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An unveiled woman stands on top of a vehicle on Oct. 26, 2022, as thousands make their way toward Aichi cemetery in Saqez, Mahsa Amini's hometown in the western Iranian province of Kurdistan, to mark 40 days since her death.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 14, 2023

Year after protests, Iran even more toxic for U.S.

Amini died on September 16, 2022, after her arrest in Tehran for an alleged breach of the strict dress code imposed on women by the clerical leadership.
Olive producers check a tree surrounded by a living cover crop in an olive grove in Santiesteban del Puerto, near Jaen, Spain.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Sep 15, 2023

In climate fight, Europe's farmers turn to tech and tradition

Spain and Italy are the world's top producers of olive oil, but the industry is under threat from desertification and drought.
An employee of Kirin Holdings demonstrates chopsticks that can enhance food taste using an electrical stimulation waveform that was jointly developed by the company and Meiji University's School of Science and Technology Prof. Homei Miyashita, in Tokyo in April 2022.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 15, 2023

Two Japanese win Ig Nobel Prize for tableware that changes taste

The researchers published a paper in 2011 that said the taste of food and drink changes with electrified chopsticks and straws.
Umbrellas are displayed at Komiya Shoten, a company that has made handcrafted umbrellas for rain or shine for nearly a century, in Higashi-Nihombashi, Tokyo, on Aug. 3.
BUSINESS
Sep 21, 2023

Heat brings hope for handmade umbrella-maker in Tokyo

One of Tokyo's last handmade umbrella shops has weathered many storms and is now thriving, thanks to booming demand for parasols.
An image of a fetus on the screen of a portable ultrasound system.
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 15, 2023

The world’s first artificial womb is on the way

The artificial placentas are intended to help struggling prematurely born infants develop much like they would in the prenatal environment.
Philippine journalist and Nobel laureate Maria Ressa speaks during an interview in Manila on Tuesday
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 15, 2023

'It's up to us': Philippines' Maria Ressa fights for press freedom

Ressa and Rappler had faced five charges of tax evasion — they were acquitted of four in January and were cleared of the final charge on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 15, 2023

Bigmotor headquarters searched over dying roadside trees

The land ministry said soil sampled near a number of outlets in various prefectures along national roads were found to contain herbicide ingredients.
The Toronto International Film Festival opened on Sept. 7 with admiring applause for "The Boy and the Heron," Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki's latest movie — a meditation on love, loss and the horrors of World War II.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 16, 2023

Hayao Miyazaki has ideas for next project after 'The Boy and the Heron'

Junichi Nishioka, Studio Ghibli's vice president for international distribution, says the director "shows the willingness to create something new."
The agreement to settle an epic battle between Walt Disney and Charter Communications over distribution rights is ushering the end of the lucrative, decades-old pay-television bundle and creating a template for future deals that includes streaming services.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 15, 2023

Disney and Charter deal reshapes media landscape, executives say

The deal over distribution rights is ushering the end of pay-television bundles and creating a template for future deals that includes streaming services.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 15, 2023

Japan moves to make more effective use of solar power

Efforts are being made to use surplus electricity generated during the daytime by solar power and to shift power demand according to supply.
In "Dragon Palace," Hiromi Kawakami's new collection of short stories, middle-aged and elderly characters inhabit a world in which sexuality and attractiveness are liberated.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 17, 2023

Hiromi Kawakami's 'Dragon Palace': Delightfully raunchy and funny

In her new collection of short stories, the author returns to a world of fluid transfiguration with dry matter-of-factness and knowing humor.
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.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years