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Alexandr Wang, co-founder and chief executive officer of Scale AI, has emerged as an influential force in the artificial intelligence industry. His company's army of contractors label the data that tech firms use to train and improve their AI models.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 9, 2025

Meta set to throw billions at startup that leads AI data market

Scale AI uses an army of contractors to label the data that tech firms use to train and improve their AI models
Members of law enforcement detain people as protests against federal immigration sweeps continue, in downtown Los Angeles, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 10, 2025

Unrestrained Trump turns to military in second-term power play

Trump’s moves to deploy troops to Los Angeles and hold a parade on the Army’s 250th birthday fulfills his goal of using the military for a show of power.
Emergency specialists working at the crash site of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, in December last year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 10, 2025

Expanding missile threats and airspace closures are straining airlines

The aviation industry, which prides itself on its safety performance, is investing more in data and security planning.
Japan's Daichi Kamada (right) dribbles the ball against Indonesia during the World Cup qualifying match at Panasonic Stadium Suita in Osaka Prefecture on Tuesday
SOCCER
Jun 11, 2025

Japan and South Korea celebrate World Cup qualification with big wins

Japan romped to a 6-0 thrashing of Patrick Kluivert's Indonesia in Osaka.
A helicopter takes off from China's Shandong aircraft carrier in waters south of Okinawa Prefecture in April 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 11, 2025

Chinese aircraft carriers in Pacific show Beijing's 'expansionist' aims, Taiwan says

The two Chinese aircraft carriers were spotted by Japan conducting simultaneous operations in the Pacific for the first time in recent days.
Get those umbrellas out, rainy season has arrived in much of Japan.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 12, 2025

In the forecast for June — a lot of talk about the weather

From "tsuyu" to "amayadori," the current season has no shortage of vocabulary for downpours, floods and wet weather.
Momentum appears to be building toward what Osaka Expo organizers hope will be a boom period for the event as they try to recoup ballooning costs via ticket sales. But long lines are making some guests weary.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2025

Two months in, Osaka Expo organizer struggles to improve experience as crowds grow

Even before the expo reaches its peak attendance, some visitors are already growing weary of the long lines.
At modern French restaurant Crony, sommelier Kazutaka Ozawa impresses guests with his thoughtful wine pairings.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Jun 15, 2025

Kazutaka Ozawa: ‘The best wine is the one that brings you joy'

The oenophile, who recently earned the title of Asia’s Best Sommelier, shares his thoughts on domestic sips and Tokyo’s vino trends.
The Pentagon is seen from the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team plane on June 11, ahead of their performance as part of the Army’s 250th birthday festival in Washington.
WORLD
Jun 14, 2025

Pizza delivery monitor alerts to secret Israel attack

The timing of Israel's plan to attack Iran was top secret. But Washington pizza delivery trackers guessed something was up before the first bombs fell.
Demonstrators deploy a giant banner reading "We the People," the first three words of the U.S. Constitution's preamble, during a "No Kings" rally in Los Angeles on Saturday, on the same day as President Donald Trump's military parade in Washington.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 15, 2025

As Trump celebrates army’s founding, his critics take to the streets

U.S. President Donald Trump held a military parade the same day that hundreds of protests took place, in what amounted to a split-screen show of force.
The classic red brick arches of Tokyo’s first “gādo-shita,” built in 1910, are what most Japanese people think of when they think about commercial spaces under elevated railways.
LIFE / Style & Design / Longform
Jun 16, 2025

Revitalizing the space under Tokyo’s train tracks

Rail underpasses in big cities are being transformed into vibrant spaces for artisans, foodies and travelers — without erasing their past.
The United Nations' World Food Programme is expected to cut up to 30% of its staff.
WORLD
Jun 17, 2025

U.N. slashes global aid plan over 'deepest funding cuts ever'

The United States — the world's top donor — has heavily slashed foreign aid since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office in January.
A dead sea star in 2015. About 5 billion sea stars died from a disease outbreak, likely including this one.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 18, 2025

Marine heat waves are spreading around the world

Some unusual ocean events have become so intense that scientists have coined a new term: super marine heat waves.
Trishit Banerjee moved to Japan in 2015, embarking on an academic and personal journey that taught him lessons about the collective and the individual.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jun 23, 2025

A singular ensemble: Indian food, science and Fukushima

After moving to Sendai for college, an Indian student began thinking about the dynamic between the individual and the ensemble — in food, science and society.
A U.S. military plane takes off at the Kadena U.S. Air Force Base in Okinawa Prefecture in August 2023.
JAPAN
Jun 19, 2025

Okinawa marks 80 years since 'Typhoon of Steel,' with U.S. presence still a burden

