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Pope Francis gives the Easter Urbi et Orbi message from St. Peter's basilica in the Vatican on Sunday.
WORLD
Mar 31, 2024

Pope Francis pleads for peace in Easter message

In his Easter speech, Francis condemned war as "always an absurdity and a defeat," raising conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Myanmar and beyond.
A mural showing Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani is seen on the side of the Miyako Hotel in Little Tokyo, downtown Los Angeles, on Thursday. The mural is by artist Robert Vargas and is 46 meters tall.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 1, 2024

Ohtani’s arrival brings hope and nostalgia home to Little Tokyo

In Los Angeles, home to one of the nation’s oldest Japanese American enclaves, rooting for the Dodgers is a cherished tradition.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. While some BOJ watchers flag the risk the BOJ could move quickly to raise interest rates again, Tsutomu Watanabe, who was a potential governor candidate last year, says he doesn't think the move will come so soon.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 1, 2024

BOJ’s next hike likely in October at earliest, ex-official says

The views of Tsutomu Watanabe contrast with those of some BOJ watchers who flag the risk the BOJ could move quickly as the yen slumps near a 34-year low.
Anti-government protesters launch a prolonged demonstration against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government in front of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 1, 2024

Protests against Netanyahu intensify as cease-fire talks resume

Netanyahu has faced increasing pressure at home and abroad over Israel’s prosecution of the war in Gaza.
Ma Ying-jeou, who was president of Taiwan from 2008 to 2016, last year became the first former Taiwanese leader to visit China. No serving Taiwanese leader has ever visited China.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 1, 2024

Taiwan's ex-president leaves for China, likely to meet Xi

Ma Ying-jeou met the Chinese leader in Singapore in late 2015 for a landmark summit, when he was still president.
Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich (right) with then-wife Dasha Zhukova in 2014. Zhukova's mother, Elena Zhukova, is engaged to media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2024

The oligarch, his ex-wife, her mother and Rupert Murdoch

Were it not for other stories coming out of Russia, Rupert Murdoch's engagement to Roman Abramovich's ex-mother-in-law would have made more headlines.
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried arrives at a courthouse in New York in March 2023. On Thursday, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 1, 2024

Sam Bankman-Fried's 25-year sentence is a warning to crypto

The former FTX CEO's conviction to 25 years in prison sends a clear message to cryptocurrency fraudsters. The costs of misconduct outweigh the benefits.
As they enter the workforce, the young employees who grew up texting one another have their own rules for communicating.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 2, 2024

Fear of a full stop? Young Japanese say drop the period in your texts.

In addition to "maruhara," or "period harassment," younger employees want to cut down on the unnecessary emails that are a part of work culture.
A customer walks past a display for Nintendo's Super Mario at an electronics store in Tokyo on Jan. 12. Last year, Nintendo increased salaries, in part to be competitive with other studios.
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2024

Japan’s game industry weathers the storm amid layoffs worldwide

The country's studios are actually scrambling to attract and retain talent — a state of affairs that is symptomatic of the nation’s demographic challenges.
People wait to collect drinking water on March 14 amid an ongoing water crisis in Bengaluru, which has been hit by drought.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 2, 2024

India’s most innovative cities are running out of water

Drought is crippling India's tech hubs of Bengaluru and Hyderabad, casting a dark shadow on these cities' attractiveness in the era of climate change.
Chinese Coast Guard ships fire water cannons at a Philippine boat during a supply mission near Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on March 5. This incident highlights the danger that such confrontations could have for sparking a wider conflict.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 2, 2024

Beware the steady creep toward crisis in the South China Sea

The Philippines is pushing back. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has adopted a policy of “assertive transparency” to show the world what China is doing.
An audio work by Saga University's Art Works to Listen and Imagine project is available on the internet.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Apr 8, 2024

Experiencing art exhibitions through listening

Events and exhibitions are being held to encourage visitors to appreciate artworks with their ears and imagination.
Children are evacuated from a preschool in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, following tsunami warnings after a powerful earthquake struck off Taiwan on Wednesday morning.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2024

Japan lifts tsunami advisory after strong quake hits Taiwan

Tsunami measuring at least 30 centimeters were observed at Yonaguni and Miyako islands, while waves as high as 20 cm also reached Ishigaki Island.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg presents the alliance's annual report at NATO headquarters in Brussels on March 14.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 3, 2024

NATO ministers mull €100 billion military fund for Ukraine

The plans will be discussed during a two-day meeting in Brussels.
Workers at a factory in the town of Sriperumbudur, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, on Jan. 3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has kept India on its swift upward path among the world’s largest economies. Many Indians are better off, though wealth gaps have widened.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 3, 2024

What 10 years of Modi rule has meant for India’s economy

The value of India’s stock market has tripled since the prime minister took office and its economy has almost doubled — but gains have been widely unequal.
Hakuoho (right) shoves out Aoiyama during the Nagoya Basho in July last year. The promising young wrestler is now part of Terunofuji's Isegahama stable after the Miyagino stable was forced to close following a bullying scandal.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Apr 3, 2024

With absorption of Miyagino stable, Isegahama looks to be building sumo super team

Whether it’s Real Madrid’s famous Galacticos or the 2024 Dodgers, few things in sport divides opinion among fans more than the creation of a super team.
Former Vice Finance Minister for International Affairs Tatsuo Yamasaki previously warned of the possibility of a looming currency intervention two days before Japan entered markets in September 2022.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 3, 2024

Ex-finance official who warned of Japan's 2022 yen intervention sounds alarm

"Officials wouldn’t have issued such strong warnings unless they were prepared.” said Tatsuo Yamasaki, a former vice minister overseeing the yen.
It would be dangerous for Kyiv to negotiate with Moscow at this stage of the war as Russia occupies 18% of Ukraine's territory.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 3, 2024

Negotiating with Putin now won’t end the war

The surest way to end the war is for Japan, and others, to support Kyiv militarily. Negotiating with Putin at this stage is dangerous and unrealistic.
Shizuoka Gov. Heita Kawakatsu apologizes for his gaffe at a news conference in Shizuoka on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 3, 2024

Shizuoka governor's resignation may remove hurdle for maglev project

Heita Kawakatsu has long opposed the construction of a tunnel in the prefecture for the next-generation shinkansen, citing environmental concerns.
Chef Jose Andres (center) and local chefs stir large pots of paella destined for people struggling to find enough to eat in the wake of Hurricane Maria, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in October 2017.
WORLD / Society
Apr 3, 2024

How Jose Andres and his corps of cooks became leaders in disaster aid

The idea for World Central Kitchen came to Andres in 2010, when he cooked with Haitians who were living in a camp after an earthquake.
The "disaster" of Oct. 7 would have killed off any other politician. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hold over the ruling Likud party has been likened to Donald Trump's over U.S. Republicans.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 3, 2024

Bye, bye Bibi: Is the game up for Israel's great survivor Netanyahu?

With thousands of protesters on the streets every night this week demanding he resign, many wonder how long the veteran escapologist can survive.
A Ukrainian soldier loads ammunition into an M2 Browning machine gun.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 3, 2024

Moscow is outpacing Ukraine’s allies in the race for ammunition

The flow of military aid has dropped dramatically, and some Ukrainian guns are firing just a single round a day in order to save their dwindling stocks.
A vehicle where employees from the World Central Kitchen were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, on Tuesday
WORLD
Apr 4, 2024

World Central Kitchen chef says Israel targeted his aid workers 'systematically'

Chef Jose Andres said the charity group he founded had clear communication with the Israeli military, which he said knew his aid workers' movements.
The yen remains around the three-decade low in the ¥151 range against the dollar even after the Bank of Japan's interest rate hike.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 4, 2024

Why even the BOJ's historic rate hike has failed to revive the yen

Japan’s first interest rate hike in 17 years has failed to deliver the boost to the yen that policymakers had hoped for.
H5N1 has been discovered in dairy cows in the U.S. states of Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Michigan and Idaho.
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 4, 2024

What to know about bird flu in dairy cows and the risk to humans

Health officials and scientists say the risk to humans remains low, but many questions remain.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr., RB's Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull's Max Verstappen, Williams' Alexander Albon, Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly during a news conference in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, on Thursday
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 4, 2024

Five drivers to watch this weekend at Suzuka

The battles that take place further down the grid promise plenty of excitement this weekend.
Citigroup is betting that Japan’s bond market revival will gather steam after the Bank of Japan's rate hike.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 4, 2024

Citigroup sees ‘exciting market’ for Japan bonds after BOJ move

"Normalization has started, so we foresee a lot of activity going forward”
Historian Frederik Cryns’ “In the Service of the Shogun” is a biography of William Adams, the inspiration for the character John Blackthorne (played by Cosmo Jarvis) in “Shogun.” Cryns also served as a historical adviser on the FX TV series.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 4, 2024

'Shogun' adviser dives into main character's real-life counterpart for new book

After working on the FX TV series, historian Frederik Cryns explores the life of William Adams in detail for his biography, "In the Service of the Shogun."
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani before playing against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Wednesday
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 4, 2024

Ohtani blasts first homer for Dodgers in Giants sweep

"I've just been working on making sure I can swing the way I want to without rushing things," Ohtani said.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen in action during the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, on Sept. 24.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 4, 2024

Cherry blossoms greet F1 on eve of spring debut at Suzuka

Red Bull's Max Verstappen will be looking to reestablish a pecking order that has him firmly on top.

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