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U.S. President Donald Trump walks to have a family photo taken at the Group of Seven leaders' summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 17, 2025

G7 backs Israel’s ‘right to defend itself’ as Trump hastily leaves summit

In a tersely worded joint statement, the bloc labeled Iran a “principal source of regional instability.”
Nihonbashi bridge, long overshadowed — literally — by an elevated expressway, is at the center of a multidecade project to relocate the highway underground in hopes of restoring the scenery around the historically significant bridge.
JAPAN
Jun 17, 2025

Tokyo moves to restore open skies over historic Nihonbashi bridge

The elevated expressway is set to be completely removed in fiscal 2040 under a project expected to cost ¥320 billion ($2.2 billion).
A statue of Mohandas Gandhi in Tetsugakudo Park, Tokyo. The Indian nationalist saw lessons for humanity in the trajectory of modern Japan and the violence wrought by — and perpetrated upon — the nation.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Jun 21, 2025

Gandhi and Japan: Turning away from ‘brute force’ and toward love

“I did not move a muscle when I first heard that an atom bomb had wiped out Hiroshima.”
A Ukrainian mother sits with her children near a refugee center in Sumy, Ukraine, on June 12.
WORLD
Jun 17, 2025

Stay or go? Ukrainian visa programs in U.K. leave refugees in limbo

Many Ukrainians who came to Britain on special visas from 2022 are running out of time.
Firefighters at the site of Russian drone and missile strikes in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 17, 2025

Trump administration disbands group focused on pressuring Russia, sources say

The effort lost steam as it became clear to participants that Trump was not interested in adopting a more confrontational stance toward Moscow.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shakes hands with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung ahead of their meeting on the sidelines of the Group of Seven leaders' summit in Kananaskis in Alberta, Canada, on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 18, 2025

South Korea's Lee touts ‘inseparable’ Japan ties after Ishiba meeting

Seeking to ride the momentum that has pushed the neighbors closer following years of chilly ties, the pair also reaffirmed their commitment to trilateral cooperation with the U.S.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (left) and Indian leader Narendra Modi shake hands before posing for a photo during the Group of Seven leaders' summit in Kananaskis, in Alberta, Canada, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 18, 2025

India and Canada return ambassadors as Carney and Modi look past spat

Carney's predecessor last year accused India of involvement in the assassination of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil and expelled the Indian envoy.
European Council President Antَnio Costa (from left to right), Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Italian leader Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, U.S. President Donald Trump and leader Minister Keir Starmer pose for a family photo during the Group of Seven summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 18, 2025

Asia overshadowed as G7 struggles with crises and lack of unity

Mentions of China's growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific were conspicuously absent from the statements that emerged from the latest summit.
A dead sea star in 2015. About 5 billion sea stars died from a disease outbreak, likely including this one.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 18, 2025

Marine heat waves are spreading around the world

Some unusual ocean events have become so intense that scientists have coined a new term: super marine heat waves.
Valiant, a Hokkaido dog, was rescued from a temple in Gifu Prefecture along with a pack of others.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Jun 19, 2025

Valiant is a playful, princely Hokkaido dog

Hesitant though he may be, this handsome 9-year-old has a heart of gold.
Pakistani army chief Asim Munir
WORLD / Politics
Jun 19, 2025

Pakistan army chief discusses Israel-Iran conflict with Trump

The meeting came as the capital was fixated on speculation that the U.S. may join Israel’s attacks aimed at disabling Iran’s nuclear program.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in February. U.S. intelligence consistently showed Israel might go ahead with an attack on Iran with or without U.S. support.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 20, 2025

How Trump, a self-proclaimed 'peacemaker,' embraced Israel's campaign against Iran

No epiphany is seen to have tipped the scales for U.S. President Donald Trump so much as a lack of diplomatic progress, a push from Israelis and hawkish ally appeals wore him down.
Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil speaks to reporters after being released from immigration custody in Jena, Louisiana, on Friday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jun 21, 2025

Pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil walks free after U.S. judge orders release

President Donald Trump has called protests against Israel's Gaza war antisemitic and vowed to deport foreign students who took part. Khalil became the first target of this policy.
Candles and flowers adorn a memorial outside the Minnesota State Capitol following the killing of Democratic state assemblywoman Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, in St. Paul on Wednesday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jun 21, 2025

Two days of terror: How the Minnesota shooter evaded police and got caught

The suspect had an imperfect disguise, but it was enough to evade police for two days in the state's largest-ever manhunt.
Belarus opposition leader Siarhei Tsikhanouski  and his wife, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, speak with released prisoners Sergei Sheleg, Ihar Karnei, Natalia Dulina and Kirill Balakhanov, in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Saturday in this screen shot taken from social media video.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 22, 2025

Belarus opposition leader freed from jail in U.S.-brokered deal

Lukashenko issued pardons for all those released in response to a U.S. request, the president's spokeswoman, Natalya Eismont, said in a statement.
The city of Nanto in Toyama Prefecture hosts an event for local residents to experience a ride-hailing service in March.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jun 22, 2025

Public ride-hailing services gain ground in Japan

In a first for the nation, the city government has partnered with local taxi companies to offer ride-hailing services exclusively during times when taxis are in short supply.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at a ceremony in the Peace Memorial Park in Itoman, Okinawa Prefecture, on Monday.
JAPAN / History
Jun 23, 2025

Okinawa marks 80th anniversary of end of ferocious ground battle

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba spoke of the horrific ground war involving Okinawan residents, noting that 200,000 lives were lost, or about one in four Okinawans.
A WE League Cup championship match between Sanfrecce Hiroshima Regina and INAC Kobe takes place on Dec. 29 in Tokyo. A healthy increase in gross revenue has highlighted the WE League’s newfound growth potential.
SOCCER
Jun 24, 2025

WE League finally sowing seeds of growth under new stewardship

Yoshikazu Nonomura, who took the helm a year ago, oversaw improved attendance and financial numbers during his first season as chairman.
Born in April 2023, Grape and Acai are an inseparable duo that prefer a gentle lifestyle.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Jun 24, 2025

Fine feline twosome on the hunt for a forever home

Acai and Grape are an inseparable pair that are sure to bring a touch of sweetness to a peaceful household.
About 41% of LGBTQ+ teens could not find people or places they could consult with about their struggles with gender identity or sexual orientation.
JAPAN
Jun 24, 2025

Over half of LGBTQ+ teens in Japan have considered suicide, survey finds

Of the 90% of junior high and high school students who said they had experienced harassment at school, 64% said such harassment came from teachers.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects nuclear warheads at an undisclosed location. Events in Iran are likely to reinforce Pyongyang's belief that nuclear weapons ensure regime survival, with Pakistan and Libya providing lessons on how to get them and why giving them up can be fatal.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 24, 2025

Kim Jong Un’s nuclear lessons should trouble the rest of us

Operation Rising Lion has reaffirmed the belief that nuclear weapons are essential to protect a nation from attack.
A group of tourists drive go-karts in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward on April 18, 2024. The ward will introduce new regulations on go-kart rental operators starting July 1.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2025

Shibuya to regulate popular street kart rentals amid tourist boom

Go-kart-style vehicles have become a staple part of Tokyo’s inbound tourism scene, but they have also drawn complaints from locals.
Police arrested two Nepalese men living in Tokyo for allegedly contacting a woman via social media pretending to be Shohei Ohtani and swindling money out of her.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 25, 2025

Nepalese men posing as Ohtani arrested over fraud charges

Two suspects, both living in Tokyo's Adachi Ward, are believed to have swindled ¥1 million from a woman in Tokyo in early to mid-November last year.
Many recent video games, including Breath of the Wild and Planet of Lana, have borrowed from the pastoral aesthetic of Studio Ghibli films like “Princess Mononoke.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 25, 2025

Studio Ghibli’s majestic sensibility is drawing imitators

Forty years after the Japanese animation studio was founded, game creators are embracing its legacy of moral integrity.
U.S. President Donald Trump at the NATO summit in The Hague on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 26, 2025

Comparing U.S. Iran strike to Hiroshima, Trump plays down intelligence report

The U.S. president argued that the damage was severe even though available intelligence reports were inconclusive.
Following domestic economic instability after the real estate market’s 2020 collapse, and global geopolitical uncertainty, wealthy Chinese have sought to establish bases in other countries, including Japan.
BUSINESS
Jun 26, 2025

Japan among most attractive Asian nations for uber-wealthy

The standard of living, health care, and safety and security make Japan attractive to wealthy Chinese expatriates, with Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe their main destinations.
Thai eatery Orangutan takes over Lou cafe in the evening, replacing casual coffee and cakes with the fiery dishes of Isan cuisine.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 29, 2025

Come nightfall in Nakano, Thai eatery Orangutan opens its arms

Named after an ape, the restaurant, which takes over a cafe space in the evening, brings authentic, fiery Isan flavors to Tokyo.
Australian singer Donna Burke in Tokyo on May 29. People comment on how familiar her voice is when footage of Burke performing shinkansen announcements go viral online.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 27, 2025

A trained star: The Australian singer who became the voice of the shinkansen

The “JR voice” has built a career that encompasses voice work for prominent game franchises including Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, speak during a news conference at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on Thursday.
WORLD
Jun 27, 2025

No known intel that Iran moved uranium, says U.S. defense chief in fiery presser

Experts have cautioned that Iran likely moved its stockpile of near weapons-grade highly enriched nuclear material before the strikes, and could be hiding it.
A voter takes a photograph of a candidate running for a Tokyo assembly seat, in Tokyo on June 21.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 27, 2025

Lawmaker hints at new social media regulations as misinformation taints elections

Under a new law, social media sites can remove posts defaming political candidates if creators don't respond within two days, but lawmakers say that's too long.

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