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Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at a ceremony in the Peace Memorial Park in Itoman, Okinawa Prefecture, on Monday.
JAPAN / History
Jun 23, 2025

Okinawa marks 80th anniversary of end of ferocious ground battle

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba spoke of the horrific ground war involving Okinawan residents, noting that 200,000 lives were lost, or about one in four Okinawans.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 23, 2025

Ishiba to skip key NATO summit following Iran strikes

Two other invitees — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and new South Korean President Lee Jae-myung — have also decided not to attend the gathering.
A checkout system equipped with a display showing a 3D avatar enables a Lawson employee to remotely help customers at an experimental Lawson store that opened Monday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 23, 2025

Lawson beta tests futuristic convenience store with KDDI

Real x Tech Lawson utilizes a range of technologies, including robotics, digital signage and artificial intelligence.
A security guard in Tehran stands during a ceasefire early Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Jun 24, 2025

Explosions ring out in Tehran despite Trump's order to Israel to stop strikes

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Israel had carried out no further strikes after Netanyahu spoke to Trump.
Tokio Marine has made a string of big acquisitions in the U.S. in recent years to make up for limited growth prospects at home.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 24, 2025

Tokio Marine hunts for deals abroad and sees room for growth in U.S.

The insurer has the capacity for more deals overseas after generating record profits by selling shareholdings worth tens of billions of dollars.
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's grandson Hassan Khomeini stands next to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the 36th anniversary of the death of the leader of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, at Khomeini's shrine in southern Tehran on June 4.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 24, 2025

Search for successor to Iran's Khamenei hastens as tensions erupt into conflict

Israel attacked Iran and threatened to assassinate its veteran leader.
President of World Athletics Sebastian Coe speaks in Oslo on June 12.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Jun 24, 2025

It will be 'big and punchy': Athletics chief Coe looks to future

The World Championships arrive in September in Tokyo, and Coe describes them as "a massive moment."
Since its introduction in 1985, Sega's UFO Catcher machine has come to define crane games in Japan.
LIFE / Digital
Jun 24, 2025

King of Japan’s arcades, Sega’s UFO Catcher turns 40

Where would Japan’s arcades be without the rows and rows of crane games that Sega’s influential machine helped popularize?
AI is not only transforming the applications we use; it is also reshaping the very process of software development, threatening to render much of today’s tech sector obsolete.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 15, 2025

How artificial intelligence will disrupt Big Tech

AI is already starting to cannibalize established giants and also to reshape the profession of software engineering.
While a trained beekeeper can quickly look at frames in a hive assess their health, AI can do it even faster.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Jun 24, 2025

How robotic hives and AI are lowering the risk of bee colony collapse

Beewise’s units help cut down on losses by providing a near-constant stream of information on colony health in real time and give beekeepers the ability to respond.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a news conference ahead of a NATO summit, in The Hague on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 24, 2025

NATO’s Indo-Pacific ties risk losing momentum as leaders skip key summit

Analysts say U.S. President Donald Trump’s moves mark a visible shift away from his predecessor's approach to the alliance and the IP4 grouping.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and his OpenAI counterpart, Sam Altman, attend an event to pitch AI for businesses in Tokyo in early February. The SoftBank founder is now proposing his most ambitious venture yet — a $1 trillion AI and robotics hub in Arizona.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 24, 2025

The magical thinking of Masa Son

The race to lead the world in AI-enabled robots is still in the early stages, but many signs point to China coming out on top.
Migrants are rescued from a wooden boat by Doctors Without Borders in international waters off the coast of Tunisia in the central Mediterranean Sea in July 2024.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 24, 2025

Hard EU line on migration rose from the ashes of compassion

A decade ago, the image of a 3-year-old Syrian boy washed up dead on a beach prompted an outpouring of emotion and renewed commitments to take in refugees.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press before boarding Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 25, 2025

Trump baffles with sudden U-turn on China buying Iranian oil

U.S. Treasury and State department officials handling Iranian oil sanctions were surprised by Trump’s statement and uncertain how to immediately interpret it.
A Ukrainian tank fitted with protective netting — known as “cage armor” — highlights how the war has favored fast, low-tech adaptations over expensive hardware.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 19, 2025

High-tech weapons alone won’t win the wars of tomorrow

To prevail in future conflicts, Western countries must maintain financial flexibility and combine advanced systems with scalable low-tech solutions.
Miho Koshiba started her career in finance before she founded the Mirai Institute, a think tank that operates the Midori.so coworking space with an ever-growing cosmopolitan community across seven locations in Tokyo.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jun 28, 2025

Miho Koshiba: ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if people looked forward to Mondays?’

The cofounder of the Midori.so coworking space shares her inspirations and aspirations for career and community.
Members of the Coastal Surveillance Unit participate in a ceremony commemorating the first anniversary of the Self-Defense Forces' Yonaguni Garrison in Okinawa Prefecture in April 2017.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2025

Okinawa locals wary as SDF presence grows amid China threat

The SDF buildup has spurred concerns across the political spectrum in Okinawa, and many residents remain deeply worried over its growing presence.
The building housing the headquarters of Daiwa Securities Group in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 25, 2025

Daiwa plans $690 million real estate fund as Japan market booms

Daiwa will target Japanese rental housing and hotels, assets that tend to be better insulated from inflation compared with other sectors, at a time when consumer prices are rising.
A worker moves a shipping container at Felixstowe port in Felixstowe, U.K.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 25, 2025

Pressure for Trump trade deals ramps up with two weeks to go

As of July 9, exporting nations without a bilateral accord in place will face Trump’s so-called "Liberation Day” tariffs that are much higher than the current baseline 10% level.
Chelsea's Liam Delap celebrates after scoring his first goal with the club as part of a 3-0 victory over Esperance on Tuesday in Philadelphia.
SOCCER
Jun 25, 2025

Delap notches first for Chelsea as club eases into Club World Cup last 16

A game played in sweaty conditions at the end of a blisteringly hot day in Philadelphia was decided by two goals in first-half stoppage time.
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrives for a social dinner at the Huis ten Bosch Royal Palace during a NATO Heads of State and Government summit in The Hague on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 25, 2025

U.K. to reintroduce nuclear weapon-capable aircraft under NATO

The U.K. will purchase 12 nuclear weapon-capable F-35A fighters, expanding the country's deterrence arsenal, which is currently limited to submarine-launched missiles.
Naoya Kusano in action during the Summer Basho in Tokyo in May.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jun 25, 2025

Former college star Kusano looks ready for challenge of sumo's top tier

While Onosato was claiming Emperor’s Cups in Osaka and Tokyo in recent months, Kusano was doing something similar, albeit one level down.
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.
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.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office on April 7. Without further diplomacy, the Iran-Israel conflict could become an endless, no-win situation.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2025

Trump abandons ‘America First’ for Middle East quagmire

Iran's acceptance of the ceasefire is what in Japanese politics is called a “feigned death” tactic.
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.
Bags of food aid are prepared for distribution by the World Food Program, part of the EU- and U.S.-backed "Grain from Ukraine" initiative, at a warehouse in Nouakchott, Mauritania, on Nov. 19, 2024.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 26, 2025

Ukraine turns to Africa in its struggle against Russia

By showing countries in Africa that it is a major alternative to Russian food supplies, Ukraine hopes many will begin to pressure Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji