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If you're having a Christmas potluck with your friends, you'll want to make sure your dishes look as good as they taste.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 21, 2023

A few linguistic palate cleansers for your holiday potlucks

With the pandemic-era norms subsiding, it looks like home parties may be back and bigger than ever.
A Japanese monk rings the bell at his temple. The bell is rung 108 times on New Year's Eve, a way to cleanse ourselves of the worldly desires.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 29, 2023

The year’s end provides us a chance to consider the passage of time

There are plenty of Japanese words that express the passage of time, whether it's a matter of years or the blink of an eye.
An exhibition on marine life at COP28 in Dubai. The conversation around oceans and climate change was not the main focus of the conference, despite the key role oceans play in absorbing carbon.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 15, 2023

COP28, didn't the oceans deserve more attention?

Oceans are key to mitigating climate change and severely impacted by it. Yet they didn't take center stage at COP28 — though some progress was made.
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, speaks at a IRGC Aerospace Force achievements exhibition in Tehran on Nov. 19.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 15, 2023

Holding Iran accountable for Hamas' attacks

From Holocaust lessons to present danger, why Iran must be stopped not only for Israel but for the world.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pays his respects at the graves of Ukrainian soldiers in Lviv on Friday.
WORLD
Dec 16, 2023

Zelenskyy returns to Ukraine with little aid and a raft of needs

Political infighting in Washington and the European Union has blocked further aid to Ukraine.
Shiv Kumar (left) and Nirmal Singh say they are learning a lot about living and thriving in Japan while taking part in the Technical Intern Trainee Program. Their case, however, seems to be an exception to the norm.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Dec 18, 2023

Beating the odds on Japan's controversial foreign trainee program

Nirmal Singh and Shiv Kumar beat the odds on the Technical Intern Training Program, but luck shouldn't play such a key role in a government initiative.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after testifying in his civil fraud trial at the State Supreme Court building in Manhattan,  New York, on Nov. 6.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 16, 2023

Material from Russia probe went missing as Trump left office

A binder given to the Trump White House contained details that intelligence agencies believe could reveal secret sources and methods.
An Israeli soldier rides in a Stryker fighting vehicle, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, near the border with Gaza, in southern Israel, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 16, 2023

Hamas turns Gaza streets into deadly maze for Israeli troops

Hamas has used a big weapons stockpile, its knowledge of the terrain and a vast tunnel network to kill more than 100 Israeli soldiers.
Relatives and supporters hold signs as they rally for the release of hostages kidnapped by Hamas, in Tel Aviv on Saturday.
WORLD
Dec 17, 2023

Netanyahu, under pressure over hostage deaths, vows to press on

The premier is also taking heat for what’s been termed inaction on securing a new prisoner exchange deal, two weeks after a brief cease-fire ended.
Kuwait's then-Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah arrives to attend a conference in Kuwait City in 2014.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 17, 2023

Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Nawaf dies; Sheikh Meshal named as successor

Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad Al Jaber, 83, who has been Kuwait's de facto ruler since 2021, was named as Sheikh Nawaf's successor.
Nobuko, younger sister of Kotaro Nishizawa, who died at his clinic in Osaka during an arson attack, hugs one of the audience members following a memorial concert for the victims held in the city on Dec. 3.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 17, 2023

Deadly arson attack in Osaka remembered two years on

A piano concert was organized as an opportunity for bereaved relatives to connect and heal.
"Concussed: Sport's Uncomfortable Truth" by author Sam Peters details the issue of concussions in sports, particularly rugby.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Dec 17, 2023

Rugby in denial over concussion problem, author Sam Peters says

Peters' book includes a section on the damage of repeated heading in soccer but is predominantly concerned with rugby.
Smoke rises from damaged buildings in the Gaza Strip on Friday. Washington has appealed to Jordan, Egypt and Gulf states to persuade Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to pursue institutional reforms with urgency to prepare for post-war Gaza.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 18, 2023

U.S. wants overhauled Palestinian Authority to run Gaza after Hamas

Washington considers the Mahmoud Abbas-led administration as the the only realistic post-war solution despite its unpopularity.
Packages of tofu on the production line at the Yamami factory in Oyama, Shizuoka Prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 18, 2023

Tofu-maker Yamami sees shares surge after automating ancient craft

At its newest factory at the foot of Mount Fuji, the company, one of the few that’s listed, can produce 15,000 units of the bean curd each hour.
A view of the city of Ayodhya, India
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Dec 18, 2023

Temple promised by BJP transforming Indian city but some miss out

Laborers are finalizing a $6 billion infrastructure facelift in Ayodhya that is igniting an economic boom and driving up land prices.
A supporter of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi reacts after presidential election results in Cairo on Dec. 18.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 19, 2023

With few challengers Egypt's el-Sissi secures third term as president

Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi called the vote a rejection of the "inhumane war" in neighboring Gaza.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 devices displayed in Los Angeles. Apple said on Dec. 18 it will stop selling some of its smartwatch models in the United States while it fights a patent battle over technology for detecting blood oxygen levels.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2023

Apple plans rescue for $17 billion watch biz in face of U.S. ban

If the ban holds, Apple is working on a range of legal and technical options.
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2023

Japan to scrap idea of raising elderly care user fees

Many ruling lawmakers have expressed cautious opinions on the proposed expansion.
A climate activist arranges artwork expressing opposition to fossil fuels at Dubai's Expo City during the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai on Dec. 12.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Dec 19, 2023

COP28 deal on fossil fuels puts new focus on 'just transition'

From coal miners to offshore oil rig engineers, 32 million people who work in the fossil fuel industry face losing their livelihoods.
Customers browse through items sold as part of the Uniqlo Pre-owned Clothes Project at the brand's Harajuku store in Tokyo in October.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2023

Japan revisits used garments as inflation adds to fashion appeal

Awareness of the sector's huge environmental impact has yet to spark much interest in secondhand options in the world third-biggest clothes market.
In Hayao Miyazaki's films, characters often experience life-changing revelations in midair, such as Haku and Chihiro in "Spirited Away."
CULTURE / Film
Dec 19, 2023

How Hayao Miyazaki’s films continue to take us to the skies

When characters take flight in the films of the master animator, there is always a deeper meaning.
A live projection from a microscope displays a magnified image of a bedbug during a lecture on bedbug control at the Korea Pest Control Association in Seoul on Nov. 28.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Dec 19, 2023

South Korean blockchain engineer fights bedbugs with data

Self-professed insectophobe maps out reported infestations on a website that also displays real-time news reports to keep track of the outbreak.
Today in Russia, a robust consumer world carries on, helping Russian President Vladimir Putin maintain a sense of normalcy despite a war that has proved longer, deadlier and costlier than he predicted.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 19, 2023

How Putin turned a Western boycott into a bonanza

If companies want to leave Russia, the president is setting the terms — in ways that benefit his government, his elites and his war.
Buildings in Xiamen on mainland China across the Taiwan Strait from anti-landing barriers on a beach in Kinmen, Taiwan.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 20, 2023

Taiwan’s ability to defend against Chinese invasion questioned

For all the support given by Washington, the reality is that when it comes to both civil and military defense, Taiwan still has a lot to do.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting near Moscow on Dec. 12.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 20, 2023

U.S. allies brace for high cost of defeat as Ukraine aid stalls

Russian victory in Ukraine would be felt around the world as U.S. partners and allies questioned Washington’s promises of defense.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 20, 2023

Women arrested for prostitution in Shinjuku tripled in 2023

The issue of women going into prostitution as a result of loans used to finance host club visits has become a huge problem.
While non-Japanese readers have in recent years been spoiled for choice when it comes to Japanese literature in translation, there is still a wealth of notable works that translators would love to see rendered into English.
CULTURE / Books
Dec 20, 2023

A wish list of hidden gems for Japanese literature lovers

Eight translators reveal their top Japanese books that English readers have yet to enjoy.
A pint is poured inside the Grapes public house in Limehouse, south London, on Dec. 14. Pubs have served Roman soldiers, knights and poets, and have been a gathering place for communities to enjoy a brew beside a crackling fire for centuries.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 20, 2023

Last orders? British pubs hit by rising costs and changing tastes

High inflation, energy bills and business rates are cutting into increasingly stretched earnings, as many find other ways to spend time and money.
The Yas Marina Circuit, home to Formula One's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, will be the scene of a different sort of race in April when driverless race cars take to the track.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Dec 21, 2023

Driverless race cars on track for April debut in Abu Dhabi

The driverless Dallara Super Formula SF23 open-wheel cars have a computer in place of the cockpit and no need for a steering wheel or seat.
An Israeli soldier exits what Israel says is the largest Hamas tunnel it has discovered so far in Gaza, located a few hundred meters from the Erez border crossing, during an escorted tour by the military for international journalists on Dec. 15.
WORLD
Dec 21, 2023

Israel says uncovered tunnel network used by Hamas leadership

Israel's military described "tunnels that connects terrorist hideouts, bureaus, and residential apartments belonging to Hamas's senior leadership."

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years