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The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Markets
May 20, 2024

Japan’s 10-year bond yield hits decade high amid BOJ policy bets

The yield on 10-year government debt rose to a level last seen when the then newly appointed Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda was starting his radical monetary easing.
Ebrahim Raisi visiting the site of a road and rail bridge project in Azerbaijan on May 19
WORLD / Politics
May 20, 2024

Who will be Iran’s next president following Raisi’s death?

One of the big questions raised by Ebrahim Raisi’s death is how his absence is likely to affect the battle over who succeeds Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as Supreme Leader.
A scene following an Israeli strike on Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on April 22. Israel has carpet-bombed Gaza, obliterating neighborhoods and targeting hospitals, mosques, schools and camps for displaced people, according to a U.N. report.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 20, 2024

Impunity in Gaza is a threat to the international order

Israel's disregard for human rights and international law in Gaza, and the lack of consequences for such actions, are eroding the liberal international order that Japan relies on.
Rui Machida in action for Japan against France at the Tokyo Games in Saitama in August 2021
BASKETBALL
May 21, 2024

Japanese basketball star Rui Machida fights for Olympic spot

With many rivals jockeying for a spot on the 12-member roster, her selection is far from certain.
Kazuma Kaya reacts after his routine on the parallel bars during the men's apparatus finals at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp on Oct. 8.
OLYMPICS / Gymnastics
May 21, 2024

Team Japan in Paris will be strongest, says gymnastics medalist Kaya

To date, Japan has a haul of seven Olympic gold medals in the team discipline, the most of any country.
Iranians gather to mourn the death of Ebrahim Raisi and Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Tehran on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
May 21, 2024

Iran president’s death and Saudi king’s health spur succession bets

Focusing on transition in Iran and Saudi Arabia adds another layer of uncertainty, and potential instability, to months of regional turmoil triggered by the Israel-Hamas war.
The Eiffel Tower Stadium, under construction for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the Champ-de-Mars Arena in Paris on April 13
OLYMPICS
May 21, 2024

No reason to sanction Israel at Games, says Paralympics head

Andrew Parsons says the situations regarding Israel, Russia and Belarus are different.
Supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange protest outside The Royal Courts of Justice, Britain's High Court, in central London on Monday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 21, 2024

WikiLeaks' Julian Assange wins right to appeal extradition from Britain to U.S.

Assange, 52, is wanted in the U.S. on 18 charges, nearly all under the Espionage Act, relating to WikiLeaks' mass release of secret U.S. documents.
Russia's Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia addresses the Security Council during a meeting on the maintenance of International Peace and Security Nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation at U.N. headquarters in New York on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
May 21, 2024

Russia fails in rival U.N. bid on nuclear and other weapons in space

The draft failed to get the minimum nine votes needed: seven members voted in favor and seven against, while one abstained.
U.S. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during a news briefing at the White House in Washington on April 24.
WORLD / Politics
May 21, 2024

U.S. and Saudi Arabia nearing deal on defense pact, White House says

The deal offers Riyadh access to advanced U.S. weaponry, potentially including F-35 fighter jets and artificial intelligence, in return for limiting ties with Beijing.
People hold pictures of victims of the contaminated blood scandal, at a vigil to remember those that lost their lives, ahead of the release of the final report of the Infected Blood Inquiry, in London on Sunday.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 21, 2024

Probe into infected blood scandal slams U.K. state over ‘chilling’ cover-up

More than 30,000 people were infected with HIV and Hepatitis C in the U.K. in the 1970s and 1980s after receiving treatments with contaminated blood products.
People in Tehran demonstrate in support of Iran's attack on Israel on April 15. After the helicopter crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the question is whether his successor will take a similar foreign policy path by keeping slivers of communication open and avoiding direct conflict with the United States.
WORLD / Politics
May 21, 2024

Aggression or caution: The choice facing Iran’s next leaders

After the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister it will be possible to maintain communications between Washington and Tehran?
Norinchukin Bank is one of Japan’s largest institutional investors with a ¥55.9 trillion ($357 billion) securities portfolio, and bonds make up more than half of its investments.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 21, 2024

Norinchukin weighs $7.7 billion fundraise to cover bond loss

As a result of restructuring its securities portfolio, the Tokyo-based bank may book about ¥500 billion in losses for the current fiscal year, one source said.
A drone view of fire and smoke from burning vegetation rising in a rainforest in Canta, state of Roraima, Brazil, on Feb. 29.
ENVIRONMENT
May 21, 2024

Brazil's Amazon fires off to record 2024 start as green union blames firefighting budget cut

A record drought, brought on by the El Nino climate phenomenon and global warming, is thought to be behind the fires.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign event in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on May 1.
WORLD / Politics
May 21, 2024

Trump leads Biden in monthly campaign fundraising for first time

The U.S. president’s campaign, however, still holds a wide financial edge over his Republican rival.
Former Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and new President Lai Ching-te wave during an inauguration ceremony outside the Presidential Office in Taipei on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 21, 2024

China rebukes Japanese and South Korean lawmakers visiting Taiwan

Beijing's embassy in Tokyo said the visit seriously contravened the spirit of Sino-Japanese commitments.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te (left) and Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim wave to a crowd following his swearing-in at the Presidential Office in Taipei on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 21, 2024

As new Taiwan leader takes office, a fragile status quo and power struggle at home await

New Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has pledged to build on the legacy of his predecessor.
Kyoto University researchers have found a way to create “near-indefinite” volumes of early-stage sperm and egg cells from iPS cells — a milestone that could potentially lead to new infertility treatments.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 21, 2024

New Japan study on germ cells may help advance infertility treatments

The research aims to expand our understanding of how human germ cells develop, and also opens up possibilities for creating sperm and egg cells in a lab.
A railgun prototype developed by the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency. A railgun uses electromagnetic force to fire bullets at high speeds, making them harder to intercept, but challenges remain over improving fire accuracy and making the weapon smaller.
JAPAN
May 21, 2024

Japan sends defense official to U.S. Navy for railgun development

The move is aimed at absorbing the know-how of the United States, which long researched railguns, to put the weapon into practical use as soon as possible.
Passengers of Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 from London to Singapore, which made an emergency landing in Bangkok, greet family members upon arrival at Changi Airport in Singapore on Wednesday.
WORLD
May 22, 2024

‘It felt like we had crashed,’ a Singapore Air passenger says

With a good two hours left before Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 was due to touch down in Singapore, the plane was suddenly and forcefully shaken.
Skye Parker of the United Kingdom, a participant in the More Than Equal Global Driver Development program, trains with a coach in Saalfelden, Austria, on Friday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
May 22, 2024

Young female drivers take aim at F1's male monopoly

The More Than Equal initiative is seeking to find and develop the first female F1 world champion.
Spain's Rafael Nadal takes part in a practice session ahead of the French Open, in Paris on Tuesday.
TENNIS
May 22, 2024

Djokovic backs Nadal for French Open title

Nadal is contending with injury problems and growing competition from a younger generation.
People hold anti-war placards before a rap concert for Ukraine by Russian rapper Oxxxymiron in Istanbul on March 15.
WORLD / Politics
May 22, 2024

Another Russian exodus: Many who fled to Turkey move on again

When the war began in February 2022, Turkey emerged as a magnet for Russians, but now, many are moving on to nations like Montenegro and Serbia.
Mourners holds posters of late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during a funeral ceremony for him and his companions who were killed in a helicopter crash, at Mosalia mosque in Tehran on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 22, 2024

Iranian President Raisi's memorial muted amid public discontent

Some insiders see a stark contrast in public grief compared with past commemorations for the deaths of other senior figures in Iran's 45-year history.
Kiichi Morita addresses a gathering commemorating the 70th anniversary of the U.S. hydrogen bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands, held in Miura, Kanagawa Prefecture, on April 27.
JAPAN / Society
May 22, 2024

70 years after U.S. nuclear tests in Bikini Atoll, Japan port recalls legacy

The first 1954 hydrogen bomb test at the atoll was one of six, with nearly 1,000 Japanese ships confirmed to have been exposed to radiation by the end of the year.
An Israeli tank near the Israel-Gaza border on Tuesday
WORLD
May 22, 2024

Israeli forces raze parts of Gaza's Jabalia and hit Rafah with airstrikes

Simultaneous Israeli assaults on the northern and southern edges of the Gaza Strip have sharply restricted the flow of aid, raising the risk of famine.
Japan swung to a trade deficit of ¥462.5 billion in April due to higher crude oil prices and a weak yen.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 22, 2024

Japan trade deficit shows weak yen is weighing on economy

The trade balance in April registered a ¥462.5 billion deficit, flipping from a ¥387 billion surplus.
Aonishiki at the Sumo World Championships 2023 on Oct. 8. The Ukrainian wrestler remains on track to reach the sport’s salaried divisions by the end of the year.
SUMO / Inside Sumo
May 22, 2024

Is Ukraine's Aonishiki set to be the next European sumo superstar?

28 wins in 30 bouts suggests the former evacuee is on the fast track to glory.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with the families of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Tehran on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
May 22, 2024

Raisi death reshapes Iran succession, putting focus on Khamenei son

Following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's, son Mojtaba has emerged as a top contender.
Lee Dong-hyun and her son, 19-month-old Choi Hee-woo, pose at a playground on May 17, ahead of the final public hearing at the Constitutional Court on Tuesday of a climate lawsuit against the South Korean government, for which Hee-woo is the youngest plaintiff.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
May 22, 2024

Embryo activist: Baby's lawsuit takes on South Korea climate inaction

South Korea is the G20's second-highest carbon emitter per capita.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan