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The earth tones and suave furnishings of Sezanne's dining room come courtesy of Hong Kong designer Andre Fu.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 17, 2024

Michelin stars awarded to 170 Tokyo restaurants

A glimmering constellation of coveted accolades lights the way for foodies and fine diners in the Japanese capital.
NHK President Nobuo Inaba speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in September.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Oct 17, 2024

NHK to resume contracting former Johnny's performers

The broadcaster's president said the decision was based on the agency’s clear efforts to compensate Johnny Kitagawa's sexual abuse victims.
The Hong Kong skyline on Jan. 3, 2022. In 2018, Hong Kong received a record 65 million tourists. In 2023, it welcomed a little more than half that.
BUSINESS
Oct 17, 2024

Tourism has rebounded worldwide but not in Hong Kong.

The rebound of international travel to the city continues to lag far behind the tourist activity reported at most other Asian destinations.
The Bank of Japan’s historic shift this year from radical monetary easing to two interest-rate hikes has sparked volatility in the nation’s securities market as investors speculate on the BOJ’s next move.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 17, 2024

Japan Post Insurance markets chief sees Nikkei setting new records after votes

The Nikkei's all-time high, set in July, will probably be "just a passing point,” said Kenichi Kuga, head of global equity and fixed income investment.
Vending machine enthusiast Kenzaburo Ishida
JAPAN / Society
Oct 24, 2024

Useful even in disasters: Japan's ever-evolving vending machines

Vending machine enthusiast Kenzaburo Ishida breaks down their unique appeal, evolution and crucial role in times of disaster.
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in Washington on July 25.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 18, 2024

After Sinwar death, Biden faces big obstacles to Gaza peace

U.S. President Joe Biden's hope for a cease-fire in Gaza is far from certain as he faces a cascade of interlocking Middle East crises.
A new report said that fires in the northern boreal forests, which span from Russia to North America, have almost tripled during the past 20 years.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Oct 18, 2024

Global forest fire carbon emissions have jumped 60% in 20 years

Forest fire severity — a measure of how much carbon is emitted per unit of area burned — is also up by nearly 50% globally.
Students at the University of Toronto campus. Facing growing criticisms for losing control of immigration, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has put a limit on international student intakes.
WORLD / Society
Oct 18, 2024

Support for immigration in Canada plunges to lowest in decades

Nearly 6 in 10 people now agree that there’s too much immigration to Canada, according to the country's longest-running survey on the topic.
Japan's core inflation slowed in September due to the rollout of energy subsidies.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 18, 2024

Japan’s inflation slows for first time since April

The slowdown in price gains largely hangs on government subsidies.
At this week's Japan International Aerospace Exhibition in Tokyo, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries unveiled concepts of two drone systems that could potentially operate alongside the next-generation fighter aircraft that Japan is developing with Italy and Britain. The full-scale model on the left is of an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance drone while the other is a 1:10 scale model of a tactical combat drone.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2024

MHI and BAE showcase drones for potential use with GCAP fighter

The artificial intelligence-enabled drones are being designed to not only support and escort combat aircraft but also perform their own missions.
Japanese firm Space Entertainment Laboratory is showcasing a model of its fully autonomous, battery-powered Hamadori 3000 amphibious drone at this week's Japan International Aerospace Exhibition in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 18, 2024

Drone solutions take center stage in Tokyo aerospace show

A flurry of dual-use unmanned aerial vehicles are being showcased, a testament to their growing popularity and the Defense Ministry’s increasing demand for them.
The dining room at Ca'enne is as authentically rustic as the ingredients — all from Nagano Prefecture's Yatsugatake region — that chef Noriyuki Usui cooks with.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Oct 20, 2024

Ca’enne: Into the Yatsugatake mountains for Nagano’s freshest produce

For a restaurant that only uses ingredients from a landlocked region, there is a surprising amount of excellent fish on chef Noriyuki Usui’s menu.
New and strengthened rules aim to make street drinking a thing of the past in Shibuya's nightlife center — but the reality may not be that simple.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Oct 21, 2024

Can you drink in Shibuya and Shinjuku this Halloween? It depends.

Shibuya and Shinjuku are both planning on cracking down on street drinking this Halloween and beyond. But the problem might be bigger than a night of drunken revelry.
A customer shops for tomatoes at the vegetable section of a supermarket in Beijing on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 18, 2024

China's third-quarter GDP hits weakest pace since early 2023

Authorities have sharply ramped up policy stimulus, but markets are waiting for a clearer road map to put the economy back on a solid longer-term footing.
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting in Moscow on Sept. 25 where he called for changes to rules on the use of Russia's nuclear deterrent.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 18, 2024

Putin's nuclear doctrine isn't his worst threat

These kinds of signals should be seen as weapons in and of themselves, which makes it vital to distinguish between what’s real and feigned.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda can point to Washington all he wants, but his inability to settle on a consistent message is part of what ails his nation's currency.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 18, 2024

The yen pays the price for a timid Bank of Japan

Ueda can point to Washington all he wants, but his inability to settle on a consistent message is part of what ails his nation's currency.
China has shifted the economic narrative. The country's rapid growth and production under a repressive regime challenges the idea that good institutions are necessary for wealth.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 18, 2024

Beijing’s success is a conundrum for Nobel winners

China has shifted the economic narrative. The country's rapid growth under a repressive regime challenges the idea that good institutions are necessary for wealth.
Koichi Hagiuda, former economy minister, shakes hands with his supporters in Hachioji, Tokyo, on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 18, 2024

In western Tokyo, national scandals rub up against local politics

In the Tokyo No. 24 district, the LDP is grappling with a backlash, but the opposition is struggling to capitalize on the public’s lingering dissatisfaction.
Kento Yamasaki celebrates on the podium after winning the men's keirin final at the  UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Ballerup, Denmark, on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 18, 2024

Kento Yamasaki races to Japan's second-ever world title in men's keirin

It was one of two golds for Japan on the second night of the world track championships
Voters get their belongings checked Wednesday at a venue for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's stump speech in the town of Itano, Tokushima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 18, 2024

Election causing disruptions amid autumn sports day season

Elementary schools designated as polling stations have been forced to reschedule sports events, and even some activities unrelated to schools are being canceled.
Founded in 1879, Tokio Marine was Japan's first nonlife insurance company and it has since expanded into life insurance and now has a presence in 46 countries besides Japan.
BUSINESS
Oct 18, 2024

Tokio Marine pauses sale of Southeast Asia life insurance business, sources say

The delay appears to be due to the firm's dispute with a Malaysian partner.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (from left), U.S. President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron pose for a family photo at the Chancellery in Berlin on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 19, 2024

Biden and allies in Berlin vow no let-up in support for Ukraine

In a joint statement, the leaders "reiterated their resolve to continue supporting Ukraine in its efforts to secure a just and lasting peace."
A Palestinian boy holds up a portrait of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar during a rally in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, on Friday.
WORLD
Oct 19, 2024

Hamas mourns Sinwar, vowing no hostage release until war ends

The killing of Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the deadliest attack in Israeli history, had raised hopes of a turning point in the war.
A drone flies as Chinese drone maker DJI demonstrates their app that tracks a drone's registration and owner. DJI, the world's largest drone manufacturer that sells more than half of all U.S. commercial drones, asked a U.S. district judge to order its removal from a Pentagon list designating it as a "Chinese military company," saying it "is neither owned nor controlled by the Chinese military."
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Oct 19, 2024

Drone maker DJI sues Pentagon over Chinese military listing

The company has said the designation is wrong and has caused it significant financial harm.
Interest on the federal debt exceeded $1 trillion for the first time in fiscal 2024 while spending grew for the Social Security retirement program, health care and the military, the Treasury Department said Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 19, 2024

U.S. budget deficit tops $1.8 trillion in fiscal 2024, third-largest on record

The deficit for the year ended Sept. 30 was up 8%, or $138 billion, from the $1.695 trillion recorded in fiscal 2023.
Rescuers near the rubble of a building that was leveled by an Israeli airstrike in Abbassiyeh, Lebanon, on Friday.
WORLD
Oct 19, 2024

Foreign workers trapped and terrified amid conflict in Lebanon

The International Organization for Migration says Lebanon hosts more than 177,000 migrant workers, primarily from Africa and Asia.
A demonstrator holds a megaphone, as families and supporters of hostages kidnapped by Hamas protest against the government and demand their immediate release, in Tel Aviv on Thursday.
WORLD
Oct 19, 2024

Sinwar's death clouds path to freeing Israeli hostages

Hamas now needs to appoint a replacement, and that person will play a key role in determining the fate of the Israelis kept hostage since its attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 20, 2024

Japan and U.S. defense chiefs voice 'sense of crisis' amid China military moves

Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also agreed to work toward bolstering their command-and-control frameworks.
Prosecutors and child safety advocates say generative AI systems can allow offenders to morph and sexualize ordinary photos of children.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Oct 20, 2024

U.S. prosecutors see rising threat of AI-generated child sex abuse imagery

Cases involving AI-generated sex abuse imagery are likely to tread new legal ground, particularly when an identifiable child is not depicted.
Empress Emerita Michiko and her husband, Emperor Emeritus Akihito, stroll around the Akasaka Imperial Palace grounds in Tokyo this month.
JAPAN
Oct 20, 2024

Japan's Empress Emerita Michiko turns 90

The former empress sustained a fractured right femur after a fall at the palace on Oct. 6 and later underwent surgery at the University of Tokyo Hospital.

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