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Then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe celebrates in Tokyo with party rival Shigeru Ishiba after Abe won the Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership vote in September 2018.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 29, 2024

Shigeru Ishiba made his career as an anti-Abe

Over the years, Ishiba's opposition earned him few friends; indeed, he has a reputation for being a "traitor” due to his public criticism of party orthodoxy.
While Shigeru Ishiba’s victory suggests a shift within the Liberal Democratic Party, he still faces challenges from those who remain loyal to the old party guard. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 29, 2024

Japan’s perennial political underdog finally gets a win

Ishiba margin of victory was slim, meaning that there is still a sizable portion of the party who will be resistant to his initiatives.
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani hits a single against the Rockies during the eighth inning in Denver on Sunday.
BASEBALL
Sep 30, 2024

Shohei Ohtani misses out on Triple Crown in final game of historic season

Ohtani finished with a .310 average after going 1-for-4. He also stole his 59th base of the year.
Employees of the Tokai village government in Ibaraki Prefecture offers a moment of silence on Monday to commemorate the 25th anniversary of a criticality accident that occurred at a facility of nuclear fuel-processing company JCO.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 30, 2024

Ex-mayor raps government for lack of preparedness for nuclear disasters

Tatsuya Murakami, who dealt with a 1999 nuclear accident as a village chief, warns against the pursuit of nuclear power without weighing its risks.
Supporters wave flags and salute during the broadcast of a speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut in November 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 30, 2024

Iran looks to regroup as Middle East braces for country's next move

Tehran is expected to focus on rebuilding Hezbollah in Lebanon and keeping its network of proxies in action for as long as possible.
LDP policy chief Itsunori Onodera, Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama, Vice President Yoshihide Suga, Shunichi Suzuki, chairman of the general affairs council, and Shinjiro Koizumi, chairman of the election committee, at the party's headquarters on Monday
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 30, 2024

Ishiba announces new leadership lineup ahead of general election

The appointments seem to reflect Ishiba’s desire to maintain internal party harmony ahead of a general election and reward those who have supported him.
Community leaders discuss the role of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in ending the HIV/AIDS threat to public health by 2030 at a seminar hosted by Gilead Sciences in Tokyo on Sept. 25.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 1, 2024

HIV prevention drug remains out of reach for many in Japan despite approval

The drug's high cost together with insufficient knowledge and awareness are hindering efforts to broaden access to it, experts and community leaders say.
Shigeru Ishiba’s Cabinet appointments reveal deep fissures within the party resulting from his victory in the leadership race.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 1, 2024

The new prime minister puts together a ‘disunity Cabinet’

While Ishiba tries to promote his policy priorities, the Cabinet's composition may create challenges for his leadership.
According to a man seeking compensation through the courts for his forced hospitalization at a psychiatric ward, it was clear from his medical records that there was no need for him to stay in hospital from 1988.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 1, 2024

Plaintiff denied compensation for decadeslong stay at hospital

Plaintiff Tokio Ito, who is diagnosed with schizophrenia, claimed that he suffered emotional damage from the extremely long and involuntary stay.
Chinese People’s Liberation Army soldiers march in the Victory Day Parade in Moscow in 2020. China and Russia are working together to undermine the liberal international order through military means.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Oct 2, 2024

Tackling an international order in disarray

The liberal international order is fraying at the edges. A more assertive stance against leaders trying to undermine the status quo, Putin and Xi most notably, is needed.
For one night in Tokyo last month, Daniel Calvert (left) and Quique Dacosta brought their wildly different culinary styles together into a remarkable service.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 6, 2024

A meeting of Michelin minds at Tokyo's Sezanne

Daniel Calvert says no to most requests for pop-ups at two-Michelin-starred Sezanne — except when the chance to work with three-starred Quique Dacosta came up.
Tomoyuki Sugano (left) with his Giants teammates during a game last month in Hiroshima.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 5, 2024

Giants ace Tomoyuki Sugano announces plans to join MLB

The long-time Giants starter has won the Sawamura Award as NPB's best pitcher twice, in 2017 and 2018.
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar looks on during an anti-Israel rally in Gaza City on Oct. 1, 2022.
WORLD
Oct 5, 2024

Hunted yet unrepentant: Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar remains committed to Israel's destruction

For Sinwar, architect of the cross-border raids a year ago, armed struggle with Israel remains the only way to force the creation of a Palestinian nation.
A girl charges her phone at the Delpan Evacuation Center after Typhoon Kammuri hit Manila in December 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Oct 7, 2024

Crowd-sourcing data could help Philippines tackle deadly floods

The Philippines is hit by around 20 large storms every year and, due to climate change, that is expected to only get worse.
Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato attends an interview with media outlets at the Finance Ministry on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 7, 2024

Japan's new finance minister vows to finish the job as deflation czar

Katsunobu Kato's message indicates that financial conditions might remain accommodative for some time.
Employees make pastries in the Princi bakery inside the Starbucks Reserve Roastery store in Shanghai in 2018.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 8, 2024

Starbucks cafes in Tokyo almost alone in keeping Princi baked goods

Starbucks is removing Howard Schultz's brand of Italian baked goods from many of its higher-end cafes, stepping back from an initiative championed by longtime leader.
U.K. Conservative leadership candidates Kemi Badenoch (left) and Robert Jenrick after delivering speeches at the party's annual conference, in Birmingham, England, on Oct. 2.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 10, 2024

Who are Badenoch and Jenrick, the candidates to lead U.K. Tories?

By choosing Badenoch or Jenrick, the Conservative party looks set to appeal to supporters lost to Nigel Farage’s anti-immigration Reform U.K. party.
Nobuyo Oyama
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Oct 11, 2024

Long-time 'Doraemon' voice actor Nobuyo Oyama dies at 90

Oyama voiced the nation's beloved blue cat-robot in her own inimitable way from the time the show debuted in 1979 until 2005.
Employees work at a copper smelter in Yantai, Shandong province, in China, on April 26, 2023.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 15, 2024

Inside China's bid to build sway over global metals pricing

After buying mining assets around the world, China wants a bigger say in how the prices of the metals mined are determined.
The Shimane nuclear power plant's No. 2 reactor is set to restart in early December.
JAPAN
Oct 15, 2024

Japanese utility to restart Shimane nuclear reactor in December

Shimane No. 2 was set to resume in August, but its operator pushed back the restart due to required safety upgrade work.
Chinese President Xi Jinping makes a toast during the National Day reception on the eve of the 75th founding anniversary of the People's Republic of China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sept. 30.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 16, 2024

Xi’s stronger grip on legislature shows lack of checks on power

Nearly 70% of laws made in China this year feature language explicitly affirming the party’s authority.
The Bank of Japan’s historic shift this year from radical monetary easing to two interest-rate hikes has sparked volatility in the nation’s securities market as investors speculate on the BOJ’s next move.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 17, 2024

Japan Post Insurance markets chief sees Nikkei setting new records after votes

The Nikkei's all-time high, set in July, will probably be "just a passing point,” said Kenichi Kuga, head of global equity and fixed income investment.
The dining room at Ca'enne is as authentically rustic as the ingredients — all from Nagano Prefecture's Yatsugatake region — that chef Noriyuki Usui cooks with.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Oct 20, 2024

Ca’enne: Into the Yatsugatake mountains for Nagano’s freshest produce

For a restaurant that only uses ingredients from a landlocked region, there is a surprising amount of excellent fish on chef Noriyuki Usui’s menu.
A man looks at campaign posters for the House of Representatives election in Tokyo on Tuesday. Japan faces important challenges, but there is little reason to believe this election will bring about real change.
EDITORIALS
Oct 18, 2024

Japan goes to vote, but it’s not clear why

To smooth over those tensions, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has begun to recast his positions on many policies, moving closer to the LDP mainstream.
China has shifted the economic narrative. The country's rapid growth and production under a repressive regime challenges the idea that good institutions are necessary for wealth.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 18, 2024

Beijing’s success is a conundrum for Nobel winners

China has shifted the economic narrative. The country's rapid growth under a repressive regime challenges the idea that good institutions are necessary for wealth.
The Financial Services Agency in Tokyo. The financial instruments and exchange law prohibits corporate officials privy to important information, such as tender offers, from trading related shares before the information is made public.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 19, 2024

Judge seconded to FSA probed over insider trading suspicions

Since summer, the SESC has been investigating individuals and places related to the judge and scrutinizing his transaction details.
“The Secret Lives of Numbers” co-author Kate Kitagawa discovered the power of storytelling as a research assistant for a professor in Japanese history. Since then, Kitagawa has been dedicated to using storytelling to show that humans are able to unlock the greater secrets of the universe through collaboration, not competition.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 21, 2024

'The Secret Lives of Numbers' reveals the unsung figures of mathematics

The book’s core message of creative collaboration leading to great discoveries is the brainchild of co-author Kate Kitagawa, a leading expert on the history of math.
A collage made of undated handout pictures released by the Yamagata University Institute of Nasca shows 10 of 303 new geoglyphs discovered by scientists at the university in Japan.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Oct 21, 2024

The Japanese researcher uncovering the mystery of Peru’s Nazca Lines

Masato Sakai has dedicated his career to the collection of desert etchings. AI is starting to make his work much easier.
Having learned from the experience of losing in the last election and from actions taken by similar movements elsewhere, another Trump administration would be far more effective at wielding — and maintaining — power.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 21, 2024

Why another Trump term would be worse than the first

A political movement with autocratic tendencies often becomes more ruthless and effective after experiencing electoral defeat.
Chieko Tsukahara, former head coach of the Japanese women's gymnastics team, died from stomach cancer on Sept. 1.
SPORTS
Oct 21, 2024

Former Olympic gymnast Chieko Tsukahara dies at 77

Olympic gymnasts Maiko Morio, Mari Kosuge and Koko Tsurumi are among those who trained under Tsukahara.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami