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Hang Dara, an electrician-turned-fisherman, passes the two active coal-fired power plants in Sihanoukville’s Steung Hav district.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Nov 26, 2023

Cambodia's big bet on the dirtiest fossil fuel faces major delays

Large projects are facing long delays amid uncertainty over foreign funding.
As technology and politics increasingly force society to determine truth from fiction, Merriam-Webster's dictionary has selected the word "authentic" as word of the year.
WORLD / Society
Nov 28, 2023

Merriam-Webster crowns 'authentic' as word of the year

The winner beat "deepfake," "rizz" and "coronation" for honors as the word that most often sent people to the dictionary.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's far eastern Amur region on Sept. 13.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Dec 5, 2023

The China-Russia-North Korea triangle looks unlikely to last

Despite a recent raft of leaders' visits and a warming of ties, the three nations still have their own agendas.
Tokyo Healthcare University professor Takayuki Mifune explains how he is trying to re-create bonito broth from 1,300 years ago.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Dec 4, 2023

The quest to re-create what the Japanese ate 1,300 years ago

Professor Takayuki Mifune and his team are hoping to understand, in minute detail, the culinary habits of our Japanese ancestors.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno attend a Cabinet meeting in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 8, 2023

Kishida walks tightrope after new funds allegations against Matsuno

The top government spokesperson is believed to have received kickbacks from his faction totaling more than ¥10 million over the last five years.
Ground Self-Defense Force personnel take part in a military drill involving a V-22 Osprey aircraft in June 2022.
EDITORIALS
Dec 8, 2023

The Osprey crash has lessons for the U.S.-Japan alliance

The U.S. and Japan bungled the initial response to the crash of an Osprey aircraft in Japan. Both must learn to improve communication in the future.
Naoya Maekawa, an associate professor at Fukushima University, speaks of the importance of passing on lessons from Japan's 2011 disasters.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Dec 18, 2023

Knowledge of 2011 disaster declining among young, survey shows

An academic behind the survey says memories of the disaster are fading.
Saeed Al-Shorbaji, the supervisor of Nasser hospital's morgue, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip in November. He was killed in an Israeli airstrike in early December.
WORLD / Society
Dec 22, 2023

As Gaza death toll hits 20,000, many fear the true count is higher

Only bodies identified or claimed by relatives are included in the official figures, and thousands more are believed to be buried beneath the rubble.
“The First Slam Dunk” was animated in a style known as 3DCG anime, which combines the hard outlines and flat planes of traditional 2D animation with 3D models and movement.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 5, 2024

Anime is going digital. Fans are wary.

As the industry continues to embrace computer-generated work, some audiences struggle to accept the change.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 16, 2024

U.S. military to join relief effort in earthquake-hit Noto area

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said that the U.S. military and the SDF would be working “side by side” in the operations.
Cars drive past a damaged road, in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture.
PODCAST / deep dive
Jan 18, 2024

Japan rings in 2024 with an unwelcome disaster

Join us for the first episode of 2024 as we recap the massive New Year’s Day earthquake and its impact on the people of Ishikawa Prefecture.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a munitions factory at an undisclosed location in this picture released on Jan. 10.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 26, 2024

Is North Korea's Kim preparing for an actual war?

Some believe he may be disillusioned with diplomacy and is girding for conflict; others think the provocations are timed to coincide with U.S. and South Korean elections.
It doesn't snow everywhere in Japan, but when it does, it falls in blankets that must be cleared away, sometimes through unexpected means.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Feb 4, 2024

Rural Japan’s snow removal solutions range from cute to curious

Outside of Tokyo, cities that get a significant volume of snow tend to have better ways of dealing with it than the capital.
While this year will be a year of elections, with voting scheduled in more than 70 countries around the world, all eyes with be on who moves into the White House after November's U.S. presidential election.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 8, 2024

Why the eyes of the world will be on the U.S. presidential election

The future of politics in the U.S., the world’s biggest military and economic power, could cast a giant shadow over international order.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomes Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi to a ceremony in Kyiv on Aug. 24 last year.
WORLD
Feb 3, 2024

The most popular man in Ukraine has become a problem for Zelenskyy

Two years into the war, setbacks on the battlefield have soured Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi's relationship with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy takes a video in front of a road sign with the words "Avdiivka this is Ukraine" as he visits in the front-line town of Avdiivka Donets region, Ukraine, on Dec. 29.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 9, 2024

