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Investors already rattled by economic and monetary policy uncertainty are carefully watching Sunday's election.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 25, 2024

Tokyo stocks could 'plunge' if ruling coalition loses majority in Sunday vote

Investors are already rattled by monetary-policy tightening and geopolitical concerns.
Japanese fans are signing up for expensive travel packages to watch the World Series, which will see the Los Angeles Dodgers — including Japanese players Yoshinobu Yamamoto (center) and Shohei Ohtani (right) — take on the New York Yankees.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 25, 2024

World Series sparks travel frenzy among fans in Japan

Travel agencies are having a hard time keeping up with demand from baseball fans fired up by “Ohtanimania.”
Nanako Fujita competes during a race in 2019. The recent news of Fujita quitting after her suspension for breaking horse racing's strict phone rules shows that bad habits related to smartphone use don't discriminate.
MORE SPORTS / Horse Racing
Oct 25, 2024

Horse racing in Japan has a smartphone problem

Nanako Fujita's recent retirement over breaches of smartphone rules put a spotlight on a big issue for horse racing in Japan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, pose with other leaders for a group photo during the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, on Thursday. The summit illustrated a collective dissatisfaction with the current global power structure dominated by the U.S.
EDITORIALS
Oct 25, 2024

BRICS once again meet to complain and vent frustrations

While the summit gave the appearance of unity, there are significant differences in how member states perceive issues.
In Japan, terms like "progressive," "liberal," "conservative," and "nationalist" may sound familiar but do not align with their meanings in other democracies.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 25, 2024

How to understand labels in Japanese politics

The issues that define political labels are often unique to Japan. As a result, quite a few Western authors will pick them up and use them.
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket is launched for a mission to study one of Jupiter's 95 moons from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Oct. 14.
COMMENTARY
Oct 25, 2024

In space, no one can hear Musk's rivals scream

The billionaire's gravity-defying lead is a painful one for competitors. Is it too late to catch up?
When Italy’s Cavour aircraft carrier visited Japan in August, it was the latest in a string of other ports of call by European nations such as Britain, Germany and France, all of whom are engaging in military and defense industry partnerships in East Asia.
ASIA PACIFIC / Longform
Oct 25, 2024

Will Europe's pivot to Asia have any teeth?

Deals are being made and carriers are making visits, but it is yet to be seen if nations on the other side of the world will come when a crisis hits.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk jumps on stage as he arrives to speak at a town hall event hosted by America PAC in support of former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 18.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 26, 2024

Elon Musk all-in for Trump as Moscow denies secret Putin talks

Musk's America PAC has also been warned by the U.S. Justice Department that its $1 million giveaways to registered voters may violate federal law.
A man looks at a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement model by Lockheed Martin at an international military fair in Kielce, Poland, in September 2017.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 26, 2024

Fearing China's hypersonic weapons, U.S. Navy seeks to arm ships with Patriot missiles

Integrating the weapons with ships' air defenses comes in the wake of successful missile defense efforts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Live rounds are fired during a nighttime exercise on Taiwan's Penghu Islands on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 26, 2024

U.S. approves potential $2 billion arms sale to Taiwan

The U.S. is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties, to the constant anger of Beijing.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in London on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 26, 2024

As U.S. election looms, Biden aides struggle with Middle East wars

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was dispatched to the region to find a way toward stability, but there was no sign of progress.
A man votes in the Lower House election at a polling station set up at a school  in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 27, 2024

Voters head to the polls across Japan in crucial test for ruling coalition

Recent polls have indicated the coalition might lose its majority in the powerful Lower House of parliament for the first time in 15 years.
Studio Ghibli’s “Kiki’s Delivery Service” draws inspiration from Sweden’s medieval town of Visby as well as Stockholm for its vibrant setting of Koriko, a fictional city where the film’s titular character decides to use her powers as a witch to benefit the inhabitants of her new home.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 27, 2024

The Swedish heart of Hayao Miyazaki's ‘Kiki's Delivery Service’

Inspiration for the 1989 Studio Ghibli classic is still very evident in Visby, a picturesque town that captivated the animator on his first trip abroad in 1971.
A billboard in Tehran depicts missiles over Tel Aviv on Saturday, after Israel targeted multiple Iranian military facilities with airstrikes overnight.
WORLD
Oct 27, 2024

Israel’s limited attack on Iran may help spur regional deal

The restraint on Saturday allows Iran to dismiss it as ineffective, possibly setting the stage for a limited response or no response at all.
Coral growing off Indonesia's Komodo island, located in the marine rich Coral Triangle
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Oct 27, 2024

Report details fossil fuel threat to 'Amazon of the seas'

The Coral Triangle covers waters claimed by Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, the Philippines, Timor-Leste and the Solomon Islands.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, speaks with voters in Tokyo on Saturday ahead of Sunday's general election.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 27, 2024

Japan party heads travel 84,000 km to campaign for general election

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, clocked 14,387 kilometers, longer than any other party leaders over the 12 days.
A Tohoku Electric Power official explains the process of loading nuclear fuel into the No. 2 reactor of the Onagawa nuclear power plant in Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture, on Sept. 6.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 27, 2024

Onagawa No. 2 nuclear reactor set for restart amid mixed local reception

Some living around the power plant have expressed understanding for the restart while others are concerned over the possibility of an accident.
Kenichi and Kyoko Ino at their home in Ageo, Saitama Prefecture, earlier this month. Their daughter, Shiori Ino, was killed in October 1999 after being stalked.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 27, 2024

Parents of murdered stalking victim remain resolute 25 years later

Six months after his daughter's murder, he began speaking to audiences about the damage caused by stalking.
Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces, is greeted by an honor guard upon arriving at Juba International Airport in South Sudan on  Sept. 16.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 27, 2024

The dark reality of global capitalism and perpetual war

In countries like Sudan and the DRC, however, we have something closer to the feudalism of medieval times.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who is also LDP president, dissolved the Lower House only eight days after assuming office on Oct. 1
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 27, 2024

Why Ishiba’s strategy of a surprise battle backfired

His dissolution of the Lower House only eight days after assuming office and backtracking on previously touted policies left voters with little to base votes on.
Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Florida, on July 27. A sophisticated breach of American telecommunications systems has extended to the presidential campaigns, raising questions about the group behind the attack and the extent of its efforts at collecting intelligence.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 27, 2024

What to know about the Chinese hackers who targeted the 2024 campaigns

The far-reaching operation has been linked to the Chinese government and attributed to a group experts call Salt Typhoon.
Komeito chief Keiichi Ishii leaves the party's headquarters in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on Sunday. Ishii, who was elected party president just one month ago, failed to secure a seat in the Upper House election.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 28, 2024

Komeito chief's Lower House loss raises questions about party's future

Keiichi Ishii, who was elected party leader last month and did not stand for proportional representation, fell short in his bid to win a Saitama district seat.
Supporters react as Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Novi, Michigan, on Saturday.
WORLD
Oct 28, 2024

Will Trump's unbridled rhetoric cost him the U.S. election?

Kamala Harris is increasingly pointing to Donald Trump's ramblings as evidence he isn't fit for the presidency.
Lebanese soldiers inspect a damaged vehicle marked as 'Press' at the site of an Israeli strike that killed a few journalists and wounded several others as they slept in guesthouses used by media, Lebanon's health ministry and local media reported, in Hasbaya in southern Lebanon, on Friday.
WORLD
Oct 28, 2024

Deadly Israeli strike on journalists in Lebanon prompts global outcry

The strike hit a collection of guesthouses housing only reporters in the southern Lebanese town of Hasbaya, killing two journalists.
Robyn Qiu (left) and her father Qiu Zhirong in their metal parts factory in Nantong, in eastern China's Jiangsu province, on Sept. 27
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 28, 2024

China's second-generation factory owners go digital to combat challenges

Flagging domestic demand in recent years has weighed on the manufacturing sector.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the Liberal Democratic Party's headquarters on Sunday, the day of a general election in which his party failed to secure even a simple majority together with its junior coalition party, Komeito.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 28, 2024

Breaking down the LDP’s punishing defeat

The LDP has been delivered a crushing electoral setback. How did this happen? What comes next? What does this mean for policymaking? Some of the key questions answered.
A public screen displays financial figures in Shanghai on Sept. 12.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 28, 2024

Stimulus matters more than U.S. election for Chinese stocks

Whether it be Donald Trump or Kamala Harris as the new U.S. leader, global money managers expect escalated hostility toward China.
Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 28, 2024

Wall Street and tech royalty fly to Saudi event amid Mideast war

International executives attending will have to contend with a region rocked by geopolitical tensions.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda responds to questions during a governors talk on Japanese inflation and monetary policy at the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group meeting in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Oct 28, 2024

BOJ on quest for better communication as more rate hikes loom

Communicating in a unified voice could prove challenging if each policymaker interprets data differently.
Andrea Galeano, head of amphibian and reptile collections at the Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute, holds an Atelopus marinkellei frog captured during the Humboldt Institute's expeditions, in Villa de Leyva, Colombia, on Oct. 11.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Oct 28, 2024

Colombia's peace opened wildlife to discovery, but new violence frustrates progress

Colombia is now the world's most dangerous place for environmentalists, with 79 killed last year — the most ever in one country in a single year.

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