Search - 2021

 
 
Naomi Osaka looks on after she withdrew from the Auckland Classic women's singles final on Sunday.
TENNIS
Jan 5, 2025

Naomi Osaka retires with abdominal injury in finals of Auckland Classic

Playing in her first WTA final in three years, the four-time Grand Slam champion called for the physio after taking the opening set 6-4 and pulled out shortly afterward.
The Bank of Korea complex in Seoul. South Korea's economic growth is hindered by structural challenges like high living costs, a tough job market and an aging population.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2024

The Bank of Korea moves beyond monetary policy

Many Koreans are pessimistic about the future, which reflects the intense competition that defines their lives, from education to employment.
TikTok has discovered that their TikTok Live feature has facilitated money laundering, allowed users to sell drugs and fund terrorism, according to a new lawsuit, which also accuses the social media company's livestream feature of exploiting and "grooming” minors to perform sexual content.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 6, 2025

TikTok’s live video feature ‘groomed’ minors, Utah AG claims

Tiktok has emphasized its commitment to enforcing its policies and said it shut down more than 45 million streams last year.
Enrique Tarrio, leader of the Proud Boys, lights a protective face mask on fire during a rally in support of President Donald Trump in Atlanta, in 2020.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 7, 2025

On anniversary of U.S. Capitol attack, Proud Boys ex-leader asks Trump for pardon

1,583 people have been charged with a crime connected to the siege of the Capitol, with about 1,100 of those cases fully adjudicated, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
Demonstrators inside the U.S. Capitol after breaching barricades on Jan. 6, 2021
WORLD / Society
Jan 8, 2025

Violent extremism lingers online with U.S. flagging less content

Donald Trump’s return to the White House promises to cement the hands-off approach toward online behavior.
Baby Japanese eels are increasingly seen in Hokkaido but the overall number remains low.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Jan 8, 2025

Japanese researchers connect rise in glass eels to climate change

Researchers said the fact that the Kuroshio Current is shifting north is believed to be behind the rising prevalence of glass eels in Hokkaido.
Cancer patient Anne Maldzinski was given an experimental therapy developed by French biotech MaaT Pharma through an early access program. The effect was dramatic.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 9, 2025

Drug from bowel bacteria helps blood cancer patients facing deadly complication

A burgeoning field of therapies is harnessing the power of the microbiome to treat and potentially prevent diseases.
It's back to the classroom for some residents as municipal governments across the country conduct lessons to learn how to use new technologies.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Jan 13, 2025

Can aging Japan go digital without leaving anyone behind?

Amid a push to digitalize, some experts believe citizens should have the right to stay offline.
Young Tibetan monks sit on a scooter as they arrive to take part in a protest march held to mark the 65th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule, in the northern hill town of Dharamsala, India, on March 10, 2024.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 14, 2025

How China is erasing Tibetan culture, one child at a time

Education, especially in minority areas, is a politically sensitive topic. Tibetans who oppose the boarding schools risk imprisonment if they protest.
Naomi Osaka hits a return during her second round win over Karolina Muchova on Wednesday at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
TENNIS
Jan 15, 2025

Osaka gets 'revenge' on Muchova in Australian Open fightback

The Japanese star, who won in Melbourne in 2019 and 2021, dropped the first set against 20th seed Karolina Muchova before winning 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers his farewell address to the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 16, 2025

Biden warns U.S. faces oligarchy as Trump looms over legacy

In a final Oval Office speech, Biden urged Americans to join together but quickly warned about a dangerous concentration of wealth in the U.S.
From the mid-2000s onward, Ryuichi Sakamoto created a number of installation works, often in collaboration with Shiro Takatani, of multimedia art collective Dumb Type.
CULTURE / Art
Jan 17, 2025

A slow dive into ‘a moment and an eternity’ with Ryuichi Sakamoto

New exhibition “Seeing Sound, Hearing Time” is the first comprehensive overview of the musician’s installation work presented in Japan.
Then-Rep. Brandon Williams, a Republican from New York, during a House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing in Washington last May
WORLD / Politics
Jan 18, 2025

Trump picks one-term congressman to manage U.S. nuclear arsenal

Brandon Williams represented a New York congressional district for one term, but little is known about his experience in the management of atomic weapons.
Reporters listen as President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Jan. 7
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 18, 2025

Once an interloper, Trump returns to White House more powerful than before

The former real-estate developer now plausibly stands as the defining political figure of the early 21st century.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (right) and Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts meet on the field after their playoff game in Philadelphia on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Jan 20, 2025

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford noncommittal future after playoff loss

The quarterback, who will turn 37 on Feb. 7, is under contract for two more seasons.
Former U.S. President Joe Biden and former first lady Jill Biden wave as they board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, during a farewell ceremony on Monday following Donald Trump's inauguration.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 21, 2025

Biden issues preemptive pardons for family and targets of Trump ire

Trump has repeatedly called for the prosecution of his perceived enemies since winning the White House in November.
U.S. President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 21, 2025

Trump pledges to save U.S. from 'decline,' vowing new 'golden age'

Trump quickly signed a series of executive actions to curb immigration and roll back environmental regulations, but did not take immediate action to raise tariffs.
U.S. President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 21, 2025

Trump declares U.S. exempt from previously agreed global corporate tax pact

The landmark 2021 agreement with nearly 140 countries set a global corporate minimum tax rate of 15%.
A portrait of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny is placed amid flowers at his grave at the Borisovskoye cemetery in Moscow on March 2, 2024.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 23, 2025

Navalny's lawyer regrets she couldn't stop his return to Moscow

Olga Mikhailova says she feels she "did not push hard enough" to change the mind of the Russian opposition leader, who eventually died in an Arctic penal colony.
A business district in Tokyo. Japan plans to strengthen pre-screening measures for overseas investors that could potentially cooperate with foreign intelligence gathering efforts, addressing rising national security concerns.
BUSINESS
Jan 23, 2025

Japan to tighten investment pre-screening amid security concerns

While the updated regulations will impose an additional step for a broader range of investors, those who pass the screening can still invest in Japanese companies.
Pete Hegseth, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for defense secretary, testifies during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill on Jan. 14 Washington. U.S. Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote to confirm Hegseth, a former Fox News personality, as U.S. defense chief late Friday — despite allegations of alcohol abuse, sexual misconduct and other concerns about his qualifications to lead the Pentagon.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 25, 2025

Pete Hegseth confirmed in knife-edge vote to be new U.S. defense chief

In a mostly party-line result that saw no Democrats vote for Hegseth, three Republicans — including former GOP leader Mitch McConnell — also voted no.
Celtic's Kyogo Furuhashi in action with RB Leipzig's Benjamin Henrichs during a Champions League match in Glasgow, Scotland, on Nov. 5
SOCCER
Jan 28, 2025

Rennes signs Furuhashi from Celtic

The 30-year-old Japanese striker joined Celtic in 2021, netting 85 goals in 165 matches across all competitions.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown, Jr. salutes U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth as he arrives at the Pentagon in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 28, 2025

Trump takes aim at DEI, COVID expulsions and transgender troops

Some of Trump's plans have been heavily criticized by advocacy groups, which say his actions would be illegal.
The Tiffany & Co. store on Fifth Avenue in New York in 2023
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 28, 2025

Tiffany workers mock forced 'joy' that exacerbated staff exits

When Tiffany & Co. executives were looking for ways to boost staff morale, they rolled out an internal social app called "Tiffany Joy.” It didn’t take long to turn into a chore.
Taxis in central Sendai. More people are becoming attracted to the job of a taxi driver as it can allow them to work flexibly.
BUSINESS / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Feb 10, 2025

Cab driving becoming an increasingly popular job in Sendai

Flexible hours and the work-at-your-own-pace environment has led to a renewed interest in taxi driving among younger people.
Many attribute the far right’s recent global rise to “anti-incumbency” bias, but this overlooks how the COVID-19 crisis fostered division and distrust, turning voters against their governments. 
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2025

Confronting the pandemic’s toxic political legacy

Libertarian resentment over past restrictions and mandates is one thing; an abiding distrust of scientists is quite another.
Masahiro Tanaka signed with the Giants in December.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Feb 3, 2025

Star pitcher Masahiro Tanaka looking to revive glory days with Giants

Masahiro Tanaka is one of the most recognizable faces in Japanese baseball, but sightings of the new Giants pitcher were few and far between in 2024.
Roki Sasaki pitches in a game against the Czech Republic during the World Baseball Classic in Tokyo on March 11, 2023, the 12th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake.
BASEBALL
Feb 4, 2025

Roki Sasaki's road to glory was paved by ache of a tragedy

Long before he became a pitching phenom and signed a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Roki Sasaki's life was marked by tragedy.
The ruling coalition has put forward a plan to make public school tuition free, with costs of up to ¥118,800 yearly subsidized for all families regardless of income.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 6, 2025

Recent talks on education funding for all might be missing the point

As the government works to pass its budget without a majority, the issue of free education for all has become key to negotiations for support in parliament.
“Light Court” (2024) is based on the “Lightcourt” space at the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, designed by metabolist architect Kisho Kurokawa (1934-2007).
CULTURE / Art
Feb 9, 2025

Yuki Harada's contemplative artworks ponder vanishing

The artist spent time researching Japanese migrants who left Hiroshima and Yamaguchi prefectures for Hawaii, and the U.S. island state often features in his art.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji