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A woman who was displaced by a flood shells cowpeas as she sits outside her shelter in Banki, in Maiduguri, Nigeria, in October.
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead
Jan 6, 2025

The uphill battle against poverty

After the pandemic years, when tens of millions of people were pushed into poverty, the need for a renewed effort is obvious.
The Nio logo on a steering wheel of an electric vehicle at the automaker's dealership in Shanghai
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 23, 2024

China’s Nio unveils $108,000 EV to take on Porsche and Mercedes

Once one of the brightest rising stars in China’s electric vehicle market, Nio has fallen short of sales targets, with U.S.-traded shares slumping about 50% this year.
A close up of EV batteries at the production unit of Inobat, a Slovakian battery maker in Voderady, Slovakia, on Dec. 11
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 23, 2024

After Northvolt, Europe's battery hopes heavily rely on China

The norm in the future may be joint ventures that rely on China's low-margin electric vehicle battery dominance.
Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe speaks during a joint news conference with heads of Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors on their merger talks in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Dec 24, 2024

Honda crafts Nissan rescue plan that plays out over years

While executives called the transaction a merger, Honda will take the lead in forming the new entity and nominate a majority of its directors.
Opposition parties have submitted a bill to make school lunches free at public elementary and junior high schools.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 24, 2024

Japan opposition parties submit bill for free school meals

The bill to revise the school lunch program law was submitted to the House of Representatives by the CDP, DPP and Nippon Ishin no Kai.
Political reform bills clear the Upper House plenary session in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2024

Parliament wraps up, showing minority government's lack of control

Several concessions had to be made to the opposition before the ruling coalition could garner the support it needed to get its bills passed.
Japan is considering introducing a system to allow the government to temporarily acquire factories to prevent important technologies from being taken abroad.
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2024

Japan plans system for temporary control of key plants during emergencies

The system would be activated when production of specified critical products designated in the economic security promotion law are disrupted.
Official prices of nearly half of drugs in Japan will be reduced to lower the burden on patients.
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2024

Japan ministers agree on price cuts for half of all drugs

Ministers also agreed to raise the upper limit on out-of-pocket medical expenses.
Greenpeace activists protest nuclear power in Berlin in April 2023, just as Germany was shutting down its three remaining nuclear power plants. 
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2024

It's time for Germany to admit its mistake on nuclear energy

The main thing standing in the way of Germany rebuilding its nuclear sector is a stubborn insistence that it can’t be done.
Storage tanks at the BP Cherry Point Refinery near Blaine, Washington
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 27, 2024

Big Oil backtracks on renewables push as climate agenda falters

The likes of BP and Shell this year sharply slowed their plans to spend billions on wind and solar power projects.
Cabinet ministers at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Friday
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 27, 2024

Japan's Cabinet approves ¥115.5 trillion budget

The proposal exceeded ¥110 trillion for the third consecutive year in order to increase spending on defense and social welfare costs.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic attends a training session on Dec. 29
TENNIS
Dec 30, 2024

Djokovic says Murray is bringing fresh ideas as new coach

The Paris Olympics champion is planning a busier schedule in 2025, after his world ranking slipped to No. 7.
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida (left) and Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe in a news conference in Tokyo on Dec. 23
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 31, 2024

Honda likely to own majority of holding firm with Nissan

Nissan's faltering business performance could be a hurdle to the planned integration.
An Air Self-Defense Force airman sets up a drone during a bilateral live fire exercise at Draughon Range, near Misawa Air Base, in Aomori Prefecture in July 2023.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jan 5, 2025

Taking a page from Ukraine war, SDF carves out growing role for drones

Whether for use in the air, on land or at sea, the SDF is gradually integrating these increasingly capable and often autonomous systems into their units.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako pose for a photo at the Imperial Palace Small Hall in Tokyo on November.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2025

Emperor prays for world peace in New Year's message

Emperor Naruhito stressed the "importance of people recognizing their differences and working hand in hand to realize a peaceful world."
U.S. star Ilona Maher has the largest social media following of anyone in rugby.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Jan 2, 2025

World Rugby chief says U.S. star Ilona Maher will help fuel World Cup fever

The versatile American back — a breakout star at the 2024 Paris Olympics —  is the world's most popular rugby player on social media
A Tesla Cybertruck
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 3, 2025

Tesla annual deliveries fall for first time as incentives fail to drum up demand

CEO Elon Musk had earlier predicted "slight growth" in 2024 deliveries and offered a range of promotions including interest-free financing and free fast-charging to boost sales.
Fast Retailing’s November-ending quarter may have seen operating profit growth soften as warmer autumn-winter temperatures dented sales, even with the backdrop for consumer spending in Japan looking promising.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 3, 2025

Uniqlo and 7-Eleven face sales headwinds despite brighter consumer spending

Uniqlo parent Fast Retailing and Seven & i Holdings are among the first to kick off this earnings season in Asia.
People demonstrate against U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in Panama City on Tuesday as the country marks the 25th anniversary of the United States' handover of the interoceanic Panama Canal.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 2, 2025

MAGA goes to Panama

The Panama Canal was an American idea and the U.S. has had difficulty letting go of it ever since.
Alice Guo, a fugitive former mayor of Bamban, Philippines, arrives at a regional trial court in Valenzuela City, Metro Manila, in September.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 7, 2025

China takes aim at Philippine democracy

China has been stepping up its information operations globally, using the Philippines as a testing ground for tactics designed to propagate anti-American narratives.
Five years since COVID-19 started upending the world, the virus is still infecting and killing people across the globe — though at far lower levels than during the height of the pandemic.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 8, 2025

Is the world ready for the next pandemic?

While the U.N. health agency considers the world more prepared than it was when Covid hit, it warns we are still not nearly ready enough.
Terunofuji performs during a ceremony at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo on Tuesday.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 8, 2025

Questions linger over Terunofuji's health ahead of year's first tournament

During the Yokozuna Deliberation Council's practice session on Monday, Terunofuji’s latent power, but also his physical decline, were on full display.
Firms in Japan are becoming more proactive to fend off global rivals and activist investors showing renewed interest in the country after decades of stagnant growth.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 9, 2025

Japan’s ¥36.4 trillion M&A boom expected to grow as activist investors circle

Firms are becoming more proactive to fend off global rivals and activist investors showing renewed interest in the country after decades of stagnant growth.
U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart testifies before U.S. Congress during an anti-doping hearing on June 24, 2024.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 9, 2025

U.S. withholds payment to WADA amid dispute over Chinese doping tests

The move to hold back 2024 WADA dues comes in the wake of WADA's controversial handling of positive doping tests by 23 Chinese swimmers who were later allowed to compete.
Staff from Aomori Bank and Michinoku Bank, along with family members, participate in the Aomori Nebuta Festival in August 2023, with a large float sponsored by Procrea Holdings behind them.
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Jan 20, 2025

Rival regional Aomori banks merge to survive amid population decline

Aomori Bank and Michinoku Bank, which had long been rivals, merged this month to form Aomori Michinoku Bank.
Climate scientists say that global warming is making extreme weather events more frequent and intense.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jan 13, 2025

2024 hottest recorded year, crossed global warming limit

Excess heat is supercharging extreme weather, and 2024 saw countries all over the world suffer disasters that cost more than $300 billion.
A worker inspects the outdoor gas pipes at the underground gas storage facility operated by Gas Storage in Haje, Czech Republic, on Jan. 3.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Jan 13, 2025

Europe threatens to trigger a global scramble for natural gas

For the first time since the energy crisis was turbocharged by Russia’s war in Ukraine, Europe risks failing to meet its storage targets for next winter.
Yuichiro Tamaki, currently the suspended leader of the Democratic Party for the People
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 15, 2025

Tamaki vows support for government budget if three-party pact implemented

The suspended leader of the Democratic Party for the People voiced support for the budget bill if the items in the pact with the ruling parties are carried out.
Hoshoryu (right) defeats Kirishima on Sunday. Hoshoryu has the look of a contender in the early days of the year's first tournament.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 15, 2025

Wide-open field has the New Year Basho looking like anyone's tourney

There has still been enough shakiness among the top-rankers to preclude ruling out any kind of outcome in the year's first tournament.
Agriculture minister Taku Eto speaks during a meeting on measures against bird flu at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2025

Bird flu cases surge as new year begins

So far in January, as many as 13 bird flu cases have been confirmed at chicken farms across the country.

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