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Judo champions and siblings Hifumi Abe and Uta Abe show off their gold medals at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo in July 2021, during the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
OLYMPICS / Judo
May 15, 2024

Brother-and-sister act eye more Olympic judo golds

The siblings both won individual golds within an hour of each other at the pandemic-postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Antony Blinken, U.S. secretary of state, at the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute in Kyiv on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 15, 2024

Blinken, in Kyiv, vows unwavering U.S. support to Ukraine

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged the delay of weapons made Ukraine more vulnerable to Russia's attacks.
Following the success of the Parklet cafe and bakery, Jerry “JJ’ Jaksich has launched his Baby J’s
line of chicken sandwiches right next to Tokyo’s Olympic stadium.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 15, 2024

Baby J’s hits a home run with its fried chicken sandwich

Marinated in buttermilk and deep-fried to a golden brown, Tokyo has neither seen nor tasted a sandwich like this before.
Lawrence Wong, Singapore's next prime minister
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 15, 2024

Singapore's next prime minister is guitar-wielding Lawrence Wong

Lawrence Wong, the first leader to have been born after Singapore's independence in 1965, is set to succeed Lee Hsien Loong as prime minister on Wednesday.
Gloomy economic conditions, especially weak consumption, raise questions over whether the Bank of Japan will be able to take further steps toward policy normalization.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 15, 2024

Japan GDP data expected to show contraction for first quarter

The preliminary data is expected to show that spending by consumers and companies fell, while net exports dragged on growth for the first time in a year.
A pro-Palestinian supporter in Tokyo takes part in a protest against Israeli attacks on Gaza. Japanese universities are also experiencing their share of pro-Palestinian student demonstrations similar to those elsewhere in the world.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 15, 2024

What the campus Gaza protests lack — in Japan, too

Students are right to be distressed over the suffering of Palestinians. But are they applying cognitive empathy to understand the other side, too?
A German Navy frigate takes part in the BALTOPS 22 exercise in Baltic Sea in June 2022. Russia will push back against NATO's Baltic drills, although the correlation of forces at sea is now weighted heavily against it. 
COMMENTARY / World
May 10, 2024

Putin’s next target may be the ‘NATO lake’

Some say the argument that Putin would invade the Baltic states is overblown; but just three years ago, no one believed he would invade Ukraine.
If OpenAI’s mostly male engineers are trying to build the perfect girlfriend, they are on the right track. If they are trying to build a more reliable AI model, there is still more work to do.
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2024

OpenAI's new ChatGPT can flirt. What could go wrong?

What are the social and psychological consequences of regularly speaking to a flirty, fun and ultimately agreeable artificial voice?
Taiwan’s experience offers valuable lessons for China, the most important being the “financialization of innovation,” whereby technology investment is funded by risk capital from the stock market rather than by the risk-adverse banking system.
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2024

China should emulate Taiwan’s tech policies

A small island with few natural resources, Taiwan punches well above its weight. From 1980-2008, its annual real GDP averaged 6.8%.
A trio of childhood friends (from left: Ryota Bando, Naoya Shimizu and Rion Takahashi) wonder about their future in Ryutaro Ninomiya’s “Wakamusha.”
CULTURE / Film
May 16, 2024

‘Wakamusha’: An austere portrait of toxic masculinity

Ryutaro Ninomiya shows a deft touch in his uncomfortable drama about childhood friends struggling to find their place in the adult world.
Tokyo-based artist Jumadiba says he forgoes the label of simply “rap” for his music because the Japanese rap scene isn’t confined to a particular sound.
CULTURE / Music
May 16, 2024

Japanese rap creates its mecca in Pop Yours

The two-day music festival showcases Japan's growing and diversifying hip-hop scene through local acts such as Awich and Jumadiba.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen drives during the Miami Grand Prix on May 5.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
May 16, 2024

Formula One leader Max Verstappen hoping to get back on track at Imola

Max Verstappen will being trying put his friend Lando Norris back in his place among the chasing pack when Formula One returns to Italy.
United manager Erik ten Hag speaks to the fans after the team's final home game at Old Trafford in Manchester, England, on Wednesday.
SOCCER
May 16, 2024

Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag finds silver lining amid dismal season

Erik ten Hag said he has maintained a positive outlook because he sees the potential of his players and understands the reasons behind their struggles.
Demonstrators carry flags and banners during a protest in Amman, Jordan, on May 3 in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
WORLD / Politics
May 16, 2024

Jordan foils arms plot as kingdom gets caught in Iran-Israel shadow war

The weapons were sent by Iranian-backed militias in Syria to a Muslim Brotherhood cell in Jordan that has links to Palestinian group Hamas.
Wind turbines stand next to solar panels at a solar plant in Awaji, Hyogo Prefecture. Japan's energy plan under a review is expected to call for raising the renewable energy sources in the power mix.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
May 16, 2024

Japan begins review of basic energy plan amid spread of AI

Power demand could expand further if growth in the amount of information processed by advanced AI accelerates.
A white flag residents displayed to express their intention to peacefully keep watch over the neighborhood, is seen on a temporary roadblock residents set up in the Magenta district of Noumea, New Caledonia, on Thursday.
WORLD
May 16, 2024

Four dead in New Caledonia riots; France declares state of emergency

Rioting broke out over a new bill lawmakers adopted in Paris that will let French residents who have lived in New Caledonia for 10 years vote there.
Employees place items into boxes and envelopes at an Amazon fulfillment center.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 16, 2024

Amazon workers say they struggle to afford food and rent

Amazon has long been criticized for its treatment of employees
Patrick Mahomes and the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs will face the Steelers in one of the two NFL games that will be aired on Netflix on Christmas Day.
MORE SPORTS
May 16, 2024

Netflix reaches deal to air NFL games

Netflix will broadcast two NFL games next season for the first time in a landmark move that comes as the streaming giant bolsters its portfolio of sports-based programming.
Zhang Yufei was among the 23 Chinese swimmer who tested positive for a banned substance months before the Tokyo Olympics.
OLYMPICS
May 16, 2024

World Anti-Doping Agency combating trust issues ahead of Paris Olympics

WADA is facing a allegations it helped cover up the positive tests of elite Chinese swimmers before the Tokyo Olympics.
A monk practices "zazen" (seated meditation), a practice that the monk Dogen said would help one cast aside the world in service of the Way.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
May 17, 2024

The joy of Zen — Part 1: Prose

The writings of the monks Eisai and Dogen sought to determine the proper way to live on this Earth, in harmony with the Way.
Visitors walk along the ground-level pathway at the newly expanded Benjakitti Park in central Bangkok, where trees and wetlands now thrive on the site of a former cigarette factory.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
May 17, 2024

Big, smoggy Bangkok gets a badly needed breath of fresh air

In the heart of a megacity, an industrial site has been turned into an oasis for residents, as well as birds, bats and mosquito-eating dragonflies.
People involved in an appeal trial over forced sterilization head to the Osaka High Court in February 2022.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 17, 2024

Japan's top court to take measures for disabled plaintiffs

It will be the first time for the top court to implement measures for disabled people on a large scale.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino announces Brazil as the host of the 2027 Women's World Cup during the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok on Friday.
SOCCER / Women's World cup
May 17, 2024

Brazil named as host of 2027 Women's World Cup

FIFA chose to continue its push to expand women's soccer by taking the tournament to South America for the first time.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend an event in Beijing on Thursday. During Putin's visit, the leaders showed off their growing alignment amid efforts to push back against the U.S.-led world order.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 17, 2024

Xi and Putin mark ‘new era’ amid efforts to counter U.S. ‘containment’

The leaders showed off their growing alignment amid efforts to push back against the U.S.-led world order.
U.S. President Joe Biden signs orders that increase tariffs on China during an event at the White House on Tuesday. The escalating trade tensions risk slowing the transition to green technologies by boosting production costs.
EDITORIALS
May 17, 2024

Looming U.S.-China 'trade war' bodes ill for green tech

China has denounced the new U.S. tariffs as bullying and warned of potential retaliation, arguing that they could harm global green economic transition efforts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during an interview at the Presidential Office in Kyiv on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
May 18, 2024

Zelenskyy warns Russia could step up offensive

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv would only accept a "fair peace" despite the West's calls for a quick solution.
Oleksandr Usyk punches Tyson Fury during their fight in Riyadh on Saturday. Usyk won to become the undisputed heavyweight champion.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
May 19, 2024

Oleksandr Usyk beats Tyson Fury to become undisputed heavyweight champion

Usyk is the first undisputed heavyweight champion in nearly 25 years.
Ukrainian servicemen of the 148th Separate Artillery Brigade of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces, fire a M777 howitzer toward Russian troops near a front line, in Ukraine's Donetsk region on May 1.
WORLD / FOCUS
May 19, 2024

Ukraine struggles to hold eastern front as Russians advance on cities

The drive has marked an inflection point in the conflict spawned by Russia's full-scale invasion more than two years ago.
Visitors view a CV-22 Osprey on display during a friendship event at the U.S. military's Yokota Air Base in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN
May 19, 2024

U.S. Osprey displayed in event at Yokota base in Tokyo

In November last year, a U.S. Air Force CV-22 Osprey crashed off the island of Yakushima in Kagoshima Prefecture, killing all eight people on board.
People wait in line to buy provisions from a supermarket along a street blocked by debris and burned-out items following overnight unrest in the Magenta district of Noumea, in France's Pacific territory of New Caledonia, on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 19, 2024

New Caledonia 'under siege' as French troops bid to restore order

Anger is still high over a contested voting reform, even after the arrival of hundreds of military and police reinforcements.

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