Search - 2020

 
 
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 5, 2024

Parties clash over release of LDP's internal funds scandal probe

The opposition had demanded that the LDP publish a list of all party members responsible for the underreporting of political funds in the last five years.
Britain's King Charles leaves the London Clinic with Britain's Queen Camilla after receiving treatment for an enlarged prostate, in London on Jan. 29.
WORLD
Feb 6, 2024

King Charles diagnosed with cancer just 18 months into his reign

Buckingham Palace said that the king would postpone public-facing duties while he undergoes treatment.
Simone Biles runs through a portion of her beam routine during the second day of a two-day media event with the USA Gymnastics team ahead of the 2024 Olympics in Katy, Texas, on Monday.
MORE SPORTS / Gymnastics
Feb 6, 2024

Teammates treasure superstar Biles' 'human qualities'

After a two-year hiatus, Simone Biles is poised to vault into Paris as potentially the biggest headline act of the 2024 Olympics.
Analysts say the sentencing serves as a reminder of how fraught any improvement in relations will prove even after both Canberra and Beijing affirmed the need to bolster ties.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 6, 2024

Harsh sentence for Australian writer tests ties with China

The sentencing serves as a reminder of how fraught any improvement in relations will prove even after both nations affirmed the need to bolster ties.
Like for other generative AI services, the algorithm behind Rufus is a closely held secret and Amazon declined to discuss how it operates.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 6, 2024

Who benefits when shoppers use Amazon's new AI tool?

The tool raises several questions, as Amazon has a history of steering customers toward products that most benefit the company.
Flags fly at Union Station in Washington on June 27. With the U.S. presidential election approaching, caution is being urged over the widespread proliferation of propaganda.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 13, 2024

The battle to tackle U.S. election propaganda heats up

The race is set to become more and more intense amid increased political polarization and pluralistic values.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2024

Japan to allow bureaucrats to work remotely in principle

The government will release guidelines on remote work as part of an effort to encourage more diverse ways of working among its employees.
Japan is the only country with a law requiring married couples to adopt the same surname. In 95% of cases, it is women who take their husband's name.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 7, 2024

The land where single surnames are the only option

The business lobby recently joined calls for Japan to accept separate surnames after marriage. What, then, is standing in the way of change? Politics.
SoftBank Group booked a profit for the December quarter after four straight quarters of losses.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 8, 2024

SoftBank swings to profit lifted by T-Mobile windfall

SoftBank recorded its first profit after four straight quarters of losses, backed by a rebound of the Vision Fund and gains from T-Mobile shares.
A lenticular cloud is seen over a mountain at sunset in a clear sky, due to an anticyclone during a prolonged drought with warming temperatures and lack of rain in winter, in Ronda, Spain, on Tuesday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Feb 9, 2024

Climate change drives world to first 12-month spell over 1.5 C

Human-caused climate change and El Nino pushed temperatures higher.
U.S. Senators raced on Thursday to revive a sweeping emergency national security aid bill for Ukraine and Israel that has stalled yet again on Capitol Hill amid Republican resistance.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 9, 2024

U.S. Senate votes to start work on Ukraine aid in shock turnaround

The procedural vote to at least consider the bill marked a stunning about-face by Senate Republicans.
The “myahk,” a community currency implemented on Okinawa Prefecture’s Miyako Island in 2018, is intimately tied to local efforts for environmental preservation.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Feb 10, 2024

Japanese communities are creating currencies to educate and empower citizens

The yen will do when paying for things throughout the country. In some places, though, you may try paying with a coin that also helps reduce plastic waste.
Boeing 737 Max airplanes on the tarmac at the Boeing factory in Renton, Washington, in 2019
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 10, 2024

How production pressures plunged Boeing into yet another crisis

Soul-searching about quality controls and plunged Boeing into its second safety crisis in five years.
Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto speaks during a campaign rally in Jakarta on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 11, 2024

Indonesian election candidates make their case as election day looms

With young people accounting for almost 60% of the electorate, the candidates have needed to factor in their demands and preferences.
Manga illustrations displayed in a room of the renovated Former Residence of Theodora Ozaki in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward on Thursday
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2024

Tokyo building from Meiji Era to reopen as manga attraction

After renovations, the building will open as a facility with a gallery exhibiting original manga copies and illustrations.
U.S. President Joe Biden answers questions from reporters at the White House in Washington on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 11, 2024

Biden’s gaffe-heavy week shows dilemma over 2024 media strategy

The president's aides ponder whether it’s better to confront or ignore concerns about his age and acuity.
A tsugumi (dusky thrush). Bird-watching increasingly plays a critical role in mapping bird behaviors and paving the way for policy and conservation initiatives.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / OUR PLANET
Feb 11, 2024

How a new flock of bird-watchers is contributing to science

The hobby increasingly plays a critical role in mapping bird behaviors and paving the way for policy and conservation initiatives.
Former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally on Saturday. Many were alarmed by Trump’s comments that he would "encourage” Russia to attack U.S. allies that didn’t pay into NATO, but European leaders were already pondering the prospect of an alliance without the U.S.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 13, 2024

Once-bitten Europe is better prepared for Trump’s NATO tirades

The EU is quietly preparing an impact assessment of the November U.S. election — particularly the scenario in which Trump wins.
The tail of a BYD electric vehicle sports the company’s motto, “build your dreams,” at a dealership in Shenzhen, China, on Jan. 29.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 12, 2024

How China built BYD, its Tesla killer

BYD’s sales, over 80% of them in China, passed Tesla in worldwide sales of fully electric cars late last year.
A surveillance drone is seen in midair during the G7 foreign ministers' summit in Lucca, Italy, in 2017.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Feb 13, 2024

'Intrusive' drones? U.S. surveillance case tests privacy law

Evidence suggests police departments are increasingly using drones, including as first responders to emergency calls.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 13, 2024

LDP survey shows 85 members failed to report political funds

The survey’s results are unlikely to bring an end to the scandal, with its methods criticized by opposition parties as inadequate and lacking objectivity.
Canned ready-to-drink cocktails, including Asahi Breweries' 9% Clear Cooler Strong chūhai produced in conjunction with Seven & I Holdings, at a 7-Eleven store in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Tuesday
BUSINESS
Feb 13, 2024

Asahi calls time on new strong chūhai amid low-alcohol shift in Japan

New versions of the canned fizzy cocktails with alcohol content of 8% or higher will not be launched in order to “reduce inappropriate drinking.”
An Asiana Airlines passenger aircraft lands at Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan, on Dec. 20, 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 14, 2024

Korean Air wins EU’s approval for $1.4 billion Asiana deal

Korean Air is expected to be ranked as one of the world’s top 10 airlines once the deal is completed.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 14, 2024

Hokkaido areas named for second-stage survey on nuclear waste disposal

The town of Suttsu and the area off its coast will be surveyed, as well as the area within the village of Kamoenai excluding a zone around a volcano.
U.S. President Joe Biden has presided over a growing economy and some foreign leaders have said after meeting him that he is sharp and focused in private meetings, but his age is still an issue that is posing a drag on his poll numbers.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 14, 2024

Democrats bungle Joe Biden age concerns, some critics say

Their strategy so far has not quelled criticism or concerns about the U.S. president's fitness for the Oval Office.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Prime Minister's Office on Feb. 8
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 14, 2024

Kishida becomes 10th longest-serving prime minister in postwar era

In the last 25 years, only Junichiro Koizumi and Shinzo Abe have served as prime minister for longer than Kishida.
Telecoms giant KDDI plans with Mitsubishi to take convenience store operator Lawson private could help it as it currently stands behind FamilyMart and Seven & I Holdings in a three-horse race.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 14, 2024

There are clouds on the horizon in Japan’s 'conbini-land'

Industry consolidation has pushed minor players out of the conbini game.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes French President Emmanuel Macron as chief guest of celebrations marking India's Republic Day on Jan. 26.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 13, 2024

The fraternity between France and India has never been stronger

Beyond the pomp of Republic Day celebrations with Macron as guest of honor, Modi and the French leader signed substantive defense deals, cementing ties.
The 2024 cherry blossom forecast released Thursday
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2024

Cherry blossoms expected to bloom in Tokyo on March 17

The earlier-than-usual blossoming is attributed to higher than average temperatures across the country over the past few months, particularly this month.
The disapproval rate for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Cabinet has also exceeded 60% for the first time.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 15, 2024

Support for Kishida Cabinet hits new low of 16.9% in Jiji poll

The approval rate is also the lowest for a Liberal Democratic Party-led administration since the party returned to power in December 2012.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo