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China trails Musk in low-Earth orbit — a zone within 2,000 kilometers of the planet’s surface that’s become increasingly attractive for companies such as SpaceX offering high-speed internet access.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 17, 2023

China’s rivalry with Musk’s SpaceX moves to even lower orbit

Beijing is looking to deploy satellites in very low-Earth orbit, a so-far untapped region within an altitude of 450 kilometers.
An offshore wind turbine, operated by Swancor Holding stands in the Taiwan Strait off the coast of Miaoli County, Taiwan, in 2018.
BUSINESS
Nov 17, 2023

Japan firms exit Taiwan offshore wind projects amid industry woes

Shikoku Electric Power decided to pull out of the Yunlin Offshore Wind Project in the Taiwan Strait due to delays threatening its profitability.
Bifacial photovoltaic solar panels at a solar plant in Texas. According to a study, net zero pledges are often directly undermined by the lobbying activities of the companies making them.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 17, 2023

Study finds ‘net zero greenwash’ is common in corporate world

A London-based nonprofit found that 58% of the companies it analyzed advocate on climate policy in a way that’s at odds with their stated net zero goals.
The U.S.-China relationship faces challenges arising from the two countries' economic interdependence and geopolitical competition.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2023

Navigating a successful U.S.-China diplomatic reset

International cooperation is needed to ensure a U.S.-China reset and political posturing must not be allowed create long-term instability or conflict.
Tyson Fury (left) and Oleksandr Usyk will meet for the undisputed heavyweight championship in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 24, 2024.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
Nov 17, 2023

Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk to meet for undisputed title

Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will meet for the undisputed heavyweight championship in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 24, 2024.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen drives during a practice session at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Nov 17, 2023

Lewis Hamilton defends Vegas race after Max Verstappen's criticism

Hamilton offered his thoughts about the Las Vegas Grand Prix after Max Verstappen called it "99% show and 1% sporting event."
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol pose for a photo while wearing Stanford baseball caps with former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during a discussion on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, at Stanford University on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 18, 2023

Japan and South Korea float idea of stronger ties through startups

Both leaders stressed the need to cooperate on climate change solutions and quantum computing at a panel discussion Friday.
The U.S. Navy guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey fires a Tomahawk land attack missile in April 2018.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 18, 2023

U.S. approves deal to sell long-range Tomahawk missiles to Japan

The Pentagon said Friday that the U.S. State Department had signed off on the estimated $2.35 billion deal for 400 Tomahawk missiles.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 18, 2023

Former Soka Gakkai leader Daisaku Ikeda dies at 95

The former president of the lay Buddhist group, one of the largest religious groups in Japan, died of old age on Wednesday at his home in Tokyo.
BASEBALL
Nov 18, 2023

Japan routs Australia in Asia Professional Baseball Championship

Japan routed Australia to improve to 3-0.
Smoke rises from Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war on Saturday.
WORLD
Nov 18, 2023

Forever war? Israel risks a long, bloody insurgency in Gaza

None of the ideas floated so far by Israel, the United States and Arab nations for the postwar administration of Gaza have managed to gain traction.
SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft is launched near Brownsville, Texas, on Saturday.
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 19, 2023

SpaceX Starship explodes though craft reaches new milestones

SpaceX, known for its iterative approach to rocket development, is likely to view the overall flight as a success given the new milestones it achieved.
A Ground Self-Defense Force marine takes part in a landing drill as a part of the country's nationwide 05JX military exercises on the island of Tokunoshima, in Kagoshima Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 19, 2023

Japanese marines drill on island seen as vulnerable to China

The joint exercises were meant to show the readiness of ground, sea and air forces to defend Japan's territory and infrastructure.
U.S. President Richard Nixon in the Oval Office of the White House in June 1972
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 19, 2023

Nixon's 1953 trip to Okinawa and its lasting impact

Nixon’s trip to Okinawa 70 years ago this month planted seeds for his agreeing to its reversion when he became the U.S. president.
U.S. President Joe Biden hosts Democratic congressional leaders at the White House in January.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 19, 2023

Why Democrats are 'ride or die' for Biden

Joe Biden has been unwilling to shift the responsibility for defending democracy to other shoulders. A lot of Democrats are uneasy with that.
Workers try to rescue 41 men trapped in a collapsed road tunnel in India's Uttarakhand state on Saturday.
WORLD
Nov 19, 2023

India prime minister's office joins rescue effort for trapped tunnel workers

Officials from various departments met Sunday to examine options to try to access the trapped Indian workers and to provide them with food and supplies
BASEBALL
Nov 19, 2023

Japan tops South Korea on sayonara single in 10th to win APBC title

Japan edged South Korea on a walk-off hit by Makoto Kadowaki.
Communicating over the phone, a necessity for businesspeople, is a headache for many young people.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Nov 27, 2023

Many young people in Japan scared of telephone calls

For some, their heart skips a beat when they hear phones ringing and they hesitate to make calls, fearing they might be considered a nuisance.
Javier Milei (left) celebrates with his sister Karina Milei after winning the presidential election runoff at his party headquarters in Buenos Aires on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 20, 2023

Argentina elects 'shock therapy' libertarian Javier Milei as president

His plans of shutting the central bank, ditching the peso and slashing spending resonated with voters angry at the country's economic malaise.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a news conference in Odesa, Ukraine, on Oct. 13
WORLD / Politics
Nov 20, 2023

Zelenskyy calls for rapid military changes, firing medical commander

His move was announced as he met Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, and coincided with a debate over the conduct of war against Russia.
Smoke rises during fighting in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on May 3.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 20, 2023

'Libya scenario': war-torn Sudan could break apart, experts warn

By the end of October, fighting had killed over 10,000 and displaced another 6 million.
People use smartphones on the street in Tokyo in January 2019.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Nov 20, 2023

The NTT Law — a guard against monopoly, or barrier to innovation?

Some say the law regulating the telecom giant stops it from competing against the likes of Google, but others say it contains vital market protections.
The trip to Kyiv is U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's second since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 20, 2023

Pentagon chief visits Ukraine to reassure Kyiv on U.S. support

Austin's trip comes amid opposition from hard-line Republican lawmakers, which has raised doubts about the future of American assistance.
Japan’s national bar exam was held on Nov. 8 with a pass rate of 45%. Though for decades the pass rate was much lower, this seeming improvement has come on the back of several regulatory blunders.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 20, 2023

The failure behind Japan’s bar exam pass rate

The pass rate for Japan's bar exam has fluctuated, with this year's level coming on the back of several misguided interventions.
An Omron X-ray scanner VT-X750 at the company’s Ayabe Factory in Kyoto
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 21, 2023

X-rays are becoming an essential health check-up in chipmaking

Omron, a Japanese provider of health care equipment and factory automation, is setting its sights on the lucrative chipmaking gear market to fuel future growth.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 21, 2023

MLB pursuit of Yoshinobu Yamamoto gets underway

The right-hander is projected to sign a long-term deal worth more than $200 million.
Former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig
WORLD / Politics
Nov 21, 2023

Canadian claims he was used by Ottawa for gathering intel in China

Beijing's 2018 to 2021 detentions of Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig had plunged bilateral relations into a deep freeze.
Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma celebrates at the final whistle of the Euro 2024 Group C qualifying match between Ukraine and Italy at the BayArena Stadium in Leverkusen, Germany, on Monday.
SOCCER
Nov 21, 2023

Italy reaches Euro 2024 after tense 0-0 draw with Ukraine

The Italians ended six points behind England, who had sealed qualification after beating Italy 3-1 at Wembley in October.
Lai Ching-te (left), Taiwanese presidential candidate from the Democratic Progressive Party, introduces Hsiao Bi-khim (right), former Taiwan representative to the United States, as his running mate in the 2024 election, during a news conference at Lai's campaign headquarters in Taipei on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 21, 2023

Taiwan poll about whether to embrace China or not, front-runner says

Taiwan has to choose whether the island keeps moving forward on the road to democracy or "walks into the embrace of China," Lai Ching-te said.
By Monday, OpenAI's board were overseeing a company in name only, with virtually the whole staff committed to a pledge of seeing them go or quitting the firm for fired former CEO Sam Altman's project at Microsoft.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Nov 21, 2023

AI doomsayers blamed in OpenAI's undoing

Harsh critics see a deeply troubled startup that fell victim to the pearl-clutching of an incompetent board that was divorced from reality.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’