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If the billions of people who will watch this summer's Paris Olympic Games were to take inspiration from history and call for cease-fires in today's wars, many lives could be saved.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 17, 2024

Restore the Olympic peace

International collaboration and moral leadership are essential for achieving peace, paralleling the ancient Olympic Games as symbols of halting hostilities.
A commercial district in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, on Sunday. Thomas Crooks, 20, a lifelong resident of the borough, has been identified as the gunman who opened fire during a campaign appearance by former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
WORLD
Jul 18, 2024

Trump gunman Thomas Crooks leaves behind a pile of mysteries

Gunman Thomas Crooks seemed to have a bright future waiting for him after having earned a spot at a college engineering program.
A memorial service was held at the premises where Kyoto Animation's No. 1 studio was in the city of Kyoto on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 18, 2024

Ceremony marks 5 years since Kyoto Animation arson attack

A total of 144 people, including bereaved relatives and the company CEO, gathered to remember the 2019 attack which left 36 people dead and 32 others injured.
France's Sarah Leonie Cysique battles Uzbekistan's Shukurjon Aminova at the Paris Grand Slam at Accor Arena on Feb. 2.
OLYMPICS / Judo
Jul 18, 2024

How France embraced judo and became a martial arts powerhouse

The country has embraced the Japanese martial art to the point where it may be more popular in France than in Japan.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and the Cook Islands' Prime Minister Mark Brown shake hands during 10th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting on Thursday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 18, 2024

With eye on China, Japan deepens ties with Pacific islands at Tokyo summit

Collaborations have been agreed in seven fields, including technology and connectivity, climate change, people-centered development and security.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris supports President Joe Biden as he speaks from the White House on Sunday about the shooting of his Republican challenger, Donald Trump.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 18, 2024

It’s no big deal that a woman may be the president. What a beautiful thing.

Despite some lingering biases, evidence suggests that female leaders often outperform male leaders, particularly in areas like public health.
U.S. President Joe Biden leaves after delivering remarks during an event at the College of Southern Nevada North Las Vegas Campus, in Las Vegas, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 19, 2024

Biden faces mounting speculation amid pressure to drop his bid

Conjecture over if, when, or how U.S. President Joe Biden might step aside has dominated the political conversation.
Palestinians shelter in a tent camp that was recently attacked in Israeli strikes, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Thursday.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 19, 2024

Poliovirus found in Gaza as flies and mosquitoes feast on piling waste

Polio is a highly infectious disease that can cause deformities and paralysis.
A passerby holding a parasol wipes her face as she walks on the street amid a heatstroke alert in Tokyo and other prefectures, in Tokyo on July 9.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Boiling Point
Jul 19, 2024

How to prevent and respond to heatstroke in Japan this summer

Staying hydrated and controlling the rise in one's body temperature are the fundamental ways for preventing and alleviating heat-related illnesses.
Misaki Nobata competes at the World University Games in 2023. A hero in her hometown of Oita, Nobata is one of three Japanese shooters who will compete at the upcoming Paris Olympics.
OLYMPICS / Shooting
Jul 19, 2024

‘Sniper from Oita’ sets her sights on Paris Olympics target

In a country with strict anti-gun laws, 20-year-old university student and rifle shooter Misaki Nobata is not your typical Olympian.
People hold umbrellas while watching baseball to deal with the heat in the city of Shizuoka on July 7.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 19, 2024

As risk of heatstroke rises in Japan, so does that of COVID-19

Patients examined for suspected heatstroke have been diagnosed with COVID-19 instead, as symptoms can be similar.
During a demonstration to demand a ceasefire and an end to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza in Tokyo on June 24, Sophia University student Jumana Kasemu participates in “Tears for Palestine,” a global event that started in Tokyo.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 19, 2024

If the Gaza protests seem one-sided, it’s because the current violence is

Empathy for Israeli suffering doesn't prevent college students in Japan and beyond from manifesting their anger at indiscriminate violence leveled against Palestinians.
China's official app for digital yuan is seen on a mobile phone next to 100-yuan banknotes
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Jul 20, 2024

Trump’s disdain for digital dollar risks ‘Cold War era’ in money

His vow to never allow the dollar to be digitized may turn money into a new front in Trump's trade war with China.
U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama attend a campaign fundraiser at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on June 15.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 20, 2024

Secluded at beach house, Biden stews at allies’ pressure to drop out

He considers former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as the main instigator but is irritated at ex-President Barack Obama, seeing him as a puppet master behind the scenes.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 20, 2024

Bridge in China collapses due to flooding, leaving at least 12 dead

Large parts of northern and central China have been battered in recent days by rains that have caused flooding and significant damage.
Qatari and French officers patrol on horseback down a street in central Paris on Friday, a week ahead of the opening ceremony for the Summer Olympics.
WORLD
Jul 20, 2024

France races to head off Islamic State group threat to Paris Olympics

The outreach comes in the wake of two major attacks this year that authorities say were carried out by Tajik members of the militant group.
As childish as Ryokan may have been, human suffering wrung his heart. A portrait of the monk and calligraphy by him are shown here. (Ink on paper; early 19th century; replica before 1970)
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Jul 21, 2024

Ryokan and us: 'How wide! How boundless!'

The Edo Period monk could see the world through a child's eyes, maybe even those of a child from our modern era.
A government panel meets to discuss active cyberdefense in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2024

Independent body eyed to oversee Japan cyberdefense

The government plans to take measure it hopes will help dispel concerns about violating the constitutionally guaranteed secrecy of communications.
Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jul 21, 2024

As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals

Can a 700-year-old dance have an effect on extreme heat or torrential rain? Probably not. When you're feeling powerless, though, any little thing helps.
Secret Service officers surround U.S. former President Donald Trump, the Republican  presidential candidate, as he attends the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 21, 2024

Secret Service says it denied earlier Trump requests for more federal resources

The denied requests for additional resources were not specifically for the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where the former president survived an assassination attempt.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris arrives aboard Air Force Two in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, traveling to a campaign fundraiser, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 21, 2024

Trump campaign prepares attack plan for Harris in case Biden withdraws

The effort assumes that the U.S. vice president would be the most likely candidate to replace the president at the top of the Democratic ticket.
Lamposts and other signs throughout Hirogawa, Wakayama Prefecture, display warnings, evacuation routes and measurements of height above sea level. The town has been hit by eight tsunami in its recorded history.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / OUR PLANET
Jul 21, 2024

Why Japanese researchers are looking to submarine cables for faster tsunami warnings

While Japan boasts one of the world's most sophisticated earthquake and tsunami detection systems, gaps still remain.
The misinterpretation of data on guns and self-defense in the United States highlights how studies may overstate the benefits while downplaying risks and unintended consequences.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 21, 2024

Guns aren’t as good for self-defense as America thinks

Like other public health crises, gun violence has been studied and scientists have data pointing to ways the carnage can be reduced.
A drone view of Neve Daniel, a Jewish settlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on March 12
WORLD
Jul 22, 2024

Israeli settlers court Republican religious right after Hamas attacks

While Donald Trump has suggested U.S. policy could change, neither he nor the Republican Party have been explicit about their position toward a Palestinian state.
Fireworks during Irumagawa Tanabata Festival in Sayama, Saitama Prefecture in July 2023
JAPAN / Society
Jul 22, 2024

Many summer fireworks festivals in Japan canceled due to complaints

Property damage caused by debris, and littering and trespassing by those looking for a better view are among the reasons for the cancellations.
U.S. President Joe Biden walks to board Marine One at Hagerstown Regional Airport, in Hagerstown, Maryland, on June 20.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 22, 2024

Inside the weekend when Biden decided to withdraw

U.S. President Joe Biden did not tell most of his staff until a minute before making his announcement to the world on social media on Sunday.
Paris is preparing to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which start on Friday. These Summer Games will likely be very different from the previous ones, held in Tokyo in 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 22, 2024

In defense of Tokyo 2020, the loneliest Olympics

As Paris gets ready to host the Olympics, a reflection on the previous Games, held in Tokyo three years ago, prompts doubts about predictions of a COVID-induced disaster.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff arrive at Kamala's Presidential Campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 23, 2024

Buttigieg to Beshear: Kamala Harris' possible vice president

Potential vice presidential candidates for Kamala Harris include Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Mark Kelly.
Brazilian street skateboarder Felipe Gustavo performs a trick during a timed run with the Red Bull team at a skate park in Huntington Beach, California, on April 24.
OLYMPICS / Skateboarding
Jul 23, 2024

Skateboarding's reputation does a 180 as it rolls into Paris

Skateboarding brought in a much-needed younger audience on its Olympic debut in 2021, leading organizers to lock it in for the Paris Games.
A man squats next to a fire as Palestinians, who fled the eastern part of Khan Younis, were ordered by Israeli army to evacuate their neighborhoods in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Monday.
WORLD
Jul 23, 2024

Israel sends tanks back into Khan Younis area and kills 70

"It is like doomsday," said one resident of the area affected in Gaza.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan