Search - community

 
 
Ukraine will do its "job" and hold up its end of agreements reached with the United States, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in Kyiv on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 26, 2025

U.S. says Black Sea truce set even as the Kremlin lays out terms

The U.S. said Russia and Ukraine agreed to the ceasefire even as the Kremlin said its involvement would depend on a series of preconditions.
Hamdan Ballal (center right) with colleagues after winning the Oscar for best documentary feature for "No Other Land" on March 2
WORLD
Mar 26, 2025

Oscar-winning Palestinian director injured in attack by Israeli settlers released after arrest

Hamdan Ballal, co-director of the award-winning "No Other Land," was released from detention on Tuesday.
Gen. Timothy Haugh of U.S. Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency; FBI Director Kash Patel; Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard; CIA Director John Ratcliffe; and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse depart after testifying at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats, at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday. The hearing came a day after news of a major security breach roiled the Trump administration.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 26, 2025

Trump team scrambles to handle fallout from Signal chat assailed as 'sloppy, careless'

The administration sought to contain the fallout after a journalist said he had inadvertently been added to a discussion on highly sensitive war plans.
Ispace's Resilience lunar lander at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Tsukuba Space Center in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, in September
JAPAN / FOCUS
Mar 26, 2025

Japanese startups driving space development

Not only large companies but also emerging businesses are hurrying to conduct lunar exploration and commercialize transportation services using rockets.
Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be using U.S. President Donald Trump's desire to present himself as a strong dealmaker against him, some European officials said.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 27, 2025

Putin’s tactics are pushing Trump toward tough choice on Ukraine

Moscow seems intent on prolonging discussions and keeping the scope of talks narrow to pressure Washington into giving ground.
A detailed view of the ball during the second half of game five of the 2024 WNBA playoffs between the Minnesota Lynx and the Connecticut Sun at Target Center, Minneapolis on Oct 8, 2024.
BASKETBALL
Mar 27, 2025

Expansion Valkyries first WNBA team to hit 10,000 season tickets

The Valkyries are the first team to join the league since 2008 and will begin play on May 16 at home against the Los Angeles Sparks.
Alysa Liu competes in the women’s short program during the World Figure Skating Championships at TD Garden in Boston on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS / Figure skating
Mar 27, 2025

Women's skating favorites falter as Liu leads at worlds

Three-time defending champion Kaori Sakamoto, trying to become the first woman in 65 years to capture four consecutive world crowns, was a disappointing fifth.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pose for photos before their joint news conference at the Akasaka Palace state guest house in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 27, 2025

Brazilian leader's Tokyo visit lifts ties to new heights

The two leaders have adopted a five-year action plan and a flurry of agreements as the countries mark their 130th anniversary year of diplomatic relations.
Shogo Yamaguchi shares his love of traditional Japanese culture with an audience of nearly 2 million YouTube subscribers.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Mar 29, 2025

Shogo Yamaguchi: ‘Traditional culture thrives in a peaceful society’

The Kyoto-based content creator shares travel tips and reminisces on the path that led him to where he is today.
Miura and Kihara celebrate after winning the world pairs title on Thursday in Boston.
MORE SPORTS / Figure skating
Mar 28, 2025

Miura and Kihara edge German pair to win second world figure skating title

The Japanese duo scored 219.79 points to capture the world crown by 0.71 of a point over Germany's Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin.
Rohingya refugees hold up signs at a camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, on March 14.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 28, 2025

Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh fear U.S. aid cuts will deepen crisis

The U.S. had been the largest provider of aid to the Rohingya refugees, contributing nearly $2.4 billion since 2017, according to a State Department website.
Learning the ropes of Japan’s online marketplaces can yield hidden treasures and also help you freshen up your home or closet from time to time.
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Mar 31, 2025

How to navigate Japan’s e-commerce platforms and online flea markets

Looking to refresh your wardrobe or home with the arrival of spring? Check out our tips for how to make the most of Japan’s online marketplaces.
Basilio is believed to be a Kai ken, one of the six dog breeds native to Japan.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Mar 28, 2025

A tawny Kai ken discovers his courage

Rescued from a hoarder’s home, Basilio is easing up and learning to enjoy life again.
A guard tower at Manzanar Internment Camp in Independence, California, in July 2013. Nearly 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry were removed from their homes on the West Coast by the U.S. Army and sent to Manzanar and nine other internment camps between March 1942 and November 1945.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 26, 2025

Use of wartime powers revives internment camp memories

It took more than 40 years for the U.S. government to officially set the record straight that abusing the Alien Enemies Act during World War II was both illegal and immoral.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (second from right) addresses a meeting of the International Group of Eminent Persons for a World without Nuclear Weapons (IGEP) in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 30, 2025

Experts start talks on proposals for NPT review conference

Participants include experts from nuclear powers such as the United States, China and Russia, as well as from non-nuclear states.
A woman cries while offering morning prayers to start the Eid al-Fitr festival in Mandalay, Myanmar, on Monday, three days after a powerful quake hit the Southeast Asian nation.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 31, 2025

Rescue hopes fading three days after deadly Myanmar quake

Intense heat, with temperatures reaching as high as 40 C, has exhausted rescue workers and accelerated body decomposition, which could complicate identification.
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 31, 2025

A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime

Since 2009, Ken Theriault has been keeping himself busy maintaining Costco's American charm and catering to the needs of the Japanese consumer as the wholesaler's boss in Japan.
Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is seen on a screen in the courtroom of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, on March 14.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Mar 31, 2025

After Duterte's arrest, Philippine drug war victims face abuse and online falsehoods

A surge of false claims has swept social media since the arrest of Rodrigo Duterte, with supporters claiming the ICC had no jurisdiction and calling it a "kidnapping."
The Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong sails in waters off Taiwan on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 1, 2025

China conducts joint military exercises aimed at blockading Taiwan

The Chinese drills were practicing closing in on the island, with Beijing also warning that efforts toward Taiwan independence meant “war.”
A worker cuts Inada granite, which is used in various buildings in Tokyo.
ESG CONSORTIUM
Apr 1, 2025

Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones

In 2024, the Tsukuba massif granite of the Mt. Tsukuba Area Geopark was certified by the International Union of Geological Sciences as one of the first 55 IUGS Heritage Stones, which have been “used in significant architecture and monuments” and “recognized as integral aspects of human culture.”...
A Buddhist monk walks past the damaged Mandalay Palace on Monday. The country's ruling military junta can repeat the mistakes of 17 years ago by blocking aid after Cyclone Nargis left 140,000 dead or allow urgent assistance to flow freely.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 1, 2025

The quake in Myanmar should force the junta’s hand

The ousted civilian administration initiated a two-week ceasefire in quake-hit areas to allow aid to reach victims. It doesn’t look like the junta will do the same.
People queue for food and relief supplies after a strong earthquake in Amarapura, Myanmar, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 2, 2025

U.N. urges aid to Myanmar quake survivors before monsoons hit as death toll nears 3,000

A civil war in Myanmar had already displaced more than 3 million people long before the quake struck.
A fire caused by a gas pipeline leak rages in Puchong, Selangor on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 2, 2025

Scores hospitalized after huge fire at gas pipeline in Malaysia

Authorities said the blaze in the town of Puchong, on the outskirts of the capital Kuala Lumpur, had been extinguished by midafternoon.
Palestinian children wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on March 9.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 2, 2025

Israel says there's plenty of food in Gaza — U.N. says that's ridiculous

No aid has been delivered to the Palestinian enclave since March 2.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's contradictory statements on U.S. military strategy and alliances with Europe and Asia raise questions about his true stance, reflecting the chameleon-like nature of U.S. foreign policy under the Trump administration.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 3, 2025

Will the real Pete Hegseth please stand up?

The same fears remain in terms of security. Even if the Trump administration seeks to deter China, it is unlikely to shift its policy of so-called pacifism.
A new study questioning human-induced global warming — which claims to be entirely written by Elon Musk's Grok 3 AI — has gained traction online.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 4, 2025

Experts warn 'AI-written' paper is latest spin on climate change denial

The surge of AI in research, despite potential benefits, risks triggering an illusion of objectivity and insight in scientific research, they warn.
Amarone was taken in from the streets and has decided to give humans a chance — especially when they come bearing food.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Apr 4, 2025

Meet the cool cat with a roguish mustache

After a life on the streets, amiable Amarone is ready for a place to call home.
Nattanit Yiamthaisong (right), a Ph.D. student, Thongyod Chiangkanta, a technician from the Forest Restoration Research Unit at Chiang Mai University (center) and a forest guide walk through areas damaged by wildfires in Thailand's Umphang Wildlife Sanctuary on March 22.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Apr 5, 2025

'It's gone': conservation science in Thailand's burning forest

Scientists are confronting the toll that human activity and climate change are already having on forests that are supposed to be pristine and protected.
A Chinese military unit fires a land-based rocket during military exercises near Taiwan last week.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 7, 2025

G7 condemns 'provocative' Chinese military drills around Taiwan

Group of Seven foreign minsters expressed “deep concern” over the “provocative” and “destabilizing” drills.
The 2025 Diplomatic Bluebook says that Tokyo will communicate closely with Washington over various issues facing the international community.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 8, 2025

Japan foreign policy report highlights importance of building ties with Trump

The 2025 Diplomatic Bluebook said that Tokyo will communicate closely with Washington over various issues facing the international community.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear