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A worker uses a vacuum cleaner inside a bullet train at Suseo Station in Seoul on Nov. 13. South Korea is launching a four-week campaign against bedbugs after multiple reports of infestations sparked widespread public anxiety.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Nov 19, 2023

Bedbug anxiety comes for Asia, and the pest killers are here for it

Outbreaks in France and South Korea have people across Asia on high alert for bedbugs. Exterminators in the region say business is booming.
Hang Dara, an electrician-turned-fisherman, passes the two active coal-fired power plants in Sihanoukville’s Steung Hav district.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Nov 26, 2023

Cambodia's big bet on the dirtiest fossil fuel faces major delays

Large projects are facing long delays amid uncertainty over foreign funding.
When Chinese President Xi Jinping came to power, he inherited a China that was enjoying prosperity, but also succumbing to gilded-age excesses.
COMMENTARY / The Year Ahead
Dec 29, 2023

The moral of the China story

Even if China is no longer “winning,” it would be short-sighted to dismiss its recent experience as irrelevant.
Supporters of India's regional Samajwadi Party take part in a campaign rally in Varanasi, India, in March 2022.
COMMENTARY
Jan 5, 2024

Democracy in Asia will get a reckoning this year

Asia’s liberal credentials are under significant pressure, with only a tiny minority of people living in high-performing democracies.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen greets former U.S. national security adviser Stephen Hadley (center) and former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg during a visit to the Presidential Office in Taipei on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 15, 2024

In Taipei visit, ex-U.S. official says commitment to Taiwan 'rock solid'

An unofficial U.S. delegation said Washington looks forward to continuity in the Taiwan-U.S. relationship under the new Taiwanese administration.
Guards raise Taiwan's national flag on the Democracy Boulevard at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 16, 2024

China plays waiting game in run-up to Taiwan inauguration

China's muted response to the weekend victory by Taiwan President-elect Lai Ching-te may be the start of an uneasy four months before he takes office.
U.S. singer-songwriter Taylor Swift performs onstage in Arlington, Texas, on March 31 last year.
CULTURE / Music
Feb 3, 2024

Taylor Swift will be on time for Super Bowl, Japan Embassy assures anxious public

Anxious fans have been speculating for days over how pop music icon Taylor Swift could perform in Tokyo and attend the Super Bowl to watch her beau play.
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi fires toward the Vissel Kobe goal during a friendly at National Stadium in Tokyo on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Feb 11, 2024

Amid row over Messi's no-show, China nixes Argentina matches

The upcoming friendly with the Argentine squad has been canceled due to "well-known reasons,” the sports authority in the eastern city of Hangzhou said.
Canned ready-to-drink cocktails, including Asahi Breweries' 9% Clear Cooler Strong chūhai produced in conjunction with Seven & I Holdings, at a 7-Eleven store in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Tuesday
BUSINESS
Feb 13, 2024

Asahi calls time on new strong chūhai amid low-alcohol shift in Japan

New versions of the canned fizzy cocktails with alcohol content of 8% or higher will not be launched in order to “reduce inappropriate drinking.”
Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto leaves from his residence to attend a gathering with supporters after polls closed in the country's presidential and legislative elections in Jakarta on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 15, 2024

Prabowo could usher in a new era in Indonesian foreign policy

As president, the ex-general is expected to seek an elevation of Indonesia’s role on the global stage while balancing ties with Washington and Beijing.
Hong Kong has been promised significant autonomy until 2047, but Beijing's actions have undermined fundamental rights essential for its success.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 28, 2024

China says Hong Kong’s ‘one country, two systems’ is permanent

Hong Kong has been promised significant autonomy until 2047, but Beijing's actions have undermined fundamental rights.
Solar panels on display at PV Expo in Tokyo on Wednesday. Japan's "transition bonds" will cover cutting-edge solar cells, as well as more controversial projects.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Mar 3, 2024

Japan wants cash for its green transition. But what are investors actually backing?

"Transition bonds" are intended to fund a wide variety of net-zero projects, but it's not clear all of them will actually help with decarbonization.
The Netherland's Prime Minister Mark Rutte waves as he walks past NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg during a summit at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels in June 2021.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 6, 2024

‘A safe pair of hands’: Dutch PM emerges as NATO chief front-runner

Although the top contender, Mark Rutte may still have to win over about a third of the alliance’s 31-member states.
Russian President Vladimir Putin looks set to start another six-year term with his forces on the offensive for the first time in months as Ukraine’s allies struggle to keep it supplied with ammunition.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 15, 2024

Putin digs in to divide world order while he conquers at home

The leader's adversaries are seemingly unable to stifle his ambitions as the war in Ukraine shifts in his favor.
A big selling point for Starlink is its ease of setting up and use.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 26, 2024

Elon Musk’s Starlink terminals are falling into the wrong hands

A thriving black market results in kits being smuggled into territories where the service has no agreement to operate and their use by repressive regimes.
An evening launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 22 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit as seen from Encinitas, California, on April 1.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 12, 2024

Musk's undisclosed Starlink costs undercut profitability claims

Despite Elon Musk's claims of profitability, Starlink is spending more than it earns, those familiar with the company's finances say.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses supporters during an election campaign rally in Pushkar, India, on April 6, ahead of the country's upcoming general election starting Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 15, 2024

For Modi, the Indian election is less about winning and more about by how much

For Indian leader Narendra Modi, an upcoming parliamentary election is less about winning and more about by how much.
Much like other hot spots across Okinawa, Onna has diligently strived to captivate both domestic and international tourists, while at the same time grappling with the environmental strain induced by the influx of visitors.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
May 5, 2024

As visitors surge, Japan seeks ways to make tourism eco-friendly

A record tourism boom has raised concerns over the enormous stress visitors put on the environment.
London's financial district in 2022. The U.K. was expected to lose a net 3,200 high-net-worth individuals last year, the most in Europe and double 2022’s level, citizenship advisory firm Henley & Partners estimated.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 6, 2024

Britain’s rich race to protect their wealth from election hit

Britain’s legal and political stability has been shaken by Brexit and the chop and change of five different Conservative prime ministers since 2016.
Claudia Sheinbaum, former mayor of Mexico City and Mexico's president-elect, during the closing campaign rally at Zocalo Plaza in Mexico City on May 29, 2024.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 7, 2024

Traders stunned by election surprises from Mexico to India

Voters in countries representing roughly 40% of the world’s population and its gross domestic product will have elected new leaders before the year is out.
Tourists take pictures from a boat on the Chao Phraya river in Bangkok.
BUSINESS
Jun 13, 2024

Thailand is already seeing signs of a 'White Lotus' travel bump

The series recently wrapped filming at several resorts and locations in the nation.
Samsung workers chant slogans during a walkout outside the company’s semiconductor plant in Hwaseong, South Korea, on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 8, 2024

Samsung union steps up pressure over pay with three-day strike

The union has spent weeks preparing for the walkout, after negotiations over pay and vacation time collapsed last month.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump departs after the third night of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 19, 2024

Fearful or cheerful? World leaders mull Trump's potential foreign policy

With Donald Trump polling ahead of Joe Biden to be reelected president in the U.S., some governments are taking concrete steps to prepare for his possible return.
U.K. Ambassador to Japan Julia Longbottom says the Indo-Pacific region offers a unique opportunity to not only tackle shared security concerns but also to generate new sources of economic growth.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 9, 2024

U.K. envoy to Japan pushes back on Indo-Pacific disengagement concerns

The region — and Japan — remain “critical" to Britain's interests, Ambassador Julia Longbottom told The Japan Times.
The Shenzhen Japanese School in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 20, 2024

Xi’s nationalism faces a reckoning after the murder of a Japanese boy

The Chinese government is now grappling with online hatred spilling over into real-life violence.
Liam Payne performs during the Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden in New York, Dec. 8, 2017.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Oct 17, 2024

One Direction singer Liam Payne dies in Argentina after fall from balcony

The 31-year-old singer had been in Buenos Aires to attend the concert of his former bandmate Niall Horan.
The Hong Kong skyline on Jan. 3, 2022. In 2018, Hong Kong received a record 65 million tourists. In 2023, it welcomed a little more than half that.
BUSINESS
Oct 17, 2024

Tourism has rebounded worldwide but not in Hong Kong.

The rebound of international travel to the city continues to lag far behind the tourist activity reported at most other Asian destinations.
Beyonce accepts the Innovator award during the iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theater in Los Angeles in April.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Nov 9, 2024

Beyonce leads Grammy nods after trailblazing country album

This year's awards ceremony, held in February 2025, is shaping up to be a battle of pop titans including Taylor Swift and Chappell Roan.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump is interviewed by "Fox and Friends" co-host Pete Hegseth at the White House in Washington in April 2017. Trump nominated Hegseth to be the next U.S. defense secretary on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 13, 2024

Trump's picks: A Fox News host, an ex-spy chief and the world's richest man

The U.S. president-elect announced a spate of unconventional picks for key posts — including his defense and CIA chiefs — in his next government.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo in May 2019.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 19, 2025

As Trump returns, will Japan be able to weather the storm?

Tokyo may be surprisingly more suited to work with Trump — and beat back any exorbitant demands — than it was during his first stint.

Longform

Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.
Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?