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A protest against the Taliban’s decision to cancel the return of high school-aged girls to school in Kabul in 2022. Women and girls are banned from education in Afghanistan beyond the sixth grade.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 4, 2024

Japan shouldn’t work with the Taliban, not even to build schools

Japan's development aid to Afghanistan strengthens the Taliban. Instead, Tokyo should support those, like exiled Afghans, who defend democracy and human rights.
Men run for cover after an Israeli strike on the Mreijeh neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday.
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Oct 5, 2024

Countdown to Middle East war? How the region can step back from the brink

Brakes remain to halt a regional fall into a wider conflagration that would lock Israel and Tehran into escalating conflict and suck in other nations.
Police inspect the site where what appeared to be an unexploded bomb was found on Friday in Tokyo's Kita Ward.
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2024

Possible dud shell found in residential area of Tokyo

Around 4:20 p.m. Friday, police received a call reporting that there is something that appears to be a dud shell at a construction site in the capital's Kita Ward.
Raymonde Desiree, a member of the Chagossian community living in Crawley, south of London.
WORLD / Society
Oct 5, 2024

Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate

Britain will transfer sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius, and many Chagossians are angry that they were not given a say in the islands' fate.
Aziz Ahmed talks about young language carers in Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture, on Sept. 18.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 5, 2024

Young language carer hopes to support others facing hardships in Japan

Aziz Ahmed came to Japan from Pakistan at the age of 9 and remembers the hardships he faced interpreting for family members who do not speak Japanese.
A damaged road in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 6, after a major earthquake struck the area on New Year's Day
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / OUR PLANET
Oct 6, 2024

Important tool or alarmism? Japan experts split on megaquake advisories.

Supporters say the advisories are about reducing risk, but critics see a system that isn’t based on science and one in which the cons outweigh the pros.
Debris covers part of Beirut's southern suburbs in the aftermath of Israeli strikes on Sunday.
WORLD
Oct 6, 2024

Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary

Israeli forces were on high alert ahead of Monday's anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack, which sparked the war.
Coffee house owner Vu Dinh Tu making coffee at a cafe in Hanoi, Vietnam on Sept. 30.
BUSINESS
Oct 7, 2024

Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution

Coffee has become a byword for creativity and self-expression among young entrepreneurs — though their parents may take some convincing.
Kuo Yu-jen, vice president of the Institute for National Policy Research, speaks in Taipei on Sept. 30.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 7, 2024

Taiwan welcomes Japan's security 'policy shift'

Of the Group of Seven major powers, Japan is the sixth country to have sailed through the Taiwan Strait.
Internal affairs minister Seiichiro Murakami speaks during an interview at the ministry in Tokyo's Kasumigaseki district on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 7, 2024

Japan's new internal affairs minister looks to boost regional revitalization

Seiichiro Murakami aims to increase the number of regional development cooperation volunteers from 7,200 to 10,000.
Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (center right) and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (center left) pose for pictures as Kim Jong-uk, Commissioner General of the Korea Coast Guard (left), and Ronnie Gil Gavan, Commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard, hold up signed agreements during a meeting at the Malacanang Palace in Manila on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 8, 2024

Philippines and South Korea upgrade ties to strategic partnership

They also signed agreements on coastguard cooperation and nuclear energy.
Local activists and tech workers protest against Google and Amazon's Project Nimbus contract with the Israeli military and government, outside the Google Cloud Next Conference in San Francisco, California, on August 29, 2023.
WORLD
Oct 8, 2024

Decoding the role Big Tech plays in the war in Gaza

The Israel-Hamas war has spotlighted how artificial intelligence and machine learning can be used on the battlefield.
Japan's has experienced a significant decline in global economic power, with its share of global gross domestic product dropping from 18% in the 1980s to an anticipated 3% by 2050.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 8, 2024

Japan needs more than mere economic strength

Japan, a country that has long relied on its economic prowess for international stature and standing, must change its perspective.
Coal-fired power plants in Bataan, the Philippines, in June 2023. A third of the 158 agreements signed under the Japan-led Asia Zero Emission Community are linked to fossil fuel technologies, a recent study by a climate research group has found.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Oct 9, 2024

Japan pushes fossil fuel tech in Asia carbon neutrality initiative

A third of the 158 agreements signed under the Japan-led Asia Zero Emission Community are linked to fossil fuel technologies, according to a report.
Former Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp speaks after receiving Germany's Order of Merit in Berlin on Oct. 1.
SOCCER
Oct 9, 2024

Juergen Klopp becomes Red Bull's global soccer chief in first job after Liverpool

Klopp, who ended his successful nine-year stint with Liverpool at the end of last season, will be starting his new role on Jan. 1.
Mindbody ClassPass CFO Tom Aveston speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in September.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 9, 2024

ClassPass lands in Japan with eye on domestic fitness market and visitors

The company, which provides access to gyms on a membership basis, started operating on Sept. 19 with 200 partner gyms and fitness studios, mainly in Tokyo.
Heavy rain in Fort Myers, Florida, on Wednesday as Hurricane Milton approaches
WORLD
Oct 10, 2024

Hurricane Milton marches across central Florida, destroying homes and knocking out power

In a state already battered by Hurricane Helene two weeks ago, as many as 2 million people were ordered to evacuate.
Two of Google's researchers shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work revealing the secrets of proteins through AI.
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 10, 2024

AI steps into science limelight with Nobel wins

The science now bundled together as artificial intelligence has a long history, emerging in the 1950s and 60s with simple algorithms.
Ishiba addresses the ASEAN-Japan Summit meeting in Laos on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 10, 2024

Ishiba keeps low profile as he makes diplomatic debut

The prime minister made pledges to strengthen maritime security and promote decarbonization during his first international trip since taking office.
By windsurfing around the British Isles, Jonathan “Jono” Dunnett says he was rescued from disillusionment and depression.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Oct 10, 2024

Jonathan Dunnett: ‘The ocean is far bigger than we are, and it will humble us.’

With his bright orange sail, windsurfer Jonathan Dunnett is pretty visible out on the water. This means he draws attention from other boaters and the odd shark.
Lauretta is much calmer and more demure than her operatic name might suggest.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Oct 14, 2024

Named for an opera, Lauretta is more adorable than dramatic

Named after the daughter of Gianni Schicchi in the Puccini opera of the same name, it was Lauretta’s big, round face and lovely eyes that won her the name.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends the East Asia Summit during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Vientiane, Laos, on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 11, 2024

Ishiba clears low bar in diplomatic debut

Experts said Ishiba's visit signaled that he would maintain continuity with the policies set by former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
People inspect the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Friday.
WORLD
Oct 12, 2024

After heavy Israeli blows, Hezbollah forges new command for crucial ground war

Friends and foes alike are now watching how effectively the Iran-backed group resists Israeli troops that have crossed into Lebanon.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a debate with other political party leaders at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 13, 2024

Japan to ‘seriously consider’ U.N. nuke ban treaty observer status, Ishiba says

Japan, the sole country to be attacked with nuclear weapons, has faced criticism for not participating in some form in the treaty.
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center in Aurora, Colorado, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 13, 2024

Trump ratchets up rhetoric, calling for death penalty for migrants who kill Americans

He has already proposed an expansion of the death penalty for other offenders, including people convicted of sex trafficking women and children.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba chairs an Asia Zero Emission Community meeting in Vientiane, Laos, on Friday.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Oct 13, 2024

Where does Shigeru Ishiba stand on the climate issue?

Ishiba appears to be charting a new course on renewable energy, especially with a nascent effort to tap Japan's bountiful geothermal potential.
China's Liaoning aircraft carrier takes part in the Joint Sword-2024B military drills east of Taiwan, in this screenshot from video released Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 15, 2024

China says it won't rule out use of force to take Taiwan as war games end

Japan and the U.S. condemned the large-scale Chinese military exercises around Taiwan as Beijing hinted that more could come.
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (center), with Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly (right), and Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc, takes part in a news conference about the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's investigation into "violent criminal activity in Canada with connections to India," on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 15, 2024

Canada expels top India diplomats, linking them to murder of Sikh leader

India retaliated by ordering the expulsion of six high-ranking Canadian diplomats.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event in Flint, Michigan, on Oct. 4.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 15, 2024

Harris to raise concern about Trump's 'enemy from within' comments

Harris' trip to Pennsylvania is her 10th to the battleground state since she announced her candidacy for president in July.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends the East Asian Summit in Vientiane, Laos, on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 15, 2024

Ishiba openness to nuke ban treaty involvement puts pact in spotlight

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said his government will “seriously consider” participating as an observer in a conference of signatories to the U.N. treaty.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight