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Joseph Nye (left) joins then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as he speaks at Harvard’s Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in April 2015. The deaths of Nye and Richard Armitage, two giants in Japan-U.S. relations, will surely leave a lasting impact on the alliance they helped shape.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 5, 2025

A new generation of 'Japan hands' and a changing world

For decades, Joseph Nye and Richard Armitage helped shape a vision of U.S.-Japan ties grounded in shared values, strategic trust and mutual respect.
Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Thursday.
WORLD
Jun 6, 2025

Hamas says ready for 'serious' Gaza truce talks, as rescuers say scores killed

Talks aimed at brokering a new ceasefire have failed to yield a breakthrough since the last brief truce fell apart in March.
Canada defender Alphonso Davies (left) dribbles the ball during the second half of a CONCACAF Nations League semifinal match against Mexico at SoFi Stadium in California on Mar. 20.
SOCCER
Jun 6, 2025

Soccer surging in Canada a year from World Cup hosting

Data ranks soccer as the most popular sport among Canadian youth and, while the country retains its love for ice hockey, families increasingly struggle to take part.
Kim Moon-soo, the presidential candidate for South Korea's conservative People Power Party, listens to Kweon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the party, as he attends an election campaign rally in central Seoul on May 19.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 6, 2025

South Korean conservatives looking for rebirth after election loss

The defeat has left conservative leaders pointing fingers and trading blame as the party searches for a new direction.
Japan is the world's biggest market for Iqos, a heat-not-burn tobacco product marketed by its maker Philip Morris as a less harmful alternative to traditional cigarettes — a claim not backed by independent scientific research.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 6, 2025

Smoke and mirrors: How big tobacco manipulates science in Japan

In Japan, not only does the tobacco industry have close ties to government, but universities are also vulnerable to its influence. In this equation, public health loses out.
Descendents of the original "Gonin Byakushō" families are the only vendors allowed inside the gates of Kotohira Shrine, where they sell "kamiyoame," a golden-hued, yuzu-flavored candy meant for good fortune.
LIFE / Travel
Jun 7, 2025

At a mountainside shrine, yuzu candy made by imperial decree

Located in the mountains of western Kagawa Prefecture, Kotohira has yet to suffer — or benefit — from Japan’s overtourism rush.
The Bank of Japan's headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 6, 2025

Bank of Japan considering smaller reductions in bond buying

The internal debate is centered on whether to slow the pace of reductions to ¥200 billion per quarter from April next year or maintain the current pace.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting Anji Khad bridge, India's first cable-stayed railway bridge, during its inauguration as part of a new Kashmir rail link.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 6, 2025

India's Modi opens strategic railway in contested 'crown jewel' Kashmir

With 36 tunnels and 943 bridges, the new railway runs for 272 kilometers and connects Udhampur, Srinagar and Baramulla in the disputed region.
A car burns on Atlantic Boulevard during a standoff by protesters and law enforcement, following multiple detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in the Los Angeles County city of Paramount, California, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 8, 2025

Protesters rally against immigration agents for second day in Los Angeles

The protests pit LA and its large Hispanic and foreign-born population against Trump, who has made an immigration crackdown on a top priority.
An Israeli armored personnel carrier near the Israel-Gaza border, as seen from Israel on Saturday
WORLD
Jun 8, 2025

Israeli airstrikes kill 55; body of Thai hostage retrieved from Gaza

Thai agricultural worker Nattapong Pinta was abducted from a small Israeli community near the Gaza border during Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack.
A young woman holds placards depicting Ukrainian prisoners of war during a rally calling to speed up their exchange, at Independence Square in Kyiv on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 8, 2025

Ukraine denies postponing prisoner swaps as Russian strike on Kharkiv kills four

Kharkiv, one of Ukraine's largest cities, sits close to the Russian border and has been under frequent Russian shelling for more than three years.
New data from the National Police Agency shows patterns in where dementia are found after going missing, and how best to locate them.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 8, 2025

491 dementia sufferers found dead in Japan in 2024

Many who were declared missing were later rescued thanks to GPS or other tracking devices attached to their clothing.
A mourner prays for the victims of a stabbing rampage on a street in Tokyo's Akihabara district on the 17th anniversary of the incident on Sunday.
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2025

Victims mourned 17 years after Akihabara indiscriminate attack

The attacker, Tomohiro Kato, drove a truck into crowds in Akihabara and then stabbed others, killing seven people and injuring 10.
Meta headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Jan. 28
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 8, 2025

Meta in talks for Scale AI investment that could top $10 billion

The financing could exceed $10 billion in value, some of the people said, making it one of the largest private company funding events of all time.
Members of the California National Guard stand outside the Edward R. Roybal federal building on Sunday after their deployment by U.S. President Donald Trump in response to protests in Los Angeles.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 9, 2025

Los Angeles police order immigration protesters in downtown to go home

The unrest in Los Angeles has become a major flash point in Trump's signature effort to clamp down on illegal immigration.
The BYD Han full-size luxury sedan. EV industry analysts say a combination of weaker demand and extreme overcapacity will slice into profits at the strongest brands and force feebler competitors to fold.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 9, 2025

BYD unleashes an EV industry reckoning that alarms Beijing

The price war engulfing China’s electric vehicle industry has sent share prices tumbling and prompted an unusual level of intervention from Beijing. The shakeout may just be getting started.
Pope Leo XIV addresses the crowd at St. Peter's square in the Vatican on Sunday.
WORLD / Society
Jun 9, 2025

Pope Leo condemns 'exclusionary mindset' in Pentecost address

The pope's choice of language was significant, encouraging people to "open borders" within their hearts and minds.
A woman walks past campaign posters calling to vote in a referendum in downtown Rome on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 9, 2025

Italy holds referendum on citizenship and workers' rights

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her coalition partners encouraged voters to boycott the referendum.
A woman near the Kremlin in Moscow on May 19
WORLD / Politics
Jun 9, 2025

Russian intelligence says it collects WeChat data. What does that mean?

The disclosure highlights the rising level of concern about Chinese influence in Russia as the two countries deepen their relationship.
Chinese tour groups visit a waterfront promenade in Hong Kong on May 5.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 9, 2025

Can big stars bring higher-spending tourists back to Hong Kong?

Hong Kong, which once billed itself as Asia’s World City, is now seeking to brand itself as the region’s events capital.
Coco Gauff defeated Aryna Sabalenka to win her first French Open title at Roland Garros in Paris on Saturday.
TENNIS
Jun 9, 2025

French Open champion Coco Gauff proud to represent 'Americans that look like me'

Gauff is the first Black American to win the French Open since Serena Williams in 2015.
Experts are calling on people not to miss children's signs of trouble, particularly in June after fatigue can accumulate over the two months since the beginning of the school year in April.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 9, 2025

Experts warn of 'June syndrome' among children in Japan

Much like the better-known May syndrome, or May blues, June syndrome is a general term for mental and physical disorders and is medically classified as adjustment disorder.
The Japan Securities Dealers Association sent questionnaires to major Japanese and foreign brokerages asking about bond selling irregularities.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 9, 2025

JSDA said to probe brokerages on unsuitable Japanese bond sales

The probe marks a step toward ridding Japan’s primary bond market of opaque sales practices as rising interest rates boost investor appetite for debt with higher yields.
Police in riot gear advance past protesters lying in the street outside the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Santa Ana Field Office after reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Santa Ana, California, on Monday.
WORLD
Jun 10, 2025

U.S. deploys marines to LA as Trump tensions with Newsom intensify

Trump suggested that Newsom, a potential Democratic presidential contender in 2028, could be arrested if he interferes with upcoming immigration raids.
Ukrainian prisoners of war are seen after a swap, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at an unknown location in Ukraine, in this handout picture released on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 10, 2025

Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war

The return of prisoners of war and the repatriation of the bodies of the dead is one of the few things the two sides have managed to agree on.
Members of law enforcement operate amid a standoff between police and protesters following multiple detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in the Los Angeles County city of Compton, California, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 10, 2025

Los Angeles ICE raids fuel controversy over masked agents

The moves have ignited a politically charged debate over whether the agents are protecting their identities or engaging in intimidation tactics.
Police in riot gear stand near a mural of Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani during protests against federal immigration raids in Los Angeles’s Little Tokyo neighborhood on Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 10, 2025

Los Angeles is losing the war for public opinion

Burning Waymos are creating an image of an out-of-control city, which could lead to harsher measures from the federal government.
An Afghan woman carries away food aid donated by the Indian government in Kabul on May 18.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 10, 2025

Trump's cuts are 'devastating' for vulnerable women worldwide, U.N. says

Though it is too soon to estimate the impacts of the U.S. cuts, they will likely result in increased maternal mortality and more unintended pregnancies.
Police officers stand as children are evacuated from the school, following a deadly school shooting in Graz, Austria, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jun 10, 2025

Gunman kills at least nine in attack on Austrian secondary school

Police did not publicly identify the killer, but Austrian media cited unconfirmed reports saying he was a former pupil.
South Korean musical "Maybe Happy Ending" won big at the 78th Tony Awards in New York on June 8. From left: Hunter Arnold, Dez Duron, Marcus Choi, Hue Park, Helen J. Shen, Darren Criss, Will Aronson and Jeffrey Richards.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jun 11, 2025

South Korean musical 'Maybe Happy Ending' tops Broadway's Tony Awards

The awards celebrated Broadway's biggest year since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.

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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’