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A downgrade by Fitch Ratings is being viewed as a condemnation of partisan U.S. politics, including the recent debt ceiling standoff and the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
BUSINESS
Aug 3, 2023

Fitch’s U.S. downgrade stokes the very fight it warned against

Washington’s hostile political factions have quickly taken up the agency's downgrade of U.S. government debt as a new weapon of political combat.
Akira Amari, Japan's chip czar, has said that funding around one-third of the cost of a chip plant is the norm, and the 50% funding for Japan's first TSMC chip plant was unusually high.
BUSINESS
Aug 3, 2023

Chip minister hints Japan to fund one-third of second TSMC plant

The subsidies will be part of Japan’s efforts to revive its domestic chipmaking industry, a sector viewed as crucial for growth and economic security.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, arrives at Reagan National Airport in Washington en route to his arraignment in federal court on Thursday.
WORLD
Aug 4, 2023

Trump pleads not guilty to charges of obstructing election

After the hearing, the former U.S. president briefly addressed reporters at the Washington airport, calling it a "very sad day for America.”
A man makes his way through a flooded road after the rains and floods brought by remnants of Typhoon Doksuri, in Zhuozhou, Hebei province, China, on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 4, 2023

China’s ‘sponge cities’ are not built for extreme flood events

China has invested billions of dollars in recent years to protect against extreme rainfall after a 2012 flood in Beijing killed 79 people.
Maung Saungkha at an undisclosed location in the jungles of southeast Myanmar
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 4, 2023

Myanmar poet turned rebel leader seeks new base to confront junta

The growth of Maung Saungkha's BPLA owes much to his skills in building bridges with other armed groups, according to allies and analysts.
Simone Biles competes on the balance beam during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics at Ariake Gymnastics Centre.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 4, 2023

Simone Biles ready for long-awaited return to gymnastics

After confirming her return to competition last month, Biles said she is still undergoing therapy to help her handle the mental side of the sport.
Four Italian Air Force F-35 fighter jets are lined up next to an Air Self-Defense Force F-15 fighter shortly after arriving at Komatsu Air Base in Ishikawa Prefecture on Friday evening in this image posted to the base's official X social media account.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2023

Japan and Italy to elevate ties with first joint fighter drills

The drills highlight how Rome and Tokyo are expanding defense and security ties as their strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific converge.
Imma, a virtual influencer, is the face of Nomura’s new campaign for tax-free investment accounts.
BUSINESS
Aug 4, 2023

Nomura hires virtual influencer to coax Japan’s young investors

Boosting individual investments is particularly crucial as the country's baby-boomer generation passes on their assets to a younger generation.
Ater Jimmie Husen
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 6, 2023

On plates, Sweden and Japan are a natural pair

Swedish and Japanese cuisine are not natural allies, but diners in Japan don’t seem to care when they taste this unique fusion for themselves.
Demonstrators hold a rally in Washington on Thursday, the day former U.S. President Donald Trump, who is facing federal charges related to attempts to overturn his 2020 election, appeared in a U.S. district court in the nation's capital.
EDITORIALS
Aug 4, 2023

The United States of America vs. Donald J. Trump

The outcome of the trial against former U.S. President Donald Trump will test the rule of law and U.S. democracy.
Already imprisoned Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny (second left) listens to his verdict over a series of extremism charges at the IK-6 penal colony, a maximum-security prison some 250 kilometers (155 miles) east of Moscow, on Friday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Aug 5, 2023

Putin critic Alexei Navalny has 19 years added to prison term

The jailed opposition figure said after said the sentence was designed to cow the Russian people into political submission.
Travis King
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 5, 2023

U.S. won't invoke POW status for soldier who fled to North Korea

The decision, which could mean Travis King is not covered by protections entitled under the Geneva Convention, is highly sensitive for the U.S. military.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping attends the joint news conference of the China-Central Asia Summit in Xian, China, in May.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 5, 2023

Xi spent two days outside China in 2023 as problems mount

Mounting domestic problems from a faltering economy to rare political scandals have demanded the Chinese leader's attention at home.
Simone Biles performs on the balance beam during the U.S. Classic in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Gymnastics
Aug 6, 2023

Simone Biles wins U.S. Classic in return to gymnastics competition

The meet was the last chance to qualify for the U.S. nationals on Aug. 24-27 at San Jose, California.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 6, 2023

Japan to promote new certification tackling child abuse

Set to launch in April 2024, the move is in response to the rise in abuse consultation requests — hitting record highs 31 years in a row.
Nymphonella tapetis has become a pest for Manila clam (Ruditapes philippinarum) farms in Tokyo Bay.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / OUR PLANET
Aug 6, 2023

There are spiders in the sea surrounding Japan … sort of

Most sea spiders look like a tangle of legs, with little, if any, body to speak of. But they are not actually spiders.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, on July 29
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Aug 6, 2023

U.S. prosecutors ask for protective order, citing threatening Trump post

Despite a history of online bullying, Trump’s campaign issued a statement insisting that he was practicing his First Amendment rights.
Arsenal celebrates after defeating Manchester City to win the Community Shield at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday.
SOCCER
Aug 7, 2023

Arsenal strikes first blow against Man City with Community Shield win

Community Shield matches often have a "friendly" feel, but there was no shortage of intensity between the Premier League rivals in the London sunshine.
Sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya defected to Poland during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after refusing to board a return flight to Belarus on Aug. 1, 2021.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Aug 8, 2023

Belarusian sprinter who defected at Olympics to race for Poland

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya refused to board a flight back home from Tokyo in August 2021 when she was removed from the Games against her will.
Naomi Koshi, CEO of OnBoard K.K., says pressure from foreign investors is pushing Japanese companies to seek out more female board members.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 8, 2023

Foreign investor pressure spurs Japanese boards to appoint women

The scramble came after institutional investors set rules to vote against firms with few or no female board members.
Hiroyuki Nagai, president and chief executive officer of Rakuten Bank (left), attends the company's listing ceremony at the Tokyo Stock Exchange on April 21.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 8, 2023

Rakuten Bank sees edge over rivals once BOJ ends negative rates

Uncertainty remains over when the Bank of Japan will scrap the policy, which has squeezed banks’ lending margins since its introduction seven years ago.
Taiwanese singer Chang Hui-mei — also known as "A-Mei" — poses with her mother (second from left) on the red carpet in Taipei in 2016.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Aug 8, 2023

Chinese fans barred from wearing rainbows at gay-friendly show

Being gay, bisexual or transgender is increasingly seen by some in China as a concept imported from the West.
Taro Aso, a former prime minister and current vice president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, speaks during the Ketagalan Forum in Taipei on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 8, 2023

Taiwan situation ‘tilting toward emergency,’ former Japan PM says

Taro Aso said this shift was “definitely not out of the blue” but was now “more evident,” pointing to military exercises by China around Taiwan.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2023

Nuke ban treaty still out of reach as Japan marks atomic bombings

Japan, which is positioned under the "nuclear umbrella" of the U.S., has refrained from joining the treaty, citing its own “tough security environment.”
Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada speaks during a joint news conference with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo in June.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2023

China hacked sensitive Japanese defense networks, report says

Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said Tuesday that Tokyo has not confirmed that top secret information was leaked.
Containers stored at the Yangshan Deep-Water Port in Shanghai in 2020
BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2023

Not decoupling, but West and China drift apart

Official data showed a 14.5% drop in July exports amid weak consumer demand in the world markets served by China — the fastest decline since the pandemic.
U.S. President Joe Biden is flanked by Labor Secretary Marty Walsh (left) and Celeste Drake while delivering remarks at the White House in Washington in 2022.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 9, 2023

Biden's top labor adviser exits as U.S. navigates strikes: source

The departure comes at a critical time for an administration dealing with a summer of labor unrest.
Footage of a Chinese Coast Guard ship using a water cannon against a Philippine resupply vessel is shown during a news conference at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 9, 2023

China and the Philippines' dispute over grounded warship heats up

Tensions have risen after China Coast Guard ships blocked and deployed water cannons against two Philippine resupply vessels.
U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington on July 21. On Wednesday, Biden signed an executive order that will prohibit some new U.S. investment in China in sensitive technologies like computer chips, and require government notification in other technology sectors.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 10, 2023

Biden orders ban on U.S. investment in key Chinese technologies

The order restricts investments in semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies and certain artificial intelligence systems.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Aug. 4.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2023

Kishida Cabinet approval drops to 26.6%: Jiji poll

The rate of disapproval grew 8.1 points to 47.4%, the highest since Kishida became prime minister in October 2021.

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A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami