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Pedestrians pass stores in Guangzhou. Economists say China needs measures to boost consumption and business confidence, but add that unlike previous slowdowns, there is no quick fix.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 18, 2023

Why is China not rushing to fix its ailing economy?

Even in a country known for opaque decision-making, analysts are pointing to signs that Beijing seems hesitant to deliver the bold policies needed.
Vehicles leave Yellowknife on the only highway in or out of the city after a state of emergency was declared due to the proximity of a wildfire, in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, on Wednesday.
WORLD
Aug 18, 2023

Canada crews battle wildfires as all Yellowknife residents evacuate

Officials say the fire is now 15 kilometers northwest of the city and could reach the outskirts over the weekend if there is no rain.
U.S. President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean leader Yoon Suk-yeol meet during the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima in May.
EDITORIALS
Aug 18, 2023

A trilateral summit to reshape Northeast Asia

The summit follows years of hard work to overcome bitter historical legacies, most stemming from Japan’s colonization of the Korean Peninsula.
Social division and the polarization of the American political system are becoming more and more apparent.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2023

Where is the America I once knew headed?

The sociopolitical transformation I witnessed in San Francisco is not just a West Coast phenomenon, but perhaps a nationwide trend.
The McDougall Creek wildfire burns in the hills of West Kelowna, British Columbia, on Thursday.
WORLD
Aug 19, 2023

State of emergency in western Canada as wildfires rage

The expanse of fires and disruption to life and land underscore the severity of this year's worst-on-record Canadian wildfire season.
Residents walk past trees and powerlines that were downed following the passage of Hurricane Fiona, later downgraded to a post-tropical storm, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in September 2022.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 19, 2023

Climate haven no more? Floods and fires ravage eastern Canada

Storms, floods, a cold snap and record wildfires have all battered the eastern province of Nova Scotia over the past year.
Residents clean up debris in the aftermath of Typhoon Hagibis in Date, Fukushima Prefecture, in October 2019.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / OUR PLANET
Aug 20, 2023

A Japan research team dares to ask: Can typhoons be controlled?

Researchers in Yokohama are probing whether tropical cyclones can be weakened or diverted, with energy they produce also tapped to generate power.
NASA and the Department of Defense are collaborating with Lockheed Martin to build and test a nuclear rocket engine by 2027.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2023

NASA’s $500 million rocket gamble is worth it

Nuclear rockets are worth pursuing, but only with careful safeguards and international cooperation.
The port in Ensenada as Tropical Storm Hilary hits Baja California state, Mexico, on Sunday.
WORLD / Society
Aug 21, 2023

Storm Hilary puts California at risk of catastrophic flooding

A state of emergency was declared for much of Southern California, with flash flood warnings throughout a region more accustomed to drought.
With temperatures around the world reaching record highs this summer, you may want to reconsider which sunscreen you are using, experts say, as not all sunscreens are the same.
WORLD / Science & Health / EXPLAINER
Aug 21, 2023

Extreme heat may mean using a different sunscreen

The two major types — mineral and chemical — handle the sun's ultraviolet rays differently and during extremely hot weather, those differences can matter.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (left) meets with Masanobu Sakamoto (right), head of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations, and other representatives at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 21, 2023

Japan's release of Fukushima treated water could start Thursday

The government is set to announce Tuesday when the release of tritium-laced water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant will begin.
New Zealand's Dane Coles celebrates after winning a Bledisloe Cup test match against Australia at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand, on Aug. 5.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Aug 22, 2023

All Blacks star 'gobsmacked' by former coach assisting Australia

Former New Zealand coach Steve Hansen is helping rivals Australia prepare for the Rugby World Cup, it was revealed this week.
A bulk carrier at the Panama Canal on April 19
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 22, 2023

Historic drought and hot seas slow Panama Canal shipping

Restrictions already are sending China-U.S. spot shipping prices up as much as 36% amid soaring sea temperatures.
Shinobu Yamanaka, a mom of three sons and director of a day care facility in Konan, Kochi Prefecture, serves up to eight "members" six days a week.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Aug 22, 2023

Kochi dementia care center aims to set new paradigm in Japan

A new generation of people with Alzheimer’s in Japan are trying to change not only dementia care but also social attitudes toward patients.
A construction site in Dubai, where workers often face temperatures up to 45 degrees Celsius
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 23, 2023

As temperatures climb, millions more people face food insecurity

A recent study shows that extreme heat leads to an impossible conundrum for many workers: Risk your health to earn a living, or go hungry.
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2023

China and Hong Kong to toughen import restrictions on Japan foods

Of Japan's exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products and food items, 36% went to mainland China and Hong Kong in total in 2022.
BUSINESS
Aug 23, 2023

Goldman, KKR and Blackstone join investor rush for Japan hotels

Compared with before the pandemic, visitors to Japan are spending more, with most of that money going on lodgings and hospitality.
People protest in Hong Kong on Tuesday after Japan announced that it would release treated water from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant into the sea.
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2023

Treated water release from Fukushima sparks mixed reactions in Asia

After reaching an agreement with the IAEA on information-sharing about the operation, Seoul announced that it would not stand in the way of the plan.
Hiromi Yamaji, chief executive officer of Japan Exchange Group, says the yen is too weak and its benefits for Japanese stocks are diminishing.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 24, 2023

Yen’s too weak and benefits are waning, Japan bourse chief says

The yen has slipped below the levels where Japanese officials intervened last September to rein in the weakness in the currency.
Yuko Seimei was promoted to president of Monex Group in June, after serving as president of affiliate Monex.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 24, 2023

More brokerages name female leadership amid pressure for change

The government wants women to account for at least 30% of board members at firms listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's top-tier Prime section by 2030.
A customer shops at a sushi counter at the Food Le Parc supermarket in Hong Kong.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 24, 2023

Hong Kong restaurants brace for cost jump after Japan seafood ban

The saga is yet another headache for the city’s restaurant industry, which is still suffering from the effects from pandemic curbs and a worker shortage.
Takeshi Kimura, special adviser to the board for Nippon Life Insurance Co.
ESG CONSORTIUM
Aug 28, 2023

PRI’s global ESG investing talks in Tokyo to tackle ‘sense of crisis’

The leading global conference on responsible investment will be held in Tokyo for the first time this fall, focusing on what investors can do to make society sustainable at a time when many industries are struggling to meet their targets for combating climate change.
People visit Semicon China, a trade fair for semiconductor technology, in Shanghai in 2021
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2023

China quietly hires overseas chip talent as U.S. tightens curbs

The revamped recruitment drive is said to offer perks including home-purchase subsidies and typical signing bonuses of $420,000 to $700,000.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 24, 2023

El Nino could doom Indonesia's rare tropical glaciers by 2026

Indonesia expects the dry season could run until October as El Nino increases the risk of forest fires and threatens supplies of clean water.
People wave Indian national flags as they celebrate the successful lunar landing of Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft on the south pole of the moon, in New Delhi on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health / ANALYSIS
Aug 24, 2023

Moon landing hailed as major breakthrough for India’s space program

The achievement is only the next step in the budding program, which aims to place India among the world's space superpowers.
As long as there’s a power plant sitting on its coast and as long as the treated water is being disposed of locally, Fukushima will continue to battle the same problems it has faced for the past 12 years, says Sakurai.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 24, 2023

Fukushima water plan 'complete opposite' of recovery: former mayor

Discharging treated water from the plant only communicates a drive to sustain nuclear power and profit while dismissing the concerns of locals, he said.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of Russian private mercenary group Wagner, speaks in an unknown location, in this still image taken from video published on Monday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 25, 2023

Prigozhin's presumed death may create new problems for Putin

A full investigation of the cause of the crash is unlikely to shake the belief that he was killed as an act of vengeance for staging a mutiny.
Solar panels at a proof-of-concept site for green hydrogen production in Vredendal, South Africa
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2023

The key to greening heavy industry

If the world’s vast ocean resources can be tapped directly to produce hydrogen, there will be no holding back the green transition.
Koji Suzuki rides on his surfboard in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, on Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2023

Fukushima surfer hangs loose about treated water release

Koji Suzuki, 68, fled the tsunami in his car but was back riding the waves off Minamisoma four months after the disaster.
Vendors carry lobster at a seafood market in Shanghai, China, on Friday.
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2023

Japan fishing industry reels after China’s seafood embargo

The average price of fresh Aomori tuna at the Toyosu market in Tokyo fell 24% on Aug. 25 from the previous day to ¥9,383 per kilogram.

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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