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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.
People attend a demonstration against the French far-right National Rally ahead of legislative elections, in Paris on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 16, 2024

Thousands protest in France to oppose Le Pen’s far right

The demonstrators are seeking to call attention to the nationalist party’s policies on human rights, the environment, equal rights and economic matters.
Australia's Ariarne Titmus competes in the women's 800 meter freestyle final during Olympic trials in Brisbane on Thursday.
OLYMPICS / Swimming
Jun 16, 2024

Titmus and McKeown carry Australian Olympic swim hopes in bid to topple U.S.

The pool squad was whittled down after six intense days of trials, with bettering their haul from Tokyo three years ago the immediate target.
A growing number of local governments in Japan are selling reusable oversize waste collected from households on marketplace app Mercari.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2024

Japan local governments using Mercari app to recycle oversize waste

From clothing boxes to furniture, the initiative aims to raise awareness of reusing goods while reducing carbon emissions from incineration.
After just 1.3 degrees Celsius of warming above preindustrial levels, the countries with the most refugees, asylum-seekers, and displaced people are already among those hardest hit by climate change.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 16, 2024

It’s far cheaper to help migrants before they leave home

As global temperatures rise, so will the frequency of heat waves, droughts, floods, pandemics, natural disasters, food and water shortages and conflicts over resources.
Marine Le Pen speaks during a European election campaign rally in Paris on June 2.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 17, 2024

France's Le Pen says she will work with Macron to appeal to moderates

Marine Le Pen is reaching out to mainstream voters as she aims to cement a majority in the next parliament.
Financial markets have tumbled since French President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the National Assembly a week ago, with about $210 billion wiped off the value of French stocks.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 17, 2024

France’s safeguards against the far right are starting to unravel

A radicalization of part of the French left and an alliance among groups ranging from the far-left to the moderates undermine the so-called republican front.
Temperatures in Paris could exceed 30 degrees on many days during the 2024 Games.
OLYMPICS
Jun 17, 2024

Japanese Olympians to beat heat with own AC despite Paris' plans for green Games

The Japanese Olympic Committee announced last December that it plans to pay for its athletes to have air conditioning in their rooms for “safety and security” reasons.
While the government aims to supply all public elementary school pupils with an electronic device for learning in school, communication between parents and teachers is still largely paper-based.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 17, 2024

Parents need digital tools to cope with 'first-grade barrier'

More flexibility and efficiency would lighten the load put on the families of public elementary school children, where paper-based communication is still too prevalent.
Sena Ishikawa and Saki Anan, master’s students studying giant salamanders, wash off one that was caught before taking a DNA sample and implanting a tracking chip, at Kyoto University.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 18, 2024

A tale of two nearly extinct giant salamanders

While trying to save large amphibians native to Japan, herpetologists in the country unexpectedly found a way to potentially save an even bigger species in China.
Foreign visitors learn how to make sushi in a cooking class at Sushi Making Tokyo in the Asakusa district of Tokyo.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2024

Japan government paper seeks to promote rural areas to foreign visitors

Foreign tourists primarily spend their time and money in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya, according to the paper.
China's Premier Li Qiang visits Western Australia's only operating lithium hydroxide plant Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia (TLEA) in Kwinana, on the outskirts of Perth, on June 18.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 18, 2024

Chinese premier's Western Australia tour spotlights global race for critical minerals

Western Australia supplies more than half of the world's seaborne iron ore, with China its top customer.

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers