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Princess Yuriko in May 2023
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2024

Princess Yuriko, sister-in-law of Emperor Showa, dies at 101

The oldest living member of the imperial family, Princess Yuriko died due to natural causes.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks in Phoenix, Arizona, on August 23, 2024. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he is nominating Kennedy to be the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 15, 2024

Vaccine skeptic RFK Jr. vows to 'Make America Healthy Again'

Donald Trump announced he would nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to become the next secretary of Health and Human Services.
A Type 2 diabetes patient gives himself an insulin shot. In 2022, there were around 828 million people aged 18 years and older with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes worldwide, a new study found.
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 15, 2024

More than 800 million adults have diabetes globally, study suggests

The study in The Lancet found the global prevalence of diabetes has doubled since 1990 to 14% from around 7%.
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Nov 18, 2024

In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation

The latest edition of the Japan Writers Conference was a friendly forum for anglophone writers to connect and converse.
Japanese companies lack the agility needed for the digital transformation, a new report says.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 15, 2024

Japan ranked 31st in digital competitiveness, 92nd for English skills

In the 2024 EF English Proficiency Index, Japan was ranked 92nd, down from 87 the previous year. It was its worst showing yet.
The facade of the Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum graces the cover of Paul Tulett’s new book “Brutalist Japan: A Photographic Tour of Post-War Japanese Architecture.”
CULTURE / Books
Nov 16, 2024

Brutal beauty worth saving from the wrecking ball

Paul Tulett advocates for preserving concrete Brutalist architecture in his new book “Brutalist Japan.”
Karoline Leavitt waves during a campaign event at the New England Sports Center in Derry, New Hampshire, in October 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 16, 2024

Trump names Karoline Leavitt as White House press secretary

"Karoline is smart, tough, and has proven to be a highly effective communicator,” Trump said in a statement on Friday.
Cooling towers at the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant near Middletown, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 15. One reactor will be brought back online in 2028.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Nov 16, 2024

Nuclear power was once shunned at climate talks. Now, it’s a rising star.

Over the past few years, interest in nuclear power has steadily grown in tandem with concern about global warming.
Jiro Hamazumi (right), deputy secretary general of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, holds a news conference on Thursday.
JAPAN
Nov 16, 2024

Nihon Hidankyo's crowdfunding campaign achieves initial goal on first day

The amount of donations collected under the campaign surpassed ¥10 million shortly past 11 p.m. Friday Japan time. Donors reached about 1,400 people.
Kenyan climate scientist Joyce Kimutai during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku on Friday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 16, 2024

World not listening to us, laments Kenyan climate scientist at COP29

"If the world was listening to science, maybe we wouldn't be doing these COPs," the 36-year-old Kenyan climate scientist said.
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Lima on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 17, 2024

Trump's shadow looms as Xi and Biden hold final meeting

The talks focused broadly on efforts by Washington and Beijing to ease the countries’ tense relationship.
Members of the Indigenous People Association stage a protest to demand action on climate change, holding cutouts of U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the waters of Botafogo Bay, ahead of the Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 17, 2024

Biden weighs fossil fuel finance curbs that could outlast Trump

Landing the deal is seen as essential to deliver on a promise Biden made during his first year in the White House.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmental lawyer known for his anti-science stances, lacks public health experience and has a history of promoting harmful conspiracy theories, such as anti-vaccine activism.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2024

RFK Jr.’s junk science will put every American at risk

His promotion of bizarre conspiracy theories could turn the government into an “accelerant for misinformation.”
Motohiko Saito makes a speech following his reelection Sunday as governor of Hyogo Prefecture, a position he lost after the prefectural assembly unanimously passed a no-confidence vote against him in September.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 18, 2024

Hyogo governor reelected following ouster by assembly over harassment

Motohiko Saito garnered popular support despite strong opposition from political parties and a majority of Hyogo’s city mayors.
Rice fields in the town of Ozu, Kumamoto Prefecture. The water-filled paddies glistening under the sun is a symbol of a long-running effort to preserve the prefecture’s groundwater.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Nov 17, 2024

Japan's chipmaking rush pressures Kumamoto's special water supply

TSMC and others hope that support for existing projects and proper wastewater management can avoid undermining water development efforts lauded by the U.N.
Kim Jong Un shakes hands with Vladimir Putin in 2019.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 18, 2024

North Korea may end up sending Putin 100,000 troops for war

North Korea sending troops to join Russia’s fight against Ukraine has alarmed Kyiv’s allies, who say it risks exacerbating Europe’s largest conflict since World War II.
A Ukrainian rescuer works to extinguish a fire in a building following a drone attack in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, on Sunday.
WORLD
Nov 18, 2024

Massive Russian air attack pounds Ukraine as 1,000th day of war nears

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow had launched 120 missiles and almost 100 drones.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (right) and First Lady Rosangela da Silva attend the Independence Day military parade in Brasilia, Brazil, on Sept. 7, 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 18, 2024

Lula’s wife curses out Elon Musk on eve of Brazil’s G20

Brazil's first lady took aim at the billionaire owner of the X platform at an event while talking about the need to regulate social media networks and combat fake news.
A poster in the Tamil language advertises smartphone assembly roles outside a shop in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, in India, on Oct. 28.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 18, 2024

Foxconn tells India recruiters: Nix marital status in iPhone job ads

The move follows an investigation published June 25 that found Foxconn excluded married women from jobs at its main India iPhone assembly plant.
Japan’s megabanks have resumed trading activities with Nomura Holdings, people with knowledge of the matter said.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 18, 2024

Nomura's trading clients return after market manipulation probe

Many of the firms returned to Nomura after the brokerage explained measures it is taking to prevent a recurrence of the breach, sources said.
A screenshot of a health ministry website that allows people to easily calculate the amount of time it takes for their body to break down the alcohol they have consumed
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 18, 2024

Japan ministry launches website to estimate alcohol breakdown time

The “Alcohol Watch” website allows people to enter the type and amount of drinks they consumed to calculate how long it will take for the alcohol to break down.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a news conference at the European Political Community summit in Budapest on Nov. 7.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 18, 2024

Ukraine’s allies are leaning on Zelenskyy for a way to end the war

There is increasing recognition that Kyiv will have to compromise with Moscow because it has become clear that neither side can secure a decisive victory.
Since inmates with mental disabilities often repeat similar offenses after a short period of time — partly due to a lack of necessary support — increased help from staffers with specialized knowledge is becoming crucial.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 18, 2024

Ministry ramps up support for prisoners with mental disabilities in Japan

One of the main targets is to reduce the recidivism rate, which tends to be higher for prisoners with mental and developmental disabilities.
Komeito chief Tetsuo Saito says the party needs to "return to where it started so as to regain power" during a news conference in Hiroshima on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 19, 2024

Komeito's clean, pacifist image fades after 60 years

Komeito has faced a conundrum in choosing between upholding its founding philosophy and staying in the coalition government.
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Nov 19, 2024

Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby

Up to 17 teams are slated to join this year’s Asian Japanese Rugby Cup tournament in Malaysia on Dec. 14.
The number of visitors to Mount Fuji has exploded in recent years and authorities have struggled to reduce the environmental impact.
JAPAN
Nov 18, 2024

Yamanashi officially scraps Fuji railway plan as it looks to Chinese tram

Authorities are eyeing a transport system developed by China's state-owned railway company CRRC, as well as alternatives from Japanese firms.
Haruna Kojima sings at an event held in Central Park, New York, in 2015 as a member of the AKB48 pop group.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 19, 2024

Chinese man suspected of stalking celebrity Haruna Kojima

The man is suspected of ambushing Haruna Kojima several times since around August, including near event venues in Tokyo.
Leaders of over 70 universities and research institutions from Japan and India attended a forum in New Delhi in mid-October.
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2024

Japan's public and private sectors seek workers from India

The number of technical trainees and what are known as specified skilled workers coming from India to Japan has been on the rise in recent years.
A Palestinian man searches for clothes through the rubble of a house destroyed in the Israeli military offensive, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, on Monday.
WORLD
Nov 19, 2024

Gazans rebuild homes from rubble as winter looms

Many are scrambling to prepare shelters with limited resources, anticipating the cold winter nights in the besieged territory.
A view inside Beijing Daxing International Airport. Japanese nationals could soon visit China without a visa for up to 15 days, according to reports.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 19, 2024

China may soon resume visa exemptions for Japanese nationals, reports say

The news comes as the two countries work toward mending fences after a period of tension and in the face of rising protectionist threats.

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan