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Maestro Seiji Ozawa (center) lays flowers at the cenotaph for atomic bomb victims at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in October 2005.
JAPAN / History / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Sep 9, 2024

Maestro Seiji Ozawa’s prayer for peace lives on in Hiroshima

His musical roots — and passion — can be traced back to the city where the first atomic bomb was detonated.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi announces his candidacy in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 3, 2024

Yoshimasa Hayashi announces candidacy in LDP leadership race

The chief cabinet secretary has proposed a new independent agency to regulate the financing of electoral campaigns.
Hiromi Kawakami’s “Under the Eye of the Big Bird” takes place in a future where humans have developed genetic mutations that allow them to read minds and have powers of prescience.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 3, 2024

'Under the Eye of the Big Bird': Hiromi Kawakami's speculative future sets civilization adrift

The author reimagines sexual reproduction, family ties and societal roles in a passionless world that is neither a dystopia nor an improvement on reality.
Nippon Steel headquarters in Tokyo. Nippon Steel said last month that it would make an additional investment of about $1.3 billion in U.S. Steel following the takeover.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 3, 2024

Nippon Steel defends its U.S. Steel bid after Harris' opposition

Nippon Steel released a statement Tuesday arguing that the Japanese firm's planned acquisition of U.S. Steel would benefit the United States.
Linda Sun, a former aide to New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul, exits Brooklyn Federal court after she was charged with acting as an unregistered agent of China’s government in New York on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 4, 2024

Ex-aide to New York governor charged with acting as Chinese agent

Federal prosecutors said Linda Sun was acting as an agent of the Chinese government in exchange for millions of dollars in compensation and gifts.
Nvidia shares got zapped by 9.5% on Tuesday, wiping out $278.9 billion in the biggest loss of value ever for a U.S. stock.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 4, 2024

Nvidia suffers record $279 billion rout as stocks sink

Chipmakers touched off another bout of selling after industry analysts rekindled worries that the mania surrounding artificial intelligence had gone too far.
A woman uses her mobile phone while holding a placard reading "STOP 5G" during a protest against 5G technology, in Bucharest, Romania, in 2020.
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 4, 2024

No link between mobile phones and brain cancer, WHO-backed study says

The findings even apply to people who make long phone calls or those who have used mobile phones for more than a decade.
Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba attends a news conference in Kyiv in April.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 4, 2024

Ukraine foreign minister resigns amid war's biggest reshuffle

The resignation comes amid a major shake-up at a critical juncture for Ukraine and leaves over a third of the cabinet vacant after sackings earlier this year.
Vladimir Putin meets with schoolchildren in Kyzyl, Russia, on Monday, in a photo released by Russian state media.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 4, 2024

Putin is spending big to shape Russia’s youth in his own image

At some universities in Russia, students attend compulsory courses in the "fundamentals of Russian statehood” that were introduced last year to promote patriotism.
Yahya Sinwar, head of the political wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, speaks during a meeting in Gaza City on April 30, 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 4, 2024

U.S. unseals 'terrorism' charges against Hamas leaders

Six leaders of Hamas are accused of "conspiracy to provide material support for acts of terrorism resulting in death" along with six other counts.
The third straight annual rise in medical fees reflected Japan's aging population and the increased use of advanced medical equipment and technologies.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 4, 2024

Japan medical costs hit record high in fiscal year 2023

The third straight annual rise reflected the country's aging population and the increased use of advanced medical equipment and technologies.
Volkswagen Chief Executive Officer Oliver Blume speaks at a Volkswagen media event in Beijing on April 24.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 4, 2024

From peace-maker to taboo-breaker, VW boss Blume takes on the unions

Volkswagen disclosed it was not only planning to scrap a 30-year old job security plan, but weighing the closure of plants in Germany.
Uber is working with Royal Limousine and Times Mobility to conduct a trial to allow ordinary drivers to offer ride-hailing services even if they do not own vehicles.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2024

Uber Japan tests use of car-sharing vehicles for ride-hailing services

The aim of the trial, which will run through Nov. 30, is to make it easier for drivers to get into the business.
Empty shelves of rice are pictured in a supermarket in Tokyo on Aug. 27 with a notice asking customers to buy one brand a day for a family.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2024

Agricultural Ministry holds meeting on rice shortage in stores

As of the end of June, private-sector rice inventories in the country stood at 1.56 million metric tons, the lowest since comparable data became available in 1999.
A drone view shows a residential building heavily damaged during a Russian drone and missile strike in Lviv, Ukraine, on Wednesday.
WORLD
Sep 4, 2024

Russian air attack kills seven in Ukraine's Lviv, regional officials say

Among those killed in Lviv by the drone and missile attack was a 14-year-old girl, with five children among the injured.
Passersby outside Shinjuku Station in Tokyo on July 29. A new analysis has found that Japan's extreme heat in July would have been "almost impossible" without climate change.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / Boiling Point
Sep 4, 2024

Japan's record heat in July 'almost impossible' without climate change

Heavy rainfall that caused severe floods the same month was also exacerbated by global warming, according to a new analysis.
Alimentation Couche-Tard’s bid to acquire Japan’s Seven & I Holdings has sparked discussions about Japan’s approach to foreign investment and whether rejecting or accepting the bid reflects an openness to international business.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 4, 2024

7-Eleven deserves more than shareholder supremacy

While Japan should consider investor interests, it should not forsake the broader social and community benefits that its businesses provide.
The shutdown of Elon Musk's X has drawn parallels with authoritarian regimes, damaging Brazil’s international reputation and raising concerns about judicial overreach.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 4, 2024

Shutting off Elon Musk won't help Brazil's democracy

While regulating hate speech is complex, the approach by Brazil's Supreme Court might be excessive and counterproductive.
Weighting the total number of medals won by each country by value — three points for gold, two for silver and one for bronze — reveals that the 12 countries with the highest medal count in Paris are all advanced economies.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 4, 2024

The geopolitics of Olympic medals

A larger population offers a broader talent pool, and economic development supports better sports infrastructure and policies.
Beyond losing the American market, China is losing some of its own manufacturing companies, which are shifting parts of their production to countries such as Vietnam and Mexico to avoid U.S. tariffs.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 4, 2024

The rise and coming fall of Chinese manufacturing

Despite China's significant investments in technology, the decline of its manufacturing sector seems inevitable.
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi announces his candidacy for leadership of the party in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 4, 2024

In leadership bid, LDP Secretary-General Motegi says no tax hikes

He pledges to tackle Japan’s sluggish economy without increasing the burden on taxpayers and abolish the contentious "funds for political activities."
Takaaki Saito enters the Metropolitan Police Department's Fukagawa Police Station in Koto Ward, Tokyo, on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 4, 2024

Trio trying to pay off supercar debt arrested for alleged fraud

The trio is believed to have created a total of 34 credit cards in the names of nine people using personal information they obtained.
A young woman visiting a rural backwater from Tokyo (An Ogawa) finds an unlikely playmate in Tatsunari Ota’s “There Is a Stone.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 5, 2024

‘There Is a Stone’ finds beauty in the inconsequential

While very little happens, Tatsunari Ota’s slow-moving debut feature offers stirring moments of simplicity.
A Palestinian child is vaccinated against polio in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
WORLD
Sep 5, 2024

Polio vaccines give Gaza families an all-too-brief respite from war

One Gazan mother wondered what good the polio vaccination campaign could do when her children would soon face more air strikes and shelling.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris at a campaign event at the Throwback Brewery, in North Hampton, New Hampshire, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 5, 2024

Harris' debate plan: Call out Trump and create social media moments

Vice President Kamala Harris' team believes many will watch the debate as video clips on social media platforms like TikTok and X.
Damaged buildings in the Mellah, or Jewish quarter of Marrakech, Morocco, in October 2023, in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake the previous month.
WORLD / Society
Sep 5, 2024

One year on, Morocco's quake victims still wait for homes

The 6.8 magnitude quake killed more than 2,900 people and damaged vital infrastructure.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan greet the press before welcoming leaders from African countries in Beijing on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 5, 2024

Debt woes and funding needs in focus as China hosts African leaders

Africa and its ample mineral and oil resources have become the focus of intense geopolitical competition in recent years.
Pasocom Music Club’s “Love Flutter” marks an important moment for Japan’s electronic community as project members Aoi Shibata (left) and Masato Nishiyama step into a role other artists once held for them — scene veterans who are inspiring the next generation.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 5, 2024

Pasocom Music Club returns to the pure pleasures of the dance floor

For the Kansai-born duo, new album “Love Flutter” isn’t just an evolution of its sound — it’s the next step in pushing the boundaries of electronic music.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appears at a joint news conference in Kyiv on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 5, 2024

Cabinet shake-up suggests Zelenskyy is planning for ‘new phase of the war,’ analysts say

Observers say the reshuffle, which comes at a dynamic moment in the war, had been in the works for months.
A sumo referee performs the dohyō matsuri, or ring purification ceremony, in January 2017 at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Sep 5, 2024

No talking, no eating, no standing: Inside sumo's ring purification ceremony

Spectators are required to stay seated for its duration, and refrain from using flash when taking photos.

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A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami