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May 09, 2024
 

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FOCUS

People take part in a first aid and emergency training course by the Taiwanese civil defense group the Forward Alliance.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society / FOCUS
Jan 12, 2024
Taiwan civil defense groups push for more resilience as China threat grows
The organizations offer training courses in first aid, media literacy, disaster response as well as in understanding the different layers of modern warfare.
A China Railway employee works at the construction site for the Xiongan station of a new railway connecting Beijing to the area in Hebei province, China, in March 2019. In his annual new year speech, Chinese President Xi Jinping trumpeted the city’s progress saying it was "growing fast” and helping to revitalize northeastern China.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jan 10, 2024
Xi Jinping’s empty dream city shows limits of his power, even in China
The meticulously planned metropolis' slow start underscores the flaws in the Chinese president's plan to tempt people from the capital.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida faces reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 8, 2024
LDP lawmaker arrest further blurs Japan PM's fate
Yoshitaka Ikeda became the first lawmaker arrested in the latest political fundraising scandal involving the LDP's largest faction.
Taiwan flags adorn the streets of Taipei on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 8, 2024
China's balloons inflate Taiwan poll fears
Since December, Taipei has said that mysterious balloons were crossing the Taiwan Strait, with their purpose being "gray-zone" harassment that stops short of open warfare.
A Ukrainian tank crew member looks out from a tank as he holds his position near the town of Bakhmut, in the country's Donetsk region, on Dec. 13.
WORLD / FOCUS
Jan 6, 2024
As losses mount, Ukrainians fiercely debate future of draft
The debate comes following heavy casualties and almost two years of grinding trench warfare and as the army struggles to fill its ranks.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Reno, Nevada, in December last year. Trump's potential return to the White House could have serious implications for the U.S, as well as Japan, as he appears set to be even less inhibited and open to reason than before.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 5, 2024
Potential Trump redux: Unrestrained in Asia or bound by a changed region?
A win for the ex-president in November's election would potentially have big implications for Japan, given the death of Shinzo Abe, its most effective “Trump whisperer.”
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s new plant nears completion in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Jan 1, 2024
Competitive pay at TSMC plant may ripple across Japan and beat inflation
The chipmaker's compensation packages can serve as a wakeup call to manufacturers in other regions of the country, economists say.
In Toshiba, JIP takes on a sprawling company far bigger and more complex than any it acquired before.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Dec 19, 2023
In buying Toshiba, JIP takes on corporate Japan's toughest job
While the fund has quietly built up a track record by carving out businesses from big manufacturers, Toshiba is more complex than any it acquired before.
An Israeli soldier rides in a Stryker fighting vehicle, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, near the border with Gaza, in southern Israel, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 16, 2023
Hamas turns Gaza streets into deadly maze for Israeli troops
Hamas has used a big weapons stockpile, its knowledge of the terrain and a vast tunnel network to kill more than 100 Israeli soldiers.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 16, 2023
Kishida losing grip on LDP as funds scandal unfolds
As the Cabinet's approval rate continues to fall, officials and are beginning to discuss a scenario in which the prime minister is forced to step down.
Shingo Takashima, a 26-year-old doctor, killed himself three months into his specialty doctor training at a general hospital in Kobe.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Dec 13, 2023
Young doctor’s suicide highlights overwork culture at Japan hospitals
The issue is coming into sharper focus ahead of the April implementation of a legal cap on doctors’ overtime.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a session at the United Nations climate summit in Dubai on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 3, 2023
For embattled Kishida, Dubai trip fails to pay dividends
The PM's visit to Dubai for a U.N. climate summit will do little to offset woes at home, including an LDP funding scandal and sagging approval ratings.
Members of the Ground Self-Defense Force search for the crashed U.S. Air Force CV-22 Osprey from the coast of Yakushima, Kagoshima Prefecture, on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 3, 2023
Fears grow that Osprey crash may put dent in Japan-U.S. alliance
Experts say the United States should respond to Japan's demand for better operations at its military bases in the Asian country.
Henry Kissinger, alongside U.S. President Richard Nixon, is sworn in as secretary of state on Sept. 22, 1973.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 3, 2023
'My blood boils': Kissinger's bitter legacy in Southeast Asia
In Southeast Asia, millions remember when the U.s. bombed swaths of Laos and Cambodia during the Vietnam War, an onslaught ordered by Kissinger and Nixon.
Akina Shu has visited around 50 countries as a speaker and ambassador on the digital nomad lifestyle since 2020.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Nov 27, 2023
Japan is enticing for digital nomads, but visa hurdles remain
While the country does not offer a digital nomad visa, the government is working on introducing one sometime in 2024.
Israeli soldiers walk during a raid at the Balata camp for Palestinian refugees, east of Nablus in the occupied West Bank on Nov. 19.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 27, 2023
The West Bank is being reshaped along with Gaza post-Oct. 7
Hamas' attack has aggravated the long-standing conflict over the land between Israel and the Jordan River that forms the other Palestinian territory.
Azabudai Hills in Tokyo's Minato Ward on Friday
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Nov 24, 2023
With Azabudai Hills complex, Mori aims to transform Tokyo again
The developer has looked to rectify the capital's perceived weaknesses in a bid to make it more competitive against the likes of London and New York.
A woman walks down a street near anti-tank barricades amid a snowfall in central Kyiv on Dec. 7, 2022. The first snow of 2023 fell last week, signaling the start of the second winter of war for Ukraine.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 21, 2023
Cold, mud and mice: Ukraine enters second winter of war
The first winter was harsh, but servicemen said they have learned to manage, particularly by installing heating.
By Monday, OpenAI's board were overseeing a company in name only, with virtually the whole staff committed to a pledge of seeing them go or quitting the firm for fired former CEO Sam Altman's project at Microsoft.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Nov 21, 2023
AI doomsayers blamed in OpenAI's undoing
Harsh critics see a deeply troubled startup that fell victim to the pearl-clutching of an incompetent board that was divorced from reality.
People use smartphones on the street in Tokyo in January 2019.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Nov 20, 2023
The NTT Law — a guard against monopoly, or barrier to innovation?
Some say the law regulating the telecom giant stops it from competing against the likes of Google, but others say it contains vital market protections.
Tokuryū, a new crime menace in Japan, emerges from the shadows
The National Police Agency coined the term "tokuryū" to classify individuals involved in dark part time jobs and quasi-gangsters, using the words "tokumei" (anonymous) and "ryūdo" (fluid) to reflect their characteristics.
Thanks, tourists. Views of Mount Fuji are now blocked.
Tourists pose in front of a convenience store with Mount Fuji on Friday in the town of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture. Local residents are upset over littering, overcrowding and the inconvenience caused by the visitors.
Is Modi’s party heading for a stunning election loss?
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign tactics have escalated, including anti-Muslim rhetoric and fearmongering, reflecting his ruling party's desperation.
Two more arrested over brutal murder of couple in Tochigi
A vehicle carrying Seiha Sekine, the 32-year-old common-law husband of the deceased Tokyo couple's first daughter, leaves a police station in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward on Tuesday.
After blockbuster boxing victory, what next for ‘Monster’ Inoue?
Naoya Inoue celebrates his victory over Luis Nery in their IBF-WBA-WBC-WBO super bantamweight title boxing match at Tokyo Dome on Monday.
Unlike 10 years ago, Japan's new security bill sparks little debate
The Lower House starts discussing a security clearance bill on April 19 in Tokyo.
After blockbuster boxing victory, what next for ‘Monster’ Inoue?
Naoya Inoue celebrates his victory over Luis Nery in their IBF-WBA-WBC-WBO super bantamweight title boxing match at Tokyo Dome on Monday.
Xi bristles as Macron and von der Leyen urge China to do more on Ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen walk after their meeting in Paris on Monday.
How a Japanese scientist is turning the climate crisis into music
A screencap of a performance of Hiroto Nagai's “String Quartet No. 1 ‘Polar Energy Budget’” by the PRT Quartet
Japan’s tween skateboarders get head start on preparations for 2028 Olympics
Ibuki Matsumoto competes at an event in Osaka on April 21.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces
By Stephen Mansfield

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