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A liquefied natural gas terminal jointly operated by Tokyo Gas and JERA in Yokohama
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 16, 2023

Tokyo Gas unit buys U.S. producer Rockcliff Energy for $2.7 billion

The deal is part of Tokyo Gas' efforts to expand its North American shale gas operations to meet growing demand for natural gas.
Shiv Kumar (left) and Nirmal Singh say they are learning a lot about living and thriving in Japan while taking part in the Technical Intern Trainee Program. Their case, however, seems to be an exception to the norm.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Dec 18, 2023

Beating the odds on Japan's controversial foreign trainee program

Nirmal Singh and Shiv Kumar beat the odds on the Technical Intern Training Program, but luck shouldn't play such a key role in a government initiative.
Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking is set to buy Australian data manager Link Administration Holdings for 1.11 billion Australian dollars.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 18, 2023

MUFG to buy Australia’s Link in ¥106 billion deal

The unit of Japan’s largest bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, will pay AU$2.10 per share, a 23.5% premium to Friday’s closing stock price.
Michael Bloomberg, U.N. special envoy for climate ambition and solutions, speaks during a summit on methane and other greenhouse gases at COP28 in Dubai on Dec. 2.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2023

What did COP28 achieve?

With pledges to cut methane, among other achievements, COP28 may have helped reduce the costs of decarbonization — an essential stepping stone.
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2023

U.S. TV commercials to promote Japanese scallops

The move comes after demand from the Chinese market evaporated when China introduced a blanket ban on Japanese fishery products in August this year.
Sacks of coffee beans at a storage unit in the Sidama region of Ethiopia.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 20, 2023

Coffee firms switch sources, evading impact of EU deforestation law

Under the new law, importers of various commodities and products that use them must prove goods did not originate from deforested land.
A 2023 Toyota Prius vehicle during an auto show in New York in April
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 20, 2023

In the birthplace of Toyota’s Prius, hybrids now reign supreme

Japan’s biggest carmakers have only recently promised to roll out a wider slate of battery-only models in the next two to three years.
A PAC-3 surface-to-air guided missile at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo in June
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 20, 2023

Japan may make U.S. PAC-3 missiles in first weapon deal after ban

The missiles, made under license from a U.S. company, would be the first weapons to be exported in finished form from Japan after the ban is eased.
Voters in countries representing more than 40% of the world’s population, including India, Indonesia and the U.S., will go to the polls between now and the end of 2024.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2023

Democracy and climate politics are set to collide next year

Voters in countries representing more than 40% of the world’s population will go to the polls between now and the end of next year.
The Yas Marina Circuit, home to Formula One's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, will be the scene of a different sort of race in April when driverless race cars take to the track.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Dec 21, 2023

Driverless race cars on track for April debut in Abu Dhabi

The driverless Dallara Super Formula SF23 open-wheel cars have a computer in place of the cockpit and no need for a steering wheel or seat.
The Galaxy Leader cargo ship is escorted by Houthi boats after being hijacked in the Red Sea in this photo released on Nov. 20.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 21, 2023

Exporters explore flights to avoid deepening Red Sea bottleneck

Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen have stepped up attacks on vessels in the Red Sea since Nov. 19.
Manchester City players celebrate winning the Champions League final over Inter Milan in Istanbul in June.
SOCCER
Dec 21, 2023

Super League vs UEFA: Court to rule on future of European soccer

The latest bid to set up a Super League of the biggest European soccer clubs collapsed swiftly under the weight of fan anger, but the idea did not die.
Police officers stand guard outside the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on Dec. 14. The ruling party is currently trying to contain a funding scandal that threatens the future of the Kishida administration. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 20, 2023

'Strategic Communication' is a missing link in Japan's crisis management

From gaffes to governance, lessons in "strategic communications" for Japanese politicians.
Real Madrid's Luka Modric battles for the ball with FC Barcelona's Ilkay Gundogan during a match in October. Plans for a European Super League bringing together elite soccer clubs such as the two Spanish outfits won a surprise boost on Thursday.
SOCCER
Dec 22, 2023

Teams shun European Super League despite shock court victory

UEFA and FIFA are "abusing a dominant position” by applying arbitrary rules on approval, control and sanctions, the top EU court said.
Workers disassemble vehicle battery packs in a workshop in Dongguan, China.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 22, 2023

China bans export of rare earths processing tech over security

China has significantly tightened rules guiding exports of several metals this year, in an escalating battle with the West over control of key minerals.
While Magic: The Gathering is popular with card game aficionados the world over, the community in Japan is split along some unexpected lines.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 23, 2023

Diehards and casuals clash in Tokyo’s Magic: The Gathering community

The Commander format is widely popular across Europe and the United States, but Japan’s Magic community hasn’t quite followed the same path.
JAXA’s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) spacecraft is expected to land on the lunar surface in early 2024.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 21, 2023

One small step for a JAXA spacecraft, one giant leap for exploration

In 2024, we can look forward to the arrival on the moon of JAXA's SLIM spacecraft. Its groundbreaking accuracy could further propel space exploration.
Taiwan's president, Tsai Ing-wen, leads a political rally in New Taipei City, Taiwan, on Nov. 4.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2023

How Tsai Ing-wen aligned Taiwan with the free world

The question now is to what extent Tsai’s foreign policy legacy will endure after Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election on Jan. 13.
A drugstore in Tokyo in October
BUSINESS
Dec 23, 2023

Fund that got in before Buffett now likes Japan drugstores

A top fund manager says there’s opportunity to profit from consolidation in the sector.
Workers plow a field at the site of an economic land concession outside Praeus K'ak village in Cambodia's Preah Vihear province on Dec. 6.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 24, 2023

'Doom for forests': Fears over new Cambodia land grants

Thousands are affected by economic land concessions (ELCs) — land grants to businesses that experts say have driven deforestation and dispossession.
The yuan's stealthy climb in global payments could see it pose a challenge to the U.S. dollar's dominance.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 25, 2023

The yuan is finally showing some muscle in international trade

The yuan's stealthy climb in global payments could see it pose a challenge to the U.S. dollar's dominance.
Local media in China exposed a secretive surrogacy service that may be helping to deliver more than 300 babies a year.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Dec 27, 2023

Chinese media expose prompts probe into illegal baby surrogacy

Despite Beijing’s repeated crackdowns and an outright ban, underground surrogacy services continue to thrive in China.
Watanabe has made shapes of (from left) a monkey, an elephant and a giraffe by folding oak leaves with his hands.
CULTURE / Art / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Jan 8, 2024

Kumamoto artist embodies re-evaluation of 'outsider art’ in Japan

Dubbed a "genius autistic paper cutout artist," Yoshihiro Watanabe's works are now being alongside those by trained artists.
A Ukrainian soldier looks out from a tank as he holds his position near to the town of Bakhmut, in Ukraine's Donetsk region, on Dec. 13.
COMMENTARY / The Year Ahead
Dec 28, 2023

The battles Ukraine has already won

Many of the nation's key victories began long before Russia’s latest assault.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 27, 2023

Takashimaya apologizes over damaged Christmas cakes

The pricey ¥5,400 cakes were meant to be delivered frozen, but many arrived melted, lopsided or crumbled.
Toyota's global production jumped 11% in November to a record level, bouncing back from last year's supply chain disruptions and benefiting from robust demand both in Japan and overseas.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 27, 2023

Toyota saw record November sales on demand from U.S. and Europe

Global sales — including that of subsidiaries Hino and Daihatsu — rose 12% from a year earlier to 986,262 units.
Japan's industrial production fell 0.9% in November from the previous month, weighed down by a decline in auto production.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 28, 2023

Japan's November factory output falls on weaker autos

Industrial production fell 0.9% in November from the previous month, data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) showed on Thursday.
Vishnu Dabad, a Gau Rakshak, or cow protector, and a politician with the regional political party Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), in Chamdhera village, Haryana, India.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 29, 2023

India's far-right cow vigilantes mobilize before high-stakes elections

Some say cow vigilantism has become a way for young men to use popularity built through taking on alleged cattle smugglers to catapult into politics.
Japanese model Dulmi, 24, was selected as one of eight models in Vogue Open Casting's class of 2023.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 3, 2024

Dulmi: The biracial model bringing change to modeling in Japan and beyond

In a still-rare recognition of the diversity that exists in Japan, the Osaka native was chosen for the 2023 class of Vogue's Open Casting initiative.
A JFE Steel plant in the city of Chiba. JFE Steel plans to buy more coking coal on the spot market to increase the liquidity of the market and to reflect true demand and supply.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 29, 2023

Japan's JFE takes new tack to tame volatile coking coal prices

Japan's No.2 steelmaker plans to buy more coking coal from the spot market to boost activity and make prices more transparent.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight