Latest news with #TomBateman
Mint
4 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Gamers line up for Nintendo Switch 2 launch with global shortfall expected
By Sam Nussey and Tom Bateman TOKYO (Reuters) -Gaming fans queued up for the launch of Nintendo's Switch 2 on Thursday, which is widely expected to be in short supply globally amid pent-up demand for the more powerful next-generation gaming device. "The level of demand seems to be sky-high," said Serkan Toto, founder of the Kantan Games consultancy. In the Ikebukuro shopping district of Tokyo, dozens of successful applicants to a sales lottery by electronics retailer Bic Camera lined up before the store opened to collect their devices. "I feel like I'm going to cry," Yumi Ohi, a 30 year-old delivery contractor, told Reuters. Ohi had missed out in other lotteries and had come from Saitama prefecture, adjacent to Tokyo, to receive her Switch 2. Nintendo has sold 152 million Switch home-portable devices since launching in 2017. It became a games juggernaut with titles including two "The Legend of Zelda" titles and COVID-19 pandemic breakout hit "Animal Crossing: New Horizons". The Switch 2 bears many similarities with its predecessor but offers a larger screen and improved graphics and debuts with titles including "Mario Kart World". "The much larger audience of Switch users should translate to stronger adoption in the opening part of its lifecycle," said Piers Harding-Rolls, an analyst at Ampere Analysis. "Nintendo is better prepared this time around" to deal with the high demand, he said. The launch of the $499.99 Switch 2 is a test of Nintendo's supply chain management during U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war. Nintendo last month forecast sales of 15 million Switch 2 units during the current financial year, as well as 4.5 million Switch units. President Shuntaro Furukawa said Nintendo will strengthen production capacity to respond to strong demand and focus on sales promotion in an effort to exceed the forecast. "Given it's a special occasion, I wanted to buy (the Switch 2) right away on its release date," said Shinichi Sekiguchi, a hotel receptionist in his thirties. Nintendo said it received 2.2 million applications for its Switch 2 sales lottery on its My Nintendo Store in Japan. Pre-orders at Target sold out in less than two hours. "You are looking at weeks or months until you can walk into a store and buy a Switch 2," said Toto of Kantan Games. Investor expectations for the new device are similarly lofty. Nintendo's shares are trading near highs and have gained almost 30% this year. Concerns include whether momentum for the Switch 2 will be sustained after hardcore gamers have upgraded. "The volume of first-party games on offer at launch isn't as strong as it could be, so some more casual users may wait and see how the games available build over the next one to two years before making the leap," said Ampere's Harding-Rolls. Ampere forecasts Switch 2 sales to exceed 100 million units in 2030. "Mario Kart World" has a U.S. sticker price of $79.99, generating debate over the price of games. Nintendo is also attracting third-party titles to the system. "I've been around since the era of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and games from (that period) were expensive too so I think it's somewhat within the acceptable range," said Akitomo Takahashi, a salesman in his forties. Takahashi said he was keen to play action role-playing game "Elden Ring" on his Switch 2. (Reporting by Sam Nussey and Tom Bateman; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US representative to attend Ukraine-Russia talks, but it's not state secretary
A representative from the United States will attend the talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul on Friday 16 May, which will also include Türkiye. Source: BBC, as reported by European Pravda Details: Correspondent Tom Bateman, who is travelling with the US delegation, reported that a US representative is expected to attend the talks between Ukraine and Russia. It will likely be one of Secretary of State Marco Rubio's aides rather than Rubio himself. Updated: Later, US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce noted that the US would be represented by Michael Anton, Director of Policy Planning at the Department of State. Turkish news agency Anadolu reported that Türkiye would also attend the Ukraine-Russia meeting. Earlier on Friday, a plane carrying Rubio landed in Istanbul. Meanwhile, on Thursday, US President Donald Trump said that a peaceful settlement of Russia's war against Ukraine could not take place without him meeting with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. Rubio has supported this view, expressing scepticism about the outcome of the Russo-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Japan Today
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
Foreign tourists get taught Japanese high school experience
Tourists from abroad put their desks together and have a school lunch while taking part in a Japanese high school experience in Kimitsu, Chiba Prefecture, on April 23. By Tom Bateman and Rocky Swift With his black uniform jacket slung rakishly over his shoulders and his feet propped up on a Japanese school desk as he held court with his crew, Jason Wu was taking great satisfaction in being a juvenile delinquent. The 29-year-old New Yorker was participating in a one-day mock school experience at "Kimino High School" for foreign tourists in Japan. It's designed to appeal to anime fans like Wu and his wife as well as those simply curious about cultural differences in education. A tourist from China, wearing a school uniform, practices calligraphy. Image: REUTERS/Manami Yamada At a repurposed school in Chiba Prefecture about 60 km southeast of Tokyo, participants pay about 35,000 yen to dress in classic Japanese school uniforms and attend calligraphy and other lessons. In gym class, they play traditional Japanese sports day group competitions like tug-of-war or throwing bean bags high into a net basket. Like Japanese school children, they also practice earthquake drills, serve lunch and clean the classroom at the end of the day. "This is like the only experience that you can do to have some semblance of the Japanese high school life," said Wu, a software engineer. Amid a tourism boom fueled by an extremely weak yen, repeat visitors to Japan like Wu, who is on his 10th trip here, are looking for more immersive activities. The classroom experience, organized by event planning company Undokai, also dovetails with a government plan to coax more visitors outside of destinations like Tokyo and Kyoto suffering from "overtourism" and into rural areas. Many manga or anime such as supernatural drama "Jujutsu Kaisen" and romantic comedy "Ouran High School Host Club", both of which have aired on Netflix, are set in high schools and for anime fans in particular, getting to experience high school is a peak Japanese experience. "Lots of animes will feature school life being this ideal part of your childhood," said Wu's wife, Parina Kaewkrajang, 27. "It's a type of nostalgia that we wanted to experience for ourselves." Formerly known as Kameyama Middle School, the event's name Kimino is a play on words for "your" high school and the name of the town Kimitsu, known for strawberries and hot springs. The school closed in 2020 due to a lack of students - an increasingly common occurrence as Japan rapidly ages and the number of children declines. Nearly 6,500 schools across the country have closed in the past two decades, according to government data. "If this becomes an example of how to utilize closed schools, or attracts attention as a new way to revitalise the local area, I would definitely like to expand it to other places," said Undokai founder Takaaki Yoneji. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Foreign tourists get taught the Japanese high school experience
By Tom Bateman and Rocky Swift KIMITSU, Japan (Reuters) -With his black uniform jacket slung rakishly over his shoulders and his feet propped up on a Japanese school desk as he held court with his crew, Jason Wu was taking great satisfaction in being a juvenile delinquent. The 29-year-old New Yorker was participating in a one-day mock school experience at "Kimino High School" for foreign tourists in Japan. It's designed to appeal to anime fans like Wu and his wife as well as those simply curious about cultural differences in education. At a repurposed school about 60 km (37 miles) southeast of Tokyo, participants pay about 35,000 yen ($245) to dress in classic Japanese school uniforms and attend calligraphy and other lessons. In gym class, they play traditional Japanese sports day group competitions like tug-of-war or throwing bean bags high into a net basket. Like Japanese school children, they also practice earthquake drills, serve lunch and clean the classroom at the end of the day. "This is like the only experience that you can do to have some semblance of the Japanese high school life," said Wu, a software engineer. Amid a tourism boom fuelled by an extremely weak yen, repeat visitors to Japan like Wu, who is on his 10th trip here, are looking for more immersive activities. The classroom experience, organised by event planning company Undokai, also dovetails with a government plan to coax more visitors outside of destinations like Tokyo and Kyoto suffering from "overtourism" and into rural areas. Many manga or anime such as supernatural drama "Jujutsu Kaisen" and romantic comedy "Ouran High School Host Club", both of which have aired on Netflix, are set in high schools and for anime fans in particular, getting to experience high school is a peak Japanese experience. "Lots of animes will feature school life being this ideal part of your childhood," said Wu's wife, Parina Kaewkrajang, 27. "It's a type of nostalgia that we wanted to experience for ourselves." Formerly known as Kameyama Middle School, the event's name Kimino is a play on words for "your" high school and the name of the town Kimitsu, known for strawberries and hot springs. The school closed in 2020 due to a lack of students - an increasingly common occurrence as Japan rapidly ages and the number of children declines. Nearly 6,500 schools across the country have closed in the past two decades, according to government data. "If this becomes an example of how to utilise closed schools, or attracts attention as a new way to revitalise the local area, I would definitely like to expand it to other places," said Undokai founder Takaaki Yoneji. ($1 = 143.7600 yen)
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
The power to save the planet is inside us all – how to get past despair to powerful action on climate change
Our species is in a race with climate change, and a lot of people want to know, 'Can I really make a difference?' The question concerns what's known as agency. Its meaning is complex, but in a nutshell it means being able to do what you set out to do and believing you can succeed. How well people exercise their agency will determine the severity of global warming – and its consequences. The evidence is clear that people are changing the climate dramatically. But human actions can also affect the climate for the better by reducing fossil fuel burning and carbon emissions. It's not too late to avert the worst effects of climate change, but time is running out. Despite abundant technical agency, humanity is alarmingly short of psychological agency: belief in one's personal ability to help. A 10-country survey study in the Lancet, a British medical journal, found that more than half of young people ages 16-25 feel afraid, sad, anxious, angry, powerless and helpless about climate change. As professors, we bring complementary perspectives to the challenges of taking action on climate change. Tom Bateman studies psychology and leadership, and Michael Mann is a climate scientist and author of the 2022 book 'The New Climate War.' Human activities – particularly relying on coal, oil and natural gas for energy – have dramatically affected the climate, with dire consequences. As greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuel use accumulate in the atmosphere, they warm the planet. Rising global temperatures have fueled worsening heat waves, rising sea levels and more intense storms that become increasingly harder to adapt to. A new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change describes some of the dangerous disruptions already underway, and how they are putting people and the environment at risk. Just like humans can choose to drive gas-guzzlers, they can also choose to act in ways that influence the climate, air quality and public health for the better. Scientific knowledge and countless opportunities for action make that agency possible. A key part of agency is one's belief, when faced with a task to perform, a situation to manage, or a long-term goal like protecting the climate, that 'I can do this.' It's known as self-efficacy. This may be the most important psychological factor in predicting how well people will cope with both climate change and COVID-19, recent online survey data from Europe indicate. People feeling adequate agency are more likely to persevere, rebound from setbacks and perform at high levels. With climate change, a high sense of self-efficacy strengthens a person's willingness to reduce carbon emissions (mitigation) and prepare for climate-related disasters (adaptation). Studies confirm this for actions including volunteering, donating, contacting elected officials, saving energy, conserving water during extreme weather, and more. To build agency for something that can feel as daunting as climate change, focus first on the facts. In the case of climate change: Greenhouse gas emissions cause the most harm, and people can help far more than they realize. Successful agency has four psychological drivers, all of which can be strengthened with practice: 1) Intentionality: 'I choose my climate goals and actions for high impact.' Deciding to act with purpose—knowing what you intend to do–is far more effective than thinking 'My heart's in the right place, I just have to find the time.' In the big picture, one's highest climate efficacy is in participating in larger efforts to stop fossil fuel use. People can set specific ambitious goals for reducing personal and household energy use and join others in collective actions. 2) Forethought: 'I am looking ahead and thinking strategically about how to proceed.' Knowing your goals, you can think strategically and develop an action plan. Some plans support relatively simple goals involving individual lifestyle changes, such as adjusting consumption and travel patterns. Wider reaching actions can help change systems – such as long-term activities that advocate for climate-friendly policies and politicians, or against policies that are harmful. These include demonstrations and voter campaigns. 3) Self-regulation: 'I can manage myself over time to optimize my efforts and effectiveness.' Worrying about the future is becoming a lifelong task—off and on for some, constant for others. Climate change will cause disasters and scarcities, disrupt lives and careers, heighten stress and harm public health. Seeing progress and working with others can help relieve stress. 4) Self-reflection: ' I will periodically assess my effectiveness, rethink strategies and tactics, and make necessary adjustments.' It's difficult to imagine a greater need for lifelong learning than as we navigate decades of climate change, its many harms and efforts by fossil fuel companies to obscure the facts. Reflection – or, more precisely, keeping up with the latest science, learning and adapting – is vital as the future keeps presenting new challenges. Even seemingly minor first steps can help reduce carbon emissions and lead to paths of greater action, but individual actions are only part of the solution. Big polluters often urge consumers to take small personal actions, which can deflect attention from the need for large-scale policy interventions. Individual agency should be seen as a gateway for group efforts that can more quickly and effectively change the trajectory of climate change. 'Collective agency' is another form of agency. A critical mass of people can create societal [tipping points] that pressure industry and policymakers to move more quickly, safely and equitably to implement policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Helping to elect local, state and national officials who support protecting the climate, and influencing investors and leaders of corporations and associations, can also create a sense of agency, known as 'proxy agency.' [Over 150,000 readers rely on The Conversation's newsletters to understand the world. Sign up today.] Together, these efforts can rapidly improve humanity's capacity to solve problems and head off disasters. Fixing the world's climate mess requires both urgency and a sense of agency to create the best possible future. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Thomas S. Bateman, University of Virginia and Michael E Mann, Penn State Read more: 7 ways to get proactive about climate change instead of feeling helpless: Lessons from a leadership expert A mild-mannered biker triggered a huge debate over humans' role in climate change – in the early 20th century Pew's new global survey of climate change attitudes finds promising trends but deep divides Michael E Mann receives grant funding for climate research from the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Thomas S. Bateman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
