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An aircraft drops flame retardant on burning vegetation in Sicily, Italy, on Sunday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 31, 2023

Climate change boosts risk of extreme wildfires 25%, study finds

In certain partly dry conditions, global warming pushed areas beyond key thresholds, making extreme fires much more likely
Items from the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake are on display at the memorial museum in Yokoamicho Park in Tokyo. Here, a warped clock is frozen minutes after the quake struck at 11:58 a.m. on Sept. 1, 1923.
JAPAN / History / Longform
Aug 31, 2023

The Great Kanto Earthquake: A wall of fire, a picture of hell

On Sept. 1, 1923, a massive earthquake struck off the coast of Kanagawa Prefecture. It came to be defined by fire and vigilantism.
Gigi Chao, vice chair of Cheuk Nang Holdings, in Hong Kong on July 19
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 31, 2023

More LGBTQ rights could help Asian financial hubs draw global talent

In Japan, the only Group of Seven nation without legal protection for same-sex unions, corporations are seen as a key driver for change.
Yuta Watanabe celebrates Japan's comback win over Venenzula at the Okinawa Arena on Thursday.
BASKETBALL
Sep 1, 2023

With victory over Venezuela, Japan inches closer to Olympics

In a nail-biter, Japan erases a nine-point gap to triumph over Venezuela. They are now just one win away from securing their Olympic dreams.
A construction site where many tall apartment buildings have been constructed in recent years, in Parramatta, Sydney
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 1, 2023

Build up, not out: The high density housing push for Australian cities

With the construction industry struggling amid elevated costs and decade-high interest rates, housing affordability has become a thorny political issue.
Carlos Alcaraz celebrates after defeating Lloyd Harris during their match at the U.S. Open in New York on Thursday.
TENNIS
Sep 1, 2023

No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz cruises into third round at U.S. Open

Alcaraz moved one step closer to setting up a rematch of his epic showdown against Jannik Sinner in last year's U.S. Open quarterfinals.
While the Korean War armistice analogy is imperfect, it may provide the best available lesson for ending the war in Ukraine.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 1, 2023

Ukraine’s future isn’t German or Israeli but Korean

The Ukraine crisis needs a resolution, even if it means accepting an armistice that doesn't provide a clear victory for any party involved.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is seen on a screen during a video address for the Global Trade in Services Summit, at the media center for the China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 2, 2023

The U.S., allies see opportunity and risk in slowing China economy

The U.S. and other G7 nations increasingly see evidence of deep-seated structural problems that ultimately will strengthen the West’s hand.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is greeted by Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining, in Shanghai on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 2, 2023

U.S. officials are streaming to China. Will Beijing return the favor?

Such visits could help convey Beijing’s interest in stabilizing ties with Washington. But China has been noncommittal.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is mired in four criminal cases that could take him off the campaign trail starting in late January or February.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 4, 2023

The surrogates: Trump’s strategy for campaigning from court

While the candidate himself was a no-show at prominent events, including the first Republican primary debate, he left loyalists to fill the void.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2023

Japan boosts fishing sector aid after Fukushima water release

The increased aid comes as more than 100 fishermen and locals living near Fukushima prepare to file a lawsuit this week seeking to stop the discharge.
A South Korean teacher reacts as others chant slogans during a protest to demand better protection of their rights and to mourn a young teacher found dead in July in an apparent suicide, in Seoul on Monday. The signs read "Vote for an agreement on the protection of teachers' rights."
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 6, 2023

South Korean teachers want an end to parents’ harassment

Teachers say they often face pressure from parents who make excessive or impossible demands of them, including favoritism for their children.
Personnel from the Self-Defense Forces take part in a nuclear, biological and chemical weapons exercise at New Chitose airport in Hokkaido in July 2012.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Sep 7, 2023

Japan has plenty to offer in the field of detecting threats

With the spread of chemical, nuclear and biological weapons, the time is right to put domestic tech to good use.
The Shiodome City Center building in Tokyo's Minato Ward
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 6, 2023

GIC considering sale of Tokyo skyscraper for over $2 billion

The sale plans come as a glut of new office supply is expected in Tokyo over the next two years, potentially tempering investor appetite.
Tourists drive rental go-karts while dressed up as game characters through the streets of Shibuya and other areas of Tokyo in December 2018.
COMMENTARY
Sep 6, 2023

A 10-year tourist boom and all I got was this lousy 'Mario Kart'

Like cockroaches in a nuclear apocalypse, seemingly nothing can destroy the "Mario Karts": not legal action, not the government and not even the pandemic.
Journalists tour the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and the tanks that contain contaminated water on Aug. 27
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 6, 2023

We need to put low-dose radiation into perspective

Public fear of the effects of low-dose radiation isn’t backed by science. The Fukushima water release shows, once again, that better education is needed.
A screenshot of the Nigetore app (left) five minutes after the start of practice evacuation using a 15-minute setting for “preparation time.” On the right, two screenshots show the outcomes of drills and a map indicating an evacuation route with tsunami inundation areas highlighted.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Sep 11, 2023

Tsunami evacuation app offers realistic quake preparation experience

Personal tsunami evacuation drill app Nigetore allows users to choose their own evacuation routes and evaluate their success.
An activist in Seoul protests Japan’s plan to release treated wastewater from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
PODCAST / deep dive
Sep 7, 2023

Anger at Fukushima’s wastewater; hope in its renewables

Good news and bad news out of Fukushima.
Kazuki Paul Tsuyukusa with his dog Sunny in Fukuoka
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Sep 9, 2023

Kazuki Paul Tsuyukusa: 'It’s better to live without being noticed everywhere.’

A former rikishi, Kazuki Paul Tsuyukusa has swapped his sumo stable for the life of a salaryman.
Children try to salvage their belongings from the rubble of their house after a demolition drive by the authorities at a slum area near the upcoming G20 Summit main venue in New Delhi, in June.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 8, 2023

Many slums disappear from Indian capital ahead of G20 summit

In 2021, housing minister Hardeep Singh Puri, told parliament that 13.5 million people lived in the city's unauthorized colonies.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin shakes hands with India's Defense chief Gen. Anil Chauhan during a reception in New Delhi in June.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 9, 2023

India’s military studying options for any China-Taiwan war

Defense chief Gen. Anil Chauhan — India’s top military commander — commissioned a study to examine the wider impact of any war over the island.
Viola Todorovic at the place where she was held captive and subjected to torture during the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship. She was 19 years-old when she was disappeared by the secret police.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 11, 2023

Chile political prisoners reclaim torture sites to preserve coup memory

These places have become focal points of shared memory as victims and their families look to gain more control over the past
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with U.S. President Joe Biden upon his arrival at the Bharat Mandapam convention center for the Group of 20 summit in New Delhi on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 11, 2023

At G20 summit, India sought to loosen China’s grip on Global South

The U.S. and other G7 members stayed largely in the background at the gathering, allowing India to take a global leadership role.
Bottles of whisky sit on display behind the bar at the Door XXV private club in the Golden Equator Group office in Singapore.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 13, 2023

Asia takes over the world’s whisky market

Yearslong efforts by Pernod, Diageo and other major whiskey producers to get Asian drinkers to spend more on their premium spirits are finally paying off.
Visitors inspect a BYD electric sedan at a motor show in Munich
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 14, 2023

Did Europe just start a trade war with China over electric cars?

The EU launched a probe into Beijing’s financial support for the EV industry amid fears that Chinese exports are putting auto jobs at risk.
The incoming and outgoing presidents of Johnny & Associates, Noriyuki Higashiyama and Julie Keiko Fujishima, bow at a press conference on Sept. 7.
PODCAST / deep dive
Sep 14, 2023

Johnny’s talent agency has admitted to a past of abuse. What next?

Karin Kaneko joins the show to update us on how the story is unfolding.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Sep 15, 2023

Akinobu Okada pushed right buttons to guide Tigers to CL pennant

Akinobu Okada led Hanshin to its first Central League pennant since 2005, and now anticipation grows over what comes next.
A visitor looks at portraits of former United Nations Secretaries-General at U.N. headquarters ahead of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 17, 2023

World disappointed by the U.N. now looks elsewhere for answers

If the body's strongest members keep resisting reform, the Global South may have no choice but to seek new options, including those offered by China.
U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington on Sunday
WORLD / Politics
Sep 18, 2023

Can Joe Biden and a wad of cash win rural America for Democrats?

Billions of dollars in federal funding have flowed to rural areas' infrastructure since Biden took office.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Sep 18, 2023

Debate grows in Japan over proposed background checks for teachers

The Children and Families Agency is proposing to make screening for criminal convictions mandatory for people looking to work in schools or nurseries.

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell