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Packs of raw fish at a Japanese food store in Beijing prior to China's ban on Japan's seafood products
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 6, 2023

China takes its anti-science disinformation campaign to a new level

Japan can counter China's disinformation on the safety of the Fukushima water release, and gain people's trust, by sharing the data.
Journalists tour the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and the tanks that contain contaminated water on Aug. 27
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 6, 2023

We need to put low-dose radiation into perspective

Public fear of the effects of low-dose radiation isn’t backed by science. The Fukushima water release shows, once again, that better education is needed.
Actor Nahana says she considers her role as a punk rocker who falls in love with an avenging hero in Takahisa Zeze’s four-hour epic “Heaven’s Story” a turning point in her career.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 6, 2023

Indie film royalty Nahana looks back on 22 years

The Cinema Novecento theater in Yokohama is set to screen 12 of the versatile actor's films as a tribute to her long career.
Part of the deserted Legend of Sea project developed by Country Garden
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 7, 2023

China’s credit wreck exposes governance failings to the world

"Foreign money managers still have willingness to invest in China, but how much we invest is in flux.”
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 7, 2023

Ex-LDP member and offshore wind advocate arrested over bribery

Masatoshi Akimoto is suspected of receiving ¥60 million from Masayuki Tsukawaki, then-president of Japan Wind Development.
Students walk past a classroom building on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
WORLD / Society
Sep 7, 2023

Generation AI: Education reluctantly embraces the bots

Some educators have expressed concern that students might rely on AI to produce work and effectively cheat.
Aziz Umerov looks at a portrait of his sister Leniye Umerova, a Ukrainian from Russian-annexed Crimea arrested in Russia, on August 11.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Sep 7, 2023

Arrest, detain, repeat: Russian war critics in jail 'carousel'

Consecutive jailings aren't illegal, as Russian law allows judges to order "administrative" detentions of up to 30 days for minor infractions.
Cuban American soprano Lisette Oropesa stars as Violetta in a restaging of Giuseppe Verdi’s “La Traviata” directed by Sofia Coppola in her opera directing debut in 2016
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 8, 2023

Rome Opera's tragic heroes resonate in modern times

For its Japan tour, the company will perform lavish productions of "La Traviata," directed by Sofia Coppola, and "Tosca," by Franco Zeffirelli.
The AI initiative is part of Morgan Stanley's strategy to drive its wealth division, where net revenue surged 16% to a record in the second quarter and new client assets grew $90 billion.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 8, 2023

Morgan Stanley to launch AI chatbot to woo wealthy

The bank will roll out a generative artificial intelligence bot this month, developed with the makers of ChatGPT, OpenAI
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2023

Education ministry asks court to fine Unification Church

The ministry has requested the Unification Church to report on more than 500 items on seven occasions in total, with the group refusing on some issues.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2023

Tropical Storm Yun-yeung brings heavy rain to Kanto region

The storm prompted evacuation orders in some areas amid record-breaking rain.
Mizuho Financial Group has been expanding its presence in the United States to tap the world’s biggest fee pool, becoming one of the four global investment banks leading Arm's IPO.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 8, 2023

Mizuho's SoftBank ties boost Wall Street ambitions via Arm IPO

The bank has been expanding its presence in the U.S. to tap the world’s biggest fee pool, even as deals slump globally following the pandemic.
Harvard historian Calder Walton says U.S. leaders have ignored China’s massive, multifront intelligence push.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 8, 2023

The vulnerability of open societies to foreign espionage

Are Western nations, with their open societies, making the same mistake with China as they did with the Soviet Union?
Kazuo Ueda
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 9, 2023

BOJ's Ueda signals chance of ending negative rates, report says

The central bank could have enough data by year-end to determine whether it can end negative rates, Gov. Kazuo Ueda said in an interview.
Residents watch the McDougall Creek wildfire in West Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, last month.
WORLD / Society / FOCUS
Sep 9, 2023

Conspiracy theories falsely link wildfires to 'smart cities'

Disinformation about deadly wildfires in the United States and Canada has run rampant across social media.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 11, 2023

North Korean weapons cache gives Kim a role in the Kremlin’s invasion

Kim Jong Un is expected to cross into Russia this week for his first trip outside the peninsula in four years for talks with Vladimir Putin.
China's Defense Minister Li Shangfu gives a speech in Kubinka, in the outskirts of Moscow, on Aug. 15
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 11, 2023

Xi stresses military unity as rumors over defense minister swirl

Rumors have been swirling social media over Defense Minister Li Shangfu's whereabouts. His last public appearance was on Aug. 29.
U.S. President Joe Biden holds a news conference in Hanoi on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 11, 2023

Biden doubts China able to invade Taiwan amid economic woes

The U.S. president said China "has a difficult economic problem right now for a whole range of reasons."
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves as he departs by train from Pyongyang for a visit to Russia in this image released Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 12, 2023

North Korea's Kim arrives in Russia for talks with Putin

Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia aboard his luxury armored train Tuesday, with a possible arms deal likely at the top of the meeting's agenda.
Banks have surged more than 50% over the past year on speculation gains in prices and wages will become sustainable enough for the Bank of Japan to end years of rock bottom rates.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 12, 2023

Top fund managers pile into Japanese banks on BOJ tightening bets

Fund managers are piling into Japanese banks on the possibility the Bank of Japan is preparing to end its ultraeasy monetary policy.
The yen remains vulnerable to sharp movements and government intervention even after its rally at the start of this week.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 12, 2023

Imminent Fed meet keeps yen intervention on agenda despite rally

U.S. inflation figures set to be released Wednesday are expected to show price growth accelerating for a second month in August versus a year earlier
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2023

More companies move away from Johnny’s over sex abuse scandal

Many firms say they won't work with the agency again until it hears how Johnny's will help the victims and prevent further incidents.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 12, 2023

Japan elevates Taiwan security ties in move likely to rile China

The defense ministry said it would only pursue "nongovernmental" ties with Taipei.
A health ministry worker fumigates a house to kill mosquitoes and curb the spread of dengue, chikungunya and Zika in Managua, Nicaragua.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Sep 13, 2023

What's in a mosquito bite? How warmer climates spread disease

Abundant water helps mosquitoes to breed, while more drought constrict the migratory birds' ecosystems, enabling some diseases to spread.
David Dahlquist, senior trial counsel in the antitrust division at the U.S. Department of Justice (left), and Kenneth Dintzer, litigator for the U.S. Department of Justice, leave federal court in Washington on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 13, 2023

Google’s search domination began with plan to combat rivals

Google argues the company has won market share because it has the best search engine, not because of a lack of competition.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 13, 2023

BOJ watchers bring forward rate hike forecasts on Ueda’s remarks

Economists moved forward their forecasts for an end to negative interest rates after the BOJ chief touched on that possibility in an interview.
Advertisements for the Dholera Smart City project, which is in the early stages of development, in Dholera, India, on Aug. 25. India’s government, seizing on the world’s desire to reduce reliance on China, is offering billions to build an entire semiconductor ecosystem on vast empty plots.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 13, 2023

Modi wants to make India a chipmaking superpower. Can he succeed?

The prime minister betting he can lure private companies to a future semiconductor city from not only across India but also the world.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks at a news conference during the trilateral summit at Camp David, Maryland, on Aug. 18.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 13, 2023

South Korea’s political bifurcation will stifle any trilateral agreement

The South Korean left, which is currently out of power, has a foreign policy agenda that is incompatible with the Camp David Principles.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 13, 2023

Japan's pump prices fall for first time in 18 weeks

The decline has come after the national average rewrote a record high for the second consecutive week.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks to the media Wednesday after a closed-door Senate meeting on how artificial intelligence should be regulated.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 14, 2023

Tech leaders discuss AI policy in closed-door senate meeting

The meeting included a prestigious, and possibly combustible, mix of personalities with diverging views on how to write the rules for AI.

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