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An event for female coders in New York in 2013. Women’s full participation is key to ensure technologies like AI help bridge the gender gap.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 7, 2024

Now is our chance to govern AI for women’s empowerment

The pace of AI development may seem relentless, but there's still time to create safeguards to ensure that innovation doesn't perpetuate gender inequality.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 8, 2024

Biden takes on Trump and Republicans in State of the Union speech

The 68-minute speech gave Biden, who is suffering from low approval ratings, a chance to speak directly to millions of Americans about his vision.
Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama waves during his first day of a teaching session at the Kalachakra Ground in the village of Bodhgaya, in the Indian state of Bihar, in December 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 8, 2024

Will reincarnation or realpolitik determine the Dalai Lama's successor?

Esoteric questions of rebirth rarely have political consequences, but many fear the search for the next Dalai Lama could inflame regional rivalries.
Swedish soldiers take part in the changing of the guard ceremony at the Royal Palace in Stockholm on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 8, 2024

Sweden’s NATO accession unlocks defense options to fend off Russia

Becoming a full member removes any ambiguity about whether the alliance would defend Sweden in the event of an attack, and vice versa.
Japan's economy stumbled into a recession in the October-December quarter last year on weak domestic demand, preliminary estimates have shown.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 8, 2024

Japan household spending logs biggest drop in 35 months in January

Household spending in January decreased by 6.3% from a year earlier and was down for the 11th straight month.
Hideo Takayama (front) and Nama Yoshimura head down a narrow alley where a small stream used to run.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Mar 9, 2024

Tracing Tokyo’s hidden rivers

Underneath the pavement are remnants of the way the city used to look. Discovering them is a challenge that increasing numbers of locals enjoy.
An ukiyo-e print by Utagawa Kuniteru depicts the assault of Asano Naganori on Kira Yoshinaka, an incident that triggered the tragedy of the 47 Ronin and one that was re-created in the play “Chushingura.”
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Mar 8, 2024

Revenge: A dish seldom served in Japanese history but still cold as ice

When Confucius was asked, "Should we kill those who are evil?" The response came, "What need is there for you to kill?"
JAPAN / Society
Mar 8, 2024

More Japanese universities adding female admission quotas for STEM fields

The trend comes amid concerns over the nation's low level of female participation in fields related to science, technology, engineering and math.
Both China and Russia may believe there will never be a more opportune moment to overthrow American dominance than now. And should the two combine their forces, they could represent the most serious challenge to the global economic and strategic order since 1945.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 8, 2024

The threat to American hegemony is real

Russia and China might be tempted to threaten America's hegemony with a simultaneous and coordinated challenge.
Actress Yumi Ishikawa speaks during an interview on Monday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 8, 2024

'KuToo' campaign leader wants to bring attention to sexual abuse

Ishikawa believes that behind the issue of sexual abuse is the unspoken assumption within Japanese society that there is no such thing as discrimination.
Kazuo Ueda, governor of the Bank of Japan, speaks at a fintech summit in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 8, 2024

Bank of Japan leaning toward exiting negative rates in March

Many BOJ policymakers are closely watching the outcome of big firms' annual wage negotiations with unions on March 13.
Palestinian children carrying sacks walk past the rubble of a building amid the Israeli offensive in Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 9, 2024

Biden's port for aid to Gaza might not be ready for 60 days, Pentagon says

The United Nations has warned that widespread famine in the Gaza Strip is "almost inevitable" without urgent action.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 9, 2024

Space One postpones bid to be Japan's first private firm to put satellite in orbit

The Tokyo-based startup halted the mission after a ship ventured into a "maritime warning area" just 10 minutes before the launch.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2024

Reservations open for subsidized trips to areas hit by Noto quake

Tours to Niigata, Toyama and Fukui prefectures sold out on a host of websites soon after the start Friday, displaying robust demand for the campaign.
Displaced Palestinians wait to receive United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) aid, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 9, 2024

UNRWA report says Israel coerced some agency employees to falsely admit Hamas links

The assertions are contained in a report by the U.N. Relief and Works Agency dated February 2024.
U.S. President Joe Biden makes a campaign stop at Strath Haven Middle School in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 9, 2024

Providing both bombs and food, Biden puts himself in the middle of Gaza’s war

Biden's decision to send aid by air and sea represents a shift prompted by the growing humanitarian crisis. But it also raised uncomfortable questions.
Fukushima Gov. Masao Uchibori speaks during an interview on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 9, 2024

Fukushima governor urges state to clarify soil policy

Fukushima will host interim storage facilities for the soil on the premise that the soil is stored at final disposal sites outside the prefecture.
Residents of Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture, participate in a nuclear disaster drill at an evacuation facility in Kurihara on Jan. 20.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 9, 2024

Nuclear plant restart raises evacuation concerns in Miyagi

Residents near the Onagawa nuclear plant on Miyagi's Oshika Peninsula are concerned about whether they could evacuate swiftly if disaster strikes.
Schoolchildren wearing padded hoods to protect themselves from falling debris take part in an earthquake simulation drill at an elementary school in Tokyo in August 2018.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 10, 2024

13 years after 3/11, Japan's readiness for complex disasters remains inadequate

The Noto Peninsula earthquake has highlighted gaps in Japan's preparedness for a complex disaster, experts warn.
Lauded in China as a major leap in indigenous semiconductor fabrication, last year’s SMIC-made processor powered Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro and a wave of patriotic smartphone-buying in the Asian country.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 9, 2024

Huawei chip breakthrough used tech from two U.S. gear suppliers

The report suggests that China still cannot entirely replace certain foreign components and equipment required for cutting-edge products.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Mar 9, 2024

Wild Knights beat Brave Lupus in blockbuster League One clash

A 4-3 try-scoring advantage and four penalties from playmaker Rikiya Matsuda helped the Wild Knights hand the first loss of the campaign to Brave Lupus.
Pope Francis presides over a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 10, 2024

Pope says Ukraine should have the ‘courage of the white flag’

Pope Francis has reiterated in a new interview that Ukraine should negotiate to end the war with Russia, but this time he used language — adopting his interviewer’s expression, "white flag” — that has drawn attention and raised questions about whether the pope was suggesting that Ukraine surrender....
U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv in October
WORLD / Politics
Mar 10, 2024

Netanyahu approach to Gaza war 'hurting Israel more than helping,' Biden says

The comments highlighted the U.S. leader's growing impatience with his Israeli counterpart over his approach to the war in Gaza.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates his win following the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Saturday in Jeddah.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Mar 10, 2024

Verstappen continues winning streak in Saudi Arabia

Sergio Perez was runner-up, with last year's winner finishing 13.643 seconds behind his triple world champion teammate.
Rescuers clear debris from a multistory building heavily damaged following a drone strike, in Odessa, Ukraine, on March 3.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Mar 10, 2024

The $1 trillion race to rebuild Ukraine is slowly getting going

Firms are boosting their presence in Ukraine, in anticipation of the conflict's end — and the biggest investment opportunity since at least World War II.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 10, 2024

Nuclear power policy to be major focus in parliament after Ishikawa quake

The New Year's Day earthquake occurred near Hokuriku Electric Power's Shika nuclear power station, raising concerns over another nuclear disaster.
Charred vehicles amid escalating gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Saturday
WORLD
Mar 10, 2024

Haiti capital a 'city under siege' amid spasm of gang violence

Criminal groups already control much of Port-au-Prince as well as roads leading to the rest of the Western hemisphere's poorest country.
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2024

Tepco profit goal remains elusive, 13 years after triple meltdown

The total costs related to the nuclear crisis are estimated at ¥23.4 trillion, including ¥8 trillion for decommissioning the Fukushima No. 1 plant.
Two of the country’s four major makers of alcoholic beverages are reportedly going to stop releasing new products with alcohol content of 8% or more, citing health concerns.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 10, 2024

Japan asks when a stiff drink is a bit too stiff

Two of the country’s four major makers have taken the unusual step of retreating from a lucrative and growing market: strong premixed drinks.
Many countries including the U.S. and China are prioritizing domestic production and shortening supply chains to enhance economic self-reliance — but they are doing so at the  risk of fueling systemic instability and intensifying great-power tensions.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 10, 2024

Economic self-reliance is a dangerous delusion

Countries around the world have given high priority to shortening supply chains, rebuilding domestic production capacity and diversifying suppliers.

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