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Damascus seen from Mount Qasioun on Jan. 7
WORLD / Politics
May 13, 2025

Syria makes bid to meet Trump, hoping for sanctions relief and reset with Israel

Syria has struggled to implement conditions set out by Washington for relief from U.S. sanctions, while Israel has escalated air strikes and occupied Syrian territory.
A staff member holds a barocaloric material used by Barocal in their solid state cooling technology, at their headquarters in Cambridge.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 13, 2025

U.K. lab promises air conditioner revolution without polluting gases

Approximately 2 billion air-conditioner units are in use worldwide, and their number is increasing as the planet warms.
A copy of the international kilogram prototype made of platinum-iridium alloy (top right) is displayed in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Monday.
JAPAN
May 14, 2025

Japan's meter and kilogram prototypes shown ahead of 150th anniversary

The original kilogram prototype has been kept in a temperature- and humidity-controlled steel safe at AIST, in the city of Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture.
George Simion gestures while attending a presidential debate in Bucharest on May 8.
WORLD / Politics
May 15, 2025

MAGA goes east: Romania's presidential frontrunner rides hard-right wave

George Simion, a nationalist who campaigns to "Make Romania Great Again," opposes military aid to Ukraine and is critical of the EU's leadership.
Over 30 years, U.S.-China trade talks have largely failed because Beijing prioritizes protecting its political system, making only symbolic concessions, while Washington struggles to win lasting changes.
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2025

The U.S. will never win a trade war with China

For sure, the 90-day truce is merely temporary relief. As long as negotiations continue as they are, the U.S. will not be able to win a trade war with China
SeaForest CEO Sam Elsom at the company's headquarters in Triabunna, Tasmania, on March 26
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 15, 2025

Australian seaweed farm tackles livestock burps to combat climate change

While far less abundant in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, methane is about 80 times more potent over a 20-year timescale at warming the planet.
"Jinsei," which follows its protagonist over a century, probes themes of identity and societal issues with a dark comic touch. The director, however, says he created the story without knowing where it would lead.
CULTURE / Film
May 16, 2025

For his first feature film, director Ryuya Suzuki created a masterpiece

With no script or crew, the animator created "Jinsei," a bold debut inspired by classics such as "Citizen Kane" and "Scarface."
Buildings destroyed during the war in Harasta, on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria.
WORLD / Politics
May 16, 2025

Trump’s pledge to lift Syrian sanctions faces a complex road

The move was seen as a highlight of Trump’s trip to the Arabian Peninsula this week, but actual implementation will be a protracted and thorny challenge.
As Japan heads into summer elections, debate over the consumption tax has intensified, with opposition parties demanding cuts to ease pressure on households and the government defending the levy as essential amid rising debt and economic uncertainty.
EDITORIALS
May 16, 2025

Don’t overreact to the consumption tax debate

Economic uncertainty in combination with rising prices are squeezing the budgets of households, businesses and the government.
Moody’s downgrade of the U.S. credit rating reflects growing concern over Washington’s unwillingness to confront rising debt, soaring deficits and interest costs — even as global investors keep piling into Treasuries.
COMMENTARY
May 19, 2025

Moody’s tells us what we already know about U.S. debt

Take the firm’s decision to strip the country of its top AAA credit rating seriously, not literally.
Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato has said he will seek an opportunity for currency talks with his U.S. counterpart Scott Bessent this week.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 19, 2025

Hedge funds reload long yen trades ahead of Kato-Bessent meeting

Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said he will seek an opportunity for currency talks with his U.S. counterpart, Scott Bessent, this week.
Agriculture minister Taku Eto has come under fire for saying at the weekend that he receives so much rice from his supporters that he has enough to sell it.
JAPAN / Politics
May 19, 2025

Amid rice shortage, farm minister comes under fire for saying he gets plenty

Agriculture minister Taku Eto reportedly said at a fundraiser that he gets so much rice from supporters, he has enough to sell it.
Hiroshima Victims Memorial Cenotaph in the Peace Memorial Park
JAPAN
May 20, 2025

Japan's emperor and empress to visit Hiroshima in June

The imperial couple will visit the city of Hiroshima to commemorate the victims of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing.
Huawei Technologies has unveiled its first in-house operating system for personal computers.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 20, 2025

Huawei unveils in-house operating system to replace Windows

The rollout of HarmonyOS on the company's new laptops comes as China pushes to replace American technologies amid rising geopolitical tensions.
Carp pitcher Hiroki Tokoda has seven hits this season, including a double.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
May 20, 2025

Can the Central League hold out against designated hitters?

There have been plenty of calls for the league to adopt the DH over the years. But some prefer the status quo.
China’s Made in China 2025 program set an ambitious agenda, and a decade later, initial assessments conclude it had mixed success but maintain its goals will shape Chinese policy for years to come.
COMMENTARY / World
May 20, 2025

Ten years of Made in China 2025 sees mixed success

MIC2025 set an ambitious agenda, and a decade later, early reviews say it has had mixed success but maintain that its goals will shape Chinese policy for years to come.
''A Minecraft Movie'' star Jack Black attends the films world premiere in London on March 30. Video-game adaptations like the movie are overtaking superhero films at the box office.
COMMENTARY / World
May 20, 2025

Success of ‘Minecraft’ shows the future of movies is games

The big-screen feature from Warner Bros. Discovery, "A Minecraft Movie," has outearned every other U.S. movie so far in 2025.
The Dinorwig Power Station is nestled in the mountains of Llanberis, U.K. The power station is hidden away in the North Wales mountains and has been drained down as part of a £1 billion refurbishment program to extend the life of the plant.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
May 20, 2025

The U.K.’s clean power future relies on a 100-year-old technology

For years, water has rushed through Dinorwig’s subterranean tunnels to drive vast power turbines, but the channels currently lie empty — for the first time in four decades.
Agriculture minister Taku Eto (left), who resigned on Wednesday, and former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi
JAPAN / Politics
May 21, 2025

Shinjiro Koizumi takes farm ministry reins after predecessor's rice gaffe

Taku Eto resigned from the post after coming under fire for bragging about how much rice his supporters give him.
Agriculture minister Taku Eto answers reporters questions at the at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 21, 2025

Why Ishiba pulled a 180 on the gaffe-stricken farm minister

Taku Eto is the first minister to fall since the Japanese leader formed his Cabinet last October
A female Osaka prosecutor in her 50s speaks about how she was sexually assaulted, at a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 21, 2025

Female prosecutor says she experienced secondary victimization in rape case

The prosecutor said the prosecutors office where she worked turned a blind eye after she reported the case, and slanderous comments about her spread at work.
An unsuccessful screenwriter (Shunsuke Kazama, right) tries to rekindle the flame with his high-powered spouse (Megumi, left) in “I Still Want To Do It With My Wife.”
CULTURE
May 22, 2025

‘I Still Want To Do It With My Wife’: Hapless husband’s self-pity wears thin

Actor Megumi stands out as the much better half of a sex-starved man-child in Shin Adachi’s autobiographical film.
Boxing great Manny Pacquiao will come out of retirement to face Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight championship in Las Vegas on July 19.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
May 22, 2025

Manny Pacquiao coming out of retirement to face Mario Barrios for WBC title

Pacquiao is the only boxer to win world championships in eight weight divisions.
Jony Ive, left, is collaborating with OpenAI’s Sam Altman as part of a nearly $6.5 billion deal.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 22, 2025

OpenAI to buy AI startup from Apple veteran Jony Ive in $6.5 billion deal

The purchase — the largest in OpenAI’s history — will provide the company with a dedicated unit for developing AI-powered devices.
Tottenham's Son Heung-min celebrates with the trophy after the Europa League final in Bilbao, Spain, on Thursday.
SOCCER
May 22, 2025

Tottenham captain Son Heung-min realizes dream as club wins Europa League

Son joined the club 10 years ago but had not won any silverware.
Lindsey Vonn skis during a World Cup event in Kvitfjell, Norway, on March 2.
OLYMPICS
May 22, 2025

Lindsey Vonn feeling 'amazing' ahead of bid to make U.S. Olympic team at age 40

Vonn said a partial knee replacement last year helped her overall fitness and enabled her to seek a spot on the U.S. ski team for the Milano Cortina Olympics in February 2026.
Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev poses after winning the men's 50-meter freestyle final at the European championships in Belgrade on June 23, 2024.
MORE SPORTS
May 22, 2025

Enhanced Games, where athletes can use banned substances, to start in 2026

The Enhanced Games operate under the principle that banning performance-enhancing drugs in major competition does not protect athletes but rather stifles their performance.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 isn't your typical Japanese role-playing game, but that hasn't stopped it from being one of the best to come from the genre in years.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
May 24, 2025

Uh-oh, is the rest of the world making JRPGs better than Japan?

Developed by a French studio, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has pushed the genre forward more than any Japanese-developed title in the past 10 years.
A man talks of his experience of being hit by a spread of fake information about him online after appearing in a reality show.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
May 23, 2025

Online defamation still pesters reality show participants

Television broadcasters and online streaming services have taken steps to support and protect cast members, but defamation has not stopped.
With Russia holding the upper hand in Ukraine and its people likely to support a favorable peace, why is the Kremlin unwilling to negotiate?
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 22, 2025

Russia’s two minds on Ukraine

Russian people used to have savings; today, they spend whatever they can get their hands on and even take out loans.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan