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A Palestinian child stands in the remains of a building following an Israeli airstrike in a residential neighborhood of Deir al-Balah, in the Gaza Strip, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 11, 2024

Israel-Hamas cease-fire agreement elusive as Ramadan arrives

The U.S. had been hoping for a breakthrough in the negotiations before Islam’s holy month of Ramadan, which began after sundown Sunday.
EDITORIALS
Mar 15, 2024

The night Godzilla trampled Hollywood

The humanity behind visual effects and animation won in the end, and Japan should be proud.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter inspect a drill by the Korean People's Army at an undisclosed location in North Korea in this image released Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 16, 2024

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversees paratrooper drills

The exercises were aimed at showing his soldiers' ability to occupy an "enemy region at a stroke," state media said.
Fans watch spring training game between the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 18, 2024

The Angels adjust to life after Shohei Ohtani

Losing a player like Ohtani does not make any team better. But it has allowed players to breathe a little more easily.
Prime Minister and Liberal Democratic Party President Fumio Kishida delivers a speech during the LDP's 91st party convention in Tokyo on Sunday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 18, 2024

What is being missed about the funding scandal

In discussions about the LDP funding scandal, certain considerations are missing. Beyond lambasting the party, these must be addressed for a clear vision.
Palestinians gather to receive aid outside an UNRWA warehouse as Gaza residents face crisis levels of hunger on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 19, 2024

'Catastrophic' food shortages make mass death imminent in Gaza, agency warns

The number of people in parts of northern Gaza suffering the most severe food shortages is said to be more than triple the famine threshold.
A co-production between Hiroshi Koike Bridge Project and the Grotowski Institute in Wroclaw, Poland, “N/Kosmos” features performers from Poland and Japan, each of whom mostly uses their native tongue.
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 21, 2024

‘N/Kosmos’ puts on a dazzling display of controlled chaos

Stage director Hiroshi Koike welcomes pandemonium in his latest genre-fluid production in collaboration with Polish electronic musician Waclaw Zimpel.
Runners fill the street in front of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building at the start of the 2023 Tokyo Marathon.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Mar 25, 2024

Medals, jewelry and veggies: Japan’s race prizes run the gamut

Japan's marathons try everything to offer runners experiences they can’t get elsewhere.
Mobile phones seized from an apartment room in Phnom Penh in relation to a special fraud case are shown at a police station in Saitama Prefecture in November.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 22, 2024

Arrests of 'tokuryū' gang members estimated to have topped 10,000

More than 10,000 members of so-called tokuryū criminal groups are believed to have been arrested in Japan in the three years through 2023, a National Police Agency (NPA) survey showed Thursday.
Legislative Council lawmakers in Hong Kong unanimously voted in favor of a new national security law on Tuesday. The legislation introduces penalties such as life imprisonment for crimes related to treason and insurrection.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 25, 2024

Is Hong Kong headed for a rubber-stamp legislature?

With the unanimous passing of the new national security law, Hong Kong's "patriotic" council has shown that its willingness to toe the government line.
A law enforcement officer patrols the scene of the gun attack at the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, outside Moscow, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 26, 2024

Moscow shooting poses awkward questions for Russia's intelligence agencies

Western security analysts say agencies may have its hands full dealing with the war in Ukraine and political opposition.
SUMO / Inside Sumo
Mar 26, 2024

Takerufuji’s triumph is one for the ages

The Isegahama stable rookie arguably achieved one of most surprising sporting victories of all time.
At least 139 people were killed when gunmen in camouflage stormed Crocus City Hall. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the mass shooting.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 27, 2024

Russia's security chief accuses Ukraine, U.S. and U.K. of being behind Moscow shooting

Hardliners in Moscow could use the claim to justify an escalation of the Ukraine war and to explain how security services failed to prevent the attack.
Beijing's repression of its Muslim citizens, including Uyghurs in Xinjiang Province, could make it the target of Islamic State attacks.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 28, 2024

After Russia, is China the Islamic State's next target?

As Russia mourns the victims of the Moscow attack, China should be on guard. Its repression of Uyghurs has provoked the Islamic State group before.
Palestinians inspect the damage at Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital after the Israeli military withdrew from the complex housing the hospital on Monday.
WORLD
Apr 2, 2024

Israeli troops exit Gaza's Shifa Hospital, leaving rubble and bodies

More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel's military offensive on Oct. 7.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen in action during the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, on Sept. 24.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 4, 2024

Cherry blossoms greet F1 on eve of spring debut at Suzuka

Red Bull's Max Verstappen will be looking to reestablish a pecking order that has him firmly on top.
The Osprey provides vertical takeoff and landing like a helicopter but is also capable of flying at high speeds over long distances when operating as a conventional plane.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 3, 2024

The Japan-U.S. alliance needs the versatile Osprey

In Japan, there has been an outsized and lingering concern about the aircraft’s safety. That concern is, frankly, misplaced,
A firefighter works to extinguish a fire after air defenses downed an alleged Ukrainian drone, in Kursk, Russia, on Thursday.
WORLD
Apr 5, 2024

Small Ukrainian plane likely used in attack deep inside Russia: experts

A Ukrainian-made Aeroprakt A-22 light aircraft is likely to have been modified into a long-range drone for the attack, they said.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a meeting of the Lower House Cabinet Committee on Friday
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 5, 2024

Kishida denies ex-PM Mori's involvement in LDP fund scandal

Many believe that Mori was involved in the scandal, as he had previously served as head of the Abe faction.
The Nishi no Ma room of the State Guest House Akasaka Palace in Tokyo will be opened to the public from Thursday.
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2024

State guest house room in Tokyo to be opened to public

Sketching events and brass band events are also planned for visitors.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addresses a news conference during his state visit with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 11, 2024

Kishida's U.S. state visit may be a turning point in the nation's foreign policy

What was most striking during Kishida's visit to the U.S. was Biden's remarks at the beginning of a joint news conference on their nations' military ties.
A special subgroup of the Central Council for Education, which advises the education minister, is examining boosting teachers' adjustment allowances, currently set at 4% of monthly salary, as part of measures to improve conditions at public schools.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 13, 2024

Japan considering first hike in teachers' overtime pay in 50 years

There has been a proposal for raising the allowances to 10% of monthly salary or even higher, sources have said.
Leaders of intelligence agencies testify before a congressional committee about worldwide threats in Washington on March 11.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 15, 2024

Campaign puts Trump and the spy agencies on a collision course

Some former officials fear that Trump, if elected again, would try to weaken intelligence agencies or undermine their independence.
The salvaged Sewol ferry (back) on display at a port in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province on Tuesday, as South Korea marks the 10th anniversary of the country's worst-ever maritime disaster.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Apr 16, 2024

South Korea marks 10th anniversary of Sewol ferry disaster

Families called out the names of the deceased and threw flowers into the water, followed by a moment of silence.
Israeli soldiers conduct an operation in the Gaza Strip against Hamas fighters in late March.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 16, 2024

Concluding the conflict in Gaza is in Israel’s best interest

Iran’s attack should remind the Israelis that their war with Hamas is not being fought in an international vacuum and support from the outside matters.
Yassine Alaoui Ismaili, who goes by Yoriyas, turned to photography, shooting motion while in motion himself, after an injury forced him to give up his career as a professional breakdancer.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 22, 2024

Kyotographie's strong 12th edition shines light into the margins

This year’s installment of the photography festival highlights underrepresented groups from around the world — while avoiding anything too challenging.
Missiles are launched during a simulated nuclear counterattack drill at an undisclosed location in North Korea in this image released Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 23, 2024

North Korea holds first 'nuclear trigger' drills as U.S. and South set for cost-sharing talks

Pyongyang said the exercises, which came ahead of U.S.-South Korea talks on cost-sharing for hosting troops, were “a clear warning” to the North's enemies.
Scottie Scheffler won the the RBC Herigate golf tournament in Hilton Head, South Carolina, on Monday. The Masters champion has won four of his last five starts.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 23, 2024

Scheffler and Korda take men's and women's golf by storm

Masters champion Scheffler has won four of his last five starts.
Everywhere, U.S. allies are taking steps to defend or advance their interests in the event former U.S. President Donald Trump returns to power in November elections, an even chance based on recent opinion polls in swing states.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 25, 2024

How U.S. allies are preparing for a possible second Trump term

They want to avoid Trump's "America First" policies dealt them before, which included trade wars and a shakeup of security alliances.
Shintaro Wakiyama, mayor of Genkai, Saga Prefecture, speaks to reporters last week.   Jiji
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2024

Saga town committee to OK petition to accept nuclear waste survey

The mayor of Genkai, Shintaro Wakiyama, has taken a cautious stance on the issue.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past