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A protester holds up a portrait of Aung San Suu Kyi during a demonstration to mark the third anniversary of Myanmar’s 2021 military coup, outside the United Nations office in Bangkok on February 1.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 20, 2024

Son of Suu Kyi 'concerned' as mother marks birthday in detention

The Nobel laureate has been detained by the military since it toppled her government and seized power in 2021.
Palestinians gather amid power cut near houses destroyed during Israel's military offensive in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Wednesday.
WORLD
Jun 20, 2024

Anarchy hinders Gaza aid efforts, despite daily combat pause

The Israeli military’s decision to pause fighting for hours each day along the aid route has so far produced scant humanitarian benefit.
The Russia-Estonia frontier at Narva has long been a flash point for tensions.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 20, 2024

NATO watches eastern border as Russia's hybrid tactics open 'second front'

Acts intended to provoke and destabilize nations that share a frontier with Russia and Belarus have grown in frequency since Russia began its war on Ukraine.
Is artificial intelligence the future of faith? Advanced algorithms might shape future religious beliefs much like technologies shaped our ancestors' spiritual practices and understandings.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 20, 2024

Can AI foster a global consciousness?

Is artificial intelligence the future of faith? Advanced algorithms might shape religious beliefs as technologies shaped our ancestors' spirituality.
The total fertility rate dropped to 1.5 children per woman in 2022 from 3.3 in 1960 on average across OECD countries, a report from the organization has said.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 21, 2024

Birth rates halve in richer nations as costs weigh, OECD report says

Many in OECD member countries are now choosing to have children later in life or not at all, the report said.
Muslim pilgrims use umbrellas to shade themselves during the annual Hajj pilgrimage, on Saturday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 21, 2024

Deadly heat waves mark Northern Hemisphere's first day of summer

Record temperatures in recent days are suspected to have caused hundreds, possibly thousands, of deaths across Asia and Europe.
Film director Hirokazu Kore-eda (left) and actor Lily Franky arrive for a photocall to promote the Official Selection feature film "Shoplifters" at the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain in September 2018.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 21, 2024

Japanese film startup aims to change industry working conditions

K2 Pictures is seeking to raise the money from domestic and foreign investors.
The University of Tokyo in the capital's Bunkyo Ward
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 21, 2024

Japanese team uses AI to predict cancer risk from fatty liver images

The model has proved that it can predict cancer onset risk with 82.3% accuracy, researchers have said.
Founder and owner Kazunori Otowa (left) in the kitchen of his eponymous restaurant together with his two sons, head chef Hajime Otowa (center) and restaurant manager Sou Otowa.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Jun 22, 2024

Kazunori Otowa: Tochigi’s patriarch of French fine dining

Superb cuisine, family values and deep regional roots have elevated Restaurant Otowa to its lofty position.
The Mioya Shuzo brewery was damaged by the 2024 New Year's Day earthquake — but not to the extent that it couldn't serve as a shelter of sorts for the region's many sake breweries.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Jun 22, 2024

To Miho Fujita, ‘rules are meant to be broken in the sake world’

Miho Fujita knows the old songs sung by sake brewers by heart, but she's updated the tradition in her own way, infusing the age-old craft with a modern twist.
Perhaps being seen in the company of your own children in the right places — playgrounds, schools, etc. — can make you seem more approachable and allow children to say exactly what’s on their mind.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jun 24, 2024

‘You’re a spy, then?’ The odd interactions of a non-Japanese father in Japan

Remember to keep your ears open whenever you’re near children and you’re guaranteed to hear something that’ll make you think.
An election poster board in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward on Friday. Incumbent Yuriko Koike and former Upper House lawmaker Renho may be stealing the spotlight for the July 7 Tokyo governor poll, but some other candidates highly unlikely to win are nonetheless running in the hope of gaining publicity during the campaign period.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 21, 2024

PR opportunity pushes Tokyo governor candidates to record number

The amount of publicity to be gained during the campaign period is a major draw, with the ¥3 million candidate deposit described as a bargain.
What often goes overlooked are the contributions made by Black Americans in the founding of the United States.
COMMENTARY
Jun 20, 2024

The United States has forgotten its founders included Black men and women

What often goes overlooked are contributions made by Black Americans in the founding of the United States.
Despite mainstream media downplaying the significance, the rise of figures like France's Marine Le Pen and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni indicates a normalization of the radical right.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 21, 2024

The specter of neo-fascism is haunting Europe

Despite mainstream media downplaying the significance, the rise of figures like Marine Le Pen and Giorgia Meloni indicates a normalization of the radical right.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends an event in Hanoi on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 22, 2024

One year after Wagner uprising, Putin more powerful than ever

In the aftermath, a bruised Putin implemented a new rule: no one would ever be allowed the same level of autonomy again.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako wave to wellwishers on the balcony of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in February.
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2024

Japan imperial couple's U.K. visit highlights history of exchanges

The eight-day state visit to Britain by Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako from Saturday highlights some 150 years of exchanges.
Japan Airlines jets at Haneda Airport in 2020
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2024

Japan Airlines flight makes emergency landing in Aomori

JAL Flight 2154, an Embraer 170, returned after takeoff from Aomori Airport to land just over 30 minutes later. No one was injured.
The Diet building in Tokyo
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 22, 2024

Over 1,000 candidates ready to run in next Lower House election

The term of office for the current Lower House members ends in October next year but many believe Prime Minister Fumio Kishida may call an election before then.
Soldiers training at the Special Forces University in Gudermes, Chechen Republic, Russia, in December.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jun 23, 2024

Russia is storing up a crime wave when its war in Ukraine ends

Crimes committed by servicemen that aren’t linked to the war increased by more than 20% last year, according to data from Russia’s Supreme Court.
A man visits the Cornerstone of Peace, a monument in the Peace Memorial Park in Itoman, Okinawa Prefecture, with his family, including his great-grandchildren, on Sunday, the 79th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa.
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2024

Okinawa marks 79 years since end of fierce ground battle

During a memorial service, participants observed a moment of silence in honor of the more than 200,000 war dead and renewed a pledge for peace.
A Ground Self-Defense Force member welcomes a local resident at a bathing facility set up on the grounds of an elementary school serving as an evacuation shelter in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, in March.
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2024

Noto mission becomes SDF's longest quake response project

The record 175-day mission has highlighted the time-consuming work of restoring water supplies and sewerage systems.
Seaweed in the ocean off Hayama, Kanagawa Prefecture. Local residents aim to restore seagrass and seaweed beds suffering from marine desertification, and their project has also been certified to receive "blue carbon" credits.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET
Jun 23, 2024

Japan looks to 'blue carbon' to cut emissions — and restore its coasts

The nation's net zero goal has driven interest in these ecosystems, but verifying the amount of carbon stored by seaweed presents a challenge.
Palestinians carry the wounded outside the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza City on Sunday.
WORLD
Jun 24, 2024

Israeli airstrike kills eight at Gaza aid center, witnesses say

The Israeli military said Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants had used the site.
The headquarters of Russia's Ministry of Defense in Moscow on Sept. 10, 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 24, 2024

Russia blames U.S. for deadly Ukrainian attack on beach in Crimea

U.S. specialists had set the missiles' flight coordinates, meaning Washington was directly responsible, Russia's Defense Ministry said.
The skeleton remains of a town building of Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, are set to be preserved as a relic of the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami that hit the Tohoku region.
JAPAN
Jun 24, 2024

Mayor decides to preserve tsunami-wrecked town building

The building will be preserved as a disaster relic when its management returns to the town from the Miyagi prefectural government on July 1.
Families of those killed in Boeing 737 Max 8 plane crashes hold up pictures of their deceased loved ones as the planemaker's CEO Dave Calhoun testifies before a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Investigations Subcommittee hearing on the safety culture at Boeing, on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 18.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 24, 2024

U.S. prosecutors recommend DOJ criminally charge Boeing as deadline looms

They concluded the planemaker had violated a settlement related to two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 involving its 737 MAX jet, source say.
A feminist demonstration against the far-right party in Toulouse, France, on Sunday
WORLD / Politics
Jun 24, 2024

French feminists protest Marine Le Pen even as she pulls in women

Protesters have had to reckon with a difficult reality: The National Rally leader has made progress in casting her party as a defender of women’s rights.
Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan
WORLD
Jun 24, 2024

Gunmen attack church and synagogue in Russia's North Caucasus

The attacks by unidentified gunmen left an Orthodox priest and multiple police officers dead, the region's head said.
Emperor Naruhito meets with British people with connections to Japan at a hotel in London on Sunday.
JAPAN
Jun 24, 2024

Emperor Naruhito visits London

Empress Masako did not attend events on Sunday based on medical advice, due to fatigue from her flight to Britain.
A sling pistol confiscated by Osaka police
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 24, 2024

Japanese police and experts seek regulations for sling pistols

Sling pistols are classified as harmful toys under Osaka Prefecture's juvenile protection ordinance, however they are available to purchase freely online.

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