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Destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized Israel's actions in the territory as "no longer comprehensible."
WORLD / Politics
May 27, 2025

Germany shifts tone on Israel over 'incomprehensible' Gaza carnage

The message reflects a broader shift in public opinion but also a greater willingness from top-ranking German politicians to criticize Israel's conduct.
Nippon Steel headquarters in Tokyo. The U.S. government is poised to receive a so-called golden share in U.S. Steel as a condition for approving Nippon Steel's proposed acquisition of the American company.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 28, 2025

Golden share fix proposed for knotty Nippon Steel-U.S. Steel deal

The plan would give the U.S. government a veto over certain company decisions.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio buttons his jacket at the start of a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing in Washington on May 21.
WORLD / Politics
May 28, 2025

U.S. suspends student visa processing as Trump ramps up social media vetting

A U.S. diplomatic cable has ordered embassies and consulates not to allow "any additional student or exchange visa ... appointment capacity until further guidance is issued."
Palestinians seeking aid gather near an aid distribution site run by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday.
WORLD
May 28, 2025

Palestinians rush U.S.-backed aid center despite concerns over checks

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said at one point the number of people seeking aid was so great that its team had to pull back to avoid casualties.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at an event in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on May 19.
WORLD / Politics
May 28, 2025

Trump says Putin 'playing with fire' as sanctions pressure grows

Moscow has kept up attacks despite a phone call eight days ago in which U.S. President Donald Trump said Russian leader Vladimir Putin had agreed to immediately start talks.
A total 37 million people in Southeast Asia suffered from cardiovascular disease in 2021 and 1.7 million died from it, according to new research.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
May 28, 2025

Southeast Asia sees near 150% rise in heart disease, study shows

A total 37 million people in the region suffered from cardiovascular disease in 2021 and 1.7 million died from it.
The World Health Organization is struggling financially due to the departure of its biggest donor, the United States.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 28, 2025

WHO restructures and cuts budget after U.S. withdrawal

Hit by the withdrawal of its biggest donor, the United States, the WHO trimmed its already smaller 2026-2027 budget from $5.3 billion to $4.2 billion.
Mateusz Urbanowicz’s recent book “Imaginary Storefronts” collects his illustrations of the mundane Japanese street scenes that have given him immense inspiration.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
May 31, 2025

Mateusz Urbanowicz: ‘Miyazaki inspired me to put the audience first’

The Polish artist and animator talks about how he came to Japan and the inspiration he draws from ordinary streets and storefronts.
Peter Mandelson, British Ambassador to the U.S.
WORLD
May 28, 2025

U.K. envoy urges trans-Atlantic tech alliance, citing China threat

Ambassador Peter Mandelson warned of the consequences if China continues to get ahead in AI and other key technologies.
Ukrainian lawmakers discuss ratifying the deal with the United States about mineral resources during a session of parliament in Kyiv on May 8.
BUSINESS
May 28, 2025

Ukraine revamps minerals sector, eyeing billions in investment from U.S. deal

The country has deposits of 22 of 34 minerals deemed as critical by the European Union for industries such as defense, high-tech appliances and green energy.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Icelandic President Halla Tomasdottir at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday
JAPAN / Politics
May 28, 2025

Ishiba and Tomasdottir agree to deepen cooperation between Japan and Iceland

The Icelandic president said Japan is Iceland's most important partner in Asia, and expressed her eagerness to collaborate on geothermal energy and gender equality.
A worker produces a turbine engine component at PBS Group, in Velka Bites, Czech Republic, on May 6.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 28, 2025

Booming business has Europe's defense companies scrambling for workers

Arms makers are hiking wages and benefits, and even poaching from other sectors, as governments ramp up defense spending.
An election poster board set up in Tokyo's Suginami Ward on Friday
JAPAN / Politics
May 28, 2025

Tokyo installs extra-large campaign boards ahead of metropolitan assembly vote

In some areas, boards with up to 70 slots are being installed, a move also intended to prepare for the Upper House election that will follow shortly after.
Members of the Kyoto Prefectural Police department's bicycle patrol unit, known as the Be-Unit, in the city of Kyoto in April
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 28, 2025

Kyoto police deploy bicycle squad to crack down on reckless riding

The unit, launched in April last year under the traffic police force, has proven to be agile and effective.
A new law to promote the development of artificial intelligence while addressing its risks passed at an Upper House plenary meeting on Wednesday.
JAPAN
May 28, 2025

Japan enacts bill to promote AI development and address its risks

The new law includes a provision to allow the government to disclose the names of malicious businesses in the event of crime using AI.
Onosato (top) poses with his stablemates after his yokozuna promotion ceremony at Nishonoseki stable in Ibaraki Prefecture on Wednesday.
SUMO
May 28, 2025

Onosato, 24, promoted to sumo grand champion in record time

Onosato also became the first Japan-born wrestler to reach the rank since 2017.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivers remarks at the National Memorial Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
May 28, 2025

Hegseth to face questions on U.S. commitment at top Asian defense conference

The event comes amid growing anxiety over Washington's tariff program and uncertainties about U.S. defense policy.
Onosato celebrates winning the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on Sunday.
SUMO / Inside Sumo
May 28, 2025

Historic rise to yokozuna just the beginning for Onosato

There is a good argument to be made that Onosato is already the most widely decorated wrestler in sumo history.
James Rosewald, co-founder of Dalton Investments, speaks during an interview at the company's office in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 28, 2025

Dalton connects with activist investor-linked fund to pressure Fuji Media

Dalton is trying to pressure Fuji Media after the broadcaster earlier this month spurned the fund’s proposal for 12 new directors, including SBI Holdings' Yoshitaka Kitao.
SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft atop its Super Heavy booster is launched on its ninth test at the company's launch pad in Starbase, Texas, on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 28, 2025

SpaceX's Starship spins out of control

SpaceX's Starship rocket roared into space from Texas on Tuesday but spun out of control about halfway through its flight without achieving some of its most important testing goals, bringing fresh engineering hurdles to CEO Elon Musk's increasingly turbulent Mars rocket program.
Innovative Space Carrier CEO Kojiro Hatada poses with a model of the planned spaceplane ASCA 3 at JFE Engineering’s factory in Yokohama on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 28, 2025

Japanese reusable rocket startup ISC eyes U.S. test launch in December

Innovative Space Carrier said its ASCA 1.0 reusable launcher will conduct a 100-meter flight and landing test.
Ohkawara Kakohki CEO Masaaki Okawara (third from left) holds a sign saying "Complete victory" in Tokyo on Wednesday after the Tokyo High Court upheld a lower court ruling ordering the government to pay damages over investigations into a case against him and the company.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 28, 2025

Central and Tokyo governments ordered to compensate over probe

The case related to spray-dryer-maker Ohkawara Kakohki and allegations of an illegal export.
Members of Spanish Guardia Civil, supported by Europol, arrest a man (right) during an operation against drug trafficking in Mijas, near Malaga, in June 2024.
WORLD
May 28, 2025

Sun, sand and suspects: Spain tackles fugitives seeking a haven

Criminals from around the globe flock to Spain, but police stress that their chances of evading justice are slim.
Workers ride motorbikes into Weda Bay Industrial Park (WBIP), a major nickel processing and smelting hub, in Lelilef Sawai, Central Halmahera, North Maluku, Indonesia, on April 18.
ENVIRONMENT
May 28, 2025

Nickel rush for stainless steel guts Indonesia tribe's forest home

The plight of the Indigenous people there started gaining attention last year after a video online showed emaciated members emerging from their homes to beg for food.
U.S. President Donald Trump (right) listens to Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House in Washington on April 10.
WORLD / Politics
May 29, 2025

U.S. to start 'aggressively' revoking visas for Chinese students

The move could disrupt a major source of income for American schools and a crucial pipeline of talent for U.S. technology companies.
Global markets have fluctuated wildly since U.S. President Donald Trump announced so-called reciprocal levies in a sweeping executive order on April 2.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 29, 2025

U.S. trade court blocks Trump's global tariffs, dealing major blow to agenda

The U.S. Supreme Court may ultimately have the final say in the high-stakes case that could impact trillions of dollars in global trade.
A Ukrainian serviceman fires a howitzer toward Russian troops, at a position on a front line near the town of Kupiansk, in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 29, 2025

Trump again criticizes Putin as Ukraine war heats up

But Trump also said he was not yet prepared to impose new sanctions on Russia because he did not want the penalties to scuttle a potential peace deal.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has sought to ramp up deportations and revoke student visas as part of wide-ranging efforts to meet its hard-line immigration agenda.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 29, 2025

South Korean students warned over social media posts amid Trump administration crackdown

South Korean students are the third-largest among international students in the U.S., behind those from India and China.
More Chinese families are clustering in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, a district renowned for having the finest educational environment in Japan.
JAPAN / Society
May 29, 2025

Chinese parents are fueling Tokyo’s education race

International schools in Tokyo are already witnessing an influx of children from the newly arrived, highly involved Chinese households.
A screengrab of Mohammed Sinwar, released on Dec. 17, 2023. Israeli media said Sinwar — Hamas' presumed Gaza leader — was targeted by strikes in southern Gaza earlier this month.
WORLD
May 29, 2025

Israel says it killed Hamas' presumed leader in Gaza

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Israel's offensive, saying it had killed tens of thousands of militants including Mohammed Sinwar.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years