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Resonac Holdings CEO Hidehito Takahashi
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 19, 2025

Resonac explores deal structures for possible JSR takeover

A deal would be a key step in the chemicals maker’s ambition to corner the Japanese artificial intelligence semiconductor materials market.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gives a news conference in Kyiv on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 20, 2025

Trump turns on Zelenskyy, leaving Ukraine few options amid war

Any remaining hopes seemed to fade when Trump, embracing the Kremlin’s narrative, denounced Zelenskyy as a "dictator."
The city government of Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, used corporate donations to create a volunteer tour, during which participants help farmers harvest apples and enjoy sightseeing in the city.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 20, 2025

Corporate hometown donations gain traction in Japan

Some local governments have been found to provide de facto rewards to donor companies, violating the system's rules and raising concerns about improper practices.
Once a boon to tea farmers' bottom lines, the global matcha craze is now pushing producers and distributors to their limits with few options to adequately meet demand.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 23, 2025

Japan struggles to fend off a world without enough matcha

Production methods and economic risks keep the domestic tea industry from ramping up supply.
Alleged scam center workers and victims from China, who were handed over from Myanmar, board a plane at Mae Sot Airport in Mae Sot in Thailand's Tak province on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 21, 2025

China flies home first nationals from Myanmar ‘scam centers’

The repatriation is part of a multinational effort to stamp out the centers, a transnational criminal industry that has found havens in Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.
Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky speaks during an interview at the Ukrainian Embassy in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 21, 2025

As Ukraine rift emerges, Kyiv's envoy says Japan must take on bigger global role

The remarks by Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky came amid what appears to be a dramatic reversal in years of U.S. support for Ukraine since Russia's invasion.
U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Q. Brown speaks during annual Memorial Day in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, in May 2024.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 22, 2025

Trump fires top U.S. general in unprecedented Pentagon shakeup

The decision sets off a period of upheaval at the Pentagon, which was already bracing for mass firings of civilian staff and other dramatic shifts.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba replies to a question from Nippon Ishin no Kai co-leader Seiji Maehara at a Lower House Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Feb. 17.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 23, 2025

Party heads' love of trains could keep budget talks from derailing

The leaders of Nippon Ishin no Kai and Komeito both share Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's passion for locomotives.
The building of new high-rise residential buildings has some alarmed that they could empty and fall into disrepair as Japan's population shrinks.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Feb 24, 2025

The high cost of letting Japan's condos crumble

With rising repair costs, dwindling reserve funds and an aging population of owners, thousands of buildings are at risk of falling into disrepair.
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro assists Defense Minister Gen Nakatani as he signs a guest book prior to their bilateral meeting at a hotel in Manila on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 24, 2025

Japan and Philippines to establish high-level defense gear framework

The two sides also agreed to establish a “strategic dialogue” between the Self-Defense Forces and the Philippine Armed Forces to deepen operational collaboration.
Elon Musk's Starlink is facing challenges from a Chinese state-backed rival and another service financed by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 24, 2025

Musk's Starlink races with Chinese rivals to dominate satellite internet

China's rush to occupy more of lower-Earth orbit makes Western policymakers worry it could extend the reach of Beijing's internet censorship regime.
Lt. Gen. Dan Caine (right) with an Iraqi general in Mosul, Iraq, in 2018
WORLD / Politics
Feb 24, 2025

Trump’s frustration with generals resulted in an unconventional pick

Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, a retired three-star Air Force officer, quickly moved up the list of candidates to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Gresini Racing's Marc Marquez leans into a curve during the Australian Grand Prix in Phillip Island, Australia, on Oct. 20, 2024.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Feb 24, 2025

Dominant Ducati enters MotoGP with two former champions

Marc Marquez, a six-time champion, has joined two-time champion Francesco "Pecco" Bagnaia in the Ducati factory team this season.
Warren Buffett's plans to increase holdings in Japanese trading houses are seen as a stamp of approval for the undervalued sector.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 25, 2025

Buffett’s fervor for Japan trading firms sparks share rally

Buffett praised Japan’s trading firms for increasing dividends when appropriate and for being less aggressive in their executive pay than U.S. counterparts.
Journalist and filmmaker Shiori Ito made the documentary “Black Box Diaries” about her years-long battle to find justice following her sexual assault.
CULTURE / Film
Feb 27, 2025

Oscar-nominated documentaries put Japan under the microscope

Shiori Ito’s “Black Box Diaries” and Ema Ryan Yamazaki’s “Instruments of a Beating Heart” both mark firsts in their respective categories.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance and wife Usha stand in front of an iron gate with the slogan "Arbeit macht frei" ("Work will set you free") as they arrive for a tour of the Dachau Concentration Camp memorial site in southern Germany on Feb. 13.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 27, 2025

Without America, ‘the West’ will splinter, wither and die

Trump and his movement do not share similar values, at least not unequivocally, and that is now sinking in across the rest of the West, which the U.S. has led for eight decades.
The then-Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump greets a Michigan Muslim community leader at a rally in Novi, Michigan, on Oct. 26.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 2025

Why are pro-Palestinian activists suddenly so quiet?

Pro-Palestinian and Arab-American groups that urged voters to withhold support from Biden over Gaza now face regret as Trump embraces Israel’s hard-line stance.
The number of fatal bicycle accidents and those causing serious injury that were attributed to cyclists' mobile phone use totaled 28 in 2024, a record high. Similarly, the number of such accidents involving cars driven by drivers distracted by mobile phones rose to the highest on record, at 136 cases.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 27, 2025

Accidents caused by distracted drivers hit record high in 2024

A total of 136 fatal car accidents and those resulting in serious injury due to mobile phone use were recorded last year, the highest since at least 2007.
U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 28, 2025

Trump dodges plea from Britain's Starmer for Ukraine security guarantee

Britain's prime minister had argued that there could be no long-term peace in Ukraine without firm U.S. security guarantees.
Some 230 million people globally thought to be affected by long COVID. The effects range from mild to disabling, and there are no proven diagnostic tests or treatments.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Mar 1, 2025

'Going mad': Lack of data plagues Asia's long COVID patients

Some 230 million people are thought to be affected by long COVID — defined as symptoms persisting for three months or more after the initial infection.
Wayne Gretzky arrives for the inauguration ceremony before Donald Trump is sworn in at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington, on Jan. 20.
MORE SPORTS / Ice Hockey
Mar 2, 2025

Wayne Gretzky faces backlash in Canada over support for Donald Trump

Trump's provocative comments about making Canada the 51st U.S. state have raised tensions.
Hidetaka Ishii, an official at the Chiba Municipal Government, says close coordination with private-sector operators is key for regional decarbonization efforts.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Mar 2, 2025

Japan’s climate heroes show potential and limits of local initiatives

Chiba and others show the potential for local areas to accelerate the energy transition, as well as the challenges of building locally driven, carbon-free energy models.
Bic Camera paid ¥557 million less than originally agreed to 51 contract makers of its private-label products including home appliances between July 2023 and August 2024, according to the Fair Trade Commission.
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2025

Japan FTC urges Bic Camera to pay subcontractors in full

Bic Camera is believed to have begun underpaying subcontractors in 2020, when it began selling items under its own name.
Chinese President Xi Jinping
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 3, 2025

Xi prepares to unveil China stimulus plan as trade war heats up

AI breakthroughs and Xi’s recent embrace of private entrepreneurs have driven a rally ahead of the National People’s Congress.
Shinsuke Kimura, head of the Recovery Support Center, talks about the group's activities during an interview in Tokyo last week.
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2025

Nonprofit supporting victims of 1995 Tokyo sarin attack to disband

The Recovery Support Center was created as many victims complained of problems with their eyes even years after medical examinations began to be offered.
Seven & I Holdings CEO Ryuichi Isaka is stepping down from his position, the Nikkei newspaper has reported.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 3, 2025

7-Eleven owner to appoint first foreign CEO, report says

The owner's plan to take the company private to avoid being taken over by Couche-Tard collapsed last week, piling pressure on it to reconsider the $47 billion takeover proposal.
Ukrainian servicewomen Natalia (right), 53, and her daughter Veronika, 26, from the 100th mechanized brigade, pose for a photo at an undisclosed location in the Donetsk region in Ukraine on Feb. 15.
WORLD / Society
Mar 3, 2025

'Under my wing': Mothers and daughters serving together in Ukraine

Ukrainian servicewomen Natalia, 53, and her daughter Veronika, 26, serve in the 100th mechanized brigade.
Journalist Kazuyoshi Konishi says many men lack a sense of ownership and responsibility over issues such as women's empowerment and child-rearing, leading to such policies being overlooked.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 3, 2025

Male participation key to solving gender issues, journalist says

Gender inequality in the household is a large barrier to women’s participation in politics, creating a vicious cycle that delays progress, Kazuyoshi Konishi says.
Federica Brignone competes in the super-G race in Kvitfjell, Norway, on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 3, 2025

Federica Brignone wins super-G to extend overall World Cup lead

Brignone, the 2020 overall champion, was fourth and fifth in the two downhills over the weekend.
Houston Dash player Yuki Nagasato greets fans after a match against Seattle Reign FC at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston on Sept. 21, 2024.
SOCCER
Mar 4, 2025

Houston Dash forward Yuki Nagasato retires after storied career

The 37-year-old appeared in 134 National Women's Soccer League matches, recording 23 goals and 25 assists.

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