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Israeli army battle tanks move near the border with the Gaza Strip at a location in southern Israel on Monday.
WORLD
May 15, 2024

Israeli tanks push deeper into Rafah as battles rage in northern Gaza

Israel's international allies and aid groups have repeatedly warned against a ground incursion into Rafah.
Lawrence Wong, Singapore's next prime minister
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 15, 2024

Singapore's next prime minister is guitar-wielding Lawrence Wong

Lawrence Wong, the first leader to have been born after Singapore's independence in 1965, is set to succeed Lee Hsien Loong as prime minister on Wednesday.
Gamers play the "Minecraft" game at E3 2017, one of the biggest events in the gaming industry calendar, in Los Angeles. Since the first version of Minecraft was released to the public 15 years ago, the block-based world-building game has become a global phenomenon. Players of all ages and backgrounds have used the game for everything from educational projects and architecture to building communities and creating artworks.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 15, 2024

Sweden's small game studios punching above their weight

In 2022, the country's game developers had a combined revenue of 32.5 billion kronor ($3 billion).
A man uses a sheet of cardboard to shade from the sun during high temperatures in Bangkok on April 28. Thailand has been bracing for hotter-than-normal days due to the El Nino weather pattern that’s forecast to last until June.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 15, 2024

Asia’s killer April heat wave was made much worse by climate change

In countries such as Palestine and Israel, climate change made the heat wave five times more likely than it would have been in pre-industrial times.
Pasona plans to use cartilage conduction technology for headsets for staff and guide earphones for visitors in its exhibition at the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka.
JAPAN / Society
May 15, 2024

Pasona to promote cartilage conduction technology

The firm plans to use the technology for headsets for staff and for audio guides in its exhibition at the 2025 Osaka expo.
A demonstrator holds a music score while singing the “Glory to Hong Kong” protest song during a flash mob protest in Hong Kong in September 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 15, 2024

Videos of Hong Kong protest song blocked on YouTube after court order

The Court of Appeal granted an injunction that holds platforms responsible for hosting the song, exposing global internet companies to new legal risks.
People offer prayers for the victims of the Noto Peninsula earthquake at an evacuation shelter in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on March 1.
JAPAN / Society
May 15, 2024

30 deaths recognized as indirectly caused by Noto quake as panel probes cases

The families of more than 100 deceased people have filed for such recognition.
Lee Hee-sup, secretary-general of the Seoul-based Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat, speaks during an interview in Seoul on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 15, 2024

Summit between Japan, China and South Korea to focus on future cooperation

The leaders of Japan, China and South Korea are expected to meet in Seoul late this month, for the first summit between the three neighbors since 2019.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a joint press conference with Slovak President Zuzana Caputova (not pictured) in Kyiv on May 10.
WORLD / Politics
May 15, 2024

Ukraine peace plan summit eyes minimal goals to woo Global South

China’s presence, in particular, is seen as important for the success of the summit, given the influence diplomats say Beijing has on Moscow.
Displaced Palestinian children stand at a school as they wait to flee Rafah after Israeli forces launched a ground and air operation in the eastern part of the southern Gaza city, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
May 15, 2024

How many of Gaza’s dead are women and children? For 10,000, it’s unclear.

The absence of personal details needed to ascertain their identities leads to their exclusion from the breakdown now being cited by the U.N.
A pro-Palestinian supporter in Tokyo takes part in a protest against Israeli attacks on Gaza. Japanese universities are also experiencing their share of pro-Palestinian student demonstrations similar to those elsewhere in the world.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 15, 2024

What the campus Gaza protests lack — in Japan, too

Students are right to be distressed over the suffering of Palestinians. But are they applying cognitive empathy to understand the other side, too?
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico speaks during a news conference, before a shooting incident where he was wounded, in Handlova, Slovakia, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 16, 2024

Shooting of Slovak premier brutally exposes political divide

Robert Fico's attempted assassination underscores not only the nation’s ongoing political tensions but also Europe's polarization.
A white flag residents displayed to express their intention to peacefully keep watch over the neighborhood, is seen on a temporary roadblock residents set up in the Magenta district of Noumea, New Caledonia, on Thursday.
WORLD
May 16, 2024

Four dead in New Caledonia riots; France declares state of emergency

Rioting broke out over a new bill lawmakers adopted in Paris that will let French residents who have lived in New Caledonia for 10 years vote there.
Displaced Palestinians drive their vehicles along a street devastated by Israeli bombardment in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 16, 2024

Israel PM says no humanitarian crisis in Rafah despite mass exodus

The sight of families carrying scant belongings through the ruins of war-scarred Gaza cities has evoked for many the events of the 1948 Nakba.
Singapore's new prime minister, Lawrence Wong (left), shakes hands with his predecessor, Lee Hsien Loong, during the swearing-in ceremony at the Istana in Singapore on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 16, 2024

Singapore’s riches grew under its leader. So did discontent.

On Wednesday, the Southeast Asian country’s third prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, handed the reins to his deputy, the first leadership change in nearly 20 years.
Job-seekers line up for interviews at a job fair in Chinchwad, India, in 2019.
BUSINESS
May 16, 2024

After Cambodia crypto scam, Indians demand more jobs at home

Unemployment is a leading concern in the ongoing general election that ends on June 1.
The year 2023 was the hottest in recorded history. The next warmest 25 have all occurred since 1996.
COMMENTARY / World
May 16, 2024

It’s officially hotter than anytime since the birth of Jesus

Tree rings hold records that can go back thousands of years, giving us the perspective we need to understand what’s happening today.
A monk practices "zazen" (seated meditation), a practice that the monk Dogen said would help one cast aside the world in service of the Way.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
May 17, 2024

The joy of Zen — Part 1: Prose

The writings of the monks Eisai and Dogen sought to determine the proper way to live on this Earth, in harmony with the Way.
A residential area under development by Country Garden in Shanghai in February.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 17, 2024

Old for new: China's latest property market plan off to a poor start

More than 50 cities have launched their own versions of the "swap old for new" program.
Internally displaced women wait to collect aid at a camp in Gadaref, Sudan, last Sunday. Clashes reignited between the Sudanese army and rival paramilitaries earlier this week in the key Darfur town of al-Fashir.
WORLD / Politics
May 17, 2024

Residents cower as fighting picks up in Sudan's al-Fashir

The city is the Sudanese army's last stronghold in the western Darfur region.
Displaced Palestinians travel in the Al-Mawasi area of the southern Gaza Strip on May 6.
WORLD / Society
May 17, 2024

'Our supplies will not last,' warns doctor at Gaza trauma center

Javed Ali says the situation around the southern city of Rafah is "dire."
An Israeli soldier jumps off a tank near the Israel-Gaza border on Thursday. The slow progress of Israel's offensive highlights the difficulty of achieving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's aim of eradicating Hamas.
WORLD / Politics
May 17, 2024

Israel moves into north Gaza Hamas stronghold and pounds Rafah without advancing

The slow progress of its offensive highlights the difficulty of achieving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's aim of eradicating the militant group.
SungWon Cho is a veteran with more than 10 years of experience portraying characters in anime, cartoons and video games.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
May 19, 2024

Want to be a voice actor? Stay 'true to the character'

“Most people think of just the cutscenes," SungWon Cho says, "but you end up voicing everything — the sounds a character makes when fighting, like battle cries, for example."
People involved in an appeal trial over forced sterilization head to the Osaka High Court in February 2022.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 17, 2024

Japan's top court to take measures for disabled plaintiffs

It will be the first time for the top court to implement measures for disabled people on a large scale.
Kimia Alizadeh (left) fled Iran in 2020 and will compete for Bulgaria at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
OLYMPICS
May 17, 2024

Kimia Alizadeh targets Olympic gold with Bulgaria after fleeing Iran

Alizadeh left her country in 2020 and competed for the Refugee Olympic Team at the Tokyo Olympics.
Samples of cannabis edibles are offered during The 1st Phuket Cannabis Cup in Phuket, Thailand, in March 2023. Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said marijuana should soon be classified as a narcotic again and its use limited to medical and health purposes.
COMMENTARY
May 17, 2024

Thailand’s cannabis U-turn is a cautionary tale

Banning the drug outright will no doubt cause a lot of pain to farmers, small business owners and consumers. A middle-ground approach to return to medical usage would be wise.

A 2010 study found that U.S. adults averaged 5,117 steps daily and that this was lower than the averages found in similar studies in Switzerland, western Australia and Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2024

America wasn’t made for walking, and it’s killing them

A 2010 study found that U.S. adults averaged 5,117 steps daily and that this was lower than the averages found in similar studies in Switzerland, western Australia and Japan.
Japan Times contributor Laura Pollacco (front right) was offered the role of one of her all-time favorite heroines, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bennet, in the Tokyo International Players’ production of “Pride and Prejudice.”
CULTURE / Stage
May 18, 2024

Local theater in Japan is more than a hobby — it’s a community

For contributor Laura Pollacco, companies such as Tokyo International Players and Sheepdog Theatre offer a home away from home.
A demonstration condemning the killing of three Chinese teachers from the University of Karachi's Confucius Institute in April 2022. Terrorist groups in Pakistan are targeting Chinese nationals and threatening Beijing's Belt and Road initiative projects in the country.
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2024

Should we stay or should we go? China's dilemma in Pakistan

Beijing is pouring billions into Pakistan to complete a key Belt and Road initiative artery. But this is threatened by terrorist groups targeting Chinese nationals and interests.
Ships are seen near a temporary floating pier built to receive humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip in Gaza Beach in this image release on Saturday.
WORLD
May 18, 2024

Fierce fighting in northern Gaza as aid starts to roll off U.S.-built pier

As the fighting raged, the U.S. military said trucks started moving aid ashore from a temporary pier, the first to reach the besieged enclave by sea in weeks.

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