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Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 4, 2022

Growing ties between Pakistan and China raise concern in Washington and New Delhi

China's supply of advanced military equipment to Pakistan is part of an intensifying military and intelligence cooperation that reflects the growing level of trust between the two sides.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 23, 2022

U.S. threat to sanction China is spooking other nations in Asia

While Russia made up less than 1% of global trade with Southeast Asia in 2020, nations may be reluctant to cuts ties with its largest source of arms.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 10, 2022

Beijing and the inconvenient truth about the Russian business pull-out

The Achilles heel of economic statecraft directed toward China in a potential conflict will be whether businesses would prioritize politics and security over profits.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 24, 2022

Biden's own aides feared his sanctions wouldn't stop Putin

Sanctions have become the foreign policy option of first resort, despite a growing body of evidence that they often fail to achieve their goals.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 16, 2022

Pay your power bill, Myanmar soldiers say, or pay with your life

After the coup, millions in Myanmar refused to work or pay for electricity — an act aimed at depriving the junta of crucial sources of revenue.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 29, 2021

How errors and inaction sent a deadly COVID-19 variant around the world

In early 2021, flare-ups in the Indian city of Amravati were the first visible warning that the delta variant was spreading. A devastating path across the world would soon follow.
China Coast Guard vessels fire water cannons toward a Philippine resupply vessel as it made its way to the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea in March.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 15, 2024

China Coast Guard's new 60-day detention rules take effect

The regulations allowing the arrest of foreign nationals suspected of trespassing in waters "under China's jurisdiction" have stoked fears of escalation.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings' Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, in November 2022. The plant was shuttered in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster, and has sat idle since.
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2024

World’s largest nuclear plant sits idle while energy needs soar

The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant has the potential capacity to power more than 13 million households.
Elliott Investment Management's sizable stake in Sumitomo reflects a growing shareholder activism in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 2, 2024

Activist investor campaigns hit record high, driven by Japan

The number of new activists campaigns totaled 147, up 7% from 138 in the same period in 2023 and 29% above the five-year average.
One analyst argues that the billions of dollars flowing from Japan to the likes of Apple, Amazon and Microsoft might be more a positive than a negative in that more companies and individuals are using digital services.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 7, 2024

Japan’s digital deficit might be a good thing

The digital deficit indicates that digitalization has accelerated in the country, says Mitsubishi Research Institute researcher Kengo Wataya.
The Veolia Southwark Integrated Waste Management Facility in London.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Jul 11, 2024

Nestle quietly shifted recycling goals as plastics problem grows

Nestle changing its plastics goal means 280,000 metric tons of additional nonrecyclable plastic waste a year, according to the latest available data for 2022.
The Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture. Brennon Washington, a 25-year-old U.S. Air Force serviceman based at Kadena, on Friday pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and sexually assaulting a minor.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 12, 2024

U.S. serviceman in Okinawa pleads not guilty to sexual assault

Brennon Washington, who is stationed at the Kadena Air Base, said he did not kidnap or assault an underage girl in December.
Myanmar's military marks the 72nd Armed Forces Day in Naypyitaw, Myanmar on March 27, 2017.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 18, 2024

Thai government to meet banks over alleged transactions for Myanmar arms

Thailand's central bank may collaborate with international and local agencies to create a database on companies linked to Myanmar's junta.
The U.S. and its allies have accused China of supporting Russia's war in Ukraine, in part by exporting parts and equipment needed by Moscow's weapons makers, including semiconductors.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 22, 2024

Illicit chip flows to Russia seen slowing in China

Both mainland China and Hong Kong are seen by the U.S. government as key global nodes for Russia to source materials for its military.
Scientists drive their snowmobiles cross the arctic during dawn near Ny-Alesund, Svalbard, Norway, on April 10, 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 23, 2024

Pentagon to bolster response to China and Russia in Arctic

Measures are needed "to ensure the Arctic does not become a strategic blind spot,” the Defense Department said in its 2024 Arctic Strategy released Monday.
The students at Mitaka Municipal No. 7 Junior High School have access to various cooling devices for when they play sports.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / Longform
Jul 26, 2024

Japan's extreme heat is causing a rethink of school sports

At risk of sunburns and heatstroke, principals across Japan are trying to protect students' health as well as their athletic opportunities.
Demonstrators hold a rally in Tbilisi, Georgia, in May against a bill labeling organizations that receive foreign funding as spies. The passing of the so-called Russia law has been a setback for Georgia's democracy.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jul 29, 2024

Democracy is on tenuous ground this ‘election year’

From former Soviet countries to India and even the U.S., democracies are backsliding and authoritarianism is gaining ground, with far-reaching global implications.
Students at the University of British Columbia during the first week of classes in Vancouver, Canada
WORLD / Politics
Aug 14, 2024

Global immigration crackdown ensnares students studying abroad

Aggregate visa data for the first quarter of 2024 showed volumes to the U.K., Canada and Australia down between 20% and 30% from a year earlier.
The volunteer lifesavers of Nishihama Surf Lifesaving Club never know what's in store at the start of their day.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Aug 19, 2024

It's no simple day at the beach for Japan's volunteer lifesavers

Protecting beachgoers from drowning, heatstroke and possible tsunami, lifesavers are seeking formal recognition for what they do.
Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Aug 26, 2024

TikTok tourists trample on Angkor Wat in viral Temple Run recreation

Some of these viral videos have received more than 2 million views and inspire copycat versions daily.
An ISIS flag hangs in the bombed-out remains of a palace that militants used as a headquarters in Mosul, Iraq, in 2017.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 26, 2024

Islamic State supporters turn to AI to bolster online support

Digital experts say groups like IS and far-right movements are increasingly using AI online and testing the limits of safety controls on social media platforms.
A suicide crisis helpline worker in Tokyo
JAPAN / Society
Sep 11, 2024

Women comprise 60% of attempted suicide and self-harm cases in Japan

People in their 20s accounted for the biggest share of cases of attempted suicide and self-harm in Japan from December 2022 to December 2023.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un tours a facility for producing weapons-grade nuclear materials at an undisclosed location in North Korea, in this photo released Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 13, 2024

North Korea unveils images of uranium enrichment facility for first time

The pictures could give outside experts a better understanding of how many and what types of nuclear weapons the North has produced.
Liberal Democratic Party presidential election candidates after a campaign event in Nagoya on Saturday
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 18, 2024

LDP leader candidates split on separate surnames for married couples

While party conservatives worry about damaging family unity, others say it’s time to push through a legislative change.
A cloud of smoke erupts during Israeli airstrikes on a village south of Tyre in southern Lebanon on Wednesday.
WORLD
Sep 26, 2024

Hezbollah's tunnels and flexible command weather Israel's deadly blows

Hezbollah is the most powerful faction in Tehran's "Axis of Resistance" of allied irregular forces across the Middle East.
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 6, 2024

Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law

A weak yen, robust inbound tourism and social media have shone a spotlight on a park in Tokyo where men gather in search of sex.
Containers are stacked at the Portsmouth Marine Terminal (PMT) in Portsmouth, Virginia, on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Oct 5, 2024

U.S. port strike throws spotlight on big union foe: automation

Companies view automation as a path to better profit while unions see it as a job-killer.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of an international forum in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on Friday.
WORLD
Oct 12, 2024

Russia's Putin cements ties with Iranian president in Central Asia meeting

The two leaders hailed their countries growing economic ties and similar views on world affairs, an entente viewed with concern by the United States.
China's Liaoning aircraft carrier takes part in the Joint Sword-2024B military drills east of Taiwan, in this screenshot from video released Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 15, 2024

China says it won't rule out use of force to take Taiwan as war games end

Japan and the U.S. condemned the large-scale Chinese military exercises around Taiwan as Beijing hinted that more could come.
A woman sits in front of the New York skyline in Hoboken, New Jersey, on June 23.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 23, 2024

U.S. remains engine of global growth in latest IMF forecasts

In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF raised its 2024 and 2025 economic growth forecasts for the U.S.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes