Search - people

 
 
Taiwan is strengthening its capacity to produce blood bags domestically in preparation for emergencies.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 17, 2025

Taiwan targets blood-bag production as China steps up pressure

President Lai Ching-te has made preparing the self-ruled archipelago for a possible conflict with China a central part of his policymaking.
Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People (center right), and others on Tuesday at the Diet building after announcing their campaign promises for the upcoming House of Councilors election.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 17, 2025

Japan's opposition DPP pledges lower taxes and higher take-home pay

The Democratic Party for the People also emphasized support for young people and the working generation, proposing to double the budget for child-rearing and education.
Israeli air defense systems are activated to intercept Iranian ballistic missiles over Tel Aviv amid a fresh barrage from Iranian forces on Monday.
WORLD / FOCUS
Jun 17, 2025

Israel’s defense shield is tested like never before as Iran fires ballistic missiles

In total, Tehran has sent 370 ballistic missiles toward Israel, with around 30 hitting targets in the country, the Israeli government says.
Goldin Auctions CEO Ken Goldin speaks to a collector in Ikebukuro on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS
Jun 17, 2025

Ken Goldin brings his sports memorabilia from Netflix to Tokyo

Goldin Auctions CEO Ken Goldin brought some high-end sports memorabilia for the public to see on his first trip to Japan.
Residents react as Ukrainian rescuers conduct a search after a Russian missile strike in Kyiv on Tuesday.
WORLD
Jun 17, 2025

Russia kills at least 15 in strikes on Kyiv and other cities

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russian forces sent more than 440 drones and 32 missiles at Ukraine.
A farmer cuts down cocoa pods from a tree on his farm in Azaguie, Cote d'Ivoire.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 17, 2025

High cocoa prices drive smuggling surge, alarming traders

Cote d'Ivoire is the world's largest cocoa producer, but much higher prices in neighboring countries create an arbitrage that some can't resist exploiting.
A Ukrainian mother sits with her children near a refugee center in Sumy, Ukraine, on June 12.
WORLD
Jun 17, 2025

Stay or go? Ukrainian visa programs in U.K. leave refugees in limbo

Many Ukrainians who came to Britain on special visas from 2022 are running out of time.
In a recorded speech played on television Wednesday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's demand for unconditional surrender, saying Americans "should know that any U.S. military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage."
WORLD / Politics
Jun 18, 2025

Iran supreme leader rejects Trump's call for surrender as thousands flee Tehran

U.S. President Donald Trump has veered from proposing a swift diplomatic end to the Israel-Iran war to suggesting the United States might join it.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei listens to the national anthem as Air Force officers salute during a meeting in Tehran in February.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 18, 2025

Iran supreme leader sees his inner circle hollowed out by Israel

The killings of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's main military and security advisers has left major holes in his inner circle, raising the risk of strategic errors.
A dead sea star in 2015. About 5 billion sea stars died from a disease outbreak, likely including this one.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 18, 2025

Marine heat waves are spreading around the world

Some unusual ocean events have become so intense that scientists have coined a new term: super marine heat waves.
A video from the National Police Agency aimed at educating people about the illegality of online casinos is shown at a movie theater in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 18, 2025

Japan revises law to ban online casino ads as it cracks down on offshore gambling

The revised law makes gambling on overseas sites explicitly illegal, allowing internet service providers and social media platforms to remove content more proactively.
Trishit Banerjee moved to Japan in 2015, embarking on an academic and personal journey that taught him lessons about the collective and the individual.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jun 23, 2025

A singular ensemble: Indian food, science and Fukushima

After moving to Sendai for college, an Indian student began thinking about the dynamic between the individual and the ensemble — in food, science and society.
Shibuya’s iconic scramble crossing has helped put the district on the map globally.
BUSINESS
Jun 18, 2025

Shibuya, Tokyo's coolest ward, offers startups a leg up in Japan

It's offering international entrepreneurs free space, a good address and a wide range of support services.
Drone warfare in Ukraine has exposed the obsolescence of traditional military systems, the need for rapid, adaptive innovation and the terrifying potential of AI-driven autonomous weapons in future conflicts.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 18, 2025

The age of AI drone warfare is here and changing the rules

Drone technology, weapons and tactics now evolve at a blinding pace. A new drone will be useful for only two to six months.
The anti-interventionist part of the Republican Party is watching with alarm as U.S. President Donald Trump has gone from seeking a peaceful diplomatic settlement with Iran to possibly having the United States support Israel's military campaign.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 19, 2025

Trump faces uproar from MAGA base over possible Iran strike

Some of Trump's biggest Republican allies are in the unusual position of being at odds with a president who largely shares their isolationist tendencies.
A U.S. military plane takes off at the Kadena U.S. Air Force Base in Okinawa Prefecture in August 2023.
JAPAN
Jun 19, 2025

Okinawa marks 80 years since 'Typhoon of Steel,' with U.S. presence still a burden

On June 23, Japan’s southernmost prefecture commemorates the end of the Battle of Okinawa, among the bloodiest ground battles of World War II.
The Financial Services Agency headquarters in Tokyo. The regulator has called on regional banks to disclose the amount and market value of their high-yield loans backed by government bonds.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 19, 2025

Regulator to ramp up scrutiny of banks’ repackaged JGBs

A senior official at the Financial Services Agency called on lenders to disclose the amount and market value of their holdings, sources said.
KG Motors CEO Kazunari Kusunoki with the ultra compact electric vehicle Mibot
BUSINESS
Jun 19, 2025

This $7,000 single-seat electric car has become a hit in Japan

In the rural suburbs of Hiroshima, a Japanese startup is trying to kick-start the nation’s electric vehicle market with the smallest, cheapest car it can possibly make.
From participants on the JET Programme to full-time content creators, Megan and Ben share their lives in Japan on screen. They recently signed with Tokyo-based influencer agency GeeXPlus.
LIFE / Digital
Jun 19, 2025

The Hitobito's Megan and Ben uncover the real Japan, one video at a time

The couple moved to Japan to be teachers. Now, their YouTube clips are viewed by millions.
Science suggests that three days of “shinrin-yoku” (forest bathing) is enough to boost immunity for an entire month.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 21, 2025

The science of shinrin-yoku: Why forest bathing feels good

Science suggests that three days of “shinrin-yoku” forest bathing is enough to boost immunity for an entire month.
Mourners attend a funeral for those killed in Israeli strikes, in Qazvin, Iran, on Thursday.
WORLD
Jun 20, 2025

Israel-Iran air war enters second week as Europe pushes diplomacy

The role of the United States remains uncertain. The White House said on Thursday President Trump would decide in the next two weeks whether to get involved in the war.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thailand's prime minister, during a news conference in Bangkok, on Thursday. Thailand's government faces collapse after a leaked phone call unleashed fresh political turmoil.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 20, 2025

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thailand's prime minister, under siege

After less than a year in office, Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has her back to the wall — and little room left to maneuver.
Takeshi Yamaguchi, a professor at the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa Prefecture, speaks during an online interview on June 3.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2025

Okinawa remains at mercy of armed forces, says expert

The prefecture hosts many U.S. military bases, following its occupation by U.S. armed forces after Japan's defeat in the Battle of Okinawa in the closing days of World War II.
A visitor looks into North Korea from South Korea's Odusan Unification Observatory in Paju on June 12.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jun 20, 2025

Rights abuses continue in North Korea a decade after probe, says U.N.

A U.N official said he is still surprised by the continued prevalence of executions, forced labour and reports of starvation in the authoritarian country.
Palestinians carry sacks of flour collected from an aid distribution point in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Jun 20, 2025

As death toll rises, Gazans make life-risking journeys to seek food

Like thousands of other Palestinians in Gaza, Hind Al-Nawajha makes a long, dangerous journey every day to try to get food for her family, hoping she makes it back alive.
Auckland City's Adam Mitchell reacts during his team's match against Bayern Munich in Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 15.
SOCCER
Jun 20, 2025

Club World Cup is both blessing and curse for amateur club Auckland City

Auckland City lost 10-0 against European giant Bayern Munich at the Club World Cup.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya speaks to reporters at the Foreign Ministry on Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2025

Japanese nationals flee Iran and Israel amid conflict

According to the Foreign Ministry, some 1,000 Japanese citizens are still in Israel and about 220 are in Iran.
At Mount Zine’s gallery in Komazawa, Setagaya Ward, one wall is for exhibiting, while another is for zines for sale.
CULTURE / Books
Jun 21, 2025

A buzzing zine scene across Japan packs passion in multiple formats

In a world now dominated by digital media, small handmade books are a return to analog media and offline connection.
In Tokyo, at least 562 people have been taken to the hospital for suspected heatstroke so far this month.
ENVIRONMENT
Jun 20, 2025

What happened to the rainy season?

The mercury has climbed across much of Japan in recent days, but the seasonal rain front is expected to return early next week.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son at Donald Trump's resort in Florida in December last year
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 20, 2025

Masayoshi Son pitches $1 trillion U.S. AI hub to TSMC and Trump team

Son envisions a version of the vast manufacturing hub of China’s Shenzhen that would bring back high-tech manufacturing to the U.S.

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