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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.
Brad Pitt, Lewis Hamilton and Damson Idris attend the premiere for the film "F1" in New York on June 16.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Jun 25, 2025

True to life or not, Brad Pitt's 'F1' movie draws on decades of racing drama

Seven-time world champion Hamilton provided advice and is credited as a co-producer on a movie scripted for audiences unfamiliar with the sport.
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.
The Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran scored a tactical win and prompted a tentative ceasefire, but they failed to eliminate the threat posed by Tehran’s nuclear ambitions or shift the long-term strategic calculus.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2025

There is no 'one-and-done' on Iran's nuclear ambitions

Trump still faces tough calls that will decide the future of non-proliferation.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s second-term tech policy consolidates AI regulatory power in the White House, empowering American tech giants at the expense of state authority, international cooperation and democratic oversight.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2025

The 'Washington Effect' could decide the AI race

While Trump administration officials pressure foreign governments to ease up on U.S. firms, Congress moves to block state-level oversight altogether.
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.
An 11-year-old girl (Yui Suzuki) finds glimpses of hope while coping with her father’s terminal illness in “Renoir.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 26, 2025

‘Renoir’: An impressionistic portrait of grief and girlhood

Chie Hayakawa’s latest feature about a young girl facing losing a parent to cancer is a shining, soulful study of quiet mourning.
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.
Cooper Flagg (right) shakes hands with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after being taken by the Dallas Mavericks with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft on Wednesday.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Jun 26, 2025

Mavericks take Cooper Flagg with top pick in NBA draft

The 18-year-old Flagg, a consensus pick as the top college player as a freshman at Duke last season, is the second-youngest player taken first overall.
Five crew members re-create a log boat voyage from Taiwan to Yonaguni island, Okinawa Prefecture, in July 2019.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2025

Rowing from Taiwan to Japan was possible 30,000 years ago, says team

The voyage in a log boat, with no sails, was possible if all the rowers were highly skilled and adjusted their course with the fast Kuroshio current in mind.
Apartment rents in the capital climbed 1.3% from a year earlier in April and May for the largest gains since 1994, government data shows.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 26, 2025

Tokyo rents rising at fastest pace in 30 years backs case for BOJ rate hikes

Bigger outlays for accommodation are likely to further fuel a change in inflation expectations and behavior among households of all sizes.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Axiom-4 crew of four astronauts lifts off from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A on a mission to the International Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida on Wednesday.
WORLD
Jun 26, 2025

India, Poland and Hungary astronauts launch for first space station mission

The four-member crew was carried aloft on a towering SpaceX launch vehicle consisting of a Crew Dragon capsule perched atop a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket.
Following domestic economic instability after the real estate market’s 2020 collapse, and global geopolitical uncertainty, wealthy Chinese have sought to establish bases in other countries, including Japan.
BUSINESS
Jun 26, 2025

Japan among most attractive Asian nations for uber-wealthy

The standard of living, health care, and safety and security make Japan attractive to wealthy Chinese expatriates, with Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe their main destinations.
Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Mei Semones incorporates Japanese lyrics into her music, which blends jazz and indie rock with bossa nova, math rock and a dash of early-1990s grunge, among other genres.
CULTURE / Music
Jun 26, 2025

Mei Semones is the rookie to remember at Fuji Rock

The singer-songwriter delivers her bilingual lyrics and artful blend of jazz and indie pop with quiet confidence.
The serpentine coastline of Funafuti Atoll, home to nearly half of Tuvalu's entire population of 11,500, on Feb. 19, 2004.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 26, 2025

Nearly one-third of Tuvalu citizens seek to live in Australia on climate visa

The visa program has been hailed as a landmark response to the looming challenge of climate-forced migration.
Junko Mihara, minister for children-related policies, said at the start of the meeting that "the government will work as one to advance efforts" to tackle sex crimes against children.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 26, 2025

Japan holds first preparatory panel meeting on sex crime background checks

Junko Mihara, minister for children-related policies, said that "the government will work as one to advance efforts" to tackle sex crimes against children.
An illustration of a scene from the fourth act of "Aoto Zōshi Hana no Nishiki-e" by Toyokuni Utagawa III (1862).
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 26, 2025

Take your first steps into the world of kabuki with these basic terms

The language of Japanese theater is full of double — even triple — meanings. Knowing the terminology is the first step in understanding it.
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 29, 2025

With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining

Want to be an advocate of Japan’s marine health? Look out for sustainably farmed fish the next time you dine at a restaurant.
Governments seeking agreements to whittle down country-by-country tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump announced on April 2, and then suspended until July 9, have no idea where additional levies will land.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 27, 2025

Trump’s threat of more tariffs makes U.S. trade partners wary of signing deals

The U.S. might apply levies under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act on a range of foreign-made products in certain industries.
The U.S. dollar was back at multiyear lows against a basket of other major currencies on Thursday, erasing a brief respite provided by safe-haven flows related to Middle East tensions earlier in the week.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 27, 2025

No love for the dollar as markets fret about Fed independence

Respect for independent institutions such as central banks has long been viewed as a key attraction of major economies, helping anchor economic stability.
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra goes on trial for lese-majeste next week, while his daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, faces being sacked as prime minister while activists threaten mass protests.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 27, 2025

Thailand braces for crisis as trials and protests loom

Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy looks set for a new round of the turmoil that has periodically gripped it over the last two decades.
Australian singer Donna Burke in Tokyo on May 29. People comment on how familiar her voice is when footage of Burke performing shinkansen announcements go viral online.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 27, 2025

A trained star: The Australian singer who became the voice of the shinkansen

The “JR voice” has built a career that encompasses voice work for prominent game franchises including Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry holds the first meeting of the executive commission since taking over the presidency  from Thomas Bach.
OLYMPICS
Jun 27, 2025

Kirsty Coventry says IOC will take lead regarding gender eligibility in sports

Coventry announced the formation of a working group to lead these discussions.
The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani joined Yankees slugger Aaron Judge as being the first two players to earn nods for next month’s All-Star Game in Atlanta.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 27, 2025

Shohei Ohtani selected for All-Star Game after leading fan vote in NL

The Yankees' Aaron Judge led all MLB players in the voting and earned a starting spot in the American League.
Chairs made using the Nishijin-ori textile are displayed in the city of Kyoto.
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2025

Trading firm works to help preserve Kyoto's traditional crafts

Although Kyoto's traditional crafts are popular among foreign tourists, overall demand for such items for daily use is falling due to lifestyle changes.
Manchester City's Erling Haaland waves to the crowd after his club's win over Juventus at the Club World Cup in Orlando on Thursday.
SOCCER
Jun 27, 2025

Man City and Real Madrid earn victories at Club World Cup

City became the only side win all three of its group matches as it put Juventus to the sword in front of 54,320 at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando.
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.
Wimbledon will not employ line judges for the first time in its 148-year history this year.
TENNIS
Jun 27, 2025

Wimbledon prepares for life without line judges

Jamie Baker, the tournament director says
Al Hilal's Salem Al-Dawsari pours water on his face during a break in play at the Club World Cup in Miami Gardens, Florida, on June 18.
SOCCER
Jun 27, 2025

Soaring temperatures during Club World Cup raise concerns for 2026 World Cup

Match times for the 2026 World Cup, cohosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada, have yet to be announced, but organizers may face challenges if sweltering conditions return.

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