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University students in Varanasi, India, protest against a recent rape and murder of a doctor in West Bengal. Despite some improvements in legislation following high-profile cases, such as the 2012 gang rape, violence against women has worsened, with recorded rapes increasing.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2024

Protests won’t change India's attitude toward rape

Despite some improvements in legislation following high-profile cases, such as the 2012 gang rape, violence against women has worsened, with recorded rapes increasing.
Ebenezer Agyarko tends to his cocoa plantation in Kwabeng, north of Accra, the capital of Ghana.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 22, 2024

Chocolate prices unlikely to decline even as African cocoa harvest improves

Issues that have long hobbled the industry remain, meaning bean prices aren’t likely to fall back to previous levels.
A supermarket worker puts up a sign asking purchasers to buy only one bag per person, in Tokyo on July 25.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2024

Why it's hard to find rice at Japan's supermarkets right now

In recent weeks, store shelves have often been barren, with many shops displaying signs asking purchasers to stick to one bag per person.
British hard rock outfit Bring Me the Horizon delivered a dramatic set that featured a surprise appearance from local metal-meets-idol group Babymetal.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 23, 2024

Summer Sonic: The heat doesn’t matter when the lineup works

Where would you see a bill with Maneskin, Gen Hoshino, Christina Aguilera and Bring Me the Horizon in the prime slots? At a sold-out music festival, that’s where.
Astellas Pharma's headquarters in Tokyo
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2024

Japanese citizen indicted on suspicion of espionage, China confirms

Chinese prosecutors have indicted a Japanese citizen on suspicion of espionage, China's foreign ministry said.
Protesters gather outside the parliament in Jakarta on Thursday. Thousands of police have been deployed near Indonesia’s parliament, amid growing anger over plans for electoral changes that would effectively favor the alliance of President Joko Widodo and his incoming successor, Prabowo Subianto. 
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 22, 2024

Power struggle between Indonesia's court and parliament sparks protests

The power struggle between the parliament and the judiciary comes amid a week of dramatic political developments in the world's third-largest democracy.
Okayama and Tottori prefectures are some of the least-visited regions in Japan among foreign tourists — which is why they offer such a welcome break from crowd-clogged cities like Tokyo and Kyoto.
LIFE / Travel
Aug 23, 2024

In Japan’s flyover country, 72 hours of hidden gems

Some of Japan’s least-visited prefectures among foreign tourists host opportunities for peace, quiet and rural beauty.
Roasting cauliflower can seem daunting when its already hot outside, but the flavors here more than make up for slaving over a hot stove for a bit.
LIFE / Food & Drink / The Recipe Box
Aug 25, 2024

With a bit of Japan's 'national mold,' cauliflower becomes a superstar

Picallili is a style of lightly spiced cauliflower mustard pickle, the result of South Asian flavors integrated into colonial British cuisine.
Rescue personnel with the body of British entrepreneur Mike Lynch, who died when a yacht owned by his family sank off the coast of Porticello, near the Sicilian city of Palermo, Italy, on Thursday
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 23, 2024

Body of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch retrieved from yacht

Lynch's 18-year-old daughter Hannah is still unaccounted for, an interior ministry official said.
The land ministry is planning to create a system in which the central and local governments would evenly shoulder part of the demolition costs that condominium management associations should pay.
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2024

Japanese government to subsidize demolition of old condo buildings

The land ministry is planning to subsidize such demolitions from the fiscal year beginning April 2025.
A lithium battery factory following a deadly fire in Hwaseong, South Korea, on June 24
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 23, 2024

Safety failures caused deadly fire at South Korea plant, police say

Twenty-three people were killed at an Aricell lithium battery plant in South Korea in a massive blaze in June.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te pays respects at a ceremony commemorating the war against Chinese forces on the front-line island in Kinmen, Taiwan, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 23, 2024

On front-line island, Taiwan president rejects China's rule for freedom

On his first trip to Kinmen since assuming office in May, Lai Ching-te laid a wreath at a memorial park for the 66th anniversary of a clash with Chinese forces.
A boy pushes a biped robot developed by LimX Dynamics at the World Robot Conference in Beijing on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 23, 2024

China's robot makers chase Tesla to deliver humanoid workers

The Asian giant's push into the emerging industry draws from the formula behind its initial electric vehicle drive more than a decade ago.
An AI-driven smartphone application, jointly developed by a tech startup and researchers at Nihon University, purports to tell when cats feel pain. It was being demonstrated during a vet examination in Fujisawa on June 11.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 23, 2024

Japan should go big or go home on startups

As of last month, Japan had just 10 unicorns, according to Pitchbook data, compared to 714 in the U.S., 316 in China and 62 in India.
Foreigners account for more than 10% of the population in countries such as the United States, Canada and Australia. Despite an expected decline in births, their populations may continue to grow for some time due to their ability to attract immigrants.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 23, 2024

The rich world’s immigration conundrum

Fourteen high-income countries have shown how immigration can help offset declining fertility rates and maintain population levels.
Former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to reporters in Yokohama on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 23, 2024

Shinjiro Koizumi is public's favorite for next LDP leader, poll shows

Former LDP Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba also received a strong degree of support.
Masanobu Sakamoto (left), head of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations, meets with industry minister Ken Saito (right) in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 23, 2024

Head of fishery group expresses industry's concern over import bans

Such bans by other countries in response to the release of treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant leave the sector uncertain about its future, he says.
IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas says Japan's inflation is higher than 2% and inflation expectations have started to move toward, or "maybe even a little bit above" the BOJ's 2% target. As a result, the BOJ is normalizing the extremely loose monetary policy it has had for decades.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 24, 2024

IMF sees scope for Bank of Japan to keep raising rates

The BOJ can raise interest rates gradually as heightening inflation expectations leave further scope for normalization, the IMF said.
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani singles in the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Friday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 24, 2024

Shohei Ohtani hits walk-off grand slam to join elite 40-40 club

The Dodgers' superstar delivered Major League Baseball's sixth 40-homer, 40-steal season in dramatic fashion — with a walk-off grand slam.
Donald Trump welcomes Robert F. Kennedy Jr. onstage during a campaign rally at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, on Friday after Kennedy announced he was suspending his campaign.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 24, 2024

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspends White House bid and endorses Trump

Analysts are mixed on the effect Kennedy's exit will have on the presidential race and how much of his supporters will gravitate to Trump or Harris.
Typhoon Shanshan is forecast to approach or make landfall on the islands of Honshu or Shikoku by Tuesday afternoon, with rough weather expected from western to eastern Japan through Wednesday before hitting the country’s northeastern areas late Wednesday into Thursday.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2024

Typhoon Shanshan gains steam as storm projected to hit broad swath of Japan

Authorities are urging residents near the typhoon's projected path to brace for strong winds and heavy rainfall.
Seafood for sale at a market in Zhoushan, China. Beijng's import ban has fueled an aversion to seafood in general, creating a situation it hadn't anticipated.
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2024

China keeps door firmly closed to Japanese seafood imports

Despite assurances of safety, Beijing continues to call water released from the crippled Fukushima plant "nuclear-contaminated water."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses his country on its independence day on Saturday.
WORLD
Aug 24, 2024

Zelenskyy vows more 'retribution' against Russia in independence address

Zelenskyy also announced that 115 prisoners of war had been returned from Russia in a swap and thanked the United Arab Emirates for acting as an intermediary.
Elisabeth Furaha applies medication on the skin of her child, Sagesse Hakizimana, who is undergoing treatment for mpox, near Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Aug. 19.
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 25, 2024

Why mpox vaccines are only just arriving in Africa after two years

The slow arrival of the shots — available in many places outside Africa — showed that lessons from COVID-19 about global health care inequity must still be learned.
Divers from the Italian navy's Marina Militare during search operations on Thursday at the site where the Bayesian luxury yacht sank off the coast of Porticello
WORLD
Aug 25, 2024

Italy yacht sinking probed for manslaughter and negligence

Authorities in Sicily have opened a manslaughter and negligent shipwreck probe into the Aug. 19 sinking of British tech tycoon Mike Lynch’s yacht.
Over 70% of high school or college students who provide long-term daily care for family members left disabled in traffic accidents said they have never talked about their situation with friends or public bodies, a survey showed.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 25, 2024

20% of children of traffic accident victims become family caregivers

Nearly 20% of young people in Japan whose parents have been killed or left permanently disabled in traffic accidents are caregivers of family members.
Former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to reporters in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 25, 2024

Once allies, Ishiba, Kono and Koizumi set to battle for LDP president votes

The three, dubbed the "Koishikawa coalition" after kanji characters from each of their last names, will jostle for party member support in the Sept. 27 election.
Britain's Lucy Shuker competes at a tournament in Eastbourne, England, in 2022.
PARALYMPICS
Aug 25, 2024

Paralympian Lucy Shuker indebted to wheelchair tennis for giving her some 'joy'

Just 21 years old when she suffered the life-changing injury, Shuker, now 44, has become one of the finest doubles players in the world.
Launched in 2012 in collaboration with the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Nadeshiko Brand recognition aims to spotlight companies that not only prioritize gender diversity but also maintain solid financial performance.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 26, 2024

METI to expand Nadeshiko Brand criteria for women-friendly listed firms

Companies that offer support for women’s health in a bid to foster corporate awareness and encourage long-term career development for women will be eligible.
Lydia Ko hits her drive on the 18th hole during the final round of the Women's British Open in St. Andrews, Scotland, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Aug 26, 2024

Lydia Ko follows Olympic gold medal with victory at Women's British Open

Ko earned her third major title with the victory.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight