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Despite bustling cities like Tokyo and Osaka, Japan faces a rising number of abandoned properties, particularly in rural areas, which pose risks to communities and economies.
EDITORIALS
May 3, 2024

Abandoned homes will be a big part of Japan’s future

Statistics reveal a significant increase in vacant and abandoned homes, with projections indicating a further rise unless addressed soon.
Strong family ties act as an insurance against economic and other shocks and can be strengthened by government policies that promote intergenerational solidarity.
COMMENTARY / World
May 3, 2024

As families change, so must safety nets

Intergenerational family ties act as a form of insurance. Governments like Singapore's are supporting such arrangements and others should follow suit.
Tokyo stands alone in the Group of Seven. Far from shutting down polluting fuel plants, it’s opening them.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 2, 2024

The dog ate Japan’s plan to phase out coal power

Under the country’s current strategic energy plan, coal will still account for about 19% of generation in 2030.
Members of the Polish military train with the Patriot air defense system at an airport in Warsaw in February 2023.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 4, 2024

Missile defense successes fuel global urgency to acquire systems

Experts say the practical and political incentives of investing in the systems will be too hard to ignore — and intensify arms races.
The number of children 14 years old or younger fell for the 43rd straight year to around 14.01 million as of April 1.
JAPAN / Society
May 4, 2024

Japan’s record-low children population weighs on growth

The number of children 14 years old or younger fell for the 43rd straight year to around 14.01 million as of April 1.
Portu celebrates scoring Girona's second goal during the team's win over Barcelona on Saturday.
SOCCER
May 5, 2024

Real Madrid secures La Liga title after Girona thrashes Barcelona

A brace from substitute Portu helped surprise package Girona humble its Catalan rivals for the second time this season.
British opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer and Labour's Claire Ward embrace after Ward was elected as East Midlands Mayor in Mansfield, England, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
May 5, 2024

Labour mayoral wins cap triumphant election run for U.K.'s Keir Starmer

The results dashed any hopes Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had of reassuring Tories anxious about the possibility of a general election wipe out.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida holds a news conference in Sao Paulo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 5, 2024

Kishida talks up bolstered Latin American ties as China cements position

While the visit may improve ties, observers doubt countries like Brazil will jeopardize relations with Beijing, their most important trading partner.
U.K. Prime Minister Sunak is hearing calls to consider policies including an immigration cap and a withdrawal from the European Court of Human Rights.
WORLD / Politics
May 6, 2024

Tories press Sunak to move to right after local election rout

Sunak's team said they will respond with upcoming media appearances and policy announcements on the economy, migration and healthcare.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal greets Chinese leader Xi Jinping at Orly Airport, south of Paris, on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 6, 2024

France's Macron seeks to sway China's Xi on Ukraine

Xi Jinping is making a state visit to France marking 60 years of diplomatic relations between France and China. The trip is his first to Europe since 2019.
Israeli tanks sit near a border crossing to the southern Gaza Strip, in Israel, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
May 6, 2024

Truce talks shift to Qatar as Hamas hits Israel border crossing

The status of the talks was unclear after the latest round in Cairo following weeks of negotiating toward a potential truce.
A Lamborghini Diablo SL automobile displayed at the company's event to mark the automaker’s 60th anniversary in Seoul in September 2023. While the boost in wealth among crypto investors was mostly poured into discretionary spending, a significant portion spilled into local housing markets, the researchers found.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 6, 2024

Lamborghini bros no more: Crypto is creating a new wealth effect

Study suggests that household spending out of crypto gains is more like the patterns from traditional equity investments, such as on home purchases.
Ibuki Matsumoto competes at an event in Osaka on April 21.
OLYMPICS / Skateboarding
May 6, 2024

Japan’s tween skateboarders get head start on preparations for 2028 Olympics

Hikari Satake, 11, and Ibuki Matsumoto, 12, may not be household names just yet, but they are laying the groundwork for their Olympic ambitions.
McLaren's British driver Lando Norris celebrates on the podium after winning the 2024 Miami Formula One Grand Prix at Miami International Autodrome in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS
May 6, 2024

McLaren's Norris wins Miami Grand Prix for maiden F1 win

Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished sixth and eighth with RB's Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda ending seventh.
On May 2, the streets of Arashiyama, a well-known tourist destination in Kyoto, were filled with tourists, including many from abroad, ahead of the four-day weekend.
JAPAN / Society
May 6, 2024

Excitement returns to tourist spots in Japan one year on

Medical institutions have remained on alert for a possible spread of infections, including during the Golden Week holiday period.
Enamored with Japanese cuisine, Xander Soren sought to create the perfect Pinot Noir to suit the country's most common flavors.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
May 7, 2024

A Californian Pinot Noir bred for the Japanese table

In November, a former Apple employee launched Xander Soren Wines and its Pinot vintages exclusively in Japan.
Spurs center Victor Wembanyama during an NBA game against the Mavericks in San Antonio, Texas, on Oct. 25. Wembanyama has been named NBA Rookie of the Year.
BASKETBALL / NBA
May 7, 2024

Victor Wembanyama named NBA Rookie of the Year

Wembanyama was a unanimous selection, taking all 99 first-place votes.
Kenta Izumi, head of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, speaks at a news conference at the Parliament building last month.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 7, 2024

Japan opposition seeks snap election, but united front proving elusive

Despite the calls, questions remain over whether opposition parties will be able to join hands against the LDP in the next Lower House general election.
Supporters of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the city of Ayodhya, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2024

In election videos, India's BJP depicts opposition favoring Muslim minority

The videos reflect a shift in BJP campaign focus, accusing Congress of plans to redistribute Hindu wealth among "infiltrators" who have "more children."
A supporter wears a mask depicting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an election campaign rally for Amit Shah, the Indian Home Minister and a leader of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in the city of Ahmedabad, in the Indian state of Gujarat, on April 30.
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2024

As India votes, Modi's BJP takes aim at opposition seats to win supermajority

As the Hindu nationalist party targets 400 seats in India's lower house of parliament, it also hopes to wrest vital constituencies from the opposition.
A U.S. Naval Special Warfare Operator fires a Switchblade 300 loitering munition during training exercises in Fallon, Nevada, last July. The U.S. Defense Department plans to use small drones — known in the Pentagon as “all-domain attritable autonomous systems” — to help counter Chinese military systems and tactics.
WORLD
May 7, 2024

Pentagon reveals drone types for Replicator program to counter China

The first tranche will include uncrewed surface vehicles, uncrewed aerial systems and counter-uncrewed aerial systems of various sizes and payloads.
Auto parts maker Toyoda Gosei makes bags and other items by reusing its mainstay air bag products.
JAPAN
May 7, 2024

Upcycling efforts spread among Japanese companies

Japanese companies are increasingly engaging in upcycling efforts, or adding new value to used products and waste materials, as part of their environmental and social contributions and to generate profits.
Visitors in Macau on May 2. More than a year since China reopened its borders, some 63% of its residents say they’re ready to return to exploring the world, according to a survey published on April 24.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 7, 2024

China’s thrifty travelers show consumer confidence is weak

While more traveled over the five-day Labor Day break in comparison with 2019, each of them spent less on average.
Workers head to Daihatsu Motor's plant at its headquarters in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
May 7, 2024

Daihatsu resumes production at all plants

All of Daihatsu's four finished vehicle assembly plants in Japan are back online for the first time in about four months.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Kaga destroyer has undergone the first stage of modifications to turn it into a de facto aircraft carrier for F-35B stealth fighter jets.
JAPAN / Politics / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
May 13, 2024

MSDF’s Kure base expanding mission as it marks 70th anniversary

The unit has increased its activities not only in national defense, but also in disaster relief operations and overseas missions.
A building in the city of Osaka housing the Osaka District Court
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 8, 2024

Court orders deletion of disparaging portrayal of Osaka area

The comments were targeted at a "dowa" district — an area designated under an assimilation project to help integrate marginalized communities.
A soldier from the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) holds an RPG launcher at a Myanmar military base at Thingyan Nyi Naung village on the outskirts of the Thailand-Myanmar border town of Myawaddy on April 15.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 8, 2024

In Myanmar war, crucial window looms for junta and rebels

What happens in the next few weeks in the scramble for strategic locations in Myanmar could determine the next phase of the bloody conflict.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump and his attorney, Todd Blanche, at Manhattan criminal court in New York on Tuesday. Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of an alleged scheme to silence claims of extramarital sexual encounters during his 2016 presidential campaign.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 8, 2024

Trump’s private life exposed in intimate Stormy Daniels testimony

The remarkable testimony is the latest example of how Trump’s dealings with women are coming back to haunt him in court.
A group of fishing boats sit next to the Mekong river in Phnom Penh in 2021.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2024

Cambodia to cut shipping through Vietnam with China-funded canal

Cambodia's deputy prime minister downplayed environmental concerns about the new canal and dismissed speculation Chinese warships could use it.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (center right) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (center left) during a welcoming ceremony at Belgrade Airport on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 8, 2024

China's Xi Jinping visits Serbia on anniversary of 1999 NATO bombing

Three Chinese nationals were killed and 20 wounded in the attack, which prompted outrage in China and an apology from then U.S. President Bill Clinton.

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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