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World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus delivers his report to delegates at the World Health Assembly in Geneva on May 19.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2025

Trump’s WHO withdrawal could cost the U.S. dearly

Despite progress since COVID-19, the U.S. remains vulnerable to pandemics like H5N1, and withdrawing from the WHO would weaken its ability to respond to global health threats.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba offers a flower during a ceremony to pay respects to unidentified war dead from World War II at the Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery in Tokyo on May 26.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 3, 2025

Ishiba faces political and diplomatic quandary ahead of WWII anniversary

There is fierce opposition among conservatives to any form of official reflection on the 80th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II.
Zico, Brazilian soccer legend and current technical director for Kashima Antlers, poses following an interview at the Antlers's training ground in Kashima, Ibaraki Prefecture, on May 28.
SOCCER
Jun 3, 2025

Zico warns Japanese players not to follow Brazilians into transfer trap

The 72-year-old says Japanese players looking beyond the J. League is a "positive" development — as long as they move at the right time.
OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann delivers a speech at OECD headquarters in Paris on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 3, 2025

Trade war cuts global economic growth outlook: OECD

After 3.3% growth last year, the world economy is now expected to expand by a "modest" 2.9% in 2025 and 2026, the OECD said.
Aryna Sabalenka plays a backhand return to China's Zheng Qinwen during their quarterfinal women's singles match at the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland-Garros Complex in Paris on Tuesday.
TENNIS
Jun 4, 2025

Swiatek and Sabalenka set up French Open semifinal as Alcaraz sweeps through

World number five Swiatek has been struggling for her best form and has not reached a final since winning the French Open title last year.
Manny Pacquiao raises his fist during a press conference ahead of his July 19 WBC welterweight title fight against Mexican-US boxer Mario Barrios in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
Jun 4, 2025

'Rested' Pacquiao relishing boxing comeback at 46

The charismatic Filipino boxing icon stunned the sports world last month after announcing he would take on WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios four years after his last fight.
Novak Djokovic celebrates after defeating Alexander Zverev in the French Open quarterfinals in Paris on Wednesday.
TENNIS
Jun 5, 2025

Novak Djokovic silences doubters again on way French Open semifinals

The 24-time Grand Slam winner moves on to face world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the semifinals
Detail of Takashi Murakami, “Rakuchu-Rakugai-zu Byobu: Iwasa Matabei RIP” (2023-25)
CULTURE / Art
Jun 5, 2025

New Naoshima museum bets on Asia, not the West

The Naoshima New Museum of Art is Tadao Ando’s 10th contribution to the popular art islands.
Tesla’s shares dropped 14% on Thursday in New York, erasing about $150 billion from the electric vehicle maker’s market value.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 6, 2025

Tesla plunges after conflict between Musk and Trump spills into open

The electric vehicle maker's shares dropped 14% on Thursday in New York, the stock’s biggest decline since March 10.
Aryna Sabalenka celebrates her victory over Iga Swiatek during their women's singles semi-final match on day 12 of the French Open tennis tournament on Court Philippe-Chatrier at the Roland-Garros Complex in Paris on Thursday.
TENNIS
Jun 6, 2025

Sabalenka downs holder Swiatek to set up French Open final with Gauff

The Belarusian will face 2022 finalist Gauff in Saturday's showcase match after the American crushed French hopes with a straight-sets victory over wild card Lois Boisson.
Vice president of events and exhibitions for Studio Ghibli, Kenichi Yoda (right), and director and Ghibli Park creative development manager, Goro Miyazaki (left), pose at the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival before receiving an Honorary Palme d'Or.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 6, 2025

Studio Ghibli marks 40 years, but future looks uncertain

A look into the legacy of the beloved anime studio.
Junto Nakatani celebrates after defeating Ryosuke Nishida to unify the WBC and IBF bantamweight titles at Ariake Coliseum on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
Jun 9, 2025

Junto Nakatani remains on collision course with Naoya Inoue after latest win

Nakatani will have to move to a higher weight class to challenge Inoue.
Amid growing global tensions and military rearmament, allies in Europe and Asia increasingly fear that under Donald Trump, the U.S. has become an unreliable partner — undermining trust, unity and the foundation of the postwar international order.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 9, 2025

Whose side is the U.S. on? Doubts strain alliances

The U.S. once anchored a stable world order. Now, with rising threats from China and Russia, allies scramble to adapt as Washington sends mixed signals on defense and trade.
By spurring the ASEAN countries to deepen cooperation, with one another and with others, U.S. tariffs could bring about an even more prosperous — and, crucially, resilient — grouping.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 9, 2025

Trump vs. a united ASEAN

By spurring the ASEAN countries to deepen cooperation, U.S. tariffs could bring about an even more prosperous — and, crucially, resilient — grouping.
The messy, transactional fallout between Donald Trump and Elon Musk has exposed a toxic alliance built on money, power and chaos — one that now threatens both men’s influence and the stability of U.S. governance.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 9, 2025

The MAGA odd couple turns combustible

The world’s most powerful man and the world’s richest man have fallen out. No matter who wins, America loses.
June is Pride Month, which means it’s the perfect time to get acquainted with how sexual minorities have been represented in Japanese fiction if you’re not familiar with these narratives already.
CULTURE / Books
Jun 11, 2025

Pride and prose: Novels that illuminate queer lives in Japan

From Yukio Mishima and Haruki Murakami to Li Kotomi and Akira Otani, dive into Japanese fiction’s LGBTQ+ narratives in honor of Pride Month.
Seeking access to pricier and more demanding foreign markets for its beef, Brazil's Amazonian state of Para has seized on the global spotlight of the U.N. COP 30 summit to burnish its environmental credentials.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Jun 11, 2025

Why Brazil’s ‘King of Cattle’ is embracing a plan to save the Amazon

The rancher has his eyes on exporting to pricier and more demanding markets in the United States, Europe and Asia.
Held from June 7-8, the Japan Rapid Chess Championships is the latest major event put on by the country's chess supporters who hope to capitalize on the game's global momentum.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 14, 2025

Under shogi’s shadow, Tokyo’s chess lovers make their move

Japan has long resisted the lure of chess, but the stage is being set for the country’s first-ever grandmaster, one expert says.
China’s expanding military presence and frequent exercises around Taiwan and Japan require Tokyo to strengthen the country’s defenses and diplomatic efforts against Beijing’s aggression.
EDITORIALS
Jun 13, 2025

A belligerent China hones its tools of intimidation

Recent exercises underscore the ability of the People’s Liberation Army to project power ever farther from the country’s shores.
The oceans have absorbed most anthropogenic heat and carbon dioxide emissions since the start of industrialization. But their capacity to do so is not unlimited.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 15, 2025

The ocean is not just a carbon sink

Reducing the value of three-quarters of our planet to the singular role of carbon sink overlooks the ocean’s vast contributions to food security, cultural identity and economics.
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.”
Gold medalist Shiho Tanaka after winning the women's under-70 kilogram event at the Judo World Championships in Budapest on Tuesday.
MORE SPORTS / Judo
Jun 18, 2025

Tanaka and Murao strike more gold for Japan at judo worlds

Japan has won six of the 10 titles already attributed after five days of competition in Budapest.
Jeremy Allaire, chief executive officer of Circle Internet Financial (center) celebrates during the company's initial public offering on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on June 5.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 18, 2025

A digital dollar is a trade war weapon, and Europe may be a primary target

Stablecoins could serve to entrench the existing tech and monetary order dominated by the U.S., as 95% of them are dollar-denominated. The euro commands less than 1%.
WhatsApp interactions involving 11 industry executives from ad agencies operating in India form part of a confidential dossier compiled by India's antitrust watchdog that chronicles how global advertising companies coordinated to rig prices in the world's most populous nation.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 19, 2025

Dossier of WhatsApp chats shows how ad agencies aligned to fix prices in India

Firms agreed to cooperate on pricing, including not to undercut each other, colluded to deny business to agencies that didn't comply, and discussed financial terms.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s support for Israel’s attack on Iran has sparked outrage among MAGA loyalists who see it as a betrayal of his anti-war promises.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 19, 2025

Trump's MAGA coalition won't survive a bunker-buster in Iran

As the U.S. president weighs whether to join Israel’s war against Iran, a rift cleaves his own base, not to mention the world.
Jannik Sinner leaves the court after losing to Alexander Bublikin in the second round in Halle Westfalen, Germany, on Thursday.
TENNIS
Jun 20, 2025

Alexander Bublik upsets No. 1 Jannik Sinner in second round in Halle

The world No. 1 suffered his first defeat to a player ranked outside the top 20 since the summer of 2023.
An employee welds lithium batteries in Verrieres-en-Anjou, western France, on June 10.
BUSINESS
Jun 23, 2025

Europe's lithium quest hampered by China and lack of cash

The bloc's broader energy security and climate goals could depend on securing a steady supply of the key mineral, used in batteries and other clean energy supply chains.
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.
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’s second-term tech policy consolidates AI regulatory power in the White House, empowering American tech giants at the expense of state authority, international cooperation and democratic oversight.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2025

The 'Washington Effect' could decide the AI race

While Trump administration officials pressure foreign governments to ease up on U.S. firms, Congress moves to block state-level oversight altogether.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji