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Polls suggest Labour leader Keir Starmer will emerge victorious from Thursday’s U.K. general election despite often being perceived as stiff and acting holier-than-thou.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 3, 2024

Keir Starmer's character remains as elusive as his policies

Despite his rags-to-ruling-class backstory, Labour leader Keir Starmer isn't that popular or well understood. But he'll win Thursday's election in the U.K. anyway.
Japan’s redesigned yen banknotes are shown at the Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday, the day the new ¥10,000, ¥5,000 and ¥1,000 bills went into circulation. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 3, 2024

The new yen notes have an important story to tell

The inspiring stories of the three trailblazers whose portraits are featured on the new yen banknotes say a lot about the past, present and future of Japan.
Plaintiffs of a series of lawsuits on forced sterilization and their lawyers hold banners saying "victory ruling" after the Supreme Court ruled in their favor in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 3, 2024

Japan's top court orders compensation for forced sterilization victims

The landmark ruling was made on the basis that the now-defunct eugenics law was unconstitutional.
Nikon's new microscope specialized for intracytoplasmic sperm injection, a fertility treatment
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 3, 2024

Nikon develops microscope for fertility treatment

The product reduces the number of operational steps involved in intracytoplasmic sperm injection by about 75%.
A Palestinian man carries a child following an Israeli strike near a U.N.-run school sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
WORLD
Jul 4, 2024

Nine in 10 Gaza residents displaced since war began, U.N. says

The head of the United Nations' OCHA agency in the Palestinian territories said that around 1.9 million people are thought to be displaced in Gaza.
The sun sets over Gaza on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 5, 2024

Truce talks between Israel and Hamas advance, U.S. official says

The movement was significant enough that Israel is sending a delegation to negotiate in Qatar, the U.S. official said.
OpenAI Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap speaks at a news conference on the opening of the Japan office in Tokyo in April.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 5, 2024

Japanese companies lag in AI adoption, white paper says

The white paper also urged action against fake online ads.
American Gregorio Narvasa has gone from baking cookies in his spare to time to working with major Tokyo companies from his new Koenji shop.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jul 7, 2024

Koenji gets a new cookie shop. Its owner gets a community.

After several years of sharing his creations at pop-up events scattered across Tokyo, Gregorio Narvasa opened a physical bake shop in Koenji on April 20 of this year.
Takashi Miyashita, head of a clinic in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, examines a patient in a temporary medical container on June 26 as he resumes operations for the first time since the Jan. 1 earthquake.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 5, 2024

Ishikawa doctor 'not going anywhere' six months after Noto quake

Deeply touched by patient's pleas to stay post-quake, the doctor vowed to remain and rebuild his practice for the sake of the local community.
Labour leader Keir Starmer reacts as he speaks at a reception to celebrate his win in the election, at Tate Modern in London on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 5, 2024

Keir Starmer set to be U.K. PM as Labour trounces Tories in election

Analysts largely expect continuity in Downing Street's foreign policy with the Indo-Pacific despite there being no mention of the region in Labour's election manifesto.
Municipalities across the country have been devising various ways to keep track of the whereabouts of individuals with dementia.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 5, 2024

Record 19,000 people with dementia reported missing in Japan in 2023

The figure is nearly twice that of a decade earlier, according to the National Police Agency.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event in Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 6, 2024

Crisis? What crisis? Biden rejects Democratic pessimism.

After last week’s devastating debate performance, the president’s prime-time interview with ABC News was an exercise in not just damage control but reality control.
Iran's Masoud Pezeshkian, the reformist presidential candidate, waves after casting his vote in the country's presidential runoff election at a mosque in Tehran on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 6, 2024

Iran reformist Masoud Pezeshkian wins presidential election

Pezeshkian has pledged to open Iran to the world and deliver freedoms its people have yearned for.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrive to deliver a joint statement following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 6, 2024

Kyiv and allies slam Hungary's Orban for Ukraine talks with Putin

Hungary's six-month EU presidency gives the central European country sway over the bloc's agenda and priorities for the next six months.
International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan speaks during an interview at The Hague, in the Netherlands, in February.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 6, 2024

ICC prosecutor opted for warrants over visit to Gaza

The sudden cancellation of a planned visit to the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem and Ramallah has angered Washington and London.
Ryo Sakai, the chief of staff of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, is expected to quit his post following reports that several MSDF vessels allowed unvetted personnel to handle top secret information related to national security.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2024

MSDF chief may quit over widespread mishandling of secret info

The latest revelation comes just months after the ministry punished five SDF members over leaks of secret information to unvetted personnel.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer
WORLD / Politics
Jul 7, 2024

Untested Starmer is suddenly the West’s last man standing tall

Keir Starmer — who’s spent the last six weeks campaigning under the one-word banner of ‘change’ — is about to discover how in politics, it can come at you fast.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other key Labour figures with working-class backgrounds will have to work with elites in the civil service, business world and beyond who do not share their class origins.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 8, 2024

No class war from the U.K.’s most working-class government

This is the most working-class government the U.K. has had in recent years. Not only is Keir Starmer from a humble background, but so are many of his Cabinet members.
On Monday, a heatstroke alert was issued in 27 of the nation’s 47 prefectures, including seven in the Kanto region.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2024

Unseasonal heat in Japan raises prospect of top-level heatstroke alert

The alert is issued when the wet-bulb globe temperature is expected to hit at least 35 degrees Celsius at all monitoring points in a prefecture.
The government aims to increase the number of foreign students in Japan to 400,000 by 2033, despite a recent Justice Ministry ordinance that puts in place tougher rules on accepting overseas applicants.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 8, 2024

Can Japan boost its foreign student count to 400,000?

The government recently tightened rules for accepting overseas applicants, though it hasn't lost sight of its lofty goal of increasing foreign student numbers.
Rescuers work at Ohmatdyt Children's Hospital, which was hit by Russian missile strikes in Kyiv on Monday.
WORLD
Jul 9, 2024

Russian missiles kill 36 and hit a children's hospital, Ukraine says

The Ukrainian government proclaimed a day of mourning after one of the worst air attacks of the war.
U.S. President Joe Biden looks at his watch as he stands on the balcony during an Independence Day celebration on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 9, 2024

Biden tells wavering Democrats he will not abandon campaign

President Joe Biden faces a critical week as he tries to shore up a campaign that has been on defense since a shaky June 27 debate.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at a meeting of a government panel on information related to economic security last month as economic security minister Sanae Takaichi looks on.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Jul 9, 2024

New security clearance system to bring Japan in line with other G7 nations

Individuals qualified to handle classified information will receive certification from the government, facilitating easier participation in global research and business.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris attends an event in New Orleans on Saturday. Democrats should do what they should have done long ago: Elevate Harris as the party's future, rather than sidelining her for her perceived unpopularity.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 9, 2024

Kamala Harris is Democrats’ future, no matter what

Whether with Harris as presidential nominee or No. 2 on Biden's tickets, Democrats should do what they should have done long ago: Elevate rather than sideline the VP.
A man takes a break under a cooling mist as the government issued a heatstroke alert in Tokyo and other prefectures in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 9, 2024

Number of heatstroke patients in Japan jumps fourfold amid sweltering temperatures

By prefecture, Tokyo had the most heatstroke-related transports at 907. Aichi came in second with 763 cases.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo last month.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 9, 2024

Kishida aims for hospital ship operations from fiscal year 2025

The envisioned ships would evacuate disaster victims while giving them medical treatment and stay based at ports near disaster-hit areas to provide care.
Suzu General Hospital suffered a significant loss in the last fiscal year due to a decline in the number of patients.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 9, 2024

Public hospitals in quake-hit Okunoto area bleed red ink

The area in Ishikawa Prefecture was hit especially hard by the 7.6 magnitude quake that shook the peninsula on Jan. 1.
Russia's Daniil Medvedev hits a forehand during his Wimbledon quarterfinal against Jannik Sinner on Tuesday.
TENNIS
Jul 10, 2024

Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev set up Wimbledon semifinal repeat

Alcaraz battled back from a set down to defeat Tommy Paul, while Medvedev stunned world No. 1 Jannik Sinner.
University of Texas at Austin Anthropology Professor Craig Campbell leads chants with other university faculty members during a pro-Palestinian protest on the campus in Austin, Texas, on May 5.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 10, 2024

Doxxed, disciplined: U.S. students tally price of Gaza protests

Many protesting students fear they will be penalized academically or professionally as they prepare to enter the workforce or return to classes.
As NATO marks its 75th anniversary, the alliance is looking to engage with Generation Z through social media to explain its importance.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 10, 2024

TikTok, Instagram influencers help aging NATO connect with Gen Z

The move is an acknowledgment that traditional media outlets may not be reaching this key demographic.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight