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The remains of a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel lies on a road where it fell in Ashkelon, southern Israel, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Oct 11, 2023

Who is the secretive Hamas commander behind the attack on Israel?

Mohammed Deif has topped Israel's most wanted list for decades, held responsible for deaths of dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings.
ASEAN 2023 summit attendees (left to right): Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thailand Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sarun Charoensuwan, Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Indonesia President Joko Widodo, Laos Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Manet, Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 11, 2023

Southeast Asia eyes hands-off AI rules, defying EU ambitions

A draft of ASEAN 'AI guide' is being circulated to tech firms for feedback and is expected to be finalized at the end of next January.
Ukrainian marines practice house-to-house combat during training exercises in the region of Vuhledar, Ukraine, on Aug. 25.
WORLD
Oct 11, 2023

‘Always under fire’: On the battlefield with Ukraine’s elite troops

In the forest belts of eastern Ukraine, the Russian forces continue to mount relentless assaults in a maze of scorched pines.
The Seagram Building in New York on April 24. Three years into a mass workplace experiment, we are beginning to understand more about how work from home is reshaping workers’ lives and the economy.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 11, 2023

Here’s what we do and don’t know about the effects of remote work

Over three years since the pandemic forced many to telework, studies of productivity in work-from-home arrangements are all over the map.
The U.K.'s decision to cut back on its HS2 high-speed rail network runs contrary to the path taken by Japan, which stuck to a long-term infrastructure plan.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 11, 2023

U.K. effort to imitate Japan's shinkansen falls short

There is value of sticking to a long-term infrastructure plan, as Japan has done for almost 50 years with its high-speed rail system.
The government will ask the Tokyo District Court to revoke the religious corporation status of the Unification Church.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 12, 2023

Government seeks court order revoking Unification Church’s status

If the request is approved, the group would forfeit its religious corporation status along with the associated tax benefits.
Ground Self-Defense Force members take part in a military review in Asaka, Saitama Prefecture, in October 2018.
JAPAN
Oct 15, 2023

'Not proud at all': Japan struggles to recruit for Self-Defense Forces

Experts have said that the country's armed forces could be weakened because of a lack of personnel.
A dove flies over the debris of houses destroyed in Israeli strikes, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
WORLD
Oct 12, 2023

Gazans bombarded by Israel have no hope and no escape

The Palestinian territory, one of the most crowded places on Earth, has been under siege since Saturday in a near-constant bombardment.
OpenAI chief executive officer Sam Altman speaks during a forum in Taipei on Sept. 25.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 12, 2023

OpenAI plans major updates to lure developers with lower costs

The new features mark the company's ambition to expand beyond a consumer sensation into one also offering a hit developer platform.
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.
Smoke fills the sky after a strike on the port of Gaza City on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 12, 2023

Israel-Hamas conflict offers boon to Russia in Ukraine

Israel’s requests for U.S. military aid risk diverting weapons and focus from Ukraine while the rising price of oil bolsters Moscow’s economy.
A Uniqlo store in Shanghai
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 12, 2023

Fast Retailing's annual profit rises 28% to fresh record

Profit was ¥381.1 billion ($2.56 billion) in the 12 months through August compared with ¥297.3 billion, the previous all-time high, a year earlier.
An official speaks during a government-sponsored tour of the 2025 Osaka Expo site on Yumeshima island, Osaka, on Sept. 14.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 12, 2023

As 2025 Osaka Expo nears, foreign pavilion woes continue to mount

Over 50 countries had been expected to design and build their own pavilions. So far, only two have been greenlighted by Osaka city to begin construction.
Japan faces tough choices amid the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas. The issue now is how Tokyo will navigate the conflict.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 12, 2023

Hamas tests the limits of Japan's Israel-Palestine policy

Japan is the lone outlier in the Group of Seven, condemning the Hamas attacks but also expressing concern over potential casualties in the Gaza Strip.
A woman hands out pamphlets outside a voting center in central Sydney on Oct. 3. A coming referendum will decide whether to recognize Indigenous Australians in the Constitution.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 10, 2023

Australia’s First Nations vote is coming down to love against war

Australia was founded as a federation in 1901 without formal recognition of the continent’s Indigenous peoples.
Sher Aqa, left, grieves over the body of his 12-year-old daughter, Roqia, during a funeral in the earthquake-ravaged village of Siaab, in Herat Province, Afghanistan, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Oct 12, 2023

