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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.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / Longform
Apr 28, 2025

If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami

Last year the government issued its first "megaquake" advisory. Ever since, those living in the areas it's expected to hit have been preparing for the worst.
A Wall Street sign near the New York Stock Exchange on April 21
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 28, 2025

Trump promised a markets boom. 100 days in, stocks have only seen damage.

The S&P 500 Index is down about 8% since his inauguration and on track for its worst run during a president’s first 100 days since Gerald Ford.
There is strong demand for funding from Japanese companies as the economy emerges from years of deflation, and issuers are trying to pinpoint the best time to sell bonds before the Bank of Japan raises interest rates again.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 28, 2025

Revived corporate bond deals in Japan underline need for funding

Volatility is particularly tricky for Japan to navigate given that the market has been less exposed to extreme swings after years of rock-bottom interest rates.
Net income at Daiwa Securities Group tumbled 24% year-on-year to ¥30 billion ($208 million) in the three months ended March 31.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 29, 2025

Japanese brokerages struggled with volatility even before tariffs

Net income at Daiwa tumbled 24% year-on-year to ¥30 billion ($208 million) in the three months ended March 31, marking the first decline in eight quarters.
Liberal Democratic Party Policy Chief Itsunori Onodera (center) speaks at a think tank event Monday in Washington.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 29, 2025

Japan worries Trump tariffs will push countries toward China

Many nations are looking to negotiate with the U.S. over the Trump administration’s reciprocal tariffs, which could undermine security in the region.
Christophe Lemaire rides Admire Daytona, who was bred in Japan, during the UAE Derby at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai on April 5.
MORE SPORTS / Horse Racing
Apr 29, 2025

Could this be Japan’s year at the Kentucky Derby?

Japan has made great strides in thoroughbred racing, and many feel it is no longer a question of "if" a Japanese horse will win the event but "when."
Sunset at Dudley Page Reserve, in Dover Heights, Sydney, on April 21
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 29, 2025

Australia’s economic ‘miracle’ is ending no matter who wins vote

Polls suggest the May 3 election will be tight, with many pundits predicting the winner will lead a minority government.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the BRICS Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Rio de Janeiro on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 29, 2025

At BRICS meeting, China vows to stand firm against ‘bully’ Trump

On Tuesday, China’s Foreign Minister warned BRICS nations not to cave to U.S. tariffs, urging resistance to pressure amid growing trade tensions.
Japan’s carmakers are being pushed to combine their resources in an environment roiled by tariffs, as well as to counter Chinese auto firms’ rapid expansion.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 30, 2025

Japan's carmakers face consolidation amid tariffs and China's rise, says hedge fund

Man Group’s Stephen Harget thinks the phenomenon could be Japan-specific as automakers in other regions have already been through such a cycle.
Fuji Media Holdings President Osamu Kanemitsu is set to step down from his post at a general shareholders meeting in June.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 1, 2025

After scandal, Fuji Media Holdings marks major net loss for first time

The company has also announced that President Osamu Kanemitsu, who was set to become chairman, will be stepping down.
The aftermath of a wildfire in Yeongyang, South Korea, on March 28.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 1, 2025

South Korea's deadly fires made twice as likely by climate change, researchers say

Fires blazed for nearly a week, killing 32 people and destroying around 5,000 buildings before they were brought under control in late March.
Greenpeace activists hold banners during a protest against the deep sea mining vessel Hidden Gem, commissioned by Canadian miner The Metals Company, off the coast of Manzanillo, Mexico, on Sept. 27, 2023.
WORLD / Politics
May 1, 2025

U.N. body warns over Trump's deep-sea mining order

Washington wants to spearhead mining for mineral-rich nodules in the deepest ocean floor, sidestepping a global effort to regulate such potentially damaging exploration.
People take part in the European Defense Tech Hub hackathon in Amsterdam on March 28.
WORLD / Politics
May 2, 2025

Mission before money: How Europe's defense startups are luring AI talent

A sense of patriotism stirred by the war in Ukraine and U.S. President Donald Trump's upending of security alliances is a motivation for many.
A solar panel on display at a home improvement center in Bangkok
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
May 4, 2025

U.S. solar tariffs could drive Asia transition boom

China makes eight out of every 10 solar panels globally, and controls 80% of every stage of the manufacturing process.
Since the 1990s, Parkinson's disease researchers have aimed to use stem cells to replace lost neurons, and they're now finding the right cues to turn them into dopamine-producing cells.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2025

Finally, a source of hope for Parkinson’s disease sufferers

The treatments were originally developed by a team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York and the other by researchers in Kyoto.
Workers operate sewing machines at a Thai Son S.P.  garment factory in Binh Thuan province, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on April 10. For more than 70 years, many emerging nations, especially in Asia, have become the low-cost manufacturer to the U.S., the world’s biggest consumer.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 5, 2025

Global factories struggle to overcome Trump tariffs and uncertainty

Purchasing manager indexes across Asia, along with revised numbers in Europe, showed new or persisting contractions in factory activity in April.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with his partner Jodie Haydon (right) and his son Nathan Albanese (left) at the Labor Party election night event in Sydney on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 5, 2025

Albanese landslide offers rare chance to fix Australia’s economy

Albanese’s center-left government has the best chance in years to take the hard steps economists have called for to ignite growth.
U.S. President Donald Trump dances after delivering a commencement address at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Thursday.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 5, 2025

Nordic nations hope to attract U.S. researchers alienated by Trump

Experts have voiced concerns that Trump's cuts to American research threaten the United States' standing as a global science leader.
Staff members from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Community Guidance Division call for cooperation with officers conducting door to door visits, on April 15 in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. Officers make a point of clearly identifying themselves and their assigned police box during each visit.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 6, 2025

Tokyo police promote home-visit program amid growing security challenges

Some residents, wary of scam artists pretending to be police officers, refuse to engage at all when one visits their home.
Imba, a clove farmer who inherited 70 trees from her parents, in Ternate, North Maluku, Indonesia. Colonial powers once warred over the cloves grown on the eastern Indonesian island of Ternate. Today, farmers say the crop's gravest threat is climate change.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 6, 2025

Climate change takes spice from Indonesia clove farms

Clove trees can take more than a decade to mature, and flowers can only be harvested in a small window that depends heavily on weather conditions.
The tie-up between Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and its new partners will target U.S. middle-market companies, according to executives.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 7, 2025

SMBC teams with private lenders to offer $1.7 billion of credit

The tie-up between the Japanese banking conglomerate and its new partners will target U.S. middle-market companies, according to executives.
Takeshi Hakamada, founder and CEO of Ispace, says his primary interest in space development is not to abandon Earth, but to protect it.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 7, 2025

'Big picture thinker': Ispace CEO Hakamada on reaching the moon and dreaming of starships

CEO Takeshi Hakamada envisions a distant future where humans live and work on the moon — just don't ask him to visit.
Arashi is known for massive hit songs such as “A・RA・SHI,” “Love So Sweet” and “Happiness.”
CULTURE / Entertainment news
May 7, 2025

J-pop group Arashi to disband after going on tour next spring

Current fan club members will be given priority to purchase tickets for the last concert tour.
A makeshift tent camp near a railway track, following a strong earthquake in Amarapura township, Myanmar, on April 4
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 8, 2025

Health care crisis follows Myanmar quake as junta drives medics underground

After medics took a prominent role in the anti-junta movement that emerged after the coup, the military administration has sought to root out opponents to its rule.
Ayano Kikuchi began practicing yoga in 2014 to alleviate her chronic back pain, and now shares her knowledge with the Karuizawa community as the manager of W Tree House.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
May 10, 2025

Ayano Kikuchi: ‘People need to take care of themselves holistically’

How a corporate office worker in Tokyo became a yoga studio manager in Karuizawa
Joseph S. Nye (center), an advocate of stronger U.S.-Japan relations and father of "soft power," died Tuesday at the age of 88.
JAPAN / Politics
May 8, 2025

Joseph Nye, advocate of stronger U.S.-Japan relations, dies at 88

The former U.S. assistant secretary of defense, known for coining the term "soft power," coauthored reports that influenced the direction of U.S.-Japan ties.
Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique has learned to control his emotions during matches.
SOCCER
May 8, 2025

Luis Enrique believes PSG's mentality helped fuel run to Champions League final

Enrique revealed that a turning point in PSG’s campaign came earlier in the season when results in the Champions League fell short of expectations.
Tokyo-based satellite maker Axelspace's initial public offering is expected to be approved by the Tokyo Stock Exchange later this month, people with knowledge of the matter said.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 8, 2025

Axelspace is latest Japan space startup to seek IPO, sources say

If successful, it would be the fifth such listing of a Japanese spacecraft venture over the last two years.
Fever guard Caitlin Clark reacts during the first quarter of a game against the Brazilian national team in Iowa City, Iowa, on Sunday.
BASKETBALL
May 9, 2025

Caitlin Clark entering second WNBA season with more experience and desire to win

Clark said there's no comparison between her rookie year and the upcoming season.
Panasonic is targeting 10,000 job cuts worldwide as part of efforts to boost profitability.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 9, 2025

Panasonic targets 10,000 job cuts worldwide

The cuts will focus on positions at consolidated companies — 5,000 in Japan and 5,000 overseas.

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