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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.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Nov 10, 2021

India’s battle against heat shows stakes of COP26 climate talks

It will take decades for COP26 measures to have a tangible impact on temperatures. In the meantime, countries like India have to learn to deal with heat that's already baked in.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 1, 2021

Trash and burn: Big brands' new plastic waste plan faces skepticism

Experts say that burning plastic in cement kilns, a practice firms are promoting, emits harmful emissions and amounts to swapping one dirty fuel for another.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 28, 2021

The right war for the U.S. and China

Unlike the U.S., China is not initiating futile arms races, which will increase environmental damage and divert funding away from climate change mitigation efforts.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 10, 2021

A crippling blow to the global 'war on terror'

The U.S. has come full circle by ceding control of Afghanistan to the same organization that gave Osama bin Laden the base from which to plot the 9/11 attacks.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2021

Japan needs a lot more tech workers. Can it find a place for women?

The country is pushing to digitally modernize itself, but one of the developed world's starkest gender gaps is holding it back.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 14, 2021

Were the Olympics sustainable? Reports of waste suggest it's not easy being green

Stories of uneaten bento boxes and the plight of air conditioners used in the athlete residences suggest that the Olympics are having trouble meeting their sustainability goals.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 14, 2021

Data gaps hinder European efforts to assess Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine

Approval delays could allow rival vaccine-makers to sew up key markets.
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.
The health ministry’s report shows that the number of elementary, junior high and high school students who took their own lives in 2023 stood at 513, one fewer than last year's record of 514.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 29, 2024

Japan’s struggle with youth suicide sparks government initiatives

The health ministry’s report shows that the number of elementary, junior high and high school students who took their own lives remained alarmingly high.
Soldiers patrol as people flee armed gang violence in Yajalon, Chiapas state, Mexico, on June 9.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Nov 12, 2024

Crime costs Latin America and Caribbean almost what region spends on education

Beyond the human toll, the cost of crime amounts to almost 80% of the region's public budgets for education.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (right) welcomes International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi during a meeting in Tehran last Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 20, 2024

Iran offers to cap sensitive uranium stock as IAEA resolution looms

Western diplomats dismissed Iran's overture as yet another last-minute attempt to avoid censure, much like its pledge of deeper cooperation that never materialized.
Not one country is on track for a 1.5 C future based on 2030 national pledges for cutting emissions, according to ASCOR.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 26, 2024

Rich countries provide no haven from climate doom, study finds

The review of 70 countries’ emissions and policies shows "no overwhelming trend" that wealthier countries are doing a better job of tackling climate change.
Factory workers make jeans in Dhaka in March 2023.
BUSINESS
Dec 9, 2024

Extreme heat puts garment factory workers at risk, study shows

New European Union regulations make retailers selling in the bloc legally liable for conditions at their suppliers.
Japan, which relied on coal and natural gas for more than 60% of electricity generation last year, has been slow to shift to lower-emission energy sources.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2024

Japan aims for 60% emissions cut by 2035 in target seen as lax

The target was proposed last month, and was criticized by experts who said the plans don’t align with international ambitions to curb global warming.
Doubts about the strength of the conclusions drawn from China’s research add to the mounting questions about how the positive tests were investigated and adjudicated by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
OLYMPICS
Dec 25, 2024

Questions emerge about data used by China to defend against doping allegations

The finding raises more questions about explanations from China and WADA as to why elite Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned substance.
Scheduled to welcome its first guests in early 2025, the Waldorf Astoria Osaka is just one of many luxury hotel openings Japan has seen in recent months.
LIFE / Travel
Jan 4, 2025

Japan’s ‘quiet revolution’ of luxury travel nears fruition

“The Japanese luxury travel scene has undergone quite the metamorphosis over the past decade,” says one industry insider.
A portable charger containing a lithium-ion battery that overheated in an accident during a reenactment experiment in December at the Consumer Affairs Agency
JAPAN / Society
Jan 7, 2025

Consumer Affairs Agency warns of risks from battery-powered heated devices

Injury reports linked to lithium-ion battery-powered heating gear have surged over the last 10 years.
Young Tibetan monks sit on a scooter as they arrive to take part in a protest march held to mark the 65th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule, in the northern hill town of Dharamsala, India, on March 10, 2024.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 14, 2025

How China is erasing Tibetan culture, one child at a time

Education, especially in minority areas, is a politically sensitive topic. Tibetans who oppose the boarding schools risk imprisonment if they protest.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’