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Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 26, 2024

Hong Kong scraps early release for national security convicts

The new law came into force Saturday, putting into immediate effect tough penalties of up to life imprisonment for certain national security crimes.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visits a church outside Moscow on Sunday, a national day of mourning following the attack on the Crocus City Hall on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 26, 2024

Putin forgot Islamic State thinks he too is the West

The leader portrays Russia as a victim of Western imperialism, but the Islamic State terrorists who attacked Moscow on Friday reject this narrative.
High school students visit seawalls in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, on Thursday during a weeklong tour of areas hit by the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in the prefecture.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 26, 2024

Students from wildfire-struck Hawaii learn about disaster recovery in Miyagi

The students visited four municipalities in Miyagi Prefecture to study their efforts to rebuild following the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami.
Afghan evacuees arrive at Narita International Airport in October 2021. Applicants from Afghanistan made up the majority of those recognized as refugees by the Japanese government last year, similar to 2022.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 26, 2024

Japan granted refugee status to record 303 asylum-seekers in 2023

While this is a jump from the 202 people in 2022 and a new record high, the number is still considerably lower when compared with Western countries.
Kim Yo Jong, who serves as a top adviser to her brother, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said Tuesday that Pyongyang had ruled out holding a leaders' summit with Japan.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 26, 2024

North Korea rules out summit with Japan and rejects more talks

The sister of leader Kim Jong Un said that a meeting was not of interest to the North, alluding to Tokyo's unyielding stance on the abductions issue.
Saudi Arabia fans cheer on the national team during a World Cup qualifying match in Riyadh on March 21.
SOCCER / World cup
Mar 27, 2024

Ten years from home World Cup, Saudi Arabia sizes up 'huge challenge'

As the only bidder, Saudi Arabia was anointed host of the 2034 World Cup last October by FIFA.
At least 139 people were killed when gunmen in camouflage stormed Crocus City Hall. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the mass shooting.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 27, 2024

Russia's security chief accuses Ukraine, U.S. and U.K. of being behind Moscow shooting

Hardliners in Moscow could use the claim to justify an escalation of the Ukraine war and to explain how security services failed to prevent the attack.
Japanese chocolatier Yasushi Sasaki holds a box of chocolates in his workshop in the Brussels commune of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 27, 2024

A Japanese 'flavor wizard' conquers the homeland of chocolate

Yasushi Sasaki has been named Brussels' chocolatier of the year by the prestigious Gault & Millau food guide.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 27, 2024

Concerns mount after two deaths linked to Kobayashi Pharma supplement

A government probe is being conducted to establish whether the supplement, which contains beni kо̄ji red fermented rice, led to the deaths.
The U.K. government acknowledged in November that AI was already affecting jobs in the finance and insurance sector.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 27, 2024

U.K. stands to lose 8 million jobs from AI, analysis warns

AI already impacts 11% of tasks done by U.K. staff, a figure that could rise to almost 60% if firms integrate the technology more deeply.
Demonstrators on Tuesday in Washington, where the U.S. Supreme Court signaled it's likely to preserve full access to a widely used abortion pill as the justices heard arguments in a case carrying major stakes for reproductive rights and potentially this year's elections.
WORLD / Society
Mar 27, 2024

Judges' mention of 1873 obscenity law opens new front in U.S. war on abortion

Those opposed to the womens' health procedure cite the law as a reason to roll back a 2021 FDA decision allowing an abortion drug to be sent by mail.
Thailand Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin's administration has made LGBT marriage a signature issue.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Mar 27, 2024

Bill to legalize same-sex marriage in Thailand heads to parliament

Taiwan and Nepal are the only places in Asia that currently recognize same-sex marriage, and efforts elsewhere in the region have had mixed results.
Nissan is leveraging its e-Power hybrid technology in Tunisia as Africa is not ready in terms of infrastructure availability of electricity.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 27, 2024

Nissan to test African demand for its e-Power hybrid vehicle

Africa is the world's last remaining automotive frontier due to the low level of vehicle ownership.
Maritime Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Adm. Ryo Sakai during a news conference at the Defense Ministry on Tuesday
JAPAN / Society
Mar 27, 2024

Japan MSDF punishes two officers for 'power harassment'

One was hit with a three-month suspension, while the other will see his pay cut by one-sixth for one month.
Tesla Model 3 assembly line at Tesla's factory in Fremont, California, in 2018. Before the Shanghai plant opened, Fremont was Tesla’s principal factory.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 27, 2024

A pivot to China saved Elon Musk. It also binds him to Beijing.

Musk is now treading a fine line, sounding the alarm about Chinese rivals, even as he remains reliant on the Chinese market.
The mortality rate of junior high school graduates is around 1.4 times higher than that of those who graduated from universities, according to a survey by the National Cancer Center Japan, indicating that risk factors differ depending on education level.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 28, 2024

Estimated mortality rates by education level released in Japan

A gap between junior high school graduates and those who went through higher education has been found.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares to address a joint session of parliament in New Delhi in June 2019.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 27, 2024

Making sense of society

In a world that is becoming fragmented within and across countries, it is easy to lose hope for social and economic progress.
Joel Vaudreuil's "When Adam Changes" won the grand prix at this year's Niigata International Animation Film Festival, the largest festival devoted to feature-length animation in Asia.
CULTURE / Film / CULTURE SMASH
Mar 28, 2024

Niigata film festival showcases cutting-edge overseas talent

The six-day event dedicated to feature-length animation presented a lineup of stories that were psychologically rich and emotionally dark.
Thailand's parliament passed a same-sex marriage bill on Wednesday, paving the way for the kingdom to become the first Southeast Asian nation to recognize LGBTQ marriage equality.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 28, 2024

Thailand passes bill to legalize same-sex marriage

Legalizing same-sex marriage could also have positive impact on tourism, which contributes about 12% to the nation’s $500 billion economy.
A Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The Jan. 5 blowout incident plunged Boeing into a new crisis five years after the second of two fatal crashes grounded the MAX.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 28, 2024

How Boeing's leadership was 'fired' by its own customers

With Boeing's major U.S. customers calling for a meeting without CEO Dave Calhoun, the company preempted their demands with a major upheaval.
 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem on Feb. 18.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 28, 2024

Israel asks U.S. to reschedule scrapped meeting on Rafah military plans

Rafah is the last relatively safe haven for Palestinian civilians amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Myanmar's military high ranking officials attend a ceremony to mark the country's 78th Armed Forces Day in Naypyidaw on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 28, 2024

Myanmar army behind Facebook pages spewing hate speech: U.N. probe

In 2021, Rohingya refugees sued Facebook for $150 billion (¥22.6 trillion), claiming it had failed to stem the hate speech directed against them.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga (left) and Yuichiro Tamaki (right), leader of the Democratic Party for the People, hold a party leaders' debate in June 2021.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 28, 2024

Is Japan-style 'question time' facing abolition in parliament?

Both ruling and opposition parties have shown a lack of enthusiasm for holding such events, with some forces even advocating for its abolition.
The Barbados-flagged bulk carrier vessel True Confidence in Ravenna, Italy, in 2022
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 28, 2024

Deaths on Houthi-ravaged vessel herald perilous era for Middle East shipping

The experience of the True Confidence shows the threat to the oil tankers, cargo carriers and seafarers who are still using this vital waterway for trade.
Inmates in a cell at the Counter-Terrorism Confinement Centre mega-prison southeast of San Salvador on Aug. 21, 2023.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 28, 2024

El Salvador's two-year push has crushed street gangs but at a high price

Deployment of the military and police dealt a heavy blow to the structures of the gangs but at the cost of human rights, and poverty remains a major issue.
JAPAN / Science & Health / EXPLAINER
Mar 28, 2024

What we know so far about Kobayashi Pharma's supplement deaths

The Osaka-based drugmaker is finding itself under further scrutiny as the search to pinpoint the cause of the deaths continues.
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani celebrates with outfielder Teoscar Hernandez after an opening day win against the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Thursday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 29, 2024

'Sho-time' at last as Ohtani delights in Dodgers home debut

The 29-year-old did enough in a 7-1 victory to suggest that the Dodgers' money was well spent.
Russia's Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya described the panel as unjustified in the absence of an annual review to assess and potentially modify the sanctions on North Korea.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 29, 2024

Russian veto ends monitoring of U.N.'s North Korea sanctions

Ukraine's foreign minister called the veto "a guilty plea" amid allegations that Pyongyang is aiding Moscow in its war against Kyiv.
FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried attends his sentencing hearing at Federal Court in New York on Thursday in this courtroom sketch.
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2024

Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years over FTX collapse

While there is no parole in the federal system, Bankman-Fried could be released a few years early for good behavior.
The 2024 grand prix winner was Zerogravity, a marine activity provider with a focus on accessible tours and accommodation.
LIFE / Travel
Mar 29, 2024

Japan Travel Awards promote inclusive tourism

While currently far from a global player, the Japan Travel Awards is filling a void for recommendations on forward-looking travel-centric organizations.

Longform

"Shake hands with Lima-chan," a statue that shares the name of the Peruvian capital looks in the direction of Peru, where a sister statue, "Sakura-chan," is located. Erected in Yokohama's Rinko Park in 1999, it commemorates Peruvian-Japanese friendship.
The journey of Peru’s Nikkei: Finding identity in Japan