Search - 2020

 
 
NATO, which celebrates its 75th birthday this year, has been successful at keeping the peace — but American underpinning can’t be guaranteed in perpetuity, especially with the possible reelection of Donald Trump. 
COMMENTARY
Jan 25, 2024

Europe should arm against the barbarians at its gates

Donald Trump told Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, that "NATO is dead." It would be prudent to take him at his word.
People walk past a television screen showing a broadcast with file footage of South Korean lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin, at a railway station in Seoul on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jan 26, 2024

South Korean lawmaker treated for cuts to head following attack

Bae Hyun-jin, of the ruling party, was struck several times by the assailant who was wearing a dark coat and had his face covered.
A nationwide poll of 1,250 U.S. adults showed former U.S. President Donald Trump leading incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden 40% to 34%, with the rest unsure or planning to vote for someone else or no one.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 26, 2024

Trump gains lead over Biden in rematch many Americans don't want

Slightly more than half of respondents said they were dissatisfied with the U.S. two-party system, with just one in four satisfied by it.
Noto Tetsudo's Anamizu Station in Anamizu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 15. The local railway's services have been fully suspended since a powerful New Year's Day earthquake.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 2024

Quake-hit railway vows to resume services

Noto Tetsudo is hoping to bring part of its 33.1-kilometer railway back online in February.
Environment groups gather to oppose a key LNG terminal that threatened a delicate algal reef, in Taipei in December 2021. If Taipower can’t make sufficient progress on clean-energy generation, the island could potentially lose some of its allure as a destination for chip manufacturing.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 28, 2024

Taiwan’s troubled utility poses risk to chipmakers’ green goals

Political pressures have prevented the state-owned Taipower from passing on costs to customers, while bets on offshore wind have been marred by obstacles.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov shakes hands with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar during a joint news conference in Moscow in December.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 28, 2024

India pivots away from Russian arms, but will retain strong ties

Russia supplied 65% of India's weapons purchases during the last two decades but the Ukraine war hastened New Delhi's impetus to diversify.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Ravens during the AFC title game in Baltimore, Maryland, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Jan 29, 2024

Defending champion Chiefs stun Ravens to reach Super Bowl

The Chiefs reached the Super Bowl for the fourth time in five years.
The drone strike that killed three American soldiers in Jordan presents U.S. President Joe Biden with a decision that will be one of the most consequential of his presidency.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 29, 2024

Biden faces pressure to confront Iran after U.S. troops killed

One possibility is covert action that would see the U.S. strike Iran without claiming credit for it but sending a clear message regardless.
The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia, even faster than the shinkansen. However, demand for the new railway service remains lacking.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 29, 2024

Linking 17,000 islands in Indonesia tests a nation on the rise

President Joko Widodo's grand vision for the world’s largest archipelago is colliding with financial realities.
Mitsui & Co. employees hold a meeting at its headquarters in Tokyo. The company introduced a stock-based compensation system in 2020.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 29, 2024

Growing number of Japan firms adopt stock-based worker compensation

The practice underscores the belief that fostering growth can be achieved through effective human capital management.
Celebrations mark the Dalai Lama's 80th birthday in Dharamsala, India, in July 2015. The question of who will succeed the Tibetan leader, Tenzin Gyatso, now 88, looms large.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 29, 2024

Atheist China should have no say in Dalai Lama's reincarnation

Beijing views the Dalai Lama as a wolf in sheep's clothing. Why, then, is it obsessed with controlling the succession of someone it despises?
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is one of the largest shareholders in all five of Japan's biggest trading companies.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 30, 2024

Buffett reversal risk pushes Japan firms to diversify investors

Berkshire is one of the largest shareholders in all five of Japan’s biggest trading companies.
Nitish Kumar, chief minister of the Indian state of Bihar
WORLD / Politics
Jan 30, 2024

India’s political opposition reels as fickle Modi rival turns ally

Nitish Kumar was one of the key players behind the 28-party alliance created last year to fight the ruling BJP at elections due in a few months time.
A driver for an independent contractor to FedEx delivers packages on Cyber Monday in New York on Nov. 27, 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 31, 2024

Delivery firms struggle to adopt EVs as online sales drive up demand

Many climate pledges have been scaled back as the industry fails to keep pace with climbing emissions.
Shoko Kawata stumps in the city of Yawata, Kyoto Prefecture, last year.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 6, 2024

Japan's youngest female city mayor is focused on women's empowerment

The election of Shoko Kawata, 33, was unexpected — but was a welcome change for some.
The Tokyo Kiki Lounge is a queer pageant, dance competition and party, known in the ball culture as a “kiki ball.”
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 1, 2024

You're free to be yourself at the Tokyo Kiki Lounge

The pageant, dance competition and party is a thriving safe space for Japan's queer community.
Fujitsu apologized for its role in the wrongful conviction of more than 900 subpostmasters in the U.K. who used its accounting software.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 1, 2024

Fujitsu promises better quality control after U.K. scandal

The Tokyo-based technology company is the subject of an inquiry into a glitch in its Horizon accounting software used by the U.K. Post Office.
Nomura Holdings plans a buyback of up to ¥100 billion.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 1, 2024

Nomura’s trading overhaul advances as CEO plans buyback

Nomura Holdings plans a buyback of up to ¥100 billion.
A protester throws a portrait of a politician after demonstrators broke into the government headquarters in Hong Kong on July 1, 2019, on the 22nd anniversary of the city's handover from Britain to China.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 1, 2024

Hong Kong court convicts six over 2019 legislature storming

Judge found them guilty on charges including entering the legislative chamber, rioting and causing criminal damage.
A decision by Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger to withdraw from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) could yet take time to implement, but if carried through, is set to disrupt the region's trade and services flows, worth nearly $150 billion a year.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 1, 2024

West Africa's 'Brexit' moment spells trouble for the region

The latest crisis highlights the growing rift between the Western-allied governments and military-run countries increasingly relying on Russia and China.
The victory of Ukraine-born Karolina Shiino (center) in the Miss Japan contest held last month has sparked a debate on what makes someone truly Japanese.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 1, 2024

A Ukraine-born beauty queen and what it means to be Japanese

Shiino's Miss Japan victory has ignited a debate on the definition of "Japaneseness," and raises questions on what it truly means to be Japanese.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 1, 2024

Curtain falls on Abe faction's 45-year history but scrutiny to continue

Unanswered questions over members' involvement in the LDP's political funds scandal mean the dissolution may not be the end of the story.
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, seen after a third-place finish at the Bahrain Grand Prix in March 2022, will make a blockbuster move to Ferrari after the 2024 season.
SPORTS / Auto Racing
Feb 2, 2024

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton to make blockbuster move to Ferrari in 2025

Hamilton will exercise an option in his contract that will allow him to end his two-year deal with Mercedes after one year.
Curbs on Boeing production in the wake of a mid-air blowout is adding to pressures forcing airlines to fly older planes for longer.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Feb 2, 2024

Boeing 737 Max crisis adds to high demand for older planes

Curbs on Boeing production in the wake of a mid-air blowout are adding to pressures forcing firms to fly older planes for longer.
Villagers and volunteers dig for human remains of victims of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
WORLD / Society
Feb 2, 2024

Victims of 1994 Rwandan genocide still being found 30 years on

Locating mass graves is an uphill task because only people who took part in the killings or relatives of the killers know their location.
The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) is seen on the surface of the moon in an image released Jan. 25.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 2, 2024

Japan’s historic moon landing was right on target

Japan made history last month when it became the fifth nation to soft land on the moon.
A native of Seoul who grew up in Shanghai, Hana Yoon moved to New York to attend the prestigious Culinary Institute of America when she was 20 years old.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 4, 2024

In Japan’s age-old capital, a young head chef stirs the pot

Upon her arrival in Kyoto, Yoon spent four months delving into the distinctive varieties of “kyōyasai,” vegetables grown in Kyoto and its suburbs.
Foreign Minister Yōko Kamikawa will likely face some institutional challenges in achieving quick and meaningful progress in advancing the United Nation's Women, Peace and Security initiative.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 2, 2024

Japan unveils task force for gender-inclusive security issues

U.N. mandate spurs Japan into action with new task force aimed at enhancing women's roles in global conflict resolution.
Driveline Pacific Rim director Frank Minamino (second from right) poses with Lions pitcher Kaito Yoza (left) Hawks pitcher Shuta Ishikawa (second from left) and the Lions' Kona Takahashi.
BASEBALL
Feb 2, 2024

NPB pitchers embracing Driveline Baseball method

NPB players are working with Driveline Baseball in greater numbers.
Emperors sought eternal life for centuries, but scientists believe our physical bodies have limits. That's where technologists come in.
BUSINESS / Tech / Longform
Feb 3, 2024

The digital beyond: Is an eternal existence within grasp?

Immortality has been a dream for centuries, but scientists doubt its possibility. Can technologists and coders find a virtual path instead?

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji