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Sasami has had a connection to Japan since childhood as her mother's side of the family is Zainichi Korean and has lived in Japan for years. The musician grew up listening to city pop and watching Japanese TV.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 5, 2025

Sasami is in her pop era, and she’s not overthinking it

As the singer explores Tokyo, she reflects on identity and her latest album, “Blood On the Silver Screen.”
Anti-Yoon protesters hold up placards reading "Let's build a democratic government!" during a rally in Seoul on Friday after South Korea's Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 5, 2025

Yoon's ouster prompts Japanese concerns about ties with South Korea

Japan is worried that Yoon's removal from power will undo the improvements in bilateral relations made under his administration.
The Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin holds up the puck representing his 894th career goal in the locker room after the game against the Chicago Blackhawks at Capital One Arena. Ovechkin scored the 893rd and 894th goals of his career, tying Wayne Gretzky for most all-time goals in the NHL.
MORE SPORTS / Ice Hockey
Apr 5, 2025

Ovechkin scores 894th career goal to tie Gretzky's all-time record

Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin scored his 894th career NHL goal on Friday to tie the once-thought-unbreakable record set by Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky.
An artificial glacier built by local residents during the winter to conserve water for the summer at Pari village in the Kharmang district of Pakistan's mountainous Gilgit-Baltistan region are seen on March 18. At the foot of Pakistan's impossibly high mountains whitened by frost all year round, farmers grappling with a lack of water have created their own ice towers. The ice forms in the shape of cones that resemble Buddhist stupas, and act as a storage system — steadily melting throughout spring, when temperatures rise.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Apr 6, 2025

Artificial glaciers boost water supply in northern Pakistan

Warmer winters as a result of climate change has reduced the snowfall and subsequent seasonal snowmelt that feeds the valleys of Gilgit-Baltistan.
An ongoing shortage of rice has resulted in rising prices for Japan's main food staple.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Longform
Apr 7, 2025

Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it

Outdated government policy, changing diets and even an earthquake scare have had an impact on the national food staple.
The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on March 22. Top lawyers for both President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden have separately urged the U.S. Supreme Court to limit the authority of federal judges to issue nationwide injunctions that can stop a government policy in its tracks.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 7, 2025

As judges stymie Trump with injunctions, pressure builds on U.S. Supreme Court

The power of one judge to issue a nationwide injunction has become pivotal in the question of whether the U.S. president can quickly implement his agenda.
The Capitals' Alex Ovechkin celebrates after breaking the NHL all-time record with the 895th goal of his career during the second period against the Islanders in Elmont, New York, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Ice hockey
Apr 7, 2025

Alex Ovechkin passes Wayne Gretzky to become all-time leader in career goals

Ovechkin's landmark moment came in the second period of visiting Capitals' 4-1 loss against the New York Islanders.
Ozgur Ozel, leader of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), has been thrust into the limelight in the few weeks since the jailing of Istanbul Mayor Ozgur Ozel, a member of his party seen as the only politician capable of challenging President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the ballot box.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 7, 2025

Ozgur Ozel: From low-key opposition to face of Turkey protests

Until now the relatively low-profile head of the country's main opposition party, Ozel has been thrust into the limelight, both at home and abroad.
The Tokyo Detention Center in the capital's Katsushika Ward
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 13, 2025

Death penalty under renewed scrutiny in Japan

The punishment has broad public support in Japan, despite international criticism over how it is carried out.
Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington on Monday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 8, 2025

Trump honors 'legendary' Dodgers at White House reception

Trump highlighted the achievements of several players, notably Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani.
A boy watches forensic investigators comb the ground for DNA evidence near airplane debris at the crash site of an Ethiopian Airlines-operated Boeing 737 Max aircraft on March 16, 2019 in Oromia region, Ethiopia.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 8, 2025

Boeing settles to avoid civil trial over Ethiopian Airlines crash

The Boeing 737 Max plane crashed just six minutes after takeoff on March 10, 2019, killing all 157 people on board.
Toyota is considering transferring some production in the key Tokai region, which is expected to be hit hard in a Nankai Trough earthquake, to the Tohoku and Kyushu regions.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Apr 8, 2025

Japanese makers rush to mitigate possible Nankai Trough earthquake damage

The government is calling on manufacturers to diversify their production bases and suppliers to mitigate the risks.
A man on a platform applies a fresh coat of paint to the landmark anti-U.S. mural drawn on the wall of a building in Tehran on Tuesday, the same day that Iran said will send its top diplomat to Oman for breakthrough talks with the United States.
WORLD
Apr 9, 2025

Iran says it will start nuclear talks with U.S. this weekend

The announcement comes even as debate continued over how the session will unfold.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of South Korea's Democratic Party, during a meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul on Monday. Lee is the top candidate for the next presidential election, with support of 34% respondents in a Gallup poll released April. 4.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 9, 2025

South Korea opposition leader Lee steps down amid expectations of presidential run

The country holds a presidential election on June 3 after former president Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment.
Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery gives a press conference on the eve of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal first leg against Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, on Tuesday.
SOCCER
Apr 9, 2025

Villa's Emery relishes PSG clash but wants consistent European success

Emery will return to Paris for Wednesday's first leg after having managed PSG from 2016 to 2018, winning a domestic quadruple in his final year.
Yumi Watanabe (right), head of the residents' association of the Tsubamesawa public housing complex in Sendai, delivers a meal to a resident.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Apr 21, 2025

Disaster public housing complexes in Sendai work to boost interactions

Residents are working with volunteers to organize a children’s cafeteria and other events.
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a bag as he visits the Louis Vuitton Rochambeau Ranch leather workshop in Keene, Texas, in 2019.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 10, 2025

LVMH finds making Louis Vuitton bags messy in Texas

Former staff say Louis Vuitton’s Texas plant wastes up to 40% of leather and encouraged defect coverups to hit targets.
First responders near the landing skids of a helicopter after it crashed into the Hudson River, in Newport, New Jersey, on Thursday.
WORLD
Apr 11, 2025

Helicopter crashes into New York's Hudson River, with all six aboard killed

The victims, the pilot and five passengers, were believed to include a family from Spain.
Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Apr 11, 2025

Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.

On a man-made island in Osaka Bay, Japan stages a grand vision of the future — and a quiet test of relevance.
The Dodgers' Mookie Betts (left) and Shohei Ohtani pose with their Silver Slugger awards before a game against the Cardinals on March, 29, 2024.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 11, 2025

Is Mookie Betts or Shohei Ohtani the better athlete? Dodgers teammates weigh in

The beauty of the question is that even as baseball players, Ohtani and Betts are so different.
The flags of participating countries are displayed near the entrance during a media preview day for the 2025 Osaka Expo on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 11, 2025

Japan’s second city is hosting a $66 billion coming-out party

First held in London in 1851, world expos have been promoted as venues to bring nations together and foster global coordination.
Takeshi Iwaya will be the first Japanese foreign minister to attend such a meeting since April 2018.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 11, 2025

Japan's foreign minister to attend NPT review prep meeting

Takeshi Iwaya will be the first Japanese foreign minister to attend such a meeting since April 2018.
On the eve of nuclear talks with the United States, Iranians wave the flags of Palestine and Hezbollah as they march in Tehran to denounce the U.S. and Israel on Friday. Iran and the U.S. were set to hold the first round of talks in Oman on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 12, 2025

Years of distrust hang over U.S. and Iran as negotiators head to Oman

The high-level talks on Tehran's advancing nuclear program are seen as a sign of its eagerness for sanctions relief and to avoid a crippling military attack.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and Argentinian President Javier Milei talk pose for a photo during a Group of Seven summit in Borgo Egnazia, Italy, last June.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 12, 2025

Argentina lands $20 billion IMF agreement and eases FX rules

Negotiations dragged on for months as stakes remain high for a successful program after the past two went off the rails in the crisis-prone nation.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (left) meets with Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi in Muscat, Oman, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 13, 2025

U.S. and Iran hold 'positive' talks in Oman, with more to come this week

The talks were indirect, though Iran's foreign minister said his delegation had a brief encounter with its U.S. counterpart after they exited the talks.
A man reads a newspaper on a park bench in Tehran on Saturday. The first meeting between the U.S. and Iran over its expanding nuclear program displayed a seriousness of purpose, but hardliners in both countries — and Israel — are expected to balk at any deal.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 14, 2025

Iran says U.S. talks to focus solely on nuclear issue and sanctions

Analysts had said the U.S. would push for discussions over Iran's ballistic missile program along with Tehran's support for the anti-Israel "axis of resistance."
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura speaks during the opening ceremony of the 2025 Osaka Expo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 14, 2025

As Osaka Expo kicks off, Nippon Ishin continues to hold its breath

The Kansai-centered opposition party has a lot to lose if the six-month event being held in its stronghold turns out to be a flop.
Giants fans cheer during an exhibition game against the Dodgers at Tokyo Dome on March 15.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Apr 14, 2025

NPB can learn from MLB amid backlash to its new social media policy

Arguing that the rights of NPB and its broadcasters are in peril because fans upload short videos from games is a hard sell.
The survey showed that more children are starting to use social media at an earlier age.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 14, 2025

Two-thirds of fourth to sixth graders in Japan use social media, survey finds

The survey showed that more children are starting to use social media from an earlier age.
Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, well regarded in Tokyo as a leading voice in the promotion of U.S.-Japan ties, has died at the age of 79.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 15, 2025

Richard Armitage, ex-U.S. diplomat known for boosting Japan ties, dies at 79

He was a leading voice in the promotion of U.S.-Japan relations even after leaving government service.

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