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Chinese Premier Li Qiang waves as he boards his plane at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, South Korea, on May 27.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 11, 2024

China to send premier to Australia for first time since 2017

But some say the diplomatic milestone could be overshadowed by renewed frictions over investment and military deployments.
Debt rating firms have raised SoftBank Group’s grade as the Tokyo-based company’s earnings from investments begin to stabilize.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 13, 2024

SoftBank’s bond underwriting fee drops for first time in decade

The firm paid brokerages ¥1.10 per ¥100 to underwrite ¥550 billion of seven-year notes for individual investors, according to a company filing.
Sota Fujii (right) and Takumi Ito in the city of Kofu, in Yamanashi Prefecture, on Thursday after Fujii was beaten by his challenger for his Eio title.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2024

Shogi star Sota Fujii loses major title for first time

Fujii, 21, gave up the Eio title in his 23rd title match in Yamanashi Prefecture. The challenger, Takumi Ito, 21, won his first crown with three wins and two losses.
A wind farm in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture. For Japan's future energy roadmap to center on clean sources, the government should reform the institutions overseeing energy policy to avoid vested interests from slowing the transition down.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 24, 2024

It’s time for Japan to set up a climate change agency

The government is currently reviewing Japan's Strategic Energy Plan. But who's shaping this key document for the future? It's mostly older men with vested interests.
LINE, the app at the center of a tug-of-war for control. Line was introduced in Japan in 2011 by Naver, the operator of South Korea’s leading search engine.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 24, 2024

Japan and South Korea are fighting over an app at a tense time

Leaders on both the Japanese and South Korean sides appear determined to prevent the quarrel over Line from escalating.
Emperor Naruhito visits Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, on the outskirts of London on Thursday.
JAPAN
Jun 28, 2024

Emperor reflects on heartwarming time with British king and queen

The emperor reflected on official events such as a state banquet hosted by the royal couple.
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves tour a Morrisons supermarket during a Labour general election campaign event in Wiltshire, England, on June 19.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 29, 2024

Revolt against Starmer’s Labour by long-time backers puts star candidates at risk

There’s little prospect the trend will cost Labour the election, but some of the party's leading lights could lose their seats.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida show off the new banknotes in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 3, 2024

Japan releases new banknotes for first time in 20 years

The Bank of Japan plans to introduce a total of ¥1.6 trillion ($9.9 billion) worth of the new banknotes into circulation on Wednesday alone.
A Shinto priest leads prayers for safety before the opening of Kitaizumi beach in the city of Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, on Saturday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 13, 2024

Fukushima beach opens for first time since treated water release

The Fukushima Prefectural Government said last month that no tritium was detected in seawater at eight beaches in the prefecture set to open this year.
Tools at an exploration site run by KoBold Metals in Chililabombwe, Zambia, on June 11. A complex AI-driven technology that data crunchers at KoBold Metals painstakingly built over years helped identify a copper bonanza deep below a site in Zambia, and the company’s process could radically transform the discovery of metal and mineral deposits critical not only to the tech industry but to the fight against climate change.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 18, 2024

AI joins search for needed metals just in time

KoBold’s find comes as the United States and China are increasingly clashing over global access to minerals.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Defense Minister Minoru Kihara meet in Singapore in June.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 23, 2024

U.S.-Japan security talks to cover 'extended deterrence' for first time

The allies' top diplomats and defense chiefs will for the first time cover the U.S. commitment to using its military capabilities, including nukes, to protect its ally.
People who made hometown tax donations to the city of Narita in Chiba Prefecture take part in a tour on Sunday at Narita Airport in the city, which was offered as a return gift.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2024

Japan's hometown tax donations top ¥1 trillion for first time

The number of people who received residence tax breaks through the system is also believed to have hit a record 10 million.
A decline in COVID-19-caused deaths likely helped boost the average life expectancy for Japanese men and women to rise for the first time in three years in 2023.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 26, 2024

Japan's average life expectancy rises for first time in three years

The rise in life expectancy may possibly be a reflection of a drop in fatality rates for COVID-19 patients.
Japan's Koki Kano (left) in action with Yannick Borel of France in the men's epee individual final on Sunday in Paris
OLYMPICS / Fencing
Jul 29, 2024

Koki Kano: A gymnast-turned-fencer — and now a two-time Olympic gold medalist

Koki Kano, who was training as a gymnast, found inspiration from watching Olympic fencing on TV as a young boy.
A man cools himself in a water mist spray in Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Multiple regions topped 40 degrees Celsius for the first time this year on Monday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 29, 2024

Multiple places in Japan see mercury top 40 C for first time this year

Notable readings include a peak of 41 degrees Celsius in Sano, Tochigi Prefecture, as well as 40.2 C in the city of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture.
Tokyo's Shibuya Ward offers a ticket to Shibuya Sky, an open-air observation deck at the rooftop of a high-rise building in Shibuya, as a return gift for those who made furusato nozei donations to the ward.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 2, 2024

'Furusato nozei' donations topped ¥1 trillion for first time in 2023

The city of Miyakonojo in Miyazaki Prefecture received the largest amount of donations, at ¥19.3 billion.
Freshly-caught bonito fish unloaded in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture. Japan's food exports to China plunged in the first half of 2024 due to Beijing's import ban on Japanese fishery products.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2024

Japan's first-half food exports fall for first time in four years

The latest result reflected China's import ban on Japanese fishery products since last summer in response to the release of treated Fukushima water.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the newly minted Democratic vice presidential candidate, speaks during a campaign rally with U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 7, 2024

Harris and Walz campaign together for first time as White House ticket

The event kicked off a multiday tour of U.S. battleground states aimed at introducing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to the national stage.
Manchester City players celebrate with the trophy after winning the Community Shield over Manchester United at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday.
SOCCER
Aug 14, 2024

Time for Manchester City's case to resolve itself, says Premier League chief

City was charged in February last year with more than 100 alleged breaches of finance rules since the club's acquisition by the Abu Dhabi-City Football Group.
Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Aug. 8
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 15, 2024

Hedge funds race to tailor ChatGPT for time-consuming research chores

Fast-money proponents remain steadfast in their conviction that their investments will reap tangible wins.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s decision to step down opens the door to newcomers competing at a time when the central bank is paving the way for policy normalization.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 16, 2024

Japan's change of leadership comes at challenging time for monetary policy

Next month’s ruling party vote will be held against a backdrop of persistent inflation.
Naomi Osaka serves during a match in Toronto earlier this month.
TENNIS
Aug 25, 2024

Two-time champion Osaka aims for U.S. Open comeback boost

Osaka is hoping a return to the hard courts of Flushing Meadows will mark a turning point in what has been an erratic tennis comeback.
The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani runs the bases after hitting a two-run homer against the Rays during the fifth inning at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Saturday.
BASEBALL
Aug 26, 2024

Shohei Ohtani throws from mound for first time since elbow surgery

Ohtani has not pitched since August 2023.
A member of the Self-Defense Forces wipes away sweat as he conducts a search and rescue operation at a landslide site caused by heavy rain in Kumano, Hiroshima Prefecture, on July 11, 2018.
ENVIRONMENT / Boiling Point
Aug 29, 2024

Can Japan handle a heat wave and natural disaster at the same time?

Recent typhoons and the Nankai Trough megaquake alert have put the spotlight on how the country would deal with a dual disaster.
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.
Then yen strengthened on Monday beyond ¥140 per dollar ahead of a Federal Reserve policy meeting this week that is widely expected to see officials cut interest rates.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 16, 2024

Yen strengthens beyond ¥140 per dollar for first time since 2023

The currency appreciated as much as 0.6% versus the dollar to ¥139.96 on Monday, its strongest level since July last year.
An H2A rocket carrying an information gathering satellite is launched from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture in January. The latest launch of the rocket has been delayed for a second time.
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2024

Mitsubishi Heavy cancels H2A rocket launch for the second time

Unsafe upper-level winds were behind the latest delay.
Women in managerial positions at Japanese firms has topped 10%, but the figure still lags far behind those in European countries and the United States.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 17, 2024

Women in managerial posts top 10% for first time in Japan

Women in managerial roles are slowly increasing in Japan, but the country remains far from the government's 30% target for this decade.
China's Liaoning aircraft carrier sails in waters near Okinawa Prefecture on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2024

Chinese carrier sails between Japanese islands near Taiwan for first time

China's Liaoning aircraft carrier passed through a narrow waterway between Yonaguni and Iriomote islands in Okinawa Prefecture.
Former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba waves after he was elected as the new head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party during a leadership vote on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 27, 2024

Fifth time's a charm: Shigeru Ishiba set to be Japan PM after LDP poll win

Ishiba, who has also served as party secretary-general, won the LDP presidential election on Friday, defeating economic security minister Sanae Takaichi in a runoff vote.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past