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A WE League Cup championship match between Sanfrecce Hiroshima Regina and INAC Kobe takes place on Dec. 29 in Tokyo. A healthy increase in gross revenue has highlighted the WE League’s newfound growth potential.
SOCCER
Jun 24, 2025

WE League finally sowing seeds of growth under new stewardship

Yoshikazu Nonomura, who took the helm a year ago, oversaw improved attendance and financial numbers during his first season as chairman.
Chinese tech startup DeepSeek is helping Beijing with military and intelligence operations, according to U.S. officials.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 24, 2025

DeepSeek aids China's military and evaded export controls, U.S. official says

The U.S. conclusions reflect a growing conviction in Washington that the capabilities behind the rapid rise of one of China's flagship AI enterprises may have been exaggerated.
AI is not only transforming the applications we use; it is also reshaping the very process of software development, threatening to render much of today’s tech sector obsolete.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 15, 2025

How artificial intelligence will disrupt Big Tech

AI is already starting to cannibalize established giants and also to reshape the profession of software engineering.
A Japanese AI researcher says that instead of fearing superintelligent machines, the world should focus on building a symbiotic relationship with them — a shift in perspective that could reshape the global AI safety debate.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 19, 2025

Make the robot your colleague, not overlord

An argument is emerging for an AI future less like "The Terminator" and more like "Astro Boy."
The International Border Checkpoint of Poipet, Banteay Meanchey province, Cambodia
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 24, 2025

Thailand targets Cambodian scam centers amid border dispute

As part of the crackdown, Thailand will ban foreign tourists from crossing over to Cambodia and curb air travel to Siem Reap for gambling purposes, Paetongtarn said.
A teller sorts U.S. banknotes inside the cashier's booth at a foreign exchange bureau in downtown Nairobi in 2024.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 24, 2025

Under shadow of Trump warning, Africa pioneers non-dollar payment systems

The move by Africa to create payments systems that do not rely on the greenback mirrors a push by China to develop financial systems independent of Western institutions.
Bentos are popular with a wide range of people in Japan for convenience and price.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 24, 2025

Bento shop bankruptcies could hit a record in 2025

Inflation, weak economic growth and work-at-home arrangements are leading to a decline in sales, lower profits and losses.
About 41% of LGBTQ+ teens could not find people or places they could consult with about their struggles with gender identity or sexual orientation.
JAPAN
Jun 24, 2025

Over half of LGBTQ+ teens in Japan have considered suicide, survey finds

Of the 90% of junior high and high school students who said they had experienced harassment at school, 64% said such harassment came from teachers.
"I am confident that we have what we need to rebuild our company," said Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa at its headquarters in Yokohama on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 24, 2025

Investors grill new Nissan CEO over job cuts, losses and mounting debt

"We understand your frustration,” Espinosa told stakeholders. "It will not be easy to deliver. But I am confident that we have what we need to rebuild our company.”
A woman wipes away tears as she walks down a row of displays in Tehran on Monday featuring people killed in Israeli strikes.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 24, 2025

Big questions loom over Trump's announcement of Israel-Iran ceasefire deal

U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of an Israel-Iran ceasefire suggests he may have bombed Tehran’s rulers back to the negotiating table. But will the deal hold?
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s chief tariff negotiator (left), meets with Nippon Steel Chairman and CEO Eiji Hashimoto.
BUSINESS
Jun 24, 2025

Japan needs a big, beautiful trade deal with the United States

A creative solution along the lines of the U.S. Steel "golden share" has been suggested.
U.S. President Donald Trump sits in his car, "The Beast," as he arrives for a dinner at the Huis ten Bosch Royal Palace during a NATO leaders summit in The Hague on Tuesday.
WORLD
Jun 25, 2025

Strike set back Iran’s nuclear program by only a few months, U.S. report says

The findings suggest that President Donald Trump’s statement that Iran’s nuclear facilities were obliterated was overstated.
President of the far-right National Rally Marine Le Pen (left) and the party's President Jordan Bardella speak to reporters earlier this month.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 25, 2025

Le Pen's far-right French party rebuffed U.S. offer of support, sources say

The U.S.' aim was to discuss ways the Trump administration could offer public support to Le Pen, who wants to overturn her conviction.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement during a visit to the site of the Weizmann Institute of Science, which was hit by an Iranian missile barrage in the central city of Rehovot, Israel, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 25, 2025

Netanyahu sees redemption in Iran war, but Gaza looms large

After months of political turmoil, war and plummeting popularity, Israel's powerful strike on Iran is likely to reframe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's legacy, allies and analysts say.
Cooper Flagg speaks to reporters during the NBA draft combine in Chicago on May 14.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Jun 25, 2025

Cooper Flagg poised to be second-youngest No. 1 pick at NBA draft

The Mavericks are expected to take Flagg, an 18-year-old American who played last season for Duke University before opting into the draft.
Indiana Pacers guard attends a training session in Paris in January.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Jun 25, 2025

Pacers star Haliburton says 'frustration unfathomable' after Achilles surgery

Haliburton played with a calf strain for the Pacers in Sunday's winner-take-all Game 7, but fell to the court with in pain about seven minutes into the contest.
SBI Holdings repaying the public funds on July 31 will mark the end to the aftermath of a financial crisis triggered by the bursting in the early 1990s of the asset-inflated economic bubble in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 25, 2025

SBI to fully repay public funds next month

SBI repaying the public funds would mark the end to the aftermath of a financial crisis triggered by the bursting in the early 1990s of the asset-inflated economic bubble in Japan.
A group of tourists drive go-karts in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward on April 18, 2024. The ward will introduce new regulations on go-kart rental operators starting July 1.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2025

Shibuya to regulate popular street kart rentals amid tourist boom

Go-kart-style vehicles have become a staple part of Tokyo’s inbound tourism scene, but they have also drawn complaints from locals.
Many recent video games, including Breath of the Wild and Planet of Lana, have borrowed from the pastoral aesthetic of Studio Ghibli films like “Princess Mononoke.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 25, 2025

Studio Ghibli’s majestic sensibility is drawing imitators

Forty years after the Japanese animation studio was founded, game creators are embracing its legacy of moral integrity.
India is experiencing a worrying rise in digital payment scams fueled by rapid growth in instant payment systems.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 17, 2025

India’s bank fraud needs a sensible response

It’s time to allow new payment networks. Let them charge fees to offer institutional-grade security to retail customers. 
A customer buys a Nintendo Switch 2 in Tokyo on June 5. Online outrage over the gaming console’s price, terms and features was loud but meaningless, as record-breaking sales showed once again that internet backlash rarely reflects real consumer behavior.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 25, 2025

The 'internet' hated Switch 2 — consumers bought it anyway

The internet gives consumers a voice they once didn’t have. But separating signal from noise is a challenge — just look at the Switch 2.
Mexican designer Italia Segovia, 26, known as "Kumiko," poses for a picture wearing clothes from her brand Chicanjuku.
LIFE / Style & Design
Jun 26, 2025

Mexican designer blends Chicano and Harajuku styles

Designer Italia "Kumiko" Segovia says experimentation is great as long as it's from a place of knowledge and respect.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sideline of the NATO summit in The Hague on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 26, 2025

Trump considers more Patriots for Ukraine, saying Putin 'has to end' the war

The U.S. president added that Russian President Vladimir Putin "really has to end that war."
U.S. President Donald Trump attends a news conference during the NATO summit in The Hague on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 26, 2025

NATO's Trump flattery buys time but dodges tough questions

Sooner or later, NATO will have to deal with tough topics of vital importance to it, such as the war in Ukraine, Russia strategy and a likely drawdown of U.S. troops in Europe.
Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton suffered an Achilles injury during Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Jun 26, 2025

Adam Silver says NBA taking serious look at increase in Achilles injuries

Silver said there was no convincing evidence that the length of the season was a factor.
A clip of fans getting rowdy to see J-pop outfit Fruits Zipper prompted criticism about the idol fandom’s dark side.
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Jun 26, 2025

Why are idol fans throwing hands at the racetrack?

A recent Fruits Zipper fan frenzy stirred online criticism, raising questions about the line between passion and obsession in J-pop idol culture.
A banner calling for the resolution of the issue of abductions by North Korea is displayed near the Diet building in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, on June 10.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2025

Families of Japanese abductees race against time

Negotiations between Japan and North Korea have remained at a standstill since October 2002, when five victims were repatriated.
It is believed that Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings cannot reactivate the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant's No. 7 reactor until August 2029, when an antiterror measure is scheduled to be in place.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2025

Tepco changes Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear reactor restart plan

The firm has decided to put the No. 6 reactor back online ahead of the No. 7 unit, which is ready to be restarted.
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani arrives for a news conference at Astoria Park in New York on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 26, 2025

Wealthy fear ‘hot commie summer’ after Democrat outsider wins mayoral primary

Voters across racially and economically diverse neighborhoods embraced Zohran Mamdani, shocking the Democratic establishment.
Softbank has invested $15 million in a startup's climate monitoring stations that are designed to capture real-time data on wildfires, flooding and greenhouse gases.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 26, 2025

SoftBank backs startup building giant floating climate stations

The massive, bullet-shaped helium balloons will monitor climate data and bring connectivity to hard-to-reach areas.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji