Search - world

 
 
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.
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.
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.
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.
Kirsty Coventry, who will formally take over as the president of the International Olympic Committe on Monday, speaks during a news conference in Costa Navarino, Greece, in March.
OLYMPICS
Jun 21, 2025

As sports embrace gender tests, Coventry and IOC may follow

Such testing has its share of critics and the Olympics have already tried it once only to abandon it in 1996.
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.
Emma Raducanu serves to Maya Joint during their match in  Eastbourne, England, on Wednesday.
TENNIS
Jun 26, 2025

Emma Raducanu suffers setback at Eastbourne ahead of Wimbledon

After a difficult year marred by poor form and back problems, Raducanu had hoped for a morale-boosting run at Eastbourne before Wimbledon starts on Monday.
U.S. President Donald Trump is greeted by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney as he arrives at the Group of Seven leaders' summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, on June 16.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 26, 2025

Trump, the death of multilateralism and the ‘rise of the rest’

In the post-liberal order, the U.S. won't act in allies' interests unless they align with its own.
A front-page article from July 1950 reported that Kyoto's historic Kinkakuji had been "totally razed" in a fire.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Jul 5, 2025

Japan Times 1950: Kyoto’s ‘Golden Temple’ burns to the ground

The historic Kinkakuji was destroyed in an act of arson in July 1950, a shocking event that would serve as the inspiration for a novel by Yukio Mishima.
Workers take a break near a ship under construction at China State Shipbuilding Corp.'s Longxue Shipyard in Guangzhou, China, in November 2011.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jul 2, 2025

China’s shipyard dominance leads to geoeconomic risks

According to 2024 data from the Chinese government, the country ranks first worldwide in ship completions, new orders and order backlogs.
Fiji's Albert Tuisue celebrates at the end of the match against Australia at World Cup 2023 in France.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Jul 2, 2025

Fiji looks to soften up Wallabies before Lions series

Fiji's Australian coach Mick Byrne has brought a strong squad for Sunday's test in Newcastle, the hosts' last warmup before facing the British and Irish Lions.
Carlos Alcaraz celebrates after his victory over Oliver Tarvet at Wimbledon on Wednesday.
TENNIS
Jul 3, 2025

Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka sidestep rash of upsets at Wimbledon

Alcaraz has won his past 20 matches, a blistering streak that has brought him titles at the Rome Masters, the French Open and Queen's Club.
White Sox relief pitcher Bobby Jenks throws against the Astros during Game 1 of the World Series on Oct. 22, 2005.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jul 6, 2025

Former White Sox closer Bobby Jenks dies at 44

Jenks was a flame-throwing reliever who appeared in the 2006 and 2007 All-Star Games and closed out the 2005 World Series for Chicago.
The Arch of Independence in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Central Asia is shaking off its Soviet past, driven by economic momentum, demographic strength and strategic diplomacy, even as hurdles remain.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 7, 2025

Central Asia changes its playbook

In recent years, the five Central Asian countries have managed to rebuild their economies, stabilize their politics and deepen their engagement with the rest of the world.
The U.S. and the world will become unhealthier and vast numbers of children may die now that Donald Trump’s health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has pulled funding from the global vaccine program GAVI. 
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 7, 2025

RFK Jr. is playing with babies’ lives

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s cut to U.S. funding for GAVI risks lives globally and damages America’s international standing.
Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends the EU-Japan summit in Brussels in July 2023. Economic cooperation between the EU, Japan and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership is showing promise but faces political and structural hurdles that could limit progress.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 8, 2025

EU-CPTPP talks highlight shared goals and stubborn obstacles

EU economic cooperation with Japan and the CPTPP shows promise but could face political and structural hurdles that limit progress.
Novak Djokovic plays a forehand return to Flavio Cobolli during their Wimbledon quarterfinal match on Wednesday.
TENNIS
Jul 10, 2025

History-chasing Djokovic sets up Wimbledon showdown with Sinner

In the women's draw, five-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek and former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic both reached the semi-finals for the first time.
Hong Kong-based crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun, World Liberty Financial co-founder Zach Witkoff and Executive Vice President of the Trump Organization Eric Trump attend the TOKEN2049 conference in Dubai on May 1.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 14, 2025

Trump's $100 million crypto mystery man

A venture calling itself Aqua 1 Foundation announced last month it had bought $100 million worth of U.S. President Donald Trump’s World Liberty crypto tokens.
Kunashiri, one of the four islands seized by Russia in the last days of World War II, is visible from the Shiretoko Peninsula in northeastern Hokkaido.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Jul 22, 2025

Ex-residents of Russian-controlled islands off Hokkaido want grave-site visits resumed

Now in their advanced years, the former residents want the visits to be restored for them to honor their ancestors whose grave sites are located on the four islands.
Mahatma Gandhi led the Indian independence movement with an unshakable faith in nonviolence that arguably dovetailed with Zen philosophy in some respects.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Jul 19, 2025

Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence — and Zen?

The Indian nationalist’s beliefs hewed close to certain aspects of Zen thought, particularly his fearlessness in the face of death.
Rory McIlroy reacts on the 18th hole during the first round of The 153rd Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Portrush, Northern Ireland on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Jul 18, 2025

Packed British Open leaderboard as McIlroy scrambles to stay in touch

After early sunshine on the Dunluce Links, heavy rain and wind made conditions difficult for the players.
China's Shi Yuqi hits a return to France's Alex Lanier during the final of the Japan Open on Sunday in Tokyo.
MORE SPORTS / Badminton
Jul 20, 2025

Shi beats Lanier to win Japan Open badminton title

South Korea's An Se-young downed China's Wang Zhiyi 21-12, 21-10 in the women's final to capture an incredible sixth title in seven tournaments so far this year.
Hulk Hogan tears his shirt during a rally for Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump, at Madison Square Garden, in New York City on Oct. 27, 2024.
MORE SPORTS
Jul 25, 2025

Hulk Hogan, shirt-shredding superstar of pro wrestling, dies at 71

Hogan was the face of pro wrestling for decades, with his blond hair and horseshoe mustache, colorful bandannas and massive biceps, which he referred to as "24-inch pythons.”
Fuji Rock still excites Hitsujibungaku — (from left) bassist Yurika Kasai, lead singer and guitarist Moeka Shiotsuka and drummer Hiroa Fukuda —  even as its flock grows abroad.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 25, 2025

Hitsujibungaku’s pop-fueled rise to stardom

Rock trio Hitsujibungaku is set to make its fourth appearance at Fuji Rock this weekend on its most primetime stage yet — the White Stage right before headliner Haim.

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person