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While Toyota has avoided the kind of hit other Japanese automakers have taken in China from a shift to electric vehicles and the rise of domestic brands, it still faces pressure in the world's biggest auto market.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 7, 2023

Toyota extends output cut at Chinese JV to ease dealer pressure

The automaker has told dealers that it will extend a plan to reduce output at one of its joint ventures in China, where it faces rising competition.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 8, 2023

China and Australia agree to mend ties. But will this impact security?

As the two nations agree to put bygones behind them and boost communication, questions remain over how this will impact security tensions in the region.
Wei Hsin-hsi and his wife pose for a picture outside their family’s temple that is located inside the proposed expansion area of an industrial park in the Longtan district of Taoyuan, in Taoyuan, Taiwan September 22, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 8, 2023

Taiwan's land squeeze pits advanced chips against ancestral temples

If TSMC shifts more production outside Taiwan, it could weaken the backbone of Taiwan's economy.
Pedestrians and shoppers walk past a branch of fashion retailer H&M in central Stockholm on July 17.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 9, 2023

Sustainable cloth-maker Renewcell struggling amid slow adoption

Stock in Renewcell lost over 80% of its value in the last month and the firm has reported an operating loss of $17 million in nine months.
Staff at the Tokyo Legacy Half Marathon 2023 collect used paper cups after the event on Oct. 15.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 9, 2023

Japanese paper-makers pioneer domestic recycling of paper cups

Until now paper cups have typically been discarded as flammable waste, but are made from high quality pulp that can be reused.
Tokyo retained third behind London and New York in this year's Global Power City Index (GPCI) report.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 9, 2023

Tokyo remains third in global power index despite downturn

Among other Japan cities, Osaka ranked 37th while Fukuoka placed 42nd in the index.
Honda raised its full-year net profit forecast to ¥930 billion.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 9, 2023

Honda and Nissan hike full-year forecasts

The car giants, however, also pointed out that fierce price competition in China was posing a challenge for Japanese automakers.
U.S. Treasury secretary Janet Yellen (right) and He Lifeng, China's vice premier, shake hands during a meeting in San Francisco, California, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 10, 2023

Yellen seeks 'substantive' talks with Chinese vice premier ahead of APEC summit

U.S. Treasury officials have sought to downplay expectations for any breakthroughs from the meetings in San Francisco.
A mother assists her child to breathe with the help of a nebuliser at the emergency ward of the government-run Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya children hospital in New Delhi on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Nov 10, 2023

'Like breathing poison': Delhi children hardest hit by smog

"Imagine telling a parent not to let their child go out and play in this toxic environment."
Port Plus is a training and education facility in Yokohama built by and for general contractor Obayashi, a storied Japanese builder that traces its roots back to 1892.
BUSINESS
Nov 16, 2023

Wooden high-rise in Yokohama grows Japan’s timber ambitions

Port Plus, which was finished last year, is composed mainly of 540 wooden rigid cross-joints.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks at an event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in October.
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 10, 2023

South Korea boosts diplomatic reach while North Korea retreats

Seoul has said the expansion is part of efforts to “exert global leadership and bolster our diplomatic power.”
A newly built floating solar plant that can generate 192 megawatts of peak electricity, on Thursday at Cirata Reservoir, Indonesia.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Nov 10, 2023

U.S. and EU lead push for COP28 to endorse tripling of renewables

Nearly 60 countries, including Japan, are backing the targets to be included in the outcome of the U.N.’s upcoming COP28 talks in Dubai.
U.S., Japanese and South Korean navy destroyers take part in joint missile defense exercises in international waters between South Korea and Japan in April.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 13, 2023

Japan, U.S. South Korea to share missile-warning data

Following talks between the countries' defense chiefs, the three sides said the mechanism is now "in the final stages of testing."
The curtain is closing on the Lee dynasty's leadership of Singapore. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced his resignation, which could come next year, and the handing of power to deputy Lawrence Wong.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 10, 2023

Singapore contemplates the end of the Lee political era

Prime minister Lee Hsien Loong has announced his resignation, marking the end of his dynasty's leadership and a new chapter in Singapore's politics.
Smoke and steam billow from a coal-fired power plant in Suralaya, Banten province, Indonesia.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Nov 13, 2023

Can Indonesia deliver a green power plan for the people?

