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With the wars in Ukraine and Gaza claiming America’s attention and the world undergoing a broader geopolitical reconfiguration, China might see a window of opportunity in forcing its claim on Taiwan.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 21, 2024

A Taiwan crisis is coming

Already, Xi Jinping has been stepping up intrusions into Taiwan's air defense zone and encircling the island with warships.
A recent surge in Tokyo share prices has been driven by foreign investors' enthusiasm for rising corporate profits, with Japanese investors still wary after more than three decades of market malaise.
BUSINESS
Feb 23, 2024

Japanese investors raise a glass to Nikkei record at Stock Pickers bar

Excitement among regulars at the intimate bar in Tokyo's Ginza district had been brewing since last week as the Nikkei approached its all-time high.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Jerusalem on Feb. 18.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 24, 2024

Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu issues first plan for postwar Gaza

The proposal, which calls for indefinite Israeli military control and buffer zones in the territory, was rejected by Palestinians.
Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus holds a model of the Odysseus lunar lander to show its position on the side, during a news conference at Johnson Space Center in Houston on Friday.
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 24, 2024

Moon lander tipped sideways on lunar surface but 'alive and well'

The moon lander dubbed Odysseus is is resting on its side a day after its touchdown as the first private spacecraft ever to reach the lunar surface.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks to the media about sanctions against Russia, following his meeting with late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s widow and daughter in San Francisco on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 24, 2024

U.S. targets Russia with hundreds of sanctions over Ukraine war and Navalny death

The measures targeted Russia's Mir payment system, financial institutions and its military industrial base, as well as other areas.
Jeff Bezos — the world’s second-richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Ranking — is investing in a business that’s developing human-like robots.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 24, 2024

Bezos and Nvidia join OpenAI in funding humanoid robot startup

The startup Figure AI is raising about $675 million in a funding round that carries a pre-money valuation of roughly $2 billion.
A symbolic illumination called "Ray of Memory" is seen over the graves of Ukrainian soldiers who died in the war with Russia, at Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 24, 2024

Ukraine on the defensive as Russia war enters third year

On Friday, more than 50 countries, including Japan and the United States, issued a joint statement blasting Russia for the invasion.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 24, 2024

Kishida pledges to expand aid to Noto quake areas

The prime minister apparently intends to reflect firsthand opinions in the government's restoration and reconstruction support measures.
Vocalist Adam Lambert (center) and original Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor hit Nagoya, Osaka, Sapporo and Tokyo for the final leg of their marathon Rhapsody Tour.
CULTURE
Feb 24, 2024

Queen wraps marathon Rhapsody Tour in Japan

The final leg of the global tour hit four Japanese cities, providing fans with an appropriately grandiose send-off from the rockers on Valentine's Day.
SOCCER
Feb 24, 2024

Want to play in the Asian Champions League? It will cost you.

Urawa Reds reported to the FIFPro union that only the finalists would earn enough prize money to recover their costs.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson walks out of a vote on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Feb. 15.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 24, 2024

U.S. House speaker must now confront his own party’s sabotage

Multiple senior House Republicans, granted anonymity to speak frankly, now portray Mike Johnson as an insecure leader who faces a steep learning curve.
Former U.S. President and 2024 presidential hopeful Donald Trump speaks during a rally in Rock Hill, South Carolina, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 24, 2024

Anti-Trump Republicans wonder: Do I still have a political home?

A voter snapshot highlights how Trump has alienated part of the Republican Party in a way that could hurt him in his likely rematch against Biden.
A woman and children place flags for friends who are in the Ukrainian military at Independence Square in Kyiv on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 25, 2024

Ukraine marks second anniversary of Russian invasion, determined despite setbacks

Western leaders gathered in Kyiv to pledge support for Ukraine amid U.S. reluctance, while its troops suffer growing losses on the battlefield.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is still short of the delegates needed, but his win over Nikki Haley in the state where she served as governor leaves him with a clear and unobstructed path to the Republican presidential nomination.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 25, 2024

Trump continues march to nomination with win in South Carolina

Donald Trump cruised to victory in the state's Republican presidential primary, a blow to rival and former Gov. Nikki Haley.
U.K. Royal Air Force planes take off from Cyprus to strike military targets in Yemen on Saturday.
WORLD
Feb 25, 2024

U.S. and U.K. warplanes again strike Houthi-linked targets in Yemen

The strikes were intended to degrade the Iran-backed militants’ ability to attack ships in critical sea lanes.
When Fighters interpreter Shinju Sakuma set her mind on becoming a language liaison in sports, she picked a sport she enjoyed watching and an employer who thinks outside the box.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Feb 26, 2024

Rookie female interpreter provides voice for foreign baseball stars in Japan

Shinju Sakuma, who will graduate from Rikkyo University in Tokyo this spring, is believed to be the first female interpreter in NPB history.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida takes part in an online meeting of Group of Seven leaders at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo late Saturday, the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 25, 2024

On Ukraine war anniversary, Kishida stresses need for unity as setbacks mount

The PM told G7 leaders that more "concrete actions" to support Kyiv are needed, vowing more Russian sanctions and condemning North Korean missile exports.
Palestinians help an injured man in the aftermath of an Israeli strike in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 2024

The Gaza war isn't a Holocaust, but it's still a nightmare

There are, sadly, many examples in history of the kind of conflict under way in Gaza, and the Holocaust isn’t one of them.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 26, 2024

Families of North Korea abductees give Japan breathing room for summit

The group won't oppose Tokyo's lifting of sanctions on Pyongyang if all abductees are returned while their parents' generation is still alive.
Liverpool celebrates after defeating Chelsea in the League Cup final in Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday.
SOCCER
Feb 26, 2024

Liverpool's fearless youngsters topple Chelsea to win League Cup

The old saying that you can't win anything with kids was thrown out of the window on Sunday.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms, in Menlo Park, California, on Sept. 27, 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 26, 2024

Mark Zuckerberg’s Asia tour to focus on AI

The Meta Platforms’ CEO is in Japan with his family on a ski trip, and is set to meet with his developers in Tokyo to discuss virtual-reality and AI.
Electron micrograph of Treponema pallidum, the causative agent of syphilis
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 26, 2024

Syphilis cases hit record high for third straight year in Japan

While the precise reasons for the surge in reported cases remain unclear, experts have identified several potential contributing factors.
Nikki Haley, former South Carolina governor and Republican presidential candidate, speaks at her election night watch party in Charleston, South Carolina, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 26, 2024

Trump campaign dismisses Haley after South Carolina win

The former president has easily swept all five Republican nominating contests thus far, winning states in the Midwest, Northeast, South and West.
Light trails left by moving traffic in the Yeouido financial district of Seoul
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 26, 2024

South Korea unveils corporate value-boosting plan to replicate Japan

The plan to push companies to improve management and corporate governance has disappointed due to a lack of enforcement and concrete details.
Customers shop at the GU store in the SoHo neighborhood of New York. The brand's operator Fast Retailing hopes to expand its share in markets in the United States and Europe.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 26, 2024

Uniqlo’s sister brand GU takes aim at market in U.S. and Europe

International sales made up more than half of Uniqlo’s revenue in the latest fiscal year, GU has mostly only flourished domestically.
Asahi Group Holdings chief executive Atsushi Katsuki
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 26, 2024

Asahi eyes overseas acquisitions to quadruple sales of Super Dry beer

Spurred on by the need to seek growth outside of the shrinking home market, Japanese firms went on an overseas buying spree worth ¥8.1 trillion last year.
Flags of the Solomon Islands and China near the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing in last July
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 26, 2024

China’s expansive diplomatic network still outstrips that of U.S.

Beijing had a larger footprint last year than Washington in key areas of geopolitical interest including the Pacific, East Asia and Central Asia.
Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala addresses the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 26, 2024

WTO seeks modest outcome in UAE at 'critical juncture' for global trade

The stated goals is to set new global commerce rules, but even its ambitious chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala sought to curb expectations.
A man claimed Amazon promised "unlimited, commercial-free, instant streaming” of entertainment through Prime Video. He alleges the company reneged on the deal and is suing.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 2024

Amazon shouldn't be swindling users

The tech giant is being sued for charging subscribers more than advertised: Not what you'd expect from a self-professed customer-obsessed company.
Tech behemoths have lavished their CEOs with astronomical salaries under the guise of retaining top talent, instead of spreading the wealth.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 25, 2024

Tech CEOs need to start sharing the wealth

The time has come to curb Big Tech's market power and establish the mechanisms to prevent the benefits of technological innovation from being monopolized.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years