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Prosecutors leave Upper House lawmaker Megumi Hirose's home in Tokyo on Tuesday after searching it as part of an investigation into alleged fraud.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 31, 2024

Resignation of LDP lawmaker over pay scandal adds to party's woes

Megumi Hirose has left the party over allegations she pocketed public money to pay the salary of a secretary who didn’t actually work.
Japan's gasoline imports in June rose 20.4% from the previous month, with the Petroleum Association of Japan attributing it to maintenances and outages at plants owned by top oil refiners.
BUSINESS
Aug 6, 2024

Japan's gasoline imports seen rising through August as refinery outages cut output

Japan's gasoline imports are expected to stay elevated through August after rising 20% in June.
Children use a mobile shower, provided by the local government, amid extreme heat in metro Manila on May 2.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 6, 2024

From the Philippines to Mali, countries fail to count deaths from extreme heat

A lack of reliable data is undermining efforts to mitigate the risk of extreme heat and provide better protection for the most vulnerable.
Australia today is running aggressive recruitment campaigns to attract Kiwis to work in sectors like health care, early childhood education, police and prisons, tempting them with higher wages and relocation packages.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 8, 2024

Fed-up New Zealanders are flocking to Australia for better pay

Some 44,534 New Zealanders, almost 1% of the nation’s population of 5 million, left to live in Australia in 2023.
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 9, 2024

Kishida Cabinet members resume holding fundraising parties

"I will continue to carry out (fundraising through parties) in a restrained manner," said Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki.
Foreign airlines are pulling services or opting not to restart flights to China after the pandemic, whereas Chinese airlines are expanding overseas operations.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 10, 2024

Foreign airlines lose interest in China as domestic carriers expand abroad

Foreign rivals are struggling with weak China travel demand, rising costs and extended flight times because of the need to avoid Russian airspace.
An ambulance is parked at the entrance of the emergency room of Saitama Hospital in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, on July 24.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Boiling Point
Aug 20, 2024

How Japan's health care system is gearing up for more heatstroke cases

Rising heatstroke cases are weighing on the nation’s health care system, which is already wrestling with the growing burden of a rapidly aging population.
A child eats as Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday.
WORLD
Aug 27, 2024

U.N. humanitarian work in Gaza impacted by evacuation order

The United Nations on Monday said humanitarian work in the Gaza Strip has taken a serious blow after Israel ordered a new evacuation.
Former Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Megumi Hirose in the Upper House in April. She stepped down as lawmaker on Aug. 15.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 30, 2024

Ex-LDP lawmaker Hirose indicted over alleged pay fraud

She allegedly reported the wife of her public secretary as her second secretary although the wife did not perform any work in that capacity.
Prince Hisahito observes in July narrow leaf cattail that he had planted at the Akasaka Estate in Tokyo's Minato Ward.
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2024

Japan's Prince Hisahito turns 18

Having reached the age of adulthood, the prince says he wants to deepen his learning and grow.
U.s. President Joe Biden speaks to members of the U.A. Local 190 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 7, 2024

Biden aides working on proposal for U.S. sovereign wealth fund

The fund would allow the U.S. to invest in national security interests including technology, energy, and critical links in the supply chain.
Attorney General Merrick Garland sits between Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and FBI Director Christopher Wray during a meeting of the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force, in Washington on Sept. 4. Federal prosecutors say Russia secretly paid the American company Tenet Media to push pro-Kremlin messages from social media influencers including Benny Johnson, Tim Pool and Dave Rubin.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 9, 2024

Russia secretly worms its way into America’s conservative media

The latest indictment reflects the growing sophistication of the Kremlin’s long-standing efforts to shape American public opinion and advance its geopolitical goals.
Soccer player Junya Ito has filed a criminal complaint against two women and a weekly magazine for suspected defamation, saying that the magazine article on his alleged sexual assault has damaged his reputation and credibility.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 10, 2024

Soccer player Ito appeals against nonindictment of two women

Police had sent to public prosecutors papers on the two women for allegedly making false allegations against two men including Ito, but both women were not indicted.
A person holds an image of Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was shot dead by Israeli forces, as Palestinians march to honor her in Nablus, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 11, 2024

Death prompts U.S. to demand overhaul of Israeli conduct in West Bank

Israel's military said the American protester's death was unintentional, and it voiced deep regret.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rate fell to 20% in a weekly tracking poll released Friday by Gallup Korea.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 13, 2024

Yoon’s support rate at new low amid concerns over medical crisis

The government has offered some concessions to bring the doctors back to work but they have shown little signs of returning.
An oil slick in the waters off the coast of Manila Bay, in Pamarawan, Malolos, Bulacan province, Philippines, on July 29.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 14, 2024

Philippine fishers call for justice after oil tanker sinks

The largest oil spill in the country since 2006 prompted the government to impose a fishing ban that has pushed the industry toward debt and hunger.
A student holds up a mock missile during a demonstration in solidarity with Palestinians at the campus of Sanaa University on Aug. 21.
WORLD
Sep 15, 2024

Houthi missile reaches central Israel for first time; no injuries reported

The Houthis have fired missiles and drones at Israel repeatedly in what they say is solidarity with the Palestinians, since the Gaza war began.
A firefighter stands near a wildfire in Veiga, Agueda, Portugal, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Sep 18, 2024

Portugal combats ferocious wildfires as death toll rises to seven

Fanned by bellowing winds in the stifling heat, the three largest fires concentrated in the northern Aveiro region in Portugal have scorched some 10,000 hectares.
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.
Commuters at Tokyo Station in July. In Tokyo, cases of mycoplasma pneumonia, characterized by prolonged cough and fever, rose to a record high of 2.96 per medical facility in the fourth week of September.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 8, 2024

Mycoplasma pneumonia cases reach record high in late September

The disease, which commonly affects children and is usually accompanied by a fever and cough, typically surges in the transition from fall to winter.
Jets coach Robert Saleh hugs quarterback Aaron Rodgers during their game against the Patriots in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sept. 19.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 10, 2024

Aaron Rodgers denies any involvement in Jets' decision to fire Robert Saleh

Some reports said that Rodgers had been unhappy with a plan by Saleh to demote offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.
An electric stock board at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, operated by Japan Exchange Group, in Tokyo on April 19
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 21, 2024

Asian IPOs set for blockbuster week as ‘animal spirits’ return

Asian markets are seeing a return of "animal spirits," or changes in market behavior often driven by emotions.
A woman mounts a flag to a stack of cinderblocks in the aftermath of flooding from Hurricane Helene in Swannanoa, North Carolina, on Oct. 6.
WORLD / Society
Oct 31, 2024

Misinformation is turning American disasters into toxic battlegrounds

Deep political polarization, weakened trust in institutions and a lack of content moderation on social media allow false claims to flourish.
Held weekly at the Red Bull Gaming Sphere in Tokyo’s Nakano Ward, Tatakai Tuesday brings together both local and visiting fighting game enthusiasts.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Nov 2, 2024

Blood, bruises and brotherhood at Tokyo’s fighting games club

Organizers Jonathan Metoyer and Andrew Fidelis started the events to 'replicate a sense of pressure you’d feel in competitive space.'
An exhibition of captured military hardware from NATO countries in Moscow in May.  Whatever the results of the U.S. presidential election, the prospect of improved U.S.-Russia relations seems even more distant.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 6, 2024

Whether Trump or Harris, pessimism reigns in Russia over U.S. election winner

The sentiment is prevalent in a Russia that feels scorned and underestimated by Democrat administrations and betrayed by Trump.
The headquarters of Bungeishunju, Shukan Bunshun's publisher, in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 8, 2024

Comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto to withdraw Bungeishunju defamation suit

The lawsuit was filed over a Shukan Bunshun article that detailed sexual assault allegations made by two women.
Elon Musk during a campaign event at Madison Square Garden in New York on Oct. 27
WORLD / Politics
Nov 10, 2024

Silicon Valley’s Trump supporters envision ascendant startups and Vance 2028

The surge of GOP support and contributions set records in the largely left-leaning tech industry, splintering once-clubby relationships.
Nippon Steel Chairman and CEO Eiji Hashimoto told a local weekly that a lawsuit is possible if the company's proposed buyout of U.S. Steel gets blocked without proper procedures being followed.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 13, 2024

Nippon Steel does not rule out lawsuit if U.S. Steel deal nixed, CEO says

If the deal falls through without a legitimate reason or proper procedures, the Japanese steelmaker would consider suing the U.S. government, CEO Eiji Hashimoto says.
Positioned as Google's answer to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Gemini aims to tap into Apple's vast user base to expand its footprint in a rapidly evolving artificial intelligence landscape.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 15, 2024

Google launches Gemini app — with Japanese support — on iOS App Store

The app gives iOS users direct access to Gemini, which was previously accessible only by navigating through the main Google app or a web browser.
Genetically modified mosquitos are being released in Djibouti as the African nation tries to stem the tide of malaria infections.
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 19, 2024

Djibouti tests genetically modified mosquitoes to fight malaria

A species of mosquito native to Asia and the Middle East is a key factor in an unprecedented spike in malaria cases in Djibouti.

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building