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Koenji-based dance troupe Tengu-ren performs at an Awa odori event in Tokyo's Kagurazaka neighborhood a month before the Koenji Awa Odori.
CULTURE / Longform
Aug 26, 2023

The party returns to Koenji

While the COVID-19 pandemic put a temporary pause to one of Tokyo’s biggest festivals, its dancers never stopped practicing their steps.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 26, 2023

U.S. accuses Russia and China of covering for North Korea at U.N.

During an emergency Security Council meeting, 13 of the 15 members — all but Moscow and Beijing — condemned the launch.
The remains of the World Trade Center in New York on Sept. 12, 2001
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Aug 27, 2023

U.S. plea proposal for 9/11 suspects splits victims' relatives

Some say a deal without trial means the whole truth might be lost — others say that every year the trial is delayed, there are fewer left to see justice.
Demonstrators for racial justice gather on the 60th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington on Saturday.
WORLD / Society
Aug 27, 2023

Sixty years after King's 'dream' speech, thousands gather in Washington

The original 1963 march where King spoke brought more than 250,000 people to the U.S. capital to push for an end to discrimination.
Noah Lyles of the U.S. celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the Men's 4x100m final at the World Athletics Championship in Budapest on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 28, 2023

Noah Lyles takes tentative steps into Usain Bolt's big shoes

The question now is whether Lyles will be able to continue his fine form into next year's Paris Olympics.
People protest after Japan moved to release treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant into the sea, in Hong Kong on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 28, 2023

Japan urges China to rein in harassing calls over Fukushima water

The calls, which sometimes numbered in the hundreds for certain targets, were made to businesses, schools and government offices.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in Washington
WORLD / Society
Aug 29, 2023

Musk and Zuckerberg set to attend forum on future of AI

The gathering is part of Schumer's strategy to give Congress more influence over the future of AI.
A survey by a health ministry research team has found that a significant proportion of doctors in Japan are at risk of death from overwork.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 29, 2023

Around 20% of doctors in Japan at risk of death from overwork

A survey showed that 20.4% of full-time doctors worked over 60 hours per week, exceeding the weekly legal working hours of 40 hours.
China's Premier Li Qiang (right) speaks with U.S, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo during their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 30, 2023

U.S. commerce chief says business with China is key, but risky

The comments by Washington’s top trade promoter underscore that commerce has become one of the main strands of tension between the two powers.
Pope Francis leads the Angelus prayer from his window at the Vatican on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 30, 2023

Few Catholics in Mongolia, but Pope's visit eyes geopolitics

In going to the sparsely populated, Buddhist-majority nation, the pope may be eyeing Mongolia as a way to help build bridges with China and Russia.
A married couple (Arata Iura, left, and Rena Tanaka) returning to their home village from a posting in occupied Korea become witnesses to a bloodbath in Tatsuya Mori’s historical drama, “September 1923.”
CULTURE / Film
Aug 31, 2023

‘September 1923’ stylizes an oft-overlooked brutality

Tatsuya Mori’s drama is an important act of historical reclamation, but it’s practically indigestible.
North Korean leader Kim Jong visits a command training center of the Korean People's Army General Staff at an undisclosed location in North Korea in this image released Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 31, 2023

North Korea holds 'nuclear strike drill' targeting South

The drills were intended to "send a message" to the North's enemies, as large-scale military exercises between Washington and Seoul were set to conclude.
A woman cooks in the old district of Kashgar, in China's Xinjiang region, in 2011.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 31, 2023

Amnesty calls for action on rights in China's Xinjiang region

Group says international community has "shied away from the kind of resolute steps needed to advance justice, truth and reparation for victims."
Demonstrators in Warsaw protest against Vladimir Putin and the war on Aug. 24, Ukraine’s official Independence Day.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 31, 2023

It would be wise to not personally humiliate Putin

Defeating autocrats like Vladimir Putin in an aggressive war requires progress on the battlefield, and rhetoric alone is unlikely to achieve the goal.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2023

Century since Kanto quake, expert warns of 'blind faith' in disaster resilience

For many, grasping the potential devastation of a future major quake remains as elusive as it was 100 years ago.
Rough guidelines on gifting cash at a Japanese wedding recommended between ¥10,000 and ¥50,000, depending on your own financial standing and your relationship to the married couple.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 2, 2023

The unwritten rules around cash at Asian weddings

Should a gift reflect the cost of your banquet meal? How do you put a numerical value on a friendship?
A construction site where many tall apartment buildings have been constructed in recent years, in Parramatta, Sydney
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 1, 2023

Build up, not out: The high density housing push for Australian cities

With the construction industry struggling amid elevated costs and decade-high interest rates, housing affordability has become a thorny political issue.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the training command post of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army at an undisclosed location in North Korea in this photo released Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 2, 2023

North Korea fires several cruise missiles toward Yellow Sea

Saturday’s launches come after South Korea and the U.S. wrapped up their 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield summer military exercises on Thursday.
Singer Jimmy Buffett performs during NBC's "Today" show Summer Concert Series in New York City in July 2016.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 2, 2023

Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett dies at 76

Jimmy Buffett, the American singer-songwriter who went from Key West beach bum to billionaire behind the always-on-vacation "Margaritaville" commercial empire, has died at the age of 76.
When night comes around, Lovely is more likely to let you give her a cuddle.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Sep 3, 2023

Lovely the cat lives up to her name

A cat named Lovely and a dog named Tillo would both make fantastic additions to the family.
A Burning Man participant walks their bike through mud near the exit, after a severe rainstorm left tens of thousands of revelers attending the annual festival stranded in mud in Black Rock City in the Nevada desert.
WORLD / Society
Sep 4, 2023

Amid rain and mud, climactic ‘burn’ is delayed at Burning Man festival

Events have tested the resolve of participants, who were told to conserve food and water, at the more than three-decade-old festival.
Nestled behind a seawall on the Pacific coast are the Minamisoma Mano-Migita-Ebi solar power plant and the Manyo no Sato wind farm. The 2011 tsunami struck this portion of the coast with a wave that is reported to have been around 18 meters high.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Sep 5, 2023

How a nuclear disaster turned Fukushima into a renewables leader

Following 3/11 — and the cratering of support for nuclear energy — Fukushima positioned itself at the forefront of Japan’s low-carbon transition.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 5, 2023

Why Tohoku University was picked as first beneficiary of new university fund

The fact it was picked as the sole recipient, and over two prestigious universities seen as front-runners, has shocked Japan's academic community.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel talks to local fishermen on Thursday to show his support for the water discharge from the nearby Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 5, 2023

Fukushima water disposal is leadership opportunity for Japan

Some 1,000 storage tanks that hold the water are almost full and more tanks can’t be installed as they would interfere with the plant’s decommissioning.
Personnel from the Self-Defense Forces take part in a nuclear, biological and chemical weapons exercise at New Chitose airport in Hokkaido in July 2012.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Sep 7, 2023

Japan has plenty to offer in the field of detecting threats

With the spread of chemical, nuclear and biological weapons, the time is right to put domestic tech to good use.
A woman wears traditional Uyghur clothing for a photo shoot in the Old Kashgar tourist area in China's northwestern Xinjiang region.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 6, 2023

State-backed tourism booms in China's troubled Xinjiang

Kashgar, once an ancient Silk Road oasis, was recently on the front lines of Beijing's sweeping anti-terrorism campaign in the northwestern region.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 7, 2023

Taiwan’s ‘silicon shield’ against China is an illusion

China may be reliant on Taiwanese semiconductors, but that doesn't stop Beijing from harboring a military takeover.
Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi attends the 80th Venice Film Festival for the premiere of his new movie, "Evil Does Not Exist."
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Sep 7, 2023

Ryusuke Hamaguchi revives himself with dark nature film

The Japanese director found solace in nature with his new film "Evil Does Not Exist," which premiered at Venice on Monday.
Cuban American soprano Lisette Oropesa stars as Violetta in a restaging of Giuseppe Verdi’s “La Traviata” directed by Sofia Coppola in her opera directing debut in 2016
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 8, 2023

Rome Opera's tragic heroes resonate in modern times

For its Japan tour, the company will perform lavish productions of "La Traviata," directed by Sofia Coppola, and "Tosca," by Franco Zeffirelli.
Kazuki Paul Tsuyukusa with his dog Sunny in Fukuoka
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Sep 9, 2023

Kazuki Paul Tsuyukusa: 'It’s better to live without being noticed everywhere.’

A former rikishi, Kazuki Paul Tsuyukusa has swapped his sumo stable for the life of a salaryman.

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