Search - 2023

 
 
Top officials from the Farm Ministry bow deeply to apologize for mistakenly saying that Japan has enough rice based on faulty data at a meeting on Aug. 8 at LDP headquarters.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 8, 2025

Farm ministry apologizes over erroneous rice supply and demand forecasts

The errors came to light when Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba admitted that the government’s miscalculations had led to prices surging in the past year.
From left to right: Green Legacy Hiroshima volunteer staff Mariko Kikuchi, Tomoko Watanabe, Nassrine Azimi and Sophie Qano stand before one of the trees that survived the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
COMMUNITY / Issues
Aug 9, 2025

A campaign to preserve Hiroshima’s historic trees for another 1,000 years

A total of 170 trees survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. Since 2011, a nonprofit organization has been dedicated to sharing their seeds and saplings with the world.
Venus Williams hits a return against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro during the first round of the Cincinnati Open on Thursday.
TENNIS
Aug 8, 2025

Venus Williams falls in first round in Cincinnati

Williams, 45, was competing for the second time in three weeks after returning to the WTA tour in Washington in her first tournament in 16 months.
Operations of a medical helicopter in Tokyo will be suspended for seven days this month due to a staff shortage.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2025

Tokyo temporarily halts medical helicopter operations due to staff shortage

The suspension began on Thursday and will continue through Sunday. The helicopter will also be out of service between Aug. 24 and Aug. 26.
Recent heat waves and little rain may impact the rice harvest in Japan that typically starts in late summer, at a time when rice supplies have already been strained by adverse weather in recent years.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2025

Japan’s rice crop at risk as farms face record-breaking heat

Weather extremes may impact the harvest that typically starts in late summer, at a time when rice supplies have already been strained by adverse weather in recent years.
Fukagawa Distillery's bar offers a view of the distillation still behind its walls.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Aug 10, 2025

In a coffee-mad neighborhood, a gin distillery is a clear alternative

Located in Kiyosumi-Shirakawa, Fukagawa Distillery wants residents to “think of gin as their local drink."
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attends a news conference at the Chancellery in Berlin on July 29.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 9, 2025

Germany suspends arms exports to Israel for use in Gaza

Chancellor Friedrich Merz said It was "increasingly unclear" how Israel's latest military plan would help disarm Hamas and save the remaining hostages.
Doves are released during a ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, at the city's Peace Park on Saturday.
JAPAN
Aug 9, 2025

Nagasaki marks 80 years since atomic bombing as hibakusha numbers dwindle

The anniversary comes amid frustration among the dwindling number of survivors that their powerful calls for eradicating nuclear arms are falling on deaf ears.
U.S. President Donald Trump holds the hands of Azerbaijanu President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan as they shake hands during a trilateral signing event at the White House in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 9, 2025

Trump says Armenia and Azerbaijan commit to end fighting 'forever'

However, the fine print and binding nature of the deal between the longtime foes remained unclear.
A protest in solidarity with children in Gaza in Berlin
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 9, 2025

As Gaza faces starvation, reluctant Germany starts to curb support for Israel

The shift reflects how Germany's support for Israel, rooted in its historical guilt over the Nazi Holocaust, is being tested like never before.
Liu Jianchao in 2015. Liu, 61, has led the Communist Party's body in charge of managing ties with foreign political parties since 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 10, 2025

China detains senior diplomat Liu Jianchao for probe, WSJ reports

Liu was taken away after returning to Beijing in late July from an overseas work trip, WSJ reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
People huddle near a large fan blowing icy-cold mist at the Osaka Expo on July 12. Amid Japan's relentless summer heat, organizes have put myriad measures in place in order to keep guests safe.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Aug 10, 2025

Osaka Expo highlights the challenge of holding events in Japan's scorching summer

Giant umbrellas, mist fans and human-sized ice boxes are some of the many ways organizers are offering respite to visitors.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a press conference in Jerusalem on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 11, 2025

Netanyahu defends Gaza plan condemned at home and abroad

Foreign powers are already upset about the hunger crisis besetting Palestinians in Gaza, while relatives of hostages are calling for a general strike to protest the latest plans.
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike where Al Jazeera says its journalists Anas Al Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh and three photojournalists were killed, in Gaza City on Monday.
WORLD
Aug 11, 2025

Israel kills Al Jazeera journalist it says was Hamas leader

Calling Al Sharif "one of Gaza's bravest journalists," Al Jazeera said the attack "is a desperate attempt to silence voices in anticipation of the occupation of Gaza."
Ahmad Habibi and his younger brother Mahmood Habibi pose for the camera in Canada in 2014.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 11, 2025

How a CIA hit on al-Qaida ensnared a U.S. citizen in Afghanistan

Interviews reveal that the Taliban likely detained Mahmood Habibi because the CIA had penetrated the company where he worked.
Doaa al-Obeid, the widow of soccer player Suleiman Al-Obeid holds his shorts while sitting next to her son in Gaza City on Sunday.
SOCCER
Aug 11, 2025

Family and fans remember 'Palestinian Pele' killed in Gaza

The Palestinian Football Association said Obeid was killed in an attack by the Israeli military in southern Gaza while waiting to collect aid at a distribution point.
Justin Rose looks over his putt on the 18th green during the first playoff hole during the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, Tennessee, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 11, 2025

Rose tops Spaun in playoff to win PGA St. Jude as Fleetwood falters again

Rose, the 2013 U.S. Open champion, had six birdies over his last eight holes.
Dalton Henry Stout, a member of the white nationalist group Aryan Freedom Network, conceals his identity during a portrait session in southern Oklahoma on May 5.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 11, 2025

American Nazis: The Aryan Freedom Network is riding high in Trump era

American neo-Nazis point to Trump’s rhetoric as driving a surge in interest and recruitment.
Wind turbines beyond an array of solar panels on the hillside in the Canical district of Madeira, Portugal, on Feb. 9, 2023. Renewables are now among the cheapest forms of electricity, especially after an energy crunch and the Ukraine war bolstered gas, oil and coal.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Aug 11, 2025

Hedge funds flip on green energy and start betting against oil

The outlook for solar and wind stocks is starting to improve.
Visitors have their photo taken by a portrait of President Xi Jinping at the Military Museum in Beijing on Oct. 20, 2023. The Chinese leader’s crackdown on military corruption reveals how deep his concerns run, not only about battlefield readiness, but about political survival, as well.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 11, 2025

Xi looks to tighten grip after scandals shake China’s military elite

Outwardly, China’s military has never been stronger. Its naval ships venture farther across the oceans. Its nuclear force grows by about 100 warheads every year. Its military flights around Taiwan are increasingly frequent and intimidating. Every few months, China unveils new weapons, like a prototype...
Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s chief technology officer; Bob McGrew, an adviser at Thinking Machines Lab and OpenAI’s former chief research officer; Shyam Sankar, Palantir’s chief technology officer; and Kevin Weil, OpenAI’s chief product officer at a military ceremony in Arlington, Va., in June 2025. The four current and former executives were pronounced lieutenant colonels in a new unit, Detachment 201, which will advise the Army on new technologies for potential combat.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 11, 2025

Silicon Valley is in its ‘hard tech’ era

Instead of the tap-to-pay apps of a decade ago like Clinkle and Bump, young companies are now making unmanned aerial drones stocked with AI-guided Barracuda cruise missiles.
Kaoru Mitoma celebrates scoring Brighton's second goal against Chelsea in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Feb. 8.
SOCCER
Aug 12, 2025

Kaoru Mitoma looks to build on Premier League success with Brighton

No Japanese player will be more essential for their team’s Premier League ambitions than Kaoru Mitoma.
A farmer removes weeds from a soybean farm in Nashik, India, on July 28.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 12, 2025

India's ethanol drive imperils its push for edible oil self-sufficiency

New Delhi is working to make more ethanol to meet its target of blending 20% of it with gasoline, but the process produces a protein-rich byproduct flooding the animal feed market.
HMS Prince of Wales arrives into the Port of Darwin, Australia, in July during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025.
JAPAN
Aug 12, 2025

Britain’s Prince of Wales aircraft carrier makes Japan debut

This is the second time since the late 1990s that a British aircraft carrier has docked in Japan — after the HMS Queen Elizabeth in 2021.
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani reacts after hitting a foul ball against the Blue Jays during the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium on Sunday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 12, 2025

Dodgers enter pivotal week, starting with series against Angels

The Angels swept a three-game series at Dodger Stadium in May, outscoring Dave Roberts' squad 23-15 in the process.
Senior diplomat Liu Jianchao, the head of the Chinese Communist Party’s International Department widely seen as China's next foreign minister, has been detained for unclear reasons, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 12, 2025

Xi’s ‘probe’ of senior diplomat puts China foreign policy team in doubt

Liu Jianchao, the head of the Chinese Communist Party’s International Department, has been detained for unclear reasons.
New Zealand celebrates winning the Women's World Cup in Auckland on Nov. 12, 2022.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 12, 2025

Women's Rugby World Cup players to wear mouthguards that light up on impact

The smart gumshields will send an alert to the match-day doctor warning of possible concussions, while referees will be advised to stop play upon seeing the red flash.
The World Energy refinery in Paramount, California
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Aug 12, 2025

The airline industry's dirty secret: Clean jet fuel failures

An analysis has found that the airline industry's plans to go green before regulators start penalizing them are little more than a pipe dream.
Oil prices are currently low, but a potential recovery around 2027-2029 is expected as demand growth slows and reduced investment in non-OPEC  production tightens supply.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 10, 2025

The bullish case for oil is real — but far, far away

With oil benchmarks down almost 20% over the last two years, upbeat investors are, out of necessity, waiting.
Demonstrators hold a banner during a protest outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem on Aug. 7.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 12, 2025

Hamas hostage videos silenced Israeli media's talk of Gaza aid crisis

The mood in Israel hardened dramatically when Hamas released a video of a skeletal Israeli hostage followed by a video of another who said he was being forced to dig his own grave.

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building