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A protester holds a sign reading "Keep Taiwan Free" during a demonstration outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 29, 2024

Taiwan government to reject contested parliament reforms

The legislation, backed by the main opposition Kuomintang, brought tens of thousands onto the streets to protest and accusations of Chinese interference.
LignoSat, the world's first wooden satellite, unveiled at Kyoto University in Kyoto on Tuesday
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 29, 2024

Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry unveil world's first wooden satellite

LignoSat is developed with the aim of combating space clutter and promoting more environmentally friendly space activity.
SLIM's photo of 10 lunar rocks. Photos taken by SLIM have already contributed to understanding about the moon’s surface.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 29, 2024

Japan’s moon lander stops responding in the dark

The Smart Lander for Investigating the Moon, also known as SLIM, did not respond to a signal sent to it by Japan's space agency on Monday evening.
Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Keisuke Suzuki responds to questions by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan on Friday at a meeting of a Lower House committee discussing revisions to the political funds control law.
JAPAN / Politics
May 29, 2024

LDP proposes party subsidy halts for fund law violations

The draft was shown at a meeting of executives from the special political reform committee of the Lower House.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike attends the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly on Wednesday. Koike, who is coming to the end of her second term as governor, did not formally announce her intent to run for July's gubernatorial election on Wednesday despite indications that she might.
JAPAN / Politics
May 29, 2024

Tokyo Gov. Koike keeps guessing game going on candidacy declaration

Despite indications that she might make a formal announcement on Wednesday, the 71-year-old incumbent made no mention of the July gubernatorial election.
Notwithstanding the increase in EV sales, there are now more cars than ever powered by internal-combustion engines.
COMMENTARY / World
May 14, 2024

Nevermind those EVs — oil demand keeps growing

The oil bulls still have reason to worry: With OPEC+ trying to keep prices as close as possible to $100 a barrel, non-OPEC supply, including from biofuels, keeps surging.
The documentary short “Now and Then" traces how the Beatles honored John Lennon after his death by crafting a tune he wrote into the “last Beatles song.”
CULTURE / Film
May 30, 2024

Eight standout films to catch at this year's Short Shorts Film Festival

The event will screen roughly 270 films that range from dramas about current social issues to animations that push the limits of the imagination.
Meta, the parent of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has seen threat actors rely on artificial intelligence to produce fake images, videos and text to try influencing users on its sites.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 30, 2024

Meta removes AI-generated influence campaigns from China and Israel

Social media companies such as Facebook, ByteDance’s TikTok and Elon Musk’s X have struggled with the influx of fake and misleading AI-generated content on their sites.
Many condo complexes are facing challenges in securing sufficient reserve funds for extensive repair projects.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 30, 2024

Land ministry sets standards for condo repair reserve funds

Large-scale condo repairs typically occur roughly every 15 years.
A bill to revise the local autonomy law clears the Lower House on Thursday.
JAPAN
May 30, 2024

Japan's Lower House passes bill for state power in emergencies

The revision is aimed at enabling swift responses for ensuring citizens' safety.
The mother of a student killed in a 2017 avalanche prays for her son at her home in Nasushiobara, Tochigi Prefecture, earlier this month.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 30, 2024

Three sentenced to two years in prison over 2017 avalanche deaths

The defendants guilty of professional negligence resulting in death and injury.
Junichiro “John” Imaeda (middle row center) decided to start Ajate, a band that infuses traditional Japanese festival music with Afrobeat, after spending three months traveling around Ghana and Burkina Faso to absorb the music of West Africa.
CULTURE / Music
May 31, 2024

Ajate's joyous blend of Afrobeat and Japanese festival music

The nine-piece project brings together sounds from disparate lands to celebrate connectivity and community.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump after the verdict was read at Manhattan criminal court in New York City, on Thursday
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 31, 2024

For Trump's false records conviction, prison is not unprecedented

Prison time is rare for people convicted in New York state of felony falsification of business records — the charge Donald Trump faced at his six-week trial.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures following the announcement of the verdict in his criminal trial over charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence adult-film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016, outside Trump Tower in New York City on Thursday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal / ANALYSIS
May 31, 2024

Trump guilty verdict adds twist to 2024 race: a convicted felon

While such a development may change the trajectory of the presidential race, few experts are confident it will.
Transport minister Tetsuo Saito speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday after meeting Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
JAPAN
May 31, 2024

Government defers decision on ride-hailing services

Some officials from the transport ministry and Komeito are strongly opposed to fully lifting the current ban.
Yumi Oshida and Truffle enjoy walks together through their neighborhood whenever they can.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Jun 3, 2024

Truffle is settling in at his own pace

Despite losing a pet, it wasn’t long before Yumi Oshida started wondering whether she should open up her home to another furry companion — thankfully for Truffle, she did.
Ashwani Gupta, then-chief operating officer of Nissan, in April 2023
BUSINESS / Companies
May 31, 2024

Nissan paid ex-COO $3.7 million to quit after sexual harassment claims

Ashwani Gupta's compensation figure for leaving the company is now public in a notice of the annual shareholders’ meeting, which showed he will also receive allowances.
Sokyo Ono’s “Shinto: The Kami Spirit World of Japan” reveals how a mystic sense of nature lies at the heart of Shinto.
CULTURE / Books
May 31, 2024

'Shinto: The Kami Spirit World of Japan': A helpful guide to uncovering an integral part of Japanese life

Sokyo Ono’s book provides a concise introduction to all the fundamental elements of Shinto, including its symbols, beliefs and deities.
A Liberal Democratic Party fundraising event in Tokyo in 2023
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 31, 2024

Why Japanese politics can't quit fundraising parties

To succeed in Japanese politics, it’s long been said that a politician must have, among other things, a fat purse.
Pop project Kirinji was featured on the second episode of Tiny Desk Concerts Japan, an offshoot of NPR’s long-running web series that features artists performing stripped-down sets inside the cozy offices of the organization’s music department.
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Jun 1, 2024

The best-case scenario for Tiny Desk Concerts Japan

NHK's new project, an offshoot of NPR's web series that shows artists performing stripped-down sets, could become a place for the full spectrum of Japanese music to shine.
Wang YunHe's residence in Singapore, overlooking the country's premier shopping belt.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jun 1, 2024

Singapore wealth flows face new scrutiny in superhacker case

The case is a reminder of the difficult balancing act faced by Singapore and other financial hubs as they push to attract the world’s ultra rich.
The World Health Organization's headquarters in Geneva
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 2, 2024

WHO countries prolong talks on pandemic accord

Despite increasing momentum in recent months, only 17 of the draft agreement's articles had been fully approved by countries by the deadline.
Toshimitsu Motegi
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2024

LDP's Motegi calls for fully opening up ride-hailing market

Starting in April, ride-hailing services are allowed in some parts of the country, but operators of such services are limited to taxi companies now.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and South Korean defense chief Shin Won-sik attend a trilateral meeting on sidelines of the Shangri-la Dialogue security conference in Singapore on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 2, 2024

Japan, South Korea and U.S. unveil new initiatives to cement defense ties

The three partner nations agreed to develop a framework to institutionalize trilateral cooperation within the year.
A plastic bag carrying trash that crossed the inter-Korean border with a balloon believed to have been sent by North Korea is seen in Seoul in this picture released Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 3, 2024

North Korea halts sending trash balloons over border to South

Pyongyang has threatened a resumption of the "unpleasant" practice in the event South Korean activists restart the flying of anti-regime leaflets.
In a boon to Saudi Arabia's government, which is seeking to fund a massive economic transformation plan, Saudi Aramco’s $12 billion share sale sold out shortly after the deal opened on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 3, 2024

Saudi Aramco’s $12 billion stock offer sells out in hours

The extent of foreign participation will be closely watched as an indicator of interest in Saudi Arabia's assets.
Shinsaku Otomo (center) became the 1 millionth visitor to the Iwate Tsunami Memorial Museum on Sunday.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2024

Iwate Tsunami Memorial Museum reaches 1 million visitors

Opened in September 2019, the museum features 150 items, including a tsunami-hit fire truck and panels on disaster response and evacuation lessons.
People walk with their luggage after a rainstorm hit Dubai, UAE, causing delays at Dubai International Airport on April 17.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 3, 2024

Airlines eye 'new frontier' of AI ahead of global summit

Aviation companies, long accustomed to thin profit margins, see AI as the newest way to boost productivity and gain a competitive edge.
Nadezhda Sokolova competes against Elizaveta Smirnova in the 50kg women's final at the Russian Pre-Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Championship at the Live Arena venue outside Moscow on May 1.
OLYMPICS
Jun 4, 2024

Russian wrestlers set on competing in Paris Olympics

The Games have been racked by Ukraine-related controversy in the buildup to their July 26 start.
A Boeing 777-300ER aircraft operated by Singapore Airlines at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok on May 22
BUSINESS
Jun 4, 2024

Killer turbulence sees more airlines embrace data-driven mindset

Turbulence Aware was launched by IATA in 2018 to help airlines mitigate the impact of turbulence, the No. 1 cause of passenger and crew injuries in the air.

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