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The Osaka Expo site on Yumeshima island in December. A survey of 3,000 people from across Japan conducted in October by the Mitsubishi Research Institute showed that just 24% of respondents expressed an interest in attending the Osaka Expo.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 4, 2025

Excitement for the Osaka Expo is low. Can organizers build hype?

A little over two months before it opens, the Osaka Expo is just about ready to welcome guests from Japan and the rest of the world — that is, if they are ready to come.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting in Moscow on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 7, 2025

Ukraine keeps its Kursk bargaining chip for any Russia talks

Russian forces have, so far, reclaimed only about half of the area that Ukraine took last year.
Laborers at a shipyard on the outskirts of Dhaka. Worker deaths, injuries and exposure to hazardous substances are common in the ship-breaking industry, as is environmental harm with toxic chemicals seeping into the beach and water, harming marine life.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Feb 19, 2025

Shipyards of Bangladesh brace as heavy emitting ships near end of life

Worker deaths and environmental harm are common in yards where vessels that have supplied richer nations are dismantled for scraps that can be used in manufacturing.
Journalist and filmmaker Shiori Ito made the documentary “Black Box Diaries” about her years-long battle to find justice following her sexual assault.
CULTURE / Film
Feb 27, 2025

Oscar-nominated documentaries put Japan under the microscope

Shiori Ito’s “Black Box Diaries” and Ema Ryan Yamazaki’s “Instruments of a Beating Heart” both mark firsts in their respective categories.
Hiromi Okuda’s study abroad experience at the University of Mumbai inspired her to build a career at the intersection of social welfare and IT.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Mar 7, 2025

Hiromi Okuda: 'Humans and emerging tech should exist symbiotically'

For the past 30 years, Hiromi Okuda has forged a career at the intersection of social welfare and technology.
The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani is expected to return to a two-way role this season.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 9, 2025

As Shohei Ohtani embarks on Year 2 in Dodger Blue, a unique encore begins

Ohtani has won two Most Valuable Player Awards as a two-way player, for the Angels in 2021 and 2023.
Every year, there is heightened interest in commemorating the 3/11 disaster around the time of the anniversary. But memorial facilities and operators are increasingly struggling to keep their activities going all year round and as time passes.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 10, 2025

Preserving the memory of 3/11 is becoming more difficult

Despite a peak in interest around the 3/11 anniversary, disaster memorial facilities and operators are facing mounting challenges in keeping their activities going as time passes.
“Ravens” stars Tadanobu Asano as Masahisa Fukase, a real-life figure who was known for his photos of the psychedelic party scene of 1960s Shinjuku, portraits of his wife and images of the ravens of his home prefecture of Hokkaido.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 14, 2025

‘Ravens’ is a portrait of art, love and inner demons

Director Mark Gill brings the turbulent life of celebrated photographer Masahisa Fukase into focus in his new film.
Thames Water's Beddington Sewage Treatment Works near Croydon, south London, on Friday. Thames Water, and other British water companies privatized since 1989, are under fire for allowing the discharge of large quantities of sewage into rivers and the sea.
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 15, 2025

A stain on Britain: Sewage contaminates its waterways and seas

Failings with the most basic services in British society, such as water and sewage, have been harming the broader U.K. economy.
An aerial view of Thames Water's Beddington Sewage Treatment Works near Croydon, south London on Friday. Thames Water — and other British water companies privatized since 1989 — are under fire for allowing the discharge of large quantities of sewage into rivers and the sea.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 17, 2025

A stain on Britain: Sewage contaminates its waterways and seas

The pollution affects the seafood and tourism industries, while delaying construction projects and hampering the economy.
A Russian soldier at an artillery position in the Kursk region of Russia on Dec. 2. Ukrainian forces have pulled almost entirely out of the Kursk region of Russia, ending an offensive that had stunned the Kremlin last summer with its speed and audacity.
WORLD
Mar 17, 2025

How Ukraine’s offensive in Russia’s Kursk region unraveled

At the height of the campaign, Ukrainian forces controlled some 1,300 square kilometers of Russian territory. Now they hold just a small sliver of land along the border.
Israeli soldiers work by military vehicles, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, near the border with Gaza, in Israel, on Feb. 15.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 21, 2025

In Israel, reservist burnout and little public appetite for more war in Gaza

A full-scale ground war against Hamas could prove more complicated amid waning public support, exhausted military reservists and political challenges.
Sachiko Asakawa (left) and her brother Kazuo Asakawa at a news conference in Tokyo in November 2009
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2025

Man recalls effects of Tokyo subway sarin attack on sister

Kazuo Asakawa's sister, Sachiko Asakawa, died in 2020 at the age of 56 after suffering severe aftereffects from the attack.
Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Mar 31, 2025

The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan

A growing industry quietly erases the final traces of those who die alone, exposing deep societal fractures.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 31, 2025

Who among the opposition would join the ruling coalition?

Concerns over the stability of the LDP-Komeito minority government are fueling talk of a possible new arrangement, and maybe even a new prime minister.
Kaori Sakamoto performs her free skate during the world championships in Boston on Friday.
MORE SPORTS / Figure skating
Mar 31, 2025

Kaori Sakamoto breathes sigh of relief after world championships

Sakamoto finished in second place behind American Alysa Liu, who made a surprising run to the world title.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (right) and teammate Yuki Tsunoda (second from right) alongside Racing Bulls drivers Isack Hadjar (second from left) and Liam Lawson at the F1 Tokyo Fan Festival 2025 in Odaiba, Tokyo, on Wednesday
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 2, 2025

Red Bull and Racing Bulls display unity in Tokyo ahead of grand prix

Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda has moved up to replace Liam Lawson, who was demoted to the junior team.
A man recycles electronic waste from computer power supplies at a scrap yard in Ahmedabad, India
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 11, 2025

From Daikin to Samsung, companies fight Modi over e-waste policy

India wants to tackle its mounting e-waste problem. Global electronics companies say the cost is too high.
Max Verstappen speaks during a news conference in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 18, 2025

Red Bull star Max Verstappen feeling ‘very relaxed’ amid rampant speculation

Verstappen, who won the Japanese Grand Prix on April 6, finished sixth in Bahrain last week.
Takaaki Nezu, executive director of Maruto Group Holdings, says it is the company’s social responsibility to help tackle the falling birth rate.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
May 5, 2025

Fukushima firms seek ways to encourage marriages

One supermarket chain has said such moves reflect a corporate responsibility to tackle the nation’s chronically low birth rate.
A farmhand prunes trees on a 4-year-old cocoa plantation, replanted after swollen shoot disease, in Enchi, Ghana, on March 4.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 23, 2025

Cocoa crunch isn’t over yet as top growers struggle with supply

Africa’s cocoa heartland has long grappled with blight and aging trees, leaving farms vulnerable as severe weather hammered crops in recent years.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a campaign rally in Laval, Quebec, Canada, on Tuesday. Carney was the subject of at least 16 books published in March and listed on Amazon, according to a review of the site on April 16.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 23, 2025

AI floods Amazon with strange political books before Canadian election

The development adds to concerns about how new technologies are affecting the information voters receive during the election campaign.
Kengo Kuma & Associates oversaw the construction of the Malaysia pavilion, which is encased in interwoven rows of bamboo that appear to ripple.
LIFE / Style & Design
Apr 24, 2025

Built in a flash, Osaka Expo pavilions wrestle with sustainability

Architects of country pavilions speak on the challenges that shaped their design choices.
Since 2017, Kotomi Li has won some of Japan’s top literary awards and built a formidable career in the face of persistent online harassment. “Authors are tenacious creatures to begin with,” she says.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
May 5, 2025

Kotomi Li: 'I refuse to choose death'

The Taiwanese writer reflects on the importance of queer community, her ascent in Japan’s literary world and her ongoing battles against online harassment.
For centuries, artisans have unraveled strands of the fibrous bark of "shuro" trees to create a medley of everyday objects. Designer Kazuki Nagasawa is now transforming the traditional material into ethereal contemporary pieces.
LIFE / Style & Design
May 9, 2025

Kazuki Nagasawa's sustainable designs are rooted in tradition

The recent SaloneSatellite Award-winner transforms a humble bark, long used by artisans to craft everyday objects, into ethereal works of contemporary design.
Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold will leave the club at the end of the season. He is expected to move to Real Madrid.
SOCCER
May 12, 2025

Liverpool fans boo departing star Trent Alexander-Arnold

Alexander-Arnold confirmed his impending exit on Monday ahead of a widely expected move to Real Madrid.
"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."
Palestinians carry their belongings through the town of Jabalia as they flee the southward toward Gaza City on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
May 20, 2025

Trump plan or not, Israel is letting more Palestinians leave Gaza

The easing of restrictions parallels the Israeli government's stated goal of facilitating the resettlement of Gaza's population in other countries.
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.
Mervat Hijazi washes clothes inside the tent they took shelter in after being displaced in Gaza City.
WORLD / Society
May 24, 2025

Diary of a Gazan family's descent toward starvation

The family's plight is a snapshot of the misery plaguing the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.