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Hirotada Ototake interacts with voters during a campaign stop in Tokyo's Koto Ward on Sunday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 23, 2024

Man arrested over assault of Tokyo by-election campaign staffer

The suspect allegedly pushed a male staff member of candidate Hirotada Ototake, resulting in minor injuries.
Delegates meet for the Development Committee Plenary during the World Bank and IMF 2024 Spring Meetings in Washington on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 24, 2024

Negotiating a bigger, better World Bank

Recent changes at the global lender are important steps toward making the World Bank’s financial model fit for “ending poverty on a livable planet.”
After a string of contractual issues over guarantor service for the elderly, the government aims to introduce specific regulations to ensure that users can access support with confidence.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 25, 2024

Japan to draw up guidelines for elderly guarantor services

Demand for guarantor services is rising due to the growing number of elderly living alone
Palestinian women in Gaza sit amid the rubble of a residential building they once lived in, which was destroyed by an Israeli raid earlier this month.
COMMENTARY
Apr 25, 2024

Biden must prove he doesn't have a double standard for Israel

If the U.S. wants to convince the world that it doesn't have a double standard, it should condition military aid to Israel on its use of American weapons.
Natsumi Sakai, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan’s candidate and one of four female candidates running in the by-election, touts her experience as a cancer survivor and midwife as having prepared her to tackle issues that women currently face.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 25, 2024

Tokyo's Koto Ward by-election a race unlike any other

In a departure from boys' club politics, candidates including four women, a writer and an ex-martial artist are making their case for a seat in parliament.
The United Nations Security Council votes on a Gaza resolution that demands an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and unconditional release of all hostages, at the U.N.'s headquarters in New York on March 25. So far, such resolutions have proven ineffective.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2024

Can ‘minilaterals’ save the world?

Minilateral partnerships offer a new approach to addressing regional challenges effectively and ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.
Optica headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Companies
May 3, 2024

Huawei secretly backs U.S. research, awarding millions in prizes

Huawei Technologies is the sole funder of a research competition that has awarded millions of dollars since its inception in 2022.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a news conference at WHO headquarters in Geneva in July 2020.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 4, 2024

'Get this done,' WHO chief urges pandemic accord talks

World Health Organization member states have spent the last two years drafting an international accord on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the Orthodox Easter service at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2024

U.S. and most EU nations to boycott Putin's inauguration over Ukraine war

France and some other EU states were expected to send an envoy despite a plea by Kyiv.
French President Emmanuel Macron, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen walk after their meeting in Paris on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 7, 2024

Xi bristles as Macron and von der Leyen urge China to do more on Ukraine

The Chinese president also rejected what he described as attempts to use the Ukraine conflict to smear a third country or stoke a new Cold War.
The Lower House starts discussing a security clearance bill on April 19 in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 7, 2024

Unlike 10 years ago, Japan's new security bill sparks little debate

Some point to a shift in the nation’s security stance, while opposition party lawmakers indicate a general apathy among the media to cover the story.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference after a two-day monetary policy meeting at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo on April 26.
BUSINESS
May 9, 2024

Many BOJ board members saw need for steady rate hikes in April, records show

Some saw the chance of a faster-than-expected pace of interest rate hikes on prospects of inflation durably staying or exceeding the bank's 2% target.
Urawa Reds Ladies celebrate with their fans after winning the league championship at Urawa Komaba Stadium on June 3, 2023.
SOCCER
May 9, 2024

Urawa Reds Ladies to vie for Asian supremacy amid controversy over AFC's actions

Final to go ahead after backlash forced AFC to reverse earlier decision to cancel match.
Israeli soldiers walk amid military vehicles near the Israel-Gaza Border, in southern Israel, on Thursday. Washington has long urged the Israeli government not to invade Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip without safeguards for civilians.
WORLD / Politics
May 10, 2024

Israel due to get more U.S. weapons despite Biden pause

A range of military equipment worth billions of dollars, some in the works since December, remain in the pipeline as a result of a slow approval process.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko in Moscow on April 11.
WORLD
May 11, 2024

Satellite images reveal where Russian nukes could be stored in Belarus

A New York Times analysis shows security upgrades unique to Russian nuclear storage facilities at a Cold War-era munitions depot.
North Korea's Ambassador to the United Nations Kim Song speaks during a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York on June 8, 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
May 15, 2024

U.N. experts: North Korea laundered $147.5 million in stolen crypto

The money was stolen from the HTX cryptocurrency exchange before being laundered in March this year, the experts said.
A German Navy frigate takes part in the BALTOPS 22 exercise in Baltic Sea in June 2022. Russia will push back against NATO's Baltic drills, although the correlation of forces at sea is now weighted heavily against it. 
COMMENTARY / World
May 10, 2024

Putin’s next target may be the ‘NATO lake’

Some say the argument that Putin would invade the Baltic states is overblown; but just three years ago, no one believed he would invade Ukraine.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant talks to soldiers during a visit to a position along the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel near Rafah.
WORLD / Politics
May 16, 2024

Israeli defense chief challenges Netanyahu over post-war Gaza plans

The televised vow to oppose any long-term Israeli rule over the ravaged Palestinian enclave is the most vocal dissent from within Israel's top echelon.
Zhang Yufei was among the 23 Chinese swimmer who tested positive for a banned substance months before the Tokyo Olympics.
OLYMPICS
May 16, 2024

World Anti-Doping Agency combating trust issues ahead of Paris Olympics

WADA is facing a allegations it helped cover up the positive tests of elite Chinese swimmers before the Tokyo Olympics.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy
May 17, 2024

BOJ could raise rates as soon as June, ex-chief economist says

An increasing number of analysts have flagged the risk of a summer hike as the sinking yen raises the risks of the price trend moving higher.
Palestine Football Association President Jibril Rajoub called for Israel to be suspended from FIFA during the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok on Thursday.
SOCCER
May 17, 2024

Palestinian soccer officials call for Israel to be banned from FIFA

FIFA President Gianni Infantino told the FIFA Congress in Bangkok that the sport's global governing body will take independent legal advice to consider the Palestinian demand.
While not the most outspoken politician on the issue, digital minister Taro Kono has a track record of being serious in his commitment to addressing the climate crisis.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
May 19, 2024

The politicians moving Japan forward on climate

In the halls of power, climate-friendly voices may be few and far between, but some in politics are pushing for more aggressive action on decarbonization.
Lawmakers from the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Democratic Party for the People and Yushi no Kai jointly submit a bill to revise the political funds control law to the Lower House on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 20, 2024

Opposition parties submit bill to revise political funds law

The groups have positioned the legislation as a counterproposal to the ruling LDP's bill submitted Friday.
Matthew Trickett leaves Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on May 13.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
May 22, 2024

Former U.K. marine in Hong Kong spy case found dead: police

Matthew Trickett was one of three men accused in the recent Hong Kong spy case.
People attend a demonstration in support of Gaza and Palestinians outside the building of the Norwegian parliament in Oslo, Norway, on Nov. 4, 2023.
WORLD
May 22, 2024

Norway, along with Ireland and Spain, to recognize Palestinian state

Before the announcement, some 143 out of 193 member-states of the United Nations recognized a Palestinian state.
Akira Miyagi (center) and other members of Japanese-Brazilians with ties to Okinawa Prefecture hold a news conference in Sao Paulo on Tuesday.
JAPAN
May 23, 2024

Brazil to mull apology for persecution of Japanese immigrants

If the federal government apologizes, it will be its first over the country's treatment of Japanese immigrants.
Grayson Murray tees off on the second hole during the second round of the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Illinois, on July 7, 2023.
MORE SPORTS
May 26, 2024

PGA golfer Grayson Murray dies at 30

Murray died one day after withdrawing from the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas.
Allowing Ukraine into NATO would not only bolster Kyiv's defenses against Russia’s invasion, but also strengthen the alliance’s military capabilities and deter future aggression.
COMMENTARY / World
May 27, 2024

The case for Ukraine’s NATO accession

By admitting Ukraine, NATO could tip the balance decisively in Kyiv's favor and dispel any doubt about the alliance’s future, ensuring a lasting peace.
Bill Walton, NBA Hall of Famer and broadcasting star, in New York in March 2011. Walton died on Monday at his home in San Diego at the age of 71.
BASKETBALL
May 28, 2024

Bill Walton, NBA Hall of Famer and free spirit, dies at 71

In the years following his NBA career, Walton turned to sports broadcasting.
Trade no longer generates a surplus in Japan, reflecting a surge in the cost of energy imports and an increase in offshore production.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 30, 2024

Yen's relentless slide revives Japan's interest in structural reforms

The currency's persistent weakness has alerted policymakers to more fundamental drivers behind it, such as the nation's dwindling global competitiveness.

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