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Kyoko Watanabe made a home for herself in Ishinomaki after moving there to participate in disaster relief efforts following 3/11, and now operates a business focused on the creative reuse of <i>akiya</i> (abandoned houses).
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Mar 17, 2025

From abandoned houses to ‘creative communities’: An Ishinomaki entrepreneur's vision for rural Japan

Kyoko Watanabe moved to Miyagi Prefecture to help with disaster relief efforts following 3/11. She ended up building a company and a vision for revitalizing rural Japan.
President Donald Trump’s order making English the official language of the country is unnecessary, as nearly 80% of people in the U.S. already speak it at home.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 14, 2025

America doesn’t need an official language

After all, what is our shared culture if not the mix of cultures — including languages — that make and remake America every day?
A woman clutches an urn containing the ashes of a loved one during a funeral ceremony for victims of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs, at a cemetery in Manila on Wednesday, the day after his arrest.
EDITORIALS
Mar 14, 2025

Duterte may yet pay for his lawless war on drugs

According to the Philippine government, at least 6,252 people died “during anti-drug operations” since July 2016.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's reversal over medical co-payments late last week and the revelation he gave gift vouchers to lawmakers have weakened his political standing.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 14, 2025

Ishiba on shaky ground over budget and gift vouchers

Recent fumbles have given Ishiba's opponents within the LDP a golden opportunity to attack him.
Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani arrives for practice on Friday at Tokyo Dome.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 14, 2025

Hype reaches fever pitch as Ohtani and the Dodgers get set for games in Tokyo

Shohei Ohtani talked about getting over jet lag and his excitement for the Tokyo Series as the Dodgers prepare to put on a show for Japanese fans.
Idled blast furnaces at U.S. Steel's Granite City Works in Granite City, Illinois, in July 2017
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 15, 2025

U.S. Steel activist investor boosts holding in turnaround push

The move comes as hope for the deal that drew massive attention during the 2024 American presidential election has shown little progress.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called South African Ambassador to the U.S. Ebrahim Rasool "a race-baiting politician who hates America and hates @POTUS," referring to U.S. President Donald Trump by his White House X account handle.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 15, 2025

U.S. expels South African ambassador, saying he 'hates' Trump

The expulsion of the ambassador — a very rare move by the United States — is the latest development in rising tensions between Washington and Pretoria.
Then-Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa presents a gift to a Ukrainian refugee during the Women, Peace and Security session as part of the Japan-Ukraine Conference for Promotion of Economic Growth and Reconstruction at the Japan Business Federation in February last year.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2025

Japan recognized 1,661 'quasi-refugees' in 2024

Protection was given to 1,618 Ukrainians, 17 people from Syria, 13 from Myanmar, 11 from Sudan, and one each from Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.
Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte appears on a screen in a courtroom at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 15, 2025

Duterte’s swift descent from ‘Punisher’ president to inmate

Duterte's team seemed unconcerned about rumors that the International Criminal Court might issue an arrest warrant against him. It was a fatal mistake.
Thames Water's Beddington Sewage Treatment Works near Croydon, south London, on Friday. Thames Water, and other British water companies privatized since 1989, are under fire for allowing the discharge of large quantities of sewage into rivers and the sea.
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 15, 2025

A stain on Britain: Sewage contaminates its waterways and seas

Failings with the most basic services in British society, such as water and sewage, have been harming the broader U.K. economy.
A U.S. Navy ship fires missiles at an undisclosed location, after President Donald Trump launched military strikes against Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on Saturday over the group's attacks against Red Sea shipping, in this screen shot.
WORLD
Mar 16, 2025

Trump launches large-scale strikes against Yemen's Houthis

The strikes — which could last days and maybe weeks — are the biggest U.S. military operation in the Middle East since Trump took office in January.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (second from left) cheers along with other members of the Liberal Democratic Party during the party's annual convention in Tokyo on March 9.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 16, 2025

As it turns 70, LDP struggles to find its fountain of youth

Having lost 60,000 members in 2024 amid a slush funds scandal, the party is under pressure to seek out new blood, but its old ways may be a turnoff for many.
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer leaves a luncheon on Thursday in Washington.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 16, 2025

U.S. Democrats fume as some in party cave to Trump on spending bill

Congressional passage of the controversial spending bill was being seen as a setback for Democratic backbenchers.
Jalen Brunson of the Knicks during an NBA All-Star Game event in San Francisco on Feb. 16.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Mar 16, 2025

To get big in China, NBA stars enlist social media surrogates

The trend comes as recently fraught ties between the NBA and China thaw.
Debris lies around damaged houses the morning after a tornado touched down in Florissant, Missouri, on Saturday.
WORLD
Mar 16, 2025

At least 33 dead as tornadoes ravage central U.S.

Local news showed roofs torn off homes and large trucks overturned, as forecasters warned of more tornadoes to come this weekend.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s foreign policy, marked by betrayal and disregard for relationships, has weakened America’s global alliances, prompting countries to consider alternative allies.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2025

America is surrounded by enemies — that it created

This is not just a Trump problem; America’s whole reputation is shot.
Emergency responders gather outside the site of a deadly night-club fire in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, on Sunday.
WORLD
Mar 16, 2025

Toll in Northern Macedonia hip-hop gig blaze rises to 59: interior minister

Thirty-one of the dead were residents of Kocani, the eastern town where the concert took place.
Salvadoran police officers escort alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua recently deported by the U.S. government to be imprisoned in the Terrorism Confinement Center prison, as part of an agreement with the Salvadoran government, at the El Salvador International Airport in San Luis Talpa, El Salvador, in this image released on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 17, 2025

U.S. flies alleged gang members to El Salvador despite court block

Legal experts called the move the most radical test of America's system of checks and balances since the Civil War.
Passengers that were on a morning train attacked by members of the Aum Shinrikyo group wait for medical assistance outside Kasumigaseki Station on March 20,1995.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Mar 17, 2025

The day a religious cult brought terror to Tokyo

Thirty years after Aum Shinrikyo attacked Tokyo’s subways, the nation continues to prepare for the unthinkable.
A ship fires missiles toward an undisclosed location, after U.S. President Donald Trump launched military strikes against Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on Saturday over the group's attacks against Red Sea shipping, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video released on Saturday.
WORLD
Mar 17, 2025

U.S. vows to keep hitting Houthis until shipping attacks stop

The Houthi-run health ministry said U.S. airstrikes on Saturday killed at least 53 people.
Chiba Gov. Toshihito Kumagai
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 17, 2025

Chiba Gov. Toshihito Kumagai wins reelection bid as turnout dips

Voter turnout was 31.93%, down from 38.99% in the previous election four years ago.
Takashi Tachibana, leader of the Party to Protect the People from NHK, delivers his first campaign speech for the Chiba gubernatorial election on Feb. 27 in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 17, 2025

Controversial candidate draws criticism in Chiba election

Takashi Tachibana mainly campaigned in Hyogo Prefecture, hundreds of kilometers away.
Smoke rises while members of the Syrian forces ride on a vehicle as they battle against an insurgency by fighters from ousted leader Bashar Assad's Alawite sect, in Latakia, Syria, on March 7.
WORLD
Mar 17, 2025

'Pray for us. They've arrived': How Syria descended into revenge bloodshed

Just three months after Bashar Assad's ouster, parts of western Syria descended into vengeful bloodletting.
One year on from the Bank of Japan's historic rate hike, the biggest winners are the banks.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 17, 2025

Banks boom and shoppers scrimp a year after Japan’s rate pivot

Higher borrowing costs are also fueling a political battle over how the government can rein in its outlays.
This combination picture shows candidates for the presidency of the IOC (from top left) Sebastian Coe, Kirsty Coventry, Johan Eliasch, Prince Feisal al-Hussein of Jordan, David Lappartient, Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. and Morinari Watanabe speaking during a press conference following a presentation before fellow IOC members, in Lausanne on Jan. 30.
OLYMPICS
Mar 17, 2025

Heavyweight seven eye finish line in race to succeed Olympics chief

Surprises from the electorate of 100-plus IOC members cannot be ruled out in the battle to become the most powerful figure in sport governance.
The BayStars used data analytics to inform the decision to have Hayato Horioka pitch against the Giants last fall. The bet paid off, with Horioka helping to seal the game and Yokohama advancing to the championship.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 17, 2025

'Moneyball' disciples aim to upend Japanese baseball for second year

Yokohama is honing its indicators that predict how well a pitcher will perform at any given moment.
Johan Leutwiler checks a sword he made at his workshop studio in the Kui district of Mihara, Hiroshima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Mar 24, 2025

Japan's first foreign swordsmith opens workshop in Hiroshima Prefecture

Johan Leutwiler hopes to promote the charm of Japanese swords following the completion of his five-year apprenticeship.
Instead of spending billions to resurrect woolly mammoths, we could focus on preserving endangered species, saving ecosystems, and securing biodiversity for the future.
COMMENTARY
Mar 17, 2025

Got $10 billion? Don’t blow it cloning a woolly mammoth.

Colossal Biosciences, a Dallas-based biotechnology and genetic engineering startup valued at $10 billion, has raised $435 million to "de-extinct” the woolly mammoth.
There seems to be a preference for similarly educated and similarly earning spouses in modern marriages, reflecting a trend that prioritizes parity over "marrying up."
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 17, 2025

What really changed the marriage market

The internet connects us with so many potential mates that our puny human brains can’t handle it.
By promoting healthier aging through measures to extend workforce participation, increase social engagement and improve health care systems, Asia’s policymakers could create a “silver demographic dividend” that helps to sustain the region’s economic dynamism.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 17, 2025

Reaping Asia’s silver demographic dividend

Concerns that older workers are not as productive as their younger counterparts are overblown.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?