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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.
The Strait of Hormuz separating Iran (top) from the United Arab Emirates and Oman (bottom) as seen from the International Space Station in 2021. More than half of the oil imported by East Asia passes through the Strait, experts estimate.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 24, 2025

Asian countries most vulnerable to Strait of Hormuz blockade

Japanese customs data showed 95% of crude oil imports last year came from the Middle East.
Born in April 2023, Grape and Acai are an inseparable duo that prefer a gentle lifestyle.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Jun 24, 2025

Fine feline twosome on the hunt for a forever home

Acai and Grape are an inseparable pair that are sure to bring a touch of sweetness to a peaceful household.
A draft interim report calls on social media service providers to introduce voluntary regulations designed to suspend monetization in the event of a disaster, to curb the spread of disinformation.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 24, 2025

Japan aims to regulate social media monetization in disasters

The report calls on social media service providers to suspend monetization in the event of a disaster, to curb the spread of disinformation.
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?
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for an address to the nation, as Vice President JD Vance (from left) Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth trail him in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Jun 24, 2025

Trump’s Middle East moves raise questions over Indo-Pacific focus

The U.S. military strikes on Iran are being seen as a bad omen for Washington placing its attention more on the Indo-Pacific.
A Thai police officer talks with people waiting to cross the closed Ban Khlong Luek International Border Checkpoint between Thailand and Cambodia, in the Aranyaprathet district of Thailand's Sa Kaeo province on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 24, 2025

Border confusion as Thailand shuts land crossings with Cambodia

Thailand has closed crossing points in in all seven border provinces to everyone except students and those seeking medical treatment.
About 41% of LGBTQ+ teens could not find people or places they could consult with about their struggles with gender identity or sexual orientation.
JAPAN
Jun 24, 2025

Over half of LGBTQ+ teens in Japan have considered suicide, survey finds

Of the 90% of junior high and high school students who said they had experienced harassment at school, 64% said such harassment came from teachers.
U.S. President Donald Trump sits in his car, "The Beast," as he arrives for a dinner at the Huis ten Bosch Royal Palace during a NATO leaders summit in The Hague on Tuesday.
WORLD
Jun 25, 2025

Strike set back Iran’s nuclear program by only a few months, U.S. report says

The findings suggest that President Donald Trump’s statement that Iran’s nuclear facilities were obliterated was overstated.
Taxi drivers wait for fares under a patriotic billboard in Tehran on Tuesday, the day of the ceasefire announcement.
WORLD
Jun 25, 2025

Twelve day Middle East war shows how 'normal' the unthinkable has become

The ructions that have torn through the Middle East aren’t likely to fully reveal their impact for years to come.
An undated photo supplied by a resident of an apartment complex in Tokyo's Itabashi Ward shows people who appear to be staff members offering illegal private lodging services. Their faces are blurred for privacy reasons.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2025

Around 250 takedown requests made in fiscal 2024 over illegal private lodgings

Operators of private lodgings must notify prefectural governments of their businesses, ensure sanitary conditions and handle complaints.
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.
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.
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.
Tokyo Gas is in talks with at least four U.S. liquefied natural gas suppliers to secure a purchase deal, according to sources.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 26, 2025

Tokyo gas in talks to seal long-term U.S. LNG purchase deals

Japan’s largest gas distributor is in talks with at least four companies over supply from projects dotting the U.S. Gulf Coast, according to sources.
The National Police Agency has drafted stricter identification rules for secondhand metal dealers in order to prevent the resale of stolen goods.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 26, 2025

NPA to toughen ID rules for metal dealers amid surge in stolen AC units

The National Police Agency drafted amendments that would require metal dealers to verify sellers’ identities and keep transaction records for three years.
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.
The Justice Ministry in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. Takahiro Shiraishi, who was sentenced to death in 2020 for killing nine people in the space of two months, was executed on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 27, 2025

Japan executes ‘Twitter killer’ in first hanging since 2022

Takahiro Shiraishi was on death row for killing nine people he met on social media in 2017.
Major department stores are doing their best to cater to foreign customers, but it’s unclear if it will lead to more sales.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 27, 2025

Department stores' tax-free sales drop as tourists' shopping patterns change

Greater foreign tourist diversity has led to a change in shopping priorities, the executive of the Japan Department Stores Association said.
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.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference during the 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague on Wednesday. He expressed anger and threatened to sue over media reports claiming the U.S. strike on Iran delayed its nuclear program by only a few months.
EDITORIALS
Jun 27, 2025

Airstrikes won’t end Iran’s nuclear ambitions — diplomacy might

The consensus of the U.S. intelligence community earlier this year was that Iran was up to three years away from being able to deliver a nuclear weapon to a target of its choosing.
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine arrives for a classified briefing about the American strikes on Iran, on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 28, 2025

U.S. Senate rejects bid to curb Trump's Iran war powers

The Senate vote was 53 to 47 against a war powers resolution that would have required congressional approval for more hostilities against Iran.
People push a cart to receive water to distribute to neighbors in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 5, 2024, after a massive earthquake hit the area.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 28, 2025

Megaquake may hit central Japan within next 30 years, government panel says

There is a 16% to 18% chance of a large temblor hitting the Kinki western region and Hokuriku central region, according to a government panel.
Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim attends a news conference in Taipei on June 19.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 28, 2025

Czechs say China followed and planned intimidation of Taiwan vice-president

Prague does not have official diplomatic ties with Taiwan but has fostered warm relations with the democratically-governed island.
The total number of people who sat for police departments' exams in Japan during fiscal 2023 fell by more than 20% from fiscal 2021, while 30% of applicants who received informal job offers turned them down.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2025

Police in most prefectures miss hiring targets

Around 30% of the applicants given informal offers in many prefectures end up turning them down.
Taiwanese Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim speaks during the first exhibition organized by the Czech Center Taipei in the Taiwanese capital in June last year.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 29, 2025

Taiwan VP says she will not be intimidated after Czechs allege Chinese plot

A Chinese diplomat ran a red light while following her car, while other Chinese operatives had planned to stage a demonstrative car crash.
A satellite view shows an overview of Fordo underground complex, after the U.S. struck the underground nuclear facility, near Qom, Iran, on June 22.
WORLD
Jun 30, 2025

U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear sites set up 'cat-and-mouse' hunt for missing uranium

Iran's more than 400 kg of uranium is enough, if further enriched for up to nine nuclear weapons.
Fidaa al-Eissa hangs a rug to dry on the rooftop of her home, surrounded by the wreckage left by the civil war, in the Qaboun neighborhood of Damascus on Feb. 21.
WORLD
Jun 30, 2025

'She's not coming back': Alawite women snatched from streets of Syria

The overthrow of Bashar Assad in December after 14 years of civil war unleashed a furious backlash against the Muslim minority community to which he belongs.
A man was stabbed to death at Sunshine City commercial complex in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 1, 2025

Man arrested for allegedly killing employee at Tokyo’s Sunshine City

The male suspect reportedly brandished a bladed weapon and slashed the male victim, who was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead shortly after.

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