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Ibuki Matsumoto competes at an event in Osaka on April 21.
OLYMPICS / Skateboarding
May 6, 2024

Japan’s tween skateboarders get head start on preparations for 2028 Olympics

Hikari Satake, 11, and Ibuki Matsumoto, 12, may not be household names just yet, but they are laying the groundwork for their Olympic ambitions.
Quantas will pay out AU$20 million between more than 86,000 customers who booked tickets on the so-called "ghost flights" and pay an AU$100 million fine instead of defending the lawsuit that it had previously vowed to fight.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 6, 2024

Australia's Qantas to pay $79 million to settle flight cancellation case

The fine is the biggest ever for an Australian airline and among the largest globally in the sector.
McLaren's British driver Lando Norris celebrates on the podium after winning the 2024 Miami Formula One Grand Prix at Miami International Autodrome in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS
May 6, 2024

McLaren's Norris wins Miami Grand Prix for maiden F1 win

Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished sixth and eighth with RB's Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda ending seventh.
On May 2, the streets of Arashiyama, a well-known tourist destination in Kyoto, were filled with tourists, including many from abroad, ahead of the four-day weekend.
JAPAN / Society
May 6, 2024

Excitement returns to tourist spots in Japan one year on

Medical institutions have remained on alert for a possible spread of infections, including during the Golden Week holiday period.
For someone who grew up in a country with a system of street names, finding an address in Japan — or worse: trying to guide someone else to one — is no easy task at first.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
May 7, 2024

Lost in translation? No, lost in Japan’s maze of streets.

Anyone who experienced wayfinding in Japan before the age of map apps will remember how much sleuthing was required to get to your destination.
The Kioke Summit on Shodoshima has seen a steady rise in participants from dozens in its early days 12 years ago and about 100 in 2019 to more than 600 this past February.
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 8, 2024

On Japan’s island of olives, age-old shoyu secrets survive

Each Kioke Summit features many activities including a "kioke" auction — shoyu fermentation barrels that fetch anywhere from ¥60,000 to ¥450,000.
Enamored with Japanese cuisine, Xander Soren sought to create the perfect Pinot Noir to suit the country's most common flavors.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
May 7, 2024

A Californian Pinot Noir bred for the Japanese table

In November, a former Apple employee launched Xander Soren Wines and its Pinot vintages exclusively in Japan.
Spurs center Victor Wembanyama during an NBA game against the Mavericks in San Antonio, Texas, on Oct. 25. Wembanyama has been named NBA Rookie of the Year.
BASKETBALL / NBA
May 7, 2024

Victor Wembanyama named NBA Rookie of the Year

Wembanyama was a unanimous selection, taking all 99 first-place votes.
Displaced Palestinians who fled Rafah ride atop a car in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2024

Saying cease-fire plan falls short, Israel continues attacks on Rafah

Israel’s war Cabinet unanimously rejected the truce as "far from Israel’s necessary demands,” dashing hopes for an immediate pause in the fighting.
Kenta Izumi, head of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, speaks at a news conference at the Parliament building last month.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 7, 2024

Japan opposition seeks snap election, but united front proving elusive

Despite the calls, questions remain over whether opposition parties will be able to join hands against the LDP in the next Lower House general election.
Supporters of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the city of Ayodhya, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2024

In election videos, India's BJP depicts opposition favoring Muslim minority

The videos reflect a shift in BJP campaign focus, accusing Congress of plans to redistribute Hindu wealth among "infiltrators" who have "more children."
A supporter wears a mask depicting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an election campaign rally for Amit Shah, the Indian Home Minister and a leader of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in the city of Ahmedabad, in the Indian state of Gujarat, on April 30.
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2024

As India votes, Modi's BJP takes aim at opposition seats to win supermajority

As the Hindu nationalist party targets 400 seats in India's lower house of parliament, it also hopes to wrest vital constituencies from the opposition.
A U.S. Naval Special Warfare Operator fires a Switchblade 300 loitering munition during training exercises in Fallon, Nevada, last July. The U.S. Defense Department plans to use small drones — known in the Pentagon as “all-domain attritable autonomous systems” — to help counter Chinese military systems and tactics.
WORLD
May 7, 2024

Pentagon reveals drone types for Replicator program to counter China

The first tranche will include uncrewed surface vehicles, uncrewed aerial systems and counter-uncrewed aerial systems of various sizes and payloads.
Auto parts maker Toyoda Gosei makes bags and other items by reusing its mainstay air bag products.
JAPAN
May 7, 2024

Upcycling efforts spread among Japanese companies

Japanese companies are increasingly engaging in upcycling efforts, or adding new value to used products and waste materials, as part of their environmental and social contributions and to generate profits.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the Orthodox Easter service at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2024

U.S. and most EU nations to boycott Putin's inauguration over Ukraine war

France and some other EU states were expected to send an envoy despite a plea by Kyiv.
Visitors in Macau on May 2. More than a year since China reopened its borders, some 63% of its residents say they’re ready to return to exploring the world, according to a survey published on April 24.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 7, 2024

China’s thrifty travelers show consumer confidence is weak

While more traveled over the five-day Labor Day break in comparison with 2019, each of them spent less on average.
Sony’s shares have dropped more than 5% this year, compared with a 16% gain in the Topix index, amid a global electronics slump.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 7, 2024

Sony shares fall as offer for Paramount spurs financing concerns

Investors are worried because the $26 billion proposal is larger than the Japanese electronics company's cash holdings.
Workers head to Daihatsu Motor's plant at its headquarters in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
May 7, 2024

Daihatsu resumes production at all plants

All of Daihatsu's four finished vehicle assembly plants in Japan are back online for the first time in about four months.
Stellantis premium brand Alfa Romeo reveals the Milano, its first fully electric car, during an event in Milan on April 10.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 7, 2024

EU election could force sharp turn in electric car policy

Europe's right-wing parties have made cancelling the 2035 deadline to phase out sales of internal combustion engine cars a rallying cry.
Justin Trudeau
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2024

Alleged Chinese meddling spurs foreign agent registry in Canada

The move comes after allegations China attempted to meddle in the last two Canadian elections.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Kaga destroyer has undergone the first stage of modifications to turn it into a de facto aircraft carrier for F-35B stealth fighter jets.
JAPAN / Politics / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
May 13, 2024

MSDF’s Kure base expanding mission as it marks 70th anniversary

The unit has increased its activities not only in national defense, but also in disaster relief operations and overseas missions.
Tourists pose in front of a convenience store with Mount Fuji on Friday in the town of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture. Local residents are upset over littering, overcrowding and the inconvenience caused by the visitors.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 7, 2024

Thanks, tourists. Views of Mount Fuji are now blocked.

Japan needs better long-term strategies to manage tourism sustainably.
A building in the city of Osaka housing the Osaka District Court
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 8, 2024

Court orders deletion of disparaging portrayal of Osaka area

The comments were targeted at a "dowa" district — an area designated under an assimilation project to help integrate marginalized communities.
A soldier from the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) holds an RPG launcher at a Myanmar military base at Thingyan Nyi Naung village on the outskirts of the Thailand-Myanmar border town of Myawaddy on April 15.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 8, 2024

In Myanmar war, crucial window looms for junta and rebels

What happens in the next few weeks in the scramble for strategic locations in Myanmar could determine the next phase of the bloody conflict.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump and his attorney, Todd Blanche, at Manhattan criminal court in New York on Tuesday. Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of an alleged scheme to silence claims of extramarital sexual encounters during his 2016 presidential campaign.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 8, 2024

Trump’s private life exposed in intimate Stormy Daniels testimony

The remarkable testimony is the latest example of how Trump’s dealings with women are coming back to haunt him in court.
A group of fishing boats sit next to the Mekong river in Phnom Penh in 2021.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2024

Cambodia to cut shipping through Vietnam with China-funded canal

Cambodia's deputy prime minister downplayed environmental concerns about the new canal and dismissed speculation Chinese warships could use it.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (center right) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (center left) during a welcoming ceremony at Belgrade Airport on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 8, 2024

China's Xi Jinping visits Serbia on anniversary of 1999 NATO bombing

Three Chinese nationals were killed and 20 wounded in the attack, which prompted outrage in China and an apology from then U.S. President Bill Clinton.
Palestinians crowd a street as smoke billows after Israeli strikes in Rafah on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 8, 2024

U.S. paused shipment of bombs to Israel, concerned over Rafah invasion

The U.S. has not made a final decision about how to proceed with the shipment, according to the official.
Head of North Korean propaganda Kim Ki Nam has died at 94.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 8, 2024

North Korea propaganda boss who shaped image of leaders dies at 94

He played an essential role in shaping the country’s messaging as leadership transferred to Kim Jong Il, and helped in the succession of Kim Jong Un.
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan President Kenta Izumi has vowed to resign if his party fails to win at least 150 seats in the next general election.
JAPAN / Politics
May 8, 2024

Pact with JCP a double-edged sword for the CDP

While some of its members wish to further the cooperation, others might prefer to work with opposition parties considered more moderate or right wing.

Longform

"Shake hands with Lima-chan," a statue that shares the name of the Peruvian capital looks in the direction of Peru, where a sister statue, "Sakura-chan," is located. Erected in Yokohama's Rinko Park in 1999, it commemorates Peruvian-Japanese friendship.
The journey of Peru’s Nikkei: Finding identity in Japan