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Science suggests that three days of “shinrin-yoku” (forest bathing) is enough to boost immunity for an entire month.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 21, 2025

The science of shinrin-yoku: Why forest bathing feels good

Science suggests that three days of “shinrin-yoku” forest bathing is enough to boost immunity for an entire month.
Mourners attend a funeral for those killed in Israeli strikes, in Qazvin, Iran, on Thursday.
WORLD
Jun 20, 2025

Israel-Iran air war enters second week as Europe pushes diplomacy

The role of the United States remains uncertain. The White House said on Thursday President Trump would decide in the next two weeks whether to get involved in the war.
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.
A visitor looks into North Korea from South Korea's Odusan Unification Observatory in Paju on June 12.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jun 20, 2025

Rights abuses continue in North Korea a decade after probe, says U.N.

A U.N official said he is still surprised by the continued prevalence of executions, forced labour and reports of starvation in the authoritarian country.
Protesters stand outside Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Thursday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 20, 2025

Dodgers say team kept U.S. immigration agents from accessing Dodger Stadium

The Dodgers have been criticized for their failure to publicly comment on the U.S. government's immigration crackdown in Los Angeles.
Palestinians carry sacks of flour collected from an aid distribution point in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Jun 20, 2025

As death toll rises, Gazans make life-risking journeys to seek food

Like thousands of other Palestinians in Gaza, Hind Al-Nawajha makes a long, dangerous journey every day to try to get food for her family, hoping she makes it back alive.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani attend the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on May 31.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2025

Pentagon says Japan must meet ‘global standard’ and spend 5% of GDP on defense

Both allies had been mum on whether the U.S. would press Japan specifically to hit the 5% target amid political sensitivities over the issue.
Members of the California National Guard are deployed outside a complex of federal buildings in Santa Ana, California, on June 18.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jun 20, 2025

Trump allowed to keep using national guard in LA for now

Thursday’s decision isn’t the final ruling on the matter and is likely to be immediately challenged.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako will be the first reigning emperor and empress to visit Mongolia.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2025

Emperor and empress to visit Mongolia in July

They will be the first reigning emperor and empress to visit Mongolia. The emperor visited the country in 2007 when he was Crown Prince.
Members of an inspection team check the apparent remains of a ballistic missile in northern Israel on Wednesday following the attacks by Iran.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 19, 2025

It will take democracy and regime change to end Iran’s nuclear threat

Thanks to Khamenei, Iran has spent almost four decades on a path to war with Israel, which he calls a “cancer” in the region that must be annihilated.
At Mount Zine’s gallery in Komazawa, Setagaya Ward, one wall is for exhibiting, while another is for zines for sale.
CULTURE / Books
Jun 21, 2025

A buzzing zine scene across Japan packs passion in multiple formats

In a world now dominated by digital media, small handmade books are a return to analog media and offline connection.
Economic losses in Japan stemming from workers' mental or physical disorders, linked to lower labor productivity, represent about 1% of the country's nominal gross domestic product for 2024.
BUSINESS
Jun 20, 2025

Annual economic losses from workers' health issues reach ¥7.6 trillion

The losses, linked to lower labor productivity, represent about 1% of the country's nominal gross domestic product for 2024.
Okinawan rapper Awich ruled the summer music festival circuit last year. Which act will prove to be the most memorable in 2025?
CULTURE / Music
Jun 23, 2025

Stage dive into summer: Japan’s best music festivals, month by month

The weather will be hot, but the concert calendar is looking even hotter.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son at Donald Trump's resort in Florida in December last year
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 20, 2025

Masayoshi Son pitches $1 trillion U.S. AI hub to TSMC and Trump team

Son envisions a version of the vast manufacturing hub of China’s Shenzhen that would bring back high-tech manufacturing to the U.S.
A missile launched from Iran is intercepted by Israeli defenses on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 21, 2025

Israel says it killed veteran Iran commander as both sides attack

Saeed Izadi, who led the Palestine Corps of the Quds Force, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' overseas arm, was killed in a strike.
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.
Harvard University’s crest is displayed on banners from the Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library on campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, last month.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jun 21, 2025

U.S. judge blocks Trump ban on foreign students at Harvard

A federal judge has indefinitely paused Donald Trump's bid to block Harvard from enrolling foreign students as the U.S. president said a "deal" with the school was in the works.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth review an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo on March 30.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 21, 2025

Japan scraps ‘two-plus-two’ meeting with U.S. over defense spending demand, report says

The talks’ cancellation reportedly came after the U.S. asked Japan to hike its defense budget to 3.5% of gross domestic product.
Kari Lake, senior adviser to the U.S. Agency for Global Media, said the Voice of America staff reduction meant 1,400 positions had been eliminated as part of U.S. President Donald Trump's agenda to cut staffing at the agency and Voice of America to a statutory minimum.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 21, 2025

Voice of America parent terminates over 600 more staff in likely death knell

The move likely marks an end to the broadcasting network that was founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press as workers install a large flag pole on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 21, 2025

Deal, not bombs, seen as only way to end Iranian nuclear threat

For U.S. President Donald Trump, a deal would avoid dragging the U.S. into another regional war or driving up inflation-generating oil prices.
A group of scientists have found an astonishing diversity of microorganisms in tiny pools of melted ice in Antarctica, suggesting that life could have ridden out several ice ages in similar ponds.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 21, 2025

How did life survive 'Snowball Earth'? In ponds, study suggests.

A group of scientists have found an astonishing diversity of microorganisms in tiny pools of melted ice in Antarctica.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi steps off the plane upon his arrival at OFranjo Tudjmano airport in Zagreb, Croatia, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health / FOCUS
Jun 21, 2025

Modi's ambitious water plan fails to quench India's thirst

On paper, the water initiative is a success. But unconnected water tanks and broken taps point to a very different reality on the ground.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance (second left) speaks during a tour of a Federal Mobile Command Center at the Federal Building in Los Angeles on Friday.
WORLD
Jun 21, 2025

Vance, in LA, lambasts Newsom and says troops need to stay

The U.S. vice president accused Democratic state and city leaders of encouraging immigrants to cross the U.S. border illegally.
Military personnel secure the perimeter around the World Forum hosting the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 21, 2025

Can NATO keep Trump on-message about Russia threat?

When leaders from NATO's 32 countries gather for a summit in The Hague, most want to send a clear message: Russia is the main threat to their alliance.
A demonstrator holds a poster depicting Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in solidarity with Tehran, in Sidon, Lebanon, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 21, 2025

If Iran's supreme leader falls, what would replace him?

Analysts say Israel is taking a gamble given there is no guarantee new rulers would be any less hard-line.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer would have little choice but to provide military support to the U.S. should it decide to strike Iran, security experts say.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 21, 2025

Why a remote U.K. base makes the U.S.-Iran standoff so difficult for Starmer

The standoff drew a fresh spotlight on a remote Indian Ocean base controlled by Britain that has long provided a key staging point for American bombers.
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.
U.S. President Donald Trump pumps his fist as boards Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, New Jersey, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 22, 2025

Israel tells U.S. it could attack key Iran nuke site before Trump deadline

Israel communicated their concerns to Trump administration officials on Thursday in what sources described as a tense phone call.
People sit outside pitched tents as they take shelter at a bus station in Tel Aviv on Saturday amid fears of an Iranian missile attack.
WORLD
Jun 22, 2025

Iran threatens 'more devastating' response to Israel's attacks

Israel said on Saturday it had killed three more Iranian commanders in its unprecedented offensive.
Jockey James Doyle rides Lazzat (left) to victory over jockey Joao Moreira on Satono Reve in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes on the final day of the Royal Ascot horse racing meet in Ascot, England, on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Horse Racing
Jun 22, 2025

Lazzat denies Japan a first Royal Ascot winner in thrilling climax

Satono Reve lost little in defeat under Joao Moreira and did better than the previous 10 Japanese runners at the meeting

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years