Search - people

 
 
Pope Francis gives the Easter Urbi et Orbi message from St. Peter's basilica in the Vatican on Sunday.
WORLD
Mar 31, 2024

Pope Francis pleads for peace in Easter message

In his Easter speech, Francis condemned war as "always an absurdity and a defeat," raising conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Myanmar and beyond.
A mural showing Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani is seen on the side of the Miyako Hotel in Little Tokyo, downtown Los Angeles, on Thursday. The mural is by artist Robert Vargas and is 46 meters tall.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 1, 2024

Ohtani’s arrival brings hope and nostalgia home to Little Tokyo

In Los Angeles, home to one of the nation’s oldest Japanese American enclaves, rooting for the Dodgers is a cherished tradition.
Supporters of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, mayoral candidate of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), celebrate following early results in front of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality in Istanbul on April 1.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 1, 2024

Inflation delivers shock defeat for Erdogan in Turkey’s municipal vote

Higher lending costs have dented consumer sentiment but have yet to reverse the trajectory of price increases running at an annual rate of just under 70%.
Newly-appointed Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa (center) poses for a picture among other ministers during a swearing in ceremony in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, on Sunday. A new Palestinian government that includes both Gazans and four women was sworn in Sunday, but is already facing skepticism from its own people.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 1, 2024

New leadership for Palestinian Authority gets lukewarm reception

The authority is under pressure from Washington to prepare to step into the breach in the aftermath of the Gaza war and undertake reforms.
According to the Integrated Food Security Classification, as many as 1.1 million residents of Gaza — roughly half the population — are at risk of catastrophic food insecurity by July, and 210,000 in the North are likely to fall into the formal definition of famine between now and May.
WORLD
Apr 1, 2024

Gazans go hungry as Hamas, Israel and clans battle for control

A recent U.N.-backed report said famine is imminent in northern Gaza where 70% of the population is on the brink of starvation.
Clergymen conduct a memorial service for victims at a makeshift memorial near the Crocus City Hall following a deadly attack on the concert venue outside Moscow on Friday.
WORLD
Apr 1, 2024

Russia seeks extradition of Ukraine security service head; Ukraine rejects demand

Russia is demanding that Ukraine hand over all people connected with terrorist acts committed in Russia.
A worker stands on a pile of rice sacks as the other worker carries a sack of rice at the warehouse in Jakarta on Feb.13. Dry weather fueled by El Nino has led to a rice shortage and sent prices to record highs.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 1, 2024

As El Nino bites, Indonesians struggle with record-high rice prices

Rice has been an integral part of Indonesian history and culture since ancient times, and is one of the country's most important agricultural commodities.
Cardboard beds at an evacuation center in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 31. Because evacuation shelters are operated by municipalities, the quality of disaster relief varies depending on the strength of each local government, one expert points out.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 1, 2024

Over 8,000 still in evacuation centers three months after Noto quake

The patchy progress of Japan's decentralized disaster relief shows that lessons from past disasters have not been learned, experts say.
Ma Ying-jeou, who was president of Taiwan from 2008 to 2016, last year became the first former Taiwanese leader to visit China. No serving Taiwanese leader has ever visited China.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 1, 2024

Taiwan's ex-president leaves for China, likely to meet Xi

Ma Ying-jeou met the Chinese leader in Singapore in late 2015 for a landmark summit, when he was still president.
Plaintiffs in a suit against the government over a law that requires married spouses to have the same surname arrive at the Tokyo District Court in Tokyo on March 8.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 1, 2024

By 2531, everyone in Japan could have the surname 'Sato'

The forecast is based on the premise that the current practice of requiring married couples to share the same surname continues.
A boy watches Self-Defense Forces live-fire drills in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in 2017. Japan’s defense posture is shifting, as the government’s recent approval of new arms export regulations signals.  
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 1, 2024

Is Japan leaving pacifism behind?

How a previous generation of Japanese leaders, those who made defense budget and arms export limits a national credo, would view the current shift.
Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich (right) with then-wife Dasha Zhukova in 2014. Zhukova's mother, Elena Zhukova, is engaged to media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2024

The oligarch, his ex-wife, her mother and Rupert Murdoch

Were it not for other stories coming out of Russia, Rupert Murdoch's engagement to Roman Abramovich's ex-mother-in-law would have made more headlines.
Customers browse Gashapon official shop “Ikebukuro Sohonten” in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 2, 2024

Top capsule-toy maker Bandai bets on huge market outside Japan

Machines for capsule toys have become ubiquitous in Japan, found not only in arcades, but also malls, supermarkets, airports and train stations.
Cars drive past the statue of General Aung San in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, on March 26.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Apr 2, 2024

More than 800 suspected scammers arrested in Myanmar-China joint operation

The UN human rights office said 120,000 people were being held in scam compounds in Myanmar in 2023.
New recruits of the Ukrainian military's 1st Da Vinci Wolves Separate Mechanized Battalion take part in a military exercise in an undisclosed location in central Ukraine on March 12.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Apr 7, 2024

Ukraine war has brought new challenges for international security

Democracies are being forced to confront the idea of hybrid warfare and the danger of full-scale conflict.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi. Following a strong quake in the Tohoku region Tuesday, the government set up an information office for crisis management at the Prime Minister's Office.
JAPAN
Apr 2, 2024

Strong quake jolts northeastern Japan, logging lower 5 intensity

The Meteorological Agency has cautioned those in the northeast to remain alert for lower 5 intensity quakes for about a week.
South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee during a ceremony in Amsterdam on Dec. 12, 2023
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 2, 2024

South Korea's first lady avoids limelight ahead of high-stakes election

Kim Keon-hee has not made any public appearances since December 15.
Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad (left) walks near a damaged site after what the Iranian media said was an Israeli strike on a building close to the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 2, 2024

Israel bombs Iran embassy in Syria, killing military commanders

Monday's attack marks a major escalation in Israel's war with its regional adversaries.
People attend a vigil in memory of the victims of a shooting attack at the Crocus City Hall concert venue outside Moscow, in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 2, 2024

Russian conflicts with Islamists key to Moscow attack, analysts say

Russia's conflicts with Islamist forces over half a century are key to understanding the likely motives behind concert hall attack.
A customer walks past a display for Nintendo's Super Mario at an electronics store in Tokyo on Jan. 12. Last year, Nintendo increased salaries, in part to be competitive with other studios.
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2024

Japan’s game industry weathers the storm amid layoffs worldwide

The country's studios are actually scrambling to attract and retain talent — a state of affairs that is symptomatic of the nation’s demographic challenges.
Ayuko Kato, minister for policies related to children, speaks at a parliament session on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 2, 2024

One year on, Japan's children agency struggles to show leadership

The agency is facing challenges to demonstrate leadership, unable to move forward with unprecedented measures to combat the declining birthrate.
Workers prepare processed crickets at Hygente Technology in Shinjo, Yamagata Prefecture, in November.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Apr 8, 2024

Next-gen protein sources explored as meat replacements in Tohoku

While proponents tout the benefits of edible insects and plant-based meat, getting consumers to change their eating habits remains an uphill task.
The Asaichi Dori morning market area in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Monday
JAPAN / Society
Apr 2, 2024

Three months after Noto quake, victims voice mixed feelings

While some local businesses have reopened, the streets are quiet and the future remains difficult to envision.
The top U.S. military commander in the Indo-Pacific, Adm. John Aquilino, has said that Beijing is maintaining its goal of being able to invade Taiwan by 2027.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 2, 2024

Will China truly be ‘ready’ to invade Taiwan by 2027? It’s complicated.

The most important factor shaping any plan will not be based on just military readiness, but rather on political and strategic objectives, analysts say.
An audio work by Saga University's Art Works to Listen and Imagine project is available on the internet.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Apr 8, 2024

Experiencing art exhibitions through listening

Events and exhibitions are being held to encourage visitors to appreciate artworks with their ears and imagination.
Heita Kawakatsu, governor of Shizuoka Prefecture, explains his remarks at the prefectural government office on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 2, 2024

Shizuoka Gov. Heita Kawakatsu to resign over latest gaffe

"Unlike (those who) sell vegetables, raise cattle and make things, you are basically highly intellectual people," he said to newly hired officials.
Children are evacuated from a preschool in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, following tsunami warnings after a powerful earthquake struck off Taiwan on Wednesday morning.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2024

Japan lifts tsunami advisory after strong quake hits Taiwan

Tsunami measuring at least 30 centimeters were observed at Yonaguni and Miyako islands, while waves as high as 20 cm also reached Ishigaki Island.
Demonstrators protest against the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in Delhi on March 22.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 3, 2024

Modi’s opposition unites at rally demanding fair elections

The opposition has criticized the ruling party as their leaders faced arrests and investigations.
People hold candles as they attend a night vigil and prayer at the Amahoro Stadium as part of the 25th Commemoration of the 1994 Genocide, in Kigali, Rwanda, on April 7, 2019. Rwanda will soon commemorate the 30th anniversary this year.
WORLD
Apr 3, 2024

Rwanda marks 30 years since genocide

During the 1994 genocide, Hutu extremists targeting the Tutsi minority slaughtered around 800,000 people in a massacre lasting 100 days.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un looks on as he guides a training of the fire division in this picture released on March 19. Pyongyang has spent decades stockpiling millions of rounds of artillery and thousands of rockets in the terrain north of the demilitarized zone, which sits some 40 kilometers away from Seoul.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 3, 2024

Kim Jong Un faces annihilation in nearly all Korea war scenarios

Although North Korea has a manpower advantage, the bulk of its forces rely on "increasingly obsolete equipment” dating back to Soviet era.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years