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JAPAN / Society
Mar 7, 2024

Osaka weighs 'entry fee' for foreign tourists in bid to combat overtourism

The proposed fee is separate from the lodging tax already in place for all tourists.
An event for female coders in New York in 2013. Women’s full participation is key to ensure technologies like AI help bridge the gender gap.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 7, 2024

Now is our chance to govern AI for women’s empowerment

The pace of AI development may seem relentless, but there's still time to create safeguards to ensure that innovation doesn't perpetuate gender inequality.
The Hong Kong flag and surveillance cameras outside the Central Government Offices in Hong Kong
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 8, 2024

Hong Kong government issues draft of new national security law

It includes sentences of up to life imprisonment for treason, 20 years for espionage and 10 years for state secrets offenses.
Flint will call out when someone walks past and, in his cute but lonely voice, ask if you’ll spend some time with him.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Mar 11, 2024

Spare a few seconds for Flint

Nobody knows the history of this mysterious man, but we do know that Flint loves lazing around in the sun with his furry friend Emery.
Akira Toriyama
CULTURE
Mar 8, 2024

'Dragon Ball' creator Akira Toriyama dies at 68

A post announcing his death said Toriyama was “working on many projects” and that “there was so much more that he wanted to accomplish.”
Demonstrators hold a banner as they take part in a march to call for gender equality and protest against gender discrimination as part of an International Women’s Day march in Tokyo in 2021.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 8, 2024

Recognizing the vocabulary surrounding International Women’s Day

Many of the terms describing issues women are facing in Japan have a string of complex kanji. Knowing the basics can go a long way in aiding understanding.
A march calling for gender equality in London in 2019. Women are still paid less than men for the same work, but real equality means more than just eliminating wage disparities.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 8, 2024

A zero gender pay gap is the goal. But what happens next?

Eliminating the gender pay gap is vital, but it isn't the be-all and end-all. So much more needs to be done to achieve true equality at work and beyond.
Nissan expects kei EV sales to expand, as kei cars are relatively inexpensive compared to regular cars and their size makes them suitable for short-distance trips.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 8, 2024

Nissan may bring ultra-compact EV production in-house from 2028, sources say

The automaker is considering moving production to its factory in Kyushu in the business year starting April 2028.
Fukushima Gov. Masao Uchibori speaks during an interview on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 9, 2024

Fukushima governor urges state to clarify soil policy

Fukushima will host interim storage facilities for the soil on the premise that the soil is stored at final disposal sites outside the prefecture.
Schoolchildren wearing padded hoods to protect themselves from falling debris take part in an earthquake simulation drill at an elementary school in Tokyo in August 2018.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 10, 2024

13 years after 3/11, Japan's readiness for complex disasters remains inadequate

The Noto Peninsula earthquake has highlighted gaps in Japan's preparedness for a complex disaster, experts warn.
Lauded in China as a major leap in indigenous semiconductor fabrication, last year’s SMIC-made processor powered Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro and a wave of patriotic smartphone-buying in the Asian country.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 9, 2024

Huawei chip breakthrough used tech from two U.S. gear suppliers

The report suggests that China still cannot entirely replace certain foreign components and equipment required for cutting-edge products.
From left: Hong Kong's Secretary for Justice Paul Lam, Chief Executive John Lee and Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung hold a news conference regarding national security laws, in Hong Kong on Jan. 30.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Mar 9, 2024

Hong Kong fast-tracks new security law at Beijing’s urging

The legislation would impose life sentences for crimes such as treason and give police expanded powers.
A Palestinian man transports humanitarian aid at the distribution center of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees UNRWA in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on March 3.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 10, 2024

Sweden and Canada to restart payments to U.N. agency for Palestinians

Over a dozen countries suspended payments to UNRWA after Israel claimed some of the organization's employees were involved in Hamas-led attacks.
The upcoming election is set to secure Vladimir Putin's long-term leadership and is raising questions about the direction of Russia's political landscape.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 10, 2024

'Generation Putin' — young Russians reflect on his 24 years in power

Vladimir Putin's legacy through young eyes: Insights from Russia's youth on the only president most have known and their hopes for the future.
Philippine Coast Guard personnel film a China Coast Guard vessel during a supply mission in the disputed South China Sea on March 5.
BUSINESS
Mar 11, 2024

U.S. key to Philippines’ plan to tap oil and gas in South China Sea

Manila is seeking to parlay its deepening security ties with Washington into broader economic benefits, the Philippine ambassador to the U.S. said.
A DJI drone emerges from the casing on top of a BYD Yangwang U8 vehicle.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 11, 2024

China EV makers woo buyers with in-car beds, kitchens and drones

Top EV makers are facing a slowdown in demand at home as consumers curb spending.
Former Brazilian driver Felipe Massa during the first day of the Formula One Brazil Grand Prix in Sao Paulo in November 2022. Massa filed a lawsuit against Formula One in London's High Court on March 11, seeking damages for missing out on the 2008 world championship title.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Mar 12, 2024

Massa takes action against F1, FIA and Ecclestone in High Court

A court document from Massa's representatives said his estimated alleged losses were £64 million ($82 million) plus interest.
Left: A man protesting the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games clashes with police on Aug. 8, 2021. Right: An AI-generated version of the photo to the left is included to show the difference between real and fake images in news reporting.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 11, 2024

Stranger than fiction: How AI threatens photojournalism

AI images will increasingly replace photos of real events in news reporting, posing an existential threat to photojournalism's accuracy and integrity.
Alexei Navalny looks out of the window of his cell in a detention center in Moscow on Dec. 8, 2011.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 12, 2024

Putin's opposition: Dead, jailed or exiled

Putin's staunchest critic of the last decade, Alexei Navalny, died last month in a prison colony. Dozens of others remain behind bars.
Mitsuya Kishida, incoming CEO of Nidec (left), and Shigenobu Nagamori, chairman and CEO, during a news conference at the company's headquarters in Kyoto on Feb. 14.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 12, 2024

Japan's Nidec, U.S. private equity firm KPS vie for Siemens’ motors unit

The Innomotics unit makes heavy-duty electric motors used in ships and mining equipment, and could fetch about ¥483.6 billion in a sale.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whose company launched a pair of smart glasses, on stage at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, in September.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2023

Do you want Meta snooping in your closet with AI wearables?

AI wearable devices represent yet another intrusion into our privacy, allowing tech companies to learn even more about who we are — and what we might buy.
Shi Pong Hsu, 75, makes coffee in a Singapore coffee shop. The city-state's government projects that almost a quarter of its population will be 65 or over by 2030.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 10, 2024

Singapore is bracing for a super-aging society

Japan and South Korea may be the poster children for low birthrates, but Singapore is confronting its own decline. Its solution? Bonuses for nurses.
Some 38% of Bank of Japan watchers in a survey believe the central bank will end its negative rates next week.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 12, 2024

Half of BOJ watchers still see April rate hike while bets on March move jump

The proportion of 50 economists forecasting an end to the world’s last negative rate in April slipped to 54% in the latest survey from 59% in January.
Since the Ukraine war, South Korea has had a special travel advisory urging its citizens not to travel to Russia.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 12, 2024

South Korean held in Russia for spying was missionary, reports say

The incident marks the first time a South Korean has been detained in Russia for alleged espionage, according to Russian news agencies.
Samsung Electronics plans to use a technology championed by its rival SK Hynix, as the world's top memory chipmaker seeks to catch up in the race to produce high-end chips used to power artificial intelligence.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 13, 2024

Samsung to adopt chipmaking tech used by rival amid AI chip supply race

Samsung's decision to stick with a chipmaking technology called nonconductive film is one of the reasons it has fallen behind.
Yusuke Yamazaki, former president of Nishiyama Farm, arrives at Narita Airport in Chiba Prefecture on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 13, 2024

Ex-Nishiyama Farm president arrested after deportation from Indonesia

Yusuke Yamazaki had been on the international wanted list for his alleged involvement in investment fraud involving overseas fruit sales.
Several U.S. lawmakers along with TikTok creators hold a news conference to voice their opposition to the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act in Washington on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY
Mar 13, 2024

America’s TikTok addiction isn’t just China’s fault

If you’ve spent time on the platform, you will know how addictive TikTok is. With 170 million users, at least one in three Americans have accessed it.
Results of spring wage negotiations are written on a board at an office of the Japan Council of Metalworkers' Unions in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 13, 2024

Major Japanese firms offering solid pay hikes for second year running

Several companies met or even exceeded labor union demands, raising the possibility the Bank of Japan will adjust monetary policy soon.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 14, 2024

U.S. military resumes Osprey flights in Japan

The resumption came after Washington last week lifted a worldwide flight ban on the aircraft following a deadly crash last year.
Supporters of TikTok watch a feed of the U.S. House vote as they gather outside the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD
Mar 14, 2024

TikTok devotees say platform unfairly targeted for U.S. ban

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a bill that would force TikTok to divest from its Chinese owner or be banned nationally.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji