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Tetsuya Tadano gazes at the school building from the hillside behind Okawa Elementary School on Feb. 7 in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture.
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2025

Former students work to turn tsunami-hit elementary school into social hub

One former student felt the school has become increasingly defined solely by the tragedy.
Junko Yagi, a professor at Iwate Medical University, speaks during an interview on Jan. 10 in the town of Yahaba, Iwate Prefecture.
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2025

Experts urge ongoing mental health care for families in 3/11 disaster areas

"Parents and children alike are carrying heavy emotional burdens," one expert said.
Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe (center) takes his seat for the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Arsenal at Old Trafford in Manchester on March 9, 2025.
SOCCER
Mar 11, 2025

Ratcliffe slams 'not good enough' and 'overpaid' Man Utd flops

The British billionaire named Rasmus Hojlund, Andre Onana, Casemiro, Jadon Sancho and Antony as the chief causes of his frustration.
An election campaign banner is attached to a rock ahead of Tuesday's general election in Nuuk, Greenland, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 11, 2025

In wake of Trump's threats, Greenland holds parliamentary election

Independence has been a key campaign theme in the semiautonomous territory of Denmark after the U.S. president said he wants control over the island.
Kazuo Momma, a former executive director in charge of monetary policy at the Bank of Japan, says June is the favored option for the central bank's next rate hike.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 11, 2025

BOJ’s next rate hike likely in June, former executive says

Kazuo Momma, a former executive director in charge of monetary policy, says the central bank is likely to move roughly every six months to maintain expectations.
Much of Nissan’s woes can be pinned on an aging lineup of outdated cars.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 11, 2025

Nissan focused on product development as it hunts for partner

Nissan wants to be directly involved in the development and rollout of new products, in a potential tie-up with a new business partner.
Chinese leaders attend the second plenary session of the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing's Great Hall of the People on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 11, 2025

DeepSeek-fueled AI fever injects new energy into China’s annual meeting

Communist Party cadres from different regions competed to market their locales as China’s next AI hub at the National People’s Congress seven-day gathering.
Fertility rates remain low across much of Asia, with past policies to curb population growth proving difficult to reverse, while governments explore adaptation strategies like immigration and AI.
COMMENTARY
Mar 5, 2025

It’s time we adapt to low fertility rates

South Korea’s fertility rate saw a slight increase, but experts doubt it signals a long-term reversal. Similar trends are seen in Singapore and Japan.
Displaced residents work in an illegal poppy field for their livelihood during the fighting between Myanmar's military and KNDF (Karenni Nationalities Defense Force) in Pekon Township, on the border of Karen State and southern Shan State, Myanmar.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Mar 11, 2025

Reluctant opium farmers toil for survival in war-ravaged Myanmar

The country's opiate economy — including the value of domestic consumption as well as exports abroad — is estimated to be between $589 million and $1.57 billion.
The entrance sign of the headquarters of the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) is pictured, on the outskirts of Vienna, Austria, on March 5, 2025. While the sports organization has faced accusations of working for Pyongyang, ITF has denied "any wrongdoing," insisting the federation promotes taekwondo worldwide.
MORE SPORTS / Taekwondo
Mar 11, 2025

The North Korea taekwondo supremo that Austria can't kick

Austria is trying to kick out Ri Yong Son, the North Korean head of the International Taekwon-Do Federation, who it suspects of funneling foreign currency to Pyongyang.
Signage at a Tesla store in Colma, California, on Monday. Tesla shares plunged to their worst day in more than four years, extending a slide in 2025 amid growing concerns on Wall Street about demand for the company's electric cars.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 11, 2025

Tesla’s stock defied gravity for years. Is Elon Musk’s EV party over?

The bulk of Tesla's worth rests on hopes for autonomous vehicles it hasn't yet delivered, despite Musk's continued promises.
The Osaka Expo site on Yumeshima island in December.
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2025

Osaka Expo-linked spending expected to hit ¥1 trillion

The estimated spending related to the expo was based on the assumption that 28 million people will visit the event through October.
Smoke rises from the MV Solong cargo ship on Tuesday, the day after it collided with the MV Stena Immaculate tanker in the North Sea, off the coast of Withernsea, east of England.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 12, 2025

U.K. arrests cargo ship captain for manslaughter over North Sea crash

The 59-year-old captain was arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with the collision involving a tanker chartered by the U.S. military.
The U.S. Department of Education in Washington on March 6
WORLD / Politics
Mar 12, 2025

U.S. Education Department to cut half its staff ahead of planned elimination

The department oversees $1.6 trillion in college loans, enforces civil rights laws in schools and provides federal funding for needy districts.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who said he would do everything he could to reduce active nuclear reactors to close to zero, changed his stance once he became prime minister.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Mar 12, 2025

Government does about-face on nuclear policy 14 years after triple meltdown

The government cited the need to ensure stable electricity supplies and secure carbon-free energy sources.
Demonstrators demand justice for drug war victims, after the arrest of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, in Manila on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 12, 2025

Duterte arrest raises stakes in clash for control of Philippines

The push by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to sideline his main political opponents marks a gamble that could easily backfire.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri ahead of pre-season testing in Bahrain on Feb. 27
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Mar 12, 2025

Piastri commits long-term to McLaren

Piastri won a sprint race in his rookie season and finished fourth overall in 2024, when he was also the only driver to complete every racing lap.
The Osaka Prefectural Police headquarters in the city of Osaka. Police there arrested three people on Tuesday, including a self-proclaimed spiritual leader and fortune teller, on suspicion of inciting two men to kill themselves five years ago.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 12, 2025

'Spiritual leader' and accomplices arrested over suicides of two men

The "spiritual leader" and her suspected accomplices were also arrested for allegedly forging a suicide note for one of the men.
Protesters demonstrating in front of the Supreme Court in Tokyo on Tuesday against court rulings acquitting two former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings over the 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 12, 2025

Acquittal of two former Tepco executives finalized

Lawyers acting as prosecutors did not file an appeal against the Supreme Court's decision last week that upheld the not-guilty verdicts against the executives.
After living a sheltered life with her previous owner, Crispin is just now getting used to being out in the world.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Mar 12, 2025

A shy Shiba mix is ready to bloom

Seven-year-old Crispin is learning to explore the world and receive affection after a sheltered upbringing.
Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's arrest on an ICC warrant for crimes against humanity related to his brutal drug war is a victory for affected families, but it may plunge the country into political chaos.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 12, 2025

The law finally caught up with Rodrigo Duterte

A reckoning for Duterte — the man they called "The Punisher” — is long overdue. The former Philippine president’s anti-drug crusade killed thousands of people.
U.S. President Donald Trump is often portrayed as a master dealmaker, but his approach tends to be erratic, his business record includes notable failures and his style leans more toward performance than strategic negotiation.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 11, 2025

Trump’s dealmaking is all about him

From effectively ending the war in Ukraine to setting tariffs, the president’s negotiating skills are coming up short.
Voters believe they are active participants in democracies, but the real power is concentrated in the hands of the few.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 12, 2025

Social media and playing at democracy

Voters believe they are active participants in democracies, but the real power is concentrated in the hands of the few.
The 通勤経路 (tsūkin keiro, commuting route) is a big part of most working Tokyoites’ daily routines.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 14, 2025

From 'commuting' to 'passing through,' meet the kanji that's always on the move

The character 通 is also used to denote avenues and forms of communication.
Supporters of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gather outside the The Hague Penitentiary Institution prison, which houses the International Criminal Court's (ICC) detention unit, in Scheveningen, Netherlands, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Mar 13, 2025

Philippines’ Duterte is bound for ICC’s Hague jail with spartan cells and spiritual advisers

He will likely be confined to a 10-square-meter cell — little larger than a sedan — with off-white walls, a bed, desk, cupboard, sink and toilet.
Some 8.06 million tickets for the Osaka Expo, to be held on the artificial island of Yumeshima for 184 days from April 13, had been sold as of March 5, less than 60% of the target.
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2025

Advance ticket sales target for Osaka Expo likely out of reach

As of March 5, some 8.06 million advance tickets had been sold — less than 60% of the target.
Secondhand clothing store "Onward Reuse Park Kichijoji" in December in the city of Musashino in Tokyo
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2025

Eyeing waste, Japanese apparel industry pushes sustainable fashion

About 60% of the clothes sold in Japan are thrown away, according to the Environment Ministry.
A layer of smog hangs over Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Mar 13, 2025

Mongolia's children choke in toxic pollution

The toxic smog that settles over the Mongolian capital every winter has been a suffocating problem for more than a decade.
A tea ceremony was held in Washington on Wednesday, hosted by Yuyusai Sosa Sen (far right), the 15th grandmaster of the Omotesenke tea school.
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2025

Tea ceremony held in Washington to mark 15th year of Omotesenke in eastern U.S.

The tea school's branch in the eastern U.S. region now has about 150 members in places including Washington and New York.
Travelers make their way through the departures terminal of Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, in 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 13, 2025

Canadians, stung by Trump's tariffs and rhetoric, balk at U.S. travel

Even a 10% drop in Canadian travelers could cost the United States $2.1 billion in lost spending, the U.S. Travel Association estimated.

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A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami