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In the dystopian society of Sayaka Murata's latest book to come out in English, sex between married couples is considered incest and therefore taboo.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 14, 2025

'Vanishing World': Sayaka Murata’s vision of a sex-hating society

In Sayaka Murata’s latest book to come out in English, sex between married couples is considered taboo, and humans reproduce predominantly via IVF.  
Tony Blanco played in Japan for eight seasons and hit 181 home runs in NPB. The Dominican slugger was among more than 200 killed when the roof of a popular nightclub collapsed on Tuesday in the Dominican Republic.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Apr 12, 2025

Tony Blanco remembered in Japan and Dominican Republic after nightclub tragedy

Blanco, who spent eight seasons in Japan with three NPB clubs, is remembered as a 'great guy' with a tremendous sense of humor.
The Trump administration has slashed LGBTQ+ health research funding, dismantling key programs and halting studies on disparities and mental health, which experts warn will reverse progress and harm vulnerable communities.
COMMENTARY
Apr 14, 2025

The very idea of LGBTQ+ health is under attack

The Trump administration is rapidly breaking down the research infrastructure for these communities and doing so in a manner that guarantees it can’t be restored.
The crude oil tanker New Odyssey arrives at the port in Qingdao, in China's eastern Shandong province on April 15. The U.S. has issued new sanctions targeting Iran's oil exports, including against a China-based independent oil refinery.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 17, 2025

U.S. issues new sanctions targeting Chinese importers of Iranian oil

The move comes as Washington seeks to ramp up pressure on Iran as it reentered talks with Tehran over its nuclear program this month.
Former CDP executive Kenji Eda discusses a possible reduction of the consumption tax rate, in Tokyo on April 10.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 17, 2025

CDP divisions over proposed tax cut pose headache for Yoshihiko Noda

The nation’s largest opposition party is preparing for the Upper House poll in July, in which it hopes to win enough seats to make a CDP-led coalition government possible.
An autonomous aerial vehicle designed to carry one passenger conducts a test flight in Guangzhou, China. Flying taxis and even drone-powered food delivery services are rapidly becoming realities in the country's government-backed "low-altitude economy."
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Apr 18, 2025

Will a 'low-altitude economy' make Chinese growth soar again?

Beijing wants to repeat the economic success story of its battery and EV players by propelling companies operating in low-altitude airspace to global market dominance.
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani and his wife, Mamiko, last May in Los Angeles
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 19, 2025

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani placed on paternity list

The Japanese slugger's wife, Mamiko, is slated to give birth to the couple's first child.
Celtics forward Jayson Tatum during a game against the Hornets on April 11. Despite being the defending champions, Tatum insists the Celtics are starting from a clean slate in this year's playoffs.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Apr 19, 2025

Celtics chase second straight NBA title in playoff field led by Thunder and Cavs

The Celtics, virtually unchanged from the team that won last season, completed the best regular-season by a defending champions since the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors.
Lower House lawmaker Kai Odake in his Tokyo office on Wednesday
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 21, 2025

Is Japan’s parliament ready to welcome more youth to its ranks?

Among the world’s largest democracies, Japan has some of the highest minimum age requirements for politicians.
Pope Francis blesses the faithful during the weekly general audience at the Vatican in August 2023.
WORLD
Apr 21, 2025

Pope Francis, radical leader who broke the papal mold, dies at 88

Francis' often turbulent reign was marked by division and tension as he sought to overhaul the hidebound institution.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (right) and his Dutch counterpart, Dick Schoof, shake hands after a joint news conference at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 22, 2025

Japanese and Dutch leaders agree to strengthen cooperation

The two leaders announced an action plan calling for cooperation in a wide range of fields, including diplomacy, security, economy and culture.
Televisions in Washington under a portrait of President Donald Trump display a Fox News program on April 16.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 22, 2025

Always 'the enemy' — Trump steps up media assault in first 100 days

The United States fell from 45th to 55th place in 2024 in the World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders.
Tiangong Ultra, a humanoid robot, crosses the finish line after securing the first position during the E-Town Humanoid Robot Half Marathon in Beijing on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 22, 2025

All hail the rise of the humanoid robots

Robotics is another of the critical emerging technologies, mastery of which will be central to 21st-century economic leadership.
The first night of the NFL draft will kick off on Thursday, set against the backdrop of Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, home of the Packers.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Apr 23, 2025

NFL's smallest city ready to make big impact as Green Bay hosts the draft

The town of just 105,000 could see a crowd many times that size for the three-day event.
A United Nations agency said it will hold an Asia-Pacific ministerial conference on disaster prevention and response in Sendai in 2027.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2025

Sendai to host U.N. disaster reduction conference in 2027

Such a meeting will be held in Japan for the first time.
Canada’s April 28 election presents a stark choice between globalist technocrat Mark Carney (right) and populist veteran Pierre Poilievre, with the outcome likely to shape not only domestic renewal but the country’s relevance in the world.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 23, 2025

Will Canada find its path again after the election?

This election has effectively become a binary choice between Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre and the unelected Prime Minister Mark Carney of the Liberal Party.
A protest against Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Hong Kong in 2019. Beijing's United Front Work Department is charged with managing relations with overseas Chinese, including in Hong Kong, with the aim of mobilizing society to achieve the government's goals.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Apr 23, 2025

China’s catch-22: Rapid growth with tight social control

The Chinese government is locked in the contradictory goals of pursuing economic growth while maintaining strong social control through its United Front Work Department.
Pope Francis was known for his strong environmentalism, highlighted by his influential 2015 encyclical calling for global climate action.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 23, 2025

The next pope will help decide the planet’s fate

As much of the world retreats from climate activism, the Vatican has a chance to stand out by choosing another vocal environmentalist to lead 1.4 billion Catholics.
Brazil's Urupadi National Forest Park, in the Amazon rainforest, in June 2023
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Apr 26, 2025

Countries could use forests to 'mask' needed emission cuts, report says

The report said overly optimistic assumptions about how much CO2 forests might draw down was "masking the scale and pace of the fossil fuel emissions cuts needed."
Ground personnel unload weapons and other military hardware delivered by the U.S. military near Kyiv in 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 28, 2025

U.S. aid pullback is making Ukraine more vulnerable to Russian hacks

USAID has been gutted in the first months of Trump’s presidency by Elon Musk’s "department of government efficiency," and Trump has become increasingly impatient with Zelenskyy.
Soldiers drive a British battle tank during joint combat exercises between the French and British armies north of the city of Reims, in northeastern France, on April 22.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 28, 2025

Conflicts spur 'unprecedented' rise in military spending

More than 100 countries, including all of the 15 largest spenders, increased their military budgets last year, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said.
Visitors look at the preserved Atomic Bomb Dome in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in the city of Hiroshima in October.
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2025

80 years on, Japan's government seeks testimonies from all hibakusha

It is the first time in 30 years that the government has sought cooperation from all hibakusha over testimonies.
John Phelan at a Senate confirmation hearing for U.S. secretary of the navy in Washington in February
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 28, 2025

U.S. secretary of the navy weighs ‘dual-use’ shipbuilding with Japan

Washington’s idea appears to be aimed at attracting investment from allies to strengthen the U.S. shipbuilding industry and start closing the gap with Beijing.
People line up outside a polling station to vote in Canada's federal election, in Toronto on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 29, 2025

Canada votes as Trump renews U.S. takeover push

Trump put himself into Canadian politics again with a social media post saying Canada would face "ZERO TARIFFS" if it "becomes the cherished 51st state."
Christophe Lemaire rides Admire Daytona, who was bred in Japan, during the UAE Derby at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai on April 5.
MORE SPORTS / Horse Racing
Apr 29, 2025

Could this be Japan’s year at the Kentucky Derby?

Japan has made great strides in thoroughbred racing, and many feel it is no longer a question of "if" a Japanese horse will win the event but "when."
Japan's proposed "one-theater" defense strategy, linking the East China Sea, South China Sea and Korean Peninsula has raised concerns, particularly in South Korea, about its implications for regional security.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 30, 2025

Japan’s ‘one-theater’ defense concept rattles South Korea

Continuing expansion of SDF roles and missions is consistent with adoption of the "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" construct that guides Japanese security policy.
National agency Heritage Malta worked with Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure the painstaking restoration of samurai armor that spent over half a century forgotten in storage in Valletta, Malta.
JAPAN / History
May 1, 2025

Lost and found history receives glittering homecoming at Osaka Expo

Hidden away since World War II, samurai armor gifted to Malta from Japan in 1862 has been restored to its full glory and put on display at the Malta Pavilion.
Barcelona's Lamine Yamal moves between two Inter players during their match in Barcelona, Spain, on Wednesday.
SOCCER
May 1, 2025

Barcelona fights back for draw against Inter in sensational first-leg match

The second leg takes place on Tuesday, with the winner to face Paris Saint-Germain or Arsenal in the final.
Warriors guard Stephen Curry (right) celebrates with forward Draymond Green during Game 7 of Golden State's series-clinching win over the Rockets on Sunday.
BASKETBALL / NBA
May 5, 2025

Buddy Hield leads Warriors past Rockets in Game 7

The seventh-seeded Warriors advanced to play the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves, with Game 1 set for Tuesday in Minneapolis.
Italy's Jannik Sinner serves during a training session in Rome on Monday ahead of his return to tennis at the Italian Open.
TENNIS
May 6, 2025

Sinner happy to return after doping ban but keeping expectations low for Italian Open

The three-time Grand Slam champion, who has not played since January, will now hope to leave the doping saga behind him and build momentum for the French Open.

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers