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The Shein logo at the company's office in Singapore in 2022. The company, which sells $7 dresses and $5 home goods in more than 150 countries, has moved its headquarters to Singapore but manufactures most of its products in China.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 29, 2023

U.S. states ask SEC to confirm Shein complies with labor rules

The request adds to pressure on Shein as China hawks in Congress target Chinese firms that do not align with U.S. foreign policy goals.
The 3M global headquarters in Maplewood, Minnesota. The multinational conglomerate has tentatively agreed to pay more than $5.5 billion to resolve over 300,000 lawsuits claiming it sold the U.S. military defective combat earplugs.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 29, 2023

3M to pay more than $5.5 billion over faulty combat earplugs

Current and former service members allege 3M knew its earplugs were too short to work effectively and that it failed to warn the U.S. government or users.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 29, 2023

Expert team reports on decades of sexual abuse by Johnny Kitagawa

The team urged Johnny & Associates President Julie Keiko Fujishima to step down after the family-run business left the issue unaddressed for decades.
A VinFast electric car is parked outside a showroom in Hanoi on Aug. 18.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 29, 2023

EV maker VinFast now worth more than Goldman Sachs and Boeing

VinFast shares closed up 20% at $82.35 Monday, marking a blistering 688% since its market debut Aug. 15. It is currently worth about $190 billion.
Foxconn founder Terry Gou announces his bid for Taiwan's presidency in Taipei on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 29, 2023

Foxconn chief Terry Gou could upend Taiwan presidential poll

The tech titan has touted his business experience in announcing his presidential bid, but a number of challenges — including his ties to China — await.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2023

Yamanashi governor proposes light rail system for Mount Fuji

The rail system, intended to address over-tourism, would replace the Fuji Subaru highway, which leads to one of the Mount Fuji’s fifth stations.
The Financial Services Agency said in its annual policy guidance that overseas real estate is among the credit risks to watch this year and that it will assess major banks' "situation of loans” made in this sector.
BUSINESS
Aug 30, 2023

Japan regulator to evaluate banks’ commercial property exposure

Commercial real estate has become one of the highest-profile asset classes hit by rapid rate hikes.
France's scrum-half Antoine Dupont warms up ahead of a match between France and Australia near Paris on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Aug 30, 2023

Now or never for favorites France as Rugby World Cup hosts

France might be below Ireland and the Springboks in the world rankings but they have seldom been in such good form before a Rugby World Cup.
People sit on a rail track as smoke rises from steel mills near a slum in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Aug 30, 2023

Air pollution now a risk to life expectancy in South Asia: study

Rapid industrialization and population growth have contributed to declining air quality in South Asia.
The VinFast logo during an event in Los Angeles in November 2022
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 30, 2023

VinFast’s world-beating gain evokes memory of $400 billion crash

The last time a similar stock rose from relative obscurity to the one the world’s largest companies, it didn’t end well for investors.
A child visits the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 6.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 30, 2023

Concerns raised over the 'dangerous' ideology shaping AI debate

Long-termism, and linked ideologies like transhumanism and effective altruism, holds huge sway in universities and throughout the tech sector.
As China slips into deflation, one word is popping up more and more to describe the gloomy atmospherics: "Japanification."
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 30, 2023

'Japanification' for China? It should be so lucky.

China is not on the path to global dominance nor set for collapse, and observers should consider the various shades of gray in analyzing these countries.
Kyoko Yafuso and her son Keiju Togei pose in front of their store in the Sunrise Naha shopping street.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Sep 4, 2023

Tired Naha shopping arcade evolves into city’s best dining spot

Until about 10 years ago, the central shopping arcade around the Heiwa-dori street in Naha was deserted, with most stores closed and few visitors.
A sign reading "suspend the sale of all fish products imported from Japan" in an area of Japanese restaurants in Beijing
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 30, 2023

China’s actions on Japan and religion are cut from the same cloth

Beijing’s stoking of anti-Japanese sentiment based on unscientific accusations mirrors its suppression of religious freedom in Xinjiang.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2023

National Police Agency to upgrade cyber unit to department

The National Cyber Unit was established in April last year.
Korean writer-director Kim Sung Hwan's "Iron Mask" took one of the two top awards at this year's Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan) in South Korea.
CULTURE / Film / CULTURE SMASH
Aug 30, 2023

Does South Korea now have the edge over Japan when it comes to film?

While Korean cinema tackles universal topics, Japanese studios are content to navel-gaze.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 30, 2023

Media respond to report on sexual abuse at Johnny and Associates

The committee said Japan's mainstream media chose to ignore Kitagawa’s sexual abuse in order to maintain access to Johnny & Associates' talent pool.
Artificial intelligence may well enable the automation of many tasks and the replacement of some workers. But AI tools are still fallible and are unlikely to replace humans any time soon.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 30, 2023

AI and the productivity imperative

The global economic outlook for the next decade appears grim. But a surge in productivity — fueled by artificial intelligence — could change that picture.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2023

Kishida eats 'safe and delicious' Fukushima fish

"This is very good," Kishida said as he chewed on a slice of flounder sashimi, calling on viewers to enjoy Japanese seafood.
Japan center Dylan Riley (left) escapes from Italy's center Luca Morisi during a match on Aug. 26.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Aug 31, 2023

Japan ready to shake off COVID-19 legacy at Rugby World Cup

The Brave Blossoms beat Ireland and Scotland to reach the quarterfinals for the first time four years ago, sparking rugby-mania across the nation.
A growing array of media companies say they are blocking OpenAI's webpage-scanning tool.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 31, 2023

Fearing digital 'pillaging,' news outlets block OpenAI web bot

The New York Times, CNN, Australian broadcaster ABC and news agencies Reuters and Bloomberg have taken steps to thwart the GPTBot web crawler.
Steam rises from the Roosevelt Hot Springs, near the FORGE and Fervo geothermal sites outside of Milford, Utah, on July 31. FORGE and Fervo are drilling a few miles from the Roosevelt Hot Springs, which are created by underground heated rocks relatively near the Earth's surface.
WORLD
Aug 31, 2023

The race is on to tap a source of clean energy beneath our feet

The growing interest in geothermal is driven by the fact that the United States has gotten extraordinarily good at drilling since the 2000s.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 31, 2023

Hokuriku Shinkansen to link Kanazawa with Tsuruga from next March

The fastest travel time between Tokyo and Fukui will be two hours and 51 minutes — down 36 minutes from the time required on the current shortest route.
Twitter's new X logo at the company's headquarters in San Francisco, California, on July 29
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 31, 2023

Elon Musk's X to collect biometric data, work and school history

It’s unclear how X will collect the data or how it may be used.
Members of the Ground Self-Defense Force disembark from a V-22 Osprey aircraft during a live-fire exercise in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in May 2022.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Sep 5, 2023

Why building an effective Japan-U.S. kill chain will enhance defense

The conflict in Ukraine has demonstrated that modern warfare necessitates advanced coordination of operations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (center) and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose for a picture during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka on June 28, 2019.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 31, 2023

Xi likely to skip G20 summit in India: sources

The summit was considered an opportunity for Xi and U.S. President Joe Biden to smooth over recent trade and geopolitical tensions.
Taliban security personnel in Kabul on Aug. 15. So far, U.S. President Joe Biden has not decided to restore any U.S. support to Afghanistan, despite the country's worsening humanitarian crisis.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 31, 2023

Two years after exit, Biden resists calls for more Taliban contact

Some analysts and U.S. officials had clung to the hope that the Taliban had moderated since they last controlled Afghanistan in the 1990s.
Veteran broadcaster and DJ Peter Barakan has been a fixture in Japanese music media for decades. He is now in his third year as curator and namesake of Peter Barakan’s Music Film Festival, which kicks off in Tokyo today.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 1, 2023

Peter Barakan's Music Film Festival celebrates cinema and song

The three-week event kicks off its third edition with 31 films including documentaries, concert films and narrative films centered on music.
Items from the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake are on display at the memorial museum in Yokoamicho Park in Tokyo. Here, a warped clock is frozen minutes after the quake struck at 11:58 a.m. on Sept. 1, 1923.
JAPAN / History / Longform
Aug 31, 2023

The Great Kanto Earthquake: A wall of fire, a picture of hell

On Sept. 1, 1923, a massive earthquake struck off the coast of Kanagawa Prefecture. It came to be defined by fire and vigilantism.
A bit of parchment paper, a few strips of kelp and an overnight cure takes a simple fish filet to new heights.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 3, 2023

Recipe: Crispy kelp-cured salmon

This recipe can work with any skin-on fish, from luxurious golden-eyed snapper to ubiquitous salmon or trout.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo