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A boat piloted by a Philippine fisherman is intercepted by Chinese coast guard boats as they tried to enter the Scarborough Shoal in disputed waters of the South China Sea.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 25, 2023

With bullhorns and water cannons, Chinese ships wall off the sea

The world’s most brazen maritime militarization is gaining muscle in the South China Sea, waters through which one-third of global ocean trade passes.
Aoi Suzuki and her two sons head back down to a barbecue after watching the sun set.
PODCAST / deep dive
Sep 28, 2023

Traveling Okinawa with a broken heart

Writer and photographer Lance Henderstein reads us his article on traveling Okinawa during the rainy season.
The Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte reacts after hitting a home run against the Dodgers in the third inning of the NLDS in Phoenix, Arizona, on Wednesday.
BASEBALL
Oct 12, 2023

Upstart Diamondbacks finish off sweep of Dodgers

The win was the latest chapter in the D-Backs' improbable and impressive playoff run.
Blair Masters and Talisker Scott Hunter pose for a photo with their kei truck, nicknamed “KT,” outside Ebisu Circuit in Fukushima Prefecture.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Nov 6, 2023

The little truck that could: A fresh way to tour Japan's north

Travelers have documented almost every corner of Japan. Perhaps a new kind of adventure would be doing those same journeys by different means.
Shiv Kumar (left) and Nirmal Singh say they are learning a lot about living and thriving in Japan while taking part in the Technical Intern Trainee Program. Their case, however, seems to be an exception to the norm.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Dec 18, 2023

Beating the odds on Japan's controversial foreign trainee program

Nirmal Singh and Shiv Kumar beat the odds on the Technical Intern Training Program, but luck shouldn't play such a key role in a government initiative.
When Chinese President Xi Jinping came to power, he inherited a China that was enjoying prosperity, but also succumbing to gilded-age excesses.
COMMENTARY / The Year Ahead
Dec 29, 2023

The moral of the China story

Even if China is no longer “winning,” it would be short-sighted to dismiss its recent experience as irrelevant.
The concerns over artificial intelligence have parallels with historical apocalyptic movements, which have often been exploited for political purposes.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 19, 2024

AI apocalypse now? Only in our fevered dreams

The real question is why are cataclysmic prophets sometimes attract big followings. Understanding this can help us avoid the paths they may lead us down.
The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) is seen on the surface of the moon in an image released Jan. 25.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 2, 2024

Japan’s historic moon landing was right on target

Japan made history last month when it became the fifth nation to soft land on the moon.
In the quest for immortality, some researchers believe mind uploading will be our ticket to an eternal existence.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 8, 2024

Japan’s take on immortality; problems in Palworld

As scientists and technologists attempt to tackle the problem of aging and death, we discuss Japanese ideas about immortality.
Aoi Suzuki’s son runs past a home in Taketomi on Iriomote Island (not to be confused with Taketomi Island, which lies to the east of Iriomote). The Suzukis run the Takemori Inn, one of the few hotels on Iriomote.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 29, 2024

[Rebroadcast] Traveling Okinawa with a broken heart

This week on Deep Dive we get contributing writer and photographer Lance Henderstein to read us his article on traveling Okinawa during the rainy season.
Conservatives were wrong to call the Paris Olympic's opening ceremony a display of LGBTQ+ ideology and PC uniformity. While it did critique conservative nationalism, it mainly targeted rigid PC moralism or "wokeism."
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 11, 2024

The emancipatory meaning of the Paris Olympics

The Olympic opening ceremony's theme didn’t just show Europe at its best; it reminded the world that only Europe could host such an event.
Medical professionals and students participate in a silent march as they condemn the rape and murder of a doctor, in Kolkata on Aug. 15.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Aug 21, 2024

'Abuse every day': Female medics in India speak out after brutal murder

The rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata cast a spotlight on the chronic issue of violence against women and the failure to provide safe working conditions for them.
Bulk carriers float offshore from Singapore, on Feb. 19.
WORLD
Sep 19, 2024

The shadow fleet transporting sanctioned gas for Russia

In the short term it could provide some wartime profit, but Moscow's ultimate goal is to triple LNG exports by 2030.
“A Whisper in the Eye of the Storm,” by Canadian artists Caitlind R. C. Brown and Wayne Garrett is an outdoor installation of around 14,000 recycled lenses of varied prescriptions.
CULTURE / Art
Sep 27, 2024

Weather makes for an unpredictable artist at Nagano art festival

Fram Kitagawa’s Northern Alps Art Festival embraces its inconvenient location and the natural elements.
New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto bats during the fifth inning against the Kansas City Royals in game four of the AL Division Series for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Kauffman Stadium on Oct. 10.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 25, 2024

‘That’s for another day’: Yankees not talking Juan Soto’s future

Juan Soto has helped the New York Yankees reach their first World Series in 15 years.
Satoko Shisai
BUSINESS / WOMEN AT WORK
Dec 15, 2024

Forging a career through digital transformation and mindset change

Backed by a strong belief in career ownership, Satoko Shisai built her own success at IBM Japan and Chugai.
Manchester City's Phil Foden, Josko Gvardiol, Mateo Kovacic, Jack Grealish and Kyle Walker during training in Manchester on Tuesday
SOCCER
Dec 11, 2024

City's Foden and Kovacic not expected to face Juventus, says Guardiola

Guardiola's struggling team have three games left to clinch a top-eight spot that would earn a last-16 place and avoid a playoff.
Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Dec 16, 2024

The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition

A year after disaster devastated the region, brewers have turned to nationwide partnerships and new technologies to sustain their culture.
Rear Adm. Jacques Mallard (right), commander of the Charles De Gaulle aircraft carrier strike group, speaks during a ceremony aboard the carrier at a naval base in Toulon, France, last September.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 18, 2025

French carrier group chief draws lessons from first Pacific deployment in 60 years

The deployment helped deepen the French Navy's operational understanding of the region, and learn from and boost interoperability with partner nations, a top commander says.
Aston Villa's Marcus Rashford (left) and Chelsea's Malo Gusto vie for the ball during their match in Birmingham, England, on Saturday.
SOCCER
Feb 23, 2025

Marcus Rashford making strong early impression with Aston Villa

Rashford was signed by Villa on loan from United earlier this month.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani poses with President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman at Ohtani's introductory news conference at Dodger Stadium on Dec. 14, 2023.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 13, 2025

Dodgers' Andrew Friedman hails team's growing Japan connection

“I think the atmosphere is going to be electric. ... I think it’s the closest I’ll ever get to traveling with the Beatles."
Instead of spending billions to resurrect woolly mammoths, we could focus on preserving endangered species, saving ecosystems, and securing biodiversity for the future.
COMMENTARY
Mar 17, 2025

Got $10 billion? Don’t blow it cloning a woolly mammoth.

Colossal Biosciences, a Dallas-based biotechnology and genetic engineering startup valued at $10 billion, has raised $435 million to "de-extinct” the woolly mammoth.
Pallbearers carry the coffin of Pope Francis at the end of the funeral ceremony in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican on Saturday.
WORLD
Apr 27, 2025

Francis laid to rest as 400,000 mourn pope 'with open heart'

The Vatican said 400,000 people packed St. Peter's Square and lined the streets of Rome for the funeral of the first Latin American leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.
U.S. President Donald Trump takes part in the NATO summit on June 24. Trump's unilateral strike on Iran without consulting NATO allies has deepened divisions within the alliance, raising doubts about its relevance and collective security framework.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 30, 2025

NATO leaders’ price for supporting Ukraine is their self-respect

Last week’s summit in The Hague focused more on appeasing Trump than serious strategy.
Dennis Kwok, then a pro-democracy lawmaker, answers questions from the media outside the High Court in Hong Kong on Oct. 31, 2019.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2023

Hong Kong police target more family members of wanted democracy activists

The pair, former lawmaker Dennis Kwok and unionist Mung Siu-tat, are among eight exiled activists sought by authorities for alleged violations of the National Security Law.
Jonas Vingegaard opened up a commanding lead over rival Tadej Pogacar during Stage 17 of the Tour de France between Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc and Courchevel, France, on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS / Cycling
Jul 20, 2023

Tour de France leader Jonas Vingegaard deals crushing blow to rival Tadej Pogacar on Stage 17

Jonas Vingegaard took a giant stride toward a second consecutive Tour de France title when rival Tadej Pogacar cracked in unexpected and spectacular fashion during Stage 17, the toughest of the race, on Wednesday.
The batsman’s place can be a lonely one — in the center of the field, surrounded by the opposition — but you can always look back to your pavilion for support.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / Longform
Jul 31, 2023

Sweat, stumps and solidarity on the cricket pitch

It's a hot day and the Yokohama Alpha Quashers are about to take on the Chiba Sharks, fighting for a chance to move higher in the Japan Cricket League.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has urged FIFA and UEFA, soccer's global and European governing bodies, to solve the disparity created by the length of the Saudi Arabian transfer window.
SOCCER
Aug 2, 2023

Jurgen Klopp unhappy with Saudi transfer deadline

The Premier League's transfer window closes on Sept. 1, but Saudi Pro League clubs can sign players until Sept. 20.
Members and supporters of the San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance attend a rally outside the California Public Utilities Commission headquarters in San Francisco on Monday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 8, 2023

Will AI be an economic blessing or curse? History offers clues

History shows the economic impact of technological advances is generally uncertain, unequal and sometimes outright malign.
Hiroyuki Nagai, president and chief executive officer of Rakuten Bank (left), attends the company's listing ceremony at the Tokyo Stock Exchange on April 21.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 8, 2023

Rakuten Bank sees edge over rivals once BOJ ends negative rates

Uncertainty remains over when the Bank of Japan will scrap the policy, which has squeezed banks’ lending margins since its introduction seven years ago.

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