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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks in Pyongyang on Nov. 21. North Korea is believed to have been engaging in nuclear development since the era of the late Kim Il Sung, the country's founder and the current leader's grandfather.
WORLD
Dec 11, 2024

Unstable global environment reduces NPT to mere shell

Some countries are moving to acquire nuclear weapons in an attempt to either maintain their dictatorial regimes or to strengthen deterrence.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 11, 2024

BOJ signals before meeting leave traders guessing

The confusion has caused sharp swings in market bets on rate hikes, with overnight indexed swaps pricing in a 22% chance of a December rate increase.
A restaurant owner waits for customers at her empty restaurant in Seoul on Oct. 31.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Dec 11, 2024

South Korea's fading nightlife signals shift in hard-drinking culture

The change has been driven by corporate Korea's slowdown on after-work drinking sessions, younger female workers' refusal to partake and inflation.
Members of the Ground Self-Defense Force disembark from a V-22 Osprey aircraft during the annual live-fire exercise at East Fuji Maneuver Area in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in May 2022.
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2024

Japan GSDF grounds Osprey fleet after U.S. suspension

The Ground Self-Defense Force said it will give top priority to ensuring safety until further details are shared.
Akihiro Kaneko, president of the Japan Council of Metalworkers’ Unions, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Dec. 3.
BUSINESS
Dec 11, 2024

Japan union head calls for government to work more on raising pay

The call comes as Japan prepares for annual wage negotiations that culminate in the spring.
The East Japan Railway Shinjuku Station in Tokyo. Within the next 10 years, JR East will develop automated walk-through gate technology so that passengers can enter the train platform without having to tap their Suica card or phone on the ticket gates.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 11, 2024

JR East announces 10-year plan to drastically overhaul Suica

Dubbed the "Suica Renaissance," the plan involves redesigned ticket gates, new payment features and a subscription service.
AE3803 (Mei Nagano, left) and U-1146 (Takeru Satoh) are the red and white blood cell protagonists of “Cells at Work!,” Hideki Takeuchi’s quirky film about the human body.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 12, 2024

‘Cells at Work!’: Cellular shenanigans make for a fantastic voyage

Spirited performances by Mei Nagano and Takeru Satoh bolster Hideki Takeuchi’s quirky and stylish film.
Japan ranked second in both literacy and numeracy, and tied with Finland for first place in problem-solving in an international OECD survey of adult skills.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 11, 2024

Japan retains strong results in OECD’s adult skills survey

Overall, Japan’s scores exceeded the OECD average across all age groups though they tended to decline with age.
An SM-3 interceptor is launched by the Aegis Guam System during a test at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 12, 2024

Can a U.S. missile defense system shield Guam from Chinese threat?

Building the island's missile defenses as envisioned will cost about $10 billion over the next decade.
FBI Director Christopher Wray speaks during a meeting in Washington in September.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 12, 2024

FBI chief Christopher Wray to resign before Trump takes office

Donald Trump has announced the nomination of staunch loyalist Kash Patel to head the top U.S. law enforcement agency.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers an address to the nation at the Presidential Office in Seoul on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 12, 2024

South Korea's Yoon remains defiant as impeachment odds jump

The embattled president said he will "fight until the end," while the chief of his own party called for his impeachment.
A liquefied natural gas plant operated by Sakhalin Energy in Sakhalin, Russia. Japan, the world's second biggest LNG buyer, depends on Russia for 9% of its LNG.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Dec 12, 2024

Rival supplies and depleting fields give Japan an exit from Russian gas

Japan, the world's second-biggest liquefied natural gas buyer, depends on Russia for 9% of its LNG.
People are seen at one of Seven & I Holdings's 7-Eleven convenience stores in Tokyo in January 2017.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Dec 12, 2024

7-Eleven battle shows resilience of Japan Inc.'s family ties

Founding families are able to wield considerable power in Japanese companies despite holding small stakes.
A production line at Mazda's plant in Salamanca, Guanajuato state, Mexico
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 12, 2024

Mazda’s Mexico investment to hinge on Trump’s tariff decisions

Mazda joins a growing number of auto firms that have either paused or signaled they may reconsider plans in the country.
Outfielder Juan Soto officially joined the Mets on Wednesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 12, 2024

Juan Soto signs record 15-year, $765 million contract with Mets

"This is a seminal moment in franchise history," Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen said in a statement.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike (center) answers questions at the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly plenary session on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2024

Tokyo to make day care free to boost birth rate

The move will expand a policy of free day care for second-born and subsequent children to first-borns as well.
Cables connect to servers at a data center. The rapid global adoption of AI has triggered a boom in demand for the energy-hungry data centers on which the technology depends, putting power grids to the test.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2024

Fossil fuels initially needed for AI boom, Tepco adviser says

While electricity demand has been trending downward in Japan, experts have suggested that the decline could be reversed as the nation builds more data centers.
The Lower House Budget Committee clears the 2024 supplementary budget on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 12, 2024

Lower House passes ¥13.9 trillion supplementary budget

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s minority government made concessions to the opposition to secure support for the budget, which includes an economic stimulus package.
Former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick will coach North Carolina next season, the school announced on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Dec 12, 2024

Bill Belichick announced as head coach of North Carolina

Financial terms were not disclosed, but the Athletic reported that the five-year contract could be worth up to $30 million.
Business sentiment among large manufacturers in Japan improved for the first time in two quarters, the Bank of Japan's tankan survey for December showed Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 13, 2024

Japan business mood improves slightly, but global risks cloud outlook

The Bank of Japan tankan survey results come ahead of a two-day policy meeting next week, when its board will debate whether to lift rates from the current 0.25%.
Children eat at a <i>kodomo shokudo</i> in the city of Osaka. The number of such cafeterias, which provide free or low-cost meals to children in need, has surpassed 10,000 nationwide.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 13, 2024

Number of cafeterias for children in need hits record high in Japan

There are now more kodomo shokudo, which offer free or low-cost meals, than elementary and junior high schools.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s factory (left) in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Feb. 23, the day before it was officially opened
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 22, 2024

Chip cities rise in Japan’s fields of dreams

Injections of cash are transforming once-sleepy areas, lifting stagnant house prices and triggering construction booms.
The Mets' Juan Soto poses for photos at Citi Field in New York on Thursday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 13, 2024

Juan Soto hoping to build dynasty with Mets

Mets fans are eager to see their team end a World Series championship drought that stretches back to 1986.
A view of a damaged house following a landslide and an earthquake in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 7.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2024

Japan's emperor and empress to visit disaster-hit Noto for third time

The imperial couple are concerned about those living on the Noto Peninsula hit by the two disasters, aides have said.
Former China coach Li Tie, seen during a World Cup qualifier in September 2021, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on corruption charges on Friday.
SOCCER
Dec 13, 2024

Former China men's soccer coach Li Tie sentenced to 20 years in jail for corruption

Anti-graft authorities in China took aim at the sports industry in 2022 and announced a string of convictions for former soccer administrators this week.
Farhan al-Khouli, a Syrian military conscript who deserted his post on the first day of the rebel offensive, works at a horse stable in Damascus, Syria, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 13, 2024

Demoralized and abandoned by allies: Why Syria’s army failed to fight

Rampant corruption and a heavy reliance on foreign allies hollowed out Bashar Assad's once-feared army.
Nobuhiro Ito, who runs casting-maker Ito Tekko, which employs about 100 people, in front of his company's factory in the city of Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 13, 2024

BOJ's rate hike plans clouded by small firms' wage woes

Next year's wage prospects are crucial for sustaining a consumption-led recovery — a prerequisite for further rate hikes by the Bank of Japan.
Before (top) and after images of the regrowth of a tooth in a ferret (center top and bottom) and mice (right and left)
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 13, 2024

Japanese researchers test pioneering drug to regrow teeth

Tests on mice and ferrets suggest that blocking a protein called USAG-1 can awaken a third set of teeth.
Yoichi Miyazawa (right), chair of the Liberal Democratic Party's tax panel, said Friday that both the LDP and Komeito have agreed to decide on the start date for higher income taxes at a later date.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 13, 2024

LDP-Komeito bloc defers decision on income tax hike to boost defense budget

The bloc originally aimed to raise income tax rates in January 2027, but reconsidered following discussions with the opposition Democratic Party for the People.
Gucci’s newest boutique bar is moody, chic and delightfully louche.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Dec 15, 2024

From Florence to Osaka, Gucci’s newest concept bar oozes style

Gucci Giardino Osaka carves out its own identity through a fusion of Italian and Japanese influences set against the backdrop of the city’s fast-paced, urban landscape.

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