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Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program, speaks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 18.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Sep 23, 2024

'Convergence' growing on global plastics treaty: U.N. environment chief

At negotiations in November in South Korea's Busan, countries are hoping to seal a potentially groundbreaking deal to tackle the problem of plastic pollution.
Yurin Fujii was among the Japanese athletes to compete at X Games Chiba over the weekend at Makuhari Messe.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 23, 2024

Japan to remain in X Games mix for ‘foreseeable future’

Japanese athletes likely hope the X Games continue to come to Japan, as the event has become special for many.
The Padres' Yu Darvish recorded his 2,000th MLB strikeout during a win over the White Sox on Sunday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 23, 2024

Yu Darvish becomes first Japan-born player to reach 2,000 strikeouts in MLB

Darvish and the Padres were hoping to clinch a playoff berth on Sunday, with the results in other games set to determine that.
Troops from the Ground Self-Defense Force take part in the 05JX military exercises on the island of Tokunoshima in Kagoshima Prefecture last November. While Japan's overall ranking in the 2024 Asia Power Index dropped, it scored improvements in the defense and security sphere.
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2024

Japan falls behind India to No. 4 in new Asia power survey

The 2024 Asia Power Index highlights shifting power dynamics in the region, with the U.S. still dominant but facing rising military pressure from China.
Chevrolet Silverado 1500s and GMC Sierra 1500s make their way through an assembly line at the General Motors assembly plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on April 9.
BUSINESS
Sep 24, 2024

Biden administration proposes ban of Chinese and Russian car parts

The proposed ban is aimed at the sale and import of Chinese- and Russian-made hardware and software for connected vehicles.
Poll workers set up early voting equipment in Seffner, Florida, on Aug. 2.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 24, 2024

Russia produced most AI content to sway election: U.S. intelligence

Russia is seen as being a more sophisticated actor than other nations and having a better understanding of how U.S. elections work.
Elderly people rest at a park in Beijing on May 22.
BUSINESS
Sep 24, 2024

China's retirement reforms not enough to fix pension headache

Lawmakers fast-tracked the policy without public consultation in September
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 24, 2024

Telegram CEO Durov says app to provide more data to governments

The messaging app will provide users’ IP addresses and phone numbers to relevant authorities in response to valid legal requests.
The People's Bank of China building in Beijing
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 24, 2024

China unleashes stimulus blitz in push to hit annual growth goal

The People's Bank of China has announced moves to boost banks’ lending to consumers and corporates, and a cut to its key short-term interest rate.
The rice harvest ramped up this month and will ease a supply squeeze, but farmers and Japan’s main grain distributor have agreed to higher contract prices.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2024

Rice inflation to persist despite harvest, as prices rise over 20% on year

Tokyo shoppers were paying 23% more than a year ago for 5 kilogram bags of rice last month, while wholesale prices have risen 28% — the biggest hike since 1975.
Volunteers distribute food bags to people  in Rishon LeZion in central Israel on Aug. 21.
WORLD
Sep 24, 2024

Israeli economy struggles under weight of Gaza war

Mass protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's controversial judicial reforms had already weakened Israel's economy prior to the Hamas attack on October 7.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a high-level meeting on the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty in New York on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 24, 2024

Japan and 11 other countries call for early start of fissile material ban talks

High-level representatives from 12 countries stated that a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty will significantly contribute to nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation.
Kimberly Guilfoyle speaks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 17. More than two decades ago, the future vice president Kamala Harris and the conservative firebrand Guilfoyle were rising legal stars in San Francisco when Guilfoyle accused Harris of trying to deny her a job.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 24, 2024

The long, strange saga of Kamala Harris and Kimberly Guilfoyle

More than two decades ago, the future vice president Harris and the conservative firebrand Guilfoyle were rising legal stars in San Francisco.
Police officers search for the missing in areas around the flooded Tsukada River in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Monday. Search operations continued on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2024

Rescue operations continue in flood-hit Ishikawa

The unprecedented rainfall — claiming seven lives so far — came as the region was recovering from a devastating earthquake earlier this year.
Subway operator Tokyo Metro said that its initial public offering was aiming to raise around ¥319.6 billion.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 24, 2024

Larger IPOs set to test dominance of smaller listings in Japan

New listings look to be gaining momentum as the Nikkei 225 Stock Average has rebounded more than 20% from this year’s intraday low on Aug. 5.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (left) holds talks with China's top diplomat, Wang Yi (right center), during their 55-minute meeting at United Nations headquarters in New York on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 24, 2024

China urges Japan to deal with stabbing 'calmly' as details of motive elude

Beijing has been trying to prevent the stabbing of the 10-year-old Japanese boy from spiraling into a wider diplomatic row between the Asian powers.
Former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba reacts during a news conference ahead of the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election in Tokyo on Sept. 6.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 24, 2024

Why is Shigeru Ishiba so unpopular among his LDP peers?

The former defense minister is highly regarded among the public and local chapters of the ruling party, but it's a different story when it comes to LDP lawmakers.
A man carries hilsa fish in a bamboo basket through a wholesale market in the Indian state of West Bengal.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 24, 2024

Sales of beloved fish caught in net of fraying India-Bangladesh ties

Major overfishing means stocks fall far short for India, and traders had turned to Bangladesh to fill the shortfall before the export ban.
Satish Sethi
COMMUNITY / The Big Questions
Sep 24, 2024

Emirates works to fly better, cleaner and smarter

Born in New Delhi, he joined Emirates in 2001 where he developed an international career until becoming Emirates’ country manager for Japan in 2021
The Justice Ministry said there are now over 250,000 specified skilled foreign workers.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2024

Number of specified skilled visa holders in Japan surpasses 250,000

The government is aiming to attract 820,000 foreign workers under the specified skilled worker program over a five-year period through April 2029.
Catherine O’Connell has achieved a number of notable firsts in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 24, 2024

Pioneering foreign female attorney stresses pragmatism within Japan Inc.

Catherine O’Connell was the first foreign woman to establish a law practice in Tokyo and to sit on the audit and supervisory boards at Toyota Motor and Fujitsu.
Debris and destruction at the site of an overnight Israeli strike on a neighborhood in the Lebanese city of Baalbeck in the Bekaa valley on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 24, 2024

Is all-out war inevitable? The view from Israel and Lebanon

Officials and analysts told reporters what the opposing sides hope to achieve by ramping up their attacks and whether there is any way out.
A migrant from Mali, who said he is from the Fulani community and escaped the war in his country and arrived in El Hierro Island a year ago, speaks to  journalist in Barcelona on Friday,
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 24, 2024

West Africa becomes global terrorism hotspot as Western forces leave

Western powers that previously invested in trying to beat back the jihadists have very little capacity left on the ground.
Chinese military vehicles carrying DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missiles travel past Beijing's Tiananmen Square during a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, on Oct. 1, 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 25, 2024

China fires long-range missile into Pacific Ocean in rare test

Tokyo said it had not received advance notification from the Chinese side of the launch, which Beijing said was part of annual military training.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro
WORLD / Politics
Sep 25, 2024

Brazil and Spain struggle to shake criticism as Maduro enablers

While not recognizing Nicolas Maduro as Venezuela's president, Brazil’s leader and Spain's prime minister have also not endorsed the opposition candidate.
Takakeisho during a one-day tournament at Kokugikan in Tokyo in February 2020
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Sep 25, 2024

As Onosato dominates the spotlight, former sumo stars exit the stage

Takakeisho, who announced his retirement last week, was must-watch TV for virtually all of his 6½ years in sumo's top division.
Residential buildings in the Toyosu area in Tokyo, Japan, on Feb. 11, 2023. If rising rates on real estate investment loans are seen as a burden, people may become more cautious about acquiring properties for leasing, experts warn.
BUSINESS
Sep 25, 2024

Tokyo home prices are seen to largely withstand BOJ rate hikes

The days of making large profits from property in Tokyo may be over
Corey Conners lines up a putt during the BMW Championship in Castle Rock, Colorado, last month.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Sep 25, 2024

Corey Conners amped for 'amazing' Presidents Cup atmosphere in Canada

The game of golf has been booming in Canada, with five golfers having won on the PGA Tour in the past two years.
Kioxia Holdings was reportedly planning an initial public offering in October valuing it at $10 billion.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 25, 2024

Kioxia reportedly pulls IPO as AI winter looms

The IPO delay comes as the chip business globally faces a number of challenges related to possible overcapacity in some products.
Economic security minister Sanae Takaichi, a candidate in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s presidential election, speaks during a debate in Tokyo on Sept. 14.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 25, 2024

Does Sanae Takaichi have a real shot at becoming Japan's first female leader?

After failing to win the party presidency in 2021, Takaichi is trying her luck once again — and this time her chances of winning seem better than before.

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