‘The wrath of God’: Afghans mourn unimaginable loss from quake

Wails echoed across what was left of the village when the ambulance arrived. Inside was the body of a 12-year-old girl, Roqia. She had died in a nearby hospital Tuesday morning, days after a devastating earthquake hit this stretch of northwestern Afghanistan and sent her mud-brick home crashing down...
Israeli soldiers prepare for a mission outside Be’eri, a kibbutz that was overrun by Hamas militants on Saturday, in Israel, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 13, 2023

Israeli army to confront resilient foe in anticipated Gaza invasion

Israel's generals will look to lessons learned from past ground offensives in 2008 and 2014.
A woman holds a portrait of Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah, as South African activists shout slogans against Israel and wave Palestinian flags outside the South African Jewish Museum during a pro Palestinian demonstration in Cape Town on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 13, 2023

Possible Israel-Hezbollah war hinges on Gaza invasion

Hezbollah and Hamas have long been part of a "joint operations room," a source close to Hezbollah has said.
U.S. President Joe Biden participates in a bilateral meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of the 78th U.N. General Assembly in New York City last month.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 13, 2023

In U.S., Biden faces few calls to rein in Israel amid Gaza crisis

Allies of the U.S. president want to avoid giving Republicans making the crisis a political liability as he seeks re-election in 2024.
The U.S. is struggling to cut China off from top AI technology.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 13, 2023

Biden eyes adding AI chip curbs to Chinese companies abroad

Efforts to close the loophole allowing access to chips the show how the Biden administration is struggling to cut China off from top AI technology.
Pedestrians walk past a McDonald's restaurant in Hong Kong.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 13, 2023

Hong Kong takes economic hit as Chinese tourists fail to splurge

Changes in travel habits come as the Chinese economy weakens and youth unemployment remains high.
A 19-year-old girl plagued with strange visions sets out with her younger brother to uncover the truth about her perfect family in Banana Yoshimoto’s “The Premonition.”
CULTURE / Books
Oct 14, 2023

Banana Yoshimoto’s new book is a sickly sweet fantasy

In “The Premonition,” the characters exist in a dream-like state of sweetness and steer clear of examining complex questions.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Oct 13, 2023

Third-place squads face long road to Japan Series

Only two teams have reached the Japan Series after finishing the regular season in third place.
Israeli Ambassador to Japan Gilad Cohen speaks about the current situation in Israel amid the ongoing conflict with the Hamas militant group, at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 13, 2023

Israeli and Palestinian envoys to Japan detail a week of violence

Both envoys expressed hope for Japan's diplomatic role in the conflict, but from very different perspectives.
A representative of Chevalier Brewery presents a bottle of its sake adapted to French drinkers' tastes.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 15, 2023

Sake fights an uphill battle for France’s wine lovers

Among many French drinkers, sake is still associated with cheap, low-quality alcohol only served at the end of meals in Japanese restaurants.
A screen displays the Israeli flag in New York's Times Square on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 14, 2023

As Israel readies Gaza invasion, U.S. sees no plan for what’s next

The desire to support Israel versus the fear about what might come next underscores the delicate balancing act Biden faces.
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki (front right) arrives for a news conference during the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, in Marrakech, Morocco, on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 14, 2023

Japan tells G20 it may need to act in FX market

Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki's remarks came as the yen renewed its declines against the dollar.
U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan departs a Republican caucus meeting at the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 14, 2023

U.S. House Republicans nominate Jim Jordan for speaker

The hard-line conservative appears to be well short of the support he would need to seize the speaker's gavel.
A portion of a Microsoft data center that supports the Pentagon, and is next door to a bitcoin mine operated by Chinese-owned Bit Origin, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on Sept. 29. Aside from the intelligence-gathering concerns over Chinese bitcoin mines in the U.S., the energy sucking facilities can also put immense pressure on power grids.
WORLD
Oct 14, 2023

Across U.S., Chinese bitcoin mines draw national security scrutiny

Microsoft reported one site in because of its proximity to a nuclear missile base. Other cryptocurrency facilities have ties to the Chinese state.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan