Japan

[ad_1] New York – The city of Yamaguchi has been selected for The New York Times' list of "52 places to go in 2024." The city, the capital of the namesake prefecture, "is often called the Kyoto of the West, though it's much more interesting than that," the newspaper said. Small winding lanes in the "compact city" with a population of about 190,000 offer "an assortment of experiences," it said, […]

[ad_1] Naha – The government on Wednesday started construction work for the transfer of a key U.S. military base within Okinawa Prefecture after overriding the local government's objection and approving a modified landfill plan by proxy — an unprecedented move.The work is to reinforce soft ground at the relocation site for U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and is projected to take nine years and three months, Chief Cabinet Secretary […]

[ad_1] Russia was on pace for a second year of record oil drilling in 2023, further evidence of the nation’s resilience to Western sanctions.The boom in activity came alongside a recovery in the both volume and value of Russia’s oil exports, a stark illustration of how the country’s fossil fuel industry has been a crucial source of funds for President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, which is about to enter […]

[ad_1] In the Swiss city of Basel, two pharmaceutical giants face off on opposite banks of the Rhine River. But managers located just a few miles apart look to be on vastly different paths as they seek to rebuild their stature.Roche Holding and Novartis, dealing with individual scientific, corporate and management issues, embody opposing approaches to solving a fundamental puzzle: how to placate shareholders and keep growing in an industry […]

[ad_1] Osaka – A Japanese court on Wednesday fined an American livestreamer ¥200,000 ($1,400) for playing loud music at a fast food restaurant in Osaka and obstructing its operations. During his trial at the Osaka District Court, Ramsey Khalid Ismael admitted to creating a video there but said he had not played the music deliberately and that the audio had started automatically. Ismael, 24, known as "Johnny Somali" on YouTube, […]

[ad_1] Amid concerns over rapid depopulation, a private panel has proposed that Japan should aim to have a stable population of 80 million by 2100 in order to maintain economic growth.Last April, the government released an estimate that the population would be reduced by half to about 63 million in 2100, with 40% of people expected to be 65 or older.Japan has wrestled with the issue of a declining birthrate […]

[ad_1] Donetsk region, Ukraine – A deafening explosion shakes the ground, sending lumps of dirt and smoke into the air, breaking the seeming tranquility of a cold January morning in the frozen fields of war-torn Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.After almost two years of grinding trench warfare against invading Russian troops, some 30% of Ukrainian territory is thought to be littered with unexploded mines."The Russians connect the mines," said Sergeant Boller, […]

[ad_1] Japan Airlines is considering preserving part of the jetliner burned after colliding with a Japan Coast Guard aircraft at Tokyo's Haneda Airport last week as a reminder of the fatal accident to raise safety awareness within the company, a JAL official said Wednesday. The collision on a runway at the airport killed five of the six people aboard the coast guard's Bombardier DHC8-300 aircraft and left its captain severely […]

[ad_1] A rare message from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Japan expressing sympathy for a powerful earthquake on New Year's Day has raised speculation that Pyongyang may be signaling its openness to dialogue after showing no interest in Tokyo's aspiration to hold a bilateral summit.As the Japanese government assesses the intention behind the message addressed to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday, one official was optimistic, saying it […]