Search - 2018

 
 
Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis shoots a free throw during a playoff game against the Knicks on May 7.
BASKETBALL
Jun 25, 2025

Hawks reportedly acquire Celtics' Kristaps Porzingis in three-team trade

Porzingis averaged 19.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in only 42 regular-season games last season.
In a statement on their official website, Tokio said it had decided to disband following a compliance violation by Taichi Kokubun, without providing details as to what the violation entailed.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jun 26, 2025

Japanese pop-rock band Tokio announces disbandment after 31 years

The group said it will bring an end to its activities as Tokio following a compliance violation by member Taichi Kokubun but did not disclose details.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office on April 7. Without further diplomacy, the Iran-Israel conflict could become an endless, no-win situation.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2025

Trump abandons ‘America First’ for Middle East quagmire

Iran's acceptance of the ceasefire is what in Japanese politics is called a “feigned death” tactic.
Rie Usui has been working to help people with disabilities get jobs, and now runs a talent agency for disabled people.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 29, 2025

Tokyo woman working to help people with disabilities secure jobs

Rie Usui's talent agency represents about 40 models and television personalities who feature in advertisements and TV drama series.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Axiom-4 crew of four astronauts lifts off from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A on a mission to the International Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida on Wednesday.
WORLD
Jun 26, 2025

India, Poland and Hungary astronauts launch for first space station mission

The four-member crew was carried aloft on a towering SpaceX launch vehicle consisting of a Crew Dragon capsule perched atop a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket.
Plaintiffs of lawsuits on welfare benefit reductions hold up signs celebrating their victory in Tokyo on Friday following the Supreme Court's ruling in favor of them.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 27, 2025

Japan's Supreme Court finds welfare benefit cuts unlawful

The top court revoked the welfare cuts but dismissed plaintiffs' damages claims.
An Italian court on Thursday found three Japanese nationals guilty over polluting water with PFAS, often referred to as "forever chemicals."
ENVIRONMENT
Jun 27, 2025

Three Japanese nationals found guilty over PFAS pollution in Italy

The three were among 11 defendants sentenced to prison terms of between two years and 18 years over their roles in the PFAS contamination.
Matthew Schaefer is selected by the New York Islanders as the first overall pick of the 2025 NHL draft on Friday in Los Angeles.
MORE SPORTS / Ice Hockey
Jun 28, 2025

Matthew Schaefer goes No. 1 to Islanders in NHL draft

Schaefer, who will turn 18 on Sept. 5, played for the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League the past two seasons.
Olivier Nduhungirehe, Rwanda's foreign minister (left), U.S. Vice President JD Vance, President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, Democratic Republic of the Congo foreign minister, at the White House in Washington on Friday
WORLD / Politics
Jun 28, 2025

Rwanda and Congo sign peace deal in U.S. after rebel sweep

The two countries pledged to pull back support for guerrillas while U.S. President Donald Trump boasted of securing mineral wealth.
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.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jun 30, 2025

What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji

Mount Fuji’s deadliest weekend still echoes today. Luckily, area rescue squads have leveled up their game.
A banner announces the construction of a photovoltaic solar farm in Cabaiguan, Cuba, on May 21.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 1, 2025

China is quietly supplanting Russia as Cuba's main benefactor

Where many of Russia's most recent promises to Cuba have fizzled, China has discreetly stepped up to fill the void.
Apple Intelligence would rely more heavily on outside technology under a plan being considered by the company.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 1, 2025

Apple weighs using Anthropic or OpenAI to power Siri in major reversal

A switch to Anthropic’s Claude or OpenAI’s ChatGPT models for Siri would be an acknowledgment that Apple is struggling to compete in generative AI.
Softbank Corp. is offering $1 billion of dollar bonds in the unit’s first U.S. high-grade deal.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 1, 2025

SoftBank unit set to raise $1 billion from its first dollar bond

SoftBank Corp.’s five- and 10-year notes are set to respectively price 0.9 and 1.10 percentage points above Treasuries.
A delivery driver takes a break in the shade during high temperatures in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 21, 2024.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 2, 2025

How much does a heat wave cost? Insurers and CEOs want to know.

Some believe a new market for heat insurance — driven in part by artificial intelligence and the need to cool data centers — is around the corner.
Tomonobu Kojima, admitted his involvement in the "Luffy" cases at the first hearing of his trial at Tokyo District Court on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 2, 2025

Senior member of 'Luffy' crime ring pleads guilty at hearing

Tomonobu Kojima, 47, said, "There is no mistake" regarding his charges of aiding robberies and committing fraud.
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
CULTURE / Film
Jul 2, 2025

Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made

A new show at Tokyo’s Azabudai Hills Gallery explores the painstaking process of the late “Grave of the Fireflies” and “Pom Poko” director.
The remains of an Iranian missile launched during the 12-day Israel-Iran war lie on a road near Tekoa in the occupied West Bank on Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 2, 2025

Nuclear proliferation cannot just be bombed away

The most powerful deterrent for any state is possession of nuclear weapons or membership in an alliance that offers a nuclear umbrella (like NATO).
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting in Ilam, Iran, on June 12. Pezeshkian formally enacted the suspension of Iran's cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 3, 2025

Iran ends cooperation with U.N. nuclear watchdog after Israel and U.S. strikes

Washington has described the decision as "unacceptable."
Naomi Osaka says she feels more comfortable on grass after reaching the third round at Wimbledon on Wednesday.
TENNIS
Jul 3, 2025

Naomi Osaka finds comfort zone at Wimbledon after once being 'paralyzed' by fear

Osaka won her first two matches in straight sets.
Cases of cancer patients and doctors having conversations about where the patient wanted to spend his or her last days came to 52.9% in 2021, up from 35.7% in the previous survey.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 3, 2025

About half of people who died from cancer discussed last days with doctors

About 60% of cancer patients were able to spend their last days at places where they wished to be, a report has shown.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung delivers a speech during a news conference to mark his first 30 days in office at the Blue House in Seoul on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 3, 2025

South Korea's Lee pledges 'bold' economic policy after martial law crisis

The South Korean president says his top priority is to improve the lives of the people, whose faith in government had been greatly shaken by "a national crisis."
The Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk, seen holding the Stanley Cup after Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, was included on the United States' preliminary roster for the 2026 Olympics.
OLYMPICS
Jul 3, 2025

NHL players officially cleared to compete at 2026 Olympics

The agreement also covers NHL players taking part in the 2030 Winter Games in France.
Shuhei Nakata, president of Nakata Kogei — a wooden-hanger maker in Toyooka, Hyogo Prefecture — says a revised work evaluation system and a strict policy against workplace harassment has helped to attract women to the company.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Jul 14, 2025

Fukushima looks to local initiatives to combat population decline

The measures will bring the area in line with other parts of Japan that are proactively trying to retain residents.
Donald Trump addresses the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, in July last year.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 6, 2025

Cashing in on his comeback, Trump rescues frail finances

Contrary to the president’s assertions, records filed in a fraud case against him suggest that his riches were not the product of a steady and strong empire.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Abukuma-class destroyer Chikuma (front) and the Australian Navy's Hobart-class guided-missile destroyer Brisbane sail in formation during a military exercise in the Pacific Ocean in November 2023.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 7, 2025

Japan eyes used warship transfer to Philippines in bid to counter China

Sending the Abukuma-class vessels to Manila would mark Tokyo’s first export of an entire major naval platform in decades.
The Arch of Independence in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Central Asia is shaking off its Soviet past, driven by economic momentum, demographic strength and strategic diplomacy, even as hurdles remain.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 7, 2025

Central Asia changes its playbook

In recent years, the five Central Asian countries have managed to rebuild their economies, stabilize their politics and deepen their engagement with the rest of the world.
Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring his team's third goal during a FIFA Club World Cup 2025 quarterfinal match against Borussia Dortmund in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Saturday.
SOCCER
Jul 8, 2025

Mbappe and PSG set for Club World Cup reunion as Real Madrid eyes final

Mbappe has endured frustration at the Club World Cup, not featuring at all during the group stage due to a stomach bug.
Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends the EU-Japan summit in Brussels in July 2023. Economic cooperation between the EU, Japan and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership is showing promise but faces political and structural hurdles that could limit progress.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 8, 2025

EU-CPTPP talks highlight shared goals and stubborn obstacles

EU economic cooperation with Japan and the CPTPP shows promise but could face political and structural hurdles that limit progress.
Tobias Bieker settled in Osaka in 2018 and started "Unpacking Japan" as a side project with ZenGroup five years ago.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jul 11, 2025

Tobias Bieker: ‘A good interviewer helps the guest shine’

The host of the "Unpacking Japan" podcast offers his take on Osaka life, Japanese jazz and writing fiction.
Junko Koeda, one of the latest members of the Bank of Japan's policy board, speaks during an interview at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 9, 2025

New board member hints at possible raising of BOJ's price outlook

Junko Koeda, a former Waseda University economics professor, on Monday gave her first media interview since joining the board in March.

Longform

Juzo Itami’s “Tampopo” was released Nov. 23, 1985, and though it wasn’t a hit at the time, it has gained a cult following in the years since.
Eat, slurp, love: 'Tampopo' turns 40