Zelenskyy’s ugly fight with top general exposes split in Ukraine

The Ukrainian president's public fallout with commander-in-chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi has come at the worst possible time.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 21, 2024

Film director Hideo Sakaki held on suspicion of sexual assault

While allegations of sexual abuse were made against Sakaki as far back as March 2022, this is the first time that the director has been taken into custody.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump at a campaign event ahead of the Republican presidential primary election in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Feb. 14
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 29, 2024

Why Japanese companies need to prepare for Trump 2.0

Given the former president's views on the recent U.S. Steel deal, firms should cover all bases ahead of the Nov. 5 U.S. election.
Yasuhiro Otomo and Miku Narisawa during one of Odyssey Nature Japan's educational fishing programs.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 22, 2024

A young 3/11 survivor and her vow to protect the ocean

At 12, Miku Narisawa experienced a magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami that destroyed her home. Now she is working to protect it.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets with Ukraine's prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, during the Japan-Ukraine Conference for Promotion of Economic Growth and Reconstruction in Tokyo on Monday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 23, 2024

Where others dither, Japan delivers on aid to Ukraine

Japan is doing all it can to prove to the Kremlin that it will ultimately be Ukraine, not Russia, that will prosper when the war is over.
Houthi supporters and other protesters rally in solidarity with the Palestinians in Sanaa, Yemen, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 27, 2024

After U.S. strikes, Iran’s proxies scale back attacks on U.S. bases

Tehran, wary of igniting open warfare with Washington, has told militia groups it backs to curtail assaults on targets such as military installations.
Gregory May, U.S. consul general in Hong Kong, takes part in an interview in the city on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 2, 2024

Top U.S. envoy in Hong Kong warns of creeping internet curbs

In his first interview since taking up the post in 2022, U.S. Consul General Gregory May said that connectivity and data security issues are growing.
Takashi Yamazaki’s “Godzilla Minus One,” which won an Academy Award for best visual effects earlier this week, was made for a reported $15 million — a small fraction of the budgets used by its Hollywood competitors.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 14, 2024

'Godzilla Minus One' fought the odds and won big at the Oscars

Once mocked, the long-running monster franchise took on Hollywood's behemoths — and won.
Shizuo Aishima's son speaks to reporters next to a photo of his father in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 21, 2024

Ohkawara execs to file criminal complaint against Tokyo police

The complainant's lawyer said that the execs hope to kick-start an internal investigation into the department’s misconduct.
A worker helps assemble the fuselage of a BK117 helicopter at Kawasaki Heavy Industries’ Gifu plant in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture.
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Apr 1, 2024

Kawasaki Heavy’s Gifu plant produces helicopters for disaster aid

The company's BK117 aircraft has been adopted by Gifu Prefecture and many other municipalities for disaster aid.
Two people try to take a selfie under the illuminated cherry blossoms in Kyoto’s Gion district last year.
PODCAST / deep dive
Mar 25, 2024

Sakura stories revisited: Getting in the mood for hanami

We are revisiting some past content on the science, economics and culture of cherry blossom season.
Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Shane Bieber will spend this season off the pitch, after his team disclosed that he needed to undergo Tommy John surgery.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 9, 2024

MLB insiders 'pretty worried’ by rise in young pitchers' arm injuries

There is reason to believe it is getting even more challenging to keep pitchers healthy.
Jimmy Lai leaves a police station in Hong Kong in 2020.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 11, 2024

Hong Kong refuses entry to Reporters Without Borders staffer

Hong Kong is currently ranked 140 out of 180 on the 2023 World Press Freedom Index.
Israeli Air Force F-15 Eagle is pictured at an air base, said to be following an interception mission of an Iranian drone and missile attack on Israel, in this handout image released Sunday.
WORLD
Apr 14, 2024

Iran warns Israel not to respond militarily to retaliation

After direct and unprecedented attacks on Israeli, Iran advocates for restraint, hinting at severe consequences if ignored.
TikTok accounts for a small share of ByteDance's total revenues and daily active users, so the parent would rather have the app shut down in the U.S. in a worst-case scenario than sell it to a potential American buyer, sources said.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 26, 2024

ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in U.S. if legal options fail, sources say

A shutdown would have limited impact on its business, and it would not have to give up its "secret sauce" — the algorithm that pushes videos to users.

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