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Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speak to reporters in Berlin on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 13, 2024

Japanese and German leaders deepen ties with new economic security framework

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and German Chancellor Olaz Scholz agreed on the new mechanism during the Japanese leader's first visit to the country as PM.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during a meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Watford, England, in December 2019.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 13, 2024

Whether it’s Biden or Trump, Europe knows it must stand alone

European officials say they’re expecting both Trump and Biden to concentrate more on China at the expense of Europe.
A Shinto priest leads prayers for safety before the opening of Kitaizumi beach in the city of Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, on Saturday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 13, 2024

Fukushima beach opens for first time since treated water release

The Fukushima Prefectural Government said last month that no tritium was detected in seawater at eight beaches in the prefecture set to open this year.
About 100 of the roughly 200 species of snails in the Kinki region of Japan are threatened with extinction, researchers have warned.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 14, 2024

Snails becoming rarer in Japan, facing risk of extinction

About 100 of the roughly 200 species of snails in the Kinki region are threatened with extinction, researchers warn.
The Justice Ministry is considering helping Ukraine improve laws and regulations.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 14, 2024

Japan to help Ukraine improve laws to support reconstruction

The move is intended to support Ukraine's negotiations for EU membership and create an environment good for Japanese companies to enter the Ukrainian market.
Storage tanks at the Northern Lights carbon capture and storage project controlled by oil companies Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies in Norway. The Norwegian government is funding 80% of the initial investment for the state-of-the-art facility.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 14, 2024

A giant carbon dump gives glimpse into net-zero future

As the cost of renewables declines at pace with fossil fuel use, the need for carbon, capture and storage tech will diminish, making cost reductions a challenge.
Secret Service agents surround former U.S. President Donald Trump after shots were fired during a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 15, 2024

U.S. Secret Service faces intense scrutiny after attempt on Trump

Blame is already being trained on the agency's director, Kimberly Cheatle, with Republican lawmakers demanding answers from her even as the FBI investigates the shooting.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a joint news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 15, 2024

Can Kishida's diplomacy boost support at home?

Facing calls to step down even from within the LDP, the Prime Minister apparently hopes to shore up support through his latest meetings overseas.
An Air Force CV-22 Osprey at U.S. military's Yokota base in Tokyo in May. U.S. forces in Japan plan to deploy the Navy's CMV-22 Osprey at Yamaguchi Prefecture's Iwakuni base.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2024

U.S. to deploy Navy Ospreys at Iwakuni base

The CMV-22 Ospreys will replace C-2 transport planes that are currently stationed at the base in Yamaguchi Prefecture.
An air conditioning unit being installed in Kotor, Montenegro, on June 22. Life almost stopped in Montenegro’s capital Podgorica earlier this summer, with cars and buses getting stuck in gridlock as traffic lights went out, the internet crashed and security alarms blared in reaction to a sudden loss of power supply.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Jul 15, 2024

The world’s power grids are failing as the planet warms

Hotter summers cause spikes in demand for cooling, but upgrades to power infrastructure haven’t kept pace with climate change.
Palestinians search through rubble following an Israeli strike in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Monday.
WORLD
Jul 16, 2024

Israel launches fresh Gaza strikes after weekend attack on ‘safe zone’

Israel said it targeted a Hamas military commander in its Saturday strike on Mawasi, which killed at least 90 people, according to Palestinian officials.
ASML's headquarters and factory in Veldhoven, Netherlands
WORLD
Jul 16, 2024

ASML-backed university is caught in the middle of U.S.-China chip war

The Netherlands is facing increasing pressure from Washington to stem Beijing’s chip-making efforts.
Japan's annual quotas for Pacific bluefin tuna catches were raised at an international meeting held in Hokkaido on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2024

Japan's Pacific bluefin tuna catch quotas set to rise

The bluefin tuna population has been recovering in recent years from overfishing.
The potential of AI in fighting climate change is immense. It can accelerate progress by redesigning industrial processes, optimizing transport systems, maximizing energy efficiency and significantly reducing emissions.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 16, 2024

Embracing the AI-energy-climate nexus

AI's potential to fight climate change is immense. It can accelerate progress by redesigning industrial processes, maximizing energy efficiency and reducing emissions.
An Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. facility in Fujairah, which uses technology developed by 44.01, a startup backed by Sam Altman
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 16, 2024

Sam Altman-backed startup scaling technology to store CO2 in rocks

A type of rock found under every continent holds the potential key to permanently trapping planet-warming carbon dioxide under the Earth’s surface.
PwC is considering slashing up to half its financial services auditing staff in China and about 20% of its staff in other auditing teams and nonauditing business lines.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 17, 2024

PwC weighs halving of China financial services audit staff, say sources

The firm has 781 partners and nearly 19,000 employees in mainland China as of last September.
Artwork is displayed in the home of Mikiko Watanabe, who was killed in an arson attack at a Kyoto Animation studio in 2019, in Shiga Prefecture on June 11.
JAPAN
Jul 17, 2024

Mother of Kyoto Animation arson victim continuing to deliver lectures

Tatsuko Watanabe's 35-year-old daughter Mikiko was an art director at the anime company.
Sanyo Shokai sells custom-ordered T-shirts from Spanish clothing brand Ecoalf using digital printing technology.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 18, 2024

Digital printing of clothes drawing attention in Japan

The process allows for small-quantity production and caters to customers' tastes more precisely.
The Illuminate USA solar panel plant in Pataskala, Ohio, on Monday
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Jul 18, 2024

Many U.S. solar factories are lagging, except for those China owns

Chinese companies will have at least 20 gigawatts' worth of annual solar panel production capacity on U.S. soil within the next year.
U.S. President Joe Biden leaves after delivering remarks during an event at the College of Southern Nevada North Las Vegas Campus, in Las Vegas, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 19, 2024

Biden faces mounting speculation amid pressure to drop his bid

Conjecture over if, when, or how U.S. President Joe Biden might step aside has dominated the political conversation.
Musician Yuka Noda’s 1989 album “Karibu no Yume: Light Fusion Fantasy” has developed a cult following among jazz fusion fans, and the album is set to be reissued as a CD and record next week.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 19, 2024

Yuka Noda's sonic escape to a balmy yesteryear

The reissue of Noda's 1989 album “Karibu no Yume: Light Fusion Fantasy" underlines a growing interest in bubble-era nostalgia and Japan's jazz and fusion works.
A solar farm in Shilin, China. Last year, China installed more solar panels than the United States has in its entire history.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 19, 2024

Why the era of China’s soaring carbon emissions might be ending

The biggest factor in the shift is changes to how China produces its electricity.
Passersby holding parasols walk through Tokyo on July 9 amid a heatstroke alert in the capital and other prefectures.
JAPAN / Boiling Point
Jul 19, 2024

Boiling Point

This special series focused on this year’s scorching summer will also lay the groundwork for enhanced heat coverage in future years.
People hold umbrellas while watching baseball to deal with the heat in the city of Shizuoka on July 7.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 19, 2024

As risk of heatstroke rises in Japan, so does that of COVID-19

Patients examined for suspected heatstroke have been diagnosed with COVID-19 instead, as symptoms can be similar.
During a demonstration to demand a ceasefire and an end to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza in Tokyo on June 24, Sophia University student Jumana Kasemu participates in “Tears for Palestine,” a global event that started in Tokyo.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 19, 2024

If the Gaza protests seem one-sided, it’s because the current violence is

Empathy for Israeli suffering doesn't prevent college students in Japan and beyond from manifesting their anger at indiscriminate violence leveled against Palestinians.
Ichiro Aisawa, a Lower House lawmaker with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, speaks to reporters at LDP headquarters in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 20, 2024

LDP plans to launch leadership election board next week

The party is considering launching on July 26 the administration committee for its presidential election expected to take place in September.
Some 20% of Japanese companies have stropped creating medium-term management plans to respond more flexibly to changes in the business environment and achieve long-term goals, a recent survey has found.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 21, 2024

20% of Japan firms have no medium-term plans, poll finds

A survey found that about 10% of companies with medium-term plans are considering changing the duration of their plans or making other reviews.
Secret Service officers surround U.S. former President Donald Trump, the Republican  presidential candidate, as he attends the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 21, 2024

Secret Service says it denied earlier Trump requests for more federal resources

The denied requests for additional resources were not specifically for the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where the former president survived an assassination attempt.
Lamposts and other signs throughout Hirogawa, Wakayama Prefecture, display warnings, evacuation routes and measurements of height above sea level. The town has been hit by eight tsunami in its recorded history.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / OUR PLANET
Jul 21, 2024

Why Japanese researchers are looking to submarine cables for faster tsunami warnings

While Japan boasts one of the world's most sophisticated earthquake and tsunami detection systems, gaps still remain.
The annual number of Self-Defense Forces personnel quitting mid-career has reached around 6,000, accounting for around 2% of all SDF staff.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 22, 2024

Defense ministry concerned as more SDF staff quit citing workplace issues

The government's Defense Buildup Program, formulated in 2022, emphasized curbing mid-career resignations of SDF personnel as an "urgent issue."

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers