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A woman takes photos of a gate in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Monday. Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, at a Donald Trump event on Sunday, called Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage."
WORLD / Politics
Oct 29, 2024

Trump-allied comedian blasted for calling Puerto Rico 'garbage'

Tony Hinchcliffe, who also employed racist tropes about Black Americans and Jews at a Trump event on Sunday, played down the offensive nature of his comments.
A grapnel, used to retrieve cables, on the deck of the Leon Thevenin in Cape Town on April 30. In a wireless world, it is easy to forget the all-too-real cables that snake across the turbulent ocean floor — until they snap.
WORLD
Dec 4, 2024

When undersea cables break, a wireless world’s vulnerability is exposed

Landslides, a ship dragging its anchor, military skirmishes and sabotage can all damage cables.
Katia Beeden, life coach and campaigner for white South Africans who want to apply for U.S. refugee status, speaks at her residence in Fish Hoek, Cape Town, South Africa, on Thursday.
WORLD / Society
Apr 25, 2025

U.S. eyes persecution claims as white South Africans seek resettlement

U.S. President Donald Trump issued a Feb. 7 executive order that called for the U.S. to resettle Afrikaner refugees.
Agriculture minister Taku Eto has come under fire for saying at the weekend that he receives so much rice from his supporters that he has enough to sell it.
JAPAN / Politics
May 19, 2025

Amid rice shortage, farm minister comes under fire for saying he gets plenty

Agriculture minister Taku Eto reportedly said at a fundraiser that he gets so much rice from supporters, he has enough to sell it.
New buyers are entering the market for Japanese government bonds and amplifying volatility, said Dai-ichi Life CEO Tetsuya Kikuta in an interview.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 27, 2025

Dai-Ichi Life sees falling volatility in JGB market

New buyers are entering the market for Japanese government bonds and amplifying volatility, Chief Executive Officer Tetsuya Kikuta said in an interview.
Chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa has said that his U.S. counterparts are open to an extension of the July 9 deadline for countries that are making an effort toward a deal.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 20, 2025

Japan hopes good-faith negotiations will buy it some time in U.S. tariff talks

U.S negotiators have said that the July 9 deadline is flexible and that extensions might be granted.
You don't need an oven to make Kenji Morimoto's easy and delicious Miso Sticky Toffee Crepe Cake.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 20, 2025

In microbes we trust: Embracing the nature of fermented food

With simple, fuss-free recipes, Kenji Morimoto's debut cookbook effortlessly guides home cooks into the unpredictable but rewarding world of fermentation.
Masae Yamanaka joins colleagues from Panasonic Connect to take part in the Tokyo Rainbow Pride parade in April.
BUSINESS / WOMEN AT WORK
Aug 3, 2023

How one woman's career in sales flourished across four companies

As she rose through sales in various companies, Masae Yamanaka stuck to her mother’s teachings: keep working, commit to actions.
Ethiopia's Gudaf Tsegay (left) runs past fallen Dutch runner Sifan Hassan (second from left) to win the women's 10,000-meter final at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Aug 20, 2023

Gudaf Tsegay wins 10,000-meter gold after Sifan Hassan stumbles

World record holder Letesenbet Gidey was second in 31:28.16, while Ejgayehu Taye won the bronze with 31:28.31.
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi has worked to make sure all the Springboks have a voice on the pitch.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Oct 13, 2023

South Africa benefiting from Siya Kolisi's leadership at World Cup

"I think what sets Siya aside from other leaders is how he includes everyone's opinions in the team," center Jesse Kriel explained.
While there should be a balance between entrepreneurial innovation and environmental responsibility, pollution should be the primary concern, not economic growth.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 19, 2023

Embracing the green growth mindset

Some high-carbon economic activities need to shrink while low-carbon, high-efficiency sectors need to grow.
Tossing your car in the forest when you leave Japan doesn't help anyone. If you want to throw away your things properly, you'll need to pay attention to your paperwork.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 24, 2023

Wheeling and dealing: A cautionary tale for expats headed home

Ditching big items, like your car, can be tough in Japan if you don't time things just right.
Nelson Mandela (left) is embraced by Palestine Liberation Organisation leader Yasser Arafat as he arrives at Lusaka airport on Feb. 27, 1990.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 5, 2023

A decade after Mandela's death, his pro-Palestinian legacy lives on

Many South Africans saw parallels between their own struggle against white minority rule and the Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation.
The end-of-year company party has been pretty much on hold for the past few years due to the pandemic. Will people embrace the tradition in bigger numbers as a result?
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 8, 2023

Should we forget the year or forget the party?

After a few years without proper yearend work parties, are Japanese workers ready for a big bash? Or, has the tradition come to an end?
Tiger Woods walks onto the 18th green with his daughter Sam Woods during the PNC Championship at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Dec 18, 2023

Woods optimistic following family weekend at PNC Championship

Woods said his surgically repaired right ankle continues to hold up well and that he recovered quickly after the Hero World Challenge earlier this month.
New study questions the trend of scientific breakthroughs and examines the changing landscape of innovation.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 8, 2024

Have scientific breakthroughs declined?

From curing disease to reducing global warming, there’s no shortage of hard scientific problems crying out for solutions.
The natural attractions and the friendly locals convinced Norihiro Kanzawa and his wife, Zoe, to set up a business, Niyodo Adventure, in Kochi Prefecture.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 13, 2024

Norihiro Kanzawa: 'Smiles are always a great source of inspiration'

An adventure tourism professional and soon-to-be father shares his journey into making canyoning and packrafting his full-time job.
Pope Francis presides over a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 10, 2024

Pope says Ukraine should have the ‘courage of the white flag’

Pope Francis has reiterated in a new interview that Ukraine should negotiate to end the war with Russia, but this time he used language — adopting his interviewer’s expression, "white flag” — that has drawn attention and raised questions about whether the pope was suggesting that Ukraine surrender....
Interpreters of the European Parliament in Brussels on April 11
WORLD / Politics
May 8, 2024

Babel in Brussels: The shadow army of EU interpreters

Humming with different languages like a modern-day Tower of Babel, the European Union's institutions are the world's largest employer of interpreters.
U.S. surfer Jake Marshall rides a wave during a training session ahead of the World Surfing League Shiseido Tahiti Pro, in Teahupo'o, Tahiti, on May 16.
OLYMPICS / Surfing
May 24, 2024

Taming Teahupo'o: Olympic surf rehearsal in Tahiti

Nearly 16,000 kilometers from the French capital, the island of Tahiti was chosen to host the 2024 Paris Olympic's surfing events.
The cast of “Megalopolis” joins director Francis Ford Coppola on the red carpet at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 6, 2024

‘Megalopolis’ got the Hollywood treatment. The bad kind.

The real issue is that the American film industry, in its current condition, cannot make heads or tails of a movie like "Megalopolis."
As childish as Ryokan may have been, human suffering wrung his heart. A portrait of the monk and calligraphy by him are shown here. (Ink on paper; early 19th century; replica before 1970)
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Jul 21, 2024

Ryokan and us: 'How wide! How boundless!'

The Edo Period monk could see the world through a child's eyes, maybe even those of a child from our modern era.
Hokkaido's cuisine and the culture that underpins it get top billing in Tim Anderson's newest cookbook.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 15, 2024

‘MasterChef U.K.’ winner’s new cookbook puts Hokkaido cuisine on vivid display

Tim Anderson's cookbook covers a lot, but its strength is in presenting Japan’s largest prefecture as a detailed tapestry via straightforward recipes.
Solar panels and wind turbines at a power plant in Hami in China's Xinjiang region. The U.S. and other countries have described China’s actions against Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region, a key cog in the cleantech supply chain, as a genocidal campaign aimed at erasing an entire culture.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Sep 16, 2024

How China’s dominance of solar and batteries is impacting Japan’s energy transition

China has thrown its industrial might behind cleantech, putting Japan in a tough spot as it weighs human rights concerns against its climate targets.
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a live interview with U.S. commentator Tucker Carlson in the finale of the Tucker Carlson Live Tour at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 4, 2024

Election falsehoods take off on Youtube as it looks the other way

The largest video platform has become a home for election conspiracy theories, half-truths and lies, which provide it with revenue.
Best known as the home of Kuon Temple, Minobu, Yamanashi Prefecture, is a charming day trip from Tokyo with the potential for cultural verisimilitude.
LIFE / Travel
Nov 23, 2024

In rugged Yamanashi, a wild-goose chase for ‘real Japan’

Japan’s countryside certainly offers a different experience than its cities, but whether that makes it categorically superior is up for debate.
Manchester City's Erling Haaland (left) moves past Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford (center) during their match in Manchester, England, on Dec. 26, 2024.
SOCCER
Jan 3, 2025

Premier League chief concerned about impact of Club World Cup's impact on Man City and Chelsea

The two clubs will be England's representatives in FIFA's expanded 32-team event in the United States, with players' unions threatening legal action on welfare grounds.
Many Japanese dating apps have ways to detail specific interests that can be as narrow as one particular TV show, game or an artist.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 7, 2025

Swiping in Japan: How Gen Z is changing the dating app game

The once-stigmatized apps are flourishing as a new normal for dating among Gen Z in Japan, albeit with a different approach to before.
Wawira Njiru, the founder of Food4Education, serves food during the opening of a new kitchen in Mombasa County, Kenya, in 2022. The organization started in 2012 by feeding 25 children out of a single kitchen. Now it feeds nearly half a million every day.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Jan 19, 2025

Amid rising world hunger, a Japan-inspired group in Kenya is making a big impact

Food4Education is helping feed half a million students through a program that drew inspiration from Japan's renowned school lunch programs.
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has seen his club lose six of its last seven Premier League matches.
SOCCER
Jan 27, 2025

Ange Postecoglou uncertain about future after Tottenham hits new 'low'

Postecoglou's side suffered its sixth defeat in its last seven Premier League matches to increase the pressure on the Australian.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight