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A sign at Tokyo's Haneda Airport shows users the way to the monorail in four different languages.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 22, 2025

Can we make it official? Language in the age of Trump.

The United States made English its main language, but in Japan things seem to be heading in a different way.
Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu gives a speech after his team clinched a spot in the 2026 World Cup with a win over Bahrain on Thursday in Saitama.
SOCCER / World cup
Mar 23, 2025

Japan's quiet World Cup celebrations show it is hungry for much more

Samurai Blue celebrated its qualification for the World Cup with victory speeches and a water shower for coach Hajime Moriyasu. But this squad has much bigger aims.
England manager Thomas Tuchel gives instructions to Myles Lewis-Skelly during a World Cup European Qualifiers game between England and Latvia on Monday.
SOCCER
Mar 25, 2025

So far so good for Tuchel as England earns back-to-back wins

England already looks well on course to win a modest Group K and take its place in next year's World Cup finals.
Ednaldo Rodrigues (right), seen in Rio de Janeiro on Feb. 27, was unanimously returned to the role of president of the Brazilian soccer federation on Monday.
SOCCER
Mar 25, 2025

Brazil soccer federation president re-elected after Ronaldo pullout

Ednaldo Rodrigues, who was reelected until 2030, celebrated "the triumph of democracy."
Australia's Jackson Irvine (right) scores a goal during the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification football match between China and Australia at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium in Hangzhou, China on Tuesday.
SOCCER
Mar 26, 2025

China's World Cup dream on life support after Australia loss

The 1-0 loss to the Saudis in Riyadh last week and Tuesday's 2-0 reverse at the hands of the Socceroos put paid to hopes of direct qualification.
A drone view shows a coffee plantation in Guaxupe, Brazil, on Feb. 17.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 1, 2025

Brazil's coffee farmers turn to costly irrigation to quench global demand for the brew

Most farms in the western part of Bahia — a new frontier for coffee growing in Brazil — are now irrigated.
A Haas F1 car on display in the fan zone at Suzuka Circuit on Saturday as Toyota marks a soft return to Formula One.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 7, 2025

Toyota's synergy with Haas fuels automaker's modest return to Formula One

Toyota’s decision to partner with the American team immediately left observers wondering if it might have its eyes on more, such as an engine deal or a full-blown Toyota team.
Takayasu during the one-day Annual Sumo Tournament at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on Feb 9, 2020
SUMO / Inside Sumo
Apr 9, 2025

Takayasu’s latest heartbreak makes sumo history

The former ozeki now has more second-place finishes without winning a championship than any other wrestler.
Liverpool's Wataru Endo controls the ball during a match against Newcastle in Liverpool on Feb. 26.
SOCCER
Apr 10, 2025

Liverpool to face Marinos as part of preseason tour of Asia

Liverpool is embarking on a Asian tour in July that will also take the club to Hong Kong.
Ronnie Quintarelli speaks to Nissan fans at Fuji Speedway in Shizuoka Prefecture last year after announcing his retirement from racing.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 13, 2025

How Italian driver Ronnie Quintarelli endeared himself to Japan's rabid racing fans

Much of the driver's appeal has to do with the unique circumstances by which he came to Japan.
BayStars pitcher Andre Jackson throws during Game 1 of the Japan Series on Oct. 26 last year.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Apr 16, 2025

Baystars pitcher Jackson 'honored' to wear No. 42 on Jackie Robinson Day

The stars almost aligned perfectly on Tuesday night for the American, who pitched six strong innings on the day that the baseball world celebrates the Dodgers legend.
Next year’s FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the U.S., will test whether America — with President Donald Trump pushing tariffs and tough immigration policies — can draw global fans or drive them away.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 21, 2025

The White House just kicked a World Cup own-goal

Next year’s FIFA World Cup will test whether the U.S. — with President Donald Trump pushing tariffs and tough immigration policies — can draw global fans or drive them away.
A Doctors Without Borders nurse conducts a malaria test on a young Sudanese refugee suffering from malnutrition, at the group's hospital at the Touloum refugee camp in the Wadi Fira province, Chad, on April 11.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 28, 2025

U.S. aid cuts create 'perfect storm' for malaria in Africa

Experts warn that U.S. funding cuts could lead to an upsurge in the disease across Africa and beyond.
Pope Francis prays in front of a candle lit to remember victims of abuse by the church, inside St Mary's Pro Cathedral during his visit to Dublin, Ireland on August 25, 2018.
WORLD / Society
Apr 28, 2025

Abuse victims say they saw progress under Pope Francis, just not enough

For abuse survivors, Francis' legacy on the issue is a mixed one of powerful words and at times underwhelming deeds.
Masataka Yuhara, secretary-general of the Friends of Lee Teng Hui Association in Japan, which has been calling for "Taiwan" to be permitted as a place of origin in family registers.
JAPAN
May 14, 2025

Japan to recognize Taiwan as place of origin in family registration system

Residents of Taiwanese descent in Japan and their support groups have welcomed the change.
Italy's Jasmine Paolini celebrates after winning the Italian Open in Rome on Saturday.
TENNIS
May 18, 2025

Paolini makes history by seeing off Gauff to win Italian Open

Late bloomer Paolini is the first Italian woman to win the Rome event since Raffaella Reggi in 1985.
Yoshinobu Tsutsui (left), who is expected to become the new Keidanren chairman, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on March 25, as the current chairman, Masakazu Tokura, looks on.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
May 23, 2025

Keidanren to install first leader from financial sector

The post of Keidanren chairman has traditionally been held by leaders from the manufacturing sector.
A worker sorts plastic waste for recycling at Minato Resource Recycle Center in Tokyo in 2019. Japan has been criticized by environmental groups for its strategy on plastics, which is heavily reliant on recycling instead of reduction.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
May 25, 2025

Are microplastics hurting our fertility?

While a lot remains unknown about how microplastics affect our health, scientists in Japan and around the world broadly agree there's an urgent need to reduce plastic production.
Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti during a news conference in Rio de Janeiro on Monday
SOCCER
May 27, 2025

Ancelotti pledges to make struggling Brazil 'champion again'

The former Real Madrid manager is the first non-Brazilian in six decades to coach the record five-time World Cup winners.
SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft atop its Super Heavy booster is launched on its ninth test at the company's launch pad in Starbase, Texas, on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 28, 2025

SpaceX's Starship spins out of control

SpaceX's Starship rocket roared into space from Texas on Tuesday but spun out of control about halfway through its flight without achieving some of its most important testing goals, bringing fresh engineering hurdles to CEO Elon Musk's increasingly turbulent Mars rocket program.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (center) attends a news conference at the Capitol on May 22 after the House narrowly passed a sweeping budget bill that some worry could add trillions to the country's deficit over the next decade.
COMMENTARY
May 28, 2025

The U.S. is about to discover if deficits actually matter

It turns out that this pattern — the bigger the debt, the less likely politicians are to address it — is lurking in the data, and not just in the U.S.
Zico, Brazilian soccer legend and current technical director for Kashima Antlers, poses following an interview at the Antlers's training ground in Kashima, Ibaraki Prefecture, on May 28.
SOCCER
Jun 3, 2025

Zico warns Japanese players not to follow Brazilians into transfer trap

The 72-year-old says Japanese players looking beyond the J. League is a "positive" development — as long as they move at the right time.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz delivers a speech in Berlin on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 5, 2025

After courting and criticizing Trump from afar, Merz now set to meet U.S. leader

Past meetings between the two countries’ leaders have often been formalities to reinforce their unshakable postwar partnership. This time is different.
Hideo Nakata, deputy mayor of Nagoya, waves the Olympic Council of Asia flag as Aichi Gov. Hideaki Omura watches during the closing ceremony of the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, on Oct. 8, 2023.
MORE SPORTS
Jun 5, 2025

Organizers to house athletes on 'floating village' during 2026 Asian Games

Organizers will lease a luxury cruise liner that will be docked at Nagoya's port.
The measures to sanction judges follow a January vote at the U.S. House of Representatives to punish the International Criminal Court in protest over its arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jun 6, 2025

Trump administration imposes sanctions on four ICC judges in unprecedented move

The ICC slammed the move, saying it was an attempt to undermine the independence of an international judicial institution.
Lee Sang-il’s “Kokuho,” which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this year, follows the life of an "onnagata," a male kabuki actor who plays female roles, from his childhood as the son of a yakuza boss in 1960s Nagasaki to his official designation as a living national treasure.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 6, 2025

'Kokuho' illuminates the high price of becoming a national treasure

Director Lee Sang-il turns a long-held vision into reality with his sumptuously shot film that reveals the dedication, sacrifice — and loneliness — behind kabuki greatness.
Coco Gauff from the U.S. celebrates after winning the French Open women's singles final match against Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, on Court Philippe-Chatrier at the Roland-Garros Complex in Paris on Saturday.
TENNIS
Jun 8, 2025

Gauff continues American renaissance by stunning Sabalenka for French Open glory

The 21-year-old's victory helped her become the first American to capture the singles trophy in Paris since Serena Williams in 2015.
Students make a speech during a memorial service to mark the 24th anniversary of the deadly knife attack at Ikeda Elementary School in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 8, 2025

Memorial held for victims of school stabbing 24 years ago

In the years since the incident, many local governments across the country have recruited former police officers to help keep students safe near school property.
Urawa's supporters cheer before the J. League football match against Fagiano Okayama at Saitama Stadium 2002 on March 8, 2025.
SOCCER / J. League
Jun 10, 2025

With shades of Man Utd, Urawa vows to bring the noise at Club World Cup

While the fallen English giants won't be at the Club World Cup, Urawa Reds will and are set to be roared on in the United States by more than 5,000 followers.
“Junk World” is Takahide Hori’s second entry in his stop-motion “Junk” series, which is populated by cyborgs, monsters and artificial lifeforms called “Mulligans.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 13, 2025

Stop-motion sci-fi saga ‘Junk World’ expands its bizarre universe

The monsters are cute, the war is weird and interior designer turned director Takahide Hori’s creativity stretches far beyond his budget.

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