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Asuka Tsuzuki (left), the principal of Linden Hall School's secondary school, and Kota Sugimoto, the school's head chef, display the Japanese Agricultural Standards certificate the school obtained for its lunches.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
May 5, 2025

In a national first, Fukuoka school obtains organic lunch certificate

A Fukuoka school has become Japan’s first to earn JAS certification for organic school lunches, using seasonal and local produce to promote environmental education.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a discussion on the employment ice age generation in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 25, 2025

‘Employment ice age generation’ returns to spotlight ahead of Upper House election

The generation, which graduated between 1993 and 2004, has long grappled with pay stagnation and irregular employment due to a tight labor market.
Satoshi Egura, who was accidentally swapped with another newborn at a Tokyo maternity hospital in 1958, speaks during a news conference after the Tokyo Metropolitan Government agreed to help him find his birth parents.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 25, 2025

Tokyo government to search for birth parents of man switched as newborn

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will begin a search for the birth parents of a 67-year-old man accidentally switched as a newborn at a now-closed maternity hospital.
Resona Bank officials attend a ceremony in Los Angeles on Friday to open its first U.S. office in 21 years.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 27, 2025

Resona Bank sets up U.S. office for first time in 21 years

The move reflects the bank's aim to enhance business support for some 1,200 client companies operating in the United States.
China's Bayan Obo rare earth mine in Inner Mongolia. As U.S.-China tensions strain critical mineral supply chains, Tokyo’s multipronged approach based on sovereignty, resilience and sustainability is gaining quiet relevance.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 5, 2025

Japan's resource security path may hold answers to trade turmoil

Critical mineral supply chains are made vulnerable by China's dominance and U.S. protectionism. Japan's strategy may provide clues as to how to secure these vital resources.
Those who entered the job market from around 1993 to 2004, when long-term stagnation started, are likely to struggle even more to make ends meet after retirement.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
May 7, 2025

Japan's 'ice age' employment generation is at risk of poverty during retirement

Due to low wages the generation tends to earn and protracted pension adjustments, many may end up relying on welfare benefits.
Takeshi Hakamada, founder and CEO of Ispace, says his primary interest in space development is not to abandon Earth, but to protect it.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 7, 2025

'Big picture thinker': Ispace CEO Hakamada on reaching the moon and dreaming of starships

CEO Takeshi Hakamada envisions a distant future where humans live and work on the moon — just don't ask him to visit.
An Israeli military vehicle patrols on the Israeli side of the Gaza border on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 8, 2025

U.S. and Israel discuss possible U.S.-led administration for Gaza, sources say

There would be no fixed timeline for how long such a U.S.-led administration would last, which would depend on the situation on the ground.
Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold will leave the club at the end of the season. He is expected to move to Real Madrid.
SOCCER
May 12, 2025

Liverpool fans boo departing star Trent Alexander-Arnold

Alexander-Arnold confirmed his impending exit on Monday ahead of a widely expected move to Real Madrid.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping joins Russian President Vladimir Putin and other foreign leaders at a ceremony at the Kremlin’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow on Friday to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2025

Beijing talks peace in Ukraine while aiding Putin’s war

China benefits strategically as long as the war stays within Ukraine, the nuclear risk remains low and its “unlimited partner,” Russia, does not lose.
Huntar Company CEO Jason Cheung adjusts some of the toys on display at his office in Union City, California, on May 8. His company manufactures toys in China for clients in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 13, 2025

Tariffs crippled U.S.-owned factory in China that made toys for Walmart

Huntar Company CEO Jason Cheung says his company would survive if tariffs come down quickly. If they don't, he'd lose everything.
President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a Saudi investment forum at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Riyadh on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 14, 2025

Trump says U.S. to lift Syria sanctions as he secures $600 billion Saudi deal

Saudi Arabia is one of the largest customers for U.S. arms — part of a decadeslong arrangement where the kingdom delivers oil and the superpower provides security.
Liberal Democratic Party executives at a General Council meeting on Tuesday at the party's headquarters in Tokyo
JAPAN / Politics
May 14, 2025

LDP approves pension reform legislation

The government aims to adopt the legislation at a Cabinet meeting Friday and submit it to the current session of the Diet, the country's parliament.
George Simion gestures while attending a presidential debate in Bucharest on May 8.
WORLD / Politics
May 15, 2025

MAGA goes east: Romania's presidential frontrunner rides hard-right wave

George Simion, a nationalist who campaigns to "Make Romania Great Again," opposes military aid to Ukraine and is critical of the EU's leadership.
A woman inspects damage from a tornado in London, Kentucky, on Saturday. More than 25 people have died after severe storms swept through the southern U.S. states of Missouri and Kentucky, officials and local media reports said.
WORLD
May 18, 2025

Severe storms and tornadoes kill more than 25 in south-central U.S.

More than 100,000 people have been left without power in Kentucky, and five counties have declared a state of emergency.
NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson during the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Carolina on Sunday
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
May 21, 2025

'True racer' Kyle Larson gears up for Indy-Charlotte Double

For the second year in a row, Kyle Larson will attempt one of the rarest feats in all of sports.
Poland's Iga Swiatek in action during her round of 32 match against Danielle Collins of the U.S. at the Italian Open in Rome on May 10.
TENNIS
May 21, 2025

Contenders lining up, eyeing Swiatek's French Open crown

Jasmine Paolini became the eighth different player to reach a WTA 1000 final this season at last week's Italian Open.
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander brings the ball up the court against the Nuggets during their Western Conference semifinal series in Denver on May 15.
BASKETBALL / NBA
May 22, 2025

Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wins NBA MVP

Gilgeous-Alexander becomes the second player from Canada to earn the honor, joining two-time winner Steve Nash.
Carlos Alcaraz celebrates after defeating Jannik Sinner in the Italian Open final in Rome on Sunday.
TENNIS
May 23, 2025

Carlos Alcaraz to open French Open title defense against Kei Nishikori

Naomi Osaka will face No. 10 seed Paula Badosa in the first round.
A worker sorts plastic waste for recycling at Minato Resource Recycle Center in Tokyo in 2019. Japan has been criticized by environmental groups for its strategy on plastics, which is heavily reliant on recycling instead of reduction.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
May 25, 2025

Are microplastics hurting our fertility?

While a lot remains unknown about how microplastics affect our health, scientists in Japan and around the world broadly agree there's an urgent need to reduce plastic production.
Aryna Sabalenka hits a return against Kamilla Rakhimova during the first round of the French Open in Paris on Sunday.
TENNIS
May 26, 2025

Aryna Sabalenka off to strong start at French Open; Rafael Nadal says goodbye

Women's world No. 1 Sabalenka needed just an hour to sweep aside Russian Kamilla Rakhimova.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (second from left), the businessman Dang Thanh Tam, (third from left), and Eric and Lara Trump (center) attend a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Trump hotel and golf course in the Hung Yen Province of Vietnam on May 21.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 26, 2025

Why Vietnam ignored its own laws to fast-track a Trump family golf complex

Hanoi faces intense pressure to strike a trade deal that would head off Trump’s threat of steep tariffs, which would hit about 30% of Vietnam’s exports.
Members of Spanish Guardia Civil, supported by Europol, arrest a man (right) during an operation against drug trafficking in Mijas, near Malaga, in June 2024.
WORLD
May 28, 2025

Sun, sand and suspects: Spain tackles fugitives seeking a haven

Criminals from around the globe flock to Spain, but police stress that their chances of evading justice are slim.
The cover-up is believed to have started in 2004 or even earlier, according to the government's Tohoku Local Finance Bureau and the Financial Services Agency.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 29, 2025

Japan lender receives business improvement order following cover-up

Former executives of the cooperative concealed fraudulent corporate loans, including through the accounts of depositors opened without their consent.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (center) attends a news conference at the Capitol on May 22 after the House narrowly passed a sweeping budget bill that some worry could add trillions to the country's deficit over the next decade.
COMMENTARY
May 28, 2025

The U.S. is about to discover if deficits actually matter

It turns out that this pattern — the bigger the debt, the less likely politicians are to address it — is lurking in the data, and not just in the U.S.
Shigeo Nagashima (left), then the manager of the Tokyo Giants, waves to fans with players and coaches during a victory parade in central Tokyo in 2000. Nagashima died at the age of 89 on Tuesday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jun 3, 2025

Japanese baseball legend Shigeo Nagashima dies at 89

Long before the rise of Shohei Ohtani and Ichiro Suzuki, Nagashima was arguably the most famous player in Japanese baseball history.
The basic framework adopted by the government calls for measures to improve the employment situation of those in their 40s and 50s, and for steps to assist them in their later years.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 3, 2025

Japan government to boost support for job 'Ice Age' generation

The framework calls for measures to improve the employment situation of those in their 40s and 50s, and for steps to assist them in their later years.
Zico, Brazilian soccer legend and current technical director for Kashima Antlers, poses following an interview at the Antlers's training ground in Kashima, Ibaraki Prefecture, on May 28.
SOCCER
Jun 3, 2025

Zico warns Japanese players not to follow Brazilians into transfer trap

The 72-year-old says Japanese players looking beyond the J. League is a "positive" development — as long as they move at the right time.
Lee Sang-il’s "Kokuho" stars Ryo Yoshizawa as an orphan from a yakuza clan who rises through the world of kabuki to become a star performer.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 8, 2025

‘Kokuho’ finds riveting drama on and off the kabuki stage

Ryo Yoshizawa and Ryusei Yokohama deliver stage performances that are both convincing as kabuki and arresting as drama in Lee Sang-il’s ambitious film.
Students make a speech during a memorial service to mark the 24th anniversary of the deadly knife attack at Ikeda Elementary School in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 8, 2025

Memorial held for victims of school stabbing 24 years ago

In the years since the incident, many local governments across the country have recruited former police officers to help keep students safe near school property.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’