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Investigators say the group chat members were using pseudonyms to hide their identities, suggesting they were largely unaware of each other’s true backgrounds.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 27, 2025

Teachers sharing indecent photos of girls in a group chat elicits outrage in Japan

The coordinated voyeurism of the teachers came as a strong shock, undermining people's confidence in those in the role.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that terror victims can sue the Palestinian Authority and PLO in American courts, a decision likely to impact future cases and the law.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 27, 2025

Foreign terror has a price in U.S. courts

The lower courts dismissed the cases on the ground that they lacked jurisdiction over the defendants. The U.S. Supreme Court disagreed.
Fans bid fareweel to the four pandas residing at Adventure World in Wakyama Prefecture on Friday, their last viewing day before being returned to China on Saturday.
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2025

Fans bid farewell to four pandas in Kansai ahead of return to China

Rauhin, 24, and her three daughters — 8-year-old Yuihin, 6-year-old Saihin and 4-year-old Fuhin — will be transferred to China on Saturday.
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for a news conference at the White House on Friday in Washington.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 28, 2025

Trump says he will 'get the conflict solved with North Korea'

Trump also appeared to spotlight fears among U.S. allies that his administration could put their security in jeopardy by not adhering to alliance commitments.
A woman wearing sun-protective clothing in Beijing on June 23
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 30, 2025

China’s scorching heat poses summer test for electricity grid

Eastern China may face a "long-lasting high temperature war,” the state weather bureau said last week.
Formula One Group CEO Stefano Domenicali ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal on June 15.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Jul 2, 2025

F1 has a plan if Middle East races cannot happen, says chief

Qatar is due to host the penultimate round of the championship on Nov. 30 with Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina following on Dec. 7.
Dog ownership may seem daunting in Japan, but with the right tools and logistical knowledge, you can ensure a healthy, happy life for your pet.
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Jul 7, 2025

A furever friend: Tips for responsible dog ownership in Japan

Owning a dog in Japan may seem daunting, but having these tools and tips in mind can ease your journey and bring you lots of joy.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (right) meet with Nippon Steel Chairman and CEO Eiji Hashimoto (center), President and Chief Operating Officer Tadashi Imai (second from left), and Vice Chairman and Executive Vice Present Takahiro Mori (left) at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 2, 2025

Nippon Steel aiming to prove value of Japan-U.S. cooperation, chairman says

PM Ishiba explained that Tokyo is continuing to urge the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to review its high tariffs.
Emperor Naruhito speaks during a news conference at the Imperial Palace on Wednesday ahead of his visit to Mongolia together with Empress Masako from Sunday.
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2025

Emperor to mourn Japanese detainees who died in Mongolia

The Emperor last visited Mongolia in 2007, when he was Crown Prince.
Albin Enbacke is among the train drivers responsible for ferrying iron ore from the Kiruna mine.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 3, 2025

Sweden’s arctic railway prepares for a more militarized future

Should Finland’s border with Russia ever become an active front, the track would be one of the best ways for NATO to transport vehicles and supplies.
Shuhei Nakata, president of Nakata Kogei — a wooden-hanger maker in Toyooka, Hyogo Prefecture — says a revised work evaluation system and a strict policy against workplace harassment has helped to attract women to the company.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Jul 14, 2025

Fukushima looks to local initiatives to combat population decline

The measures will bring the area in line with other parts of Japan that are proactively trying to retain residents.
The Demilitarized Zone — the border area separating the two Koreas — is one of the most heavily mined places on earth.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 4, 2025

North Korean man detained after crossing land border, Seoul says

Defections across the land border are relatively rare, as the area is densely forested, heavily mined and monitored by soldiers on both sides.
A street in Suttsu, Hokkaido, with a sign put up by an anti-nuclear organization. The small community is considering hosting a facility that would hold nuclear waste.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Jul 6, 2025

Ainu land rights in crosshairs as Hokkaido communities debate nuclear waste

Some scholars and activists are raising concerns that Indigenous voices are not being heard amid the debate over whether to host nuclear waste storage facilities.
The Culver City Express Car Wash remains closed after a raid by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency detained many of its workers in Culver City, California, on June 11.
BUSINESS
Jul 7, 2025

Immigration raids derail Los Angeles economy as workers go into hiding

Few places in the U.S. are feeling the shock as acutely as Los Angeles, a longtime sanctuary city and home to one of the nation’s largest migrant labor forces.
A pastry chef prepares croissants for sale at a Bakehouse bakery in the Causeway Bay area of Hong Kong on July 25, 2024.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 7, 2025

Butter’s global price surge hits croissants and kitchens alike

Around 70% of the butter exported around the world comes from Europe and New Zealand, and each began 2025 with historically low stockpiles.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers a campaign speech next to a Liberal Democratic Party candidate for the Upper House (top center left) in Yokohama on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 7, 2025

Foreign nationals' presence in Japan emerges as key issue in Upper House poll

In their campaign promises, parties are offering different solutions to problems caused by the record number here to visit, work and invest in real estate.
Palestinians collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 8, 2025

Proposal outlines large-scale 'Humanitarian Transit Areas' for Palestinians in Gaza

One source said the plan, which calls the camps "large-scale" and "voluntary" places for the Gazan population, was recently discussed in the White House.
A satellite image shows an overview of new rare-earth mines in Myanmar's Shan state on May 6.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 8, 2025

China risks global heavy rare-earth supply to stop Myanmar rebel victory

China has threatened to halt buying the minerals mined in KIA-controlled territory unless the Kachin Independence Army stops trying to seize full control of a key town.
Emperor Naruhito attends a welcome ceremony with Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh in Ulaanbaatar on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2025

Emperor and empress attend welcome ceremony in Mongolia

Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako met with the country's president and his wife as part of a weeklong visit that comes on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
People line up at Shibuya Station in Tokyo as they try to avoid the heavy rain on Thursday.
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2025

Tokyo hit by torrential rainfall at rush hour

The weather agency is forecasting up to 150 millimeters of rain over 24 hours.
Chinese Finance Minister Lan Fo'an speaks at the China Development Forum 2024 in Beijing in March 2024.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jul 11, 2025

Can China become a defender of free trade?

The trillion-dollar question is: Does Beijing’s rhetoric match reality and how sincere is China when it claims to be a “defender” of free trade?
Israeli-American businessman Moti Kahana holds a flag during a mission to evacuate 200 Jews in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, in March 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 13, 2025

How a U.S. mission to push a Trump deal in Congo unraveled

The story of the ill-fated venture, which has not previously been reported, provides a glimpse of how the Trump administration is prepared to work through unconventional channels.
Riot police officers demonstrate their actions during a recruitment event held by Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department on Saturday.
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2025

Tokyo police hold recruitment event to attract applicants

Police officers from about 50 different sections were on hand to talk with participants and answer questions.
The recent massive pride parade in Hungary shows that even under authoritarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, popular resistance for liberal democracy persists — but the region’s deeper political stalemate endures.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 14, 2025

Is democracy stalemated?

Yet neither triumphalism nor fatalism captures the real dynamic. A more measured analysis shows that history’s arc is not bending at all — it is stuck.
Effective immediately, individuals and companies must notify Kuala Lumpur at least 30 days prior to exporting or shipping high-performance U.S. artificial intelligence chips.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 14, 2025

Malaysia controls AI chip exports as U.S. targets China smuggling

Kuala Lumpur has come under increasing pressure from Washington to halt the suspected flow of AI chips to China via intermediaries in Malaysia.
People demonstrate outside the Ministry of Health to demand the right to a safe and free abortion as Non Una di Meno (Not One Less) movement and feminist collectives take part in a protest to mark the International Safe Abortion Day, in Rome on Sept. 28, 2024.
WORLD / Society
Jul 15, 2025

Italy's abortion taboos challenged by new law in Sicily

More than 80% of gynecologists in Sicily refuse to perform abortions for moral or religious reasons, though the procedure has been a legal right for women in Italy since 1978.
Scottie Scheffler speaks during a news conference in Portrush, Northern Ireland, on Tuesday ahead of the British Open.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Jul 16, 2025

'What's the point?' Scheffler says in candid talk ahead of British Open

When asked how long he celebrates his victories, an introspective Scheffler veered off into questioning what was even the point of being the best golfer in the world.
Muneo Suzuki speaks in Sapporo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 16, 2025

Prodigal Hokkaido son returns to campaign trail for last run in Upper House election

Muneo Suzuki's personality and past actions make him a divisive political figure, but he's teaming up with the Liberal Democratic Party for one final run.
Hirofumi Yoshimura, leader of Nippon Ishin no Kai, outlines his party’s policies during a news conference at the Diet building in Tokyo on June 30.
COMMENTARY / Japan / From Party Leaders
Jul 16, 2025

Nippon Ishin stakes its appeal on real results as Upper House vote nears

Neither the ruling coalition or other opposition parties have advanced political reform.
The remains of about 70,000 atomic bomb victims are enshrined in a vault under the Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima.
JAPAN / History
Jul 16, 2025

Vault for Hiroshima A-bomb victims shown to media

The ashes of about 70,000 victims of the U.S. atomic bombing of the city in August 1945 in the closing days of World War II are inside the vault.

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