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Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Mar 31, 2025

The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan

A growing industry quietly erases the final traces of those who die alone, exposing deep societal fractures.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures during a news conference in 2021.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 31, 2025

Netanyahu offers Hamas leaders Gaza exit but demands group disarm

Hamas has expressed a willingness to relinquish Gaza's administration, but has warned its weapons are a "red line."
Ryuji Matsumoto pats one of the sheep at his farm in the town of Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Apr 14, 2025

The man behind Fukushima town's 'Strawberry Sheep'

Ryuji Matsumoto, 54, incorporates dried strawberries into the feed for his sheep, which gives their meat a certain sweetness.
A whirling dervish stands in front of Turkish anti-riot police officers during a rally in support of Istanbul's arrested mayor in the city on March 23.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 31, 2025

In Turkey, new technologies reinforce repression

People have been arrested in predawn raids at their homes after being identified from footage or photos taken by the police during demonstrations.
People inspect the debris of a collapsed building in Mandalay, Myanmar, on Friday after an earthquake.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 1, 2025

Signs of life detected in quake-hit Bangkok skyscraper as overall death toll tops 2,000

Civil war in Myanmar is complicating efforts to reach those injured by the country's biggest quake in a century.
A man stands near the remains of a building destroyed in a strong earthquake, in Amarapura, Myanmar, on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 1, 2025

U.S. aid response in Myanmar faces hurdles after staff cuts

Response hobbled by the huge fund cuts, contractor terminations and plans to fire nearly all USAID staff, source says.
A worker cuts Inada granite, which is used in various buildings in Tokyo.
ESG CONSORTIUM
Apr 1, 2025

Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones

In 2024, the Tsukuba massif granite of the Mt. Tsukuba Area Geopark was certified by the International Union of Geological Sciences as one of the first 55 IUGS Heritage Stones, which have been “used in significant architecture and monuments” and “recognized as integral aspects of human culture.”...
Myanmar's military chief, Min Aung Hlaing (center), arrives to meet earthquake survivors gathered on the compound of a hospital in Naypyitaw on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 1, 2025

Deadly quake gives junta a chance to tighten hold over Myanmar

Even as the damage of Friday’s quake was still being assessed, pro-democracy rebel groups reported fresh airstrikes in areas close to the epicenter.
Lt. Col. Suguru Ejiri, the head of Air Self-Defense Force's Blue Impulse aerobatics team, at the ASDF base in Higashimatsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, in March. Ejiri has revealed little about the upcoming Osaka Expo performance apart from it being based on the event's theme.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2025

ASDF's Blue Impulse set for Osaka Expo performance

The aerobatics team flew for the 1970 World Expo in Osaka Prefecture as well, during which the team drew "EXPO 70" in the sky.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is launched at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Monday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 1, 2025

SpaceX eyes Starlink hub with multiple ground stations in Vietnam, sources say

The move would herald its launch in the country and would help authorities police internet traffic.
People queue for food and relief supplies after a strong earthquake in Amarapura, Myanmar, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 2, 2025

U.N. urges aid to Myanmar quake survivors before monsoons hit as death toll nears 3,000

A civil war in Myanmar had already displaced more than 3 million people long before the quake struck.
A fire caused by a gas pipeline leak rages in Puchong, Selangor on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 2, 2025

Scores hospitalized after huge fire at gas pipeline in Malaysia

Authorities said the blaze in the town of Puchong, on the outskirts of the capital Kuala Lumpur, had been extinguished by midafternoon.
U.S. Health and Human Services employee Julie Siegel stands outside the Mary E. Switzer Memorial Building on Tuesday as she is denied access and her badge taken away as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration reportedly begins mass layoffs of 10,000 staffers at U.S. health agencies.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 2, 2025

Trump begins mass layoffs at FDA, CDC and other U.S. health agencies

The job cuts are part of a broad plan by the U.S. president and billionaire ally Elon Musk to shrink the federal government and slash spending.
A surgical team attend to a patient suffering from black fungus in Rajasthan, India.
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 2, 2025

Once-rare fungal diseases are killing millions in an unprepared world

An estimated 6.5 million people develop invasive fungal infections each year, with about 2.5 million deaths directly caused by them.
The logo of Xiaomi is seen on a tire wheel of the SU7, the company's first electric vehicle, on display at a showroom in Beijing on March 25.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 2, 2025

Three reported dead after Xiaomi car with driver assistance crashes

The incident is likely to spark scrutiny over the smart driving software deployed in many of today’s cars.
Sen. Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey, speaks to reporters after surpassing the record for the longest Senate speech at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD
Apr 2, 2025

Cory Booker condemns Trump’s policies in longest senate speech on record

Cheers broke out in the chamber when the senator passed Strom Thurmond's record for longest speech.
Declining birth rates in China are driven by a myriad of causes, such as a shrinking childbearing-age population, lifestyle changes, the one-child policy’s lasting effects, an oversupply of men and high youth unemployment.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 30, 2025

Why China’s marriage crisis matters

According to China’s 2020 census, 61% of babies are born to women aged 20 to 30. But the number of women in this cohort dropped from 111 million in 2012 to 73 million in 2024.
People line up for food aid in Sagaing, Myanmar, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 3, 2025

Myanmar quake toll tops 3,000 as weather poses threat for rescuers

Rains will add to the challenges faced by aid and rescue groups, which have called for access to all affected areas despite the strife of civil war.
Michael Johnson (center) believes Grand Slam Track will be a landmark moment for track and field.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Apr 3, 2025

Michael Johnson's ambitious Grand Slam Track series prepares for first event

The circuit gets under way in Kingston on Friday.
Rescue teams from China and Belarus coordinate at the site of a collapsed building in Mandalay, Myanmar, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 3, 2025

With U.S. absent, China steps in for earthquake-hit Myanmar

The American absence shows how U.S. President Donald Trump's moves to slash the size of the government has hobbled its ability to act during disasters.
Anti-Yoon protesters react after the Constitutional Court's verdict on the impeachment of South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 4, 2025

South Korea upholds Yoon impeachment, prompting snap election within 60 days

The move, while deepening a divide in South Korea between conservative and progressive voters, could also have broad implications for relations with neighboring Japan.
Unexploded U.S. military ordnance found in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture, on March 24
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2025

Unexploded ordnance still haunts Okinawa 80 years after WWII battle

Despite decades of clearance efforts, roughly 1,900 metric tons of deadly remnants are estimated to remain buried beneath the land.
Momoka Matsui and her co-worker Saki Matsumoto take photos of acrylic stand figure models of their favorite idols with cakes and teas, which they ordered at a Tokyo cafe where Matsui’s favorite boy band stopped by.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 5, 2025

Can Japan's take on fandom help drive spending?

The explosion of "oshikatsu" (supporting favored celebrities or characters), which entered the mainstream during the pandemic, has economists and the Bank of Japan taking note.
Tokyo Humanities Cafe was launched in 2017 by Laurence Williams (left) and Alex Watson, professors at Sophia and Meiji Universities, respectively.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Apr 7, 2025

Tokyo Humanities Cafe feeds hungry minds

A free quarterly event invites everyone to explore what it means to be human.
Since April marks the start of a new fiscal period in Japan, there is a good chance you’ll be meeting new colleagues this month.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 5, 2025

Meeting new colleagues and introducing yourself in Japanese

Get off on the right foot at work or school with a few set phrases that are easy to memorize.
An activist holds a picture of Myanmar's junta leader, Min Aung Hlaing, during a protest against his visit to Thailand and attending the 6th BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 5, 2025

Myanmar junta chief meets foreign leaders; U.N. says military choking aid

The U.N. said his military was limiting humanitarian aid following the earthquake that killed over 3,100 people amid civil war.
National Security Agency Director Gen. Timothy Haugh testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats, on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 25.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 5, 2025

Democrats slam Trump's dismissal of NSA chief

Far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer is reported to have pushed for the dismissal of NSA chief Timothy Haugh.
A doctor administers COVID-19 vaccinations to members of the Latino community in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, in August 2021.
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 5, 2025

As U.S. ditches diversity in clinical trials, all eyes on Europe

The United States once led the world in running clinical trials that aimed to look like the nation at large.
Protesters hold up signs during a demonstration against U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday. Scores of protests were held across the country the same day.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 6, 2025

Tens of thousands in U.S. turn out to protest against Trump policies

Some 1,200 demonstrations nationwide formed one of the largest single days of protest against President Donald Trump since he was sworn in.
People embrace at the site of a deadly Russian missile strike on a residential area, where multiple children and adults were killed, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, on Saturday.
WORLD
Apr 6, 2025

Zelenskyy slams 'weak' U.S. response to Russian strike on his hometown

The missile strike on his hometown killed 18 people, including nine children.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’