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EF Polymer CEO Narayan Lal Gurjar (right) and COO Kunihiro Shimoji at the company in Onna, Okinawa Prefecture, in August
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Oct 30, 2023

Organic polymer brings water to drought-hit farmlands

The India-born, Okinawa-nurtured product seeks to replace petroleum-derived polymers to promote sustainability.
Voters cast their ballots at a polling station in Falls Church, Virginia, on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY
Nov 9, 2023

U.S. elections show Republicans have clear voter problems

Abortion as an issue that breaks strongly for the Democrats doesn’t seem to be going away at any point soon.
U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the White House on Sept. 25, 2015. Speeches by the Chinese leader show how he was bracing for an intensifying rivalry with the United States from early in his rule.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 14, 2023

Behind public assurances, Xi Jinping spreads grim views on U.S.

Speeches by the Chinese leader show how he was bracing for an intensifying rivalry with the United States from early in his rule.
A street thermometer marks 40 degrees Celsius in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Tuesday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 15, 2023

Heat projected to kill nearly five times more people by 2050

A team of international experts warned that without climate change action, the "health of humanity is at grave risk."
Up until very recently, the business of packaging semiconductors — encasing chips in materials that both protect them and connect them to the electronic device they’re part of — was, at best, an afterthought for the industry.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 22, 2023

A new front is opening up in the U.S.-China conflict over chips

The process of packaging semiconductors is increasingly seen as the "secret sauce" — a path toward achieving higher performance.
The Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Arizona, where Derek Chauvin was being held. An inmate has been charged with attempted murder for stabbing Chauvin 22 times last week.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Dec 2, 2023

Inmate charged after George Floyd's killer stabbed 22 times

The complaint charges John Turscak, 52, with stabbing former police officer Derek Chauvin about 22 times "with an improvised knife"
Then-U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (center) meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Chiao Kuan-Hua (left) and Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping in New York in 1974. Kissinger died last Wednesday at age 100.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 4, 2023

Kissinger had a profound impact on Taiwan

Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger shifted Washington away from Taiwan in favor of Beijing, catalyzing the island’s diplomatic isolation.
The former lead singer of The Pogues, Shane MacGowan, attends the funeral service of his mother in Silvermines, Ireland, in January 2017.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 6, 2023

The life of the Pogues' frontman and the ‘banality of crazy’ in U.S. politics

The current focus on performative acts in politics diminishes serious policy debates, leading to social and political divides.
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in November 2018.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 7, 2023

If Kissinger was serving as the U.S. secretary of state

There was no other U.S. diplomat whose reputation in Japan and China was as polar opposite as that of Henry Kissinger.
U.S. President Joe Biden hugs Brittany Alkonis, wife of Lt. Ridge Alkonis, on the day of the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in Washington on Feb. 7.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 15, 2023

U.S. Navy officer jailed in Japan transferred to U.S. custody

Lt. Ridge Alkonis has been serving a three-year prison term since being convicted of negligent driving over a fatal car crash.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 13, 2024

China and Taiwan focus of top U.S. and Japanese diplomats' talks

Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken “stressed the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait."
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel speaks during a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 18, 2024

U.S. envoy to Japan vows to continue calling out Chinese ‘hypocrisy’

Emanuel also gave a speech on what he described as Japan’s “groundbreaking accomplishments” in fields such as defense, economic growth and diplomacy.
Hints of Russian President Vladimir Putin's openness to talks — even if disingenuous — could help sow division among Ukraine’s allies and isolate Kyiv.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 26, 2024

Putin sends U.S. signal on Ukraine talks, sensing advantage in war

Russian president may consider not opposing NATO membership for Ukraine, if Kyiv accepts Kremlin control over territory it has come to occupy, sources say.
U.S. President Joe Biden exits Air Force One in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Feb 3, 2024

U.S. hits Iranian militias in Syria and Iraq with wave of strikes

Aircraft including long-range B-1 bombers flown from the U.S. struck 85 targets at seven locations linked to Iran’s Quds Force.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testifies during a hearing in Washington on Nov. 8. The chances of Mayorkas being convicted in the Senate seem to be almost zero.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 3, 2024

Inside impeachment’s rise as a weapon of partisan warfare in the U.S.

Impeachment has essentially become just another weapon in today’s bitter, tit-for-tat partisan wars.
A surveillance drone is seen in midair during the G7 foreign ministers' summit in Lucca, Italy, in 2017.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Feb 13, 2024

'Intrusive' drones? U.S. surveillance case tests privacy law

Evidence suggests police departments are increasingly using drones, including as first responders to emergency calls.
Mining magnate Dan Gertler in Congo in 2012
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 20, 2024

China's dominance of EV metals prompts U.S. to revisit stockpile 'panic button'

Budget cuts have shrunk U.S. strategic reserves to record lows, leaving it facing shortages of the raw materials needed to execute an energy transition.
A sign warns of underground natural gas pipelines outside Rifle, Colorado, in June 2012.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Mar 11, 2024

U.S. gas pipeline accidents pose big, unreported climate threat

Accidental pipeline leaks — caused by incidents like punctures, corrosion, severe weather and faulty equipment — happen routinely.
Baseball player Shohei Ohtani poses with his Japanese interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara (right), and his agent, Nez Balelo, during a news conference after signing a 10-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers last year.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 22, 2024

Shohei Ohtani scandal raises the stakes on sports betting

The speed at which U.S. sports leagues have embraced betting put the Japanese star's fastball to shame.
A U.S. Marine prepares to demonstrate the use of night vision goggles to Ground Self-Defense Force troops at the GSDF's Camp Somagahara in Gunma Prefecture in March 2017.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 25, 2024

U.S. eyes revamped military command in Japan, reports say

The allies are expected to announce the landmark agreement when Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visits the White House next month.
A portrait of the 13th Ryukyu King Sho Kei, which was returned to the Okinawa Prefectural Government from the United States
JAPAN / History / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Apr 22, 2024

Artifacts missing after Battle of Okinawa returned from U.S.

Items that include portraits of kings from the Ryukyu Kingdom have returned after going missing in 1945.
A Ukrainian lieutenant colonel examines the remains of his aircraft on the outskirts of the town of Izyum, Kharkiv region, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 19, 2024

Ukraine’s allies see bleak times without more air defenses

G7 ministers are expected to agree to step up shipments of military equipment and to reaffirm their "unwavering determination” to support Ukraine.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends a joint ministerial meeting of the GCC-U.S. Strategic Partnership in Riyadh to discuss the humanitarian crises in the Gaza, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 30, 2024

U.S. warns ICC action on Israel would hurt cease-fire chances

The U.S. and its allies are concerned that the International Criminal Court may issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials just as the country is getting closer to a ceasefire agreement with Hamas, potentially jeopardizing a deal, people familiar with the matter said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2024

U.S.-China tensions rise as the tides begin shifting

Irritation colored last week’s visit to China by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken amid amplified Chinese anxiety.
Exiled Russian historian Tamara Eidelman delivers a lecture titled “The Judgment of History” at the Bender JCC of Greater Washington community center in Rockville, Maryland, on April 25.
WORLD / Politics
May 6, 2024

Exiled Russian historian rallies fellow emigrants in dark times

Tamara Eidelman, who was declared a "foreign agent" by the government in Moscow, is one of many who are rebuilding their careers abroad.
Soldiers and police stand guard outside a South Korean Army boot camp in Yeoncheon county before the arrival of K-pop's BTS band member Jin, in December 2022. South Korea's economic success is often  overshadowed by its cultural exports.
COMMENTARY / World
May 10, 2024

A surprise South Korean boom is going unnoticed

Despite its robust economic performance, South Korea often takes a backseat to neighboring giants like Japan and China.
A welder works on a K9 Howitzer at Hanwha Aerospace’s manufacturing facility in Changwon, South Korea.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 6, 2024

South Korea is making weapons faster and cheaper than the U.S.

Hanwha Aerospace touts smooth production lines, intact supply chains and faster delivery times, along with lower overheads than its competitors.
Scottie Scheffler pumps his fist after making a putt during the final round of the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Jun 12, 2024

U.S. Open field chasing Scottie Scheffler's greatness

Rory McIlroy describes Scheffler as relentless, with the American having played 14 times with only one tournament finish outside the top 10.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrive with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a State Dinner at the White House in Washington on June 22, 2023. As the United States prioritizes teamwork with its partners in the Asia-Pacific region, many believe they are witnessing a lasting change in American power.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 13, 2024

In China’s backyard, the U.S. has become a humbler superpower

The United States no longer presents itself as the confident guarantor of security but as an eager teammate for military modernization and tech development.
Electric cars are stacked for export at the international container terminal of Taicang Port in Suzhou, China.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 20, 2024

Europe’s EV battery plans fade on China price war and U.S. subsidies

As electric-vehicle sales slow, companies including Volkswagen, Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz are scaling back or refocusing battery projects.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes