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British lawmakers are calling for billions of dollars of government contracts with Fujitsu to be reexamined amid public outrage over the scandal, ignited by a hit TV drama aired last week.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 11, 2024

Japan tech firm Fujitsu in firing line over U.K. Post Office scandal

Its faulty software had resulted in hundreds of local post office managers being wrongly convicted for theft and false accounting between 1999 and 2005.
Naomi Osaka hits a return during her match against Karolina Pliskova on Jan. 3 in Brisbane
TENNIS
Jan 11, 2024

Osaka given tough assignment against Garcia in Grand Slam return

Osaka returns to Grand Slam tennis for the first time since 2022 and will play 16th-seeded Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia in a tricky opener.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets with U.S. President Joe Biden in Tokyo in May 2022.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 11, 2024

A critical year for the Japan-U.S. alliance

The foundation of the Japan-U.S. partnership is a belief in the need to support and maintain the rules-based global order.
The yen's exchange rate against the dollar on Wednesday. The yen declined from ¥103 against the dollar in 2020 to as little as ¥151 in late 2023.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 11, 2024

Is a weak yen good for Japan’s economy?

The yen's fast depreciation is boosting overseas investment and sectors like tourism, but could also trigger inflation. In response, the BOJ should raise interest rates.
A Boeing 737 Max 9 plane that lost part of its fuselage midair is parked at Portland International Airport in Portland, Oregon, on Monday. The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday announced it had opened an investigation into whether Boeing failed to ensure that the plane was safe and conformed to the design approved by the agency.
WORLD
Jan 12, 2024

Boeing faces U.S. safety probe over 737 midair blowout

The investigation stems from a midair blowout of a so-called door plug on a 737 Max 9 jet operated by Alaska Airlines on Jan. 5.
Instead of hoping seats are free and scrambling to find luggage space on the shinkansen, what if you could fly charter across Japan on your next trip instead?
LIFE / Travel
Jan 13, 2024

Can charter flights connect rich tourists with rural Japan?

The tours, which fly to cities in western, central and northern Japan, will be priced from around ¥1.5 million per person for a group of four people staying two nights.
The natural attractions and the friendly locals convinced Norihiro Kanzawa and his wife, Zoe, to set up a business, Niyodo Adventure, in Kochi Prefecture.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 13, 2024

Norihiro Kanzawa: 'Smiles are always a great source of inspiration'

An adventure tourism professional and soon-to-be father shares his journey into making canyoning and packrafting his full-time job.
Naomi Osaka attends a news conference in Melbourne on Friday ahead of the start of the Australian Open.
TENNIS
Jan 12, 2024

It's a changed landscape at the top as Osaka returns to the Australian Open

2023 was all about the continued rise of players like Gauff and Sabalenka and the dominance of Swiatek, and it remains to be seen where Osaka fits in that picture.
After a fuselage panel ripped off during an Alaska Airlines flight on Jan. 5, all Boeing 737 Max 9 planes were grounded in the United States.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 12, 2024

We're stuck with the 737 Max, like it or not

The most recent incident involving a Boeing 737 Max won't stop airlines from using the craft. There simply aren't that many other options.
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2024

Spy satellite race in Asia heats up with Japan rocket launch

The probe will monitor North Korean missile sites, according to Mitsubishi Heavy, and the launch comes amid a busy period for spy satellite launches in Asia.
Real Sociedad's Takefusa Kubo during a Champions League match in San Sebastian, Spain, in September.
SOCCER
Jan 13, 2024

Ex-Barcelona junior Kubo set for lift-off with Japan at Asian Cup

The 22-year-old has found his feet at Real Sociedad this season, scoring six goals and helping the club top its Champions League group.
As Kura has grown, so has the hype, with diners sometimes enduring seven-hour waits to try its automated sushi-serving machines and dishes under plastic domes brought to the table on a revolving belt.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 13, 2024

Kura Sushi must live up to high hopes after wowing Wall Street

Kura shares have surged more than sixfold since their 2019 debut, climbing from an initial public offering price of $14 to $88.55.
The Houthis benefit Iran because they command a large country with plenty of remote locations to fire missiles from and are in close proximity to some of the world’s main energy sources.
COMMENTARY
Jan 14, 2024

The Houthis are now Iran’s most potent proxy

For the wider world, responding to the growing Houthi menace will require much more than naval flotillas to the Red Sea.
Naomi Osaka practices in Melbourne on Sunday ahead of her first-round clash against Caroline Garcia at the Australian Open on Monday.
TENNIS
Jan 15, 2024

Naomi Osaka's return set to headline Day 2 at Australian Open

"I have a much more positive mindset and a much more grateful mindset," Osaka said.
Tanaka takes part in a signing ceremony for the Japan-Uruguay Investment Agreement with Uruguay's Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Luis Porto in 2015.
BUSINESS / WOMEN AT WORK
Jan 23, 2024

Why positivity is an asset in a career of PR and diplomacy

Keiko Tanaka went from an office at Nissan to the ambassador's residence in Uruguay.
Takayasu Nikaido talks about the January 1995 earthquake that hit the Kobe area while showing videos he took in the aftermath of the quake.
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2024

Efforts underway to digitize videotapes of 1995 Kobe quake

Japanese manufacturers ended production of videotape players by 2016, and videotapes are said to have a lifespan of about 30 years
Taiwan Deputy Foreign Minister Tien Chung-kwang speaks during a news conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 15, 2024

China steps up Taiwan isolation after election, peeling off ally Nauru

One of Taiwan’s last diplomatic allies severed relations with the island and switched its alliance to China, after Taipei elected a new leader Beijing views as "separatist.”
People walk outside a polling station in Uxbridge, Britain, on July 20.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 16, 2024

Millions more overseas Brits now eligible to vote in U.K. elections

The expansion in the electorate follows a change in the law scrapping a previous curb on U.K. citizens voting if they had lived overseas for over 15 years.
The "wolf warrior" metaphor is used for Chinese diplomats who are known for aggressively making their country’s case on the world stage.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2024

Doves, pandas and dragons: Decoding the global political zoo

Animal metaphors help us reflect on the rich and varied landscape of foreign policy discourse.
A video still shows current Fujitsu Services Director Paul Patterson giving evidence to a hearing of the Business and Trade Select Committee in the House of Commons, in London on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 17, 2024

Fujitsu says it will pay compensation in U.K. Post Office scandal

The firm said it has a "moral responsibility” to contribute to redress for sub-postmasters who suffered as a result of its faulty software.
China's birthrate has been plummeting for decades as a result of the one-child policy implemented from 1980 to 2015 and its rapid urbanization during that period.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jan 17, 2024

China's population drops for second year, adding to growth concerns

A plunging birthrate and a wave of COVID-19 deaths accelerated a downturn that will have long-term economic effects.
Flags of Solomon Islands and China flutter near the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing on July 11, 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 17, 2024

China helps Pacific Islands with policing, not defense: ambassador

Solomon Islands and Kiribati switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 2019, with Nauru joining just after Taiwan's election.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 17, 2024

Japanese flying bike startup A.L.I. Technologies files for bankruptcy

The Tokyo-based startup had aimed to play a key role in an expected “air mobility society.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Hong Kong's new chief executive, John Lee, take part in a swearing in ceremony to inaugurate the city's new government on July 1, 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 17, 2024

Hong Kong‘s choice: National security or a global role?

Hong Kong tries to maintain its international status and economic role amid challenges posed by China's National Security Law and other political developments.
Donald Trump and his campaign are keenly aware of the publicity and sympathy his court appearances can generate with his loyal base of supporters.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 18, 2024

A day in Trump's world: Morning in court, evening on the campaign

The former U.S. president's unusual schedule sums up the unprecedented nature of this year's election.
China's economy grew 5.2% last year, more than most major economies. But for many in the country, the world's second-largest economy feels like it's shrinking.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 18, 2024

For many in China, the economy feels like it is in recession

A crisis of confidence is keeping Chinese consumers from spending and businesses in the world's second-largest economy from hiring and investing.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 18, 2024

Japanese Communist Party picks first-ever female leader

Upper House member Tomoka Tamura takes over the chair of the 102-year-old political party — Japan’s oldest — from Kazuo Shii, who held the post since 2000.
Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones dives for a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys in a 2024 NFC wild card game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Jan. 14.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Jan 19, 2024

The rise of the NFL’s 2-point conversion

The NFL playoffs have already delivered high-stakes moments around a simple decision: After a touchdown, should your team kick for 1 point, or go for 2?
Newly appointed Australia head coach Joe Schmidt outside Rugby Australia's head office in Sydney on Friday.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Jan 19, 2024

New Zealander Schmidt confirmed as new Wallabies coach

Schmidt takes over for Eddie Jones, who acrimoniously quit in October after the team's calamitous World Cup campaign and was quickly hired to coach Japan.
Taiwan's election results reflect the democratic aspirations of its citizens but is a cause for disappointment in Beijing.
EDITORIALS
Jan 19, 2024

The winner of Taiwan's election was democracy

The biggest disappointment was felt in Beijing, where inducements, threats and warnings failed to sway Taiwan’s voters.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past