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Tire giant Bridgestone has become the latest Japanese firm to end its Olympic sponsorship.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 2, 2024

Bridgestone becomes latest Japan firm to end Olympic sponsorship

Bridgestone struck sponsorship deals with the Olympics for 10 years in 2014 and the Paralympics for six years in 2018.
The deep-sea drilling vessel Chikyu is docked at the Port of Shimizu on Sept. 5 ahead of a 106-day expedition by researchers from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 2, 2024

Japan's deep-sea vessel digs for answers to 2011 earthquake

In a hundred-day expedition, scientists aboard the Chikyu aim to piece together the earthquake's story and assess the potential for another temblor to be triggered.
People work on some insulating fabric covering a small part of the Rhone Glacier to prevent it from melting, near Gletsch, in the Swiss Alps, on Monday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Oct 2, 2024

Despite snowy winter, Swiss glaciers 'on track to disappear'

The glacier melt is having far-reaching impacts, with Switzerland and Italy having to adjust their mountain border and less water becoming available in the summer.
A Russian submarine arrives at the port of Dagang, in Qingdao, Shandong province, China, in April 2019 for a joint Chinese-Russian naval exercise.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 2024

The China-Russia relationship once derided, now looks to endure

Both China and Russia are concerned about U.S. alliances in the Indo-Pacific and are acting to counterbalance them.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, 66, has experience as the onetime head of Japan’s former Defense Agency before it became a full-fledged ministry and is seen as a pair of steady hands.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 2, 2024

Ishiba looks to 'defense tribe' to fill key Cabinet positions

The new prime minister has named four former defense ministers to key posts — most notably, the defense and foreign affairs portfolios.
Newly appointed industry minister Yoji Muto says there is no change to a government plan to safely restart nuclear power plants.
JAPAN
Oct 3, 2024

Japan to keep nuclear and boost renewables, new industry minister says

Yoji Muto says securing energy will be "the most important part of Japan's growth."
Carlos Alcaraz celebrates after defeating Jannik Sinner in the China Open final on Wednesday.
TENNIS
Oct 3, 2024

Carlos Alcaraz regains joy for tennis after dramatic win in Beijing final

The four-time Grand Slam champion won 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) in the longest men's singles match in the tournament's history.
Starbucks has 10 support centers around the world where agronomists work with farmers on research and best practices.
BUSINESS
Oct 3, 2024

Starbucks buys research farms as climate change threatens coffee supply

Bolstering the coffee industry’s climate resilience has taken on fresh urgency this year.
The value of artificial intelligence companies has skyrocketed, fueling talk of a possible AI bubble.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 4, 2024

AI bubble or 'revolution'? OpenAI's big payday fuels debate

To critics, buyers don't really understand the technology, and the market needed for it to thrive is not mature yet.
For one night in Tokyo last month, Daniel Calvert (left) and Quique Dacosta brought their wildly different culinary styles together into a remarkable service.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 6, 2024

A meeting of Michelin minds at Tokyo's Sezanne

Daniel Calvert says no to most requests for pop-ups at two-Michelin-starred Sezanne — except when the chance to work with three-starred Quique Dacosta came up.
Without Japanese outdoorsman George Masa, America might not have the Great Smoky Mountains National Park — so why do so many people in Japan not know he existed?
COMMUNITY / Issues
Oct 7, 2024

The forgotten Japanese naturalist who created a U.S. national park

George Masa was an enigmatic figure, but his contributions to preserving America's natural beauty are unassailable.
A several-meter-wide hole at Miyazaki Airport caused by the explosion of an unexploded WWII bomb on Wednesday
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2024

Japanese airport reopens after WWII U.S. bomb blast

There were no reports of injuries but dozens of flights were cancelled on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers his inaugural policy address to parliament in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 4, 2024

Ishiba omits divisive proposals in first policy speech as PM

He elaborated on his long-held ideas about creating a disaster-prevention agency and increasing grants for rural municipalities.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. Worries about the implications of further BOJ tightening against a global backdrop of easing were again on display this week, with new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba saying Japan wasn’t ready for more rate hikes yet.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 5, 2024

Stepped-up global easing risks making it harder for BOJ to hike

Worries about the implications of further BOJ tightening against a global backdrop of easing were again on display this week.
HIF Global's Haru Oni clean hydrogen plant in Punta Arenas, Chile, last month
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / FOCUS
Oct 5, 2024

Latin America gears up for clean hydrogen boom but the road is not smooth

Government leaders expect a major boom for the region from clean hydrogen, produced using electricity from renewable sources that do not emit carbon.
Vladimir Putin’s actions in Ukraine, much like those of past Soviet leaders, stem from a desire to be recognized as a global power and from perceived Western threats.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 7, 2024

The sources of Russian conduct

From Josef Stalin to Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet leaders shared Putin’s desire for “great power” prestige.
Pope Francis addresses the crowd from the window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter's Square during the Angelus prayer in the Vatican on Sunday. The pontiff announced the appointment of 21 new cardinals on Sunday.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 7, 2024

Japanese archbishop named cardinal

Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, the archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Tokyo, will also be eligible to vote in a papal conclave.
Takayuki Suzuki won a gold, two silvers and a bronze medal during the Paris Paralympics.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 7, 2024

Paralympic star Takayuki Suzuki hopes to raise visibility of people with disabilities

Takayuki Suzuki won four medals, including one gold, during the Paris Paralympics.
A man receives a COVID-19 vaccine in Tokyo on Oct. 1. Experts say fears over the newly approved replicon vaccine are unwarranted.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 7, 2024

Experts move to allay replicon COVID shot fears in Japan amid backlash

The health ministry and experts say concerns around "shedding" are unwarranted.
Japan's has experienced a significant decline in global economic power, with its share of global gross domestic product dropping from 18% in the 1980s to an anticipated 3% by 2050.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 8, 2024

Japan needs more than mere economic strength

Japan, a country that has long relied on its economic prowess for international stature and standing, must change its perspective.
Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring a goal during an Asian Champions League contest in Riyadh on Sept. 30.
SOCCER
Oct 9, 2024

From boom to budgeting as reality bites for Saudi soccer

After a jaw-dropping 2023, Saudi transfer spending slumped from $957 million to $431 million in the latest window.
As streaming services like Netflix invest in Japanese content, the hope is to revitalize the nation’s cultural exports and elevate its television landscape.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 9, 2024

Netflix’s ‘Tokyo Swindlers’ reveals some surprising truths

"Tokyo Swindlers" can reveal some home truths — even when they’re presented by a group of fraudsters.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya asked his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi to provide a proper accounting of the facts in the stabbing death of a schoolboy in China last month during their telephone talks on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 10, 2024

Japan still pushing China for explanation over killing of schoolboy

Japan wants an explanation as soon as possible, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya told his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
Ratan Tata, who transformed the Tata Group into a multibillion dollar conglomerate, at his home in Mumbai in 2021
BUSINESS
Oct 10, 2024

Indian business titan Ratan Tata dies at age 86

Under Tata, the Tata Group grew into a sprawling international enterprise with a portfolio ranging from software to sports cars.
The city of Kyoto boasts historic artifacts and cityscapes that millions are willing to travel thousands of kilometers to see, but such treasures are not cheap to maintain, prompting the city to ask foreign tourists for a helping hand.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 13, 2024

Kyoto partners with e-gift service company to let tourists Donate & Go

The new donation service allows foreign tourists to contribute toward the preservation of cities they visit while receiving a gift in return.
Francisco Lindor (center) celebrates with his teammates in the dugout after hitting a grand slam against the Phillies during Game 4 of the NLDS on Wednesday in New York.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 10, 2024

Francisco Lindor hits grand slam to propel Mets past Phillies and into NLCS

He joined Edgardo Alfonzo as the only Mets players to hit a postseason grand slam, and the Mets booked their first NLCS appearance since 2015.
Masakazu Tokura
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2024

2025 Expo head expects ticket sales to speed up

Around half of the 14 million advance tickets that the organizer aims to sell by the start of the Expo have been sold.
Rafael Nadal won 22 Grand Slam singles titles and an Olympic gold medal during his career.
TENNIS
Oct 11, 2024

Rafael Nadal leaves behind legacy as role model and inspiration for fellow players

Nadal will hang up his racket after the Davis Cup next month.
Serhiy Tsapok (left) and a firefighter extinguish the remains of a fire in a forest near Yarova, Sviati Hory National Park, Donetsk region, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, July 29.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Oct 11, 2024

Ukraine's vast forests devastated in hellscape of war

Both Russian and Ukrainian armies blast thousands of shells at each other every day, shredding the earth in grinding combat that echoes World War I.
South Korean author Han Kang, the winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature, attends a press conference, in Seoul in November.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 11, 2024

Han Kang’s Nobel win underscores essential role of translators as literary tastemakers

The trailblazing South Korean author was virtually unknown in the West just 10 years ago — then came Deborah Smith’s translation of "The Vegetarian."

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