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Vivian Tung eats her first meal since the egg retrieval surgery. Tung is one of a rising number of women in Taiwan opting to freeze their eggs to give them the option to have a child later in life.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Aug 2, 2023

A rising number of women in Taiwan are freezing their eggs

Demand for egg freezing has surged, with the number of women opting for the technology up 86% over the past three years.
Signs hang on a gate as people hike in the Pen y Pass at the foot of Mount Snowdon near Llanberis, Wales, in 2020. For residents of deprived urban areas, going to natural green spaces can be prohibitively expensive.
WORLD
Aug 2, 2023

Isolated from nature, U.K.'s ethnic minorities hit harder by heat

Experts say ethnic minorities will be affected most as they often live in dense, poorly insulated households near fewer parks and less vegetation.
Migrants at a base near Tripoli hand out food to other migrants after they were detained by the Libyan navy in September 2015.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 2, 2023

An immigration wake-up call

Well-designed immigration policies in advanced economies could ease inflationary labor-market shortages and preventing humanitarian tragedies.
Akiko Mizuno says one positive thing about living on a relatively remote island is that you don’t need to spend a lot of money every day.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Aug 3, 2023

Akiko Mizuno: ‘Time moves forward. Photographs stop time.’

After years in New York City, Akiko Mizuno relocated to a small island in Okinawa Prefecture to concentrate on her long-term photography project.
More than 30 samples of drugs made by Synokem, including generic abortion pills, have failed quality tests conducted by Indian regulators and public health researchers since 2018.
BUSINESS
Aug 3, 2023

Global abortion pill provider buys from maker with poor quality record

More than 30 samples of drugs made by Delhi-based Synokem Pharmaceuticals have failed quality tests conducted by Indian regulators.
People embrace each other as demonstrators for and against the U.S. Supreme Court decision to strike down race-conscious student admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina confront each other, in Washington on June 29.
WORLD
Aug 3, 2023

U.S. affirmative action ban spurs changes to college essay prompts

U.S. colleges are set to release their essay prompts this month when the common application used by many schools becomes public.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 4, 2023

Foreign minors born, raised in Japan to be eligible for residency

The move comes in response to a controversial revision to the asylum law that was passed earlier this year.
A young girl drinks water from a faucet in Bamako. At a site just 55 kilometers from Mali's capital city, pure hydrogen gas seeps from the ground like crude oil or methane.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 1, 2023

Natural hydrogen could change the world, if we understood it

We know next to nothing about how natural hydrogen is produced, let alone how to extract and transport it most efficiently.
An Air Self-Defense Force Kawasaki C-2 military transport aircraft is put on display at the Dubai Air Show in November 2019.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2023

Japan mulls mounting long-range missiles on C-2 transporters

The missiles could be used for operations to attack enemy bases such as missile launch sites in counterstrike operations.
Spain's Ricardo Ten Argiles takes part in the men's C1 individual pursuit final during the UCI Cycling World Championships at Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow, Scotland, on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Cycling
Aug 8, 2023

Indomitable one-limbed Spaniard wins third track title, targets Paris

Ricardo Ten Argiles, who hails from Valencia, is writing a second chapter to a remarkable tale of sporting endeavor in the face of adversity.
A popular dinosaur exhibit at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Ueno, Tokyo
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 9, 2023

Crowdfunding success at Japan science museum sends mixed message

While such initiatives provide much-needed cash, they are also a sign of limited government funding for science.
Jamie Joseph has led Japan's national rugby team since 2015.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 10, 2023

Brave Blossoms coach Jamie Joseph to return to Highlanders

Joseph said the four-year deal with the Highlanders was a great opportunity to "give back" to the club and the region.
PODCAST / deep dive
Aug 10, 2023

Why is modernizing Japan so darn tough?

Reporter Gabriele Ninivaggi joins us to break down how Japan’s digitalization hiccups risk exposing how backward things are.
Tomohiko Sato (center) wrote a book titled "Yamakei Shinsho Tokyo Bon Odori Tengoku Odoru Meguru Tanoshimu" ("Tokyo Bon Dance Heaven").
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Aug 12, 2023

Tomohiko Sato: 'The only rule is to dance the way the locals do'

Tomohiko Sato may be Japan’s only “Bon-bassador,” and his love for the Bon dance makes him a true representative for this summer tradition.
The U.S. Federal Reserve building in Washington
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 14, 2023

The Fed is playing a waiting game to try to avoid a recession

An increasing number of economists — including the Federal Reserve’s own staff — are predicting the U.S. will escape a recession.
A harvesting combine burns after hitting an anti-tank mine in a wheat field near the village of Vilkhivka, in Ukraine's Kharkiv Region, in July 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 15, 2023

Feed the people, not the factory farms

There can be no excuse for Russia, in pursuit of its war of aggression against Ukraine, to target that country’s grain exports.
Researchers have developed a new method to analyze climate history and their findings align with current climate models.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 6, 2023

Science offers closer look at the Medieval Warming Period

Medieval Warming Period saw a population boom in Europe and the collapse of civilizations in the Americas
Chinese leaders seem to believe the country has a narrow window of opportunity to achieve global preeminence before unfavorable demographic and geopolitical trends catch up with it.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 15, 2023

China’s dangerous secrets

China's secretive approach to projects and activities, including its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, should be a significant concern.
A playful photo of Japanese female politicians on a work trip to Paris drew much criticism back home. The backlash may be one of the reasons women choose to avoid public service.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 16, 2023

Japan has a misery-loves-company problem

The backlash to government officials' lighthearted moment is a prime example of how to undermine workers.
If you've come to the realization that divorce is the only way forward, there are a host of details about the Japanese marriage system to confirm before you're finally ready to cut ties.
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Aug 21, 2023

Navigating the notorious gauntlet of divorce in Japan

Everyone wishes for “happily ever after” no matter where you’re from, but Japan recorded 1,671 bicultural divorces in 2021.
The color of a red torii gate in Bushidaira, Saitama Prefecture, still stands out against a vibrant green backdrop.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Aug 18, 2023

Exploring the eerie beauty of Japan's abandoned villages

Depopulation and an aging society have turned parts of the countryside into tourist attractions for those eager to explore a forgotten era.
The wedded rocks of Meoto Iwa in Mie Prefecture.
JAPAN / History
Aug 20, 2023

Good and evil defined by God … or gods

Much of our understanding of good and evil can be traced to definitions created by religion. Which religion (and definition) depends on where you live.
It is still unclear whether BA.2.86 will be able to out-compete other strains of the virus that causes COVID-19, or have any advantage in escaping immune responses from prior infection or vaccination.
WORLD / Science & Health / EXPLAINER
Aug 21, 2023

What you need to know about BA.2.86, the new COVID variant

Scientists are keeping an eye on the new lineage because it has 36 mutations that distinguish it from the currently dominant XBB.1.5 variant.
With temperatures around the world reaching record highs this summer, you may want to reconsider which sunscreen you are using, experts say, as not all sunscreens are the same.
WORLD / Science & Health / EXPLAINER
Aug 21, 2023

Extreme heat may mean using a different sunscreen

The two major types — mineral and chemical — handle the sun's ultraviolet rays differently and during extremely hot weather, those differences can matter.
The Chinese Ministry of State Security said Monday it is investigating a 39-year-old ministry official identified by his surname Hao for providing information to the CIA in exchange for money.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 21, 2023

China deepens espionage crackdown targeting spies for the CIA

China said it found another case of an individual informing the CIA, adding to a series of espionage accusations between the two nations.
Rice planting in Ryugasaki, Ibaraki Prefecture. Satellite data could greatly improve how global farmers respond to climate change.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 21, 2023

How satellites are helping farmers adapt to global warming

Farther than the eye can see, advances in satellite data are giving global farmers the tools to better manage their fields in a rapidly changing climate.
Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Aug. 18. Putin’s authority as a guarantor of stability has taken a big hit in the wake of the mutiny by Yevgeny Prigozhin.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 21, 2023

Putin turns to ruble and ballot to shore up shaken authority

Despite growing misgivings among Russia’s elites, for the regular voter, Putin remains wildly popular.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a ministerial meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 22, 2023

Japan to begin releasing treated Fukushima water Thursday

Despite fishing cooperatives' lingering worries of reputational damage, the government will go ahead with its plan.
Shinobu Yamanaka, a mom of three sons and director of a day care facility in Konan, Kochi Prefecture, serves up to eight "members" six days a week.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Aug 22, 2023

Kochi dementia care center aims to set new paradigm in Japan

A new generation of people with Alzheimer’s in Japan are trying to change not only dementia care but also social attitudes toward patients.
An office worker in London. A new report found that 36% of so-called workpoints — cubicles and desks — are never occupied, "indicating a general oversupply.”
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 23, 2023

More than one-third of desks globally sit empty all week long

The dearth of desk usage could prompt employers to rethink their real estate needs.

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