Search - 2022

 
 
Ukrainian military Leopard 2A4 tanks during a training exercise in Spain.
WORLD
Jul 20, 2024

How a Berlin Cold War outpost offers a window on challenges today

With the West again aligned against Moscow as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine grinds on, it now seems strangely current.
Data has shown that Western pension funds may inadvertently be helping Russian President Vladimir Putin as Moscow looks to ramp up liquefied natural gas exports to replenish Kremlin coffers and fund its war in Ukraine.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 21, 2024

How U.S. pension funds help Putin’s gas gambit

The case spotlights the opacity of the global finance and how hard it remains to sever Moscow from a key revenue source even two years after the Ukraine invasion.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris arrives aboard Air Force Two in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, traveling to a campaign fundraiser, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 21, 2024

Trump campaign prepares attack plan for Harris in case Biden withdraws

The effort assumes that the U.S. vice president would be the most likely candidate to replace the president at the top of the Democratic ticket.
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump stands with Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance during Trump's first rally with his running mate, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 21, 2024

Trump fans yell they want Biden, not Harris, as 2024 opponent

Donald Trump polled supporters at his Michigan rally whether they’d prefer for him to run against President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris. An overwhelming cacophony of voices suggested they want the 81-year-old president as Trump’s opponent.
A plastic bag carrying various objects including what appeared to be trash that crossed inter-Korean border with a balloon believed to have been sent by North Korea is pictured in Seoul, in this picture released by the South Korean Defense Ministry on June 2.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 21, 2024

South Korea steps up propaganda broadcasts after new trash balloons from North

South Korea will ramp up propaganda broadcasts to the North in response to Pyongyang sending more trash-carrying balloons across the border, Seoul's military said Sunday.
The U.S. and its allies have accused China of supporting Russia's war in Ukraine, in part by exporting parts and equipment needed by Moscow's weapons makers, including semiconductors.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 22, 2024

Illicit chip flows to Russia seen slowing in China

Both mainland China and Hong Kong are seen by the U.S. government as key global nodes for Russia to source materials for its military.
A drone view of Neve Daniel, a Jewish settlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on March 12
WORLD
Jul 22, 2024

Israeli settlers court Republican religious right after Hamas attacks

While Donald Trump has suggested U.S. policy could change, neither he nor the Republican Party have been explicit about their position toward a Palestinian state.
A street cleaner at the Lujiazui Finance District in Shanghai
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 22, 2024

Xi vows to rewire China’s finances and help indebted regions

Plans centered around shifting more revenue from the central to local coffers in China, such as by allowing regional governments to receive more of the consumption tax.
At a waste center in Kamikatsu, Tokushima Prefecture, residents separate trash into 45 different categories as the town aims to become "zero waste."
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 22, 2024

How circular economy initiatives are changing the world

From Asia to Europe to Africa, public and private entities are finding new ways to revolutionize the economic paradigm from a linear to a circular model. In Japan, too.
One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
PODCAST / deep dive
Jul 22, 2024

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Homeless influencers, fantasy boyfriends and bubble-era bars — Kabukicho seems to have it all.
Homes are surrounded by flood waters after Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Sargent, Texas, on July 8.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 22, 2024

The great climate change wealth transfer is here

Fossil fuel profits are sky-high, as are the costs of climate change. By subsidizing oil and gas while putting tariffs on green tech, governments are making things worst.
Parliamentary Vice Minister of Defense Shingo Miyake speaks at a news conference in Kitadaito, Okinawa Prefecture, on Monday.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2024

Okinawa island accepts ASDF radar deployment

An ASDF mobile radar will monitor the Chinese military's growing activities in the Pacific.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 23, 2024

Taking on Trump, Kamala Harris vows to draw on prosecutorial experience

The U.S. vice president has also promised to drive forward laws to protect abortion rights and ban assault rifles, and focus on rebuilding the middle class.
A lone tree stands near a water trough on the outskirts of Walgett, in New South Wales, Australia, in 2018. Energy analysts said high construction costs, plus Australia's lack of nuclear expertise and abundant land and sunshine, make nuclear a less logical choice in the country.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 23, 2024

Nuclear wildcard reignites Australia's climate wars

Ahead of expected polls, the country's federal opposition has unveiled plans to slow the roll-out of renewable energy and build a network for nuclear reactors.
The exchange rate for the Japanese yen against the euro (left) and the U.S. dollar is displayed at a foreign exchange brokerage in Tokyo on June 27.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 23, 2024

Citi flags possible euro-yen intervention if rate nears ¥180 level

The euro-yen pair traded as high as ¥175.43 on July 11 — a record since the common currency was launched in 1999 — before retreating.
Japan midfielder Yu Hirakawa controls the ball during a match against the United States in Kansas City, Kansas, on June 11.
OLYMPICS
Jul 23, 2024

Japan eyes gold — and the future — as Olympic men's soccer campaign begins

With the squad being the only one in Paris not to feature any overage players, it is clear that this competition is partly about building for the future.
Artificial intelligence is transforming various business sectors and the economy. But concerns about humanoid robots replacing all jobs are unfounded, as human dexterity will remain essential for the foreseeable future.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2024

AI is making robots smarter. They’ll need boundaries.

Where AI meets the physical world — and creates the potential for conflicts — is in manufacturing and logistics.
Nippon Steel is dissolving its joint venture with China's Baoshan Iron & Steel, ending two decades of cooperation.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 23, 2024

Nippon Steel to dissolve joint venture with China's Baoshan

Nippon Steel did not provide a reason for dissolving the partnership originally established in 2004.
A woman watches as soldiers practice laying mines and nets to stymie the landing of enemy forces at the mouth of a major river leading to the city in Taipei on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 24, 2024

China squeezes Taiwan by targeting islands and fishing sites

Mostly using its Coast Guard, Beijing appears to be asserting itself in new ways around Taiwan’s offshore outposts.
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle enters a House of Representatives Oversight Committee hearing on the security lapses that allowed an attempted assassination of Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 24, 2024

Secret Service director resigns following Trump shooting

Kimberly Cheatle is stepping down after taking responsibility for security failures at a campaign rally where the former president was shot.
Samsung Electronics' headquarters in Suwon, South Korea, on June 13, 2023
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 24, 2024

Nvidia clears Samsung's HBM3 chips for use in China-market processor

Nvidia's approval of the chips comes amid soaring demand for sophisticated graphics processing units.
The health ministry is calling for people to take infection control measures thoroughly as cases of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases are rising in Japan.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 24, 2024

Japan battling 11th COVID wave, data shows, as KP.3 variant evades immunity

New infections have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks amid the rise of the highly transmissible new coronavirus variant.
U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks at West Allis Central High School during her first campaign rally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 24, 2024

Harris in speech says Trump would create a U.S. of 'fear and hate'

In her speech, Kamala Harris went after Donald Trump's vulnerabilities, comparing her background as a former prosecutor to his record as a convicted felon.
Honoka Hayashi in action during a match against Great Britain at the Tokyo Olympics, in Sapporo on July 24, 2021. Hayashi’s clinical passing, acute understanding of the game and high work-rate make her an embodiment of Nadeshiko soccer principles.
OLYMPICS
Jul 24, 2024

Nadeshiko Japan’s Honoka Hayashi ready to settle the score at Paris Games

Lauded for her intricate passing and soccer intelligence, Hayashi has adjusted her game to fit the demanding nature of elite leagues over the course of her career.
A housing exhibition like the one worked at by a Polus employee in Chiba Prefecture who died by suicide in 2020 following harassment by a customer.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 24, 2024

Customer harassment caused Chiba worker's suicide, labor office says

After explaining to a customer who was building a new house that additional costs were required, the employee began facing relentless complaints from him.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 24, 2024

Toyota chairman and 12 other Japanese executives banned from entering Russia

Others include Rakuten Group Chairman and CEO Hiroshi Mikitani and Japan International Cooperation Agency President Akihiko Tanaka.
The Ukedo fishing port in the town of Namie in Fukushima Prefecture in March. In 2022, Taiwan lifted most of its import restrictions on food produced in five prefectures including Fukushima.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 24, 2024

Taiwan set to lift remaining import restrictions on Japanese food

The latest measure will cover products such as mushrooms and the meat of wild animals.
U.S. rugby player Ilona Maher poses for a portrait during the Team USA media summit ahead of the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, at an event in New York on April 15.
BUSINESS
Jul 24, 2024

Athlete influencers compete for likes as well as medals in Paris

In years past, athletes might have needed a manager to negotiate deals with brands. Now, a company will reach out directly to strike a deal.
Smoke from a fires in the Pantanal, the world's largest wetland, in Corumba, Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil, on June 12.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 24, 2024

From floods to fire: On Brazil's climate front line

Brazil faces months of record wildfires, with devastation already under way and set to worsen in coming months as high heat and winds tear through the midwest.
Run from a two-hectare plot of land in the island's north, LivFresh has been supplying major supermarkets with spinach, lettuce and other green vegetables since 2022.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Jul 24, 2024

Singapore’s homegrown farming dream is beginning to fade

Since the start of 2023, at least half a dozen large farms in Singapore have shut down or scaled back operations.

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