On June 23, Japan’s southernmost prefecture commemorates the end of the Battle of Okinawa, among the bloodiest ground battles of World War II.
An elephant walks through the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 20, 2025

Humans adapted to diverse habitats before trekking out of Africa

Homo sapiens acquired an adaptability useful for tackling the wide range of conditions awaiting beyond the continent.
Restaurants from 22 territories across five continents were honored at this year's World's 50 Best Restaurants awards ceremony held in Turin, Italy.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 20, 2025

Four restaurants from Japan earn spots on World’s 50 Best list

Tokyo has three entries, with Sezanne climbing from its previous position of No. 15 to No. 7 this year.
A group of scientists have found an astonishing diversity of microorganisms in tiny pools of melted ice in Antarctica, suggesting that life could have ridden out several ice ages in similar ponds.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 21, 2025

How did life survive 'Snowball Earth'? In ponds, study suggests.

A group of scientists have found an astonishing diversity of microorganisms in tiny pools of melted ice in Antarctica.
Smoke rises from an Israeli attack on an oil refinery in Tehran on June 15.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 22, 2025

Trump’s airstrikes on Iran leave oil market poised for surge

A recent rise in the price of oil is expected to restart on Monday after the U.S. assault dramatically raised the stakes in a region that accounts for a third of global oil output.
People pray during a visit to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Aug. 15, the 79th anniversary of Japan's surrender during World War II.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 20, 2025

Why only Japan is criticized for honoring its war dead

Other countries honor the ultimate sacrifice regardless of whether the war was just, later judged a mistake or involved actions that could be seen as war crimes.
Rice paddies in the city of Asahikawa, Hokkaido. Rice is a major crop for Hokkaido, with the region having produced 562,400 tons of it last year.
BUSINESS / Economy / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Jun 30, 2025

U.S. import pressure raises concerns for Hokkaido agriculture

The U.S. is nudging Japan to import more rice, soybeans, and maize — vital crops that support Hokkaido's economy.
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's earthquake website shows numerous seismic activities in the 24 hours through 11:18 a.m. on Monday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 23, 2025

Over 200 earthquakes have shaken Tokara islands since Saturday

As of 2 p.m. on Monday, more than 200 earthquakes registering shindo 1 or higher on the Japanese seismic intensity scale had been observed.
AI is not only transforming the applications we use; it is also reshaping the very process of software development, threatening to render much of today’s tech sector obsolete.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 15, 2025

How artificial intelligence will disrupt Big Tech

AI is already starting to cannibalize established giants and also to reshape the profession of software engineering.
About 41% of LGBTQ+ teens could not find people or places they could consult with about their struggles with gender identity or sexual orientation.
JAPAN
Jun 24, 2025

Over half of LGBTQ+ teens in Japan have considered suicide, survey finds

Of the 90% of junior high and high school students who said they had experienced harassment at school, 64% said such harassment came from teachers.
Miho Koshiba started her career in finance before she founded the Mirai Institute, a think tank that operates the Midori.so coworking space with an ever-growing cosmopolitan community across seven locations in Tokyo.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jun 28, 2025

Miho Koshiba: ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if people looked forward to Mondays?’

The cofounder of the Midori.so coworking space shares her inspirations and aspirations for career and community.
The Japanese anime industry has been facing chronic labor shortages linked to poor working conditions that have led to a decrease in the number of productions.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2025

Japan to set up body to improve anime industry working conditions

The move is part of a five-year action plan aimed at boosting overseas sales of Japanese content such as manga and video games to ¥20 trillion in 2033.
Chelsea's Liam Delap celebrates after scoring his first goal with the club as part of a 3-0 victory over Esperance on Tuesday in Philadelphia.
SOCCER
Jun 25, 2025

Delap notches first for Chelsea as club eases into Club World Cup last 16

A game played in sweaty conditions at the end of a blisteringly hot day in Philadelphia was decided by two goals in first-half stoppage time.
People cross a street under the hot sun in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 26, 2025

Last week’s heat wave in Japan not possible without climate change, analysis shows

The heat wave, which came shortly after the rainy season was declared, caused a surge in ambulance calls for heat-related illnesses.
Apartment rents in the capital climbed 1.3% from a year earlier in April and May for the largest gains since 1994, government data shows.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 26, 2025

Tokyo rents rising at fastest pace in 30 years backs case for BOJ rate hikes

Bigger outlays for accommodation are likely to further fuel a change in inflation expectations and behavior among households of all sizes.
Softbank has invested $15 million in a startup's climate monitoring stations that are designed to capture real-time data on wildfires, flooding and greenhouse gases.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 26, 2025

SoftBank backs startup building giant floating climate stations

The massive, bullet-shaped helium balloons will monitor climate data and bring connectivity to hard-to-reach areas.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes