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South Korean leader Yoon Suk-yeol (left), U.S. President Joe Biden (center) and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida walk during the Camp David summit on the outskirts of Washington last August. South Korea and Japan will be going into the summit with China more aligned than before following the Camp David meeting.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 24, 2024

At Japan-South Korea-China trilateral summit, a chance to manage tensions

Just holding the summit is an accomplishment amid the considerable issues that divide the three countries.
This is the dish that hooked me on the traditional Japanese ways of the "washoku" kitchen.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Washoku Essentials
May 26, 2024

Land and sea come together in traditional kitchen staple

For a dish of ingredients that display such culinary affinity, the Japanese have a go-to phrase: "aishō ga yoroshii" (good compatibility).
The Japanese government updated its English education guidelines in 2017 to emphasize communication over grammar and memorization. Public school teachers are incredibly busy, however, which means schools haven’t been able to implement changes uniformly. Private and alternative schools are attempting to remedy this.
LIFE / Language / Longform
May 27, 2024

The language of opportunity: Bilingual education is on the rise in Japan

Stuck with a reputation for poor English, Japan is pushing its next generation to be bilingual. Privately run schools are seeing the benefits.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski speaks during an interview in Warsaw on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 24, 2024

Poland and Japan can cooperate over Ukraine reconstruction

The two countries can work together to reconstruct Ukraine, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in a recent interview.
In the digital age, it will get harder for institutions such a the British Museum to keep looted cultural possessions as communities in Africa and elsewhere learn about what was taken from them.
COMMENTARY / World
May 24, 2024

How are museums still justifying keeping stolen artifacts?

As much as 90% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s cultural artifacts are outside of the continent, according to a 2018 report commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron.
A Ukrainian billboard encouraging people to enlist in the army, in Kostyantynivka, Ukraine.
WORLD
May 25, 2024

Ukraine starts freeing some prisoners to join its military

Nearly 350 inmates have been freed under a new law that allows them to serve in exchange for the possibility of parole, the country’s justice minister said.
Japan's saury catches fell to roughly 18,000 tons in 2022, hitting a record low for the fourth straight year, before picking up slightly to around 25,000 tons last year.
JAPAN
May 25, 2024

Saury fading from Japan's dining tables amid poor catches

Catches of saury are mired in a prolonged slump with no signs of recovery in sight, and those that are caught are often lean and expensive.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets with Chinese Premier Li Qiang for bilateral talks in Seoul on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 26, 2024

Kishida meets China's Li and South Korea's Yoon before trilateral summit

The Japanese leader discussed improving ties with Seoul and how to stabilize Tokyo's relationship with Beijing in separate bilateral talks.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te makes a speech during his visit to a military camp in Taoyuan, Taiwan, on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 26, 2024

After China drills, Taiwan president again offers talks

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said Sunday he was still open to working with China on building "mutual understanding and reconciliation."
Senior Lt. Yuriy Fedorenko, popularly known by his call sign Achilles, leader of the Ukrainian Army's best-performing drone unit, is surrounded by an arsenal of unmanned aerial vehicles in the Donetsk region of Ukraine on May 4.
WORLD
May 26, 2024

Drones have offered last line of defense for a strategic Ukrainian town

Drone unit has been the main constraint on the Russian attempt to seize Chasiv Yar on Ukraine’s teetering eastern front.
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan Secretary-General Katsuya Okada speaks to reporters on Saturday in the city of Aomori.
JAPAN / Politics
May 26, 2024

Constitutional Democratic Party executives cancel fundraiser parties amid criticism

The CDP submitted a bill to the Lower House that would ban lawmakers from having fundraiser parties starting January 2026.
Danon Decile (right), ridden by Norihiro Yokoyama, races to victory at the Japanese Derby at Tokyo Racecourse on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Horse Racing
May 26, 2024

Danon Decile pulls off stunning victory at Japanese Derby

The chestnut colt went off at over 46-to-1 odds.
Yasutomo Suzuki (second from right) celebrates in the city of Shizuoka on Sunday after being elected governor of Shizuoka Prefecture.
JAPAN / Politics
May 27, 2024

Opposition-backed Yasutomo Suzuki wins Shizuoka gubernatorial vote

Suzuki’s victory could pave the way for restarting the maglev train line project that had been delayed due to opposition from his predecessor.
A woman looks on during a protest against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in front of a U.S. consulate in Barcelona, Spain, on June 1, 2020.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 27, 2024

Four years after George Floyd killing, police reform slow to follow

Despite the initial surge of calls for change, federal attempts at wide-ranging reform have been mostly unsuccessful.
Volunteers from a neighborhood committee stand watch on a street in Beijing on April 3.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 27, 2024

Xi Jinping’s recipe for total control: An army of eyes and ears

The goal is no longer just to address specific threats, but to embed the Chinese Communist Party so deeply in daily life that no trouble can even arise.
Official data indicates at least 17,000 South Korean residents have been hit by real estate fraud in recent years, and around 70% of victims are in their 20s and 30s.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
May 27, 2024

Debt, suicide, fraud: South Koreans hit by real estate scams

Authorities draw flak for not doing enough to help victims or punish fraudsters who capitalize on the country's unique jeonse system in which tenants pay huge deposits.
Carpenters and others in traditional attire perform a ritual in Naha on Monday to mark the completion of the framework of Shuri Castle's main hall.
JAPAN
May 27, 2024

Ceremony held for restoration of Shuri Castle in Okinawa

Carpenters and others dressed in traditional attire performed a ritual to mark the installation of the ridge beam on the roof.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. While some view artificial intelligence’s increasing integration into journalism as necessary, there are concerns about the ethics of such arrangements.
COMMENTARY / World
May 27, 2024

OpenAI is making journalism an offer it can’t refuse

While some view AI’s increasing integration into journalism as necessary, there are concerns about the ethics and transparency of such arrangements.
Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch before a fixture against Nottingham Forest in Nottingham, England, in February 2023. As the new Canada men's national team head coach, Marsch and his players will face the Netherlands, France and Argentina in the coming weeks.
SOCCER
May 28, 2024

No easing into job for Canada's new national team coach

Jesse Marsch will receive a baptism by fire with away friendlies against the Netherlands on June 6 and France three days later.
Bill Walton, NBA Hall of Famer and broadcasting star, in New York in March 2011. Walton died on Monday at his home in San Diego at the age of 71.
BASKETBALL
May 28, 2024

Bill Walton, NBA Hall of Famer and free spirit, dies at 71

In the years following his NBA career, Walton turned to sports broadcasting.
Counterfeit nail products branded with the logo of Louis Vuitton
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 28, 2024

Aichi woman referred to prosecutors for selling counterfeit nail products

She allegedly sold nail products bearing the logos of luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and Chanel via social media and flea market apps.
People gather to promote the same-sex marriage in Nagoya in May last year.
JAPAN / Society
May 28, 2024

Japanese city recognizes same-sex couple in rare step

Japan is the only Group of Seven nation that does not recognize same-sex unions, and local media said the move was unprecedented.
A worker installs a barrier to block the sight of Japan's Mount Fuji emerging from behind a convenience store to deter badly behaved tourists, in the town of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture on May 21.
JAPAN
May 28, 2024

Holes poked in Mount Fuji barrier near convenience store, town says

Although a security guard is there between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., the small holes appear to have been created in the morning or evening when no one was watching.
Uganda national cricket team batsman Siraje Nsubuga bowls during a practice session ahead of the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, in Kampala, Uganda, on May 17.
MORE SPORTS / Cricket
May 28, 2024

'Dream come true' as Uganda prepares for first cricket World Cup

The team faces a tough road ahead in the tournament, with opponents including New Zealand and the West Indies.
A woman walks past a television at a railway station in Seoul on Tuesday showing a news broadcast with NHK footage of a projectile that exploded into a fireball a day earlier, following Pyongyang's failed attempt to put a second spy satellite in orbit.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 28, 2024

Pyongyang’s fiery space-race failure cold comfort as more launches expected

The launch failure was also viewed as a possible symbolic success in being disruptive just as a rare summit involving Japan, South Korea and China was concluding.
Some experts are concerned about the potential for worldwide conflict within the next few years as China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are likely preparing for major confrontation.
COMMENTARY / World
May 28, 2024

Echoes of 1962, the Berlin crisis and a world teetering on war

There is the potential for worldwide conflict within the next three years as China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are likely preparing for major confrontation.
A man looks on as Palestinians inspect a tent camp damaged in an Israeli strike during an Israeli military operation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 29, 2024

U.S. says latest Rafah deaths won't change its Israel policy

Recent deaths in Rafah have tested U.S. President Joe Biden's promise to withhold weapons from Israel if it put displaced persons there at risk.
Wanxiang America’s Neapco manufacturing plant in Belleville, Michigan
BUSINESS / Companies
May 29, 2024

Once embraced, Chinese companies now shunned in U.S. on security fears

It doesn’t matter if it’s mining or health care, even Chinese furniture could one day be seen as a national security issue, a lawyer who represents Chinese clients said.
Posters of Negro Leagues players are displayed in the outfield stands at Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, during a baseball game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves in August 2020.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 29, 2024

Record books to be rewritten as MLB adopts Negro Leagues stats

The news means that some 3,400 players who competed in the Negro Leagues will now form an official part of baseball history.
Plaintiffs and lawyers march to the Supreme Court to attend a hearing on lawsuits against the government over forced sterilization carried out under a now-defunct eugenic law, on Wednesday in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 29, 2024

Victims of forced sterilization speak of their suffering at Supreme Court

They are seeking compensation from the government over their forced sterilization due to their disabilities under a now-defunct eugenic law.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear