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The U.S. Steel plant in Clairton, Pennsylvania
BUSINESS / Companies
May 3, 2024

Nippon Steel pushes back U.S. Steel acquisition until December

Nippon Steel has delayed acquiring United States Steel as the United Steelworkers union opposes the plan, along with U.S. President Joe Biden.
A man rides past journalists reporting on the aftermath of the Shady Fire in Santa Rosa, California, on Sept. 28, 2020.
ENVIRONMENT
May 3, 2024

Violence against environmental journalists rises, UNESCO says

More than 70% of the 905 journalists the agency surveyed in 129 countries said they had been attacked, threatened or pressured.
From left: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Australian defense chief Richard Marles, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro hold a joint news conference in Honolulu on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 3, 2024

With eye on China, defense chiefs agree to bolster interoperability

Although “China” was not uttered by the officials during their news conference in Hawaii, Beijing’s growing assertiveness was clearly on their minds.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at the United Steelworkers Union headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 17. Biden made clear that he does not want the proposed takeover of U.S. Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel to happen.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 4, 2024

Political furor over Nippon Steel's U.S. Steel bid puts investment panel in spotlight

Backlash over the deal has echoes of the 1980s when Nippon Steel tried and failed to buy another American metal company.
A businessman reads a newspaper outside a train station in Tokyo.
JAPAN
May 4, 2024

Japan drops to 70th in press freedom rankings

Japan fell by two places from last year, and was ranked lowest among the Group of Seven major countries.
While a new Alzheimer’s test offers hope for early intervention, it also raises complex ethical and practical questions about its implementation and potential impact on individuals' lives.
COMMENTARY / World
May 5, 2024

Do you really want to find out if you'll get Alzheimer's?

Would you want to know there’s something going wrong in your brain — even if there’s no cure?
A man maneuvers media equipment following an Israeli police raid on an Al Jazeera de facto office at the Ambassador Hotel in Jerusalem on Sunday.
WORLD
May 6, 2024

Israel raids Al Jazeera’s offices after banning broadcaster

Al Jazeera’s broadcasts and access to its website are now blocked throughout Israel.
A Rapidus factory under construction in Chitose, Hokkaido on April 26. The Tokyo-based chipmaker was set up with the aim to realize domestic production of state-of-the-art semiconductors.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
May 6, 2024

Rapidus gearing up for mass production of next-generation chips

About three years before the planned start of mass production, Rapidus faces a host of difficult challenges, especially over technology and profitability.
Over 300 companies went out of business in fiscal 2023 due to labor shortages, according to Teikoku Databank.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 6, 2024

Japan's labor crunch persists despite slight improvement

Companies involved in IT engineering fared the worst, with more than 7 in 10 saying they didn't have enough workers and had to resort to forgoing projects.
The Kioke Summit on Shodoshima has seen a steady rise in participants from dozens in its early days 12 years ago and about 100 in 2019 to more than 600 this past February.
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 8, 2024

On Japan’s island of olives, age-old shoyu secrets survive

Each Kioke Summit features many activities including a "kioke" auction — shoyu fermentation barrels that fetch anywhere from ¥60,000 to ¥450,000.
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 news conference is held following a settlement being reached in a labor tribunal proceeding in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
May 7, 2024

Nondisclosure issue a lingering problem in Japan labor cases

One worker in Osaka Prefecture is contesting a nondisclosure clause that was added to her labor tribunal case's resolution against her will.
Justin Trudeau
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2024

Alleged Chinese meddling spurs foreign agent registry in Canada

The move comes after allegations China attempted to meddle in the last two Canadian elections.
A vehicle carrying Seiha Sekine, the 32-year-old common-law husband of the deceased Tokyo couple's first daughter, leaves a police station in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 7, 2024

Two more arrested over brutal murder of couple in Tochigi

Police suspect the Tokyo couple's murder was orchestrated by their daughter's common-law husband, who managed some of the restaurants they operated.
Interpreters of the European Parliament in Brussels on April 11
WORLD / Politics
May 8, 2024

Babel in Brussels: The shadow army of EU interpreters

Humming with different languages like a modern-day Tower of Babel, the European Union's institutions are the world's largest employer of interpreters.
Head of North Korean propaganda Kim Ki Nam has died at 94.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 8, 2024

North Korea propaganda boss who shaped image of leaders dies at 94

He played an essential role in shaping the country’s messaging as leadership transferred to Kim Jong Il, and helped in the succession of Kim Jong Un.
A member of staff at Momuri responds to a request for assistance in submitting a resignation in Tokyo on April 18.
JAPAN / Society
May 8, 2024

Japan's workers turning to agencies that help them quit jobs

One firm that provides such a service saw the highest-ever number of requests following the long Golden Week holiday.
Andy Summers’  exhibition “A Series of Glances,” currently on view in Tokyo and Kyoto simultaneously, features photographs taken in a wide range of locations around the world, including “Centaur,” which was snapped in Montserrat in July 1981.
CULTURE / Art
May 9, 2024

Andy Summers captures life on and off stage in moody monochrome

The guitarist for The Police, who cites Akira Kurosawa as an important influence, puts his passion for photography on display in Japan.
Antigovernment protesters sing the protest anthem "Glory to Hong Kong" on May 13, 2020.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 9, 2024

Hong Kong court bans protest anthem, saying it can be used as weapon

The ruling to ban the anthem "Glory to Hong Kong" comes amid what critics say is an erosion in Hong Kong's rule of law and individual rights.
Cambodia's then-Prime Minister Hun Sen and Aung San Suu Kyi walk past the honor guard during her visit to Phnom Penh on April 30, 2019. Myanmar's junta said on Wednesday that it would not permit Hun Sen to meet with Suu Kyi, who has been detained since a 2021 coup.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 9, 2024

Myanmar junta rebuffs Hun Sen's request to meet Suu Kyi

Cambodia's former leader said he had requested a meeting with the Nobel laureate, detained since 2021, during talks with junta chief Min Aung Hlaing.
Rice is responsible for about 10% of global methane emissions, due to the way it’s grown.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
May 9, 2024

Rice has a methane problem that a startup is promising to fix

Rice is responsible for about 10% of global methane emissions, due to the way it’s grown.
Pete Reynolds (front row, right) has trained for 38 years with the Bujinkan, an organization that teaches skills used by ninja. The American moved to Japan in 2000 and is now a senior instructor at the organization’s dojo in the Nezu neighborhood in Tokyo.
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 10, 2024

The unexpected acolytes helping to keep ninja heritage alive

What may have started as youthful fantasy has led to a deeper passion in an area of Japanese history by non-Japanese martial arts practitioners.
A host promotes lipstick on TikTok Shop
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
May 10, 2024

Livestream shopping foils high-tech tools from stopping counterfeits

The sheer volume of violations means e-commerce infringement enforcement can feel like a game of "whack-a-mole" for those who monitor the internet.
Ryo Wakabayashi, a distal myopathy patient, lives alone in the city of Fukushima.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional Voices: Tohoku
May 20, 2024

Persistence pays off with approval of distal myopathy drug

The disease is estimated to affect only 300 to 400 people in Japan.
Israeli soldiers walk amid military vehicles near the Israel-Gaza Border, in southern Israel, on Thursday. Washington has long urged the Israeli government not to invade Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip without safeguards for civilians.
WORLD / Politics
May 10, 2024

Israel due to get more U.S. weapons despite Biden pause

A range of military equipment worth billions of dollars, some in the works since December, remain in the pipeline as a result of a slow approval process.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Izumo helicopter carrier is docked in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in April.
JAPAN
May 10, 2024

Japan says viral video of MSDF ship likely real, not fabricated

The Defense Ministry said it has determined that the footage was not AI-generated because details matched that of the actual Izumo helicopter carrier.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in Hiroshima in May 2023. Yoon's focus on mending ties with Japan since he took office has seen relations recover from what officials and experts said was the worst since the two countries normalized diplomatic relations in 1965.
JAPAN / Politics
May 10, 2024

Japan-South Korea ties remain on rocky ground over history

The possibility of disagreements over wartime labor in particular poses a constant threat to the dramatically improved relations built up in recent years.
Flowers are laid on the bank of a river in Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture, where the charred bodies of a Tokyo couple were found last month.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / EXPLAINER
May 10, 2024

What we know so far about the case of the burned couple in Tochigi

Details of what happened are starting to become clearer following the arrest of their daughter’s common-law husband, the suspected mastermind.
The Liberal Democratic Party faction once led by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe holds a fundrasing party in Tokyo in May 2023.
JAPAN / Politics
May 10, 2024

Abe faction's ex-treasurer pleads guilty to underreporting political funds

Junichiro Matsumoto admitted to underreporting political funds totaling ¥670 million ($4.3 million) in the period from 2018 to 2022.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 11, 2024

Israel may have violated international law, U.S. report says

The Biden administration said Israel may have violated international law, but it won’t stop the flow of weapons and bombs to a key ally.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’