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Coco Gauff hits a return against Jasmine Paolini during the Italian Open final in Rome on Saturday.
TENNIS
May 19, 2025

Coco Gauff hopes to break through at French Open after losing two finals on clay

Gauff lost to Jasmine Paolini in the Italian Open final after falling against Aryna Sabalenka in the final round at the Madrid Open
Goldman Sachs’ unit in Japan, although posting lower profit last year, kept its spot as the most profitable among foreign banks in the country that close their books in December.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 19, 2025

Goldman Sachs leads in a patchy year for foreign banks in Japan

The varied results suggest that 2024 was a tricky year for the world’s largest lenders operating in Japan, as investors adjusted to rising interest rates.
Sky forward Angel Reese (center) reacts after receiving a flagrant foul from Fever guard Caitlin Clark (left) during their game in Indianapolis on Saturday.
BASKETBALL
May 19, 2025

WNBA vows to investigate racial comments directed at Angel Reese during opener

The Women's National Basketball Players Association also addressed the reports of "hateful comments" in a statement Sunday, saying, "Such behavior is unacceptable in our sport."
Trey Cabbage celebrates after hitting a home run at Tokyo Dome on May 1.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
May 19, 2025

Giants' Trey Cabbage not weighed down by pressure to replace Kazuma Okamoto

Cabbage has taken the majority of the at-bats in the cleanup spot since Okamoto suffered an elbow injury on May 6.
Tomomi Bitoh, seen crossing the finish line in Antarctica, on the first stop of the World Marathon Challenge, is one of the very few Japanese athletes to speak publicly about her experience with egg freezing.
MORE SPORTS
May 19, 2025

The race for more time: Japanese runner decided to freeze eggs for her future

More women in Japan are expressing interest or following through with freezing their eggs in recent years, but only a few athletes in Japan have spoken about it publicly.
Sakana AI Chief Operating Officer Ren Ito (left) and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group President Hironori Kamezawa in Tokyo on Friday. The companies have entered into a ¥5 billion ($34 million) deal to automate the creation of banking documents.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 19, 2025

Sakana AI and MUFG sign agreement to automate creation of banking documents

The AI Scientist, which was originally designed for automating scientific discovery, including manuscript writing and peer review, will be used.
A Musee Platinum hair removal salon in the city of Saitama on Monday
BUSINESS / Companies
May 19, 2025

Hair removal chain Musee Platinum owes ¥1.5 billion, say former staff

More than 2,000 former employees of the company went unpaid between January and April.
The supercharged investment pledge, up from an initial $1.4 billion, was pitched as part of a last-ditch effort to win approval of the merger, which has drawn fire from both U.S. Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 20, 2025

Nippon Steel eyes billions more in U.S. Steel investments if Trump green-lights deal

It is unclear if the billions in new investment will be enough to sway Trump, though two sources said his administration sought the increased investment.
Palestinians carry their belongings through the town of Jabalia as they flee the southward toward Gaza City on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
May 20, 2025

Trump plan or not, Israel is letting more Palestinians leave Gaza

The easing of restrictions parallels the Israeli government's stated goal of facilitating the resettlement of Gaza's population in other countries.
Brazilian real and a U.S. dollar notes are seen in this illustration taken on Dec. 18, 2024
BUSINESS / Markets
May 20, 2025

Dollar set for more weakness as 'Brand USA' falls further out of favor

Investors see the currency losing more of its luster as the greenback comes back to earth from lofty valuations.
Sky forward Angel Reese (center) reacts to a flagrant foul from Fever guard Caitlin Clark (left) during a game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Saturday.
BASKETBALL
May 20, 2025

Caitlin Clark and Fever players support investigation into fan behavior

A video allegedly showed a male fan sitting courtside and making high-pitched noises at a member of the opposing team.
Akemi Tao talks on behalf of late hibakusha Masahiro Kunishige during an event to pass down the memories of the atomic bombing experiences at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in February.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 20, 2025

'Memory keepers' pass on Hiroshima A-bomb survivors' stories

Becoming a memory keeper requires about two years of training. Applicants study the realities of the U.S. nuclear attack and practice public speaking skills.
Robin Zeng, founder and chairman of battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), attends the company’s listing ceremony at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in Hong Kong on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 20, 2025

Chinese battery giant CATL soars more than 13% on Hong Kong debut

A global leader in the sector, CATL produces more than a third of all electric vehicle (EV) batteries sold worldwide.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer is among the key Democrats who have raised concerns about Middle East chip deals.
WORLD / Politics
May 20, 2025

Democrats warn Trump’s Middle East chip deals imperil U.S. security

Key U.S. Senate Democrats have urged the administration of President Donald Trump to revisit new artificial intelligence deals with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, saying that expanded sales of AI chips to the Middle Eastern countries risk exposing advanced technology to China and Russia,...
''A Minecraft Movie'' star Jack Black attends the films world premiere in London on March 30. Video-game adaptations like the movie are overtaking superhero films at the box office.
COMMENTARY / World
May 20, 2025

Success of ‘Minecraft’ shows the future of movies is games

The big-screen feature from Warner Bros. Discovery, "A Minecraft Movie," has outearned every other U.S. movie so far in 2025.
Federal workers shout chants during a rally across the street from the Internal Revenue Service headquarters in March.
WORLD / Politics
May 20, 2025

Trump's mass layoff threat drives U.S. government workers to resign

Mass layoffs at the largest agencies have yet to materialize and courts have slowed the process.
The cast and crew of Indian drama film "All We Imagine As Light" pose with their award for best film at the 18th Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong on March 16.
CULTURE / Film
May 21, 2025

Women fight for the spotlight in India's macho movie industry

Women filmmakers in India are reshaping cinema with authentic, female-led stories, challenging outdated stereotypes and finding box office success.
Military vehicles drive their way from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border into the Gaza Strip, as seen from Israel on Tuesday.
WORLD
May 21, 2025

Airstrikes kill dozens in Gaza as international criticism of Israel grows

The war, now in its 20th month, has left Gaza in ruins and its population facing a worsening hunger crisis.
Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate for South Korea's Democratic Party, gestures during an election campaign rally in Seoul on Monday. Officials in Tokyo are closely watching Lee’s remarks for hints of how bilateral relations could shift if he is elected.
JAPAN / Politics
May 21, 2025

South Korean presidential front-runner says he's not hostile toward Japan

Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung has in recent months sought to highlight a more centrist agenda ahead of the presidential election.
The announcement that NFL players will be able to compete at the Olympics in flag football raises the tantalizing possibility of a new "Dream Team," 36 years after the gold medal-winning U.S. basketball team laden with NBA stars.
OLYMPICS / Football
May 21, 2025

NFL teams vote to allow players to compete in Olympic flag football

The NFL had long been on board with players competing in the Games, while multiple athletes — including two-time MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes — said they wanted to play.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. Investors are shunning an auction of government debt and yields are soaring as the BOJ reduces its purchases of government bonds.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 21, 2025

Buyers recoil from Japanese bonds in warning to BOJ on balance-sheet cuts

The rout in the nation’s $7.8 trillion government bond market is most acute for longer-maturity debt.
It was reported that Malaysia would deploy 3,000 units of Huawei’s primary AI offering by 2026.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 21, 2025

Malaysia downplays Huawei deal as U.S. checks China’s AI reach

The move underscores the Asian nation’s delicate position in the U.S.-Chinese AI race.
A crowd of tourists walk on the street near Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto. There has been growing pushback from residents in the tradition-steeped city as visitor numbers continue to rise.
JAPAN / Society
May 21, 2025

Japan's tourist arrivals soared 28.5% in April to hit record 3.9 million

For the first four months of the year, foreign visitor arrivals totaled 14.4 million, a 24.5% increase.
Over the past three years, banks with the most blended-finance transactions include SMBC, Citigroup, BNP Paribas and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 22, 2025

Sumitomo Mitsui among banks stepping up deals for blended finance

Deals blending public and private funds totaled $18 billion last year, down 21% from 2023, according to Convergence.
Jony Ive, left, is collaborating with OpenAI’s Sam Altman as part of a nearly $6.5 billion deal.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 22, 2025

OpenAI to buy AI startup from Apple veteran Jony Ive in $6.5 billion deal

The purchase — the largest in OpenAI’s history — will provide the company with a dedicated unit for developing AI-powered devices.
Thai film "A Useful Ghost" won top prize in the Critics' Week sidebar section of the Cannes film festival.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
May 22, 2025

LGBTQ Thai ghost story wins prize in Cannes

Film director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke says he hoped his LGBTQ story could touch more on politics.
Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department headquarters. Along with the National Police Agency, the MPD will carry out a major reorganization to beef up investigations into tokuryū groups.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 22, 2025

Japan police to launch team targeting tokuryū masterminds

The new police office is set to gather and assess information on tokuryū leaders around the country and identify targets for crackdowns.
Members of the group Misaskim clean blood off the ground where two Israeli embassy staff were shot dead near the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington on Thursday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 23, 2025

Israeli embassy staff shooting suspect charged with murder

If convicted, Elias Rodriguez, 31, faces the possibility of the death penalty or life in prison.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 isn't your typical Japanese role-playing game, but that hasn't stopped it from being one of the best to come from the genre in years.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
May 24, 2025

Uh-oh, is the rest of the world making JRPGs better than Japan?

Developed by a French studio, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has pushed the genre forward more than any Japanese-developed title in the past 10 years.
With Russia holding the upper hand in Ukraine and its people likely to support a favorable peace, why is the Kremlin unwilling to negotiate?
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 22, 2025

Russia’s two minds on Ukraine

Russian people used to have savings; today, they spend whatever they can get their hands on and even take out loans.

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