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Paris Saint-Germain fans ahead of a match against AC Milan last month
SOCCER
Nov 9, 2023

Amazon under fire over homophobic slurs in broadcast of PSG game

During the Sept. 24 match between bitter Ligue 1 rivals, thousands of PSG supporters chanted homophobic slogans referring to their opponents.
Staff at the Tokyo Legacy Half Marathon 2023 collect used paper cups after the event on Oct. 15.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 9, 2023

Japanese paper-makers pioneer domestic recycling of paper cups

Until now paper cups have typically been discarded as flammable waste, but are made from high quality pulp that can be reused.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 9, 2023

Kishida rules out snap election amid record low popularity

The prime minister has once again ruled out a snap election as he faces record low popularity ratings and growing criticism from within his own party.
Tokyo retained third behind London and New York in this year's Global Power City Index (GPCI) report.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 9, 2023

Tokyo remains third in global power index despite downturn

Among other Japan cities, Osaka ranked 37th while Fukuoka placed 42nd in the index.
Humane has officially launched its long-awaited Ai Pin. The device will be available to order starting Nov. 16.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 10, 2023

Humane's Ai Pin launches its campaign to replace phones

The device can magnetically clip onto clothing and will cost $699 with a $24-a-month subscription — which will come with unlimited data and phone calls.
Billionaire Yusaku Maezawa attends a news conference after returning to Japan following a 12-day journey into space, in Tokyo, in January 2022.
JAPAN
Nov 10, 2023

Yusaku Maezawa's lunar orbital trip postponed indefinitely

His craft's development is still incomplete, after the rocket blew up immediately after blasting off in an unmanned test-launch in April.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands as they meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on Nov. 14, 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 10, 2023

Biden, Xi and other things to watch at next week's APEC summit

The event will mark a key moment for Chinese President Xi Jinping who is making his first visit to U.S. soil since 2017.
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin during a committee hearing in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 10, 2023

Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Manchin will not seek re-election in 2024

The move by the 76-year-old lawmaker will make it very difficult for Democrats to defend the West Virginia seat.
Kyoto’s Tofukuji temple is a notable place for viewing multicolored fall foliage.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 10, 2023

The culture, customs and vocabulary of Japan’s fall season

The changing colors of Japan’s foliage have been a prominent part of the culture since the Nara Period when they inspired artists.
A JD.com advertisement in Beijing promoting the Singles Day shopping festival
BUSINESS
Nov 10, 2023

China’s Singles Day downbeat amid slumping consumer confidence

Shoppers are increasingly seeking value, looking for cheaper brands amid an overall mood of restraint.
Yoon Suk-yeol, then the 2022 presidential election candidate of South Korea's main opposition People Power Party, attends a news conference in Seoul in November 2021.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 10, 2023

President’s war against ‘fake news’ raises alarms in South Korea

Critics say South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol is silencing journalists in the name of fighting disinformation.
As of the end of March 2022, only 48% of all water pipes in Tokyo were quake-proof.
JAPAN
Nov 16, 2023

Tokyo to install quake-resistant pipe joints to avoid water outages

As of the end of March 2022, only 48% of all water pipes in Tokyo were quake-proof.
Destroyed buildings in Gaza on Thursday amid ongoing battles between Israeli forces and the Hamas militant group.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 10, 2023

Why are oil prices falling while war rages in the Middle East?

Intense fighting is underway in a region that holds much of the world’s petroleum resources. Yet, energy markets have been slumping.
Director Wim Wenders served as president of the competition jury at this year's Tokyo International Film Festival. Wenders' "Perfect Days," which opened the festival and features Koji Yakusho as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo, is Japan’s nominee for the Academy Awards’ best international feature film category.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 11, 2023

'Perfect Days' and '(Ab)normal Desire' turn heads at Tokyo International Film Festival

Wim Wenders' film opened the event, while Yoshiyuki Kishi’s multilayered drama made a splash, taking both the Audience Award and the best director prize.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 10, 2023

Japan opposition CDP vows to provide tax cuts and benefits

The proposal did not include a goal of lowering the consumption tax rate from 10% to 5% temporarily, which was a campaign pledge of the CDP.
The world’s carbon footprint is split into three roughly equal portions: China, all developed nations and the rest of the world.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 10, 2023

How China’s downturn could save the world

The world’s carbon footprint is split into three roughly equal portions: China, all developed nations and the rest of the world.
A newly built floating solar plant that can generate 192 megawatts of peak electricity, on Thursday at Cirata Reservoir, Indonesia.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Nov 10, 2023

U.S. and EU lead push for COP28 to endorse tripling of renewables

Nearly 60 countries, including Japan, are backing the targets to be included in the outcome of the U.N.’s upcoming COP28 talks in Dubai.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (from left), U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh ahead of their bilateral meetings in New Delhi on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 11, 2023

U.S. pulling India closer to West as strategic interests converge

At “two-plus-two” talks Friday, the nations' top diplomats and defense chiefs agreed to accelerate defense-industrial collaboration.
A man walks past a giant piece of driftwood on the shoreline of Tepuka, in the Funafuti atoll, in Tuvalu.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 11, 2023

Australia signs security and migration pact with Pacific's Tuvalu

Canberra's security guarantee will allow it to respond to military aggression, protect the nation from climate change and boost migration.
SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher speaks as she is flanked by Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA's executive director and chief negotiator, during a news conference following the end of the Screen Actors Guild strike in Los Angeles on Friday.
BUSINESS
Nov 11, 2023

Actors union explains AI guardrails in strike deal

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) reached a deal with studios like Disney and Netflix this week to end its nearly four-month strike.
Charles Q. Brown Jr.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 11, 2023

Top U.S. general doubts China's Xi planning to take Taiwan by force

Charles Q. Brown Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Chinese leader would "try to use other ways to do this.”
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 12, 2023

China confirms 12-year jail sentence for Japanese man in spying case

In China, 17 Japanese people have been detained under the anti-espionage law that went into effect in 2014.
A German Leopard 1A5 main battle tank like those supplied to Ukraine
WORLD
Nov 12, 2023

Germany set to double Ukraine military aid under Scholz plan, source says

If approved by parliament, the boost would lift Germany's defense spending to 2.1% of its gross domestic product target.
Wind turbines along the crest of a hill at the Martin de la Jara wind farm, operated by Iberdrola SA, in the Martin de la Jara district of Sevilla, Spain, in April 2023
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Nov 13, 2023

U.S. and EU lead push for COP28 to back tripling of renewables

More than 60 countries are said to be backing the targets to be included in the outcome of the U.N.’s forthcoming COP28 talks in Dubai.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 13, 2023

E-scooter startup wins over Japanese regulators who confounded Uber

Tokyo-based Luup controls more than 90% of the country’s shared e-scooter market in terms of ride mileage, based on government-compiled data.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 13, 2023

State minister of finance resigns in further blow to Kishida

Kenji Kanda submitted his resignation after admitting that his firm had failed to pay fixed asset taxes.
The curtain is closing on the Lee dynasty's leadership of Singapore. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced his resignation, which could come next year, and the handing of power to deputy Lawrence Wong.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 10, 2023

Singapore contemplates the end of the Lee political era

Prime minister Lee Hsien Loong has announced his resignation, marking the end of his dynasty's leadership and a new chapter in Singapore's politics.
Nepali security personnel stand guard at Pokhara International Airport in Pokhara, Nepal, ahead of the arrival of the first international flight from China on June 21.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 13, 2023

Nepal is investigating new airport made by China

A few engineers who had worked on the airport said that building quality had been compromised and that the project’s infrastructure was not sound.
Alex Zhavoronkov, founder and chairman of Insilico Medicine, poses at his research facility in Suzhou, China, on Oct. 31.
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 14, 2023

Race for first drug discovered by AI nears key milestone

Insilico Medicine's AI-developed drug for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is in midstage trials in the U.S. and China.
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Group of 20 leaders summit in Bali, Indonesia, on Nov. 14, 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 14, 2023

Biden and Xi look to put floor under strained U.S.-China ties

The two leaders will have a laundry list of concerns to discuss, but the talks are unlikely to yield any dramatic breakthroughs.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear