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Al Shifa Hospital after Israeli forces withdrew from the hospital and the area around it following a two-week operation, in Gaza City on April 2
WORLD
Jun 5, 2024

Gaza's doctors were building a health care system. Then came war.

Before the war, specialist doctors were part of a strategic effort by Hamas to build a self-sufficient health care system for Gaza.
A study has found that the share of people with high blood pressure increases as income decreases.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 6, 2024

Lower-income people more likely to have high blood pressure: study

The tendency seems to stem from alcohol consumption, obesity and lack of exercise.
Eschewing the comfort of Tokyo’s air-conditioned museums, the inconvenient art movement draws viewers into the countryside to see artworks such as Christian Boltanski’s “Les Regards.”
CULTURE / Art
Jun 7, 2024

A list of Japan’s remote art sites

Get off the beaten path this summer and discover art tucked away in the farthest reaches of Japan.
Postage rates for sealed letters and other documents are expected to be raised by 30% as early as October, the first rise in 30 years aside from when prices increased along with consumption tax hikes.
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2024

Postage rate hikes seen denting New Year's card tradition in Japan

The tradition of sending New Year's greetings on postcards began in 1873 with the introduction of postcards.
Chef Yusuke Murayama’s creative cuisine at Pas Mal spotlights the premium produce of Yamagata Prefecture.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Jun 8, 2024

Pas Mal: French cuisine spotlighting Yamagata’s premium produce

Chef Yusuke Murayama’s signature dessert is a framboise mousse the color of glossy lipstick rouge in the shape of a mouth.
Oilers forward Connor McDavid is considered by many to be the best player in the NHL.
MORE SPORTS
Jun 7, 2024

Oilers head into Stanley Cup Final looking to end Canadian drought

No Canadian team has captured the Cup since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens.
The policies of just-reelected Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reflect India's desire for independence in international affairs, emphasizing friendship without dependence.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 7, 2024

A resurgent India to play a bigger role on the world stage

With a busy foreign-policy agenda awaiting him, Modi is expected to hit the ground running right after he is sworn in.
Tourists visit Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto, where popular sites feel increasingly unmanageable.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 8, 2024

Japan likes tourists, just not this many

The country has politely handled travelers for years, but as visitors spill into previously untouristed spots, some residents are frustrated.
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz celebrates winning his semifinal match against Italy's Jannik Sinner.
TENNIS
Jun 8, 2024

Alcaraz and Zverev win to set up tantalizing French Open final

Having already captured a Wimbledon and U.S. Open trophy at the age of 21, Alcaraz became the youngest man to reach major finals on all three of the sport's surfaces.
Indonesian gymnast Rifda Irfanaluthfi practices at the gymnastics training center in Jakarta on May 16.
OLYMPICS / Gymnastics
Jun 8, 2024

Indonesia's first Olympic gymnast encourages others to 'dream higher'

Rifda Irfanaluthfi's feat is even more impressive considering Indonesia does not yet have a national training center for gymnastics
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida answers questions during a session of the Lower House special committee on political reform at parliament in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 8, 2024

Kishida faces tough time constraints in parliament after bill's delay

The political funds bill only cleared the Lower House on Thursday, two days later than the LDP had expected, due to prolonged negotiations to amend the legislation.
Tokyo has proved to be an attractive destination for Chinese entrepreneurs in recent times, away from the challenges hitting the economy at home.
BUSINESS
Jun 16, 2024

Chinese entrepreneurs bet on Japan

A Chinese-language MBA program has been catering to those seeking opportunities in Tokyo.
Retired boxing champion Manny Pacquiao (left) and mixed martial artist Chihiro Suzuki pose during a news conference on Monday.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
Jun 10, 2024

Retired boxing great Manny Pacquiao hints at comeback against Mario Barrios

Pacquiao has signed up to fight a three-round exhibition bout against Japanese mixed martial artist Chihiro Suzuki next month in Saitama.
Traffic at the Dubai International Financial Centre. Last year, it opened the DIFC Family Wealth Center, a registry for family offices that also offers advisory services, workshops, mentoring, dispute resolution and certification based on how "structured” their governance is.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 10, 2024

Dubai takes on Abu Dhabi in race for supremacy in family offices

Last year, the number of registered foundations in Dubai rose by 53%. In rival Abu Dhabi, the number jumped by 35%.
Australian-born Connor O'Leary will represent Japan in the surfing competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
OLYMPICS / Surfing
Jun 11, 2024

At Paris Games, Connor O’Leary aims to win and inspire

The waves in Teahupo'o, Tahiti, may bode well for the goofy-footed surfer.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike is expected to announce her bid to seek a reelection in the July 7 gubernatorial election.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2024

Tokyo Gov. Koike to announce bid for third term as early as Wednesday

Koike is likely to emphasize her eagerness to map out a growth strategy for Tokyo to lead the Japanese economy and strengthen disaster prevention measures.
Soldiers stand at attention on the day German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier attends a Bundeswehr training exercise in Munster, Germany, on April 18.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 11, 2024

Infighting over budget imperils Germany’s defense upgrade

Uncertainty is growing about how to achieve a key spending goal when topped-off funds are exhausted in 2028.
Hunter Biden — the son of U.S. President Joe Biden — was found guilty on Tuesday of violating federal laws for illegally buying a gun during a period he was taking crack cocaine.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 12, 2024

Biden plan to brand Trump a felon is hit by son’s conviction

How Hunter Biden’s conviction impacts the U.S. president’s campaign against his predecessor, whom he has cast as a threat to the rule of law, remains unclear.
Otowayama stable wrestlers in front of their stable. It may come as a surprise to some, but the use of ring names between wrestlers in the same stable isn’t all that common.­
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jun 12, 2024

Burning questions (and their answers) new fans may have about sumo

The slow month of June is as good a time as any for our columnist to answer some of the fan questions that crop up with regularity.
Dads in Japan tend to fall in one of two categories: "amatō," a person fond of sweets, or "karatō," a person fond of alcohol.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 14, 2024

Dads like sweets, but some like sweet words even more

Looking for a gift for Father's Day? It's said that Japanese dads fall into one of two categories: They like sweets or they like sake.
The share of women in legislative, senior official and management roles increased by 1.7 percentage points from 2023 and 4.6 percentage points from 2006, according to a World Economic Forum gender equality report.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 12, 2024

Japan makes gains in political empowerment in gender equality report

Overall, Japan ranked 118th out of 146 countries in the World Economic Forum report, making it the lowest-ranked G7 nation.
Denmark's food agency has issued a warning over the levels of capsaicin, the active component of chile peppers, in certain instant noodle products.
WORLD
Jun 12, 2024

Denmark recalls South Korean noodles for being too spicy

Three products were assessed to have dangerous levels of capsaicin, the active component of chile peppers.
A survey has shown that 722 municipalities in Japan had made school lunch services free of charge as of September 2023. Of those, 547 provided such services at all elementary and junior high schools.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2024

Free school lunches offered in 40% of Japanese municipalities

Many places said that they wanted to reduce financial burdens on households through the initiative.
Joey Chestnut (left) and Takeru Kobayashi compete in the Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest in New York on July 4, 2009.
MORE SPORTS
Jun 13, 2024

Netflix to air 'ultimate' hot dog eating contest

The announcement comes a day after the esoteric world of speed eating contests was rocked by news that Joey Chestnut had been banned from a popular New York event.
Renho speaks to reporters on Wednesday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 13, 2024

Renho, the liberal politician who might dethrone Tokyo's Koike

Her candidacy in July's gubernatorial race presents voters in the capital with two choices: Change or stability.
Former lawmaker Tomohiro Konno has been arrested for allegedly lending his name as a lawyer to other people to do legal work in violation of the attorney law.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 13, 2024

Ex-Japan Lower House member Konno arrested over name-lending

Konno allegedly lent his name to have other people do legal work to recover special fraud damage for five victims, with virtually no cases of damage recovery.
U.S President Joe Biden and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy after a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Fasano, Italy, on Thursday
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 14, 2024

G7 agrees on $50 billion loan to support Ukraine with Russian assets

The loan to the war-torn country will be repaid using interest generated by $300 billion worth of immobilized Russian funds, G7 leaders said.
However non-Japanese fathers in Japan manage the vagaries of life abroad, many share a preference for forging ahead for the benefit of their children.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jun 14, 2024

There’s no one-size-fits-all fatherhood for foreign-born dads in Japan

From Hokkaido to Okinawa, fathers in Japan talk getting married, raising kids and taking life as it comes.
Isamitsu Knives makes their blades in large batches to optimize the use of both the resources at its disposal and its small team of three smiths.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 16, 2024

‘A good knife is not only about the steel’

Founded in 2022, the knife-making process at Isamitsu Knives differs from industrial manufacturers in small but significant ways.
Displaced Sudanese families wait to receive food from a charity kitchen in the city of Omdurman, Sudan, in April.
WORLD / Society
Jun 14, 2024

Famine watchdog says many Sudanese face starvation in coming months

About 3.6 million children in Sudan are acutely malnourished, according to a joint statement by U.N. chiefs.

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan