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Managing India's regional tensions will be critical for the nation's future, as demographic shifts and economic disparities threaten to exacerbate existing divides.
COMMENTARY / World
May 23, 2024

Hindu-Muslim split isn’t India’s most dangerous divide

If the long-established consensus around states’ rights continues to erode, India will be in real trouble.
Joe Biden’s tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and other imports are more than symbolic — they are a signal that the U.S. won’t accept a surge of imports that could undermine crucial parts of his administration’s agenda.
COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2024

The U.S. is preparing for a second 'China shock'

The immediate impact of these tariffs will be small, because the United States currently imports very few of the affected goods from China.
A bill on checking sex crime records of people seeking jobs involving contacts with children passes the Lower House on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 23, 2024

Lower House OKs bill to create Japanese version of DBS

The bill aimed at preventing sexual offenses against children was approved unanimously at a plenary meeting.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends a gathering of a Liberal Democratic Party faction led by LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi (left) in Tokyo in 2022.
JAPAN / Politics
May 23, 2024

LDP loss in Shizuoka election could increase pressure for snap poll

Shizuoka's gubernatorial election is a close race between candidates backed by the ruling party and the main opposition.
A worker shovels soil next to irrigation channels and recently planted shoots of Xinjiang poplar at the Yangguan state-backed forest farm, on the edge of the Gobi desert on the outskirts of Dunhuang, China's Gansu province, in 2021.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 23, 2024

China's food security dream faces land, soil and water woes

With limited land and water, China will have to sharply increase farming productivity.
Japan's real wages in fiscal 2023 were down for the second straight year, as steady wage growth failed to keep pace with inflation.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 23, 2024

Japan's fiscal 2023 real wages show sharpest drop in nine years

Real wages were down for the second straight year, as steady wage growth failed to keep pace with inflation.
Though he enjoyed making films when he was younger, Ryan Filiatrault wound up working a slew of other jobs before returning to his passion in his 30s.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
May 24, 2024

Ryan Filiatrault: 'Failure is an obstacle not a barrier. You can always get back on track.'

The Canadian filmmaker has taken a regimented approach to following his passion — and it has worked.
Chinese military vessels sail in an unknown location around Taiwan on Thursday amid joint military drills aimed at punishing the self-ruled island and its new president.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 24, 2024

China says Day 2 of Taiwan drills tests ability to 'seize' key areas

The Chinese military said the exercises test its ability “to jointly take control of (the) battlefield and launch joint strikes, and to seize control of crucial areas.”
A passenger who was on board Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 arrives at Changi Airport in Singapore on Wednesday. The flight had experienced severe turbulence, resulting in the death of a British man and multiple injuries.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 24, 2024

Fliers concerned about safety after airline mishaps

But despite this year's spate of high-profile airline accidents, statistics show that flying is still safer than the drive to the airport.
South Korean leader Yoon Suk-yeol (left), U.S. President Joe Biden (center) and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida walk during the Camp David summit on the outskirts of Washington last August. South Korea and Japan will be going into the summit with China more aligned than before following the Camp David meeting.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 24, 2024

At Japan-South Korea-China trilateral summit, a chance to manage tensions

Just holding the summit is an accomplishment amid the considerable issues that divide the three countries.
Yasuke, a historical Black samurai, will star in the newly announced Assassin's Creed Shadows — a choice that has riled some critics online.
LIFE / Digital
May 25, 2024

Gaming's latest culture war targets Yasuke, Japan's Black samurai

For a vocal minority of gamers, a Black protagonist of a game set in feudal Japan was a call to war.
Mascara really needs a home where she can enjoy her golden years.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
May 27, 2024

Make some room in your heart for Mascara

Despite the hardships she’s overcome (and maybe because of them), Mascara really needs a home where she can enjoy her golden years.
A lawyer representing a consumer organization speaks during a meeting held to call for stricter regulations on "functional foods," in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN
May 24, 2024

Mandatory reporting of 'functional food' health problems proposed

The Consumer Affairs Agency panel discussed reforms in response to health problems caused by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical supplement products.
As companies lose once-stable investors through the unwinding of cross-shareholdings, they are now hoping that rewarding long-term individual shareholders will help make them more resilient in possible proxy battles.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 24, 2024

Japanese firms woo individuals as cross-shareholdings shrink

In a bid to protect themselves from activist investors, firms are trying to build loyalty with long-term individual shareholders by doling out gifts.
Forever Young (center), ridden by Ryusei Sakai, finished third in this year’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 4.
MORE SPORTS / Horse Racing
May 24, 2024

Solid Kentucky Derby showing offers hope

“The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports” refers to the Kentucky Derby, a 2,000-meter dirt track race for 3-year-old thoroughbreds run at Churchill Downs Racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky. The Kentucky Derby is the first race of the Triple Crown, the second and third being the Preakness and the Belmont...
The Japanese government updated its English education guidelines in 2017 to emphasize communication over grammar and memorization. Public school teachers are incredibly busy, however, which means schools haven’t been able to implement changes uniformly. Private and alternative schools are attempting to remedy this.
LIFE / Language / Longform
May 27, 2024

The language of opportunity: Bilingual education is on the rise in Japan

Stuck with a reputation for poor English, Japan is pushing its next generation to be bilingual. Privately run schools are seeing the benefits.
Takashi Miike (front left) is among the big-name directors slated to work with K2 Pictures, a new film production startup that aims to disrupt the Japanese film industry.
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
May 25, 2024

Can K2's goal of creating a better film industry in Japan win over skeptics?

While established auteurs such as Takashi Miike, Miwa Nishikawa and Hirokazu Kore-eda are slated to work with the startup, it still faces an uphill struggle.
In the digital age, it will get harder for institutions such a the British Museum to keep looted cultural possessions as communities in Africa and elsewhere learn about what was taken from them.
COMMENTARY / World
May 24, 2024

How are museums still justifying keeping stolen artifacts?

As much as 90% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s cultural artifacts are outside of the continent, according to a 2018 report commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Takashi Yamashita answers questions at a meeting of a Lower House special political reform committee Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 25, 2024

LDP and CDP at odds over fate of fundraising parties

While the ruling party stressed the importance of maintaining the events, the main opposition party called for an outright ban.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a media briefing at the Pentagon in Washington on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 25, 2024

U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs to meet this week, as military drills around Taiwan end

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will meet his Chinese counterpart, Dong Jun, this week for the first time, the Pentagon said Friday.
Secretary-General Toshimitsu Mogi speaks during an event in Utsunomiya, Tochigi.
JAPAN / Politics
May 25, 2024

LDP considers requiring records on policy activity funds

The LDP is considering a plan to require political funds reports to record when so-called policy activity funds are used.
British Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak meets with veterans at a community breakfast in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, England, on Saturday during a party campaign event in the build-up to the U.K. general election on July 4.
WORLD / Politics
May 26, 2024

Sunak pledges mandatory national service in U.K. election ploy

Sunak is trying to set out a bold new agenda after he unexpectedly announced a general election on July 4.
Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Saturday, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
WORLD / Politics
May 26, 2024

Israel denies Hamas claim it captured IDF soldiers in Gaza

The claim by Hamas came hours after a new efforts to resume mediated cease-fire talks.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets with Chinese Premier Li Qiang for bilateral talks in Seoul on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 26, 2024

Kishida meets China's Li and South Korea's Yoon before trilateral summit

The Japanese leader discussed improving ties with Seoul and how to stabilize Tokyo's relationship with Beijing in separate bilateral talks.
A 2-megawatt solar farm in the city of Fukushima. “Megasolar” refers to farms with a minimum output of 1 MW of electricity — enough to power around 300 homes for a year.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
May 26, 2024

‘Megasolar’ is a dirty word in Japan. Where do solar projects go from here?

Vocal campaigns are pushing back against projects as dangerous eyesores, but "dual-use" approaches and community engagement may offer a solution.
Naomi Osaka speaks during a news conference on Saturday ahead of the French Open in Paris.
TENNIS
May 26, 2024

Naomi Osaka hopes dedication to improving on clay pays off at French Open

Osaka said she was encouraged by her progress on clay ahead of the French Open.
Grayson Murray tees off on the second hole during the second round of the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Illinois, on July 7, 2023.
MORE SPORTS
May 26, 2024

PGA golfer Grayson Murray dies at 30

Murray died one day after withdrawing from the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas.
A woman looks on during a protest against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in front of a U.S. consulate in Barcelona, Spain, on June 1, 2020.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 27, 2024

Four years after George Floyd killing, police reform slow to follow

Despite the initial surge of calls for change, federal attempts at wide-ranging reform have been mostly unsuccessful.
Josef Newgarden celebrates after winning the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
May 27, 2024

Newgarden wins second straight Indianapolis 500

Newgarden became the race's first back-to-back winner in 22 years.
A SAIC Motor MG EXE181 concept EV during the Beijing Auto Show earlier this year.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 27, 2024

Xi’s China EV dream came true, but 10 years on, walls are going up.

China also overtook Japan as the largest auto exporter, but such achievements are also adding to tensions with the West.

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