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People shop at a flea market hosted by Bunjang, an e-commerce platform for secondhand sales, in Seoul on Aug. 3.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Aug 28, 2024

South Korea's birth rate drive struggles to sway 'YOLO' generation

Asia's fourth-largest economy plans to launch a new government ministry dedicated to demographic challenges.
Quokkas have been dubbed the "happiest animal in the world."
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2024

Saitama zoo seeks donations for 'smiling' quokkas

The Saitama Children's Zoo in Higashimatsuyama is the only place in Japan where people can see quokkas.
Vehicles are stranded on flooded road on Thursday following heavy rains from Typhoon Shanshan in the city of Tamana, Kumamoto Prefecture.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2024

Heavy rain batters Japan after Typhoon Shanshan makes landfall in Kyushu

Later Thursday, Shanshan was downgraded to a severe tropical storm, but it was still bringing heavy rain and strong winds to the region and beyond.
Anna Sawai's performance as Lady Mariko in the FX series "Shogun" landed the actor an Emmy nomination for best actress in a drama.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Aug 29, 2024

In ‘Shogun,’ Anna Sawai drew on the power of silence. And Mozart.

“It gives me confidence,” Sawai says about her first Emmy nomination, for best actress in a drama. “I have such bad impostor syndrome.”
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado speaks as she holds up a copy of electoral records during a protest against the election results announced by President Nicolas Maduro's government after he was declared winner of the July election, in Caracas on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 29, 2024

Rallies and arrests mark one month since disputed Venezuela election

Protests since the vote have led to at least 27 deaths.
A fireworks display was part of the 2024 Paralympic opening ceremony at Place de la Concorde in Paris on Wednesday.
PARALYMPICS
Aug 29, 2024

Paris Paralympics open with colorful ceremony and message of inclusion

The colorful and hope-filled ceremony that marked the start of 11 days of competition in a city still riding the wave of the successful Olympics.
A member of the Self-Defense Forces wipes away sweat as he conducts a search and rescue operation at a landslide site caused by heavy rain in Kumano, Hiroshima Prefecture, on July 11, 2018.
ENVIRONMENT / Boiling Point
Aug 29, 2024

Can Japan handle a heat wave and natural disaster at the same time?

Recent typhoons and the Nankai Trough megaquake alert have put the spotlight on how the country would deal with a dual disaster.
Japanese workers in their 40s and 50s — known as the "lost generation" — saw their wages rise slightly in the second quarter.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 29, 2024

Japan’s 'lost generation' gets a raise, and the economy, a small boost

The pay bump in the second quarter is vitally important to the economy, as consumption by Japanese workers in their 40s and 50s is an important driver of growth.
A Palestinian woman reacts as she walks along a street damaged during a raid in the Nur Shams camp near the city of Tulkarem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Wednesday.
WORLD
Aug 29, 2024

Israeli conducts deadly raids in West Bank as Gaza war rages

Israel launched coordinated raids across four northern West Bank cities where the military has focused much of its recent operations.
Kenta Izumi, leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, is struggling to get enough supporters to run in the upcoming party leadership election.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 29, 2024

CDP chief Izumi scrambles to find backers for reelection bid

Izumi's support base has weakened, with party heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa withdrawing his support.
Waves break against protecting walls as Typhoon Gaemi approaches Keelung, Taiwan, on July 24.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 29, 2024

Climate change fueled deadly Typhoon Gaemi, study finds

Typhoon Gaemi's wind speeds were 7% more intense due to human-caused climate change, and its rainfall was 14% heavier in Taiwan and 9% heavier in Hunan.
If you're still trying to be active during Japan's record-setting heat, you should also know how best to care for yourself when you inevitably get a sunburn.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Aug 31, 2024

Japan’s nasty summer has left you with a nastier sunburn. Now what?

Aloe facial masks, non-alcohol-based lotions and souped-up sunscreen can take the edge off the pain of getting a sunburn.
Jonah Ndeuludila (right) is studying at Tochigi Prefecture's Asian Rural Institute in order to bring skills back to his job at Namibia's Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Sep 2, 2024

Over half a century, seeds of change grow at a Tochigi farm

Founded by Toshihiro Takami in 1973, ARI promotes organic, subsistence farming methods and the practice of servant leadership.
A submerged area of Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on Thursday after Typhoon Shanshan dumped torrential rain throughout the Kyushu region.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2024

Alerts issued for Tokyo area cities as Shanshan crawls across Japan

Multiple rivers in and around Tokyo threatened to spill their banks as the storm brought torrential rain.
Since arriving in Japan, Adrian Bianco has dedicated himself to exploring the country’s many subcultures at the website sabukaru.online.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Aug 30, 2024

Adrian Bianco: ‘Leaving your comfort zone keeps you alive’

Upon relocating in Tokyo after a stint with the Vice empire in Germany, Adrian Bianco has explored Asia's underground via his website Sabukaru Online.
A remote-controlled BurnBot RX1 prototype produces a containment line during a prescribed burn operation in Paicines, California, on Aug. 12.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 30, 2024

Robots are starting (good) fires in California

BurnBot's robot keeps combustion within its burning chamber, where propane torches and air blowers bring flame temperatures up to 1,000 degrees Celsius.
People sunbathe on a rock in Beirut's Ain al-Mreisseh seaside promenade on Aug. 2.
WORLD
Aug 30, 2024

The threat of war with Israel redefines ‘normal’ life in Beirut

Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire along the border, exchanges that could spiral into a bigger, broader conflict involving global and regional powers.
Attendees play the For All Time mobile game on smartphones at the NetEase Games booth at the Tokyo Game Show in the city of Chiba in September last year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 30, 2024

Tencent and NetEase rethink Japan approach as game strategy stalls

The companies are reconsidering or scaling back many of their investments in Japanese studios, after years of spending yielded few hit games.
The protagonist of “The Colors Within” is Totsuko (voiced by Sayu Suzukawa), a cheerful young woman who views the world in a unique way: Everyone she sees gives off their own distinct color that represents their personality.
CULTURE / Film
Aug 30, 2024

'The Colors Within' tunes into everyday moments of love

Director Naoko Yamada's new anime film, which explores themes of acceptance and communication without words, was born from a creative relationship of complete trust.
A protestor hold what they called a Stand up to Racism rally in Liverpool, England, on Aug 3. Savvy anti-populists should concentrate their rhetorical fire on populist leaders, rather than on their supporters.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 30, 2024

The counteroffensive against populism

One lesson from the past few months might sound like a truism: All parties that value democracy must unite to face down anti-democratic threats.
Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike on Zibqin, in southern Lebanon, on Sunday. AFP-JIJI
EDITORIALS
Aug 30, 2024

The Middle East remains on a precipice

Israel's retaliations in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran have not led to a wider conflict. But neither Iran nor its proxies seem eager to expand the fighting either.
People walk in front of closed ticket gates for the Tokaido Shinkansen in Tokyo Station as train operations between Tokyo and Nagoya remain suspended due to Tropical Storm Shanshan on Saturday.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2024

Tropical Storm Shanshan soaks Japan as flood and landslide risks rise

Shanshan was moving slowly south-southwest of Wakayama Prefecture on Saturday afternoon, bringing widespread torrential rain to much of the country.
A 7-Eleven convenience store, operated by Seven & i Holdings Co., at the company's headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 31, 2024

Couche-Tard seeks pension fund backing for Seven & I bid

The retailer is reaching out to some of Canada’s largest pension funds to gauge their interest in providing equity, sources said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during the 33rd Independence Day ceremony at Saint Sophia Square, in Kyiv on Aug. 24
WORLD / FOCUS
Aug 31, 2024

In war-fatigued east Ukraine, Zelenskyy loses his shine

While the Ukrainian leader initially had close to a 90% approval rate after Russia invaded, his rating now stands at a mere 55%.
A construction worker in Tokyo's Akasaka district on Aug. 21. With 886 cases, 54 of them fatal, during the period from 2019 to 2023, the construction industry leads Japan’s tally for occupational heatstroke.
BUSINESS / Boiling Point
Sep 1, 2024

Clocking off: Japan’s hotter summers put limit on outdoor work

Climate change is forcing businesses to sacrifice productivity in the name of safety in industries ranging from construction to transportation.
Local miners collect small rocks as they mine for gold in Benguet province in the northern Philippines.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 1, 2024

Toxic, deadly, cheap: Life for women gold miners in the Philippines

One in three of the illegal mining workforce is female — and women are 90 times more at risk of dying on the job than men.
A shelf for emergency goods is seen almost empty at a hardware store in the city of Shizuoka on Aug. 9.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 1, 2024

20% take no action over Nankai Trough quake warning

The emergency information was lifted on Aug. 15 as there was no particular change in the state of the plate boundaries near where the quake is expected to occur.
People at bubble tea chain Mixue Bingcheng in Beijing on Thursday. Bubble tea is wildly popular in China, where people sipping through straws from large plastic cups is a common sight across the country.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 1, 2024

Penny-pinching youth transforming China's bubble tea craze

Bubble tea is wildly popular in China and a common sight on high streets and in shopping malls across the country.
Israelis demand hostages be released and protest against the government during a demonstration in Tel Aviv on Sunday.
WORLD
Sep 2, 2024

Protests grip Israel after six hostages are killed in Gaza

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces growing calls to end nearly 11 months of war with a deal for a cease-fire and the release of the remaining hostages.
An elevator at the Stade de France commuter train station in Saint-Denis, near Paris, France. Paris built highly accessible accommodation for competitors in the 2024 Paralympic Games, but overall, the city remains difficult to navigate for people with disabilities.
PARALYMPICS
Sep 2, 2024

Paris is utopia for Paralympians until they leave the athletes village

It will be decades before the city's streets, sidewalks and parks achieve even a semblance of the Paralympic Village’s accessibility.

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