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A wind turbine at CS Wind in Pueblo, Colorado, in 2023
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 1, 2025

Solar and wind industries see existential threat in U.S. tax bill

The moves by the Senate, as it seeks to cut spending to offset trillions of dollars in tax cuts, "came out of left field” and shocked the industry.
The Japanese version of the U.K.’s Disclosure and Barring Service aims to ensure a safe learning environment for children by facilitating checks for records of sexual offenses for those working in jobs involving contact with children such as education or child care.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 1, 2025

Japan expands scope of background checks amid child safety concerns

The expanded guidelines will apply not only to schools and kindergartens, but also to community spaces such as children’s cafeterias and talent agencies.
The Meteorological Agency said on Tuesday Japan experienced its hottest June on record.
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2025

Japan had hottest June on record, says weather agency

With strong high-pressure systems in June staying in the region, the average monthly temperature was 2.34 degrees Celsius higher than the standard value.
A satellite image provided by NOAA shows Tropical Storm Florence (upper left) in the Atlantic Ocean on Sept. 11, 2018.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 2, 2025

NOAA budget cuts to gut U.S. climate research and slash jobs

Critics say the reductions will diminish the ability to predict weather and erode the quality of weather models.
A delivery driver takes a break in the shade during high temperatures in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 21, 2024.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 2, 2025

How much does a heat wave cost? Insurers and CEOs want to know.

Some believe a new market for heat insurance — driven in part by artificial intelligence and the need to cool data centers — is around the corner.
The Central Disaster Prevention Council adopted a revised disaster-prevention plan that will encourage municipalities and logistics business associations to ensure there will be an emergency transportation system should a Nankai Trough earthquake occur, at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2025

Japan adopts target of reducing death toll by 80% in Nankai Trough quake

According to the latest estimate disclosed in March, the death toll from a Nankai Trough megaquake is expected to reach up to about 298,000.
Residents cool themselves in Parc Andre Citroen's fountains in Paris on Tuesday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 2, 2025

Europe’s climate resolve faces big test as EU unveils 2040 goal

The European Commission is set to propose a binding law to slash emissions by 90% by 2040 as part of its overarching goal to reach climate neutrality by the middle of the century.
Dog ownership may seem daunting in Japan, but with the right tools and logistical knowledge, you can ensure a healthy, happy life for your pet.
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Jul 7, 2025

A furever friend: Tips for responsible dog ownership in Japan

Owning a dog in Japan may seem daunting, but having these tools and tips in mind can ease your journey and bring you lots of joy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday
WORLD
Jul 3, 2025

Swiss say foreign spying threat high, citing Russia and China

The global context has direct implications for Switzerland, a militarily neutral country which hosts multiple international organizations.
In adapting Masataka Matsuda’s 1998 play “On Summer Sand” to film, director Shinya Tamada decided to age up the central character, played by Joe Odagiri (left), by 10 years to bring out a deeper sense of despondency and grief.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 1, 2025

From stage to screen, a story of quiet connection in the still heat of Nagasaki

Director Shinya Tamada adapts "On Summer Sand" for film by filling the silences between scenes with heartbreak and slow healing.
CIA director John Ratcliffe departs after a briefing with members of Congress in Washington on June 27.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 3, 2025

Trump’s CIA backs 2016 assessment that Putin wanted him to win

The latest findings put CIA director John Ratcliffe in a bind with Trump, who has called Russian election interference "a total hoax” and blasted the original conclusions.
Ex-serviceman Izumi Murakami speaks of his experience during World War II, when he was still a child, in an interview in Kasuga, Fukuoka Prefecture, in May.
JAPAN / History / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Jul 14, 2025

Man inspired as a boy by WWII-era commando questions Japan's past actions

Izumi Murakami, now 92, joined the Air Self-Defense Force, but he concedes now that "there is nothing good that comes out of war."
The rise of China’s DeepSeek-R1, a low-cost, high-performance open-source AI model, has challenged the belief that only nations with vast computational resources can lead in artificial intelligence, signaling a shift in global AI power dynamics.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jul 3, 2025

A ‘Sputnik’ moment in the global AI race

Much remains uncertain about DeepSeek’s LLM and its capabilities should not be overestimated — but its release nevertheless has sparked intense discussion.
Solar panels and wind turbines at the Huaneng Binzhou new energy power generation project in China's eastern Shandong province on June 11
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Jul 3, 2025

China leading BRICS clean-energy boom with shift into solar, report shows

Most countries in BRICS remain major fossil fuel producers, but the group together produced 51% of the world’s solar energy in 2024 — up from 15% a decade earlier.
A Japan day ceremony at the Osaka Expo featuring Myaku-myaku on Thursday in the city of Osaka
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2025

Best-selling singer Misia and Hello Kitty celebrate Japanese culture at Osaka Expo

The expo’s national day celebrating its host country spanned culture from contemporary to ancient, in a ceremony featuring calligraphy and gagaku and more.
Search and rescue members scour a flood-damaged area in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene along the Swannanoa River in October 2024 in Asheville, North Carolina.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 4, 2025

A majority of companies are already feeling the climate heat

Its growing financial impacts are a key reason some companies are continuing to pursue emissions cuts even amid political turbulence.
Shuhei Nakata, president of Nakata Kogei — a wooden-hanger maker in Toyooka, Hyogo Prefecture — says a revised work evaluation system and a strict policy against workplace harassment has helped to attract women to the company.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Jul 14, 2025

Fukushima looks to local initiatives to combat population decline

The measures will bring the area in line with other parts of Japan that are proactively trying to retain residents.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange wants more exchange-traded funds and a wider variety of such offerings.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 4, 2025

Forming an ETF just got easier in Japan with new white-label service

Japan Asset Management Platform handles many of the formalities and much of the necessary operations for fund managers.
The exhibition of Fujimoto’s architecture surveys his career to date, as well as looks ahead as shown in his proposal of a future floating city designed in collaboration with data scientist Hiroaki Miyata.
CULTURE / Art
Jul 4, 2025

The future is bright inside the visionary mind of architect Sou Fujimoto

From a model of the Grand Ring you can walk through to a futuristic city design, the architect’s exhibition at Mori Art Museum is an invitation to engage with architecture.
Jerome Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, has repeatedly declined to say whether he will step down when his four-year term as chair expires in May.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 5, 2025

Powell's silence on his future complicates Trump Fed chair search

The Fed chief has repeatedly declined to say whether he will step down when his four-year term as chair expires in May, or remain on the Fed board.
A swimmer dives in into the River Seine in Paris on Saturday.
WORLD
Jul 5, 2025

'Childhood dream': Seine reopens to Paris swimmers after centurylong ban

The seasonal opening of the Seine for swimming is seen as a key legacy of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Japan will experience a heat wave through mid-July on a “level only seen once in a decade,” the Meteorological Agency said on June 30.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2025

Heatstroke alert issued for 19 prefectures as Japan enters 'once-in-a-decade' heat wave

Included among the alerts were the first of the year for central Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture.
One of Aigen's solar-powered autonomous AI Element robots demonstrates how it can hammer down on specified targets at Bowles Farm in Los Banos, California, on June 26.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 6, 2025

AI robots fill in for weed killers and farm hands

Weeds are becoming immune to herbicides, but a shortage of laborers often leaves chemicals as the only viable option.
Private companies are rushing into risky, profit-driven geoengineering projects to fight climate change without clear regulations, raising fears of dangerous unintended consequences.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 6, 2025

Geoengineering’s risks need to be studied more

With for-profit organizations already releasing chemicals into the oceans, it’s important for scientists with no financial stake in this industry to collect data.
Junko Koeda, one of the latest members of the Bank of Japan's policy board, speaks during an interview at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 9, 2025

New board member hints at possible raising of BOJ's price outlook

Junko Koeda, a former Waseda University economics professor, on Monday gave her first media interview since joining the board in March.
“Giselle” lead Yuriko Kajiya (center), performing with Connor Walsh as Albrecht, is one of six Japanese dancers at Houston Ballet.
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 9, 2025

Japanese dancers find a home abroad at Houston Ballet

Returning to Japan for the American ballet company's first international tour since 2022, several dancers speak about why they moved overseas.
Former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama says she is stepping back from traditional politics to focus on cultural influence through her podcast, reflecting a broader trend of Black women redefining political engagement.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 9, 2025

Michelle Obama is quitting politics. Or is she?

Her misgivings about politics and the spotlight that she and her husband commanded in the White House as historic figures have only grown in recent years.
The JS Suzunami, a Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer, docks off Manila for a port call last month. The Japanese government plans to spend about ¥43 trillion in the fiscal 2023-27 period to drastically strengthen defense capabilities.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 10, 2025

Parties divided on defense spending increase

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to ask Japan and other Asian allies to increase their defense spending.
A team of technicians from climate startup Recoolit work to capture emissions from a large air conditioning unit in the basement of a housing complex in Jakarta on June 10.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 10, 2025

In Indonesia, a startup captures coolants to stop global warming

With cooling demand increasing as the planet warms, concern is growing over highly polluting refrigerants. Enter the Recoolit startup.
A member of the Nepalese army airlifts people stranded during the flood at Bhote Koshi River in Nepal on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 10, 2025

Tibetan glacial lake drainage triggered deadly flood in Nepal, climate body says

At least 19 people are still missing in Nepal following the flood.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes