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A bear sighting warning sign in a park at a residential area in the city of Hanamaki in Iwate Prefecture. Hanamaki has deployed along riverbanks artificial intelligence-equipped cameras that identify bears and alert city officials.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 13, 2024

Municipalities in Japan turn to AI and digital maps to prevent bear encounters

Akita Prefecture's online map consolidates reports of sightings and incidents while the city of Hanamaki in Iwate Prefecture has deployed cameras that identify bears.
The Onagawa nuclear power plant in Miyagi Prefecture. Tohoku Electric expects to resume power generation using the reactor within this week and says no changes will be made to its plan to restart commercial operation next month.
JAPAN
Nov 13, 2024

Onagawa nuclear reactor in northeastern Japan restarted after issue

Tohoku Electric Power expects to resume power generation using the reactor within this week.
An expert committee convened by the health ministry has proposed introducing a limit on consecutive workdays.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 13, 2024

Japan to ban employees from working for 14 consecutive days

Employers are currently required to provide one day off a week, but loopholes mean some employees can work up to 48 days in a row.
Japan Atomic Power Co.'s Tsuruga nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture in 2017
JAPAN
Nov 13, 2024

Tsuruga reactor formally ruled noncompliant with safety standards

The Nuclear Regulation Authority ruled the Tsuruga No. 2 reactor did not meet the safety standards after a screening process taking nearly nine years.
Youth leaders at the COP29 United Nations climate change conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, which started on Monday and runs until Nov. 22. Youth participation is key to the success of climate diplomacy as the international community strives to limit global warming.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 13, 2024

A blueprint for youth inclusion in climate diplomacy

Youth participation is vital to keeping the 1.5 degrees Celsius target within reach, one under discussion at the ongoing COP29 climate change conference in Azerbaijan.
Daisuke Tanaka's profile photo on his Instagram account
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 13, 2024

Host arrested on suspicion of coercing client into prostitution

A host club employee in Tokyo’s Kabukicho entertainment district was arrested for allegedly attempting to force a female client into prostitution.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump gestures as he meets with House Republicans on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 14, 2024

Trump's team drawing up list of Pentagon officers to fire, sources say

It is unclear if Donald Trump will endorse the firings, although in the past he has railed extensively against defense leaders who have criticized him.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi (left) meets the deputy chief of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Behrouz Kamalvandi, upon his arrival at Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 14, 2024

Europe pushes for resolution against Iran at IAEA, diplomats say

Such resolutions risk further diplomatic tension with Iran.
Rakuten's sale of 15% stake in its credit card arm to Mizuho Financial Group would give the e-commerce pioneer a one-time gain of ¥159.4 billion in the current quarter.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 14, 2024

Rakuten sells Mizuho 15% of credit card arm for ¥165 billion

The sale would give the e-commerce pioneer a one-time gain of ¥159.4 billion in the current quarter, Rakuten said in a statement Wednesday.
Childhood friends Hiroto (Hiroya Shimizu, right) and Kanamori (Mahiro Takasugi, left) find their gangland loyalties put to the test in Takuro Iwaya’s “Oasis.”
CULTURE / Film
Nov 14, 2024

‘Oasis’: Real-life bromance elevates a generic crime drama

Co-stars Hiroya Shimizu and Mahiro Takasugi’s convincing chemistry as childhood friends carries Takuro Iwaya’s pulpy B-movie.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at a meeting on political reform at the Liberal Democratic Party's headquarters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 14, 2024

Ishiba faces tightrope walk with minority government

As the opposition is seen ramping up pressure on the government, a single mistake could put the administration into jeopardy.
In the past two weeks, developer DeNA has raked in over $50 million for the Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket app, a free-to-play game that charges for premium features.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 14, 2024

Gotta collect 'em all: New Pokemon trading card game becomes big hit

The novel yet nostalgic app has amassed over 30 million downloads worldwide in the first two weeks of its release.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe is one of seven people running to become the next president of the International Olympic Committee.
OLYMPICS
Nov 14, 2024

Presidential hopeful Sebastian Coe says IOC needs clear stance on gender

Coe believes the IOC is a movement that needs modernizing.
Relatives of the victim of an accident in the city of Oita held a news conference on Nov. 5, following the first hearing of the jury trial.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 14, 2024

Justice Ministry panel proposes stricter criteria for dangerous driving

Experts are advocating for the introduction of specific numerical thresholds for speed and blood alcohol content, addressing criticisms of ambiguity in the current law.
Don Kenny leaves behind a wealth of English translations of kyogen as well as work on other aspects of Japanese culture.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Nov 14, 2024

A bridge between kyogen and the world, Don Kenny dies at 88

He came here a soldier, stationed at Atsugi air base after the war, and soon fell in love with the world of Japanese theater.
This September, six years after planting, researchers successfully cultivated 12 black truffles totaling 200 grams.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 14, 2024

Japan researchers achieve second success in artificial black truffle cultivation

While black truffles do grow naturally in Japan, cultivation methods are still underdeveloped, prompting ongoing research.
Then-Chinese Vice Premier Liu He presents a letter from his boss, Xi Jinping, to then-U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House following trade negotiations in October 2019.
COMMENTARY
Nov 14, 2024

Trump’s tariffs and inflation fatigue are a toxic brew

Key to Trump's logic is the idea that the U.S. has all the leverage, and that just isn’t true in the current macroeconomic environment.
Taxes on U.S. citizens working abroad aren’t excessive so much as excessively complicated.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 14, 2024

Trump is right: Expat taxes are too complicated

Taxes on U.S. citizens working abroad aren’t excessive so much as excessively complicated.
Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring against Bolivia during their World Cup qualifier in Buenos Aires on Oct. 15.
SOCCER
Nov 14, 2024

Paraguayan Football Association bans Lionel Messi shirts before match with Argentina

Paraguayan Football Association manager Fernando Villasboa warned the home crowd to wear only Paraguayan shirts to the match.
An oil pump jack in Midland, Texas
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Nov 14, 2024

Republican sweep opens way to boost oil and gas development

Oil producers, however, may be reluctant to drill new wells with U.S. output already at a record high.
Takeshi Shina, an opposition lawmaker and a member of the Lower House's financial committee, has frequently summoned Bank of Japan governors, including incumbent Kazuo Ueda, to parliament for grilling on monetary policy.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 14, 2024

BOJ should raise rates to 1% to reverse weak yen, says CDP lawmaker

His remarks highlight how concern over the demerits of a weak yen will remain a key topic of debate among politicians.
The Tokyo District Court has found Nagumi Osada, 27, guilty of sexually abusing seven girls between the ages of 3 and 6.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 14, 2024

Former day care center worker given 14-year term for child sex abuse

The man was found guilty of abusing seven girls between the ages of 3 and 6 at day care centers where he worked and of filming the acts over a period of two years.
Hackers infiltrated the networks of multiple U.S. telecommunications companies to steal customer call records and compromise the communications belonging to a "limited number” of people in government and politics, officials said.
WORLD
Nov 14, 2024

U.S. accuses China of vast cyberespionage against telecoms

The hackers infiltrated the networks of multiple telecommunications companies to steal customer call records and compromise communications.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks in Phoenix, Arizona, on August 23, 2024. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he is nominating Kennedy to be the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 15, 2024

Vaccine skeptic RFK Jr. vows to 'Make America Healthy Again'

Donald Trump announced he would nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to become the next secretary of Health and Human Services.
Japan's economy expanded by an annualized 0.9% in the third quarter, data showed.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 15, 2024

Japan’s economy beats consensus in boost for BOJ rate hike case

Gross domestic product expanded at an annualized pace of 0.9% in the three months through September from the prior period, a tad higher than the 0.7% consensus estimate.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with House Republicans at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Washington in November. The president-elect is rewarding his staunchest allies with plum roles.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 15, 2024

In choosing his team, Trump opts for personal ties and TV chops

It contrasts with his first presidency when he ended up with members on his team with whom he had no prior working relationship and no level of trust.
Jannik Sinner hits a return against Daniil Medvedev during their match at the ATP Finals in Turin on Thursday.
TENNIS
Nov 15, 2024

Jannik Sinner finishes group stage of ATP Finals with perfect record

World No. 1 Sinner had already qualified for the semifinals thanks to Alex De Minaur winning the opening set in his defeat against Taylor Fritz earlier in the day.
Shannon Turner, who is often in and out of the hospital due to waterfall effects related to the interplay between long COVID, psoriatic arthritis, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome and autoimmune diseases, sits up on a hospital bed in Philadelphia, in May 2023.
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 15, 2024

Many long COVID patients adjust to slim recovery odds as world moves on

Recent scientific studies suggest the longer someone is sick, the lower their chances of making a full recovery.
A University of Lisbon banner reads "From Lisbon to the World." Talent flight to wealthier countries of the north is a problem Portugal shares with several others in southern and central Europe.
WORLD / Society
Nov 15, 2024

Borderless Europe fights brain drain as talent heads north

Workers moving to other nations within the bloc exacerbates regional labor shortages and deprives poorer countries of tax revenues.
The streets of Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, in October show that the city is still struggling from the aftermath of the Jan. 1 earthquake and heavy rain in September.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Nov 15, 2024

Japan faces urgent need to boost state finances for emergencies

If a major earthquake were to strike directly beneath Tokyo, the projected damage would total around ¥107.5 trillion.

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