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The Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, in Bushehr Province, Iran, on May 26. Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Iran is legally obligated to allow inspections to resume and that they should begin "as soon as possible."
WORLD / Politics
Aug 28, 2025

Iran site cleanup likely to erase evidence of nuclear work, research group says

Tehran denies seeking nuclear weapons and repeatedly has said its program is for peaceful purposes.
Kyushu Electric Power's Sendai nuclear power plant is seen from the shoreline in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2025

Court backs restart of nuclear reactors in Kagoshima Prefecture

Plaintiffs had questioned the rationality of a volcanic assessment guide used for safety screening.
Sakurazaka46, the idol pop outfit formerly known as Keyakizaka46, wrapped up an an 11-night nationwide tour this month.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 29, 2025

Sakurazaka46 wants the world to dance along

The 33-member idol group takes its spectacle-heavy performances on the road — and abroad.
“Sympathy Tower Tokyo” is centered around Sara Machina, a star architect designing  a new experimental prison in central Tokyo.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 30, 2025

ChatGPT controversy is the least interesting part of 'Sympathy Tower Tokyo'

In Rie Qudan’s futuristic Tokyo, AI and architects take on the prison system.
China’s demographic spiral is now resembling that of ancient Rome, where changing social norms and drastic population-control measures led to falling birth rates and irreversible decline.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 9, 2025

What ancient Rome can teach China about demographic collapse

China’s situation, however, is particularly perilous. Unless it is reversed, a demographic decline of this magnitude could recall the collapse of the Roman Empire.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un smokes a cigarette before departing Pyongyang by special train to China in this image released Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 2, 2025

North Korea’s Kim arrives in Beijing for debut on multilateral stage

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to join Chinese leader Xi Jinping for a military parade on Wednesday.
Mizuho Financial Group plans to deepen ties between its banking and securities units in Asia and Europe in order to boost revenues, according to Yutaka Nanjo, head of global investment banking at Mizuho Securities.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 2, 2025

Mizuho plans more dealmaking to become top Asia investment bank

Japan’s third-largest financial group is seeking to replicate the headways it has made in the U.S., where it far outranks its Japanese peers.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping walks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un before a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in Beijing on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 3, 2025

Xi — joined by Kim and Putin — delivers stark warning at military parade

Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned in a speech that the world is facing a choice of war or peace, as his country marked 80 years since Japan’s defeat in World War II.
Tokyo's Shin-Okubo district filled with Korean restaurants and shops. South Korean culture has increasingly been embraced as cutting-edge, especially among younger Japanese people.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 3, 2025

Mutual cultural acceptance underpins Japan-South Korea ties

Among those between the ages of 18 and 29, 66% in South Korea and 72.5% in Japan expressed favorable views of one another.
With his administration still on shaky ground, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has yet to release a message commemorating the end of World War II as he seeks the best timing to do so.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2025

Ishiba still seeking best timing to express view on war's end

The prime minister's reluctance comes as his administration remains on shaky ground within the Liberal Democratic Party.
A group of children try to save the world from environmental collapse, one prank at a time, in “How Dare You.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 4, 2025

‘How Dare You’ turns environmental activism into a youthful adventure

In her latest film, director Mipo Oh brings a serious edge to the lighthearted hijinks of three kids trying to save the world from environmental collapse, one prank at a time.
Chinese construction workers arrive at their accommodation after working on the construction site of BYD's electric vehicle factory at the Industrial Complex in the city of Camacari, in the state of Bahia, Brazil, on Jan. 2.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 4, 2025

Chinese investment doubles in Brazil, jumping to No. 3 destination

Brazil and China's leaders met twice in the past year, announcing partnerships in several sectors as the U.S. has put stiff tariffs on products from both nations.
Mizuho's bid to acquire a majority stake in India's Avendus Capital faces hurdles over valuation and the right exit option for KKR portfolio company, sources say.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 4, 2025

Mizuho’s India deal with Avendus said to stall on valuation

Mizuho was on the verge of buying a majority stake in Avendus in what would be the latest acquisition by a Japanese bank in India.
“The Summer Hikaru Died” is a slow-burn horror and a coming-of-age narrative, but its thematic layers and queer undertones open conversations about friendship and belonging.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Sep 6, 2025

Dark folklore meets teenage angst in ‘The Summer Hikaru Died’

Slow-burn horror in the countryside coupled with queer undertones makes for a memorable anime adaptation.
The National Police Agency has issued a rulebook for cyclists detailing violations subject to fines from April 2026 onward.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 5, 2025

New rulebook for cycling in Japan details fines for minor violations

Traffic offenses that will prompt police to issue tickets for fines on the spot include talking on the phone or staring at it while cycling and railroad crossing violations.
Itochu has raised ¥15.2 billion ($103 million) from a sale of Japan’s first so-called orange bonds to fund gender equality projects.
BASEBALL
Sep 5, 2025

Itochu sells Japan’s first orange bonds for gender equality

The Japanese trading house raised ¥15.2 billion ($103 million) from the debt sale, more than the initial plan for a ¥10 billion offering.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping attends a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, in Beijing on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 6, 2025

With diplomatic tour de force, China's Xi shows he's 'totally in charge'

The recent display of geopolitical ambition has helped quell concerns about the 72-year-old president's vitality and so-far-unknown succession plans.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio in June.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 7, 2025

U.S. strike on alleged cartel boat shows Rubio’s influence growing

The attack was the culmination of Trump’s yearslong interest in using unprecedented — and legally questionable — force against drug cartels.
Mexican defender Jorge Sanchez battles for the ball with Japan's midfielder Kaoru Mitoma during a friendly in Oakland, California, on Saturday.
SOCCER
Sep 7, 2025

Japan and Mexico play to goalless draw as World Cup preparations ramp up

A lively Japanese side could not break through against a Mexico team that lost captain Edson Alvarez when he hobbled out with an injury in the first half.
As of August 2024, the number of confirmed chagusaba farmers had fallen to 302, just over half the 582 reported in 2015, according to the Shizuoka Chagusaba Farming Method Promotion Council.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Sep 7, 2025

Shizuoka farmers fight to preserve sustainable tea method that’s steeped in tradition

The chagusaba method is sustainable, makes tea taste better and helps with biodiversity. But it’s also labor-intensive and the number of practitioners is dwindling.
GranTokyo South Tower (center). East Japan Railway has bought the 14th to 18th floors of the office building at a price of more than ¥50 billion from Goldman Sachs Group.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 9, 2025

Goldman sells Tokyo office area to JR East for over ¥50 billion

The railway company bought the 14th to 18th floors of the GranTokyo South Tower office building, which is connected to Tokyo Station.
The Saga Prefectural Police sent papers on a worker at its crime laboratory to prosecutors for allegedly falsifying DNA analyses to make his job performances look better.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 10, 2025

Crime lab worker accused of 130 improper DNA analyses

The employee allegedly sought to make his job performance look better so as to get a good reputation and avoid criticism from his boss.
Chinese DF-61 intercontinental ballistic nuclear missiles are displayed during a military parade in Beijing, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II on Sept. 3. 
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 10, 2025

The global nuclear picture grows darker and darker

It’s hard, if not impossible, to escape the conclusion that the world is in a grim place when measured by nuclear metrics.
An artist's rendition of events immediately preceding a powerful collision between two black holes. It depicts the view from one of the black holes as it spirals toward its cosmic partner.
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 11, 2025

Astronomers get best view yet of two merging black holes

The merger of the black holes unleashed a tremendous amount of energy that radiated outward as gravitational waves, which were detected on Jan. 14 at research sites in the U.S.
Residential buildings in the Harumi district of Tokyo. Condominium associations have started to invest in bonds to try and keep pace with inflation.
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2025

Japan’s condo associations start buying bonds to fund repairs

The move by the associations is meant keep pace with inflation amid rising repair costs.
Tokyo's National Stadium will host the World Athletics Championships from Sept. 13 to 21.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Sep 11, 2025

National Stadium to finally fulfill destiny years after hosting Olympics without fans

Originally built in 2019 ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, National Stadium was robbed of its original purpose when the COVID-19 pandemic turned the world upside down.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro stands at his home while under house arrest in Brasília, Brazil, on Aug. 14. Brazil's Supreme Court has convicted Bolsonaro of plotting a coup to remain in power after losing the 2022 election.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Sep 12, 2025

Brazil's Bolsonaro sentenced to 27 years after landmark coup plot conviction

The conviction made the 70-year-old Bolsonaro the first former president in the country's history to be convicted for attacking democracy.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Swastika Jajoo (fourth from right) began attending the daily radio calisthenics routine at Sendai’s Kitasanbancho Park and struck up unexpected friendships with a group of elderly residents.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Sep 15, 2025

Calisthenic companions bridge cultures and generations

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a doctoral student in Sendai found friendship in unexpected places.
Convenience stores are a fixture of Japanese life and 7-Eleven, a chain that began in the U.S. in 1927, opened its first store in Japan in 1974 — and then became wholly Japanese-owned in 2005 through parent company Seven & I Holdings.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2025

Is America ready for Japanese-style 7-Elevens?

Facing a stagnant and highly competitive retail market in Japan, Seven & I’s growth is expected to come from overseas.
A stay at Mandapa, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, is one of Bali's priciest choices — but also one of its most uncompromisingly luxurious.
LIFE / Travel
Sep 13, 2025

In Bali, the Ritz-Carlton’s ultraluxury Mandapa hotel marks 10 years

One of just nine “Reserve” properties around the world, Mandapa offers a delightfully unsanitized take on a rainforest retreat.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years