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U.S. President Joe Biden (right) meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House in Washington on Sept. 26.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 31, 2024

Biden announces $5.9 billion for Ukraine amid final aid push

The military aid includes $1.25 billion in so-called Presidential Drawdown Authority, which pulls weapons and ammunition from U.S. stockpiles.
A woman walks past a store of Ukraine's telecommunications company Kyivstar in Kyiv on Dec.12, 2023.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 31, 2024

Starlink to roll out direct-to-cell services in Ukraine

Ukraine will be one of the first countries in the world with direct-to-cell connectivity and the first conflict zone where Starlink will roll out this technology.
The tail of Jeju Air Flight 2216 is seen at Muan International Airport in Muan County, South Korea, on Sunday after the aircraft careered down the runway with no landing gear deployed and smashed into a concrete wall, killing all but two of the 181 people on board.
WORLD
Dec 31, 2024

Two plane crashes lead to deadliest year in skies since 2018

The Jeju Air disaster in South Korea and last week’s downing of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane took the number of fatalities aboard passenger aircraft in 2024 to 318.
Britain's Emma Raducanu celebrates after defeating Canada's Rebecca Marino in Malaga, Spain, on Nov. 17.
TENNIS
Dec 31, 2024

Raducanu pulls out of Australian Open warmup with back injury

Raducanu, who was seeded sixth in Auckland, will fly to Melbourne to begin rehabilitation.
Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Dec. 4.
WORLD
Dec 31, 2024

As Gaza suffers, experts call on hunger monitor to redefine famine

Many food-security experts, aid workers and doctors say famine took hold in Gaza many months ago.
A stack of ¥10,000 bills equivalent to the year-end balance of banknotes in circulation would be 1,240 kilometers high, or about 328 times higher than the 3,776-meter Mount Fuji.
BUSINESS
Dec 31, 2024

Japan's year-end banknote balance down for second straight year

The drop resulted from people increasingly opting for cashless payments.
Children play with fireworks at the Bureij camp for displaced Palestinians on Monday.
WORLD
Dec 31, 2024

World greets 2025 after sweltering year of Olympics, turmoil and Trump

As New Year's Eve parties kicked into gear along Australia's picturesque Sydney Harbour, many revelers were relieved to see the past 12 months in the rearview mirror.
A voter casts a ballot at a polling station in Tokyo on Oct. 27. Last year, incumbents in every major country that held a national election lost that vote, the first time that has happened in almost 120 years.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 31, 2024

The world is ever more angry. That is not good.

Hostility toward existing leadership stems from the belief that lives aren't improving and future generations will have fewer opportunities than previous ones.
Japan's Roki Sasaki in action against the Czech Republic in a World Baseball Classic pool game in Tokyo in March 2023
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 31, 2024

20 U.S. Major League teams eager to interview Roki Sasaki

The player wanted to meet with representatives from MLB teams at the same place and under the same conditions, his agent said.
Photos taken from the same place but at different times in the Noto Peninsula towns of Wajima (left) and Suzu illustrate the progress made following the devastating earthquake that hit these areas of Ishikawa Prefecture on Jan. 1, 2024.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 1, 2025

A year after a deadly earthquake, Noto Peninsula still faces long road to recovery

Reconstruction remains a prolonged and complex ordeal for cities in the worst-hit areas, with recovery further hampered by torrential rains in September.
An Air Self-Defense Force airman sets up a drone during a bilateral live fire exercise at Draughon Range, near Misawa Air Base, in Aomori Prefecture in July 2023.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jan 5, 2025

Taking a page from Ukraine war, SDF carves out growing role for drones

Whether for use in the air, on land or at sea, the SDF is gradually integrating these increasingly capable and often autonomous systems into their units.
An undated photo of a poster in a window promoting shows at Lincoln Center by Shen Yun, which in its 2023-2024 season performed more than 800 times on five continents, in New York. Over the past decade, the dance group Shen Yun Performing Arts has made money at a staggering rate in large part by getting followers of the Falun Gong religious movement to work for free and pay its bills.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 31, 2024

How Shen Yun tapped religious fervor to make $266 million

Shen Yun’s success flows in part from its ability to pack venues worldwide — while exploiting young, low-paid performers with little regard for their health or well-being.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks to Brendan Carr, his intended pick for Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as he attends a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket, in Brownsville, Texas, on Nov. 19.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 31, 2024

Social media companies face global tug-of-war over free speech

Trump’s return to the White House is expected to widen the free speech divide that has long existed between the United States and Europe.
Japan's 2024 Word of the Year, "futehodo," is a phrase tied to a Netflix show and highlights the broader decline in the cultural significance of such awards, with recent selections often seen as superficial or promotional.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 31, 2024

Japan’s 2024 word of the year has no rizz

Some critics wondered why the word of the year award was, essentially, functioning as advertising for a TV show that is still available on streaming.
Students perform a play they produced during a Liberal Arts Japanese class at Aichi Prefectural Kariyahigashi High School, as teacher Tomohiko Hyodo (left) watches.
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Jan 13, 2025

Aichi school uses theater to foster communication skills

Liberal Arts Japanese, designed to supplement conventional Japanese language studies, emphasizes practical skills in listening and speaking, the school says.
The Nippon Steel logo is displayed at the company's headquarters in Tokyo in April.
BUSINESS
Jan 1, 2025

Nippon Steel offers U.S. government veto power in bid for U.S. Steel approval

The Japanese firm offered to give the U.S. government a veto over any reduction in U.S. Steel's production capacity.
One of the themes in American guitarist Marty Friedman’s autobiography “Dreaming Japanese” is that while he has become a star in his own right in Japan, he still feels that he doesn’t “belong.”
CULTURE / Books
Jan 1, 2025

Guitarist Marty Friedman goes to bat for J-pop in new autobiography

"Dreaming Japanese" tells the story of how the Megadeth guitarist navigated Japan's music industry.
Pipework at a Russian gas storage facility operated by Gazprom
WORLD / Politics
Jan 2, 2025

Russia and Ukraine end five decades of gas transit to Europe

The stoppage means central European countries that have relied on the flows will be forced to source more expensive gas elsewhere.
U.S. star Ilona Maher has the largest social media following of anyone in rugby.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Jan 2, 2025

World Rugby chief says U.S. star Ilona Maher will help fuel World Cup fever

The versatile American back — a breakout star at the 2024 Paris Olympics —  is the world's most popular rugby player on social media
Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces keep watch during a security operation in Jenin in the Israel-occupied West Bank on Dec. 16.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 2, 2025

Anticipating Trump, Palestinian Authority eager to crush militants

Analysts say that the PA is trying to prove it can control the violence and demonstrate that it could bring stability to Gaza once the war is over.
People offer silent prayers in the Asaichi-dori morning market area in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, at 4:10 p.m. on Wednesday, the time a huge earthquake hit the prefecture on Jan. 1, 2024.
JAPAN
Jan 2, 2025

Remembering the victims of the Noto Peninsula earthquake

The death toll from the New Year's Day quake came to 504, including those who died during evacuation or from other indirect causes.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said forming a grand coalition of major ruling and opposition parties to stabilize his administration will likely be an option.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 2, 2025

Grand coalition of ruling and opposition parties likely an option, Ishiba says

The prime minster said forming a grand coalition of major ruling and opposition parties may be an option to stabilize his administration.
A Dior store front in Rome. Despite passing audits, Dior's contractors in Italy have been accused of labor abuses.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 2, 2025

Inside luxury goods' broken audit system

Revelations of worker exploitation in Dior's Italian production chain have exposed flaws in supply chain audits and triggered judicial action.
With the continued wage and price hikes, the Japanese economy will likely grow steadily in fiscal 2025 that will start in April, according to some private think tanks.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jan 2, 2025

Economists see continued rise in Japan's wages and prices in fiscal '25

Uncertainty surrounding the impact of policies under U.S. President-elect Donald Trump are seen as a key risk factor.
A birth notification document issued by Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. Family registers, which record and certify citizens' familial relationships from birth to death, currently do not include the phonetic readings of names.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 2, 2025

Family registers to incorporate phonetic readings of names from end-May

Citizens who wish to register readings that differ from those listed on certificates of residence must notify municipal governments within a year.
Gabriela Dabrowski (right) and Erin Routliffe celebrate after winning the doubles final at the WTA Finals in Riyadh on Nov. 9, 2024.
TENNIS
Jan 2, 2025

Gabriela Dabrowski reveals run to Olympic bronze came amid cancer treatment

Dabrowski said her "surreal" second half of the 2024 season included two surgeries and radiotherapy.
Carlos Sainz sits inside his car after a practice session ahead of the Dakar Rally in Bisha, Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 1.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Jan 2, 2025

'El Matador' Carlos Sainz ready to defend Dakar Rally crown

Sainz's fourth title came when he was 61 — making him the oldest winner of the race — and was the first Dakar victory for German outfit Audi.
A Tesla Cybertruck
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 3, 2025

Tesla annual deliveries fall for first time as incentives fail to drum up demand

CEO Elon Musk had earlier predicted "slight growth" in 2024 deliveries and offered a range of promotions including interest-free financing and free fast-charging to boost sales.
A Golden Globes statue is seen in the ballroom during preparations for the 82nd Annual Golden Globe Awards to be held at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jan 3, 2025

'Emilia Perez' heads into Golden Globes as strong favorite

Awards show organizers are hoping to capitalize on a ratings bump from last year, burnishing the gala's status as a predictor of Oscars success.
Tonoike Sake Brewery has been gearing their brewery toward tourism since the late 1980s, attempting to lure tourists to the town of Mashiko.
LIFE / Travel
Jan 3, 2025

Traveling for sake's sake: The emergence of brewery tourism in Japan

While sake consumption has declined in Japan, breweries across the nation are taking advantage of a rise in overseas interest to promote themselves as tourist destinations.

Longform

"Shake hands with Lima-chan," a statue that shares the name of the Peruvian capital looks in the direction of Peru, where a sister statue, "Sakura-chan," is located. Erected in Yokohama's Rinko Park in 1999, it commemorates Peruvian-Japanese friendship.
The journey of Peru’s Nikkei: Finding identity in Japan