Search - 2022

 
 
A Toyota Lexus UX 250h Hybrid vehicle stands on display during the Seoul Motor Show in Goyang, South Korea, in March 2019.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 6, 2024

Japanese cars and beer gain ground in South Korea as relations thaw

Monthly sales of Japanese cars, including Toyota and Lexus, jumped 31% in August from a year earlier.
Nippon Steel has responded to the U.S. government concerns by saying it will invest billions of dollars to maintain and boost U.S. Steel facilities that otherwise would have been idled, "indisputably" allowing it to "maintain and potentially increase domestic steelmaking capacity in the United States."
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 6, 2024

U.S. fears Nippon Steel's bid for U.S. Steel could hit vital steel supply

The U.S. government is concerned that U.S. Steel would be less likely to seek tariffs on foreign steel importers if it is under the ownership of the Japanese steelmaker.
Onosato will have his sights set on sumo's second-highest rank as the Autumn Basho gets underway Sunday.
SUMO
Sep 6, 2024

Onosato poised to shine at Autumn Basho with ozeki rank in sight

The fact that nine wins in Onosato's sekiwake debut in July was seen by some as disappointing tells you all you need to know about sumo’s hottest wrestler.
Bangladeshi military personnel stand guard at an empty police station in Dhaka on Aug. 9. The U.S. and Western nations have sacrificed democracy for geopolitics, evident in Bangladesh’s chaos and violence after the prime minister was recently forced from power.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 6, 2024

The Western world's stealthy assault on democracy

Elections alone — even if competitive — do not guarantee popular empowerment or adherence to constitutional rules, especially when the military holds decisive power.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife, Yuko, are welcomed upon their arrival at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, South Korea, on Friday.
EDITORIALS
Sep 6, 2024

Never take Japan-South Korea relations for granted

The two leader’s final meeting is both an opportunity to review recent achievements and to underscore the centrality of the Japan-South Korean partnership.
The world’s largest system of hydroelectric power has been on standby since late 2022, when droughts drained the reservoirs that feed it. China's torrential downpours of the past few months are switching that immense machine back on.
COMMENTARY
Sep 6, 2024

A flood of hydro is washing coal from China's grid

The world’s largest hydroelectric system, located in China, has been dormant since late 2022 due to droughts, but recent heavy rains are now reviving its operations.
An investor sits in front of a board showing stock information at a brokerage office in Beijing.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 7, 2024

China bulls getting tired of waiting for elusive stock recovery

Weakness in Chinese equities is eroding the confidence of some of Wall Street’s staunchest supporters, with hopes for a turnaround fading in the world’s No. 2 economy.
Sergei Kiriyenko, who is the first deputy head in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s administration, oversaw a yearslong Kremlin operation to meddle in U.S. elections and use disinformation to promote pro-Russian narratives online, according to a 277-page affidavit that U.S. officials unsealed Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 7, 2024

The evolution of Putin’s aide accused of gaming the U.S. election

The head of a Russian propaganda campaign that allegedly aimed to influence the upcoming U.S. elections began as a liberal politician.
A colorized electron microscope image of avian influenza grown in cultured cells
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 7, 2024

U.S. confirms first bird flu case without animal contact

A person in the state of Missouri has become the first in the United States to test positive for bird flu without a known exposure to infected animals.
The Boeing Starliner spacecraft can be seen pulling away from the International Space Station for its unmanned return to the surface of Earth on Friday in this screenshot.
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 7, 2024

Boeing's beleaguered Starliner back home empty

The gumdrop-shaped capsule touched down softly at the White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico, its descent slowed by parachutes and cushioned by airbags.
Randhir Singh attends the opening ceremony for the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, in September 2023.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 7, 2024

More sponsors and better marketing top agenda for new Asian Games chief

A five-time Olympic shooter, Randhir Singh is the lone eligible candidate for the OCA president's post and his elevation will be confirmed Sunday.
A boy stands on a destroyed Russian tank on display at Mykhailivska Square in Kyiv on Saturday.
WORLD
Sep 8, 2024

Kyiv hits Russian ammo depot as Moscow advances in east

The attacks come after intense Russian attacks hundreds of kilometers from the front lines and close to Ukraine's border with EU and NATO members.
Jessica Pegula hits a return during her U.S. Open women’s final against Aryna Sabalenka, at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens on Saturday.
TENNIS
Sep 8, 2024

Sabalenka downs Pegula to win U.S. Open thriller

The 26-year-old from Belarus clubbed 40 winners to become the first woman since Angelique Kerber in 2016 to capture both hardcourt majors in the same season.
Flags of the Vatican and East Timor wave at the Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport ahead of Pope Francis' visit in Dili on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 8, 2024

Pope Francis visit keenly awaited in deeply Catholic East Timor

When Pope Francis touches down in the East Timorese capital of Dili this week he will be landing in a totally different nation to the one visited by his predecessor.
Nuns walk past a banner on Saturday erected to welcome Pope Francis ahead of his visit in Dili, East Timor.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 8, 2024

Child abuse scandals hang over pope's East Timor visit

There are calls for the 87-year-old pontiff to speak out on child abuse when he lands in the former Portuguese colony Monday as part of his Asia-Pacific tour.
Fahmi Fadzil
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 8, 2024

Malaysia shelves web traffic re-routing plan after censorship concerns

The directive, which was supposed to take effect on Sept. 30, had sparked concerns about increasing online censorship and potential damage to Malaysia's digital economy.
Sengu Capital, based in Hong Kong, will start a new hedge fund focused on Japanese firms improving management quality.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 9, 2024

New hedge fund gains backing for bets on Japan market revival

Investors have been trying to put more money to work in Japan, as the country emerges from more than a decade of deflation.
Fukuoka Prefecture Medical Association executive director Takeshi Inamitsu said schools should take the initiative in deciding the methods used and things to be checked during their students' health exams.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Sep 16, 2024

Students' clothing at school health checkups comes into focus

Doctors worry signs of illnesses or abuse may be overlooked if examinations are performed in gym clothes or other clothing as urged by the education ministry.
California has ambitious climate policies. But the state should shift more green energy-related costs from electricity bills to taxes to promote fairness and sustainability.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2024

California's crushing power bills challenge its climate goals

California is incredible, but making it livable, what with its droughts, floods, fault-lines and wildfires, has never been cheap.
Ashwini Vaishnav (left), the Indian minister of electronics and information technology, and N. Chandrasekaran, the chairman of Tata Sons, take part in the foundation stone laying ceremony for India's first AI-enabled semiconductor fabrication facilities in Dholera, Gujarat, India, on March 13.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2024

Could India become an alternative to China in the ‘chip war’?

As decoupling from China gains traction, the U.S. and its allies are betting on India for supply chain restructuring and semiconductor development.
While nuclear weapons are difficult to use without catastrophic consequences, Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric aims to frighten Ukraine's allies into halting arms support.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2024

How to read Putin’s next nuclear threat

Historical analogies show that nuclear threats rarely succeed, but Russia’s signals of desperation should not be ignored.
Hula dancers perform at Spa Resort Hawaiians in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, in November 2018.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 10, 2024

Spa Resort Hawaiians to be acquired by U.S. fund

The acquisition is expected to cost U.S. investment fund Fortress Investment Group up to around ¥14 billion.
An American flag waves outside the U.S. Department of Justice Building in Washington in 2020.
WORLD / Society
Sep 10, 2024

U.S. says alleged white supremacists tried to use Telegram to spark race war

U.S. prosecutors unveiled criminal charges on Monday against two alleged leaders of a white supremacist gang, saying they used the Telegram social media site to solicit attacks on Black, Jewish, LGBTQ people and immigrants aiming to incite a race war.
A law enforcement officer stands guard in front of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kyiv on May 15.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 10, 2024

Ukraine summons Iranian diplomat as Tehran denies missile transfer to Russia

CNN and the Wall Street Journal reported last week, citing unidentified sources, that Iran had transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia.
James Earl Jones in the Broadway revival of "Gore Vidal’s The Best Man” at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater in New York in March 2012. Jones, once a stuttering farm child who became a voice of rolling thunder as one of America’s most versatile actors in a stage, film and television career that plumbed race relations, Shakespeare’s rhapsodic tragedies and the faceless menace of Darth Vader, died on Monday at his home in Dutchess County, New York. He was 93.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 10, 2024

James Earl Jones, actor whose voice could menace or melt, dies at 93

He gave life to characters like Darth Vader in “Star Wars” and Mufasa in “The Lion King,” and went on to collect Tonys, Golden Globes, Emmys and an honorary Oscar.
Rapidus' semiconductor foundry construction site in Chitose, Hokkaido
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 10, 2024

Japan’s Rapidus seeks another ¥100 billion in chipmaking push

The proceeds will help finance the construction of Rapidus’ foundry in Hokkaido, sources said.
Masato Kanda, Japan's former top currency diplomat, led massive bouts of yen-buying intervention in the currency markets in 2022 and 2024.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 10, 2024

Japan nominates ex-currency diplomat Kanda to head ADB

Since its 1966 founding, the ADB's top post has always gone to a Japanese national, making Kanda a strong candidate.
While there are similarities between the geopolitical competition involving the U.S. and the former Soviet Union, such as global rivalry and ideological divisions, key differences suggest the situation with China does not constitute a new Cold War.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 10, 2024

A new ‘Cold War’ with China might be the best hope for the future

The current situation is often described as "a new great game," a world in which our time and challenges result from the stirring of old empires.
Apple CEO Tim Cook unveils the iPhone 16 at the Steve Jobs Theater on the company's campus in Cupertino, California, on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 10, 2024

iPhone 16 to land in Japan without Apple Intelligence 

The new feature, which uses generative artificial intelligence to analyze text and photos, will only be activated in 2025 in several markets, including Japan.
Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato announces his entry into the LDP leadership race in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 10, 2024

Kato announces bid for LDP presidency, adding uncertainty to race

While the former chief Cabinet secretary's chances of winning are considered minimal, his candidacy adds an extra layer of unpredictability.

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