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In developing Asia, where coal dominates and imported liquefied natural gas is expensive, natural gas remains limited in electricity grids.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 24, 2024

Gas got America off coal. Now, it's coming for Asia's oil.

It can work in concert with carbon-free energy to break the hold of the dirtiest sources of power.
Global beef consumption has slowed and the carbon footprint of the global cattle herd may already be declining.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 26, 2024

Peak beef could already be here

Global beef consumption has slowed and the carbon footprint of the global cattle herd may already be declining.
Emissions rise from the Royal Dutch Shell Plc Norco Refinery in Norco, Louisiana, on June 12, 2020.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Nov 27, 2024

How AI and cloud computing may delay the transition to clean energy

The pace of clean-energy deployments is moving too slowly to keep up with the new technology's demands.
Chinese police have signed cooperation agreements with countries across Asia, Latin America, the Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa, offering embedded officers, training, joint patrols and exporting security equipment, especially to developing economies.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 13, 2024

China’s cops are coming to a city near you

When asked about covert overseas police outposts, China either denies their existence or claims they are service centers for overseas citizens.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin at a ceremony in Pyongyang in June. If North Korean troops sent to the war in Ukraine under an agreement between the two nations are used for anything other than cannon fodder, they may gain experience that could improve the communist nation's military.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 27, 2024

Autocrats challenge traditional geopolitics and strategic boundaries

Emerging "common market of autocracies" are enabling regimes like Russia and North Korea to evade Western sanctions through unconventional networks and barter systems.
Iga Swiatek hits a shot against Aryna Sabalenka during their match at the Cincinnati Open on Aug. 18.
TENNIS
Nov 29, 2024

Iga Swiatek accepts one-month suspension after failing doping test

Swiatek is not the first world No. 1 to fail a doping test this year.
Simona Halep speaks to the media after a hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne on Feb. 9.
TENNIS
Nov 29, 2024

Simona Halep questions process after Iga Swiatek's one-month ban in doping case

Halep was provisionally suspended in October 2022 and later banned for four years.
In the absence of a long-term revitalization strategy, the historic city of Venice will remain on the path to becoming a cultural mausoleum.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2024

Venice’s beauty curse

UNESCO’s World Heritage designation for Venice comprises the city in its entirety, rather than select buildings or neighborhoods.
The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Dec 2, 2024

Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?

Shrinking funding and limited support spark fears for the country's scientific prowess moving forward.
Armored vehicles from the Self-Defense Forces parade in formation at the Ground Self-Defense Force's Camp Asaka on Nov. 9.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2024

Top Japan defense industry firms saw sales boom in 2023

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Fujitsu, NEC and Mitsubishi Electric saw their combined revenues from arms rise by 35% to $10 billion.
While Donald Trump’s legacy and the future ideological direction of the country remains uncertain, the U.S. still retains a democratic future and a dynamic character.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2024

The post-cold war era is finished. Liberalism and democracy will go on.

For now, the weirder, stranger future the U.S. is entering still looks like a democratic future.
The challenge for African governments and communities is how to harness this wave of youthful talent — with all their innovation, resilience and determination — rather than lose them to developed economies.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 29, 2024

Africa must act to stem its youth brain drain

African governments must harness youthful talent or risk losing it to developed economies.
Japanese creatives, athletes and activists saw their efforts recognized on the world stage in various ways this year. At the Oscars (left) Takashi Yamazaki and his team took a prize for “Godzilla Minus One,” while later in the year Anna Sawai and Hiroyuki Sanada (center) took Emmys for their work in “Shogun.” Shohei Ohtani (right) was arguably the biggest Japanese star of the year.
CULTURE / 2024 in Review
Dec 4, 2024

Japan's soft power soared to new heights in 2024

From Oscars and Emmys to a Nobel Peace Prize, it was a year of awards and triumphs in key cultural fields.
Fulham's Junichi Inamoto scores his third goal of the game during a match against Bologna on Aug. 27, 2002.
SOCCER
Dec 4, 2024

Japan's Premier League pioneer, Junichi Inamoto, retires at age 45

Inamoto became a national hero when he scored twice at the 2002 World Cup on home soil, including the winner against Russia.
While FromSoftware's Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is a strong contender for game of the year, Black Myth: Wukong, the first AAA game made by a Chinese developer, offers some stiff competition.
LIFE / Digital / 2024 in Review
Dec 6, 2024

It’s Japan versus China for 2024’s game of the year

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree and Black Myth: Wukong both have a claim to the best game of 2024, a year marked by cultural scandals and lawsuits.
Koichi Katsumata is the first chef to receive a Michelin star in Japan for an 'assiette dessert' (dessert course) restaurant
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 8, 2024

Welcome to Yama, Japan’s first Michelin-starred dessert restaurant

“We don’t just serve food — we serve memories, stories and a sense of place,” says chef Koichi Katsumata.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (center) receives an award in Naha on Thursday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 6, 2024

Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts honored by city of Naha

Roberts, who was born in the city, was presented the award by Mayor Satoru Chinen on Thursday.
Japan's Roki Sasaki delivers a pitch against Mexico at LoanDepot Park in Miami in March 2023.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 6, 2024

Darvish could help lure prized free agent to San Diego

Darvish is said to badly want young right-hander Roki Sasaki as his teammate.
Amber Glenn of the U.S. performs during the women's short program at the ISU Grand Prix in Grenoble, France, on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Figure skating
Dec 6, 2024

American skater Amber Glenn tops Japanese rivals at ISU Grand Prix final

Glenn took a narrow lead over Japan's Mone Chiba in the short program.
“Shogun,” created by American channel FX and made by a joint American-Japanese team, utilized the strengths of both Japan and Hollywood to create a bona fide smash that critics adored. 
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / 2024 in Review
Dec 7, 2024

2024 was the year Japanese TV found its prestige

The triumph of “Shogun” at the Emmys served as an exclamation point for an industry taking big swings and opening up to trans-Pacific partnerships.
Germany's Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin perform during the pairs competition at the Grand Prix Final in Grenoble, France, on Friday.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 7, 2024

German skaters Hase and Volodin defend Grand Prix Final gold

Former world champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan took silver with 206.71.
Ilia Malinin of the U.S. celebrates after winning the men's free skating at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Grenoble, France, on Saturday, alongside second-place finisher Yuma Kagiyama (left) and third-place finisher Shun Sato, both from Japan.
MORE SPORTS / Figure skating
Dec 8, 2024

U.S. skate stars Malinin and Glenn sweep Grand Prix Final titles

Madison Chock and Evan Bates claimed ice dance gold to make it a clean sweep for the United States on the closing day of competition in Grenoble.
Insurance tycoon Douw Steyn’s 250 million rand home overlooks the luxury residential estate bearing his name near Johannesburg, South Africa.
BUSINESS
Dec 9, 2024

Luxury estates for the rich are a booming business in South Africa

Despite a 20% decline in South Africa’s millionaire population over the past decade, it remains a hub for the continent’s high-net-worth individuals.
Aryna Sabalenka in action during her women's singles semifinal match against Coco Gauff at the WTA Finals in Riyadh on Nov. 8
TENNIS
Dec 10, 2024

Sabalenka named WTA Player of the Year

After successfully defending her Australian Open trophy in January, Sabalenka won the U.S. Open crown in September.
Passersby hold umbrellas as they walk under strong sunlight as the Japanese government issued heat stroke alerts in 39 of the country's 47 prefectures in Tokyo on July 22.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Dec 12, 2024

Climate change forged a new reality in 2024: 'This is life now'

As the year draws to a close, the environmental conclusion is both blatant and bleak: 2024 was the hottest year since records began.
Outfielder Juan Soto officially joined the Mets on Wednesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 12, 2024

Juan Soto signs record 15-year, $765 million contract with Mets

"This is a seminal moment in franchise history," Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen said in a statement.
On Dec. 11, Universal Studios Japan officially unveiled its new Donkey Kong Country area, putting the iconic character in the spotlight for the first time in a while.
LIFE / Travel
Dec 12, 2024

USJ’s new Donkey Kong Country is a barrel of fun

Mine Cart Madness is the area’s only ride, but there are shops and snacking options as well as chances to meet costumed characters from the iconic series.
Brooks Koepka watches his shot from the 10th tee during a Liv Golf event in Carrolton, Texas, on Sept. 20.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Dec 12, 2024

Brooks Koepka envisions Liv and PGA staging Ryder Cup-style event

Koepka said a competitive match next week "could transcend golf."
In a year of anime hits, Kiyotaka Oshiyama’s “Look Back” stood out from the bunch.
CULTURE / Film / 2024 in Review
Dec 13, 2024

Big franchises and bold voices dominated anime in 2024

In a year of major box-office hits such as “Conan” and “Haikyu!!,” smaller animators used nontraditional tools to stand out from the rest.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s factory (left) in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Feb. 23, the day before it was officially opened
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 22, 2024

Chip cities rise in Japan’s fields of dreams

Injections of cash are transforming once-sleepy areas, lifting stagnant house prices and triggering construction booms.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji