Search - 2020

 
 
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron hold a news conference in London on July 10 after wrapping up a joint military visit.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 16, 2025

France and U.K. tighten nuclear ties amid questions over U.S. commitment

While France and the U.K. are taking a positive step for European security, the announcement is both more and less than it seems.
A statue of Park Chung-hee, the former South Korean dictator, in Gumi, South Korea, in 2016.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 17, 2025

South Korea retries ex-spy chief over 1979 presidential assassination

Park had ruled the country with an iron fist for more than 15 years when he was shot and killed by his head of intelligence and trusted aide Kim at a dinner in 1979.
Solar power more than doubled to 24% of Pakistan's energy mix in the first five months of 2025, becoming the largest source of energy production for the first time.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Jul 17, 2025

Pakistan's quiet solar rush puts pressure on national grid

Solar power more than doubled to 24% of Pakistan's energy mix in the first five months of 2025, becoming the largest source of energy production for the first time.
Kiyoshi Shibata stands in front of one of the rice paddies in Murayama, Yamagata Prefecture, where he produces the prefecture's signature rice brand Tsuyahime.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 17, 2025

Japan's rice farmers are confounded by Shinjiro Koizumi’s policies

Farming communities, a key base for the Liberal Democratic Party, are increasingly voicing their distress at how the rice situation is being handled.
Members of a former nurse’s legal team hold up a sign reading “Victory against the prefecture” after the Otsu District Court ruled in their favor on Thursday. 
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 18, 2025

Shiga government ordered to compensate ex-assistant nurse acquitted of murder

The plaintiff side argued the police officers who were in charge of investigating the former assistant nurse intentionally led her to make a false confession.
Mazda employees walk at the company's main plant in the town of Fuchu, Hiroshima Prefecture, on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 18, 2025

Japan voters see little hope for tariff reprieve in carmaker Mazda's hometown

The economic engine of Hiroshima Prefecture faces U.S. tariffs of 25% on cars, a dispiriting prospect for an electorate already battling inflation.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on June 26. The Donald Trump-ordered strikes on Iran, said to be an example of the “Trump Doctrine,” ignore decades of failed U.S. attempts to force adversaries to back down through short bursts of military power. 
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 18, 2025

The 'Trump Doctrine' is wishful thinking

The Donald Trump-ordered strikes on Iran, claimed to prove a unique “Trump Doctrine,” ignore decades of failed U.S. attempts to force adversaries to back down.
WNBA All-Stars Caitlin Clark (right) and Kelsey Plum prior to the All-Star Game in Indianapolis on Saturday.
BASKETBALL
Jul 20, 2025

Clark urges more pay for WNBA players as labor talks intensify

Commissioner Cathy Engelbert struck a positive tone with reporters, saying she felt a recent meeting with players had been productive.
A coral reef in Okinawa in July 2022. Some jurisdictions around the world have moved to ban certain sunscreens in a bid to protect coral reefs, but some say the impact on reefs is far from clear.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / OUR PLANET
Jul 20, 2025

Japan’s top brands get tied up in the great sunscreen debate

The debate over the damage sunscreens cause to the marine environment is heating up as some regions ban certain chemical ingredients.
In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jul 21, 2025

The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan

AI chatbots are becoming stand-ins for pets and partners — offering comfort, connection and raising new concerns.
Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya in Tokyo on Sunday night
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 21, 2025

‘Japanese First’ Sanseito emerges as powerful force after Upper House poll

The small rightwing populist party led by firebrand Sohei Kamiya won 14 seats in Sunday’s Upper House election.
Commanders helmets are seen on the field during training camp in Ashburn, Virginia, in July 2022.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Jul 21, 2025

Trump threatens stadium deal unless Commanders revert to Redskins name

The NFL team dropped the name Redskins in 2020 after decades of criticism that it was a racial slur with links to the U.S. genocide of the Indigenous population.
England's Jess Carter attends a news conference in June.
SOCCER
Jul 21, 2025

England's Jess Carter receives racist abuse during Euro 2025

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer posted his support for Carter on X.
A demonstrator holds the Mohawk Warrior Flag during a protest in front of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario against the federal government’s Bill C-5, as members of the Canadian Armed Forces fire cannons in the background during a celebration marking Canada Day in Toronto on July 1.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 21, 2025

Indigenous people in Canada challenge fast-track mine and energy projects

The tensions between the government and Indigenous communities reflect longstanding concerns over consultation and the environmental impact of mining projects in Canada.
Ichiro Suzuki will soon become the first Japanese player to be enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
BASEBALL
Jul 22, 2025

Induction of Ichiro has Cooperstown fretfully preparing

The star's entry into baseball's Hall of Fame could bring an influx of fans from far away.
England flanker Guy Pepper runs with the ball past Argentina fly-half Santiago Carreras during an international rugby test match in San Juan, Argentina, on July 12.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Jul 22, 2025

England players suffered racist abuse from fans in Argentina, World Rugby says

"While it is clear that an incident took place, we regret that the individuals responsible could not be identified," World Rugby said.
Yuriy Lutovinov, former minister-counselor at the Ukrainian Embassy in Japan, was appointed as Ukrainian ambassador to Japan.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 22, 2025

Zelenskyy taps fluent Japanese speaker as new envoy to Tokyo

Yuriy Lutovinov, former minister-counselor at the Ukrainian Embassy in Japan, could take up his new post as early as September.
Silver Dania, a Norwegian-owned ship suspected of cable sabotage in the Baltic Sea, whose crew are Russian citizens, in the port of Tromso, Norway, where it has been brought for investigation, on Jan. 31.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 22, 2025

Lawmakers want U.S. tech CEOs to address concerns about submarine cables

Washington has been sounding the alarm about the network of more than 400 subsea cables that handle 99% of international internet traffic and about threats from China and Russia.
Ozzy Osbourne performs with Black Sabbath as part of "The End" tour at Madison Square Garden in New York in 2016.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jul 23, 2025

Heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne dead at 76

Ozzy Osbourne, the legendary frontman of heavy metal group Black Sabbath, died just weeks after he had played a farewell concert.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to London earlier this month to meet with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer shows how a changing Europe and shifting global threats could let Britain move past Brexit and help shape a new European security order.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2025

Britain and Europe are changing together

Britain can help shape the continent’s new security order, so long as it banishes the Brexit mindset.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who is unable to satisfy his supporters’ demands for answers he can’t deliver, is now trapped by the very Jeffrey Epstein conspiracy he once promoted.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 22, 2025

Trump can’t put the Epstein genie back in the bottle

Trump now finds himself in the unusual position of trying to stuff the Epstein genie back into a bottle that he helped uncork.
A woman in South Korea was handed a 10-month prison sentence in 1964 for biting off the tongue of an attempted rapist, with the court saying her actions had "exceeded the reasonable bounds of legally permissible self-defense."
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jul 23, 2025

Retrial opens for South Korean woman who bit off attempted rapist's tongue

The court at the time said her actions against a would-be rapist had "exceeded the reasonable bounds of legally permissible self-defense" and gave her a 10-month prison sentence.
Swarm Biotactics' cyborg cockroaches are equipped with specialized backpacks that enable real-time data collection via cameras.
WORLD
Jul 24, 2025

Spy cockroaches and AI robots: Germany plots the future of warfare

A wave of German defense startups is developing cutting-edge technology, from tank-like robots and unmanned mini-submarines to battle-ready cyborg cockroaches.
“Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle” is the first installment in a trilogy that's set to wrap the anime adaptation of Koyoharu Gotoke's manga about sword-wielding heroes fighting man-eating demons.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 25, 2025

‘Demon Slayer’ movie slashes its own box office records

“Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle” kicks off a new trilogy that is set to bring the anime adaptation of Koyoharu Gotoke's manga to a close.
Fuji Rock still excites Hitsujibungaku — (from left) bassist Yurika Kasai, lead singer and guitarist Moeka Shiotsuka and drummer Hiroa Fukuda —  even as its flock grows abroad.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 25, 2025

Hitsujibungaku’s pop-fueled rise to stardom

Rock trio Hitsujibungaku is set to make its fourth appearance at Fuji Rock this weekend on its most primetime stage yet — the White Stage right before headliner Haim.
Scarves are sold, including one depicting Liverpool's new German striker Florian Wirtz, before the pre-season friendly soccer match between Preston North End and Liverpool at Deepdale stadium in Preston, north-west England on July 13.
SOCCER
Jul 25, 2025

Liverpool CEO says player spree should quell ownership gossip

Liverpool has sent a 29-man squad to Hong Kong and Japan as part of its pre-season warm up.
Audrey Strauss, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, speaks during an news conference announcing charges against Ghislaine Maxwell for her role in the sexual exploitation and abuse of minor girls by Jeffrey Epstein.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jul 25, 2025

Amid Epstein furor, Ghislaine Maxwell seeks relief from U.S. Supreme Court

The justices, now on their summer recess, are expected in late September to consider whether to take up an appeal by the jailed British socialite.
Tadej Pogacar leads rival Jonas Vingegaard during the ascent of La Plagne on Friday in the French Alps.
MORE SPORTS / Cycling
Jul 26, 2025

Master Pogacar has Tour de France peloton under his thumb

The contrast with Pogacar's almost effortless style on the last mountain day was striking as the three-time champion controlled his chief rival.
Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar celebrates on the podium as the overall leader of the Tour de France on Saturday in Jura.
MORE SPORTS / Cycling
Jul 27, 2025

One of the hardest Tours, Pogacar says, as he moves to brink of fourth win

The defending champion leads Jonas Vingegaard by 4:24 in the general classification heading into Stage 21, which will feature a spectacular finale in Paris.
Among elderly people age 65 and over, the share of single-person households jumped from 5.0% to 12.1% between 1995 to 2020.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 27, 2025

Use of deceased's person's savings for cremation allowed without heirs' consent

The move is aimed at reducing the financial burden on municipalities, which have often shouldered burial or cremation costs.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo