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After establishing Lagoon Brewery in 2021, Yosuke Tanaka began making export-only "nihonshu" (Japanese sake) and later, "craft sake," a new genre of sake that isn't bound by the rules of traditional sakemaking.
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 25, 2025

Brewed from rice, water and tomatoes: The growth of ‘craft sake’

Hampered yet inspired by the strict regulations for new brewers, a growing breed of sake producers are making the beverage on their own creative terms.
Democratic Party for the People head Yuichiro Tamaki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on April 22.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 23, 2025

Three Upper House candidates are creating headaches for DPP

The DPP hopes to win more seats this summer, but keeping every candidate on-message could be a challenge for leader Yuichiro Tamaki.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday.
WORLD
May 23, 2025

Netanyahu accuses France, Britain and Canada of 'emboldening' Hamas

The criticism was part of a fightback by the Israeli government against the increasingly heavy international pressure on it over the war in Gaza.
South Korean presidential candidates Lee Jae-myung (left), of the Democratic Party,  and Kim Moon-soo, of the People Power Party, shake hands as they prepare for the second televised debate for the upcoming presidential election in Seoul on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 24, 2025

South Korean presidential race tightens sharply after TV debate

The Democratic Party's Lee Jae-myung's support rate fell to 45%, while backing for the People Power Party’s Kim Moon-soo rose to 36%, according to a poll released Friday.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks as President Donald Trump meets with President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on April 14. Rubio is also serving as the national security adviser.
WORLD / Politics
May 24, 2025

White House National Security Council slashes staff in dramatic restructuring

The NSC restructuring is expected to transform it into a small organization focused more on implementing the president's agenda than on shaping it.
A supporter of ousted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol holds a placard during a gathering near the Seoul Central District Court in the capital, where Yoon had appeared earlier in the day for another hearing in his criminal trial, as he defends himself against insurrection charges over his declaration of martial law.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
May 24, 2025

Meet the 'Yoonies': ex-president's shadow looms over South Korean poll

Experts say the ousted leader's influence continues to loom over the election, as he drew extreme religious figures and right-wing YouTubers into mainstream politics.
Boeing 737 MAX fuselages atop rail cars at a train yard in Seattle last December
BUSINESS / Companies
May 24, 2025

Boeing agrees to resolve U.S. criminal case over 737 crashes

The settlement was disclosed in a federal court filing Friday, just weeks before a trial was set to start June 23 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Napoli's Pasquale Mazzocchi celebrates after his team won its fourth Serie A title, in Naples, Italy, on Friday.
SOCCER
May 24, 2025

Napoli back on top in Italy after sealing fourth Serie A crown

Scott McTominay and Romelu Lukaku netted in a 2-0 win over Cagliari at a packed and wild Stadio Diego Armando Maradona as Napoli secured its second league crown in three years.
Director Jafar Panahi, Palme d'Or award winner for the film "Un simple accident" ("It Was Just an Accident"), poses  during a photocall after the closing ceremony of the 78th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
May 25, 2025

Iranian filmmaker Panahi urges 'freedom' as he wins top prize at Cannes

The dissident filmmaker's "Un Simple Accident" tells the tale of five Iranians confronted with a man they believed tortured them in jail.
Family members, friends and Minneapolis residents pay their respects at the memorial site where George Floyd was murdered on May 25, 2020, by police officer Derek Chauvin, ahead of the fifth anniversary of Floyd’s death on Friday.
WORLD / Society
May 25, 2025

Did George Floyd protesters miss their moment for change?

Despite widespread revulsion at racism and police brutality, many turned away when BLM activists broadened their message to calling for the defunding of law enforcement.
Arsenal's Kim Little (left) and Victoria Pelova celebrate after winning the Champions League final over Barcelona on Saturday in Lisbon.
SOCCER
May 25, 2025

How 'calm' Arsenal dethroned Barcelona in women's Champions League

Stina Blackstenius' second-half strike on the counterattack was a just reward for Arsenal's superb display in the Champions League final.
This satellite image taken Friday shows a new North Korean warship lying in the harbor after its failed launch in the port city of Chongjin.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 25, 2025

Three detained and blamed for North Korean warship accident

The ultimate fate of the three remains unclear, but leader Kim Jong Un has a history of making examples out of those who embarrass him.
Sakie Yokota (center) and other family members of Japanese nationals abducted to North Korea held a national rally in Tokyo on Saturday to demand the immediate return of all abductees.
JAPAN
May 25, 2025

Families demand North Korea return all Japanese abductees

The rally, organized mainly by the family group and an organization supporting such families, brought together about 800 people, including lawmakers.
A worker sorts plastic waste for recycling at Minato Resource Recycle Center in Tokyo in 2019. Japan has been criticized by environmental groups for its strategy on plastics, which is heavily reliant on recycling instead of reduction.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
May 25, 2025

Are microplastics hurting our fertility?

While a lot remains unknown about how microplastics affect our health, scientists in Japan and around the world broadly agree there's an urgent need to reduce plastic production.
SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has proposed setting up a U.S.-Japan sovereign wealth fund to make large investments in technology and infrastructure, according to the Financial Times.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 25, 2025

Softbank’s Son floats idea of U.S.-Japan sovereign wealth fund, report says

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has discussed the plan with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, although it hasn’t been formally proposed.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s attempt to punish Harvard by targeting its international students is an unconstitutional power grab aimed at intimidating free institutions and advancing his authoritarian agenda.
COMMENTARY / World
May 25, 2025

Harvard is fighting for much more than foreign students

Trump is trying to break the world’s leading university because he knows that higher education — everywhere — is one of the bulwarks of a free society.
The U.S. military’s longstanding dominance is eroding as China exploits its vulnerabilities with cheaper, faster and smarter warfare, demanding urgent American reinvention in energy, logistics and artificial intelligence.
COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2025

America’s hard power must get harder — quickly

Aircraft carriers and fighter jets look a lot less stealthy in a world of limitless drones and autonomous submarines.
European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen gestures prior to a meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels last Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 26, 2025

Trump extends deadline for 50% tariffs on EU goods to July 9

U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened to impose a higher, 50% tariff on the EU starting June 1 after complaining the bloc was slow-walking negotiations.
McLaren's Lando Norris celebrates on the podium after winning the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
May 26, 2025

Lando Norris lives boyhood dream with victory at Monaco Grand Prix

Norris set up his first victory in the Mediterranean principality by securing pole position on Saturday and then making no mistakes on a sunny Sunday devoid of overtaking.
Rafal Trzaskowski, Mayor of Warsaw and candidate for president of Poland, speaks from the stage to his supporters as he begins the Great Patriots' March at Bankowy Square in Warsaw on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
May 26, 2025

Polish presidential hopefuls rally supporters ahead of election

The election will decide whether one of the European Union’s fastest-growing economies can resist the surge of populism sweeping the bloc.
People walk past a cannabis dispensary in Bangkok on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
May 26, 2025

Surge in cannabis smuggling prompts Thailand to tighten rules

Dispensaries will be allowed to sell cannabis only to those with licenses or with prescriptions from medical professionals when proposed changes to existing rules take effect.
At a warehouse managed by online grocer BigBasket in central Mumbai, employees work with military-like precision to pull off deliveries in just 10 minutes.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 26, 2025

In India's congested cities, delivery apps cash in

Delivery apps have faltered elsewhere in recent years, but sales in India have soared from $100 million in 2020 to an estimated $6 billion in 2024.
Rafael Nadal waves to the crowd at Roland Garros during a ceremony honoring his career at the French Open on Sunday in Paris.
TENNIS
May 26, 2025

Roland Garros pays tribute to 'King of Clay' Rafael Nadal at French Open

Nadal dominated the French Open after winning in his debut as a teenager in 2005, lifting the trophy a record-breaking 14 times.
Construction equipment sits idle in a park near Shiba Toshogu shrine in Tokyo's Minato Ward. While Japan has a history of treating its trees with reverence, green coverage is said to be lacking in most of the major cities.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / Longform
May 26, 2025

Do Japan's trees no longer occupy the sacred space they used to?

Trees have long occupied a sacred place in Japanese culture. In the fast pace of the 21st century, however, they're increasingly losing out to progress.
Shu Yamamoto runs a ramen shop in the city of Hiroshima by renting a barbecue restaurant during its off hours.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
May 26, 2025

Off-hours property rentals take off in Hiroshima

The renter can cut down on startup costs for their business while the owner can earn extra income, though it means sharing responsibilities.
A military exercise in Bali, Taiwan, on July 27, 2023. Taiwan Defense Minister Wellington Koo says the Trump administration has a shared interest in security in the region, but Taiwan must also ready its own forces for asymmetric warfare.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 26, 2025

In Trump era, Taiwan defense chief says U.S. still is a check on China

Wellington Koo says the Trump administration has a shared interest in security in the region, but Taiwan must also ready its own forces for asymmetric warfare.
Members of the Okinawa Prefectural Police and the U.S. military conduct a joint patrol in the city of Okinawa in April. Prefectural police arrested a U.S. Marine for an alleged hit-and-run case on Sunday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 26, 2025

U.S. Marine arrested for Okinawa hit-and-run that injured four

Lance Cpl. Ivan Garcia-Martinez’s breathalyzer test showed an alcohol level approximately twice the legal limit, police said.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim speaks with the press as he waits to greet leaders before an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 26, 2025

ASEAN nations decry Trump tariffs at summit and seek to diversify trade

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim opened talks by saying that he had written to President Donald Trump seeking a U.S.-ASEAN meeting on the topic.
A Boeing 747 from Qatar at Palm Beach International Airport, following President Donald Trump’s tour of the plane, in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Feb. 15. The president and his family have profited from the White House more than any other occupant, normalizing activities that once would have provoked heavy blowback and official investigations.
WORLD / Politics
May 26, 2025

As Trump family monetizes presidency, profits outstrip protests

The scale and the scope of the presidential mercantilism has been breathtaking.
Demonstrators parade a picture of jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan during a rally in Diyarbakir, Turkey, in February. The PKK’s decision to disband after decades of armed struggle marks a historic opportunity for Turkey to resolve its Kurdish issue through political reform.
COMMENTARY / World
May 26, 2025

The sudden death of Kurdish separatism in Turkey

Some four decades after orchestrating its first attack against Turkish government targets, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party has decided to disband and disarm.

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