Search - 2021

 
 
Some of the most popular influencers can amass small fortunes before they're 18, but there are few legal protections to ensure their earnings remain their own.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 12, 2023

Child influencers make big money. Who gets it?

"I’m terrified to share my name because a digital footprint I had no control over exists."
Signage for Japan's top banks, MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 12, 2023

Japan’s top banks pay women about half of what men earn

The country has a relatively high labor participation rate for women, but many of the positions they occupy have little prospect of better pay.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 12, 2023

Kishida Cabinet's approval rate sinks to record low

The approval rate for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Cabinet dropped to 26.3% this month, the lowest level since he took office in October 2021.
Fukushiro Nukaga
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 13, 2023

LDP to recommend former finance minister as Lower House speaker

Fukushiro Nukaga, 79, is expected to take over for Hiroyuki Hosoda when parliament resumes next week.
The Phillies' Nick Castellanos rounds the bases after hitting his second home run against the Braves in Game 4 of the NLDS in Philadelphia on Thursday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 13, 2023

Nick Castellanos homers twice to power Phillies into to NLCS

The Phillies will host the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 1 of the best-of-seven National League Championship Series on Monday.
A man stands amongst debris in the aftermath of a military strike on a camp for displaced people near the town of Laiza in northern Myanmar on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 13, 2023

Large unguided bomb likely used in deadly Myanmar strike

The ruling junta has been accused of carrying out multiple bloody attacks on civilians as it struggles to crush resistance to its 2021 coup.
A gender-equality supporter protests against discrimination at an event held in Tokyo for International Women's Day in March 2021
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 13, 2023

Japan’s gender gap has never been wider. Can Kishida close it?

The government emphasizes the need to improve gender equality, but correcting Japan's dismal record requires a nuanced approach.
SOCCER
Oct 14, 2023

Sanfrecce outlasts Albirex for WE League Cup title

The sister team of three-time J. League champions Sanfrecce Hiroshima earned its first major trophy since its 2020 inception.
The Iriomote cat, native to the island of the same name in Okinawa Prefecture, is remarkable for its resilience: It occupies the smallest habitat of any wildcat on Earth.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / OUR PLANET
Oct 15, 2023

The last of Japan's wildcats

Only about 100 animals of each species survive today, putting both on the brink of extinction along with more than 3,700 other species nationwide.
IOC President Thomas Bach says the organization is keen to embrace esports as well as the use of artificial intelligence at future Olympic Games.
OLYMPICS
Oct 15, 2023

IOC to explore Olympic Esports Games

Estimates suggest over 500 million of those are interested specifically in esports, which include virtual sports and sport simulations.
Xi Jinping's third Belt and Road Forum begins today in Beijing.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Oct 16, 2023

Xi’s $1 trillion ‘project of the century’ faces uncertain future

China’s overall activity in BRI countries is down about 40% from its 2018 peak as the world’s second-biggest economy slows.
Road signage near Mai Mahiu, Kenya
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 16, 2023

Mental trauma: African content moderators push Big Tech on rights

Thousands are hired to scour social media for graphic content, but many allege irregular pay, union-busting and inadequate mental health support.
The late Rev. Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church, is depicted on a leaflet marking the first anniversary of his death in September 2012
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 16, 2023

Japan's media has to account for its failures, too

The Unification Church is set to be dissolved and Johnny & Associates is undergoing structural reforms. What role did the media play, or not play?
Israeli soldiers inspect the burned cars of festival-goers who were attacked and massacred by Hamas militants near the border with the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 16, 2023

The real dividing line between Israel and Palestine

The choice is not between hard-line factions; it is between the fundamentalists on both sides and all those who still believe in the possibility of peace.
Donald Tusk, leader of the largest opposition grouping Civic Coalition (KO), gestures after the exit poll results are announced in Warsaw on Sunday. Poland's opposition is on course for a majority after Sunday's election, an upset that would deny the ruling nationalists a third term and see the country re-engage with the European Union.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 17, 2023

Polish opposition faces challenges in undoing nationalist reforms

Over eight years, nationalist PiS said its goal has been to rid Poland of the vestiges of its communist past.
Kenya has experienced a surge in doping cases, with 70 athletes receiving bans in the last five years.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Oct 17, 2023

Kenyan marathon runner Titus Ekiru hit with 10-year doping ban

Kenya has seen a surge in doping cases that have stained the reputation of the athletics powerhouse.
Chinese civil servants and employees of state-linked enterprises are facing tighter constraints on private travel abroad and scrutiny of their foreign connections.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 17, 2023

China tightens curbs on foreign travel by bankers and state workers

Individuals' accounts varied but were consistent in describing heightened scrutiny of overseas travel even after China reopened borders in January.
Various student and left-wing organizations march in support of Palestinians in New Delhi on Monday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 17, 2023

Hamas' war and what it means for India

Some strategic thinkers are calling for a broader "Indo-Abrahamic Alliance" that includes not only the I2U2 but also Egypt and Saudi Arabia
Cooling towers and reactors at a nuclear power plant in Cattenom, France
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Oct 17, 2023

Nukefluencers are on a quest to push clean power from reactors

Influencers are tapping into a generation that’s increasingly anxious about climate change by focusing on how nuclear energy is carbon-free.
On Oct. 17, the world's best bartenders gathered in Singapore for a celebration of cocktails and the announcement of this year's global rankings.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 17, 2023

Japan's SG Club, Ben Fiddich named to World’s 50 Best Bars list

Aside from the rankings, the impact of Japan's elite cocktail culture was a visible influence throughout the evening.
When COVID-19 first emerged, companies across the health care industry raced to reconfigure themselves. That transformation is now unraveling.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 18, 2023

Life after COVID turns rocky for reshaped health care businesses

When the coronavirus first emerged, companies across the health care industry raced to reconfigure themselves. That transformation is now unraveling.
Funding for AI companies has outpaced every other category of tech.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 18, 2023

AI funding soars to $17.9 billion while rest of tech slumps

Multibillion-dollar investments in artificial intelligence startups have become almost commonplace in Silicon Valley.
England's Harry Kane celebrates his second goal of the night against Italy during a Euro 2024 qualifier in London on Tuesday.
SOCCER
Oct 18, 2023

Harry Kane scores twice as England beats Italy to qualify for Euros

The goals took Kane's tally at Wembley to 24, one more than 1966 World Cup winner Bobby Charlton, making him England's all-time top scorer at the stadium.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 18, 2023

Upcoming by-elections first test of Kishida’s new Cabinet

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida faces his first electoral test after making Cabinet and Liberal Democratic Party leadership changes last month.
A Chinese fighter jet is seen during an intercept of a U.S. aircraft in the South China Sea, including by approaching a distance of just 12 meters before repeatedly flying above and below the U.S. aircraft and flashing its weapons.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 18, 2023

U.S. sees 'sharp increase' in Chinese military's 'risky' behavior

The Pentagon said it has documented nearly 300 dangerous incidents that affected U.S., allied and partner aircraft since the fall of 2021.
A young man (Yuki Kura, left) who isn’t well-versed in wooing attempts to strike up a relationship with a convenience store clerk (Haruka Imou) he has a crush on in “How to Find a Lover.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 19, 2023

‘How to Find a Lover’: Quirky rom-com is deeper than it seems

Koji Maeda keeps the film’s tone fun and offbeat while not shying away from the emotional wounds of its lead characters.
Hamas fighters take part in a military parade in Gaza on July 19 to mark the anniversary of the 2014 war with Israel.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 18, 2023

What pushed Hamas to launch its boldest attack ever?

Nothing justifies Hamas' brutality, but analyzing its motivations and goals is the first step to unpacking the present crisis.
A U.S. Border Patrol agent searches for migrants trying to enter the United States from the Mexico border, in a desert area in Sunland Park, New Mexico.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 19, 2023

Republicans use Israeli-Hamas war to push hard line on immigration

U.S. presidential hopefuls are attempting to link a foreign conflict to the domestic debate over immigration.
Xi Jinping speaks during the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 19, 2023

Xi says green projects will anchor China’s overseas spending

Beijing is in a unique position to help mitigate climate change as the world’s largest producer of everything from solar panels to batteries.
Chinese President Xi Jinping during the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on Wednesday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 20, 2023

Europe’s snub turns Xi’s Belt and Road into Global South party

The Chinese leader appears to have reformed the initiative as a club for emerging economies known as the Global South.

Longform

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