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Dating apps like Bumble and Hinge, with their reliance on basic algorithms, often lead to superficial connections, but AI could improve this by analyzing deeper data for more meaningful matches.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 11, 2024

AI dating might actually not be so bad

While still in development, these AI-driven match-making tools aim to reduce the fatigue of online dating and foster more genuine connections.
Pocky Day has grown into an informal annual tradition since its introduction in 1999, with stores across Japan offering special edition flavors and creative packaging to mark the occasion on Nov. 11.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 11, 2024

Pocky Day: Japan’s sweetest occasion

Since 1999, Nov. 11 has marked Pocky Day, the date being a nod to the stick-like shape of the beloved treat.
Solar panels installed along the coastline of Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture. Due to the relative ease of starting solar power generation, mega solar power plants have been installed rapidly across the country.
JAPAN
Nov 11, 2024

Japan to mandate solar panel recycling when lifespan ends

The number of panels reaching the end of their lifespans is projected to start rising sharply in the mid-2030s.
Last year, cashews were responsible for 279 of 6,033 allergy cases, or 4.6%, making them the seventh most common allergenic food.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 11, 2024

Japan weighs mandatory allergen labeling for cashew nuts

Cashews nuts caused 37 cases of severe anaphylactic shock last year, making them the fifth most common trigger.
Fuel loading operations at the Shimane nuclear power plant's No. 2 reactor on Nov.1
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2024

Boiling water reactor at Shimane nuclear plant to be restarted in early December

The restart of the boiling water reactor will be the second of such units since reactors of the same type were crippled in the March 2011 nuclear accident.
Global investment firms plan to beef up hiring in Japan, as deals surge on the domestic market.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 12, 2024

Global investment firms hunt for talent in Japan as deals boom

The hiring spree underscores the intensity of dealmaking in Japan, which has been a rare bright spot amid a slowdown in M&A deals globally over the last couple of years.
Japan Atomic Power Co.'s Tsuruga nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture in 2017
JAPAN
Nov 13, 2024

Tsuruga reactor formally ruled noncompliant with safety standards

The Nuclear Regulation Authority ruled the Tsuruga No. 2 reactor did not meet the safety standards after a screening process taking nearly nine years.
Childhood friends Hiroto (Hiroya Shimizu, right) and Kanamori (Mahiro Takasugi, left) find their gangland loyalties put to the test in Takuro Iwaya’s “Oasis.”
CULTURE / Film
Nov 14, 2024

‘Oasis’: Real-life bromance elevates a generic crime drama

Co-stars Hiroya Shimizu and Mahiro Takasugi’s convincing chemistry as childhood friends carries Takuro Iwaya’s pulpy B-movie.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe is one of seven people running to become the next president of the International Olympic Committee.
OLYMPICS
Nov 14, 2024

Presidential hopeful Sebastian Coe says IOC needs clear stance on gender

Coe believes the IOC is a movement that needs modernizing.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks in Phoenix, Arizona, on August 23, 2024. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he is nominating Kennedy to be the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 15, 2024

Vaccine skeptic RFK Jr. vows to 'Make America Healthy Again'

Donald Trump announced he would nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to become the next secretary of Health and Human Services.
Tulsi Gabbard's nomination has raised alarm among the ranks of intelligence officers.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 15, 2024

Trump's choice of Gabbard as U.S. intelligence chief vexes spy world

Donald Trump’s nomination of Tulsi Gabbard is among several high-level picks that suggest he may be prioritizing personal allegiance over competence.
Liberty Oilfield Services CEO Chris Wright rings a ceremonial bell to celebrate the company's IPO on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in January 2018.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 17, 2024

Trump nominates fracking magnate and climate skeptic as energy secretary

A vocal proponent of oil and gas, Chris Wright says the threat of global warming is exaggerated and fossil fuels are crucial for spreading prosperity.
Four candidates vying to lead Nippon Ishin no Kai — from left, former Kanagawa Gov. Shigefumi Matsuzawa, party Deputy Secretary-General Ryuna Kanemura, Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura and Lower House member Seiki Soramoto — gather for a stump speech in Osaka on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 18, 2024

Four candidates vie for leadership of Nippon Ishin no Kai

The leadership race follows the resignation of incumbent leader Nobuyuki Baba over the party's lackluster performance in the Oct. 27 general election.
A China Coast Guard vessel fires a water cannon at a Philippine boat on a resupply mission to the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea on March 5.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2024

America must stand up to Asia’s bully

Without U.S. intervention, China will continue its territorial expansion, threatening global security and supply chains.
Rice fields in the town of Ozu, Kumamoto Prefecture. The water-filled paddies glistening under the sun is a symbol of a long-running effort to preserve the prefecture’s groundwater.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Nov 17, 2024

Japan's chipmaking rush pressures Kumamoto's special water supply

TSMC and others hope that support for existing projects and proper wastewater management can avoid undermining water development efforts lauded by the U.N.
Ichiro Suzuki became one of the best hitters in baseball history during his 19-year career in MLB.
BASEBALL
Nov 19, 2024

Ichiro makes debut on Hall of Fame ballot

The superstar outfielder is considered by many to be a lock to gain induction during his first year on the ballot.
Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal celebrates after closing out an inning during Detroit's playoff series with Cleveland last month.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 21, 2024

Braves' Chris Sale and Tigers' Tarik Skubal collect Cy Young honors

Both left-handers won the pitching Triple Crown and were the clear favorites in Cy Young Award voting.
Nylon is wrapped around fiber-optic cables at a SubCom factory in Newington, New Hampshire, in December 2018.
WORLD
Nov 21, 2024

Strategic subsea cables: the vulnerable links that enable our digital lives

Sweden and Finland have opened investigations into potential "sabotage" against cables damaged on Sunday and Monday in the Baltic Sea.
Despite its somewhat grisly inspiration, this decadent cake would fit into most holiday menus.
LIFE / Food & Drink / The Recipe Box
Nov 24, 2024

A buttery pound cake to die — or kill — for

As a nod to author Asako Yuzuki, I’ve elevated this recipe inspired by her 2017 bestseller with a little of Japan’s yuzu citrus.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic and Britain's Andy Murray shake hands at the net after Djokovic won the French Open final in June 2016.
TENNIS
Nov 24, 2024

Djokovic hires old rival and fellow 'game-changer' Murray as coach

Djokovic and Murray faced each other 36 times in their careers with the Serb winning 25 times.
A man walks past a gasoline station in Tokyo on Thursday.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Nov 24, 2024

How Japan can exit the fossil fuel subsidies it can’t seem to quit

While offering relief to low-income households, such measures encourage the continued use of the fossil fuels driving climate change.
Randy's Donuts in Inglewood, California. Replicas of the giant doughnut sculpture will be installed, where possible, at shops in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 24, 2024

An iconic 32-foot doughnut might give Randy’s an edge in Japan

The doughnut had a cameo in “2012,” where it is seen rolling down the street as an enduring symbol of end-time. Now the brand looks to tackle the tough Japanese market.
Sanae Takaichi (left) celebrates Shigeru Ishiba’s victory in becoming the head of the Liberal Democratic Party along with then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo in September. Takaichi appears to be the only woman in any party who is close to breaking the glass ceiling to become the nation’s first female leader. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 26, 2024

The derailing of potential female prime ministers

Sanae Takaichi stands as the closest woman to breaking the glass ceiling and becoming Japan's first female prime minister.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi comments on use of the death penalty at a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office on Nov. 14.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 27, 2024

Two years pass since Japan's last execution, amid calls for abolition

Between 2012 and 2021, the average period from the finalization of a death sentence to its execution was about seven years and nine months.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe speaks during an interview on Friday.
OLYMPICS
Nov 27, 2024

World Athletics chief 'very pleased' with India's Olympic interest but warns of hurdles

Coe, 68, a two-time Olympic champion in the 1,500 meters, is one of seven people bidding to be the next president of the International Olympic Committee.
Packages move along a conveyor belt at an Amazon warehouse
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 27, 2024

Japan investigating Amazon for allegedly bullying other businesses

Tactics allegedly employed by the retailer involve the squeezing of business partners in exchange for visibility.
Japan has won four games and lost seven since Eddie Jones took over in January.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Nov 27, 2024

Eddie Jones tells Japan to keep faith after heavy defeats

Japan has won four games and lost seven since the Australian took over in January.
Officers from the Self-Defense Forces visit a Chinese air force facility in Tianjin, China, on Thursday.
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2024

SDF officers visit Chinese military in exchange program

SDF members have inspected an army unit in Beijing and plan to visit a naval facility in Guangzhou.
Pete Hegseth, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of defense, speaks to reporters at the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington on Nov. 21.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 30, 2024

Pete Hegseth’s mother accused her son of mistreating women for years

She said on Friday that she regretted the 2018 email and had apologized to him.
Rachel Accurso, in character as the internet personality Ms. Rachel, in New York on Nov. 4.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 30, 2024

Ms. Rachel’s improbable journey from toddler whisperer to holiday toy sensation

A series of toys depicting children’s YouTube sensation Ms. Rachel is quickly becoming one of the hottest holiday gifts.

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