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Vladimir Putin meets with schoolchildren in Kyzyl, Russia, on Monday, in a photo released by Russian state media.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 4, 2024

Putin is spending big to shape Russia’s youth in his own image

At some universities in Russia, students attend compulsory courses in the "fundamentals of Russian statehood” that were introduced last year to promote patriotism.
Government Pension Investment Fund in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 4, 2024

GPIF watchers say $1.75 trillion fund may buy more Japan stocks

GPIF is likely to have reclaimed its position as the world’s largest pension fund, thanks to the yen’s rebound after a brief slip earlier this year.
Uber is working with Royal Limousine and Times Mobility to conduct a trial to allow ordinary drivers to offer ride-hailing services even if they do not own vehicles.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2024

Uber Japan tests use of car-sharing vehicles for ride-hailing services

The aim of the trial, which will run through Nov. 30, is to make it easier for drivers to get into the business.
A drone view shows a residential building heavily damaged during a Russian drone and missile strike in Lviv, Ukraine, on Wednesday.
WORLD
Sep 4, 2024

Russian air attack kills seven in Ukraine's Lviv, regional officials say

Among those killed in Lviv by the drone and missile attack was a 14-year-old girl, with five children among the injured.
The shutdown of Elon Musk's X has drawn parallels with authoritarian regimes, damaging Brazil’s international reputation and raising concerns about judicial overreach.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 4, 2024

Shutting off Elon Musk won't help Brazil's democracy

While regulating hate speech is complex, the approach by Brazil's Supreme Court might be excessive and counterproductive.
A young woman visiting a rural backwater from Tokyo (An Ogawa) finds an unlikely playmate in Tatsunari Ota’s “There Is a Stone.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 5, 2024

‘There Is a Stone’ finds beauty in the inconsequential

While very little happens, Tatsunari Ota’s slow-moving debut feature offers stirring moments of simplicity.
Pasocom Music Club’s “Love Flutter” marks an important moment for Japan’s electronic community as project members Aoi Shibata (left) and Masato Nishiyama step into a role other artists once held for them — scene veterans who are inspiring the next generation.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 5, 2024

Pasocom Music Club returns to the pure pleasures of the dance floor

For the Kansai-born duo, new album “Love Flutter” isn’t just an evolution of its sound — it’s the next step in pushing the boundaries of electronic music.
A factory operated by metal processing company Iwanuma Seiko, which has been entrusted with work involving the space industry for the first time
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Sep 17, 2024

Small firms in Tohoku showcase technologies in growing space sector

The government plans to boost the space technology market, leading to hopes of a space industry ecosystem in the region.
Demand for electric vehicles in Japan has long been sluggish, and the government this year changed how EV subsidies are calculated, reducing them for BYD and several of its rivals, raising concerns about protectionism.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Sep 5, 2024

BYD's global expansion push runs into a stiff test in Japan

Demand for electric vehicles in Japan has long been sluggish, and the government this year changed how EV subsidies are calculated.
A street in Tokyo's Nakano Ward where one of a series of incidents of "one-touch" molestation occurred
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 5, 2024

Tokyo police urge caution against ‘one-touch’ molesters

A series of cases has occurred in Nakano Ward in which the perpetrator cycles from behind, gropes the victim while continuing to ride, and flees the scene.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appears at a joint news conference in Kyiv on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 5, 2024

Cabinet shake-up suggests Zelenskyy is planning for ‘new phase of the war,’ analysts say

Observers say the reshuffle, which comes at a dynamic moment in the war, had been in the works for months.
A sumo referee performs the dohyō matsuri, or ring purification ceremony, in January 2017 at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Sep 5, 2024

No talking, no eating, no standing: Inside sumo's ring purification ceremony

Spectators are required to stay seated for its duration, and refrain from using flash when taking photos.
Shigeru Ishiba speaks at a supporters meeting in Tokyo on Aug. 30.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 5, 2024

Taxes and political reform in focus in upcoming LDP campaign

The candidates’ recipes to put the economy back on track after decades of low growth are varied, with some emphasizing redistribution and others promising no tax hikes.
Nippon Steel's proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel is opposed by politicians across the political spectrum, including both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates — Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 5, 2024

Japan miffed but reaction muted after shocking twist to U.S. Steel deal

U.S. President Joe Biden is set to reject Nippon Steel's acquisition of the American steelmaker, according to multiple unconfirmed reports released in recent days.
Seven & I Holdings, operator of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, said on Friday it has rejected Alimentation Couche-Tard's takeover bid as not being in the interest of shareholders.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 6, 2024

Seven & I pans value of offer as it rejects Canadian takeover bid

Seven & I said that Alimentation Couche-Tard had “grossly” undervalued the target company and that the takeover attempt was timed “opportunistically.”
A voter casts a mail-in ballot at a drop box outside the Maricopa County Recorder and Elections Department's southeast Mesa office during the Arizona state primary election in Mesa, Arizona, on July 30.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 6, 2024

U.S. election prompts cities to get a grip on fake news

Local officials are increasingly forced to address false information about public health, migration, and urban planning strategies, which intensify during polls.
Yui Kamiji (left) and Manami Tanaka celebrate after winning gold over Diede De Groot and Aniek Van Koot at the Paris Paralympics on Thursday.
PARALYMPICS
Sep 6, 2024

Japanese pair clinch Paralympic gold in wheelchair tennis

Since wheelchair tennis was introduced in the 1992 Paralympics, Dutch women have typically dominated both the singles and doubles events, but not on Thursday in Paris.
The U.S. dollar has fallen 5% from its 2024 highs, close to its lowest level in about a year against a basket of peers following a sharp drop last month.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 6, 2024

Market sentiment mixed on pace of dollar's weakening ahead of Fed rate cuts

The currency has declined rapidly against peers as anticipated interest rate cuts threaten to end the greenback's yearslong period of strength.
Former International Energy Agency chief Nobuo Tanaka
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 6, 2024

LDP leadership race needs nuclear debate, ex-IEA chief says

Politicians fear stirring up public fears about nuclear catastrophes and hurting their chance of election, according to Nobuo Tanaka.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. The BOJ was seen as having contributed to the global market meltdown in early August after its 0.25% hike.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 6, 2024

BOJ’s hiking pace may be faster than expected, ex-official says

While almost no economists expect the BOJ to adjust its benchmark rate on Sept. 20, many BOJ watchers expect another rate hike by January.
Rakesh Tomar (right), an activist and founder of Hindu right-wing group Rudra Sena, speaks to people in Dehradun, the capital of the Indian state of Uttarakhand, on Aug. 6.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 6, 2024

India's far-right Hindus seek to drive Muslims out of 'holy land'

Much of the hatred last year was fueled by "love-jihad" conspiracies, claiming predatory Muslim men wanted to seduce Hindu women to convert them.
Bangladeshi military personnel stand guard at an empty police station in Dhaka on Aug. 9. The U.S. and Western nations have sacrificed democracy for geopolitics, evident in Bangladesh’s chaos and violence after the prime minister was recently forced from power.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 6, 2024

The Western world's stealthy assault on democracy

Elections alone — even if competitive — do not guarantee popular empowerment or adherence to constitutional rules, especially when the military holds decisive power.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife, Yuko, are welcomed upon their arrival at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, South Korea, on Friday.
EDITORIALS
Sep 6, 2024

Never take Japan-South Korea relations for granted

The two leader’s final meeting is both an opportunity to review recent achievements and to underscore the centrality of the Japan-South Korean partnership.
The world’s largest system of hydroelectric power has been on standby since late 2022, when droughts drained the reservoirs that feed it. China's torrential downpours of the past few months are switching that immense machine back on.
COMMENTARY
Sep 6, 2024

A flood of hydro is washing coal from China's grid

The world’s largest hydroelectric system, located in China, has been dormant since late 2022 due to droughts, but recent heavy rains are now reviving its operations.
Former Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda's remarks on Friday suggest the central bank has a long way to go since its latest rate hike took the key rate to just 0.25%.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 6, 2024

Kuroda indicates that BOJ is still a long way from neutral rate

A nominal neutral rate could be less than 2%, the former central bank governor told the Bund Summit in Shanghai via video link.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito attends a session of a panel investigating allegations of workplace harassment against him, in Kobe on Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 6, 2024

Hyogo governor disputes legal protections for harassment whistleblower

Motohiko Saito said that he didn’t believe it was a problem to allow an investigation into the creator of a document making allegations against him.
U.s. President Joe Biden speaks to members of the U.A. Local 190 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 7, 2024

Biden aides working on proposal for U.S. sovereign wealth fund

The fund would allow the U.S. to invest in national security interests including technology, energy, and critical links in the supply chain.
The agreement follows more than six months of talks between Baghdad and Washington, initiated by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (center) in January amid attacks by Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups on U.S. forces stationed at Iraqi bases.
WORLD
Sep 7, 2024

U.S.-Iraq deal would see hundreds of troops withdraw in first year

The plan has been broadly agreed but requires a final go-ahead from both capitals and an announcement date.
Sergei Kiriyenko, who is the first deputy head in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s administration, oversaw a yearslong Kremlin operation to meddle in U.S. elections and use disinformation to promote pro-Russian narratives online, according to a 277-page affidavit that U.S. officials unsealed Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 7, 2024

The evolution of Putin’s aide accused of gaming the U.S. election

The head of a Russian propaganda campaign that allegedly aimed to influence the upcoming U.S. elections began as a liberal politician.
A water tower at a U.S. Steel mill in Braddock, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Sep 7, 2024

Nippon Steel's U.S. setback a wake-up for Japan Inc.'s foreign forays

Buyers and sellers of assets were taking more time analyzing political trends and scrutinizing whether a target is in an industry that might trigger intervention.

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