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Christmas lights decorate downtown Brampton, a suburb of Toronto, on Jan. 5. In Canada, a post-COVID explosion in foreign students has resulted in housing shortages and flawed academic programs being taught in strip malls.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 29, 2024

Canada’s welcome for foreign students becomes 'trafficking’ nightmare

An open-door policy has caused rental prices to soar, soured the electorate on new arrivals, and allowed colleges to take advantage of young people.
On display at the new 7-Eleven store in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, are about 2,000 additional products that aren’t usually carried in 7-Elevens, including fresh fruit, diapers and hair-care products.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 29, 2024

Seven & I Holdings explores market for bigger 7-Elevens

Its new store in Chiba Prefecture will have more than twice the number of products and is almost double the size of regular outlets.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hold a joint news conference during a trilateral summit at Camp David, Maryland, on Aug. 18. The summit dealt with security and economic security coordination.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Mar 5, 2024

The U.S.-Japan gap: a challenge in economic security cooperation

While such ties appear to be progressing, the two countries’ interests in the field are not necessarily fully aligned.
Starbucks workers hold a rally in New York City in 2022.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 29, 2024

Starbucks' pivot on union may shape labor relations beyond its stores

The iconic coffee chain has been locked in a bitter, high-profile and multifront battle with the union across the U.S. since its first win in 2021.
Aoi Suzuki’s son runs past a home in Taketomi on Iriomote Island (not to be confused with Taketomi Island, which lies to the east of Iriomote). The Suzukis run the Takemori Inn, one of the few hotels on Iriomote.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 29, 2024

[Rebroadcast] Traveling Okinawa with a broken heart

This week on Deep Dive we get contributing writer and photographer Lance Henderstein to read us his article on traveling Okinawa during the rainy season.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has upended Communist Party norms since consolidating power and installing a coterie of loyalists in 2022, marking a shift from the more collective decision-making that helped propel China’s economic rise.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 1, 2024

Xi’s one-man rule over China’s economy is spurring unrest

While the Chinese leader attempts to put the China's economy on a more sustainable footing, he is failing to convince the nation that's a good idea.
Elon Musk arrives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington to participate in the A.I. Forum in September of last year.
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2024

Elon Musk sues OpenAI and Sam Altman for violating the company’s principles

Musk sued OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, accusing them of breaching a contract by putting profits ahead of the public good.
Remember, Vladimir Putin ridiculed the idea that he would invade Ukraine, right up until he ordered close to 200,000 troops over the border.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2024

Would Putin stop if he wins in Ukraine? Let’s not find out.

Just because the Russian leader is a serial liar doesn’t prove he is being untruthful now.
The Dongmenting night market in Shenzhen, China, on Feb. 12. Hong Kong residents are flocking to nearby mainland cities in record numbers for cheaper shopping and entertainment.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 4, 2024

Young Hong Kongers who defied Xi are now partying in China

Thanks to new infrastructure, they can regularly go to Shenzhen where products and services are cheaper.
A 2015 protest against the construction of military infrastructure in Okinawa Prefecture. Many residents are also worried about the impact of a Taiwan contingency on their islands.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 4, 2024

Okinawa’s peace movement carves its own path

Many Okinawans worry about a Taiwan contingency and are angered by U.S. base relocation: Grievances that have given impetus to the islands' own diplomacy.
A Swedish JAS Gripen fighter jet next to a U.S. plane at Kallax Air Base, Sweden, on Monday. Swedish armed forces joined NATO for exercises on Monday, contributing troops, helicopters and fighter jets as the alliance carries out its largest set of military drills since the end of the Cold War.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 5, 2024

Poised to join NATO, Sweden joins its biggest drills since Cold War

The exercises involving over 20,000 troops are being held in a high north being transformed by the NATO accession of Sweden and Finland.
The U.S and Japan are working together to secure a stable semiconductor supply chain and maintain their leading position in this critical technology amid concerns over China.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 5, 2024

Semiconductors are back to center stage in the Japan-U.S. alliance

It is impossible to overestimate the importance of semiconductors to the 21st century. They’re everywhere and in every digital item.
Floating solar panels at the Canoe Brook water treatment plant in Short Hills, New Jersey
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Mar 6, 2024

Pressed for space, solar farms are getting creative

There are solar arrays on top of big-box stores, solar arrays on yachts and solar farms that float.
Vehicles on display at a Toyota car dealership in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 6, 2024

Toyota ups its bet on hybrids in Brazil with $2.2 billion plan

The firm will expand production capacity in Latin America’s largest economy for models that use hybrid-flex fuel technology.
Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia rides during preseason testing at Lusail International Circuit near Doha on Feb. 20.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Mar 6, 2024

'Elegant' Bagnaia on quest for third title as MotoGP turns 75

Unlike Formula One, there are multiple contenders for the title as MotoGP opens its season in Qatar.
Motoki Taniguchi (left) and one of his clients, Maurice Shelton, hope their lawsuit can change alleged police practices involving stop-and-search.
PODCAST / deep dive
Mar 8, 2024

A lawsuit puts alleged racial profiling by police on trial in Japan

Three residents with foreign roots have filed a lawsuit claiming Japanese police target visible minorities. We discuss what they hope to achieve.
It turns out that the mutations that make some people vulnerable to the neurological condition once had a useful function, protecting their ancestors from pathogens.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 6, 2024

Ancient DNA could be hiding all kinds of health secrets

Ancient genomes are unlocking the past and may provide blueprint for the origin of diseases.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman attends a session of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 18.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 9, 2024

OpenAI’s Sam Altman returns to board after probe clears him

Altman was cleared of any wrongdoing that would have mandated being fired, according to a report based on a monthslong investigation.
An image taken from video of a U.S. Navy F/A-18 jet crew’s encounter with an unexplained anomalous phenomena
WORLD / Politics
Mar 9, 2024

Pentagon review finds no evidence of alien cover-up

But the new report suggests that the public’s belief that the government is hiding what it knows will probably continue.
A worker checks the carbon fiber at the composite production line at the Swancor factory in Nantou, Taiwan, in February.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Mar 9, 2024

Recycling wind turbine blades can solve the industry’s biggest problem

Swancor is one of several firms globally trying to develop products that mimic the physical properties of current blade material but can be recycled.
Americans, who by nearly every measure are hungering for a new direction, are confronted with the choice between a continuation with U.S. President Joe Biden or a restoration with former leader Donald Trump.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 10, 2024

The Biden-Trump rerun: A nation craving change gets more of the same

Americans love a candidate who promises something new. But when a sitting president runs against a former one, can either claim the mantle of change?
A hiker walks toward Asahidake in Hokkaido. The health and environmental issues around PFAS could be a particular problem for Japan, which boasts a number of globally renowned outdoor brands and related suppliers.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Mar 10, 2024

Japan’s revered outdoor brands face down PFAS challenge

Outdoor apparel consumers are generally more environmentally conscious, but are likely to be using products that have a big environmental footprint.
A LNG tanker at the Negishi LNG Terminal, which is jointly operated by Tokyo Gas and JERA, in Yokohama
BUSINESS
Mar 11, 2024

Japan boosts reliance on allies for long-term LNG supplies

LNG accounts for about a third of Japan's power generation and it is the world's second-largest importer behind China.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 11, 2024

Daiso banks on ‘brand Japan’ for U.S. expansion

The discount store chain plans to open 65 stores in the U.S. in 2024, and over 100 next year.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends a press conference on the sidelines of the National People's Congress in Beijing on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 8, 2024

China needs a foreign policy reset but Xi’s got bigger problems

At China’s National People’s Congress in Beijing, no change of the guard was announced. Wang Yi will continue as foreign minister, a sign of stability.
A sign warns of underground natural gas pipelines outside Rifle, Colorado, in June 2012.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Mar 11, 2024

U.S. gas pipeline accidents pose big, unreported climate threat

Accidental pipeline leaks — caused by incidents like punctures, corrosion, severe weather and faulty equipment — happen routinely.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whose company launched a pair of smart glasses, on stage at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, in September.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2023

Do you want Meta snooping in your closet with AI wearables?

AI wearable devices represent yet another intrusion into our privacy, allowing tech companies to learn even more about who we are — and what we might buy.
Ukrainian soldiers who recently pulled out of Avdiivka, Ukraine, replenish supplies in a nearby village on Feb. 19.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 13, 2024

U.S. to send $300 million in weapons to Ukraine under makeshift plan

The package will keep advancing Russian troops at bay for only a few weeks, an official said.
French President Emmanuel Macron on International Women's Day in Paris on March 8
WORLD / Politics
Mar 14, 2024

France faces centrist vacuum as far right builds momentum for presidency

A far-right presidency would be a transformational moment for France, Europe’s second largest economy.
The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani(left) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto pose for a portrait on media day at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona, on Feb. 21.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 14, 2024

See-through baseball pants become eye-opening controversy for MLB

The league's new uniforms have dominated the conversation during spring training.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’