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Diego Garcia — the largest island in the Chagos Archipelago and the site of a major military base used by Britain and the United States — is seen in this undated image the U.S. Navy provided.
WORLD
Oct 4, 2024

U.K. cedes Chagos Island sovereignty to Mauritius and keeps air base

Britain's deal also could pave the way for people displaced decades ago to return home.
Nippon Ishin no Kai head Nobuyuki Baba (back left) and Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan head Yoshihiko Noda (back right) discuss cooperation during the upcoming general election in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 4, 2024

Opposition parties have little time to form united front ahead of polls

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s surprise announcement of an Oct. 27 general election has left others scrambling to coordinate in order to avoid multi-cornered fights.
Digital minister Taro Kono attends an Upper House committee session in June. The cautioning of Kono over his use of his smartphone to respond to a question in the Upper House last November attracted significant attention and led to a bipartisan call for digital transformation within parliament.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 4, 2024

Digitalization advances gradually in Japan's parliament

Improvement plans have been adopted but certain practices, such as the use of tablets at the podium during plenary sessions, remain off-limits.
Dul Saroth (left) and Soeum Samrach, deminers with the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, practice using the Advanced Landmine Imaging System in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province in August.
JAPAN / Longform
Oct 7, 2024

The Japanese tech that could one day make Southeast Asia landmine-free

The Advanced Landmine Imaging System being tested in Cambodia promises to speed up landmine clearance work and save lives.
Japan Coast Guard officials search for missing people after the fatal sinking of the Kazu I tour boat off the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido.
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2024

Japan to require passenger ships sailing in cold waters to carry life rafts

The move follows the deadly sinking of the Kazu I tour boat off Hokkaido in April 2022.
Rikiya Morita, a suspect wanted in connection with a robbery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 4, 2024

Suspect in violent Kanto burglaries placed on public wanted list

Rikiya Morita and three other men allegedly broke into an elderly couple’s residence in the city of Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture.
A lifeguard waving a tsunami flag during a demonstration
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 4, 2024

Meteorological agency ramps up 'tsunami flag' awareness efforts

Visual communication tools like tsunami flags are critical at swimming beaches, where sound can be obscured by waves and wind.
A funeral is held for Russian military personnel and civilians killed in the war with Ukraine, at a cemetery in Luhansk, in Russian-controlled Ukraine, in May 2023. The U.S. estimates that 120,000 Russian soldiers have been killed and another 180,000 injured, further worsening the nation's manpower shortages and economic output.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 4, 2024

The Russian war economy’s days are numbered

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his cronies boast that the sanctions make Russia stronger, but they incessantly call for all restrictions to be lifted.
An Ito-Yokado supermarket in Tokyo. Selling down some of its stake in the supermarket business would allow Seven & I to bring in a partner that could accelerate an overhaul of the unit.
BUSINESS
Oct 4, 2024

Seven & I considering supermarket stake sale ahead of IPO, sources say

The supermarket business includes the Ito-Yokado chain, one of Japan's best-known grocery store businesses.
Paul Watson speaks at a news conference on the sidelines of the U.N. climate summit in Paris in December 2015.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 4, 2024

Japan says Paul Watson case 'nothing to do with whaling'

The co-founder of Sea Shepherd was arrested in Greenland in July on an arrest warrant issued by Japan.
Keidanren chief Masakazu Tokura (center, left) presents the business lobby group's policy requests to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba alongside the Japan Association of Corporate Executives' Takeshi Niinami (far left) and Ken Kobayashi of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, on Friday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Oct 4, 2024

Japan's three major business lobbies submit policy requests to Ishiba

Ishiba told the three business leaders that ending the Japanese economy's deflationary state is a top priority.
Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after a strike as seen from Sin El Fil, Lebanon, on Saturday.
WORLD
Oct 5, 2024

Israeli strike hits north Lebanon as raids pummel Beirut suburbs

A source said a Hamas official, his wife and two children were killed in the strike on a Palestinian refugee camp in Tripoli.
 A giant mural of Shohei Ohtani on the side of a hotel in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 5, 2024

Japanese baseball fans flock to LA to see playoff-bound Ohtani

Inside Dodger Stadium, the influence of Japanese fans is clear, from Japanese-language merchandise to cuisine that included bento boxes, sushi and fried octopus.
Tomoyuki Sugano (left) with his Giants teammates during a game last month in Hiroshima.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 5, 2024

Giants ace Tomoyuki Sugano announces plans to join MLB

The long-time Giants starter has won the Sawamura Award as NPB's best pitcher twice, in 2017 and 2018.
Raymonde Desiree, a member of the Chagossian community living in Crawley, south of London.
WORLD / Society
Oct 5, 2024

Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate

Britain will transfer sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius, and many Chagossians are angry that they were not given a say in the islands' fate.
French President Emmanuel Macron holds a news conference on Saturday in Paris.
WORLD
Oct 6, 2024

Macron calls for halting weapons to Israel for Gaza conflict

Macron announced that 88 Francophone countries voted unanimously to call for a cease-fire in Lebanon.
An emergency shelter in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, set up in January after a powerful earthquake earlier that month. The central government plans to survey the level of stockpiles at temporary shelters around the country.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 6, 2024

Japanese government to survey stockpiles at designated shelters

The survey is expected to cover stocks of food, blankets, baby formula, paper diapers for infants and adults, portable toilets, toilet paper and sanitary products.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda ahead of their meeting on Wednesday. Ishiba's comment after the meeting that he doesn't believe Japan needs an additional interest rate hike has surprised the financial market.
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Oct 6, 2024

Ishiba's U-turn on interest rates surprises market

The market is being perplexed by the statement by Ishiba, who had been critical of Abenomics.
Damaged homes in Dekle Beach, Florida, after Hurricane Helene roared through the region last month
WORLD
Oct 6, 2024

Florida faces new storm threat as region reels from Helene

Tropical Storm Milton, with winds of 40 miles per hour, is forecast to build into at least a Category 3 hurricane.
A Palestinian man rests with his son under the rubble of their destroyed house in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Sept. 26.
WORLD
Oct 7, 2024

After a year of war, Gazans wonder how to deal with tons of rubble

The U.N. estimates there are over 42 million metric tons of debris, including shattered edifices and flattened buildings.
An electronic ticker displays stock figures in Pudong's Lujiazui Financial District in Shanghai on Aug. 14.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 7, 2024

China stock skepticism gets louder as world-beating run extends

Some are concerned many Chinese stocks are already reaching overvalued levels.
Padres starter Yu Darvish pitches against the Dodgers during Game 2 of the NLDS in Los Angeles on Sunday.
BASEBALL
Oct 7, 2024

Yu Darvish shuts down Dodgers and Shohei Ohtani as Padres even series

Darvish retired Ohtani three times during his gem at Dodger Stadium.
Former Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (left) and current President Lai Ching-te wave during the latter's inauguration ceremony outside the Presidential Office Building in Taipei on May 20.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 7, 2024

Former Taiwan President Tsai to make sensitive Prague visit, sources say

Tsai will visit Prague and deliver a speech at Forum 2000, which begins on Oct. 13, according to the three sources.
Lakers guard LeBron James defends Suns guard Bradley Beal during a preseason contest in Palm Desert, California, on Sunday.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Oct 7, 2024

Lakers father-son duo LeBron and Bronny James play together in preseason contest

LeBron James admitted there were moments on the court that felt surreal.
Players on Nintendo Switch game consoles. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund is reportedly weighing deploying more capital to Nintendo and its sector peers.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 7, 2024

Nintendo jumps after Saudi fund expresses interest in bigger stake

The Saudi government is keen to mold the kingdom into a global gaming industry player and diversify its oil-heavy portfolio.
Pope Francis addresses the crowd from the window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter's Square during the Angelus prayer in the Vatican on Sunday. The pontiff announced the appointment of 21 new cardinals on Sunday.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 7, 2024

Japanese archbishop named cardinal

Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, the archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Tokyo, will also be eligible to vote in a papal conclave.
Junichi Ishii (right) and Yoshitaka Saito, chairmen of the House of Councilors for the Liberal Democratic Party and the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, respectively, meet for discussions inside the parliament building on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 7, 2024

Japan's party leaders' debate to be extended to 80 minutes

The debate pitting Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba against the heads of opposition parties is scheduled for Wednesday.
An Oct. 1 picture of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and his Cabinet posted on the website of the Prime Minister's Office (right) appears slightly different from one taken by a media agency (left). Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi admitted on Monday that the photo underwent minor digital edits before being uploaded to the government website.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 7, 2024

New Cabinet photo on government website had minor edits, Hayashi admits

Media agencies had reported that their pictures appeared slightly different to what was posted on the website of the Prime Minister’s Office.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a Lower House session on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 7, 2024

Ishiba fends off questions on endorsement of scandal-tainted LDP members

The prime minister was grilled in parliament on the extent of support the ruling party will give those implicated in a recent slush funds scandal in upcoming polls.
Internal affairs minister Seiichiro Murakami speaks during an interview at the ministry in Tokyo's Kasumigaseki district on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 7, 2024

Japan's new internal affairs minister looks to boost regional revitalization

Seiichiro Murakami aims to increase the number of regional development cooperation volunteers from 7,200 to 10,000.

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