Communities impacted by a major climate deal are at risk of losing out because they have had limited involvement in planning the transition so far.
A Komatsu dump truck at the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine in Khanbogd, the South Gobi desert, Mongolia
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 14, 2023

China tightens grip on copper, key to world’s energy transition

China’s copper smelting capacity will increase by another 45% by 2027
An agent inspects a tree extracted from the Amazon rainforest during an operation to combat deforestation in Para State, Brazil, on Jan. 20.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 14, 2023

Forests key to climate fight along with cutting fossil fuels: study

Restoring global forests could sequester 22 times as much carbon as the world emits in a year, meaning trees are a key tool in fighting climate change.
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Nov 14, 2023

How an executive's arrest struck a blow to Japan-China business

The arrest of a Japanese company executive in China has had what some Tokyo officials described as a considerable chilling effect on business.
Patients and internally displaced people at Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Friday amid ongoing battles between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 15, 2023

Israel raids Gaza's Shifa hospital in operation targeting Hamas

Israel has said that Hamas has a command center underneath Shifa hospital, the biggest in Gaza.
Japan's decision to provide patrol boats to Bangladesh will make Dhaka the second beneficiary of defense equipment under Tokyo’s new official security assistance military aid program.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 15, 2023

Bangladesh to get patrol boats under Japan's military aid program

The move makes Dhaka the second beneficiary of defense equipment under Tokyo’s new aid program.
Mainland Chinese student Zhou Hongxu arrives for a court hearing on suspicion that he attempted to develop a spy network for China in Taiwan in March 2018.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 5, 2023

Spies bring their China warnings in from the cold

The spy chiefs say Western nations need to safeguard technology innovation, particularly in areas like artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
A residential building damaged by a Russian missile strike in the Serhiivka, in Ukraine's Odesa region, in July 2022. Daria Krokva, a doctor, fled Ukraine for Japan in April 2022 after being advised to evacuate by a cousin in Kobe.
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2023

Ukrainian doctor aims for national license in Japan

Daria Krokva is working hard on her Japanese proficiency in order to qualify for taking the national examination for medical practitioners.
A worker rides a scooter past an unfinished bridge near the center of the Qianhai new district in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 16, 2023

China's not-so-special economic zone embodies a harsh new reality

Qianhai is struggling to stand out among 2,500 other special zones across China.
Professional groups may lobby for regulations to control artificial intelligence and steer it toward labor-augmenting uses rather than labor-replacing ones.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 16, 2023

Managing the AI backlash: Lessons from the past

The history of professional guilds in Europe provides clues as to how workers may react to AI-caused disruptions.
Bears doing yoga? If you’re in the city, why not?
PODCAST / deep dive
Nov 16, 2023

Bear goes the neighborhood? Japanese wildlife is on the move.

This week, Alex K.T. Martin joins us to discuss why people are encountering bears, boars and other wildlife in the most unlikely of places.
Kyoji’s Ma_do Fragments Wall Art collection of stainless steel frames, designed by Katsuyama Motonori, features off-cuts and other objects selected from Kyoji’s collaborating craftspeople.
LIFE / Style & Design
Nov 18, 2023

Off-the-wall designs to spruce up your home or office

On: Design looks at some products that can bring new life to bare walls.
U.S. President Joe Biden greets Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Woodside, California, on Nov. 15.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Nov 21, 2023

'Offensive' and 'defensive' diplomacy: Managing ties with China

Since the 20th National Congress of the CCP, in October last year, Beijing has been seeking to maintain a balance.
An offshore wind turbine, operated by Swancor Holding stands in the Taiwan Strait off the coast of Miaoli County, Taiwan, in 2018.
BUSINESS
Nov 17, 2023

Japan firms exit Taiwan offshore wind projects amid industry woes

Shikoku Electric Power decided to pull out of the Yunlin Offshore Wind Project in the Taiwan Strait due to delays threatening its profitability.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose for a family photo during an APEC summit in San Francisco on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 17, 2023

Kishida and Xi aim for trade progress despite lingering tensions

Their talks signaled initial momentum toward a cautious detente, although the two countries appeared to prioritize an improvement in economic ties.
Indian cricket is struggling against climate change-induced heat and rain and the last thing it needs is oil-rich Saudi Arabia buying into the league.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 16, 2023

The last thing cricket needs is Saudi money

Indian cricket is struggling against climate change-induced heat and rain. A partnership with oil-rich Saudi Arabia would lead to a certain defeat.

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