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JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 16, 2023

Woman and parents sent to prosecutors over Sapporo hotel murder

Authorities believe that Runa Tamura was the only one present at the crime scene, while her parents are suspected of being accomplices.
The Writers Guild of America went on strike on May 2 and was joined on the picket lines by members of the Screen Actors Guild on July 14, bringing most U.S. film and scripted television production to a halt.
BUSINESS
Aug 17, 2023

Optimism emerges among Hollywood writers over talks with studios

Writers went on strike over an impasse on compensation, minimum staffing in writers' rooms, residual payments and curbs on artificial intelligence.
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.
Yellowknife residents leave the city Wednesday on the only highway in or out of the northern Canadian community after an evacuation order was given due to a wildfire.
WORLD
Aug 17, 2023

Evacuation ordered as wildfire threatens town in northern Canada

Yellowknife has a population of around 20,000 people and lies 400 kilometers south of the Arctic circle.
Creativeman President Naoki Shimizu says Summer Sonic has been featuring an increasing number of Asian acts in recent years, a change that reflects the growing number of Asian visitors attending the music festival. This year’s standouts include K-pop group NewJeans, whose Summer Sonic performance will be its first Japan show ever.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 18, 2023

NewJeans, Blur and Kendrick Lamar head to Summer Sonic

While Summer Sonic’s reputation as an international showcase holds strong, the event has become an important launchpad for homegrown performers.
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.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk
BUSINESS
Aug 18, 2023

Elon Musk arrives in Japan for first visit in nine years

The purpose of his trip is not yet clear, but the space-loving billionaire has posted video clips of the teamLab Planets art installation in Tokyo.
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.
Vehicles leave Yellowknife on the only highway in or out of the city after a state of emergency was declared due to the proximity of a wildfire, in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, on Wednesday.
WORLD
Aug 18, 2023

Canada crews battle wildfires as all Yellowknife residents evacuate

Officials say the fire is now 15 kilometers northwest of the city and could reach the outskirts over the weekend if there is no rain.
Protesters shout slogans and raise banners reading "Don't throw polluted water into the sea! Keep your promises" during a rally against Japan's plan to discharge treated radioactive water from the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima plant into the ocean, in front of the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 18, 2023

Fukushima water release poses test for Japan-South Korea unity

The dumping of radioactive water may happen days after a summit in which the U.S. wants Japan and South Korea to lock in friendly ties.
In 1990, there were five times as many men who had alcohol use disorder than women — now it’s two times, according to the director of a research institute on alcoholism and alcohol abuse.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2023

Women are drinking more alcohol and it’s killing them

Analysis of data from the CDC found that alcohol-related deaths among women increased by nearly 15% per year between 2018 and 2020.
The color of a red torii gate in Bushidaira, Saitama Prefecture, still stands out against a vibrant green backdrop.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Aug 18, 2023

Exploring the eerie beauty of Japan's abandoned villages

Depopulation and an aging society have turned parts of the countryside into tourist attractions for those eager to explore a forgotten era.
Jake Murdoch has recently begun performing songs in Japanese, including new single "Every1 Loves U."
CULTURE / Music
Aug 18, 2023

Teenage music prodigy brings feel-good pop to Tokyo

With 16 instruments under his belt at the young age of 13, Jake Murdoch sets his sights on learning the ropes of Japan's music scene.
A Russian IL-38 information-gathering aircraft flies between the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea in a photo taken by the Air Self-Defense Force on Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2023

Japan scrambles jets amid Russian and Chinese naval patrol

Russian and Chinese navy ships have been jointly patrolling the Pacific Ocean and holding naval exercises in the East China Sea.
The site of a missile strike in the center of Chernihiv, Ukraine, on Saturday
WORLD
Aug 20, 2023

Seven killed in Russian missile strike on Ukraine's Chernihiv

The dead included a 6-year-old girl, while 144 were wounded after the Russian strike on a central square in the historic northern Ukrainian city.
A woman sweeps ash off the terrace of her house while smoke rises over the village of Benijos as wildfires rage out of control on Spain's Tenerife on Saturday.
WORLD
Aug 20, 2023

Mass evacuations as Tenerife wildfire rages out of control

The huge blaze broke out late Tuesday in a mountainous northeastern area of the island, quickly morphing into the Canary Islands' biggest-ever fire.
Tottori Gov. Shinji Hirai (left) with Shinsuke Nakajima, executive chef at the Hotel New Otani Tokyo
ESG CONSORTIUM
Aug 18, 2023

Tottori, home of premium wagyu, offers great diversity of delicacies

Western Japan’s Tottori Prefecture, lying on the Sea of Japan and boasting the famous Mount Daisen and other peaks, has been a major beef-producing area since the Edo Period. Japan’s least populous prefecture is blessed with rich nature and clean air, abundant groundwater and high-quality straw —...
JAPAN / History
Aug 21, 2023

Colorized photos of 1923 Tokyo quake to be displayed

The photos of the 1923 disaster will be displayed as part of an exhibition set to start at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo on Sept. 1.
A view of a Nestle, La Laitiere product cover in a supermarket in Paris. The video of Nestle's version of Baroque artist Johannes Vermeer's oil painting The Milkmaid generated sigificant "media value" for the Swiss food giant.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 21, 2023

From 'Mad Men' to machines? Big advertisers shift to AI

Many companies remain wary of security and copyright risks, however, meaning humans will remain part of the process for the foreseeable future.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 21, 2023

Festival organizer files criminal complaint over DJ Soda groping

TryHard Japan filed the report to the police against two men and a woman over their alleged groping of the DJ’s breast and hugging of her without consent.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a ministerial meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 22, 2023

Japan to begin releasing treated Fukushima water Thursday

Despite fishing cooperatives' lingering worries of reputational damage, the government will go ahead with its plan.
U.S. and Japanese authorities are concerned that purchases of farmland near military bases and other critical facilities will allow China and other governments to spy on or interfere with their operations.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2023

For the best espionage, it’s location, location, location

Efforts by Chinese companies to purchase land — often, but not exclusively, agricultural — has authorities in Japan and the United States up in arms.
An Air Koryo plane is reflected in a glass structure of the airport in Pyongyang in April 2017.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 22, 2023

North Korea sees first passenger flight in three years

An Air Koryo flight from Pyongyang landed in Beijing early Tuesday for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns began in 2020.
Artificial intelligence is likely to help Big Tech companies cement their industry dominance as they are the ones with the resources to develop and maintain the most powerful AI models.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 23, 2023

Unlocking AI’s potential for everyone

The tech industry’s dominant players are now deploying artificial-intelligence models to reinforce their positions in the market.
Takeshi Kimura, special adviser to the board for Nippon Life Insurance Co.
ESG CONSORTIUM
Aug 28, 2023

PRI’s global ESG investing talks in Tokyo to tackle ‘sense of crisis’

The leading global conference on responsible investment will be held in Tokyo for the first time this fall, focusing on what investors can do to make society sustainable at a time when many industries are struggling to meet their targets for combating climate change.
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.
Koenji-based dance troupe Tengu-ren performs at an Awa odori event in Tokyo's Kagurazaka neighborhood a month before the Koenji Awa Odori.
CULTURE / Longform
Aug 26, 2023

The party returns to Koenji

While the COVID-19 pandemic put a temporary pause to one of Tokyo’s biggest festivals, its dancers never stopped practicing their steps.
A Japanese doctor helps a non-Japanese patient check in at the front desk of a hospital.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 25, 2023

Let’s get clinical: Navigating a trip to a Japanese hospital

You don't need to be stressed out about your linguistic ability when you check into a Japanese hospital, so brush up on some terms beforehand.
Angels two-way player Shohei Ohtani has a torn UCL, the team announced on Wednesday night.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 25, 2023

Will Ohtani’s injury pick his pocket in free agency?

Baseball’s history-making two-way player has a torn ulnar collateral ligament.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump stands on the green during the Official Pro-Am Tournament ahead of the LIV Golf Invitational Series event at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Aug. 10.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 26, 2023

Tilting the scales of justice: Trump height and weight raise eyebrows

Does Donald Trump truly weigh 215 pounds, as stated by authorities after his arrest? Many Americans are not buying it.

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