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Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a House of Councilors Budget Committee meeting on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 23, 2024

Japan's parliament begins talks on bills to amend political funds law

The envisioned law revision, proposed in response to a political funds scandal, is a key topic of the parliament session.
Komeito head Natsuo Yamaguchi said in a video posted on TikTok in December that the party did not want to be seen as part of the same group as the LDP.
JAPAN / Politics
May 23, 2024

Challenges mount for Komeito amid rift with LDP

As the junior partner in the ruling coalition approaches its 60th anniversary, an existential crisis looms over it.
Takashi Miike (front left) is among the big-name directors slated to work with K2 Pictures, a new film production startup that aims to disrupt the Japanese film industry.
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
May 25, 2024

Can K2's goal of creating a better film industry in Japan win over skeptics?

While established auteurs such as Takashi Miike, Miwa Nishikawa and Hirokazu Kore-eda are slated to work with the startup, it still faces an uphill struggle.
Self-Defense Forces soldiers walk past a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile unit at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo in October 2017.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
May 26, 2024

Evolving drone and missile threats prompting Tokyo to rethink air defense

The low cost of mass-producing tools for modern warfare is pushing the Defense Ministry to find ways to upgrade detection, tracking and interception capabilities.
A 2-megawatt solar farm in the city of Fukushima. “Megasolar” refers to farms with a minimum output of 1 MW of electricity — enough to power around 300 homes for a year.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
May 26, 2024

‘Megasolar’ is a dirty word in Japan. Where do solar projects go from here?

Vocal campaigns are pushing back against projects as dangerous eyesores, but "dual-use" approaches and community engagement may offer a solution.
Members of the New Zealand team huddle before the Rugby World Cup 2023 final against South Africa in Saint-Denis, France, on Oct. 28.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
May 28, 2024

New Zealand Rugby set for pivotal vote after breakaway threat

Powerbrokers will vote for one of two proposals about a new leadership structure for the national governing body for rugby.
Aphelele Vavi (right), 22, who is studying sound engineering, at lunch with fellow students at SAE Creative Media Institute in Rosebank, South Africa, on March 19
WORLD / Politics
May 29, 2024

South Africa’s young democracy leaves its young voters disillusioned

The nation is heading into a pivotal election, in which voters will determine who will pick the president, but voter turnout has been dropping in recent years.
The North Korean flag flutters at the North Korea consular office in Dandong, China, in 2021.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 29, 2024

Rare spat shows China and North Korea still at odds on nuclear weapons

Pyongyang condemned China, Japan and South Korea on Monday for discussing denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump after the verdict was read at Manhattan criminal court in New York City, on Thursday
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 31, 2024

For Trump's false records conviction, prison is not unprecedented

Prison time is rare for people convicted in New York state of felony falsification of business records — the charge Donald Trump faced at his six-week trial.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures following the announcement of the verdict in his criminal trial over charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence adult-film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016, outside Trump Tower in New York City on Thursday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal / ANALYSIS
May 31, 2024

Trump guilty verdict adds twist to 2024 race: a convicted felon

While such a development may change the trajectory of the presidential race, few experts are confident it will.
Fans watch a training session during the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on May 25.
TENNIS
May 31, 2024

Players react as French Open bans alcohol in crackdown on unruly fans

After the French Open banned fans from drinking alcohol in the stands on Thursday to clamp down on inappropriate behavior, Iga Swiatek was told by a rival player "she cannot complain" about noise occurring during her matches.
Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun (center) arrives with his delegation for a bilateral meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on the sidelines of the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue summit at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 31, 2024

U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs agree on importance of military talks

The meeting marked the first face-to-face talks by the U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs in 18 months.
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida said that the automaker will continue to communicate with its suppliers to see whether unfair practices persist and set up a new team directly under him to accelerate reforms on its relations with its subcontractors.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 1, 2024

Nissan challenges TV Tokyo report on subcontractors

The automaker denied allegations that it continued to pressure its suppliers into slashing prices even after receiving a warning from the fair trade regulator.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol addresses the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul on Monday as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang listen on.
EDITORIALS
May 31, 2024

A long-neglected trilateral resumes — to expected results

Revival of this trilateral has been driven by Chinese uncertainty: worries about its economy and anxiety regarding geopolitical developments.
Palestinians walk and inspect the damage after Israeli forces withdrew from Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 1, 2024

Hamas responds positively to Biden's new Gaza truce proposal

"It's time for this war to end and for the day after to begin," said Biden, who is under election-year pressure to stop the conflict, now in its eighth month.
South Korea's first openly gay legislator, Cha Hae-young
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jun 1, 2024

'We exist': South Korea's first LGBTQ councilor tackles inclusion

Cha Hae-young was elected to the Mapo district council on June 1, 2022 — the same day as Seoul's annual LGBTQ Pride march.
Greek-flagged bulk cargo vessel Sea Champion is docked to the port of Aden, Yemen to which it arrived after being attacked in the Red Sea in what appears to have been a mistaken missile strike by Houthi militia, in February.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 1, 2024

How Red Sea disruptions are driving up carbon emissions

A surge of attacks on ships traveling the waters of the Red Sea is forcing shippers to reroute their vessels, driving up emissions.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and his South Korean counterpart, Shin Won-sik, meet on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 1, 2024

Japan and South Korea agree to prevent repeat of 2018 naval row

The move to shelve long-standing political differences is seen as a significant step toward restoring bilateral defense and security cooperation.
Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe waves to fans prior to a match in Toulouse in August 2023.
SOCCER
Jun 2, 2024

Mbappe the next prize for Real Madrid, the kings of Europe

The 25-year-old forward has been unable to win the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain in seven years at the French club.
Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun speaks at the Shangri-la Dialogue security conference in Singapore on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 2, 2024

A tale of two narratives: China and U.S. defense chiefs agree to disagree

Dong Jun, China’s first naval officer to be named defense minister, also took aim at U.S. allies in a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue.
A Palestinian youth moves containers of water past destroyed buildings in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on May 28.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 3, 2024

Israel pushes back against Gaza ceasefire Biden has outlined

Hamas said it welcomed any proposal "based on a permanent ceasefire" as well as "a total withdrawal from the Gaza Strip."
A hydrogen storage tank and loading system at a liquefied hydrogen receiving terminal in Kobe. Japan and the European Union have agreed to work together on policies related to clean hydrogen.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Jun 4, 2024

Japan and EU agree to work on creating hydrogen demand and supply

Tokyo sees hydrogen as a new and cleaner source to gradually substitute liquefied natural gas, part of Japan's path to carbon neutrality by 2050.
A vendor cuts salmon at the Tsukiji outer market in Tokyo. Japan and Russia have agreed on this year's Japanese fishing quotas for salmon and trout.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2024

Japan and Russia agree on salmon and trout fishing after two years

Bilateral fishing negotiations are usually held every year, but such talks were not held in 2022 or 2023 due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
President of the French far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National-RN) party Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen, parliamentary party leader of the French far-right National Rally, attend a political rally to launch the party's campaign for the European elections, in Marseille, France, on March 3.
WORLD
Jun 4, 2024

A surging hard right stumbles over its own divisions

Immigration is an issue that has laid bare the contradictions for nationalist parties of trying to forge an international alliance.
President Joe Biden boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Tuesday, en route to Paris for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion in France.
WORLD
Jun 5, 2024

Traveling to Europe, Biden will find both solidarity and isolation

Critics of Biden said he has no one to blame for his diplomatic challenges in Europe but himself for an inconsistent approach to international crises.
Women at a water well as a sand storm passes by in Ethiopia
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 6, 2024

Climate disasters in Africa push women to sell sex, risking HIV progress

Hunger is pushing women and girls into sexual exploitation and increasing the risk of HIV, health experts and aid workers have warned.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks to journalists following an election campaign event at Melksham Town F.C. on Friday. Sunak apologized after skipping events to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day in France to return early to the U.K.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 8, 2024

The moment the Tories have long dreaded is finally upon them

With Labour so far ahead in the polls, few Tories expect to stay in power after the election.
Israeli soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip in January.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 8, 2024

Diminished Hamas switches to full insurgent mode in Gaza

The militant group has been reduced to between 9,000 and 12,000 fighters, according U.S. officials familiar with battlefield developments.
Russian officials have increasingly been threatening not to extend the visas of African students and young workers unless they agree to join its military and fight against Ukraine, sources say.
WORLD
Jun 10, 2024

Russia is sending young Africans to die in its war against Ukraine

Moscow has also been enlisting convicts from its prisons, one source said.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Italy starting on Thursday.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2024

Japan and Ukraine to agree on swift info sharing over Russia

The two sides are expected to conclude a bilateral agreement on Japan's long-term support for Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction.

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