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Katie Ledecky celebrates after winning gold in the women's 800-meter freestyle event at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Swimming
Aug 3, 2025

Imperious Ledecky beats McIntosh to win 800-meter free thriller

Ledecky won her seventh career gold in the event but she was challenged all the way, touching the wall in a championship-record 8 minutes, 5.62 seconds.
Special counsel Jack Smith attends a news conference to announce an indictment of former U.S. President Donald Trump, in Washington in August 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 3, 2025

Federal agency opens probe into former Trump prosecutor Jack Smith

Smith brought two criminal cases against Trump: one accusing him of illegally retaining classified material and another related to attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
Astronaut Kimiya Yui (front, second from right) and Takuya Onishi (front, left) at the International Space Station on Saturday.
JAPAN
Aug 3, 2025

Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui arrives at International Space Station

Yui, who is expected to stay on board for six months, will conduct various experiments in the Japanese module Kibo.
U.S. President Donald Trump raises his fist as he boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Aug 3, 2025

Trump’s economic agenda is losing support, but Democrats see few gains

Democrats looking to retake the House of Representatives need to convince voters they can be trusted on issues like fighting inflation and lowering the cost of housing.
Isao Taniguchi (center), chief of the National Institute of Technology, and Yuto Kashihara (left), who founded D-yorozu, promote a tie-up with BizReach in Tokyo last week.
BUSINESS
Aug 3, 2025

'Kōsen' tech colleges and HR firm tie up for student entrepreneurs

The National Institute of Technology, which oversees the 51 national kōsen across Japan, signed a partnership agreement with BizReach last month.
Fujifilm raised U.S. prices for the majority of its digital cameras and lenses last week, as the U.S. tariffs continue to reverberate across the consumer tech industry.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 3, 2025

Fujifilm raises camera and lens prices in the U.S. due to tariffs

Many of the company’s camera bodies are now $200 more expensive than they were on Thursday evening.
This year, Fuji Rock Festival's ticket sales were the strongest they have been since the COVID-19 pandemic, with overseas ticket buyers accounting for roughly 10% of all sales.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 4, 2025

From far and wide, overseas visitors flock to Fuji Rock

From Singapore to Greece to Michigan, fans came to Japan not just for the music, but for the nature, the relaxed atmosphere and the freedom to dance into the early hours.
Vladimir Putin has been rehabilitating Josef Stalin for more than two decades — and reviving some of the worst elements of the Soviet era in the process.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 3, 2025

Glory to Stalin and the whitewashing of history

Russia’s Communist Party recently asserted that, in Stalin’s “deeds and works,” Russians can seek “answers to the fateful challenges of our time.”
Actor Nicholas Hoult, Rachel Brosnahan and David Corenswet attend the Los Angeles premiere of “Superman” at the TCL Chinese Theater on July 7.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 1, 2025

Hollywood has lost the plot on telling stories

Western culture seems to have reached an impasse — wistful for our youth and unable to come up with any new ideas.
The Bishu Maru LNG tanker, owned by Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, next to the Freeport LNG terminal in Texas
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Aug 3, 2025

How Trump is gaslighting on climate change — with Japan’s help

As the U.S. president ramps up high-polluting LNG projects, Japan is among the nations he's pressuring for investments. The economic case for the push, however, is far from clear.
Hala Al-Masri, 17, reacts at the site of an overnight Israeli strike on an UNRWA school that was sheltering displaced people, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Sunday.
WORLD
Aug 4, 2025

Hamas says it will allow aid to hostages if Israel meets their conditions

A video released on Saturday of emaciated hostage Evyatar David drew criticism from Western powers and horrified Israelis.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures as he addresses a public gathering during the inauguration of various projects on the outskirts of the city of Varanasi, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 4, 2025

India to keep buying Russian oil despite Trump's 25% tariff blow

India has become one of U.S. President Donald Trump’s top targets as he looks to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to end his war in Ukraine.
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi (center) talks with rice farmers in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, on July 11.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Aug 4, 2025

Japan seeks to ditch rice output curbs after price surges

Currently, the government provides subsidies to farmers to encourage them to restrict rice production and switch to other crops to prevent an oversupply.
Palestinians leave a food distribution point run by the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) group with bags and wooden pallets, near the Netsarim corridor in the central Gaza Strip on Sunday. Aid agencies have warned that Gaza's population is facing a catastrophic famine, triggered by Israeli restrictions on aid.
WORLD / FOCUS
Aug 4, 2025

Chaos, gangs, gunfire: Gaza aid fails to reach most in need

After images of malnourished children drew international outcry, aid has started to be delivered to the territory again, but international organizations say it's not enough.
U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks via a video message during the opening of the Helsinki  50 Conference, marking the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act in Helsinki on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 4, 2025

U.N. lays out survival plan as Trump threatens to slash funding

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is slashing more than $700 million in spending and laying plans to overhaul the United Nations as the U.S. pulls back support.
A drone view shows the Zubair Oil Field in Basra, Iraq, on January 16.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 4, 2025

China's independent oil firms elbow into Iraq's majors-dominated market

Smaller Chinese producers are on track to double their output in Iraq to 500,000 barrels per day by around 2030.
Medium-sized securities firms are raising their starting salaries in line with their bigger domestic competitors Nomura and Daiwa Securities.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 4, 2025

Nomura’s starting pay matched by Japanese rivals to retain staff

Medium-sized securities firms are raising their starting salaries in line with their bigger domestic competitors Nomura and Daiwa Securities.
A woman adds a message to the a COVID-19 memorial wall in London in March 2023.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Aug 4, 2025

'Long COVID' hits the U.K. economy harder than most other countries

Five years since the start of the pandemic, Britain is still dealing with a spike in public debt, 1.2 million extra people on sickness benefits and a record postwar tax burden.
A North Korean loudspeaker, whose broadcasts have ceased following a halt in broadcasts by both South and North Korea, is seen next to a guard post near the North Korean village Kaepong on July 2.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 4, 2025

South Korea begins removing loudspeakers on border with North

The nations, still technically at war, had already halted propaganda broadcasts along the demilitarized zone.
U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen shake hands following the announcement of a new U.S.-EU trade deal on July 27 in Turnberry, Scotland.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2025

The EU’s economic surrender only deepens its dependence on the U.S.

The European Union’s tariff deal with U.S. President Donald Trump highlights the bloc’s inability to present a united front.
Britain’s latest defense review highlights a growing gap between its military ambitions and economic constraints, as limited spending, troop shortages and political hesitation hinder readiness amid rising global threats.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2025

U.K. military rhetoric is not matching fiscal reality

U.K. prime ministers have a habit of over-promising and underdelivering on military commitments.
Experts warn the world is drifting dangerously close to disaster as North Korea, Russia and China expand their nuclear arsenals and old arms-control frameworks crumble.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2025

Even nuclear experts are at a loss right now

Who would have thought strategists would be almost nostalgic for the Cold War?
An Indian Naval officer stands behind Philippine and Indian flags at the international port of Manila on Friday. India's naval vessels arrived in Manila for a port visit late last week.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 4, 2025

Philippine and Indian navies begin first joint South China Sea patrols

The Philippines has heightened defense cooperation with a range of allies over the past year after a series of clashes in the South China Sea.
Once a heavily guarded palace, the former official residence of Bangladesh's ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina — seen here on July 28 — is being turned into a museum as a lasting reminder of her oppressive rule.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 4, 2025

Former prime minister's palace in Bangladesh to become revolution museum

Muhammad Yunus, the caretaker government's leader, said the conversion to a museum would "preserve memories of her misrule and the people's anger when they removed her from power."
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (left) and Economic Revitalization Minister and chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa attend a budget committee session on the U.S. tariff issue in the Lower House in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 4, 2025

Opposition parties fume over U.S. trade deal not being put in writing

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said issuing a joint document with the U.S. will not serve the nation’s interests and may instead jeopardize the agreement.
Swallows slugger Munetaka Murakami celebrates after hitting a home run against the BayStars in Yokohama on July 29.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Aug 4, 2025

Return of Munetaka Murakami could get hearts racing at Jingu Stadium again

The Swallows have not been good this year but have a chance to end the season on a positive note.
Participants take part in the Pride March in Amsterdam on July 26.
WORLD / Society
Aug 4, 2025

Going Dutch: LGBTQ+ Americans find Trump-free life in Netherlands

In the face of rolled back rights, some LGBTQ+ people have voted with their feet.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Mogami-class frigate Niyodo sails at an undisclosed location in this image released Tuesday.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2025

Australia announces new warships will come from Japan

Canberra will purchase 11 Mogami-class frigates in what will be Tokyo’s biggest-ever defense contract — a breakthrough for Japan's defense industry.
U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) hold a bilateral meeting at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka in 2019.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 5, 2025

Kremlin plays down Trump submarine order and urges caution on nuclear rhetoric

The exchange takes place as Trump threatens new sanctions on Russia and buyers of its oil unless Moscow agrees to end the war in Ukraine by Friday.
Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's former president, departs from the National Congress in Brasilia.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 5, 2025

Bolsonaro ordered into house arrest for defying Brazil court

The move came a day after Bolsonaro supporters staged rallies across the country against Brazil’s top court.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’