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Greenlandic Prime Minister Mute B. Egede attends a press conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Jan. 10.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 29, 2025

Greenlanders reject Trump with 85% majority against joining U.S.

Trump insists he wants to take over the world’s largest island for security reasons and has refused to rule out using force.
Underneath the praise, Washington, Wall Street and Silicon Valley are aligned in their view of DeepSeek as a key competitor to Meta’s Llama.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 29, 2025

DeepSeek tests Meta’s ambition for U.S. open-source AI dominance

Mark Zuckerberg has long championed Meta’s open-source approach to artificial intelligence software as key to ensuring U.S. dominance over China in AI.
Palestinians collect food aid packages from a UNRWA warehouse in Deir Al-balah, Gaza, on Jan. 23.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 29, 2025

Israel defies U.N. and vows to cut ties with UNRWA, with U.S.' blessing

UNRWA's offices and staff in Israel play a major role in the provision of health care and education to Palestinians, including those living in Gaza.
A volunteer responds an incoming call at a suicide hotline center in Tokyo. While the number of people who killed themselves in Japan marked the second-lowest level since 2019, such deaths among elementary, junior high and high school students were at their highest level since records began in 1980.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 29, 2025

Suicides among school children in Japan at highest level since 1980

The total number of people who killed themselves in the country fell for the second straight year to the second-lowest level since 2019, the health ministry said.
Though vegan restaurants have been on the upswing since 2017, Japanese vegans still lack a wide variety of options.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Jan 29, 2025

In meat- and fish-loving Japan, veganism is making a comeback

Tourism, climate goals and animal rights concerns are sparking a plant-based renaissance in a country famous for sushi and pork ramen.
Taxis in central Sendai. More people are becoming attracted to the job of a taxi driver as it can allow them to work flexibly.
BUSINESS / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Feb 10, 2025

Cab driving becoming an increasingly popular job in Sendai

Flexible hours and the work-at-your-own-pace environment has led to a renewed interest in taxi driving among younger people.
People were more concerned about the direct and specific impact of the Bank of Japan's latest rate hike on their personal lives, according to an artificial intelligence-driven analysis of various platforms, including social media.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 29, 2025

Japan begins feeling the pain of BOJ rate hikes more concretely

As time goes on, the BOJ’s rate increases appear to be having a stronger impact on people’s everyday lives, shifting from more abstract concepts to more concrete effects.
Hindu devotees sit after a deadly stampede before the second Shahi Snan (royal bath) at the Maha Kumbh Mela, or Great Pitcher Festival, in Prayagraj, India, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jan 29, 2025

Over a dozen dead in stampede at Hindu mega-festival in India

The six-week Kumbh Mela festival is the single biggest milestone on the Hindu religious calendar.
With China's growing military threat against Taiwan, experts argue that real deterrence — such as increased training ties with Japan, the U.S. and other nations — may be necessary to prevent an invasion and protect regional stability.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 29, 2025

How to secure Taiwan as drumbeats of a looming invasion grow louder

It is high time to get creative for real deterrence to protect the democratic island.
Frustrated by policy uncertainty and modest stimulus, investors are shifting from long-term bets to short-term trades in China.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 29, 2025

Growth engine or casino? Global investors rethink China playbook

Investor uncertainty and policy shifts have fundamentally changed how analysts and money managers view China’s markets.
Shilling poses for a picture at her home in California, Maryland, on Jan. 19.
WORLD
Jan 29, 2025

How transgender troops prepared to fight Trump's new policy

Transgender advocates say the lawsuit is the first shot in what they predict will be a long fight.
Trump started his term on Jan. 20 by issuing an executive order "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism," which declared the government will only recognize two sexes — male and female.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 30, 2025

LGBTQ+ Americans in crisis as Trump rolls back rights

Nine organizations supporting LGBTQ+ people said they had a surge in use of their crisis services and calls to their helplines on Trump's first day in office.
A protester holds a flag as he shouts slogans during a demonstration to mark the anniversary of Myanmar's 2021 military coup, outside the United Nations office in Bangkok, on Feb. 1, 2024.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 30, 2025

Risk of violence escalates in Myanmar's civil war as election looms

With many forces opposing the junta and the election, tensions are set to rise ahead of the ballot.
A little-used section of the JR Geibi Line, which runs through the Chugoku Mountains in Okayama and Hiroshima prefectures, faces a threat of closure.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Feb 10, 2025

Underutilized Hiroshima-Okayama rail route struggles to survive

While the number of passengers has continued to decline, the Geibi Line has served as a lifeline for some residents.
Debris at the site of a deadly plane crash in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Thursday.
WORLD
Jan 31, 2025

Investigators seek to salvage aircraft after deadly Washington crash

Authorities have recovered black boxes but have not yet pinpointed a reason for the collision between the regional jet and a U.S. Army helicopter.
A monument erected near Ulaanbaatar to remember Japanese nationals who died in Mongolia after being detained by the former Soviet Union during World War II
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2025

Japan's emperor and empress will likely visit Mongolia in July

This would be the couple's third overseas goodwill trip since the emperor's accession to the throne in 2019.
The koji room at Fukuwagura brewery in Mie Prefecture, where metals such as stainless steel, which are easy to manage for hygiene, are widely used
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jan 30, 2025

Japanese food makers step in to preserve sake breweries' legacy

The initiatives by food companies coincide with a growing recognition of traditional sake-making techniques.
An attendee records a virtual address by U.S. President Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 23.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 30, 2025

Trump threats risk stretching Europe's fragile unity to breaking point

The European Commission urged member states in a private meeting last week to remain united, with some comparing the situation to the Brexit negotiations.
A member of the M23 armed group (center) stands in front of two Guatemalan soldiers from the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) as they monitor access to the border crossing into Rwanda on Tuesday.
WORLD
Jan 30, 2025

What is happening in Congo and why are M23 rebels fighting?

The latest advances are part of a major escalation of a decades-old conflict over power, identity and resources.
Gensho Yasuda’s “Make a Girl” follows an inventor whose relationship with the robot girlfriend he builds becomes increasingly complicated as she develops an unexpected sense of independence.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 30, 2025

Indie animator Gensho Yasuda paves his own way with a DIY spirit

With “Make a Girl,” the young Japanese creator takes the leap from short videos to full-length films.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the White House in Washington on Thursday about the midair crash between an American Airlines plane and a military helicopter.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 31, 2025

Trump blames diversity programs over midair collision

The crash was nation's most deadly commercial airline accident in over a decade.
Palestinian militants hand over hostage Arbel Yehoud to members of the International Committee of the Red Cross as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, on Thursday.
WORLD
Jan 31, 2025

Israel releases 110 Palestinian prisoners and Hamas frees 8 hostages

Buses arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah carrying some of the 110 Palestinian prisoners to be freed as part of the phased agreement that halted more than 15 months of war.
IOC presidential candidate Morinari Watanabe speaks during a news conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Thursday.
OLYMPICS
Jan 31, 2025

IOC presidential contenders make pitches to voters

They are vying to succeed Thomas Bach as arguably the most powerful person in global sports.
Myanmar migrant worker Ma Phyu in her apartment in Samut Sakhon province, Thailand
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 31, 2025

Misery continues for Myanmar exiles four years on from coup

Those who fled to Thailand scrape by doing hard jobs for little pay — often living in fear of being arrested and sent back to Myanmar.
Sebastian Coe speaks during a news conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Thursday.
OLYMPICS
Jan 31, 2025

Sebastian Coe admits mistakes in handling of prize money issue at Olympics

World Athletics announced its prize money decision unilaterally ahead of last year's Paris Games without consulting the IOC.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during an Upper House plenary session in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 31, 2025

Ishiba aims to get assurances from Trump over Senkaku Islands

Ishiba also said he intends to seek assistance from Trump in resolving the issue of Japanese nationals kidnapped by North Korea decades ago.
Billed as a “cultural bridge that connects Japan and Vietnam,” Tet Viet Saitama drew tens of thousands of attendees from across the Kanto region.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Feb 2, 2025

Home away from home: My first time at a Tet festival in Japan

A longtime resident of Japan attends Saitama’s first public celebration of Vietnam’s most important holiday.
The first official government survey of Hokkaido backcountry skiing could spell changes for trails in the northern prefecture.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Feb 1, 2025

First official survey set to change backcountry Hokkaido skiing

From October 2024, the land ministry has been gathering opinions on Hokkaido’s alpine adventurers with an eye toward increased support and safety for off-piste enthusiasts.
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a briefing on Thursday about the midair crash in Washington.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 31, 2025

From anguish to aggression: Trump goes on offense after midair collision

In the wake of this week’s midair collision near Washington, Trump was more than happy to jump to conclusions and pull the United States apart rather than together.
Government officials and energy executives from countries such as India, Kuwait and Japan have been holding talks about procuring more U.S. gas, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 1, 2025

From India to Japan, specter of Trump tariffs spurs interest in U.S. gas

Trump’s tactics, however, are pushing away some other buyers, like those in China, the world’s top importer.

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