Search - 2020

 
 
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un walks in front of an intercontinental ballistic missile in this undated photo released in March 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 25, 2023

From 'Young General' to 'Supreme Leader': The evolution of Kim Jong Un

North Korea's thinking on its relations with the U.S. has undergone dramatic changes, and Kim Jong Un's past evolution offers indications of where the country might be headed.
Crunchyroll, now owned by Sony Group Corp., is setting its sights on India as a major growth market.
LIFE / Digital
Jul 15, 2023

Former piracy site Crunchyroll cashes in on anime's global appeal

Crunchyroll expects the anime industry will have more than 800 million fans globally by 2025 outside markets in China and Japan.
Russian and North Korean flags fly above a street in Vladivostok, Russia, in 2019. As Pyongyang prepares to mark the Korean War's 70th anniversary, Kim Jong Un's regime has Russia to thank.
WORLD
Jul 26, 2023

North Korea’s depleted coffers are filling up again thanks to Russia

New funds are enabling Kim Jong Un to ignore financial incentives designed to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table.
 Gerrymandered districts and attacks on voting rights are further threatening American democracy at the state and local levels.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 26, 2023

The local threat to American democracy

Through "preemption" measures, ballot and voting restrictions, gerrymandering and other schemes, America continues to be threatened by entrenched minority rule.
Cincinnati Opera’s new production of “Madame Butterfly,” directed by Matthew Ozawa, frames the action as a virtual-reality fantasy of Japan.
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 27, 2023

Reimagining ‘Madame Butterfly,’ with Asian creators at the helm

As opera houses rework Puccini’s classic, criticized for stereotypes about women and Japanese culture, artists of Asian descent are playing a central role.
A pharmacist displays boxes of Ozempic, a semaglutide injection drug used for treating type 2 diabetes and obesity made by Novo Nordisk.
WORLD
Jul 27, 2023

U.K. probes weight-loss drug over suicidal, self-harming thoughts

Novo Nordisk said it had been notified by the government's review of potential suicidal and self-harming thoughts related to a specific class of drugs.
Yoshiko Hara (left) plays basketball with members of her Fukushima Club basketball team.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Jul 31, 2023

Pioneer in basketball for disabled people looks to inclusiveness

Through basketball, Yoshiko Hara aims to have players in her club acquire physical strength and stamina, as well as learn about group rules and manners.
John Lee, Hong Kong's chief executive, during an event in Hong Kong on April 15
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 28, 2023

U.S. should invite Lee to summit after report he’s barred: Hong Kong

Chief Executive John Lee and other top Hong Kong and mainland Chinese officials were sanctioned by the U.S. for their role in the crackdown on civil liberties in the city.
Donald Trump tours construction of the southern border wall near Alamo, Texas, in January 2021.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jul 28, 2023

U.S. says Trump ordered video deleted as second employee charged

A maintenance worker at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort was charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice, with accusations of helping to hide documents.
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2023

Osaka Expo asks for overtime cap exemption as time pressure mounts

The move comes as the expo faces mounting concerns that construction, especially of pavilions for foreign nations, will not be completed on time for the scheduled opening in April 2025.
L'aube's new restaurant in Roppongi offers 50% more floorspace than its previous Akabanebashi location.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 29, 2023

A new day dawns for Michelin-starred L'aube

The French restaurant has a new home in Roppongi, but everything that brought it culinary acclaim remains.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Jul 28, 2023

Atsuki Taneichi set to step into spotlight in Roki Sasaki's absence

Taneichi is often overlooked because he pitches in the same rotation as Roki Sasaki, but the 24-year-old righty is a solid pitcher in his own right.
An elderly couple at a shrine in Tokyo in 2020
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 28, 2023

Japan's average life expectancy continued to fall in 2022

The decline for both men and women were "largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic," a ministry official said.
Pan Gongsheng
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jul 29, 2023

China’s central bank chief is taskmaster Xi couldn’t let retire

Pan Gongsheng is expected to turn around growth slowdown for the world's second largest economy and safeguard the $60 trillion domestic financial system.
Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and his Sri Lanka counterpart, Ali Sabry, during a joint news conference in Colombo on Saturday
BUSINESS
Jul 29, 2023

Crisis-hit Sri Lanka invites Japan to resume investment

The South Asian island nation is working to restructure its massive debt to continue a $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
Paris' Japan Expo, a gathering for fans of Japanese pop culture, says it attracts 250,000 attendees per day.
CULTURE
Jul 30, 2023

In France, Japonisme has turned into Japanmania

Through architecture, fashion, culinary arts and even sports, aspects of Japanese culture are attracting a large portion of France’s population.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in July 2022
WORLD / Politics
Jul 30, 2023

Biden presses ahead with effort to broker Israeli-Saudi rapprochement

The fact that U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan returned to Jeddah so soon after his last visit suggests prospects for an accord.
A memorial for Brodee Champlain Kingman on the corner of El Camino Real and Santa Fe Drive in Encinitas, California, on Thursday. The e-bike industry is booming, but many vehicles are not legal for teenagers, and accidents are on the rise.
WORLD / Society
Jul 30, 2023

‘A dangerous combination’: Teens’ accidents expose e-bike risks

The e-bike industry is booming, but a spate of fatal accidents has raised questions about how safe e-bikes are, especially for teenagers.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda gives a news conference in Tokyo on Friday. The BOJ jolted financial markets by loosening its grip on bond yields.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 30, 2023

BOJ yields some control, but also throws a curveball

In trying to keep several plates spinning as it pertains to monetary policy and inflation, BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda steps on his message.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2023

Tokyo trials ferries to ease congestion on roads and rail

After conducting two pilot programs in recent years, the city's government aims to launch commuter ferry operations in the current fiscal year.
Many of the entrepreneurs who’ve become superwealthy are now seeking to manage and transfer riches to their descendants in Asia. That’s resulting in a surge in family office demand.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 31, 2023

Asia’s richest families fuel race for lucrative finance jobs

Many of Asia's superwealthy are now seeking help managing their estates just as old-money families in the West have done for decades.
Former sumo wrestler Daisuke Yanagihara discusses his lawsuit against the Japan Sumo Association during a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan on Monday.
SUMO
Aug 1, 2023

Former wrestler sues sumo association for alleged mistreatment

The former fourth-division rikishi said he was told to fight or quit as coronavirus cases rose in Tokyo ahead of the 2021 New Year Basho.
American skateboarder Nyjah Huston, seen at a party in Beverly Hills, California, celebrating the one-year countdown to the Paris Olympics on Wednesday, says he has recovered from an ACL tear he suffered a year ago.
MORE SPORTS / Skateboarding
Aug 1, 2023

American Nyjah Huston ramping up for Olympic redemption in Paris

The 33-year-old said his Tokyo 2020 performance was not too surprising given he had struggled at other fan-free competitions during the pandemic.
Nigerien security forces launch tear gas to disperse pro-junta demonstrators gathered outside the French embassy, in Niamey, the capital city of Niger, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 1, 2023

Macron’s Africa strategy in tatters as his bet on Niger unravels

France is struggling to convince nations in the Sahel region the presence of a former colonial power can bring results.
A new high-rise is erected in Beijing in October 2021. The same year, 41% of the assets in China’s banking system were accounted for by property-related loans and credit.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 1, 2023

Is Japan’s economic past China’s future?

China is facing a long period of low growth similar to Japan’s experience since the 1990s.
Chikako Utsumi holds bottles of Rose Mind at Tenpoichi sake brewer in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Aug 7, 2023

Local Hiroshima sake and beef grow in popularity due to G7

Popular sake Rose Mind has seen its popularity surge since it was served during the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima.
A radiographer prepares a patient to undergo a mammogram to look for early signs of breast cancer in the radiology unit at a hospital in Nairobi.
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 2, 2023

AI could halve time reading breast cancer scans, study suggests

The interim results of the trial were hailed as promising, but the authors cautioned that more research is needed.
Simon Humphries, head of design at Toyota, speaks during the world premier of the new Land Cruiser in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 2, 2023

Toyota’s iconic Land Cruiser returns to North America

The world’s biggest carmaker has unveiled three variations of one of its most enduring models, starting at around $50,000.
Chihiro Okada (right), a representative of Animal Rights Center, during a news conference at the Okinawa Prefectural Government building on July 10
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Aug 7, 2023

Confrontations deepen over duck-catching event in Okinawa

Animal rights groups say the event constitutes animal abuse.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 2, 2023

Football players at Japan university allegedly caught with cannabis

Club activities for the team have been suspended and the college has conducted interviews with coaches, club members and former club members.

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