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North Korean special forces troops take part in training at a base in an undisclosed location in the country in this image released on Oct. 4.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 22, 2024

U.S. warns against North Korean troops in Ukraine as Seoul eyes arms to Kyiv

South Korea, Japan and the U.S. are rushing to address the high possibility of Pyongyang sending combat troops to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine.
Asako Osaki attends the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, in New York in March.
BUSINESS / WOMEN AT WORK
Nov 3, 2024

How global lessons can improve prospects for women in rural Japan

Through motherhood, education and work, Asako Osaki worked to bring global standards to the front lines of gender issues.
Celtics forward Jayson Tatum drives to the hoop during Boston's season-opening win over the Knicks on Tuesday.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Oct 23, 2024

Celtics dominate Knicks to launch NBA title defense

After a pregame ceremony that saw Boston celebrate raising its championship, the Celtics delivered a performance that suggested they could be the team to beat once more.
The Three Mile Island Nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 23, 2024

Three Mile Island nuclear plant gears up for Big Tech reboot

Giant cooling towers at the plant have sat dormant for so long that grass has sprung up in the towers' hollowed-out bases and wildlife roam inside.
Stablemaster Oshima (left) congratulates Kyokushuzan on his promotion to the the jūryō division in 1995.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Oct 23, 2024

Former ozeki Asahikuni, also a trailblazing stablemaster, dies at age 77

In 1992, the stablemaster recruited six young Mongolian men into his stable, creating a lasting connection between sumo and the central Asian nation.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba arrives to deliver a campaign speech in Osaka on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 23, 2024

Polls show Japan's ruling bloc could lose its majority. What would happen then?

Depending on the final count, one option for the LDP and Komeito might be to invite another party into a coalition.
Former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi presents his report on the future of European competitiveness to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Sept. 17.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 23, 2024

Europe’s wake-up call on innovation and competitiveness

Europe stands at a critical juncture, needing to choose between maintaining the status quo or moving toward deeper integration.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and India Prime Minister Narendra Modi meet on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 24, 2024

Xi-Modi breakthrough followed months of pressure from India's CEOs

Indian businesses have increased pressure this year on Narendra Modi’s government to relax the restrictions on China.
Sayaka Ishii will compete in the quarterfinals of the Pan Pacific Open on Friday.
TENNIS
Oct 24, 2024

Sayaka Ishii making name for herself in tennis while cheering on famous father and BayStars

Like the BayStars, Ishii has battled past higher-ranked opponents and will be hoping to continue to thrive in the role of underdog.
Trudeau has brushed aside calls to step down as Liberal Party members fear a wipeout in Canada’s next general election.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 24, 2024

Trudeau is urged by fellow party members to step down as prime minister

Trudeau has been in power for nine years, and no Canadian prime minister has led a party to four consecutive election wins in a century.
The probe into a Tokyo Stock Exchange worker is the first time an employee has become subject to a compulsory investigation for alleged insider trading.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 24, 2024

TSE worker under insider trading probe handled timely disclosures

According to sources, the employee allegedly leaked undisclosed information about multiple companies.
Ramen shop Menya Taisei's owner Taisei Hikage cooks ramen at his shop in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 24, 2024

Japan's rising ramen prices give election voters food for thought

The problems facing ramen shop owners reflect a cost-of-living crunch that has become a top issue for voters in the general election on Sunday.
A rancher stands near a door of the wall built under Donald Trump's presidency. A poll completed this week showed that 65% of registered voters believe the U.S. is on the wrong track on immigration policy, with voters favoring Trump's approach.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 25, 2024

U.S. Democratic candidates step up immigration messaging in last weeks

Almost 15% of pro-Democratic messages have addressed immigration or border security, up sharply from the 3% share in the final weeks of the 2022 midterm campaign.
Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida accepts a gift of 'dekopon' citruses, a specialty product and symbol of Kumamoto Prefecture, from Kumamon, itself a mascot and instantly recognizeable symbol of the region.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Oct 28, 2024

Japan’s ‘meibutsu’-industrial complex is a wonder to behold

If you name a Japanese prefecture, many locals will instantly be able to tell you something that the region is famous for or a product synonymous with that area.
Oracle Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen talks to teammates at the starting grid at the Formula 1 Pirelli United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on Oct. 20.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 25, 2024

Verstappen carries momentum back to a favorite track

Max Verstappen arrives at the high-altitude Hermanos Rodriguez circuit 57 points clear of McLaren's Lando Norris with five rounds remaining.
Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman celebrates after hitting a grand slam home run in the 10th inning against the New York Yankees during game one of the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Friday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 26, 2024

Dodgers' deja vu: Freddie Freeman mimics Kirk Gibson's homer heroics in Game 1 win

Down 3-2 in the bottom of the 10th inning, the Dodgers' Freddie Freeman ended the game in dramatic fashion, smacking a walk-off grand slam.
Studio Ghibli’s “Kiki’s Delivery Service” draws inspiration from Sweden’s medieval town of Visby as well as Stockholm for its vibrant setting of Koriko, a fictional city where the film’s titular character decides to use her powers as a witch to benefit the inhabitants of her new home.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 27, 2024

The Swedish heart of Hayao Miyazaki's ‘Kiki's Delivery Service’

Inspiration for the 1989 Studio Ghibli classic is still very evident in Visby, a picturesque town that captivated the animator on his first trip abroad in 1971.
Coral growing off Indonesia's Komodo island, located in the marine rich Coral Triangle
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Oct 27, 2024

Report details fossil fuel threat to 'Amazon of the seas'

The Coral Triangle covers waters claimed by Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, the Philippines, Timor-Leste and the Solomon Islands.
A guest room decked out in Shohei Ohtani and Dodgers gear at Yuko Hattori's Ohtani-senshu Ouen Minpaku (Guesthouse for Ohtani Fans) near Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 27, 2024

Los Angeles couple gives Japan guests a lodging experience fit for Ohtani superfans

A unique lodging near Dodger Stadium may be the ideal home base for anyone making the trip to Los Angeles to see the Japanese superstar.
Nico Echavarria of Colombia holds the trophy after winning the Zozo Championship on Sunday at Narashino Country Club in Inzai, Chiba Prefecture.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Oct 27, 2024

Nico Echavarria birdies final hole to win PGA Tour's Zozo Championship in Chiba

The birdie allowed Echavarria to avoid a playoff with two-time major winner Justin Thomas and Max Greyserman.
Lebanese soldiers inspect a damaged vehicle marked as 'Press' at the site of an Israeli strike that killed a few journalists and wounded several others as they slept in guesthouses used by media, Lebanon's health ministry and local media reported, in Hasbaya in southern Lebanon, on Friday.
WORLD
Oct 28, 2024

Deadly Israeli strike on journalists in Lebanon prompts global outcry

The strike hit a collection of guesthouses housing only reporters in the southern Lebanese town of Hasbaya, killing two journalists.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the Liberal Democratic Party's headquarters on Sunday, the day of a general election in which his party failed to secure even a simple majority together with its junior coalition party, Komeito.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 28, 2024

Breaking down the LDP’s punishing defeat

The LDP has been delivered a crushing electoral setback. How did this happen? What comes next? What does this mean for policymaking? Some of the key questions answered.
A public screen displays financial figures in Shanghai on Sept. 12.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 28, 2024

Stimulus matters more than U.S. election for Chinese stocks

Whether it be Donald Trump or Kamala Harris as the new U.S. leader, global money managers expect escalated hostility toward China.
On Sunday, voters delivered the LDP its biggest electoral setback since 2009, showing their dissatisfaction with recent scandals that have ravaged the party and fundamental issues in its makeup.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 28, 2024

Japan's October surprise

The debacle facing the LDP may be the immediate result of recent scandals, but there are deeper, structural reasons why voters have lost confidence in the party.
Georgian opposition supporters rally to protest the results of the parliamentary elections that showed a win for the ruling Georgian Dream party, outside the parliament building in central Tbilisi on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 29, 2024

Thousands protest Georgia voting results as EU and U.S. signal worry

The U.S. has called for an investigation into the election results while the European Union was critical of it.
Soldiers stand in formation in front of Chinese flags at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sept. 29. China's Ministry of State Security said on Tuesday it had uncovered devices that had been hidden on the ocean floor and were sending back information that could "pre-set the field for battle.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 29, 2024

China reports finding spying devices at sea

Beijing said the devices — it did not specify where they were found — act as underwater "lighthouses" that guide submarines, among other functions.
North Korean special forces soldiers march and shout slogans during a military parade marking the 105th anniversary of the birth of the country's founding father, Kim Il Sung, in Pyongyang in April 2017.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Oct 29, 2024

North Korean troops in Russia could have dangerous ramifications for Asia

Kim Jong Un's decision to send soldiers amid the war in Ukraine highlights the gamble he appears to be willing to take in his strategic relationship with Moscow.
Georgian opposition supporters rally to protest results of the parliamentary elections that showed a win for the ruling Georgian Dream party, outside the parliament building in central Tbilisi on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 30, 2024

Georgia to partially recount votes in disputed poll

Pro-Western opposition parties have refused to recognize the results of Saturday's vote, which they claim was falsified in favor of the ruling Georgian Dream party.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, also president of the Liberal Democratic Party, places a paper rose on an LDP candidate's name to indicate their a victory in the Lower House election, with LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 30, 2024

Signs of revolt against Ishiba emerging within LDP

The ruling camp of the LDP and Komeito fell short of a majority in the House of Representatives in Sunday's election.
A building in Tokyo housing the Tokyo District Court
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 30, 2024

Ex-ASDF colonel pleads not guilty to confidentiality breach

According to his indictment, So Kanno is alleged to have leaked information about the systems of E-2D early warning planes.

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