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A still from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
PODCAST / deep dive
Dec 14, 2023

Big in Japan 2023: Anime, Murakami and The Legend of Zelda

Our guests tell us why anime dominated in 2023, which books stood out among a lackluster crowd and why the Zelda franchise is experiencing a renaissance.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pays his respects at the graves of Ukrainian soldiers in Lviv on Friday.
WORLD
Dec 16, 2023

Zelenskyy returns to Ukraine with little aid and a raft of needs

Political infighting in Washington and the European Union has blocked further aid to Ukraine.
A group of 79 soldiers at the U.S. Army’s jungle training school prepare to enter a river on the Hawaiian island of Oahu on Nov. 29. Far from the deserts of the Middle East, the Army is instructing troops in Hawaii on the skills needed for a potential clash with China.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 16, 2023

U.S. military returns to the jungle, training for future threats

Far from the deserts of the Middle East, the Army is instructing troops in Hawaii on the skills needed for a potential clash with China.
Smoke rises from damaged buildings in the Gaza Strip on Friday. Washington has appealed to Jordan, Egypt and Gulf states to persuade Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to pursue institutional reforms with urgency to prepare for post-war Gaza.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 18, 2023

U.S. wants overhauled Palestinian Authority to run Gaza after Hamas

Washington considers the Mahmoud Abbas-led administration as the the only realistic post-war solution despite its unpopularity.
A woman who is against the proposed new constitution holds up a banner as she reacts to results of the referendum on a new Chilean constitution, in Santiago on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 18, 2023

Weary Chileans reject second proposed constitution

With 99% of votes counted in the referendum, 56% rejected the text while 44% backed the document.
A view of the city of Ayodhya, India
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Dec 18, 2023

Temple promised by BJP transforming Indian city but some miss out

Laborers are finalizing a $6 billion infrastructure facelift in Ayodhya that is igniting an economic boom and driving up land prices.
Shoppers at a market in Kyiv on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Dec 21, 2023

With Ukraine’s aid in doubt, companies say they’re the Plan B

Ukrainian companies making products are ensuring their survival while contributing to the war effort.
Real Madrid's Luka Modric battles for the ball with FC Barcelona's Ilkay Gundogan during a match in October. Plans for a European Super League bringing together elite soccer clubs such as the two Spanish outfits won a surprise boost on Thursday.
SOCCER
Dec 22, 2023

Teams shun European Super League despite shock court victory

UEFA and FIFA are "abusing a dominant position” by applying arbitrary rules on approval, control and sanctions, the top EU court said.
Bottled and canned cocktails are predicted to be worth $21.1 billion (about ¥3 trillion) in the U.S. alone by 2027.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 31, 2023

Are canned cocktails poised for a meteoric U.S. rise?

The bottled and canned cocktail market is predicted to be worth $21.1 billion (about ¥3 trillion) in the U.S. alone by 2027.
When Chinese President Xi Jinping came to power, he inherited a China that was enjoying prosperity, but also succumbing to gilded-age excesses.
COMMENTARY / The Year Ahead
Dec 29, 2023

The moral of the China story

Even if China is no longer “winning,” it would be short-sighted to dismiss its recent experience as irrelevant.
As Japan’s borders opened back up and tourists eager to document their long-awaited trips to the country streamed back in, 2023 saw a handful of prominent content creators stir up trouble with local residents to grab attention online.
LIFE / Digital / 2023 in Review
Dec 29, 2023

Social media binged on bad behavior in 2023

Mischief makers like Johnny Somali and "sushi terrorism" instigators gained attention online amid a deluge of Japan-related content this year.
Salesforce headquarters in San Francisco.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 29, 2023

Software companies finally had to care about profit in 2023

The pressure was acute for money-losing companies.
The Ground Self-Defense Force's Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade takes part in a marine landing drill on Tokunoshima island, Kagoshima Prefecture, on Nov. 19.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 29, 2023

Kishida’s military build-up plans face bumpy road ahead

One year on, questions remain as to whether the embattled leader, whose support rate recently dipped to new lows, can follow through on his pledges.
Though ChatGPT debuted in late 2022, it was really in 2023 that we started to get a sense of what large language models could do, including diagnosing complex medical issues.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 31, 2023

The 10 most intriguing science breakthroughs over the past year

As 2023 has drawn to a close, let’s look back on some of the astounding breakthroughs we’ve seen in the last 12 months.
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Woodside, California, in November. After another year marked by great-power rivalries and rising security risks, the role of hegemonic, middling and rising powers has become more fluid than at any time since the end of the Cold War.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 4, 2024

The shape of power in 2024

Thinkers ponder whether the coming year will confirm that the world is quickly moving toward greater multipolarity or “nonalignment.”
Makoto Miyauchi, CEO of B-Lot
ESG CONSORTIUM
Jan 8, 2024

Young B-Lot is on the realty A list for renovations plus innovations

It has been 15 years since the founding of B-Lot Co., a real estate investment, consulting and management company, and nine years since it was publicly listed. It is still a relative youngster in the industry, which is also polarized between giant players serving large enterprises and small ones targeting...
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (center) sits next to Bhutan's King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck (second from left) and others, while watching a cultural performance at the Tashichhodzong monastery in Thimpu, Bhutan, in August 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 7, 2024

India and China eye strategic areas bordering 'last barrier' Bhutan

New Delhi is determined not to let Beijing extend its influence further across what India sees as its natural sphere of influence
A worker guides drilling pipes on the Gazprom PJSC Chayandinskoye oil, gas and condensate field in Russia's Sakha Republic.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 10, 2024

Russia’s oil drilling boom proves Moscow’s resilience to Western sanctions

In the first 11 months of 2023, Russia's drilling was on track to beat the post-Soviet record.
Fiction such as Asako Yuzuki’s “Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder” and nonfiction like Robert Whiting’s "Gamblers, Fraudsters, Dreamers & Spies: The Outsiders who Shaped Modern Japan” are just a taste of 2024's exciting releases.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 11, 2024

Anticipated translations and books about Japan to brighten your 2024

From debut novels to classic crime thrillers, the year ahead promises a wealth of must-read titles to add to your reading list.
A Tokyo Gas Co. storage tank at the company's Setagaya facility in Tokyo
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jan 12, 2024

World trying to quit fossil fuels gets flood of gas instead

Formerly a sluggish sector, global events spurred LNG's expansion
Final Fantasy VII Rebith, the second installment in the modern remastering of the 1997 classic scheduled for a Feb. 29 release, leads the slate of Japan-made games this year.
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON: GAMES
Jan 13, 2024

Final Fantasy and Tekken kick-start exciting year for gamers

Many upcoming titles are legacy franchises with recognizable faces that have withstood the ebb and flow of gaming popularity.
Hiromi Uetake has future plans to turn some of the currently unused rooms of the former elementary school into taprooms for visiting customers.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 14, 2024

Craft beer’s hoppy road to the deep north

Beer drinkers in these occasionally frozen lands now enjoy flavors infused with deep stories and their home prefectures’ splendid natural beauty.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jan 15, 2024

All ¥500 coins that glitter are not gold

Twenty years on and the ¥2,000 note can almost certainly still be described as a “novelty" — what if the new ¥500 coin is destined for the same fate?
After a fuselage panel ripped off during an Alaska Airlines flight on Jan. 5, all Boeing 737 Max 9 planes were grounded in the United States.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 12, 2024

We're stuck with the 737 Max, like it or not

The most recent incident involving a Boeing 737 Max won't stop airlines from using the craft. There simply aren't that many other options.
Donald Trump and his campaign are keenly aware of the publicity and sympathy his court appearances can generate with his loyal base of supporters.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 18, 2024

A day in Trump's world: Morning in court, evening on the campaign

The former U.S. president's unusual schedule sums up the unprecedented nature of this year's election.
Fishers sort scallops aboard a French fishing trawler in the English Channel in 2021.
ENVIRONMENT / Oceans
Jan 18, 2024

Trawling the bottom of the ocean is kicking up tons of carbon dioxide

Many have opposed the practice for the damage it inflicts on seabed ecosystems, but new research shows that the climate also suffers.
Cars drive past a damaged road, in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture.
PODCAST / deep dive
Jan 18, 2024

Japan rings in 2024 with an unwelcome disaster

Join us for the first episode of 2024 as we recap the massive New Year’s Day earthquake and its impact on the people of Ishikawa Prefecture.
Locals in the Cook Islands are cynical about the growing attention fixed on their small country, with many saying they don't necessarily trust either superpower to do the right thing by them.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 19, 2024

U.S.-China fight for one Pacific nation mirrors a regional battle

The success of Beijing’s strategy in the Pacific was reinforced just this week when Nauru became the latest island nation to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
Republican presidential candidate former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 20, 2024

Trump suggests Nikki Haley out of running for VP pick as insults fly

The GOP front-runner's comments came as the two traded some of their sharpest barbs yet with the New Hampshire primary just four days away.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump exits the stage during a campaign event in Concord, New Hampshire, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 21, 2024

For the anti-Trump wing of the GOP, it all comes down to Tuesday

The old guard of the Republican Party has rallied around Nikki Haley ahead of New Hampshire’s primary, in a long-shot bid to stop the former president.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?