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A gasoline blend containing bioethanol is sold at a gas station in Illinois in December. The United States and Brazil are keen to expand exports of bioethanol to Japan.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 19, 2025

With 2050 net-zero goal on horizon, momentum builds for biofuel in Japan

Experts hope the increasing push for use of biofuels in gasoline-powered vehicles may help shift public awareness on environmental issues.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged troops for a Ukraine peacekeeping force, but Britain and its military lack the resources to deliver.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 19, 2025

Starmer offers Ukraine a defense check it can't cash

Under Starmer’s leadership, there has been no sign that the U.K. is ready to expand its armed forces to the numbers that could sustain such a campaign.
Laborers at a shipyard on the outskirts of Dhaka. Worker deaths, injuries and exposure to hazardous substances are common in the ship-breaking industry, as is environmental harm with toxic chemicals seeping into the beach and water, harming marine life.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Feb 19, 2025

Shipyards of Bangladesh brace as heavy emitting ships near end of life

Worker deaths and environmental harm are common in yards where vessels that have supplied richer nations are dismantled for scraps that can be used in manufacturing.
A man who "exhibited fixated behavior" toward Emma Raducanu was escorted out of her match by security on Tuesday in Dubai.
TENNIS
Feb 20, 2025

WTA stars express concern after Emma Raducanu's incident with 'fixated' fan

Iga Swiatek, the current world No. 2, believes the tour did the right thing, and acknowledges such situations can be hard to avoid, even with strict safety measures in place.
A compressed natural gas station near Chennai on Wednesday
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 20, 2025

Osaka Gas plans to boost sales of city gas in India tenfold

India is developing a city gas network to promote the use of natural gas, which is less environmentally damaging than coal and fuel oil.
Mike Sunda at a concert in Haikou, China
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Feb 20, 2025

Mike Sunda: ‘Creative production comes with a bigger responsibility than ever before’

Creative strategist Mike Sunda talks about his influences and the filming of Megan Thee Stallion’s “Mamushi” music video.
Yokohama District Court Judge Takahira Yoshii said Thursday that educative and protective measures are appropriate for a 16-year-old boy charged with the murder of his parents in the city of Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, last year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 20, 2025

Boy referred to family court over murder of his parents near Tokyo

The presiding judge ruled that educative and protective measures are appropriate for the 16-year-old boy.
Lo Kin-hei (center), chairman of Hong Kong's Democratic Party, along with other senior leaders, announced Thursday that it will start preparations to wind down operations.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 21, 2025

Hong Kong's oldest pro-democracy party prepares to shut down

The Democratic Party's fortunes declined after Beijing tightened its grip and imposed a national security law.
A customer visits a store along the Togoshi Ginza shopping street in Tokyo on Jan. 23. Rising fresh food prices contributed to the acceleration in overall inflation in January, as vegetable prices, including cabbage, soared.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 21, 2025

Japan’s inflation speeds up, keeping BOJ on rate hike path

Overall inflation accelerated to 4% from 3.6%, according to the internal affairs ministry, hitting that mark for the first time in two years.
People shop in a supermarket as inflation affected consumer prices in Manhattan, New York City, in June 2022.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Feb 21, 2025

'Stagflation' fears haunt U.S. markets despite Trump's pro-growth agenda

The dreaded scenario has crept back as a key risk for investors in recent weeks.
Ancient trees and animals play crucial roles in ecosystems, carbon storage and even human health, yet their populations are dwindling due to deforestation, fishing and climate change.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 2025

Who will speak for the trees?

A slew of scientific discoveries shows why we should protect not just 1,000-year-old trees but also 200-year-old whales, 400-year-old fish and 10,000-year-old sea sponges.
As more countries gain global influence, disagreements over the future world order are making cooperation harder, especially between democracies and autocracies.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 2025

The age of multipolarization

The shift to a multipolar world has been accompanied by deepening polarization within and between countries.
The coal-powered Datang International Zhangjiakou Power Station in Zhangjiakou, in China's northern Hebei province. Many countries support an an aggressive approach to climate change, but face objections by some oil producers and major polluters with rising emissions, such as India and China.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Feb 24, 2025

Nations at odds over major U.N. climate science report

Many countries support an an aggressive approach to climate change, but face objections by some oil producers and major polluters.
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.
A rally in support of South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Jan. 18. Young men have emerged as a key demographic that has come out in support of Yoon, in contrast to the many young women participating in protests opposing him.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 24, 2025

Men, media and MAGA deepen South Korea’s split

Political polarization in South Korea is evermore extreme, with many young men rallying around impeached President Yoon, fueled by online media and a MAGA-inspired movement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sign a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement at a meeting in Pyongyang in June 2024.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 24, 2025

Japan wary of North Korea's practical combat experience in Ukraine war

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi underlines concern over how Pyongyang's participation in the conflict might affect Japan's security environment.
Major Japanese banks are tightening controls on the management of safe-deposit boxes after a string of thefts involving bank employees rocked public confidence.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 24, 2025

Japanese banks to rethink security measures for safe-deposit boxes

A string of thefts involving bank employees have intensified scrutiny of a segment already grappling with weak demand and thin margins.
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.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton at a Formula One launch event in London on Feb. 18
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Feb 25, 2025

Hamilton’s move to Ferrari opens new possibilities

The driver is hopeful that an eighth world championship will be within his sights once again.
Aerial view of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, on Jan. 25, 2025. The area represents 40% of Canada's territory and 75% of its coastline.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 25, 2025

'All eyes on Arctic' as Canada boosts its northern force

Thawing ice has created a new strategic reality for Canada, as nations with Arctic borders like the United States and Russia intensify their focus on the region.
Kusatsu Onsen resort, a popular tourist destination in Gunma Prefecture, on Dec. 26, 2022
JAPAN / Society
Feb 25, 2025

Gunma ranks top among city dwellers eyeing countryside, survey shows

Respondents picked the prefecture for its child-friendly environment, rich natural surroundings and proximity to the Tokyo metropolitan area.
Toshihiro Suzuki (left), president of Suzuki Motor, and Hisashi Takeuchi, managing director of Maruti Suzuki India, during an event in New Delhi on Jan. 17
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 25, 2025

Suzuki Motor unit opens first new India plant in eight years

India’s largest carmaker by sales had last opened a new factory in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in 2017.
The government will oblige some companies, particularly those in high-emitting industries including steelmaking, to participate in an emissions trading system to be introduced in fiscal 2026.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Feb 26, 2025

Japan adopts bill obliging firms' participation in emissions trading

Companies that emit at least 100,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year will be required to participate in the country's carbon emissions trading system.
Since arriving at ARK as a nervous kitten, Donut has really grown into herself and opened up to people.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Feb 27, 2025

Red tabby Donut is full of sweet energy

Always having a good time, Donut is eager for attention — and food.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s populism and polarization will challenge American democracy, but constitutional limits, congressional dynamics and enduring pluralism will sustain it.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 27, 2025

American democracy will weather the Trumpist storm

Despite Trump’s authoritarian tendencies, his populist nature makes constitutional collapse unlikely so long as pluralism in society endures.
Nauru is selling citizenship to fund its retreat from rising seas as other climate finance runs dry.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Feb 28, 2025

Nauru sells citizenship to fund climate change mitigation

The island nation of around 13,000 residents is planning a mass inland relocation as creeping seas start to eat away at its fertile coastal fringe.
The luxury Seven Stars in Kyushu train trades the hyper-efficiency of typical rail travel in Japan for a slower, more decadent version.
LIFE / Travel
Mar 1, 2025

Aboard Japan’s most luxurious train, the journey is the destination

For those with yen to burn, the Seven Stars in Kyushu is one of the most luxurious ways to experience some of southern Japan’s best hidden gems.
A screenshot from a video posted by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency on X on Friday shows firefighters trying to put out the fire in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture.
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2025

Wildfire in Iwate rages on as unusually dry weather continues

The size of the affected area has doubled in less than two days.
The rapid collapse of the plan to take Seven & I private reflects how personal egos and domestic competitiveness ultimately outweighed the nationalistic desire to fend off Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard, whose pursuit of the Japanese retailer emerged last August.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 2, 2025

Seven & I and Nissan deal fallout leaves Japan companies vulnerable

The collapse of the deals means the companies are potentially even more vulnerable to foreign takeovers.
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.

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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