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Sara Errani (below) and Andrea Vavassori in action during their match against Taylor Fritz and Elena Rybakina at Flushing Meadows in New York on Tuesday
TENNIS
Aug 20, 2025

Defending champions trump singles stars in revamped US Open mixed doubles

Andrea Vavassori and Sara Errani downed Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz before outlasting Karolina Muchova and Andrey Rublev.
Brazil players pose for a team group photo before the World Cup qualifying match against Paraguay in Sao Paulo on June 10.
SOCCER
Aug 20, 2025

Brazil nixes red World Cup jersey amid political outcry

The controversy emerged back in April in a press leak that the national side would don red shirts made by Nike for its away jersey in the World Cup next year.
The My Number health insurance card enables online verification of a patient's eligibility via card readers installed at medical institutions.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Aug 20, 2025

My Number health insurance card uptake remains persistently low

Confusion and doubts over the new system have stalled the government's push to digitalize medical records and services.
A building in Kawasaki housing Toshiba's new headquarters
BUSINESS
Aug 20, 2025

Japanese manufacturers moving headquarters out of central Tokyo

Toshiba, Fujitsu and other major manufacturers are moving elsewhere in response to the spread of remote work.
National Guard troops keep watch outside Washington's Union Station on Tuesday. U.S. President Donald Trump has deployed the National Guard and ordered an increased federal law enforcement presence in the capital, which he has characterized as overrun with violence and homelessness.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 20, 2025

More Republican governors send National Guard to Washington, backing Trump

The U.S. president has characterized Washington as overrun with violence and homelessness, accusing the city of using fake data to "create a false illusion of safety."
Left: Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani attends a regional forum in Mecca earlier this year. Right: Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer attends a special session of the Knesset in Jerusalem, in 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 20, 2025

Syrian and Israeli diplomats met in Paris to discuss 'de-escalation,' report says

The attempt at diplomacy comes amid tensions as Israel has occupied territory and hit targets across Syria.
John Hume, the South African who bred the world’s biggest rhino herd, has for years campaigned unsuccessfully for the legalization of international trade in the animals’ horns.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Aug 20, 2025

Man who bred world’s biggest rhino herd charged with horn smuggling

John Hume, 83, has for years campaigned unsuccessfully for the legalization of international trade in the animals’ horns.
Muddied prospectors pan for gold in Manica province, Mozambique, near the Zimbabwe border, in 2010.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Aug 20, 2025

Mozambique's illegal miners reap risky rewards but land suffers

Rivers around mining sites are polluted, and mercury has seeped into the soil, creating a nightmare for farmers.
A training session at Shikoroyama stable in June 2016. Sumo training sessions are increasingly simulated or the preserve of group tours.
SUMO / Inside Sumo
Aug 20, 2025

Is sumo becoming a victim of its own popularity?

In 2025, fans and tourists alike are all too often getting an experience that pales in comparison to what was previously possible.
Yoshihiko Noda, head of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (center) attends a Lower House session on Aug. 1. The former prime minister has signaled he’s ready to take his conciliatory approach to the government to new heights, hinting that the time for clashes with the Liberal Democratic Party is over.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 20, 2025

CDP softens stance toward LDP in bid to bolster political center

“Right-wing populism has grown too strong,” CDP leader Yoshihiko Noda said. “Unless the center gains more strength, Japanese politics won’t improve.”
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (center) and African leaders prior to the opening of the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama on Wednesday
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 20, 2025

Ishiba unveils new regional economic initiative as TICAD 9 conference begins

The initiative is designed to enhance economic ties between the African continent and regions linking it with India.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks about the economy in the Oval Office on Aug. 7. From immigration to the Fed, Trump is making risky moves that could undo his wins while Democrats double down on policies that so far are not working.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2025

On economic policy, the White House is its own worst enemy

The White House needs to calm down and choose consolidation over controversy and chaos while the Democratic Party must dump, not just downplay, its plainly unpopular positions.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chiese President Xi Jinping in 2016. Modi has said he’s looking forward to meeting Xi during a visit China later this month — his first trip to the country in seven years.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 20, 2025

Modi hails China ties as Washington takes swipe at India's 'richest families'

New Delhi has been recalibrating its foreign policy more toward China and other BRICS group members after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to boost tariffs.
Currently, there are guidelines on the number of toilets at public restrooms set by the health ministry and recommended by academics, respectively.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2025

Government aims to shorten long lines at women's restrooms

In the year from April, the infrastructure ministry will compile advanced solutions to congestion in women's rooms already in place at train stations and commercial facilities.
Seri Yanai and Daniel Wishes founded the shadow puppetry company Mochinosha in 2012 when they were students at the London School of Puppetry.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Aug 22, 2025

Seri Yanai: ‘We mix modern and analog to create something new’

The co-founder of Mochinosha, a shadow puppetry company based in Saitama Prefecture, talks about her journey to the stage and her artistic inspirations.
Investigators escort suspects extradited from Cambodia after arresting them on suspicion of attempted fraud, on Wednesday at Chubu Centrair International Airport in the city of Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 21, 2025

Aichi police arrest 29 Japanese extradited from Cambodia over phone scams

The suspects allegedly posed as police officers when calling victims in the Kanto region to swindle them of cash.
U.S. President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska on Aug. 15. Trump says Putin has agreed to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 21, 2025

Trump touts his diplomatic record, but the results are mixed

Although the U.S. president has sought to broker peace in conflicts around the world, he's struggled to secure firm settlements.
Hiroyoshi Takizawa looks at pictures from his days in wartime Manchuria as a child during an interview in Nagano in June.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2025

A life upended by wartime mass suicides

Hiroyoshi Takizawa's life in Manchuria was comfortable at first. But when the Soviet Union invaded, his father, fearing the worst, chose mass suicide.
A common house mosquito in the eastern suburbs of Paris on Aug. 12. A record number of outbreaks of mosquito-borne illnesses have been reported in Europe.
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 21, 2025

Record number of mosquito-borne disease outbreaks in Europe: health agency

Climate change is causing longer and more intense transmission seasons for mosquito-borne diseases in Europe.
Six-year-old Pooja shows her indigenous face tattoos at the Jogi Colony in Umerkot, a Hindu-majority district of Pakistan.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Aug 21, 2025

City girls snub traditional Hindu face tattoos in Pakistan

The practice stretches back centuries in the Hindu villages that dot Pakistan's southern border with India.
Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori lift the trophy after winning the mixed doubles final match against Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud at the U.S. Open in New York on Wednesday.
TENNIS
Aug 21, 2025

Errani and Vavassori fight back to retain U.S. Open mixed doubles crown

The defending champions, who needed a wild card entry into the competition that prioritized singles rankings, relied on their veteran experience to outfox the Polish-Norwegian duo.
"'Permanent peace' was uttered for the entire world. I hope there will be peace all over the world," said Michiko Suzuki, granddaughter of former Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2025

Granddaughter conveys former wartime prime minister's wish for peace

Michiko Suzuki, a granddaughter of former Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki, continues to convey his wish for peace through her writings and lectures.
McDonald's Japan has canceled its plan to bundle "One Piece" trading cards with its Happy Set meals, after a similar Pokemon-themed campaign sparked a frenzy and uproar over uneaten food being discarded.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 21, 2025

McDonald's Japan to skip 'One Piece' Happy Meal promo

The cancellation follows a similar Pokemon-themed campaign that sparked a frenzy and uproar over uneaten food being discarded.
Jimmy Lai at the Next Digital offices in Hong Kong in 2020. The national security trial of the Hong Kong media mogul, which began in late 2023, entered its final stages on Aug. 14, as lawyers present closing arguments.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2025

Why Jimmy Lai’s persecution should worry Japan

The trial of 77-year-old publisher is showing how Beijing uses Hong Kong as a laboratory for silencing critics worldwide, from students to exiles.
A commuter uses a portable fan on an underground train at rush hour during a heat wave in the City of London financial district.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 21, 2025

As temperatures soar in London, regulations, not costs, put cooling beyond reach

The British capital has seen a surge in demand for air-conditioning units in high-end homes as climate change raises summer temperatures.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba meets with Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadera on the sidelines of the TICAD meeting in Yokohama on Thursday.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2025

Japan calls for private investments in Africa at TICAD

Tokyo is offering itself as an alternative to China as African nations reel from a debt crisis made worse by Western aid cuts, conflict and climate change.
Kazuhiro Nomura, president of BK Japan Holdings, which operates Burger King in Japan
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 21, 2025

Big burgers and bigger ambitions for Japan's Burger King

The fast-food chain has grown fourfold in just six years.
A lot of Japanese workers join online group texts to communicate with their coworkers, but at what point do those chats threaten a healthy work-life balance?
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 22, 2025

Expressing annoyance with work group chats in Japanese

Some employees value the convenience; others feel trapped by after-hours texts and social expectations embedded in office messaging culture.
A catch-all term for tendonitis and arthritis caused by excessive smartphone use, 'sumaho yubi' may be difficult to treat for gadget-crazy Japan.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Aug 22, 2025

Fingers sore from too much phone time? You might have ‘sumaho yubi.’

One doctor says the symptoms of smartphone-induced tendonitis and arthritis are on the rise for those in the 20s, 30s and 40s.
Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
JAPAN / History / Longform
Aug 22, 2025

From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past

One man’s experience traces the capital's arc from wartime devastation to modern megacity in a story of resilience and reinvention.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past