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A man pays his respects at an intersection in Akihabara on Saturday, 16 years after a deadly attack left seven people dead and 10 others injured.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 8, 2024

Victims of fatal Akihabara rampage remembered 16 years on

Prayers and flowers were offered at the intersection where the incident occurred in the busy Tokyo district.
Indonesian gymnast Rifda Irfanaluthfi practices at the gymnastics training center in Jakarta on May 16.
OLYMPICS / Gymnastics
Jun 8, 2024

Indonesia's first Olympic gymnast encourages others to 'dream higher'

Rifda Irfanaluthfi's feat is even more impressive considering Indonesia does not yet have a national training center for gymnastics
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida answers questions during a session of the Lower House special committee on political reform at parliament in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 8, 2024

Kishida faces tough time constraints in parliament after bill's delay

The political funds bill only cleared the Lower House on Thursday, two days later than the LDP had expected, due to prolonged negotiations to amend the legislation.
A man votes at a polling station during the European Union's parliamentary elections in Athens on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 9, 2024

Voters head to the polls on final day of EU elections

Centrist parties are projected to hold most of the incoming European Parliament's 720 seats, but polls suggest they will be weakened by the far right bloc.
A balloon believed to be North Korean and loaded with various objects, including trash and excrement floats, over a rice field at Cheorwon county, South Korea, on May 29.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 9, 2024

South Korea to blast loudspeaker broadcasts after North's trash balloons

Pyongyang began sending balloons carrying trash across the border in May and has said the move was in retaliation for anti-North leaflets flown by South Korean activists.
A draft of a letter from bacteriologist Shibasaburo Kitasato to educator Inazo Nitobe
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2024

Draft letter of famed bacteriologist Kitasato to be made public

Shibasaburo Kitasato established a serum therapy for tetanus and will be the face of Japan's new ¥1,000 bill.
Hirotsugu Kimura, a 24-year-old company employee, returns to Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, becoming the youngest Japanese to complete a solo, nonstop sailing voyage around the world.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2024

24-year-old sets new Japan record for sailing solo nonstop around world

Kimura set sail in October 2023, traveled eastward across the Pacific and passed the southern tips of South America and Africa.
Israeli Minister Benny Gantz addresses the media after his ultimatum to withdraw his centrist party from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's emergency government expired, in Ramat Gan, Israel, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 10, 2024

Gantz quits Israel government while U.S.-Saudi deal moves forward

The treaty would commit the U.S. to helping defend Riyadh as part of a deal aimed at encouraging Saudi-Israel diplomatic ties, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Japan's economy contracted less than initially reported in the January-March period on upward revisions to capital spending and inventory data.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 10, 2024

Japan’s sputtering economy yet to show clear signs of recovery

The data showed both consumers and companies cutting back on spending and unsold supplies building up on warehouse shelves.
The BJP’s failure to secure even a simple majority has damaged Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reputation not only in the eyes of Indian voters, but also within his own party.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 9, 2024

The Indian election’s winners and losers

The BJP’s failure to secure even a simple majority has damaged Modi’s reputation not only in the eyes of Indian voters, but also within his own party.
Zozo CEO Yusaku Maezawa
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2024

Billionaire Maezawa leaves hospital after racing crash

A brake malfunction caused him to crash, Yusaku Maezawa posted on X.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 10, 2024

Investors brace for volatility as BOJ seeks to cut bond buying

The Bank of Japan bought only ¥4.5 trillion of government bonds last month, the lowest amount since March 2013.
Alternative for Germany party co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla react to results after the polls closed in the European Parliament elections, in Berlin on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 10, 2024

In EU elections, the center holds, but far right still wreaks havoc

Balloting indicates that the prevailing winds have grown chill for some of Europe’s political establishment.
Australian-born Connor O'Leary will represent Japan in the surfing competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
OLYMPICS / Surfing
Jun 11, 2024

At Paris Games, Connor O’Leary aims to win and inspire

The waves in Teahupo'o, Tahiti, may bode well for the goofy-footed surfer.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz delivers a joint press conference with Chile's president after talks at the Chancellery in Berlin on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 11, 2024

Scholz heading for another election rout in eastern Germany

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his allies in government have little choice now but to go into survival mode.
A government report says the excess concentration of population in Tokyo has not changed over the past decade.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2024

Overconcentration in Tokyo unchanged over decade, government says

The government reported that the excess concentration of population in Tokyo has not changed over the past decade.
Virtu is located on the 39th floor of the Four Seasons Tokyo hotel in the Otemachi neighborhood of Chiyoda Ward.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 11, 2024

Virtu brings hospitality award home to the country of ‘omotenashi’

This is the first time a bar in Japan has earned the distinction from the Asia's 50 Best Bars organization since it was first awarded in 2020.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike is expected to announce her bid to seek a reelection in the July 7 gubernatorial election.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2024

Tokyo Gov. Koike to announce bid for third term as early as Wednesday

Koike is likely to emphasize her eagerness to map out a growth strategy for Tokyo to lead the Japanese economy and strengthen disaster prevention measures.
The Bank of Japan is expected to discuss cutting bond purchases at a two-day policy meeting ending Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 11, 2024

BOJ expected to weigh bond buying cuts as rate hike timing nears

A paring back of bond purchases would mark the BOJ’s first clear step toward quantitative tightening after pivoting away from its massive stimulus program in March.
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men protest after Israel's Supreme Court convened to discuss petitions to change government policy that grants ultra-Orthodox Jews exemptions from military conscription, near Israel's Supreme Court in Jerusalem on June 2.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 11, 2024

Clashes as Israel's parliament votes on law on ultra-Orthodox conscription

The conscription bill would see a gradual entry into the military of some ultra-Orthdox Jews, who have traditionally resisted serving in the armed forces.
Emperor Naruhito (left) meets with Luxembourg's Crown Prince Guillaume at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2024

Emperor Naruhito meets with Luxembourg's crown prince

At the meeting the Emperor expressed his gratitude for the sympathy from Grand Duke of Luxembourg Henri for people and areas affected by the Noto quake.
A South Korean soldier stands guard near a military facility where loudspeakers dismantled in 2018 used to be, near the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas in Paju, South Korea, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 11, 2024

South Korea fires warning shots after North Korea soldiers briefly cross border

The Sunday incursion took place in an overgrown area of the Demilitarized Zone, the heavily fortified border area, and was likely accidental.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang waves as he boards his plane at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, South Korea, on May 27.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 11, 2024

China to send premier to Australia for first time since 2017

But some say the diplomatic milestone could be overshadowed by renewed frictions over investment and military deployments.
Argentina's Macarena Ceballos in action during the women's 100m breaststroke heats at the Pan-Am Games in Santiago on Oct. 21. The swimmer has struggled to train for the Olympics in the chilly Argentine winter after a pump to heat the pool at her training center broke.
OLYMPICS
Jun 11, 2024

As Olympics loom, Argentine athletes fret over dwindling funds

Some 1,200 high-level Argentine athletes and coaches receive stipends of an average $350 per month.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and digital minister Taro Kono attend a digitalization panel in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 11, 2024

Japan's parliament faces a long road to digitalization

Concerns over decorum and the possibility of the use of electronic devices being obtrusive to proceedings are among reasons cited for maintaining restrictions.
Here are a handful of places around Tokyo where you can treat the dad in your life to the pampering they deserve.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 12, 2024

Retro barbers, executive facials: Pamper dad with a Tokyo spa day

Despite forward-thinking on male grooming, Japan markets these pampering services largely toward women — but here are a few places dad might enjoy this Father's Day.
Australia Treasurer Jim Chalmers in Sydney on Wednesday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 12, 2024

Australia ‘not naive’ on China as Li visit looms, Chalmers says

Premier Li Qiang will visit Australia for four days starting Saturday, touring Adelaide, Canberra, and Perth in the highest-profile Chinese visit since 2017.
Otowayama stable wrestlers in front of their stable. It may come as a surprise to some, but the use of ring names between wrestlers in the same stable isn’t all that common.­
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jun 12, 2024

Burning questions (and their answers) new fans may have about sumo

The slow month of June is as good a time as any for our columnist to answer some of the fan questions that crop up with regularity.
A rohingya refugee child from Myanmar walks along the road in the evening at Balukhali camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, in 2018.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 12, 2024

Myanmar poverty deepens, economic growth stagnant, World Bank says

The ongoing civil war in Myanmar has displaced over 3 million people and raised poverty rates to 32.1%, reverting to 2015 levels.
Tourists rest in the shade at the Tsukiji outer market in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2024

Japan marks first 'extremely hot day' of 2024

The temperature hit 35 degrees Celsius in Fukushima Prefecture and rose above 30 C in parts of Tokyo, the Meteorological Agency said.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear