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Emperor Naruhito greets newly appointed reconstruction minister Shinako Tsuchiya during the attestation ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Wednesday following Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Cabinet reshuffle.
EDITORIALS
Sep 15, 2023

Kishida's Cabinet shuffle will make little difference

It will take more than new faces — and inexperienced ministers — to address the issues that bedevil the Kishida government and the country.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un receives a send-off as he departs by train from Pyongyang for a visit to Russia on Sunday.
COMMENTARY
Sep 15, 2023

North Korea’s newfound confidence is a dangerous and challenging thing

It is increasingly clear that Pyongyang has been emboldened by the formation of a new anti-U.S. bloc, prompting it to reach out to Beijing and Moscow.
Ryo Onishi’s debut feature “Feelingscape” tells a slice-of-life story about a blind man struggling to connect to others while affirming his agency.
CULTURE
Sep 16, 2023

‘Feelingscape’: Ordinary lives made poignant

Ryo Onishi’s debut feature about a man living with a visual disability and his relationships goes into close detail that is both rare and revealing.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 16, 2023

Appointment fuels speculation of LDP-Komeito-DPP coalition

On Friday, Wakako Yata, a former lawmaker who previously served as vice president of the DPP, was named special adviser to the prime minister.
A woman walks past a roadside television screen reporting the death of Johnny Kitagawa, founder of Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates, in Tokyo in July 2019.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 16, 2023

Johnny's sex abuse scandal causing TV sponsors to reconsider

A growing number of Japanese companies have been rethinking their involvement as sponsors of television programs starring members of Johnny & Associates.
A visitor looks at portraits of former United Nations Secretaries-General at U.N. headquarters ahead of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 17, 2023

World disappointed by the U.N. now looks elsewhere for answers

If the body's strongest members keep resisting reform, the Global South may have no choice but to seek new options, including those offered by China.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Family Research Council and FRC Action annual Pray Vote Stand Summit in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 17, 2023

Sinner, savior or both? Trump woos evangelicals and women

Despite the legal, moral and sexual escapades of the Republican front-runner, support among his devotees remains strong.
Ichiro Miyashita arrives at the Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday after being named the new minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries in a Cabinet reshuffle the same day.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 17, 2023

Japan aiming to diversify export markets to cut risks

New agriculture minister Ichiro Miyashita has expressed his intention to work on diversifying export destinations to reduce risks.
A United Auto Workers (UAW) union member holds a sign to mark the beginning of contract negotiations in Sterling Heights, Michigan, in July.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 17, 2023

U.S. auto talks at 'critical phase' as political pressure grows

Workers at all Big Three automakers are coordinating for the first time, with demands such as a 40% pay increase over a four-year contract.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shakes hands with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu after receiving a gift at their luncheon during Kim's visit to the port of Vladivostok, Russia, on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 17, 2023

North Korea's Kim talks up defense ties as Russia trip concludes

Both countries hinted at the “strategic importance” of bilateral ties during Kim's visit — despite U.S. warnings against any arms deals.
Yasutoshi Nishimura
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2023

Minister vows to counter misinformation over Fukushima water release

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings started to release the treated water on Aug. 24.
On average, women spend more time on housework than men.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 18, 2023

It’s time for women to quit housework (again)

Women of the world unite in dedicating more time to yourselves and less to housework. Men might learn something along the way, too.
Striking UAW autoworkers demonstrate at a rally in downtown Detroit on Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Sep 18, 2023

How auto executives misread the UAW and ignited a historic strike

UAW president Shawn Fain’s aggressiveness reflects the mood of the American worker: anxious about job security and angry about a ballooning wealth gap.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has described the climate crisis as a fossil fuel crisis.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 18, 2023

California files lawsuit against energy firms over climate crisis

The move follows the world’s hottest summer on record, in which the state grappled with wildfires, blistering heat, drought, severe storms and flooding.
A Taiwanese pilot runs toward an F-16V fighter jet for an evening take off as part of a combat readiness mission at the airbase in Hualien, Taiwan, in August last year.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 18, 2023

Taiwan detects 'recent high' 103 Chinese warplanes near island

The incident happened hours after China's top envoy told the U.S. national security adviser that Taiwan is "the first red line that must not be crossed."
Identifying a sustainable product can involve evaluating claims about emissions, plastic use, water waste and packaging recyclability.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Sep 19, 2023

Regulators are trying to stop greenwashing before it gets worse

The range of agencies tackling dubious sustainability claims is indicative of its ambiguity and breadth.
Tennis star Rafael Nadal attends a Spanish first-division soccer match between Real Madrid and Real Sociedad in Madrid on Sunday.
TENNIS
Sep 19, 2023

Rafael Nadal still aiming to finish career in 2024

The Spaniard had two surgeries on his hip injury, one of which he announced publicly in June and was set to take around five months to heal.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2023

Two workers killed after accident at Tokyo construction site

The workers were caught up in the incident when steel beams fell from the seventh floor to the third floor of the site in Nihonbashi, Chuo Ward.
Victor Wembanyama is expected to make his regular-season debut for San Antonio on Oct. 25.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Sep 19, 2023

Victor Wembanyama targeting Spurs playoff berth in first season

San Antonio last played in the postseason in the 2018-19 campaign.
Couples prepare to have their photo taken during a wedding photography shoot on a in Shanghai on Sept. 6.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 19, 2023

Fewer 'I dos' ruin the party for China's $500 billion wedding industry

The trend is worrying officials trying to revive marriage rates and birth rates, which dropped to record lows last year.
Pacific Island Forum Secretary General Henry Puna
WORLD / Politics
Sep 19, 2023

Pacific island nations to hold second summit with Biden next week

Henry Puna of the Pacific Islands Forum said the region had gone from a period of neglect to one of strategic interest, competition and "manipulation."
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives at a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa on Monday in New York.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 19, 2023

Japan’s new top diplomat makes international debut

On the sidelines to the U.N. General Assembly sidelines, new Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa gets off to a quick start.
The Bank of Japan's headquarters in Tokyo
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 19, 2023

The Bank of Japan faces a monetary policy conundrum

The BOJ may need to interpret the 2% price stability target more flexibly.
A specialist removes a Kirin 9000s chip fabricated in China by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) from a Huawei Technologies Mate 60 Pro smartphone earlier this month.
BUSINESS / Tech / ANALYSIS
Sep 20, 2023

U.S. likely to tighten tech curbs as China advances chip production

The chips powering a new Huawei phone represent a jump forward in China’s chipmaking capability as it boosts efforts to catch up with rivals.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 20, 2023

Zelenskyy tells U.N. it has stake against Russia 'genocide'

The Ukrainian president renewed an invitation for world leaders to join a "peace summit" to end the war on Kyiv's terms.
An image of Jathedar Hardeep Singh Nijjar at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, on Tuesday. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has demanded that India treat Canada's allegations of Nijjar's killing with "utmost seriousness."
WORLD / Politics
Sep 20, 2023

Canada worked closely with U.S. on India's possible link to killing: source

U.S. authorities, earlier on Tuesday, said they supported Canada's investigation.
Many of the wealthy in Japan are becoming more keen to park their cash in private assets like equity, credit and real estate that aren't traded in public markets.
BUSINESS
Sep 20, 2023

Brokers tap demand for private assets among Japan's wealthy

Private assets are booming globally after decades-high inflation and rapid interest-rate hikes weighed on both shares and bonds.
Migrants arrive in the harbor of the Italian island of Lampedusa. On Monday, Italy extended its detention periods for illegal migrants to deter arrivals after record boat crossings from North Africa.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 20, 2023

Italy changes tack on EU naval mission, repurposed as blockade

Critics say pushing back boats would violate international asylum rules and the European Convention on Human Rights.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S President Joe Biden during a state dinner at the White House in Washington in June
WORLD / Politics
Sep 20, 2023

Trudeau’s murder claim risks upending U.S. courtship of India

The allegations leave U.S. President Joe Biden caught between one of the U.S.' closest allies and an increasingly important partner in countering China.
A cross-section illustration of the second Seikan Tunnel proposed by the Japan Project-Industry Council
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Sep 25, 2023

Is the plan to build a second Seikan Tunnel realistic?

Advocates suggest shorter travel times and revitalized communities, while critics worry about the price tag.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan