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Hackers are believed to be taking control of brokerage accounts in Japan to manipulate stock prices, with reported cases rising at an alarming rate between January and April.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 9, 2025

FSA reports about ¥300B in illicit online trading from January to April

The number of unauthorized access cases soared from just 65 at the start of the year to 4,852 last month.
A humanoid robot walks as an employee conducts tests, on the production line at the AgiBot factory in Shanghai on March 20.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 13, 2025

China's AI-powered humanoid robots aim to transform manufacturing

Beijing is aiming for a new industrial revolution where many factory tasks would be performed by humanoid robots.
Vocaloid idol Hatsune Miku and kabuki actor Nakamura Shido II first performed together in 2016. This month, they’re reviving the show for the Osaka World Expo.
CULTURE / Stage
May 17, 2025

Traditional performing arts are plugging into modern audiences

Noh and kabuki are getting an image update by teaming up with pop culture figures such as Vocaloid idol Hatsune Miku and DJ Ken Ishii.
Ursula von der Leyen (left), president of the European Commission, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (center) and Antonio Costa, president of the European Council, visit the HMS Sutherland frigate as part of the U.K.-EU summit in London on Monday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
May 20, 2025

Britain’s big EU reset turns out to be just the start of talks

Most of the "renewed agenda” unveiled at a summit in London amounted to an agreement to keep negotiating.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is seen on a screen delivering his report before delegates during the World Health Assembly in Geneva on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
May 20, 2025

WHO adopts landmark pandemic agreement

The accord aims to prevent the disjointed response and international disarray that surrounded the COVID-19 pandemic.
Then-U.S. national security adviser Mike Waltz checks his mobile phone while attending a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington on April 30.
WORLD / Politics
May 22, 2025

Hacker behind U.S communication breach stole data from across government

The discovery potentially raises the stakes of a breach that has already drawn questions about data security in the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Migrants wait to disembark from the port of Arguineguin, on the island of Gran Canaria, Spain, in July 2024.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 24, 2025

Boat driver arrests up as EU eyes tighter smuggling laws

NGO's argue that the focus should shift from pursuing boat drivers to prosecuting criminal organizations.
Located in Nagano Prefecture, Samurai Gakuen tries to help young and old individuals who have withdrawn from society rediscover their places out in the world.
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 31, 2025

How ‘hikikomori’ shut-ins ‘start to have dreams for the future’

As many as 1.5 million “hikikomori” shut-ins withdraw from social life in Japan, but one school in Nagano is finding success is coaxing them back into the world.
Takanori Nishiyama, Japan manager of Keeper Security. Password managers can help thwart phishing attacks.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
May 30, 2025

Online brokerage account hijacks in Japan highlight need for login vigilance

Portfolios are being commandeered to manipulate the market for the benefit of the hacker.
U.S. President Donald Trump at the U.S. Steel Corporation Irvin Works facility in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, on Friday
BUSINESS / Companies
May 31, 2025

Trump to hike steel tariffs to 50% to aid Nippon-U.S. Steel

The U.S. president said the move would help protect American steelworkers during a visit to a United States Steel plant on Friday.
Muslim worshipers gather to pray around the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine, at the Grand Mosque complex in the holy city of Mecca on Sunday ahead of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
WORLD
Jun 2, 2025

Saudi Arabia cracks down on unauthorized Hajj pilgrims, aiming to save lives

Last year, 1,301 pilgrims, most unregistered and lacking access to air-conditioned facilities, died as temperatures soared to 51.8 degrees Celsius.
Russian delegation head and presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky speaks to the press after a meeting at Ciragan Palace during the second round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 3, 2025

Russia sets out punitive terms at peace talks with Ukraine

The terms highlighted Moscow's refusal to compromise on its longstanding war goals despite calls by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the "bloodbath" in Ukraine.
The Switch 2 is Nintendo's first new gaming console in eight years.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 4, 2025

Nintendo’s Switch 2 console is finally here

The long-awaited gaming console hits shelves Thursday, with booming orders and tariffs making for a complicated debut.
A worker at a rare earth metals mine in Jiangxi province, China, in 2012
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 8, 2025

China says it may speed up rare earths application approvals from EU

Beijing's recent suspension of rare earths-related exports upended the supply chains central to numerous industries around the world.
Meta headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Jan. 28
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 8, 2025

Meta in talks for Scale AI investment that could top $10 billion

The financing could exceed $10 billion in value, some of the people said, making it one of the largest private company funding events of all time.
Online brokerage accounts are being taken over through the use of malware, phishing and other techniques.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 9, 2025

Online brokerage account hijackings continue in Japan

In May, over 2,000 unauthorized transactions were logged by the Financial Services Agency.
Alexandr Wang, co-founder and chief executive officer of Scale AI, has emerged as an influential force in the artificial intelligence industry. His company's army of contractors label the data that tech firms use to train and improve their AI models.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 9, 2025

Meta set to throw billions at startup that leads AI data market

Scale AI uses an army of contractors to label the data that tech firms use to train and improve their AI models
More and more older Japanese people are joining health clubs, with Pilates becoming a popular form of exercise.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 11, 2025

So long, gateball. Japan’s seniors are ready to work those core muscles.

Japan’s seniors are trading gateball for Pilates, chasing strength, stability and a new kind of aging — with core control.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (center) speaks at a news conference in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on June 6.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 12, 2025

Group of Seven tries to avoid Trump conflict by scrapping joint communique

Agreeing on a final communique is usually a ritual for leaders gathered at meetings such as the G7 summit.
Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour (at podium) speaks during a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters in New York City on Thursday.
WORLD
Jun 13, 2025

United Nations votes overwhelmingly for immediate Gaza ceasefire

Israel's U.N. Ambassador accused the General Assembly of "blood libel" and a "farce."
A vehicle believed to belong the suspected gunman, who was impersonating law enforcement, is towed away from the home of the late State Rep. Melissa Hortman in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota on Saturday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jun 15, 2025

Authorities hunt suspect in deadly shooting of Minnesota Democratic lawmakers

The shootings by a gunman posing as a police officer killed a senior Democratic state assemblywoman and her husband and wounded a second lawmaker and his spouse.
A social media influencer photographs her meal for her followers.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 16, 2025

Influencers take bigger bite of ad pie as economic turmoil tightens budgets

Brands increased investment in influencer partnerships by 49% in 2024 and content creators topped social media marketing budgets, taking up a quarter of total annual spending.
Donald Trump Jr. attends a media event at Trump Tower in New York on Monday.
BUSINESS
Jun 17, 2025

Trump family launches branded mobile phone service in U.S.

The new venture stands to escalate concerns over how the president’s expanding business enterprises conflict with his government responsibilities.
After decades of dominance by foreign wrestlers, last month Onosato became just the second Japanese this century to be named to sumo's highest rank of <i>yokozuna</i>.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 17, 2025

The national sport of Japan wrestles with a generational change

As one legend departs, another star is rising. In a new era, sumo is grappling with its future.
Upper House lawmaker Hirofumi Yanagase in his office on June 9. Last month in parliament, he urged the criteria for naturalization to be revised.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 20, 2025

Calls to make naturalization more difficult emerge in parliament talks

Naturalization requires applicants to have lived in Japan for at least five consecutive years, or half of the duration required for permanent residency.
At Mount Zine’s gallery in Komazawa, Setagaya Ward, one wall is for exhibiting, while another is for zines for sale.
CULTURE / Books
Jun 21, 2025

A buzzing zine scene across Japan packs passion in multiple formats

In a world now dominated by digital media, small handmade books are a return to analog media and offline connection.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte addresses a press conference a day prior to a meeting of The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in The Hague on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 24, 2025

Flatterer-in-chief: How NATO's Rutte worked to win over Trump

Diplomats say Rutte is one of only a handful of European leaders Trump willingly picks up the phone to and that the two text each other.
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.
Maria Seiren, known for winning the first-ever “Japan’s Got Talent” with her opera voice, has also been training in traditional noh theater, creating productions that combine opera, noh and even pop music.
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 28, 2025

Diva of dualities: Maria Seiren sings opera and noh in both a female and male voice

The first-ever winner of talent show competition “Japan’s Got Talent” is having a stacked year with two noh and opera productions and her 10th anniversary album release.
A beachgoer smokes a cigarette at La Baule on the Atlantic coast on June 25. A nationwide ban on smoking is due to come into effect in France on July 1, at beaches, parks and outside schools to protect children.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 30, 2025

France imposes smoking ban on beaches and parks

The rule is being imposed one week before the beginning of the school holidays in France in a clear bid to immediately protect children from smoke on the beach.

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building