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In 'Ooku: The Inner Chambers,' a secretly female shogun rules Japan and is attended to by a group of male concubines.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Aug 17, 2023

'Ooku: The Inner Chambers': Alternative history explores gender norms

The Netflix anime tells a complex love story in an alternate-reality Edo Japan in which an illness upends gender roles.
Residential buildings under construction at Tahoe Group's Cathay Courtyard development in Shanghai
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 17, 2023

China’s housing slump is much worse than official data shows

Industry insiders and economists say China’s official home-price indexes are likely understating the depth of the downturn.
A worker cleans a Toyota Electric Vehicle bZ4X on display during the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show in Tangerang, near Jakarta, Indonesia, last week.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 17, 2023

Japan automakers race to catch up with global EV competitors

There is a sense of crisis over a possible decline of Japan's auto industry if U.S., European and Chinese automakers continue to dominate the EV market.
Kurara Okuno first encountered mermaiding in 2020, not long before she jumped into the deep end of the aquatic subculture.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Aug 19, 2023

Move over Ariel: Meet Japan’s professional merpeople

While mermaiding is still a niche activity in Japan, it is possible to slip on a tail and dive in.
Pedestrians pass stores in Guangzhou. Economists say China needs measures to boost consumption and business confidence, but add that unlike previous slowdowns, there is no quick fix.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 18, 2023

Why is China not rushing to fix its ailing economy?

Even in a country known for opaque decision-making, analysts are pointing to signs that Beijing seems hesitant to deliver the bold policies needed.
China Evergrande has sought protection under Chapter 15 of the U.S. bankruptcy code, which shields non-U.S. companies undergoing restructurings from creditors that hope to sue them or tie up assets in the United States.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 18, 2023

China Evergrande files for protection in U.S. bankruptcy court

The company sought protection under Chapter 15 of the U.S. bankruptcy code, which shields non-U.S. companies that are undergoing restructuring.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off with a payload of 21 Starlink satellites from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Feb. 27.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 18, 2023

Starlink lifts off in Asia as satellite internet race heats up

Elon Musk's company has carved out a niche and an opportunity through the region's natural disasters and the vast sweep of its archipelagoes and islands.
Fans in Tokyo take pictures of the poster for "The Boy and the Heron."
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Aug 18, 2023

Hayao Miyazaki's final film to open San Sebastian festival

Miyazaki's "The Boy and the Heron" will open two film festivals in September, a rare feat for any director.
Alexis Ryoko Nishizawa (left) facilitates workshops for people with curly hair during which she shares the basics with attendees.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 20, 2023

In Japan, curly hair makes you stand out. This entrepreneur says 'embrace it.'

Nishizawa has become a go-to guide for people in Japan looking to tame and style their natural wavy, curly and coily hair.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 20, 2023

Japan, South Korea and U.S. hail ties, but staying power questioned

While the three nations agreed to bolster ties in an array of areas, inevitable political change could prove to be a stumbling block for trilateral ties.
Washington is worried that Beijing’s struggles with high unemployment and an aging workforce make China “a ticking time bomb.”
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2023

America’s ‘new’ China narrative: A wounded dragon

The new China narrative is really about the West, its lead in technologies, the free market, wielding power and keeping all challengers at bay.
Shinobu Yamanaka, a mom of three sons and director of a day care facility in Konan, Kochi Prefecture, serves up to eight "members" six days a week.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Aug 22, 2023

Kochi dementia care center aims to set new paradigm in Japan

A new generation of people with Alzheimer’s in Japan are trying to change not only dementia care but also social attitudes toward patients.
The European Union has named 19 platforms that face stricter rules on policing online content and transparency.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 23, 2023

Big tech to face full force of new EU law

The landmark law is part of the EU's legal arsenal deployed to bring tech companies to heel and enforce order.
Hiromi Yamaji, chief executive officer of Japan Exchange Group, says the yen is too weak and its benefits for Japanese stocks are diminishing.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 24, 2023

Yen’s too weak and benefits are waning, Japan bourse chief says

The yen has slipped below the levels where Japanese officials intervened last September to rein in the weakness in the currency.
A customer shops at a sushi counter at the Food Le Parc supermarket in Hong Kong.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 24, 2023

Hong Kong restaurants brace for cost jump after Japan seafood ban

The saga is yet another headache for the city’s restaurant industry, which is still suffering from the effects from pandemic curbs and a worker shortage.
A woman stands on one side of the wall texting in front of a nightclub while, on the other side of the wall, a man works in an izakaya.
PODCAST / deep dive
Aug 24, 2023

One night out in Tokyo

As the last trains leave the central hubs of Shinjuku and Shibuya for the suburbs, much of the city heads home. However, Tokyo never sleeps.
Takakia lepidozioides, a type of moss found mainly in the U.S., Japan and Tibet, has survived for at least 165 million years. Now it’s disappearing in the wild due to climate change.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Aug 25, 2023

This moss survived millions of years. Warming is killing it

Takakia lepidozioides, found mainly in the U.S., Japan and Tibet, has survived for 165 million years. Now it’s disappearing due to climate change.
Investors stand in front of an electronic board showing stock information on the first trading day after the weeklong Lunar New Year holiday at a brokerage house in Shanghai.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Aug 26, 2023

China’s market rescue is failing as Xi holds back on stimulus

China’s regulators face a losing battle convincing global funds to invest in the nation’s stocks without stronger stimulus packages.
A woman carries food to customers at a Japanese restaurant in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 27, 2023

Hong Kong turns to tycoons to get party scene back on track

The government is urging major property groups to help boost the nighttime economy via drink coupons, free events and later shopping hours.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 27, 2023

More tests show radiation levels of Fukushima seawater remain below limits

Tokyo hopes what it says is a transparent release of data will serve as a strong rebuttal to claims by Beijing that the discharge is dangerous.
Members of the Philippines, Japan, South Korea, and U.S. armed forces carry national flags during the opening ceremony of joint military exercises in Taguig, Philippines, in October 2022.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Aug 27, 2023

How Japan can make the most of its latest diplomatic tool

Japan recently decided to establish a policy of Official Security Assistance. But how can it ensure its success?
Just 17.4% of small and midsize companies in Tokyo have developed business continuity plans to prepare for emergencies including natural disasters, according to a recent survey.
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2023

Only 23% of Tokyo companies have business continuity plans, survey shows

Efforts to create such plans did not spread widely among companies although many had their operations disrupted due to the March 2011 quake and tsunami.
Security personnel guard the BYD booth at the Auto Shanghai show in April 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 29, 2023

China's leading electric carmaker BYD triples half-year profit

This month the company became the first global manufacturer to pass the 5 million milestone in electric vehicle production.
Over the last decade, the attention given to falling income and wealth inequality has been tiny, creating a view of the issue that may be seriously out of date.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 29, 2023

We should concentrate on fighting poverty, not income inequality

Wealth inequality has recently gone down in the U.S. and the West, and the decline has been going on for the better part of the last decade.
China's Premier Li Qiang (right) speaks with U.S, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo during their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 30, 2023

U.S. commerce chief says business with China is key, but risky

The comments by Washington’s top trade promoter underscore that commerce has become one of the main strands of tension between the two powers.
Pope Francis leads the Angelus prayer from his window at the Vatican on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 30, 2023

Few Catholics in Mongolia, but Pope's visit eyes geopolitics

In going to the sparsely populated, Buddhist-majority nation, the pope may be eyeing Mongolia as a way to help build bridges with China and Russia.
Artificial intelligence may well enable the automation of many tasks and the replacement of some workers. But AI tools are still fallible and are unlikely to replace humans any time soon.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 30, 2023

AI and the productivity imperative

The global economic outlook for the next decade appears grim. But a surge in productivity — fueled by artificial intelligence — could change that picture.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2023

Kishida eats 'safe and delicious' Fukushima fish

"This is very good," Kishida said as he chewed on a slice of flounder sashimi, calling on viewers to enjoy Japanese seafood.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic during his second round match against Spain's Bernabe Zapata Miralles at the U.S. Open in New York on Wednesday.
TENNIS
Aug 31, 2023

Djokovic ramps up U.S. Open bid as Swiatek and Gauff stroll

Djokovic climbed through the gears against 76th-ranked Bernabe Zapata Miralles, winning 13 of the last 15 games to ease through 6-4, 6-1, 6-1.
Singaporean presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian gives speech on Aug. 22 in the lead-up to Friday's election.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 31, 2023

Singaporeans should vote in their imperfect elections

While the selection process for presidential candidates and the behavior of some of them may not be perfect, Singaporeans should vote on Friday.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo