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A large sign against Halloween gatherings is displayed outside Shibuya Station in Tokyo on Oct. 28 last year.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2024

Shibuya and Shinjuku crack down on street drinking

Both areas in Tokyo have been grappling with issues related to drinking in public following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving spent two seasons with the Celtics earlier in his career.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Jun 6, 2024

Mavs' Kyrie Irving has 'no fear' about returning to Boston for NBA Finals

Dallas guard Irving and Boston big man Kristaps Porzingis find themselves pitted against their former teams during the NBA Finals.
A solar farm in Switzerland. Solar power is leading the power’s sector’s transformation, with investment in the area set to reach $500 billion this year.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Jun 6, 2024

Clean energy spending set to reach twice that on fossil fuels, IAEA reports

Nonetheless, continued spending on coal, gas and oil remains at a level that’s too high to conform with global climate goals.
Simone Biles, seen after winning the U.S. championship on Sunday, brought greater awareness to the subject of mental health during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
OLYMPICS
Jun 6, 2024

Olympic organizers committed to protecting athletes' mental health in Paris

Research suggests that elite athletes suffer from mental health disorders in around the same proportions as the general population, experts say.
Officials of Japanese and Ukrainian companies meet in Kyiv on Thursday during an exchange event organized by the Japan External Trade Organization.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 7, 2024

Japanese firms eye opportunities to help Ukraine rebuild

The networking event was organized by government-linked JETRO following a Japan-Ukraine meeting held in Tokyo in February.
Shizuoka Gov. Yasutomo Suzuki (left) meets with JR Central President Shunsuke Niwa in the city of Shizuoka on June 5.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 7, 2024

Kishida maintains 2037 target for Tokyo-Osaka maglev line

Prime minister pledges support of the central government in helping stakeholders meet the deadline.
Some major world economies want to finalize a plan ahead of this year's U.N. climate summit to halt new private sector funding for coal projects.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 8, 2024

Major world economies seek to halt new private sector coal financing

The biggest pushback on the OECD proposal to halt new private sector funding for coal projects has come from Japan, sources said.
People sit by makeshift shelters near Awlala Camp, Amhara region, Ethiopia
WORLD / Society
Jun 8, 2024

Attacks leave Sudanese refugees stranded in Ethiopian forest

About 8,000 people have left the Kumer and Awlala refugee camps, set up by the United Nations in Ethiopia's northern Amhara region.
Myo Kyaw Kyaw, 38, a member of Myanmar's persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority who is seeking refugee status in Japan, speaks during an interview on May 29.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 9, 2024

Japan's revised immigration law sparks deportation worries

The revised immigration law allows the deportation of individuals who have applied for refugee status three times even while their applications are being processed.
Travelers in a departure hall at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on April 26. For environmentalists, the resurgence of tourism will be met with dismay as it drives an accompanying surge in carbon emissions, but for the oil industry, the revival is a welcome boost.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 10, 2024

The world’s flying again and jumbo jets are burning fuel like it’s 2019

But despite this year's record number of flyers, increased efficiency will likely hold back fuel consumption to prepandemic levels.
A Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. facility under construction in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2022. Washington aims to strengthen domestic chip manufacturing as it engages in a trade war with China.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jun 9, 2024

Does economic security undermine the benefits of interdependence?

While economic security concerns are not new in the U.S., coercive methods are. These risk undermining the rules-based international order and its global appeal.
Bill May (rear, second from left) poses with the rest of the U.S. team after earning silver at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka on July 17, 2023.
OLYMPICS
Jun 10, 2024

No men chosen to compete in artistic swimming at Olympics in Paris

World Aquatics said it was very disappointed that there would be no men in the Olympic competition.
Under the DICAS forum, Japan and the U.S. could look to co-produce weapons that both countries currently do not have in large quantities, with munitions such as Patriot interceptors "low-hanging fruit," according to some experts.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 11, 2024

U.S. looks to Japan for help in boosting weapons production

The allies are aiming for partnerships in areas such as U.S. warship and aircraft repairs in Japan, as well as in the joint production of advanced weaponry.
Secretary for Justice Paul Lam speaks during a ceremony marking the new legal year in Hong Kong on Jan. 22.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 11, 2024

British judges' resignations put Hong Kong rule of law in spotlight

Foreign judges have been described as a "canary in the coalmine," generating confidence in Hong Kong's judiciary system.
Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi on Tuesday sought to allay the concerns of probation officers nationwide, saying it is important to create an environment in which they can work with peace of mind.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 11, 2024

Social media posts reveal potential motive in probation officer’s murder

Posts linked to the 35-year-old suspect suggest he was dissatisfied with his probation, police sources said.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and digital minister Taro Kono attend a digitalization panel in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 11, 2024

Japan's parliament faces a long road to digitalization

Concerns over decorum and the possibility of the use of electronic devices being obtrusive to proceedings are among reasons cited for maintaining restrictions.
People wade through a flooded road in Balagtas, Bulacan province, Philippines, on July 29, 2023.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 12, 2024

Hell or high water: Filipino schools lashed by climate extremes

The state weather bureau has said the country is likely to experience more tropical cyclones in 2024 due to the potential return of the La Nina weather phenomenon.
Soyo Hinata (right) and Lillian Ono, members of Climate Case Japan, with a petition for human rights relief before submitting it to the Japan Federation of Bar Associations in Tokyo on Wednesday
JAPAN / Society
Jun 12, 2024

Activist group asks Japan's bar association for help on climate action

It will likely take more than a year for the association to scrutinize Climate Case Japan's petition before deciding what steps to take next.
A street vendor shelters from the sun on the outskirts of Cairo.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 13, 2024

Egypt's extreme heat is an ominous warning for global economies

Experts worry this summer will be even more brutal than last year in Egypt, upending commodities and agriculture.
Solar panels at the Khavda Renewable Energy Park of Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL), in Khavda, India, on April 12
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 13, 2024

Climate change funding talks stuck ahead of COP29 summit

Some negotiators have said that ministers could raise the issue at higher level meetings such as G20 ministers' gatherings in Brazil ahead of COP29.
Wins by conservative parties and losses by their leftist green opponents in the EU elections reflect broader trends of political polarization and nationalism not only in Europe, but also the world. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 13, 2024

Impact of EU elections on global politics and Japan's foreign policy

Japan is concerned about the rise of right-leaning parties that might undermine support for Ukraine and send signals to revisionist powers like China.
U.S President Joe Biden and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy after a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Fasano, Italy, on Thursday
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 14, 2024

G7 agrees on $50 billion loan to support Ukraine with Russian assets

The loan to the war-torn country will be repaid using interest generated by $300 billion worth of immobilized Russian funds, G7 leaders said.
A firefighting plane disperses fire retardant over a wildfire in Puertollano, near Tarifa, Spain, on June 4.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / ANALYSIS
Jun 14, 2024

Airplanes won't solve Europe's wildfire problem, but prevention might.

Climate change is costing Europe tens of billions of euros per year, and that will rise if nothing is done to reduce emissions and invest in prevention.
Boys bathe at a public water facility along a street amid a heat wave in Jalandhar, India, on Thursday.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 14, 2024

What is heat stress and how is it measured?

The World Meteorological Organization estimates heat kills around half a million people a year but says the true toll is unknown.
Father's Day is said to have come to Japan around 1950, shortly after the establishment of Mother's Day.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jun 15, 2024

The evolving nature of fatherhood in Japan

Meiji Era fathers were stern, those from Showa had to be productive for the nation. Heisei dads were told to get involved at home. What will the "Reiwa Dad" look like?
The iAEON app allows users to view their shopping history and save e-receipts on their smartphones to facilitate returns and act as proof of purchases.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 14, 2024

Aeon to roll out e-receipts nationwide

Customers can opt for e-receipts instead of paper ones when shopping by using the group’s iAEON app at participating stores.
Installation view of Calder: Un effet du japonais, Azabudai Hills Gallery, 2024 Photo: Tadayuki Minamoto
CULTURE / Art
Jun 16, 2024

Alexander Calder’s kinetic sculptures arrive to full Japanese embrace

With the first Calder solo exhibition in Tokyo in 35 years, it feels like the artist and his works have finally arrived.
Despite the conservative center maintaining control of European Union institutions, a surge in far-right support in parliamentary elections is setting off alarm bells.
EDITORIALS
Jun 14, 2024

The center holds as Europe’s far right surges

A populist wave sweeps through the European parliamentary elections amid a strong showing by far right parties.
By April 2024, dengue fever cases in the Americas passed the total for the previous year.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 15, 2024

What's behind the post-COVID surge in communicable diseases?

Many regions have reported at least one infectious disease resurgence that’s at least ten times worse than the prepandemic baseline.
Kawasaki's Yasuto Wakizaka (center) scores a goal during a game against Urawa last month. In the J. League's current season format, player performances tend to decline as Japan's scorching summer sets in.
SOCCER / J. League
Jun 16, 2024

Why the J. League chose to shift its calendar starting in 2026

Over the past 30 years, the environment for Japanese soccer has evolved significantly and the J. League hopes the schedule shift will grow the game.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami