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Ukrainian refugees who were flown to Japan by the Foreign Ministry arrive at Haneda Airport in Tokyo in April 2022. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 20, 2023

Moving beyond ‘checkbook diplomacy’: Japan’s changing refugee policy

Japan's stance on admitting refugees appears to be changing amid greater global engagement by Tokyo.
The Colorado Supreme Court building in downtown Denver on Tuesday. The Colorado Supreme Court, which barred former U.S. President Donald Trump from the state’s primary ballot, is composed of seven justices who were all appointed by Democratic governors.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 21, 2023

Colorado ballot case adds fuel to Trump's nomination drive

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that the former president was barred from its state ballot for engaging in "insurrection."
A line worker installs an airbag at GM's Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup truck plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 2018.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 21, 2023

Carmakers battle massive air-bag recall that may cost $10 billion

The U.S. safety regulator could recall as 52 million air-bag inflators made by ARC Automotive after some were reported to have exploded.
Donald Trump vowed to seek Supreme Court review after Colorado’s top court on Tuesday barred him from the 2024 presidential ballot there.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 21, 2023

Trump’s fate rests with the U.S. Supreme Court he shaped

The court will play a pivotal role in determining whether Trump will land in prison — or return to the White House.
Shinjuku's Kabukicho is filled with colorful individuals that give the neighborhood its character.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Dec 22, 2023

Christmastime in Shinjuku Golden Gai

One of Tokyo's most storied watering holes gets a little quiet during the holidays now that it relies quite a bit on tourists.
While Magic: The Gathering is popular with card game aficionados the world over, the community in Japan is split along some unexpected lines.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 23, 2023

Diehards and casuals clash in Tokyo’s Magic: The Gathering community

The Commander format is widely popular across Europe and the United States, but Japan’s Magic community hasn’t quite followed the same path.
Holiday classic "Tokyo Godfathers" centers on three homeless people who have formed a makeshift family.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 23, 2023

Satoshi Kon’s unexpected anime classic for the holidays

The late director and animator's "Tokyo Godfathers" celebrates 20 years with new screenings.
A U.S. Steel coke works in Clairton, Pennsylvania
EDITORIALS
Dec 22, 2023

A steel deal that’s good for Japan and the U.S.

Nippon Steel’s announcement that it plans to purchase U.S. Steel has triggered an uproar in the United States.
Taiwan's president, Tsai Ing-wen, leads a political rally in New Taipei City, Taiwan, on Nov. 4.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2023

How Tsai Ing-wen aligned Taiwan with the free world

The question now is to what extent Tsai’s foreign policy legacy will endure after Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election on Jan. 13.
Members of the Ground Self-Defense Force take part in a joint military drill in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, in January.
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2023

Japanese major general demoted over power harassment

The punishment was the second heaviest available after dismissal and the first two-rank demotion at the GSDF.
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.
Sayyed Razi Mousavi, senior adviser for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
WORLD / Politics
Dec 26, 2023

Iran vows retribution after Israel kills senior general in Syria

Razi Mousavi is the most senior commander with Iran's Quds Force to have been killed outside Iran since the death of Gen. Qasem Soleimani in 2020.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny appears for his court hearing in Moscow on Jan. 28, 2021.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 26, 2023

Russia moves opposition leader Alexei Navalny to Arctic prison

Temperatures at the 'Polar Wolf' colony, one of the toughest prisons in Russia, are set to drop to around minus 28 degrees Celsius over the next week.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson rushes during the first quarter of Baltimore's win over San Francisco on Monday in Santa Clara, California.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Dec 27, 2023

Lamar Jackson leaps to top of the MVP race with win over Brock Purdy's 49ers

With the win the Ravens moved one win away from clinching the AFC's top seed and will get their first shot at doing so when they host Miami on Sunday.
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2023

Japan to OK base relocation project design change by proxy

The approval of the change application will mark the central government's first-ever proxy execution of a local government administrative task.
The Colorado Supreme Court in Denver, Colorado, on Dec. 20. The court ruled on Dec. 19 that Trump is ineligible for the White House under a provision of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment prohibiting officials who engage in "insurrection or rebellion" against the U.S. government from holding elected office.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 27, 2023

Police probe threats against Colorado justices after Trump ruling

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled last week that Trump is ineligible for the White House under the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment .
Next year, U.S. President Joe Biden will seek a mandate to govern into his mid-80s. His likely opponent, former President Donald Trump, is only three years younger.
COMMENTARY / The Year Ahead
Dec 27, 2023

Making or breaking democracy

As 2024 approaches, one milestone looms menacingly on the horizon: The U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5.
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.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 27, 2023

Prosecutors raid LDP lawmaker's home and offices over unreported funds

Prosecutors entered Yoshitaka Ikeda's Tokyo and Nagoya offices on suspicion that he violated the Political Funds Control Law.
U.S. President Joe Biden answers reporters questions as he departs for Camp David from the South Lawn at the White House in Washington on Dec. 23.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 28, 2023

With vote ahead, Biden trails Trump's pace of judicial appointments

Ahead of the 2024 election, Senate Democrats are pledging to stay focused on confirming Biden's judicial nominees and adding to the 166 already approved.
Masimo's headquarters in Irvine, California. The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled earlier this year that the Apple Watch violates two Masimo patents related to blood-oxygen sensing and imposed an import ban on the Ultra 2 and Series 9 models.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 28, 2023

The email to Tim Cook that set the Apple watch saga in motion

Masimo, based in Irvine, California, is the rare company to wound Apple in a patent dispute.
People line up to enter the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in the city of Hiroshima on Aug. 14.
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2023

Hiroshima museum eyes online ticketing to ease congestion

The surge in visitors to the museum is apparently attributable chiefly to the effects of the Group of Seven summit held in the city in May.
Japanese model Dulmi, 24, was selected as one of eight models in Vogue Open Casting's class of 2023.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 3, 2024

Dulmi: The biracial model bringing change to modeling in Japan and beyond

In a still-rare recognition of the diversity that exists in Japan, the Osaka native was chosen for the 2023 class of Vogue's Open Casting initiative.
Daihatsu Motor President Soichiro Okudaira speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Dec. 20. 
EDITORIALS
Dec 29, 2023

Daihatsu scandal is a warning for Japan Inc.

Investigations indicate that improprieties at Daihatsu stretch as far back as 1989, indicating a profound problem with the company’s culture.
As Japan's productivity declines due to the shrinking working-age population, policies that allow for everyone’s full participation in the labor force, especially women, are needed more than ever.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 29, 2023

A look back at Japan’s gender laws and fairness in 2023

Gender equality needs to improve to boost Japan’s prospects. What hits and missed opportunities will we remember from 2023?
Former U.S. President Donald Trump campaigns in Waterloo, Iowa, on Dec. 19.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Dec 30, 2023

Trump ballot fights put pressure on Supreme Court to act soon

The case would be unprecedented and brings Trump’s conduct after losing the 2020 election back to the forefront of his likely 2024 rematch with Biden.
A wafer is pictured at Semicon Taiwan in Taipei
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 30, 2023

This startup shows it won't be easy to contain China's chip industry

The story of Seida illustrates the challenges the West faces in thwarting Chinese development of advanced microchip technology.
The Alumy website, which offers a service for companies that want to connect with individuals who have quit their jobs
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 31, 2023

More Japanese companies move to rehire former employees

Previously, it had been widely believed that quitting a job means completely severing the relationship with the employer.
Workers walk past an underconstruction area with completed office towers in the background in Shenzhen's Qianhai new district on Aug. 25, 2023.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 1, 2024

China's strained economy casts shadow over 2024

Last year, the economy was roiled by a real estate crisis, falling consumer confidence, deflation and the disappearance of foreign investment.
Visitors strike a giant bell to mark the new year as a Buddhist monk looks on, at Zojoji temple in Tokyo on Jan. 1, 2023.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 31, 2023

Ring in the new year on your phone: Apps offer alternate to Japan temple tradition

Smartphone apps are aiming to offer alternative ways to enjoy a noisy New Year's tradition.

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