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Kenji Iikura (right), head chef at Akasaka Tantei, and manager Hibiki Kitazawa pose with Okinawan cuisine served at the restaurant in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Jun 17, 2024

How a Michelin-star Okinawan restaurant made a V-shaped recovery

A return to its roots — and Okinawan flavors — struck a chord with new and returning customers.
Shizuoka Gov. Yasutomo Suzuki (left) meets with JR Central President Shunsuke Niwa in the city of Shizuoka on June 5.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 7, 2024

Kishida maintains 2037 target for Tokyo-Osaka maglev line

Prime minister pledges support of the central government in helping stakeholders meet the deadline.
A balloon believed to be North Korean and loaded with various objects, including trash and excrement floats, over a rice field at Cheorwon county, South Korea, on May 29.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 9, 2024

South Korea to blast loudspeaker broadcasts after North's trash balloons

Pyongyang began sending balloons carrying trash across the border in May and has said the move was in retaliation for anti-North leaflets flown by South Korean activists.
A family marches into the newly opened Fantasy Springs section at Tokyo DisneySea on Thursday.
LIFE / Travel
Jun 9, 2024

Japan's theme parks are ramping up their offerings ahead of summer

You don't need to take the kids overseas when there are plenty of amusement parks at home to plan a summer vacation around.
Fever guard Caitlin Clark did not make the U.S. roster for the 2024 Paris Games.
OLYMPICS
Jun 10, 2024

Caitlin Clark has no bitter feelings after being left off U.S. Olympic team

Clark's exclusion prompted a flurry of debate.
People gather around four American educators from an Iowa university, who were reportedly stabbed in a public park in Jilin, China, in this still image taken from video released on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jun 11, 2024

Four U.S. educators stabbed in park in northeast China

The group had been visiting a temple in Beishan Park when they were attacked by a man with a knife. There were no reports of a motive.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang waves as he boards his plane at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, South Korea, on May 27.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 11, 2024

China to send premier to Australia for first time since 2017

But some say the diplomatic milestone could be overshadowed by renewed frictions over investment and military deployments.
Some overseas airlines scrapped plans to add or increase services to Japanese airports due to the uncertain jet fuel supply, trade minister Ken Saito acknowledged on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 11, 2024

Jet fuel crunch sees airlines servicing Japan demand more supply

Eneos Holdings has been fielding calls from carriers and is working with the government to ease the problem, a spokesperson said via phone.
French President Emmanuel Macron decided to trigger a parliamentary vote in an effort to regain the political initiative after his party was comprehensively beaten by Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally in Sunday’s European election.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 12, 2024

Macron’s election gamble triggers chaos and anger inside his party

In calling for an election just 20 days from the dissolution of parliament, he is dialing up the pressure not just on his opponents, but also his own people.
This proliferation of American alliances is not tangential, but central to the foreign policy of U.S. President Joe Biden.
COMMENTARY
Jun 12, 2024

America has many allies. Maybe too many.

This proliferation of American alliances is not tangential, but central to the foreign policy of President Joe Biden.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida listens to voters in the city of Kumamoto in April. Liberal Democratic Party politicians are afraid that Kishida's unpopularity could seal their own fates when they stand for local elections.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 13, 2024

Calls for Kishida to step down growing among local LDP chapters

They blame their party’s unpopularity on him over the way he handled the kickbacks scandal and the political funds bill aimed at toughening up rules in its wake.
The International Olympic Committee's headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland
OLYMPICS
Jun 15, 2024

IOC issues first list of Russians and Belarusians eligible for Olympics

Each qualified athlete must undergo the vetting process by a three-member panel appointed by the IOC to make sure they meet eligibility criteria.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang visits the Adelaide Zoo during his trip to Australia on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 16, 2024

China’s Li begins Australia trip as symbolism masks tensions

Beijing’s No. 2 official will meet with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra before heading to a critical minerals project in Perth with links to Chinese business.
South Korean Defense Minister Shin Wonsik at the ministry's briefing room in Seoul on Friday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 17, 2024

U.S., South Korea, Japan to lock in security ties before inauguration

South Korean Defense Minister Shin Wonsik said that the three countries' defense chiefs will soon sign a pact known as the Trilateral Security Cooperation Framework.
Astronaut Koichi Wakata poses for a photo after holding a news conference on March 29 to announce his retirement from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency at the end of March.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Jun 18, 2024

After three decades, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata moves to private sector

Wakata became chief technology officer for the Asia-Pacific region at U.S. startup space company Axiom Space in April.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun makes a rare public appearance at the Berlin Aviation Summit on June 4. His presentation — swinging between defiance and contrition — might offer clues on how he aims to handle himself during the Washington hearing on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 18, 2024

Boeing faces senate grilling as CEO search gains momentum

How outgoing CEO Dave Calhoun handles the spotlight is important not just for his legacy, but also for the company’s work to shore up confidence.
Nigel Farage, leader of Reform U.K., during the launch of the party's 'Our Contract with You' general election manifesto in Merthyr Tydfil, U.K., on Monday
WORLD / Politics
Jun 18, 2024

Taking aim at U.K.'s Sunak, Nigel Farage pledges border control and tax cuts

Reform's policies are designed to suck support from Sunak's Conservatives, focusing on immigration, which has divided the governing party.
Foreign visitors learn how to make sushi in a cooking class at Sushi Making Tokyo in the Asakusa district of Tokyo.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2024

Japan government paper seeks to promote rural areas to foreign visitors

Foreign tourists primarily spend their time and money in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya, according to the paper.
Japan is shifting its defense strategy to prioritize logistics and supply chain resilience, recognizing them as critical components of its overall defense capability.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 18, 2024

Real defense demands more than just being able to fight

U.S. Gen. Omar Bradley famously warned that “amateurs talk strategy and professionals talk logistics.”
A typhoon hits Hong Kong. Scientists warn that the danger ahead isn’t just from supercharged weather catastrophes. A warmer planet increases the chances of "compound events,” where multiple disasters — natural and manmade — occur at the same time or place.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 19, 2024

The era of super-wild weather is already here

Floods, wildfires, droughts and heat waves have become more widespread and volatile than before.
Anti-abortion protesters outside the Supreme Court in Washington on June 14.
WORLD / Society
Jun 19, 2024

'Unthinkable' normalized two years after U.S. abortion ruling

From medics to single mothers to abused minors, Americans from all walks of life have been affected.
Emperor Naruhito speaks during a news conference at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Wednesday, ahead of his visit to Britain from Saturday.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2024

Emperor recalls time with British royals ahead of visit to U.K.

"I have very fond memories of the Queen driving a car and inviting me to a barbecue," Emperor Naruhito said.
Palestinians gather amid power cut near houses destroyed during Israel's military offensive in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Wednesday.
WORLD
Jun 20, 2024

Anarchy hinders Gaza aid efforts, despite daily combat pause

The Israeli military’s decision to pause fighting for hours each day along the aid route has so far produced scant humanitarian benefit.
Japan head coach Eddie Jones attends a training session in Tokyo on Friday.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Jun 21, 2024

Wary England set for Eddie Jones reunion in steamy Japan Test

Temperatures are set to reach 30 degrees Celsius in the capital for Eddie Jones' first game since returning to the Japan job for a second stint.
Tokashiki Beach acts as a sanctuary for sea turtles and offers ideal snorkeling waters. It was also the site of the U.S. Army’s preliminary invasion that led to the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, which resulted in the deaths of nearly 150,000 people.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Jun 23, 2024

On Okinawa's Tokashiki Island, life's a beach — one of the best in the world

Many of the island’s residents first came as tourists, attracted to the exquisite Aharen Beach, and simply stayed.
Sha'Carri Richardson wins the 100 meter sprint at the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon, on Saturday.
OLYMPICS
Jun 23, 2024

Sha'Carri Richardson earns Olympic redemption with 100 meter win at U.S. trials

The world champion wrested the lead midway through the race and accelerated through the final meters to finish in a world-leading 10.71 seconds.
An Afghan woman carries empty containers to fetch water in Balkh province, Afghanistan, in August 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 24, 2024

U.N.-led Doha meeting with Taliban sparks outcry over women's rights

The U.N. has been seeking a unified, international approach to dealing with the Taliban, who have cracked down on women's rights since returning to power.
Japan's men's and women's gymnastics teams pose for photos during a news conference to announce the team's uniforms for the 2024 Games.
OLYMPICS / Gymnastics
Jun 24, 2024

Leotard vs. unitard debate in gymnastics still raging ahead of Paris Olympics

The German gymnastics team took a stand against sexualization in the sport in 2021, but heading into Paris, the leotard is still very much in vogue in Japan and abroad.
The government will cover up to 50% of construction expenses for four takeoff and landing sites for flying cars, subject to a cap of ¥50 million ($313,500) per site.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 25, 2024

Japan to subsidize construction of first vertiports for flying cars

Post-construction, the transport ministry will use operational and utilization data from the facilities to develop guidelines for the construction of future vertiports.
Travelers in front of a Suntory duty-free shop at Kansai International Airport in December
BUSINESS
Jun 25, 2024

Duty-free sales at Japan's department stores tripled in May

Record sales were achieved with the help of a significant influx of Chinese tourists and the yen’s weakness.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji