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JAPAN
Sep 20, 2023

Rapid military buildup a worry for Okinawans, governor says

"We must never allow people in Okinawa to go through the same horrible experience that we went through" in World War Two, said Denny Tamaki.
A worker is seen in front of one of the pavilions at the construction site of the 2025 Osaka Expo during a government-sponsored tour of the area on Yumeshima island, Osaka, on Sept. 14.
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2023

Osaka Expo venue construction cost likely to soar

The figure is expected to rise above the current ¥185 billion to exceed ¥200 billion, sources have said.
Cinema staff prepare servings of popcorn during an "all you can eat popcorn for 199 baht" campaign in front of a cinema inside a department store in Bangkok in November 2022.
BUSINESS
Sep 21, 2023

Southeast Asia cinema chains thrive as other markets struggle

Local box office records are being set, filmmaking grants are being unveiled and large cinema chains are shifting into expansion mode.
Characters from the Super Mario Bros. franchise adorn the front of Super Potato, a well-known retro game shop in Akihabara.
LIFE / Digital
Sep 20, 2023

Let the gaming begin: A guide to Tokyo's video game landmarks

Whether it's arcades, retro finds or chip-tune nightclubs, Japan's capital won't disappoint gamers wanting to geek out.
Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, arriving at the bipartisan A.I. Insight Forum organized by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, along with labor union leaders and civil society groups, at the Capitol in Washington on Sept. 13.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 21, 2023

Nvidia CEO tours India eyeing AI market to hedge China risks

For Nvidia, whose processors are key to development of artificial intelligence systems, the South Asian nation of 1.4 billion presents a rare opportunity.
Does a person have a duty to alert others when they see wrongdoing in a company? Or is it better to leave the gods untouched lest you be cursed?
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 21, 2023

A culture of silence vs. a culture of speaking up

The scandal at talent agency Johnny & Associates was made worse by a culture of “keeping the lid on a stinky thing.”
China's Xi Jinping (left) will attend the Asian Games opening ceremony in host city Hangzhou and meet with Syrian President Bashar Assad along with other visiting leaders there, state media said Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 21, 2023

Syria's Bashar Assad to visit China seeking financial support

With his trip to the Asian Games in Hangzhou, Assad also becomes the latest in a string of leaders ostracized by the West to be feted by Beijing.
The U.S Navy's Ranger unmanned vessel docks at Yokosuka Naval Base in Kanagawa Prefecture. The ship is one of two U.S. Navy unmanned prototype vessels that were recently dispatched to Japan as part of a long-range deployment exercise.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 21, 2023

Unmanned U.S. Navy vessels make Japan debut

The U.S. Navy debuted the unmanned prototype vessels as it prepares to increase both the number and use of drones amid growing tensions with China.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen (right) and AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda take part in a fan event in Tokyo on Wednesday, ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, at the weekend.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Sep 21, 2023

Red Bull's march to the title in focus as F1 arrives in Japan

The team will be looking to secure a second straight constructors' championship on the home turf of its engine supplier, Honda.
Oil pump jacks in Tatarstan, Russia, on June 4
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 21, 2023

Oil companies cautious about drilling as energy transition looms

Instead of spending big to boost output, oil companies are boosting dividends or buying back shares to reward investors.
Sogo & Seibu’s flagship store in Ikebukuro is closed due to a strike on Aug. 31. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 19, 2023

As goes the Sogo department store, so goes Japan

The number of department stores located outside Japan's 10 biggest cities has dropped by 30% in the past decade.
Burnt olive groves following a wildfire in the village of Dikella, west of Alexandroupolis, Greece, on Aug. 29. Nature-based investment aims to back projects that tackle land degradation, rectify biodiversity loss and combat climate change.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 22, 2023

Japan an outlier as interest in nature-based investment grows

Such investments aim to back projects that tackle land degradation, rectify biodiversity loss and combat climate change.
Baidu's co-founder and CEO Robin Li showcases an artificial intelligence chatbot known as Ernie Bot, during a news conference at the company's headquarters in Beijing in March
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 22, 2023

China's AI 'war of a hundred models' heads for a shakeout

Investors and analysts say that most AI firms lack viable business models, were too similar to each other and were now grappling with surging costs.
Ali Zaidi, the White House climate adviser, at a climate rally outside the White House, in Washington on April 23, 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 22, 2023

U.S. government shutdown poses ‘seismic’ threat to climate

A shutdown would mean many federal regulators would have to stop writing marquee Biden administration environmental regulations.
Tuvalu's Finance Minister Seve Paeniu shows a picture of his grandchildren on his phone while attending the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November 2021.
ENVIRONMENT / Oceans
Sep 22, 2023

Tuvalu partners with Australia as rising seas threaten survival

The project will test a new U.N. blueprint under which one rich nation takes responsibility for raising funds to support a climate-vulnerable country.
A sign at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 6. AI and quantum information science have recently become a major issue in international politics.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Sep 26, 2023

How emerging technologies can bring power to states

While the technologies are expected to largely change how militaries, economies and societies are operated, many of their social impacts remain unclear.
Freshness and seasonality, along with the chef's ability to highlight both, feature heavily in Japanese fine dining.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 24, 2023

Does Japan's fine dining philosophy stand alone?

While Japanese fine dining is not as categorically defined as French gastronomie, a culture of refined dining has long existed in the country.
Drinking can be an unavoidable part of life in Japan, so what can do you to offset the worst of the damage?
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 23, 2023

Can't curb your drinking? These steps will reduce the harm

The current evidence makes it pretty clear that even a little alcohol is bad for your health.
John Williams (right) and Seiji Ozawa (center) have been friends for decades. Their long-awaited reunion in Japan comes courtesy of a musical collaboration between Williams and the Saito Kinen Orchestra for the 31st edition of Ozawa’s annual music festival.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 24, 2023

Music legends John Williams and Seiji Ozawa reunite at Matsumoto festival

The American composer and conductor led a special program featuring his famous film scores at his long-time friend's annual event in Nagano Prefecture.
Visual AI allows us to see more than meets the eye when looking at cities like Tokyo.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 22, 2023

AI will show us the future of cities, if we guide the way

Visual AI can help us better see our cities, from crime rates to property values, but only human intelligence can tell the forest from the trees.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 23, 2023

U.S. drops resistance to sending Ukraine long-range missiles

The Biden administration has agreed to provide Ukraine with a limited number of long-range ATACMS missiles, people familiar with the matter said.
A satellite image shows smoke billowing from a Russian Black Sea Navy headquarters after a missile strike, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Sevastopol, Crimea, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 23, 2023

Ukraine attacks Russian Black Sea navy headquarters in Crimea

The strike on the symbolic heart of Russia's Black Sea fleet marks a major blow for Moscow.
U.S. President Joe Biden listens to a reporter's question about whether he will visit striking auto workers on the UAW picket line as he walks back to the Oval Office after an event in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 23, 2023

Biden to visit Michigan to support auto strike, a day before Trump

Numerous unions have already endorsed Biden's re-election, but the UAW has for now withheld its endorsement.
Meetings will be held regularly at the vice-minister level, with officials reporting back to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, according to the Treasury.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 23, 2023

U.S. and China form economy working groups in sign of better ties

Meetings will be held at the vice-minister level, with officials reporting back to U.S. Treasury chief Janet Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.
The World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai in 2020
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 21, 2023

Human success means evolving with AI, not shunning it

Most future jobs will be hybrid, powered by human and artificial intelligence. The challenge lies in striking the right balance.
The Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, where Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot and killed in the parking lot in June, in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, on Wednesday. The violent, professional-style killing of Nijjar now lies at the center of a diplomatic clash between Canada and India that comes just as Western allies have been trying to strengthen ties with the Indian government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 24, 2023

Two hooded gunmen, a silver getaway car and a slain Sikh leader

Three witnesses who said they saw the killers of Hardeep Singh Nijjar described the scene.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attends a news conference after addressing the 78th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 24, 2023

Russia accuses West of 'de facto' fighting in Ukraine

This came after Kyiv said that Russian navy commanders had been killed or wounded in a missile attack on Moscow's Black Sea Fleet headquarters.
Players compete against one another during the Just Dance event at the Olympic Esports Week in Singapore in June.
MORE SPORTS / FOCUS
Sep 24, 2023

China hosts esports’ biggest moment with Tencent at the wheel

The once-in-four-years Asian Games, effectively a regional Olympics, is the first time that competitive video games will be eligible for medals.
U.S. President Joe Biden raises a toast with Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong in Hanoi on Sept. 11.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 24, 2023

Biden aides in talks with Vietnam for arms deal that could irk China

Such a deal could consummate the newly upgraded partnership between Washington and Hanoi as tensions boil in the South China Sea.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 24, 2023

Aomori bento maker banned from operations due to food poisoning

As many as 270 people in 21 prefectures in the country have become sick after eating bento meals supplied by Yoshidaya.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’