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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (right) speaks to reporters with U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel at the ambassador's official residence in Tokyo last month. An officer to monitor problematic behavior from China will be stationed at the embassy in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
May 19, 2024

U.S. Embassy in Tokyo to have officer for China affairs

Nearly 20 such officers have been dispatched to U.S. embassies abroad, according to data from the department.
Vietnamese Public Security Minister To Lam speaks at a meeting at the National Assembly House in Hanoi last December.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 19, 2024

Vietnam Communist Party names police minister as state president

Police minister To Lam has been named as the state president, while a new head of the parliament was also nominated in a major leadership reshuffle.
A worker unloads packages from a shinkansen at JR Tokyo Station on Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 19, 2024

JR firms expanding cargo transport using shinkansen trains

Such services are set to expand as Japan facing disruptions to logistics services stemming from an overtime cap for truck drivers.
A man is detained after Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot at close range in an assassination attempt, after a government meeting in Handlova, Slovakia, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 19, 2024

A would-be assassin stirs Europe’s violent ghosts

Political violence and polarization stalk Europe today, with ominous echoes of the past.
New Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te (right) waves alongside outgoing leader Tsai Ing-wen during the presidential inauguration ceremony at the Presidential Office in Taipei on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 20, 2024

‘Cease the intimidation,’ Taiwan’s new president tells China in inaugural speech

New leader Lai Ching-te used his inauguration speech to deliver a clear message to Beijing: Taiwan will not be subordinate to China.
Argentina's president Javier Milei gestures on stage during the Spanish far-right wing party Vox's rally "Europa Viva 24" in Madrid on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
May 20, 2024

Spain's Vox holds mass rally with Argentina's Milei and foreign allies

Nearly 11,000 supporters, according to the right-wing party, jeered at every mention of the United Nations' 2030 Agenda, feminism or socialism.
Jake Sullivan, national security adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden, speaks to reporters during a briefing at the White House in Washington on May 13.
WORLD / Politics
May 20, 2024

U.S. envoy touts 'potential' of Israel-Saudi deal in Netanyahu talks

Jake Sullivan called on the Israeli leader to link the military operation against Hamas with a "political strategy" for Gaza's future.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends a meeting with Russia's president in Riyadh last December.
JAPAN / Politics
May 20, 2024

Saudi crown prince postpones Japan trip over king’s health

Saudi sources said Monday that members of the delegation would still travel to Japan for some talks.
A scene following an Israeli strike on Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on April 22. Israel has carpet-bombed Gaza, obliterating neighborhoods and targeting hospitals, mosques, schools and camps for displaced people, according to a U.N. report.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 20, 2024

Impunity in Gaza is a threat to the international order

Israel's disregard for human rights and international law in Gaza, and the lack of consequences for such actions, are eroding the liberal international order that Japan relies on.
A worker installs a mesh barrier to block the view of Mount Fuji emerging from behind a convenience store in Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Tuesday. The measure follows complaints of bad behaviors by tourists seeking the perfect photo at the location.
JAPAN / Society
May 21, 2024

Weary of overtourism, Japan town blocks one popular view of Mount Fuji

The large mesh barrier was put up at the popular photo-taking spot in Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, in response to misbehaving tourists.
Martin Gruenberg, chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), speaks during a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing in Washington on May 16.
BUSINESS
May 21, 2024

FDIC chair says he’ll step down after toxic workplace report

The chair faced mounting pressure to quit following a scathing report that detailed allegations of harassment and discrimination at the bank regulator during his tenure.
A visitor to the Japan Olympic Museum walks past a display of the Olympic Rings on a wet day in central Tokyo on May 1.
JAPAN
May 26, 2024

Japan wrestles with legacy of graft-stained Games in Paris warning

Cost overruns, corruption and COVID-19 all tarnished the Japanese public's memory of the Tokyo Olympics.
Former Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and new President Lai Ching-te wave during an inauguration ceremony outside the Presidential Office in Taipei on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 21, 2024

China rebukes Japanese and South Korean lawmakers visiting Taiwan

Beijing's embassy in Tokyo said the visit seriously contravened the spirit of Sino-Japanese commitments.
Police on Tuesday issued a fresh warrant for the arrest of Kirato Wakayama, a 20-year-old former actor, over the murder of businessman Ryutaro Takarajima, 55, and his wife Sachiko, 56.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 21, 2024

Police issue fresh warrants for duo over murder of couple found in Tochigi

Kang Gwang-gi, a 20-year-old South Korean national, and Kirato Wakayama, a 20-year-old former actor, were arrested over the alleged murder of the businessman and his wife.
Flag-bearers Tahani Alqahtani and Husein Alireza of Saudi Arabia lead their contingent during the athletes parade at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics in July 2021.
OLYMPICS
May 21, 2024

Ambitious Saudis look to homegrown talent for future Olympic success

Saudi Arabia will need more than the 33 athletes it sent to the Tokyo Olympics if it wants to host the Summer Games.
A young woman who has just turned 20 moves in with an eccentric distant cousin in Tokyo after her mother moves to China in Nanae Aoyama's “A Perfect Day to Be Alone.”
CULTURE / Books
May 21, 2024

'A Perfect Day to Be Alone': A touching and relatable examination of growing up

Nanae Aoyama’s Akutagawa Prize-winning novella captures the lonely juncture between adolescence and adulthood.
Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 21, 2024

Japan's revised immigration bill clears Lower House

Permanent residency holders may have their status revoked if they deliberately fail to pay their taxes, impacting only those "with malicious intent."
Kyoto University researchers have found a way to create “near-indefinite” volumes of early-stage sperm and egg cells from iPS cells — a milestone that could potentially lead to new infertility treatments.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 21, 2024

New Japan study on germ cells may help advance infertility treatments

The research aims to expand our understanding of how human germ cells develop, and also opens up possibilities for creating sperm and egg cells in a lab.
Passengers of Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 from London to Singapore, which made an emergency landing in Bangkok, greet family members upon arrival at Changi Airport in Singapore on Wednesday.
WORLD
May 22, 2024

‘It felt like we had crashed,’ a Singapore Air passenger says

With a good two hours left before Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 was due to touch down in Singapore, the plane was suddenly and forcefully shaken.
Demonstrators during a protest outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 22, 2024

Thousands protest contentious Taiwan parliament reforms

The protests in Taiwan outside parliament, and a raucous session inside, demonstrate the feverish political atmosphere facing new President Lai Ching-te.
Shinichiro Kashima
ESG CONSORTIUM
May 22, 2024

Nippon Life engages to encourage green transition

Engaging with high-emitting companies to spur transformation of their business rather than divesting from them is becoming increasingly important to combat climate change, said an executive officer of Japan’s biggest insurance company. “Thinking about society as a whole, it is important that we asset...
Spain's Rafael Nadal takes part in a practice session ahead of the French Open, in Paris on Tuesday.
TENNIS
May 22, 2024

Djokovic backs Nadal for French Open title

Nadal is contending with injury problems and growing competition from a younger generation.
People hold anti-war placards before a rap concert for Ukraine by Russian rapper Oxxxymiron in Istanbul on March 15.
WORLD / Politics
May 22, 2024

Another Russian exodus: Many who fled to Turkey move on again

When the war began in February 2022, Turkey emerged as a magnet for Russians, but now, many are moving on to nations like Montenegro and Serbia.
Japan's Ayumi Fukushima competes in the women's Breaking B-Girls semifinal during an Olympic Qualifier Series ahead of the 2024 Paris Games, in Shanghai on Sunday.
OLYMPICS / Breakdancing
May 22, 2024

Japanese break dancer on cusp of fulfilling Olympic dream

Ayumi Fukushima, 40, has been busting moves for longer than some of her rivals have been alive.
Kiichi Morita addresses a gathering commemorating the 70th anniversary of the U.S. hydrogen bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands, held in Miura, Kanagawa Prefecture, on April 27.
JAPAN / Society
May 22, 2024

70 years after U.S. nuclear tests in Bikini Atoll, Japan port recalls legacy

The first 1954 hydrogen bomb test at the atoll was one of six, with nearly 1,000 Japanese ships confirmed to have been exposed to radiation by the end of the year.
An Israeli tank near the Israel-Gaza border on Tuesday
WORLD
May 22, 2024

Israeli forces raze parts of Gaza's Jabalia and hit Rafah with airstrikes

Simultaneous Israeli assaults on the northern and southern edges of the Gaza Strip have sharply restricted the flow of aid, raising the risk of famine.
To Lam takes his oath as Vietnam's president during the National Assembly's summer session in Hanoi on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 22, 2024

Vietnam appoints top policeman as country's new president

The move is a temporary end to two-months of heightened political turbulence that saw the exit of three of Vietnam's top five leaders over unspecified wrongdoings.
Demonstrators during a protest outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei on Tuesday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 22, 2024

Taiwan lawmakers defy protesters as they look to pass bill Friday

Opposition lawmakers will make a final push to pass legislation aimed at reining in new President Lai Ching-te’s administration.
The Osaka Prefectural Police building in the city of Osaka
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 22, 2024

Osaka college student's boyfriend arrested over her murder

Karen Watanabe was found lying on the floor by her bed with multiple stab wounds to her upper body.
New Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te speaks on stage during his inauguration ceremony outside the Presidential Office in Taipei on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 22, 2024

Japan protests Chinese envoy's 'inappropriate remarks' over Taiwan

Ambassador Wu Jianghao appeared to insinuate that the Japanese people would be “brought into the fire” of conflict over support for self-ruled Taiwan.

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb