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June 03, 2024
 

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FOCUS

A Liberal Democratic Party fundraising event in Tokyo in 2023
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 31, 2024
Why Japanese politics can't quit fundraising parties
To succeed in Japanese politics, it’s long been said that a politician must have, among other things, a fat purse.
Ever since the Bank of Japan ended its negative rate policy, calls for the government to strengthen its fiscal discipline have been growing, with the country being haunted by public debt that is about twice the size of its gross domestic product.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
May 30, 2024
Two cheers for the end of free money in Japan
Corporations are better prepared for more expensive money than they were in the past, with strong balance sheets and a better understanding of risk.
Many condo complexes are facing challenges in securing sufficient reserve funds for extensive repair projects.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 30, 2024
Land ministry sets standards for condo repair reserve funds
Large-scale condo repairs typically occur roughly every 15 years.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni ahead of her meeting with Mohammed Mustafa, Palestinian Authority prime minister, at the Chigi Palace in Rome on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
May 29, 2024
Once ostracized, Italy's Meloni is now center stage in Europe
If Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni backs center-right European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for a second term, expect the Italian leader's influence to grow.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during the National Memorial Day Wreath-Laying and Observance Ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
May 29, 2024
Biden's blurred red lines under scrutiny after Rafah carnage
Despite global outrage over a recent deadly attack in Rafah, the White House has insisted that it did not believe Israel had launched the major operation.
South Korean leader Yoon Suk-yeol (left), U.S. President Joe Biden (center) and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida walk during the Camp David summit on the outskirts of Washington last August. South Korea and Japan will be going into the summit with China more aligned than before following the Camp David meeting.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 24, 2024
At Japan-South Korea-China trilateral summit, a chance to manage tensions
Just holding the summit is an accomplishment amid the considerable issues that divide the three countries.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with the families of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Tehran on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
May 22, 2024
Raisi death reshapes Iran succession, putting focus on Khamenei son
Following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's, son Mojtaba has emerged as a top contender.
Electronic boards display the exchange rate for the yen against the U.S. dollar and the closing numbers of Tokyo Stock Exchange share price in Tokyo on May 1.
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
May 19, 2024
From Tokyo to New York, stock markets are on a record-hitting spree around the world
Of the world’s 20 largest stock markets, 14 have hit all-time highs recently.
From the outside, the light-brown complex that is Fuchu Prison in western Tokyo could easily be mistaken for a city hall.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
May 19, 2024
Fuchu Prison adapting to foreign prisoners
The penitentiary houses the biggest population of foreign prisoners in Japan, and as such is taking measures to accommodate them in terms of language, culture, food and lifestyle.
Taiwan's Albatross II unmanned aerial vehicle is displayed as the island's Defense Ministry showcases its domestically developed drones to the media in Taichung, Taiwan, in March last year.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
May 19, 2024
Taiwan's Lai to bolster 'porcupine' defense against China threat
Lessons learned from the war in Ukraine about how rapidly developing drones can outfox traditional weaponry hint at new Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te's defense policy.
Group of Seven leaders, including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden, after visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on May 19, 2023
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 19, 2024
G7 goal of nuclear-free world increasingly challenged
Momentum for nuclear disarmament has not increased, partly because Russia has threatened to use nuclear weapons in its military aggression against Ukraine.
Tourists look at the Chinese city Xiamen, from Taiwan's Kinmen, on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
May 19, 2024
Taiwan and China: different views across the strait
As Taiwanese President-elect Lai Ching-te, a staunch defender of Taiwan's sovereignty, prepares to take office Monday, differing views abound.
Ukrainian servicemen of the 148th Separate Artillery Brigade of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces, fire a M777 howitzer toward Russian troops near a front line, in Ukraine's Donetsk region on May 1.
WORLD / FOCUS
May 19, 2024
Ukraine struggles to hold eastern front as Russians advance on cities
The drive has marked an inflection point in the conflict spawned by Russia's full-scale invasion more than two years ago.
The Aurora Australis, also known as the Southern Lights, glow on the horizon as seen from Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, on May 10.
WORLD / Science & Health / FOCUS
May 18, 2024
'Danger behind the beauty': More solar storms could be heading our way
For those charged with protecting Earth from powerful solar storms such as the one that caused the recent auroras, a threat lurks beneath the stunning colors.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomes Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, last July.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 18, 2024
Saudi crown prince seeks soft power in game hub Japan
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will visit Japan soon, where he will hold talks on energy while hunting more opportunities in gaming.
Work is underway to restore water supply pipes in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, in February.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 16, 2024
Japan centralizes water supply and sewage administration
The infrastructure ministry aims to advance integrated initiatives covering both water supply and sewage systems in addressing aging infrastructure.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is greeted by Chinese leader Xi Jinping before the opening ceremony at the Expo Center at the fourth Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia summit in Shanghai in May 2014.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
May 15, 2024
Putin to visit Xi amid U.S. threat of China sanctions over Ukraine
The two sides are set to discuss ways to challenge the U.S.-led global order while bolstering Moscow’s economic resilience amid its war in Ukraine.
Nippon Ishin no Kai Secretary-General Fumitake Fujita (right) speaks beside Yui Kanazawa, the party's candidate in the Tokyo 15th district by-election on April 28. Nippon Ishin lost in this by-election as well as another in Nagasaki held on the same day.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 14, 2024
Ishin struggles to set itself apart from other parties
The Osaka-based party is weighed down by its Kansai focus as well as its closeness to the LDP, which makes it hard for it to criticize the ruling party.
Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers participate in a seminar to prevent harassment at the GSDF's Camp Asaka in Tokyo on April 16.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 13, 2024
Japan's military needs more women. But it's still failing on harassment.
Nine months after the Defense Ministry pledged to take drastic measures, it has no plans to implement a national system for reviewing training standards.
CIA Director William Burns testifies during a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing on worldwide threats on Capitol Hill in Washington in March 11.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
May 11, 2024
U.S. spy chief becomes key envoy as Biden-Netanyahu ties fray
CIA Director William Burns is quietly keeping Washington’s lines of communication open across the Middle East.
Pervert or pioneer? The entrepreneur trying to get South Korea into porn
Entrepreneur Lee Hee-tae at his office in Seoul. Lee had planned South Korea's largest sex festival in April, but the two-day event was banned by authorities following a backlash by local rights groups.
The best-case scenario for Tiny Desk Concerts Japan
Pop project Kirinji was featured on the second episode of Tiny Desk Concerts Japan, an offshoot of NPR’s long-running web series that features artists performing stripped-down sets inside the cozy offices of the organization’s music department.
Nissan challenges TV Tokyo report on subcontractors
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida said that the automaker will continue to communicate with its suppliers to see whether unfair practices persist and set up a new team directly under him to accelerate reforms on its relations with its subcontractors.
Japan and South Korea agree to prevent repeat of 2018 naval row
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and his South Korean counterpart, Shin Won-sik, meet on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore on Saturday.
Japan's DMM Bitcoin says over ¥48 billion of cryptocurrency lost
DMM Bitcoin said it would replace customers' lost bitcoin deposits with the help of other group companies.
'A Gentleman from Japan': A journey of firsts in the age of exploration
In “A Gentleman from Japan,” Thomas Lockley lays out the history of English exploration around the globe during the 16th century, delving into the life of the first recorded Japanese person to set foot in the United Kingdom, the United States and South America.
Japan and South Korea agree to prevent repeat of 2018 naval row
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and his South Korean counterpart, Shin Won-sik, meet on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore on Saturday.
A new brew for Ebisu, the town that beer made
Completed in 1889, the original Yebisu brewery finally has a worthy successor in the neighborhood that still bears the beer's name.
Why Japanese politics can't quit fundraising parties
A Liberal Democratic Party fundraising event in Tokyo in 2023
Two cheers for the end of free money in Japan
Ever since the Bank of Japan ended its negative rate policy, calls for the government to strengthen its fiscal discipline have been growing, with the country being haunted by public debt that is about twice the size of its gross domestic product.

Podcast

Toshihiro Kinjo (center), a research support technician at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, inspects an audio recording device in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, on April 3 as Masako Ogasawara, a research support specialist at OIST, looks on.
What does climate change sound like in Okinawa?

Longform

The Japanese government updated its English education guidelines in 2017 to emphasize communication over grammar and memorization. Public school teachers are incredibly busy, however, which means schools haven’t been able to implement changes uniformly. Private and alternative schools are attempting to remedy this.
The language of opportunity: Bilingual education is on the rise in Japan
By Eric Margolis

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