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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.
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.
The level of intraparty animosity between the KMT and DPP is so high that brawls have repeatedly broken out in parliament as the government and opposition try to block each other from physically participating in voting on bills.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 13, 2025

Taiwan’s DPP and KMT lock horns amid specter of recall votes

Recall votes could potentially alter the balance of power in the Legislative Yuan in favor of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
Just like in times of old, with unresolved territorial disputes, regional disunity and economic self-interest prevailing over solidarity, Southeast Asia faces growing instability as tensions escalate.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2025

Southeast Asia must learn to defend itself

Would any of the region’s governments lift a finger to maintain peace on behalf of a neighbor?
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani poses with President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman at Ohtani's introductory news conference at Dodger Stadium on Dec. 14, 2023.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 13, 2025

Dodgers' Andrew Friedman hails team's growing Japan connection

“I think the atmosphere is going to be electric. ... I think it’s the closest I’ll ever get to traveling with the Beatles."
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen attends a press conference at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Mar 13, 2025

Verstappen says Red Bull 'not the quickest at the moment'

Verstappen acknowledged there had been improvements to his car in the offseason but said it was too soon to know how it compared to McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends an Upper House Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 13, 2025

How Upper House pressure led to Ishiba's stunning reversal on medical cost caps

An unprecedented second amendment to Japan's budget shows opposition in the Lower House is not the only external pressure to which the government is exposed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a news conference following a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart at the Kremlin in Moscow on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 14, 2025

Putin suggests U.S. ceasefire idea for Ukraine needs serious reworking

Putin's statements looked designed to signal goodwill to Washington, but his conditions appeared to rule out a swift ceasefire.
Officials from Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), the Ministry of National Defense’s research arm, say the lessons from the Ukraine conflict are clear for the democratic island: drones and other autonomous systems are crucial for its defense.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Mar 14, 2025

Drones, budgets and infighting: Taiwan's daunting defense challenges

In bridging its military gap with China, Taiwan needs to both overcome key technical challenges of asymmetric warfare.
Palestinian women stand in a window of a damaged building in Gaza in January.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 14, 2025

U.N. experts accuse Israel of genocidal acts and sexual violence in Gaza

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the report's findings, saying they were biased and antisemitic.
The Marugame Genichiro-Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art is just one of many hidden art and architectural gems across the Kagawa coast.
LIFE / Travel
Mar 15, 2025

‘Resorts for the spirit’: Touring Kagawa’s art and architecture

The seaside cities of Takamatsu and Marugame are home to a heritage of beauty, from the monolithic to the modern.
A hamburger made with "okonomiyaki" savory pancakes
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2025

Osaka Expo to showcase Japan's food industry

Major conveyor-belt sushi chain Kura Sushi will open a store at the expo featuring it's longest circular conveyor belt ever.
The Great Wall of China near Beijing. Two Japanese tourists were detained in China for taking photos showing exposed buttocks at the World Heritage site.
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2025

China deports Japanese tourists over Great Wall buttocks pic, reports state

The tourists reportedly told the Japanese embassy they did it as a prank.
A Red Knot (left) and a Ruddy Turnstone gather with other shorebirds to feed on Atlantic horseshoe eggs along a beach in Little Creek, Delaware.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Mar 14, 2025

Many U.S. bird species seen as reaching population 'tipping point'

A report found that avian populations are decreasing in almost every habitat, including grasslands and arid regions.
Japanese dentist Yusuke Kamimura poses for a photograph in front of a private collection dedicated to MLB player Shohei Ohtani, inside his dental clinic in Koshigaya, north of Tokyo, on Feb. 28, 2025.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 14, 2025

Japanese superfans turn dental clinic into Ohtani mini-museum

Lining the walls of the waiting room are glass-encased displays of gloves, helmets, autographed balls and jerseys, countless bobblehead dolls and much more.
A red panda at the central zoo in Lalitpur, on the outskirts of Kathmandu
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Mar 14, 2025

Nepal community efforts revive red panda population

Conservationists say educational outreach and sustainable livelihood programs helped improve the effectiveness of Nepal's conservation efforts.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s public humiliation tactics, such as belittling foreign leaders and political opponents, mirror those of dictators like Stalin and Mao, reflecting his authoritarian tendencies.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 14, 2025

Fear and loathing in the Oval Office

Trump should be thought of as a dilettante despot, the Roman emperor of reality TV.
Rail enthusiasts and local residents hold up a specially designed banner for arriving and departing trains at Higashi-Nemuro Station in Nemuro, Hokkaido, on Friday, the station's final day of operation.
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2025

People bid farewell to Japan's easternmost train station

As the number of users is unlikely to recover from a prolonged decline, JR Hokkaido has decided to close the station.
Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga and teammate Seiya Suzuki during a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 14, 2025

Cubs see Tokyo trip as great chance to bond as a team

The Chicago Cubs plan to make the most of their time in Japan, both as a way to kickstart the push to reach the postseason and as a way to come together as a team.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with reporters following the Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting in La Malbaie, Quebec, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 15, 2025

U.S. aligns with G7, urging Russia to accept Ukraine ceasefire

In a joint statement, the U.S. backed Ukraine's territorial integrity and warned Russia to follow Kyiv in accepting a ceasefire or face possible further sanctions.
Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time” won the award for best film at the 48th Japan Academy Film Prize ceremony.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 15, 2025

‘A Samurai in Time’ wins top prize at Japan’s premier film event

This country’s answer to the Oscars also saw awards go to “Oppenheimer” and “Faceless.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he arrives to attend a summit held at Lancaster House in central London on March 2.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 15, 2025

As Trump thaws ties, Russia has a new public enemy No. 1: Britain

For most of the war, Russia lambasted Washington for its role in supplying aid to Kyiv. With Donald Trump in office, that has changed.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei looks on during a meeting with students in Tehran on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 15, 2025

Despite tough talk, economic woes may force Iran to bargain with Trump

Behind the defiant rhetoric of Iran's leaders in public, there is a pragmatic willingness within Tehran to strike a deal with Washington.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington on March 3.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 15, 2025

Trump administration weighs travel ban on dozens of countries, memo says

The move harkens back to Trump's first term ban on travelers from seven majority-Muslim nations.
The logo of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, better known as the Unification Church, is seen at the entrance of its Japan branch headquarters in Tokyo in October 2023.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Mar 15, 2025

Unification Church faces dissolution in Japan

The dissolution would remove the church's tax-exempt status while branding the organization a harmful entity.
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly speaks alongside U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio during the Group of Seven foreign ministers' meeting in La Malbaie, Quebec, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 15, 2025

At G7 meeting, U.S. allies’ top diplomats wonder where Rubio stands

The top U.S. diplomat has had to walk a fine line between delivering Trump's "America First” message and looking to cultivate allies.
Mark Carney, Canada's incoming prime minister (center), during a swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Friday. Carney has been sworn in as Canada's 24th prime minister, bringing the former central banker to power in the middle of an explosive trade war with the U.S.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 15, 2025

Canada has a new prime minister with a very hard first assignment

Mark Carney steps into his role as U.S. President Donald Trump sets his sights on Canada’s sovereignty and keeps threatening more tariffs.
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in Bangkok in August 2023. Thaksin has vowed cheaper power in Thailand to allow the country to emerge as a data center hub.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 15, 2025

Thaksin vows cheaper power to turn Thailand into data center hub

Thailand aims to slash electricity costs by more than 25% by next year to emerge as a hub for data centers and artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Former FIFA Council member Moya Dodd believes developing the facilities needed to host the Olympics would have long-term benefits for India.
OLYMPICS
Mar 15, 2025

India's 2036 Games bid a chance to boost infrastructure, says sports governance expert

The world's most populous nation has never hosted the Olympics, though New Delhi staged the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982 as well as the Commonwealth Games in 2010.
A bullet train at Tsuruga Station on March 16 last year, the day the Hokuriku Shinkansen line was extended to Fukui
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2025

Fukui enjoys visitor boost after shinkansen extension

About 6.42 million people visited Fukui between March 16 last year and Feb. 15 this year, up by about 1 million from a year before.

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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