep 21, 2024

The Biden administration is fighting smugglers of a potent greenhouse gas

Since the start of fiscal 2024, the Biden administration has stopped roughly 25 illegal shipments of hydrofluorocarbons.
A destroyed car in the Biala Ladecka river following flooding in Zelazno, Poland, on Friday
ENVIRONMENT
Sep 22, 2024

U.S. election uncertainty clouds U.N. climate finance progress

Governments are analyzing a possible win by Kamala Harris, who promotes climate spending, or by Donald Trump, a climate denier who wants to boost fossil fuels.
Lebanese soldiers and civilians inspect the site of an Israeli strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 22, 2024

Israel’s plans for Hezbollah are becoming clearer

No ground invasion is imminent; instead, the aim appears to be to degrade Hezbollah to the point where it’s incapable of continuing the rocket and missile attacks.
Arisa Trew competes in the women's skateboard park competition at X Games Chiba on Sunday. Trew went on to win the event to back up her gold from the Paris Olympics.
MORE SPORTS / Action sports
Sep 22, 2024

Arisa Trew's golden run continues with win in skateboard park at X Games Chiba

Japan’s men had a big day in the skateboard street competition, with Sora Shirai grabbing the title ahead of two of his compatriots.
Smoke billows over southern Lebanon, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as pictured from Marjayoun, Lebanon, near the border with Israel, on Sunday.
WORLD
Sep 23, 2024

Hezbollah and Israel exchange heavy fire in 'new phase' of fighting

The conflict escalated sharply in the past week after Hezbollah opened a second front, backing Palestinians amid Israel's offensive in Gaza.
Actor Zhu Jian, 69, rehearses with other actors on the set of a micro movie during a filming session at a banquet hall in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China, on July 16.
BUSINESS
Sep 23, 2024

Micro dramas shake up China's film industry, aim for Hollywood

The leader in the micro drama space is Kuaishou, an app that accounted for 60% of the top 50 Chinese micro dramas last year.
A migrant from Mali, who said he is from the Fulani community and escaped the war in his country and arrived in El Hierro Island a year ago, speaks to  journalist in Barcelona on Friday,
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 24, 2024

West Africa becomes global terrorism hotspot as Western forces leave

Western powers that previously invested in trying to beat back the jihadists have very little capacity left on the ground.
A farmer harvests rice in a paddy field in Tamba-Sasayama, Hyogo Prefecture, last month.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 25, 2024

In need of rice and some Japanese words that describe necessity

When does something go from being a "want" to a "need"? A few grammar structures can give the listener a sense of how urgent a situation is becoming.
Fever guard Caitlin Clark tries to dribble past the Sun's Veronica Burton during Game 2 of their playoff series in Uncasville, Connecticut, on Sunday.
BASKETBALL
Sep 26, 2024

Fever star Caitlin Clark confident best yet to come following playoff exit

The 22-year-old broke the single-season assists record (337), smashed the rookie scoring record with 769 points.
Eric Adams, mayor of New York, exits a weekly news conference at City Hall in New York in 2023.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Sep 27, 2024

NYC mayor was corrupt for years, U.S. claims in scathing case

The indictment calls into question the political future of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who is in charge of running the biggest U.S. city.
Liam Lawson, 22, has been Red Bull reserve since 2022 and filled in for 35-year-old Ricciardo at five races last year when the eight-times grand prix winner was injured.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 27, 2024

Lawson to replace Ricciardo at RB for rest of F1 season

The move was widely expected following mounting speculation that the Australian's Formula One career had reached the end of the road.
The world's multilateral development banks must shift to a growth-focused approach that stabilizes economies without forcing them to cut essential public spending.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 27, 2024

The world needs bigger and better financial firefighters

The world's multilateral development banks must shift to a growth-focused approach that stabilizes economies without forcing them to cut essential public spending.
Musician Koshi Inaba is the latest artist to be featured on national broadcaster NHK’s Tiny Desk Concerts Japan. Based on a series from America’s National Public Radio, Japan’s version has spotlighted acts that you likely wouldn’t see stateside, like veteran rockers Kirinji and upstart pop artist yama.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 28, 2024

NHK furthers global reach with Tiny Desk Concerts Japan

Musician Koshi Inaba delivered a rollicking set for the stripped-down music series that brings cherry-picked Japanese acts you likely wouldn’t see stateside to new ears.
A photo of Chinese leader Xi Jinping is displayed at the National Security Exhibition Gallery in Hong Kong on Monday. The 24-man Politburo led by Xi has recently unveiled a series of pro-growth goodies to help the country's economy.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Sep 28, 2024

Xi’s big stimulus week aims to draw a line under China slowdown

A recent barrage of policy announcements marked a sea change in Xi’s approach to managing China’s $18 trillion economy.
Shigeru Ishiba, the newly elected leader of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party holds a news conference after the LDP leadership election in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 28, 2024

Ishiba gets down to the business of forming new administration

The incoming prime minister has reportedly decided to keep Yoshimasa Hayashi in the key post of chief cabinet secretary.
South Africa lock Eben Etzebeth (back left), flanker Siya Kolisi (left, front) and their teammates celebrate after the Springboks secured the Rugby Championship with a win over Argentina on Saturday in Mbombela, South Africa.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 29, 2024

Kolisi hails record-breaking Etzebeth as Springboks exact revenge

Etzebeth, 32, played the entire 80 minutes in Mbombela as he overtook Victor Matfield and became the most capped Springbok with 128 caps.

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