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Poland's Iga Swiatek serves against Germany's Angelique Kerber during their women's singles final match at the United Cup tennis event in Sydney on Sunday.
TENNIS
Jan 9, 2024

Swiatek tunes out the noise in search of first Australian Open title

The player got 2024 underway by winning all of her singles matches at the United Cup mixed team tournament, helping Poland to the final.
U.S. golfer Tiger Woods reacts on the 9th green on day 2 of the British Open Golf Championship in 2022.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 9, 2024

Tiger Woods and Nike end partnership after 27 years

Despite rumors, Nike maintains that it’s still committed to golf.
The Shika nuclear plant in Shika, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 4
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2024

Three-meter tsunami recorded at Japan nuclear plant after quake

The plant is 11 meters above sea level and protected by a 4-meter seawall built after the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
A supporter of KMT presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih in Taipei on Tuesday
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 10, 2024

Cross-strait relations hang in the balance with Taiwan election

Despite voter fatigue with the DPP and Lai Ching-te’s own lackluster campaign, his opponents have failed to articulate a compelling alternative.
A triathlon Olympic test event in the River Seine in August of last year. Local authorities still have thousands of new sewer connections and key storm-water infrastructure to finish in the next few months ahead of the Games.
OLYMPICS
Jan 11, 2024

Paris Olympics chief insists River Seine will host opening ceremony

French security services have consistently raised doubts about having the opening team parade on the river in the heart of the City of Light.
Fiction such as Asako Yuzuki’s “Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder” and nonfiction like Robert Whiting’s "Gamblers, Fraudsters, Dreamers & Spies: The Outsiders who Shaped Modern Japan” are just a taste of 2024's exciting releases.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 11, 2024

Anticipated translations and books about Japan to brighten your 2024

From debut novels to classic crime thrillers, the year ahead promises a wealth of must-read titles to add to your reading list.
Grounded Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 airplanes on the tarmac at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Monday
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 11, 2024

Boeing's latest Max problem creates more headaches for airlines

Alaska Airlines and United Airlines together have 70% of the Max 9 planes in service and have canceled hundreds of flights.
Yoshimi Yamashita is set to become the first woman to referee at the men's Asian Cup on Saturday.
SOCCER
Jan 12, 2024

Japan's Yamashita to become first woman to referee at men's Asian Cup

Yamashita, who was a fourth official at the 2022 men's World Cup, is one of five women who will serve as match officials at the tournament in Qatar.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 12, 2024

Winds of change swirl at the top of sumo ahead of New Year meet

Kirishima has his sights set on promotion to yokozuna, while major questions surround injury-plagued Terunofuji.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 13, 2024

China and Taiwan focus of top U.S. and Japanese diplomats' talks

Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken “stressed the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait."
People cool off on a beach in Rio de Janeiro in November amid a heat wave.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jan 13, 2024

El Nino could make 2024 hotter than record-setting 2023

The U.S. NOAA predicted there is a 1 in 3 chance that 2024 will be warmer than 2023 — and a 99% certainty that 2024 will rank among the five warmest years ever.
Real Sociedad's Takefusa Kubo during a Champions League match in San Sebastian, Spain, in September.
SOCCER
Jan 13, 2024

Ex-Barcelona junior Kubo set for lift-off with Japan at Asian Cup

The 22-year-old has found his feet at Real Sociedad this season, scoring six goals and helping the club top its Champions League group.
NBA players take part in a training session in Johannesburg in 2015. The Basketball Africa League, now entering its fourth season, is the NBA’s sole professional league outside the U.S., and its most ambitious international expansion since it attempted to break through in China two decades ago on the coattails of Hall of Fame center Yao Ming.
BASKETBALL
Jan 14, 2024

NBA’s Africa league struggles to find fans as it faces mounting losses

The Basketball Africa League is the NBA’s sole professional league outside the U.S., and its most ambitious international expansion in years.
Japan midfielder Takumi Minamino (8) celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during the team's win over Vietnam on Sunday at the Asian Cup in Doha.
SOCCER
Jan 14, 2024

Japan survives Vietnam scare to start Asian Cup title bid

Vietnam, which is coached by Japan's 2000 Asian Cup-winning boss Philippe Troussier, gave the Samurai Blue everything they could handle on Sunday.
Takayasu Nikaido talks about the January 1995 earthquake that hit the Kobe area while showing videos he took in the aftermath of the quake.
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2024

Efforts underway to digitize videotapes of 1995 Kobe quake

Japanese manufacturers ended production of videotape players by 2016, and videotapes are said to have a lifespan of about 30 years
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen greets former U.S. national security adviser Stephen Hadley (center) and former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg during a visit to the Presidential Office in Taipei on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 15, 2024

In Taipei visit, ex-U.S. official says commitment to Taiwan 'rock solid'

An unofficial U.S. delegation said Washington looks forward to continuity in the Taiwan-U.S. relationship under the new Taiwanese administration.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (right) met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on her visit to Kyiv on Jan. 7.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 15, 2024

Kamikawa’s surprise visit to Ukraine sent an important signal

As international support for Ukraine's war effort wavers, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa's visit to Kyiv last week showed that Japan remains a key Kyiv ally.
U.S. climate envoy John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, speak during a news conference in Dubai on Dec.13.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jan 16, 2024

U.S. and China start new climate era after veteran envoys step down

The challenge now is building a system that can continue even without the connection shared by the departing envoys.
Stronger annual wage negotiation results are likely to pave the way for the Bank of Japan to end its negative interest rate by this spring, a former BOJ official says.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 16, 2024

Wage gains of 4% would pave way for BOJ rate hike, ex-official says

Market participants are monitoring annual wage talks closely as they may be a decisive factor in prompting Japan's central bank to end the world’s last negative rate.
A banner for the World Economic Forum hangs on a building on the first day of the annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 16, 2024

Pre-Davos survey indicates CEOs' fears regarding AI and climate

Some 45% of more than 4,700 global CEOs surveyed do not believe their businesses will survive, barring significant changes, in the next 10 years.
Saudi Arabia's Ali Al-Bulayhi (5) looks to head the ball as he's guarded by Oman's Jameel Al Yahmadi on Tuesday at Khalifa International Stadium in Qatar during round robin play at the Asian Cup.
SOCCER
Jan 17, 2024

VAR confusion as Saudi Arabia roars back to beat Oman at Asian Cup

Saudi Arabia's opening match at the Asian Cup started badly when it conceded a penalty — and finished in farcical scenes in front of a bemused crowd of 41,987.
Naomi Osaka waves to the Australian Open crowd after losing her first round match on Monday in Melbourne.
TENNIS
Jan 17, 2024

Osaka vows not to mope after 'bittersweet' Australian Open exit

"I remember last year I wished I had an opportunity to play again on Rod Laver Arena and this year that happened, so one of my dreams already came true," she said.
China's birthrate has been plummeting for decades as a result of the one-child policy implemented from 1980 to 2015 and its rapid urbanization during that period.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jan 17, 2024

China's population drops for second year, adding to growth concerns

A plunging birthrate and a wave of COVID-19 deaths accelerated a downturn that will have long-term economic effects.
People cross a street in the Mong Kok district in Hong Kong in 2011.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Jan 17, 2024

Hong Kong loses global lead for life expectancy, trailing Japan

Women in Hong Kong were expected to live for 86.8 years on average in 2022, compared with 87.1 for their Japanese counterparts, according to the latest statistics.
While global sumo took its first steps toward becoming an organized sport under Hidetoshi Tanaka, it would be an exaggeration to say that everything was plain sailing internationally while the former president was in power.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 17, 2024

Scandal-hit giant of sumo Hidetoshi Tanaka leaves a complicated legacy

For Tanaka, a terse International Sumo Federation statement marked an ignominious end to the life of one of sumo’s most influential figures.
A nursing student (Kotone Furukawa, right) is terrified by the bizarre goings-on in her hometown in “Best Wishes to All.”
CULTURE / Film
Jan 18, 2024

‘Best Wishes to All’: Home is where the horror is

Yuta Shimotsu’s first feature about a small town gone mad delivers shocking frights but its message fails to surprise.
Locals in the Cook Islands are cynical about the growing attention fixed on their small country, with many saying they don't necessarily trust either superpower to do the right thing by them.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 19, 2024

U.S.-China fight for one Pacific nation mirrors a regional battle

The success of Beijing’s strategy in the Pacific was reinforced just this week when Nauru became the latest island nation to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
Skilled workers walk to a building for a skill test at a Haryana state government recruitment drive to send workers to Israel, at Maharshi Dayanand University in Rohtak, India, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 19, 2024

Undeterred by conflict, Indian workers seek jobs in Israel

Masons, painters, electricians, plumbers and farmers say they could make five times more money in a year than they would at home.
Wind turbines at an RWE wind farm off the coast of Great Yarmouth, England. RWE operates 3.3 gigawatts of offshore wind power in Europe.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 19, 2024

RWE plans further Japan offshore wind push after Niigata win

The German renewable energy company believes floating offshore projects will be the key to achieving the nation's goal of generating 45 GW of wind power by 2040.
A group of Pikachu, three riding a Dragonite, play with Woopers, a Bulbasaur and other resort guests in “Pokemon Concierge.”
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jan 20, 2024

Pikachu just wants to help you relax these days

On Netflix’s “Pokemon Concierge,” the hyperactivity of the original gives way to soothing sights and tones that can help grown-up fans calm down.

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