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Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shakes hands with U.S. President Joe Biden during a trilateral summit at Camp David near Thurmont, Maryland, in August.
JAPAN / Politics / EXPLAINER
Apr 6, 2024

What U.S.-Japan defense shakeup will involve and why

Next week's summit between Biden and Kishida will bring a "historic" upgrade in defense ties between the long-time allies.
Andrew Chafin of the Detroit Tigers pitches during the fifth inning against the New York Yankees at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida, on March 14.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 7, 2024

As more uniform flaws appear, Nike seeks solutions

Andrew Chafin has worn almost every shade and style across 11 seasons in the major leagues. The lefty has pitched in Chicago Cubbie pinstripes and the Kelly green of the Oakland A’s. He has covered his curls with the Detroit Tigers’ D, a timeless classic, and the Milwaukee Brewers’ ball-in-glove,...
A building in Osaka's Chuo Ward housing the Kobayashi Pharmaceutical headquarters
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 7, 2024

Government holds hearings at Kobayashi Pharmaceutical on supplements

Of those who took the supplements, five people have died and 196 people have been hospitalized so far.
Jera's thermal power station in Hekinan, Aichi Prefecture, recently started co-firing coal with 20% of ammonia, a technology supported by the government's "green transformation," or GX, policy.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 7, 2024

Is Japan’s green transformation investing in the past or future?

Japan issued its first green transformation bonds, but the policy breathes new life into fossil fuel-based projects rather than pulling the plug on them.
Supporters of the Senior Women for Climate Protection association outside the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, on March 29, 2023
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Apr 8, 2024

How three European human rights cases could shape climate litigation

The verdicts will set a precedent for future litigation on how rising temperatures affect people's right to a livable planet.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani needs to find a way to keep his eye on the ball as he plays his first 162-game season without his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 9, 2024

Can Shohei Ohtani achieve Michael Jordan-level mental resilience?

One expert says ensuring that he can pivot smoothly into a new support system is crucial for the player.
NATO’s Jens Stoltenberg (left) and the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a news conference in Washington on Jan. 29
WORLD / Politics
Apr 9, 2024

World rush to rearm could cost G7 countries $10 trillion over next decade

Security challenges include an aggressive Russia, a volatile Middle East, and the Chinese military tugging U.S. attention toward the Pacific.
The United States has repeatedly threatened sanctions if China takes substantial action to support Russia.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 10, 2024

U.S. warns it will hold China accountable if Russia gains in Ukraine

Officials say Russian gains in Ukraine could alter the power of balance in Europe in "unacceptable" ways.
Riot police approach a site where a murder suspect had barricaded himself in Nakano, Nagano Prefecture, on May 26.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 10, 2024

Former Asahi photographer indicted for entering home of murder suspect

The photographer reportedly told the newspaper's internal investigation that he had entered without knowing it was the defendant’s home.
Indian folk singer Maithili Thakur speaks during an interview at her residence in New Delhi on April 2. Thakur thought she was successfull with millions following her Hindu devotional tunes on social media — but then Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent her popularity stratospheric.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 10, 2024

Modi taps India's influencers to rally millions ahead of key elections

Many social media stars given government-organized awards have a striking similarity in their promotion of India's Hindu-majority culture.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is interviewed Tokyo on April 5. Kishida left for the U.S. on Monday amid record low poll numbers due to his handling of the political funds scandal that has rocked the LDP.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 10, 2024

Will Kishida dissolve parliament in June?

Speculation has been fueled by comments from Kishida’s fellow Liberal Democratic Party members and the prime minister himself.
Although intelligence agencies are engaging more with the public than they used to, spy-themed entertainment is still the primary source of education about espionage.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 10, 2024

James Bond and Jason Bourne ruined spies for all of us

The average person knows deep down that what they see in the movies and on TV isn’t the same as reality, but they don’t know how or how much.
Discomfort and life lessons ensue after a 60-something-year-old man (Shofukutei Tsurube, center) marries a much younger woman (Ayami Nakajo, left) while living with his 39-year-old daughter (Noriko Eguchi) in “Amalock.”
CULTURE / Film
Apr 11, 2024

‘Amalock’: Family comedy plays questionable age gap for laughs

Noriko Eguchi delivers a relatable performance as a woman who is disconcerted by her father’s marriage in Kazuhiro Nakamura’s film.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addresses a joint meeting of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 12, 2024

'The world needs the United States': Kishida warns Congress over risk of American retreat

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida became just the second Japanese leader to address a joint meeting of Congress, pledging to stand side-by-side with the U.S.
A brine pool at an SQM lithium mine on the Atacama salt flat in the Atacama Desert, Chile. The industry that deals with one of the world’s most important commodities is asking whether it's doomed to repeat a boom and bust cycle again and again.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 12, 2024

Lithium industry braces for long-term oversupply after price instability

Those involved with the commodity are asking whether they're doomed to repeat a boom and bust cycle again and again.
Yagana Yamani, 25, one of the 276 schoolgirls kidnapped from their dormitory by Boko Haram Islamist militants in 2014, in her home in Chibok, Nigeria
WORLD / Society
Apr 12, 2024

A decade on, tragedy of Nigeria’s Chibok Girls endures outside the spotlight

Roughly 90 Chibok girls are still missing, and a third are believed to have died in captivity.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, in December at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California
BASEBALL
Apr 12, 2024

How Ippei Mizuhara allegedly wired millions from Shohei Ohtani’s account

Crucially for Ohtani, a U.S. investigation clearly paints him as a victim without any involvement in or knowledge of his interpreter's gambling woes.
Dolls of Myaku-Myaku, the 2025 Expo's official mascot, at an official store for the event in Osaka on April 2
JAPAN / Society
Apr 12, 2024

Transport becomes most pressing issue one year out from Osaka Expo

As organizers look ahead to recruiting volunteers and planning events for the six-month expo, another concern has emerged: transportation logistics.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrives for a tour of a new Toyota battery factory in Liberty, North Carolina, on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 13, 2024

Kishida touts U.S. visit success, saying snap election not on his mind

The prime minister, who is due to fly back on Saturday, will be hoping the diplomatic success can translate into a bump in his low approval ratings.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, attends an event in Seoul on Thursday. He is one of the most polarizing political figures in South Korea with a fervent base of supporters on the left and a large block of opponents in the conservative camp.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 13, 2024

Indicted opposition leader is South Korea’s top contender for president in 2027

The victory of his party in Wednesday's parliamentary elections was quite a turnaround for Lee Jae-myung.
A protester demands the United Kingdom make reparations for slavery, outside the British High Commission, in Kingston, Jamaica, in March 2022.
WORLD / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Apr 13, 2024

Slavery tribunal? Africa and Caribbean unite on reparations

A tribunal was proposed last year, and it has now gained traction within a broader slavery reparations movement.
The Takashimaya department store in Tokyo's Nihonbashi district
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 13, 2024

Man arrested for stealing ¥10 million gold tea bowl in Tokyo

Security camera footage showed a man putting the bowl in his backpack and fleeing toward Nihonbashi Station about 30 minutes later.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is an unpopular leader at home, whom many hold responsible for failures that led to Hamas' Oct. 7 attack.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 15, 2024

Iran attack tests Netanyahu’s political staying power

For almost three decades, Netanyahu has warned that a nuclear Iran would be catastrophic.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden during a joint news conference at the White House on Wednesday
BUSINESS / EXPLAINER
Apr 15, 2024

Biden-Kishida summit drives home U.S.-Japan economic union

The leaders used their meeting to bake economic cooperation into the allies' relationship in hopes of making it harder to pull out of in the future.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses supporters during an election campaign rally in Pushkar, India, on April 6, ahead of the country's upcoming general election starting Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 15, 2024

For Modi, the Indian election is less about winning and more about by how much

For Indian leader Narendra Modi, an upcoming parliamentary election is less about winning and more about by how much.
This pure gold tea bowl was stolen last week during a department store event and has been found at an antique shop in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2024

Stolen pure gold tea bowl recovered at Tokyo antique shop

During the exhibition, the pure gold tea bowl was on display with no lock or alarm system.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak inside 10 Downing Street in central London on Sunday
WORLD / Politics
Apr 16, 2024

British PM Sunak's Rwanda deportation plan set to pass Parliament

Britain's prime minister says he is "highly confident" his plans to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda will work.
From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
PODCAST / deep dive
Apr 16, 2024

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

We discuss everything from accessibility in Tokyo to dealing with trains and the country’s shifting attitudes.
A direct military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities by the U.S. and its allies would likely only delay its program while risking regional war and increasing the likelihood of Tehran acquiring nuclear weapons in the long run.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 16, 2024

Iran hawks want to strike now. They're wrong.

One thing Iran hawks get right, starting with the contention that by attacking Israel directly on Saturday night, Iran changed rules of engagement.
Chinese runner He Jie, Ethiopian Dejene Hailu Bikila and Kenyans Robert Keter and Willy Mnangat take part in a half-marathon in Beijing on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Apr 17, 2024

Did three African runners let a Chinese runner win a race in Beijing?

The results of a half-marathon are under investigation after footage of the finish led many to question whether three runners had deliberately slowed down.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan