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Giant panda Lei Lei at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo's Taito Ward on May 20
JAPAN
Jun 17, 2024

Clock ticking for transfer of Tokyo giant panda cub twins to China

The likelihood of the transfer is expected to rise when the twins — who turn 3 on June 23 — reach an age at which they can breed.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is in custody on espionage charges, waves behind a glass wall of an enclosure for defendants as he attends a court hearing in Moscow on April 23.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 18, 2024

Russia sets closed espionage trial for U.S. reporter Gershkovich

The White House has called the charges "ridiculous," and President Joe Biden has said the reporter's detention is "totally illegal."
An Israeli tank maneuvers inside the Gaza Strip on Thursday. Gaza's environment was already suffering from recurring conflicts, rapid urban growth, and high population density, before the most recent conflict began on Oct. 7.
WORLD / Society
Jun 18, 2024

Gaza conflict has caused major environmental damage, U.N. says

Water, sanitation, and hygiene systems are now almost entirely defunct, the report found, with Gaza's five wastewater treatment plants shut down.
Nintendo announced several new games that will be released on the Switch later this year, ahead of the expected launch of a new console in early 2025.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 19, 2024

Nintendo surprises fans by announcing new 'Zelda' game

Last year's Zelda game, Tears of the Kingdom, sold 10 million copies in just three days, according to Nintendo.
Zhang Yufei during the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, in September of last year
OLYMPICS / Swimming
Jun 19, 2024

Eleven swimmers in doping scandal named to Chinese Olympic team

WADA's decision not to punish the swimmers has provoked intense criticism, particularly from the United States.
The education ministry in Tokyo's Kasumigaseki district
JAPAN / Society
Jun 19, 2024

Revised guidelines drafted for investigating serious cases of school bullying

The education ministry plans to seek public comments on the draft guidelines and finalize revisions in August, before notifying schools.
Balaji Srinivasan addresses the Singapore Fintech Festival in November 2022. A techno-libertarian, Srinivasan, who made his name as an anti-government crusader, tried to attach himself to the U.S. government when he was under consideration for a position in the Donald Trump administration.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 19, 2024

How techno-libertarians fell in love with big government

When faced with the prospect of the government becoming a major client for Silicon Valley techno-libertarians, once-principled opposition to state power dissipates.
Celtics forward Jayson Tatum walks off the court with the NBA championship trophy after Boston clinched the title on Monday.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Jun 20, 2024

Celtics celebrate as confidence grows that winning run is just beginning

The Celtics sealed the NBA title earlier this week, but Boston had actually been waiting for this moment for over a decade.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (center) at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on Thursday
WORLD / Politics
Jun 20, 2024

Vietnam welcomes Putin in boost to ties, ignoring U.S. criticism

Vietnam and Russia have ties going back decades to the Soviet Union.
PRESS
Jun 21, 2024

The Japan Times が第6回 『Sustainable Japan Award 』 を公募

株式会社ジャパンタイムズは 第6回Sustainable Japan Awardの公募を開始しました。
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike (left) and Renho, a member of the House of Councilors, both candidates in the gubernatorial election, attend a news conference at the Japan National Press Club in the capital on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 20, 2024

The battle to be Japan’s most powerful woman is on

The race to become governor of Tokyo has officially kicked off, and is set to determine who will control a region that makes up more than 20% of the nation’s economy.
An employee at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The greatest heat-related labor losses are born by outdoor industries such as construction, mining and agriculture.
BUSINESS
Jun 22, 2024

When hot weather arrives, worker productivity is at risk

Exposure to high temperatures can diminish cognitive performance and have other lingering affects on one's health.
Caeleb Dressel dives into the pool during the U.S. Olympic swimming trials in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Thursday.
OLYMPICS / Swimming
Jun 23, 2024

Resurgent Caeleb Dressel has new take on young swimming rivals

Dressel's five golds at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games included individual triumphs in the 50 and 100 free and the 100 butterfly.
Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan
WORLD
Jun 24, 2024

Gunmen attack church and synagogue in Russia's North Caucasus

The attacks by unidentified gunmen left an Orthodox priest and multiple police officers dead, the region's head said.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen's National Rally party is expected to win snap parliamentary elections called by French President Emmanuel Macron.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 24, 2024

French elites’ silence on Le Pen is deafening

Despite the economically risky promises of the far right (and far left), France's business leaders are not weighing in on the crucial elections only a week away.
Sakana AI, prospected to become the fastest-ever Japanese company to achieve unicorn status, aims to create energy-efficient AI models that tackle long-term national-level issues.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 24, 2024

What a Japanese AI unicorn can teach Silicon Valley

Sakana AI, prospected to become the fastest-ever Japanese company to achieve unicorn status, is taking a long-term approach to the development of AI for good.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris greets her audience before discussing reproductive rights on the second anniversary of Roe v. Wade being overturned, in Phoenix on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 25, 2024

Harris and the Democrats aim at Trump on abortion ruling anniversary

Since the 2022 ruling, more than 20 Republican-led states in the U.S. have imposed abortion restrictions.
A billboard with a picture of the presidential candidates is displayed on a street in Tehran on June 17.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 25, 2024

Iran’s presidential election dominated by Khamenei loyalists

The next president will likely be closely involved in the eventual process of choosing a successor to Iran's supreme leader.
A volunteer hoping to join the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces attends basic training at an undisclosed location in the Kyiv region, Ukraine, on Jan. 9.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 26, 2024

Trump reviews peace talks ultimatum plan for Ukraine and Russia

The proposal would mark a big shift in the U.S. position on the war and would face opposition from European allies.
Shareholders queue to enter a venue for SoftBank Group's annual general meeting in Tokyo's Koto Ward on Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 26, 2024

Activist investing booms in Japan amid corporate governance reforms

International hedge funds and home-grown investors have turned the country into the world’s second-largest market for activists.
An image of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange released on social media on Tuesday. Assange pleaded guilty to a single charge of disseminating classified documents in a plea bargain that leaves him a free man.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 26, 2024

Julian Assange’s saga will forever exist in a legal gray area

WikiLeaks founder Assange’s case lies on the boundary between espionage and protected speech. Its outcome has done nothing to shed light on this gray zone.
Civil servants listen to the national anthem before the polls open as they wait for voters at a polling station for the Mongolian parliamentary elections in Sergelen sum in Tuv province, Mongolia, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 28, 2024

Mongolians vote as anger grows over corruption and economy

Analysts expect the ruling Mongolian People's Party to retain its majority.
Fancl employees offer makeup lessons to those with blindness or low vision.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Jul 8, 2024

Cosmetics makers hold makeup lessons for those with visual impairments

Each company has established its own methods for applying makeup without the need to look in a mirror.
China's then-defense chief Li Shangfu delivers a speech during the Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on June 4, 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 28, 2024

China ousts two ex-defense ministers from party over graft

The 24-man Politburo made the decision to oust Li Shangfu and his predecessor Wei Fenghe, who are said to have taken bribes.
Ryosuke Kunisawa hopes his "concept brewpub" serves as a focal point to an image change for the salaryman epicenter that is the Shimbashi neighborhood.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 30, 2024

Craft beer, craftsmanship and a family of reinvention

On the first two floors of his family’s slender eight-story building, Kunisawa launched the Kunisawa Brewing Company, Shimbashi's first beer brewery, in May 2022.
Then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at an EU-Japan trade summit in Brussels in 2019. Abe was an early believer in the need for Japan to strengthen relations with Europe based on shared values and interests.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 1, 2024

Strong Europe-Japan relations are a legacy of Shinzo Abe

Late former Prime Minister Abe was an early believer in the need for Japan to strengthen its relationship with Europe based on shared values and mutual interests.
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te attends a graduation ceremony of military academies in Taipei on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 1, 2024

China to step up detentions to squeeze Lai, Taiwan officials say

Beijing has also pressured Taipei by peeling off one of its last diplomatic allies, Nauru, and holding expansive military drills just days after Lai took office in May.
Comedian Daisuke Muramoto has been shunned by the Japanese media for taking his act into political territory. Filmmaker Fumiari Hyuga traces his post-pandemic search for a place in show business in "I Am a Comedian."
CULTURE / Film
Jul 3, 2024

‘I Am a Comedian’: A documentary following Daisuke Muramoto’s rocky comedy journey

Documentarian Fumiari Hyuga captures the story of an uncouth Japanese comedian’s efforts to say what can’t be said.
Polls suggest Labour leader Keir Starmer will emerge victorious from Thursday’s U.K. general election despite often being perceived as stiff and acting holier-than-thou.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 3, 2024

Keir Starmer's character remains as elusive as his policies

Despite his rags-to-ruling-class backstory, Labour leader Keir Starmer isn't that popular or well understood. But he'll win Thursday's election in the U.K. anyway.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin meets with China's President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states leaders' summit in Astana on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 4, 2024

How China and Russia compete, and cooperate, in Central Asia

Even as China has expanded its economic influence across Central Asia, it still faces challenges to its diplomacy from Russia.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear