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“Hypnosismic — Division Rap Battle — Movie” centers on groups of male rappers from neighborhoods around Tokyo and Japan at large.
CULTURE / Film
Feb 20, 2025

‘Hypnosismic — Division Rap Battle — Movie' lets viewers remix the narrative

Armed with LED-lined gloves and their smartphones, audiences take control of the action for Japan’s first interactive movie.
An explosion of a drone and tracers are seen in the sky over the city during a Russian drone strike in Kyiv on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 20, 2025

Dismay and defiance in Kyiv as Trump takes 'enemy's side'

Ukrainians decry the U.S. President's accusation against their leader of starting the war with Russia, saying they had no other choice than to fight.
A man who "exhibited fixated behavior" toward Emma Raducanu was escorted out of her match by security on Tuesday in Dubai.
TENNIS
Feb 20, 2025

WTA stars express concern after Emma Raducanu's incident with 'fixated' fan

Iga Swiatek, the current world No. 2, believes the tour did the right thing, and acknowledges such situations can be hard to avoid, even with strict safety measures in place.
Australia's spy chief, Mike Burgess, called for a greater effort to tackle the threat from extremism, especially among young people.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 20, 2025

Australian spy chief warns of rising role of minors in terror

Almost all foiled terrorist attacks in Australia over the past year involved the radicalization of children, according to the spy chief's annual assessment.
Mike Sunda at a concert in Haikou, China
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Feb 20, 2025

Mike Sunda: ‘Creative production comes with a bigger responsibility than ever before’

Creative strategist Mike Sunda talks about his influences and the filming of Megan Thee Stallion’s “Mamushi” music video.
Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (center) runs during a 100-meter heat at the Paris Olympics on Aug. 3, 2024.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Feb 20, 2025

Abdul Hakim Sani Brown ready to sprint past Paris disappointment

Despite setting a personal best with a time of 9.96 seconds, Sani Brown finished fourth in his semifinal heat in the 100-meter sprint in Paris.
Prime Minister Shiger Ishiba waits for the Lower House Budget Committee session to begin in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 20, 2025

Dispute over funds scandal questioning delays budget talks as CDP seeks leverage

Veering off schedule, even for a day, is detrimental to securing passage of the fiscal 2025 budget in the Lower House by March 2 — a priority for the government.
The Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia on July 1, 2016
WORLD
Feb 20, 2025

In Russia, dozens of dissenters are held as psychiatric patients

The practice carries echoes of a method of control used widely in the Soviet Union and known as "punitive psychiatry."
Palestinians and militants gather around Red Cross vehicles as Hamas prepares to hand over the bodies of deceased Israeli hostages, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Thursday.
WORLD
Feb 21, 2025

Israeli military says body released by Hamas is not of a hostage

Palestinian militants handed over four black coffins in a carefully orchestrated public display.
Kash Patel, who was approved on a 51-49 mostly party line vote, takes over the Federal Bureau of Investigation at a turbulent time.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 21, 2025

Kash Patel confirmed to lead reshaping of FBI under Trump

Patel overcame intense opposition during his confirmation process, especially from Democrats who argued he isn’t qualified.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 21, 2025

Trump tightens grip on independent agencies, testing limits of presidential power

The agencies have for years taken pride in their independence overseeing such matters as elections, stock markets and labor unrest.
David Moreton, a former professor at Tokushima University, originally came to Japan as a missionary in 1988. He is now one of the world’s foremost experts on the Shikoku 88-Temple Pilgrimage.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Feb 24, 2025

How a Canadian missionary found spiritual transformation in Shikoku

David Moreton has devoted decades to researching southern Japan’s famed 88-temple pilgrimage, established by influential monk Kobo Daishi.
Entomal Biotech Sdn Bhd CCO Yanni Ching with samples of BSF dried larvae and frass.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Feb 28, 2025

Turning waste into wealth with insect-based biotech

Entomal has treated over 22.5 tons of food waste to date, preventing roughly 55 tons of carbon emissions.
These public ashtrays ask either-or questions, which people vote on with their cigarette butts.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 28, 2025

How Shibuya reduced cigarette litter by 90%

A project to reduce litter by making "ballot" smoking areas called Ask the Tobacco is under way.
Japan is the world's No. 2 LNG buyer, a major investor in energy infrastructure and a trading hub with a glut of LNG that could help open new markets for U.S. gas in Southeast Asia.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 22, 2025

Trump seeks to reshape Asia's energy supplies with U.S. gas

While the Alaska LNG proposal faces hurdles, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and others are buying into the idea of increasing U.S. gas imports more broadly.
An electric vehicle factory in Rayong, Thailand. Asian countries are among the most vulnerable to President Donald Trump's economic grievances — but also well-placed to make deals to minimize their exposure.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 22, 2025

How Trump’s tariffs could reorder Asia trade and exclude the U.S.

Asian countries are among the most vulnerable to Trump's economic grievances — but also well-placed to make deals to minimize their exposure.
Israelis sit together in Tel Aviv on Thursday as the bodies of deceased hostages were handed over by Hamas under the terms of a ceasefire.
WORLD
Feb 22, 2025

Hamas releases new hostage body after misidentification of Shiri Bibas

The failure to hand over the correct body and the staged public handover on Thursday caused outrage and drew a threat of retaliation from Netanyahu.
U.S. Marines during training in Okinawa last month.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 22, 2025

U.S. Marines start to leave Japan, decades behind schedule

The U.S. base on Okinawa has relocated 105 Marines. But an agreement to move 9,000 in total is colliding with the perceived threat from a rising China.
Elon Musk listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Feb. 11.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 23, 2025

Musk orders U.S. federal workers to report on work by Monday or resign

It is unclear what legal basis Musk has to terminate federal workers if they fail to respond or what would happen to employees that cannot detail confidential work.
Efrat Machikawa (center) and others protest in white near the Knesset in Jerusalem on Feb. 14, advocating for the safe return of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 24, 2025

The terror, the protests and the reunion: Efrat Machikawa's life since the Israel-Hamas war

The family of Machikawa's uncle, 80-year-old Gadi Moses, taken hostage from southern Israel by Hamas in their October 2023 attack, waited nearly 500 days for him to return home.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (far right), Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (second from right), Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics (left) and Finland President Alexander Stubb (second from left) gather on the day of a news conference after the Support Ukraine summit, marking the third anniversary of the Russian invasion, in Kyiv on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 25, 2025

European leaders in Kyiv to mark three years of war, but top U.S. officials stay away

Trump's rush to end the war has stoked fears of an undermined Kyiv and an altered geopolitical landscape.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton at a Formula One launch event in London on Feb. 18
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Feb 25, 2025

Hamilton’s move to Ferrari opens new possibilities

The driver is hopeful that an eighth world championship will be within his sights once again.
While Osaka’s 2025 World Expo may strengthen Japan’s global ties through diplomatic engagements, its success will depend on fostering long-term innovation, economic cooperation and international collaboration beyond visitor numbers.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 25, 2025

Will Expo 2025 in Osaka be a success?

Osaka has hosted the Expo twice before, in 1970 and 1990, with the 1970 affair in particular occupying a special place in many local residents’ hearts.
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida concludes a news conference at the company's headquarters in Yokohama in February.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2025

Nissan management shake-up plans reported as sharks circle  

Nissan is considering a change in leadership following poor results and the failure of a proposed merger with Honda, according to a report citing unnamed sources.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a statement on defense spending at Downing Street in London on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 27, 2025

Starmer tries to buy Ukraine time with Trump security pitch

The British prime minister's main objective is to secure an American "backstop” for any truce between Russia and Ukraine.
Tech mogul Elon Musk speaks during U.S. President Donald Trump’s first Cabinet meeting in the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 27, 2025

Musk’s Cabinet cameo: The elephant in the room wore black

The billionaire tech mogul spoke far more than anyone else, other than the U.S. president, attempting to manage both up and down at the same time.
Documents are seen in the courtroom ahead of the arrival of Nicolas Zepeda from Chile, on the opening day of his appeal trial after he was sentenced at first instance for murdering Japanese student Narumi Kurosaki, in Vesoul, France, on Feb. 21, 2023.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 27, 2025

France's top appeals court orders retrial over alleged murder of Japanese

A French newspaper said that this extremely rare decision was due to a procedural error during an appeal trial for the case.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s brinkmanship puts North America back on the precipice of a trade war, which economists say would hurt U.S. growth, worsen inflation and possibly spark recessions in Mexico and Canada.
BUSINESS
Feb 28, 2025

Trump says Canada and Mexico tariffs to take effect, and adds new China duty

Trump said 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico are on track to go into place on March 4, and said he would impose an additional 10% tax on Chinese imports.
A screen shows news footage of plane debris at the site where a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 plane crashed in the Chinese city of Wuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, in March 2022.
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Feb 28, 2025

Air safety reporting under scrutiny as crashes lie unresolved

Almost half of 268 accidents involving fatalities or major damage between 2018 and the end of 2023 lack a final report.
Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki, at a news conference on Friday, said the Cabinet has approved a bill to revise relevant laws to digitalize criminal procedures in the country.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 28, 2025

Japan's Cabinet approves bill to digitalize criminal procedures

Once passed, existing laws will be amended to allow greater use of technologies by law enforcers and the judiciary.

Longform

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic