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Australia captain Pat Cummins (left) receives the trophy after clinching the series on Day 3 of the fifth test match against India in Sydney on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Cricket
Jan 6, 2025

Pat Cummins expresses pride after Australia tops India to win 'everything'

The six-wicket victory in the fifth test in Sydney also secured the right to defend the World Test Championship (WTC) title against South Africa at Lord's in June.
Those who lived in Japan’s Nara Period, which lasted from the year 710 to 794, by and large knew themselves to be blessed. It wasn’t just those in power who felt it, either. From nobles to commoners, the poets seemed to have democratized joy itself.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Jan 17, 2025

From Genji to 'hikikomori,' how we make peace with disappearing

Japan’s reverence for impermanence reveals a profound connection between beauty and loss, from poetic musings to spiritual retreats, echoing in modern expressions of solitude.
Ukrainian servicemen play with dogs at their position on a front line in the nation's Zaporizhzhia region on Feb. 21.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 2, 2025

Europe's nightmare is here: They have to fight Putin without the U.S.

The European Union is aiming to follow up with an emergency package of €20 billion ($21 billion) in military aid for Ukraine at an emergency summit in Brussels.
Japan is facing challenges with Donald Trump's new tariffs and is considering increased purchases of U.S. goods, negotiating tariff reductions and expanding auto production in the U.S. to reduce the trade deficit and avoid further economic tension.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 8, 2025

What is Japan's play on Trump's tariffs?

Japan had expected some consideration for being the largest source of foreign direct investment in the U.S. from 2019 to 2024, with total investment of around $860 billion.
The Bank of Japan signals rate-hike uncertainty and slashes growth forecasts amid rising trade and inflation concerns, as the central bank's earlier optimism is upended by U.S. President Trump's tariff moves.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 2, 2025

Bank of Japan will struggle to justify hikes after this

Few anticipated how dovish the BOJ would sound on the future direction of rates or how gloomy it would be on the near-term prospects for achieving the inflation goal.
Rory McIlroy watches his shot during a practice round for the PGA Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Tuesday.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
May 15, 2025

Relaxed Rory McIlroy unburdened by pressure to chase 'north star'

The 36-year-old is still a force wherever he tees it up, but even he finds it hard to imagine anything that could top what he achieved at Augusta National in April.
Laurent Patouillet, the CEO and president of Agnes b. Japan, says the focus of its business is to remain independent, and evolve and adapt.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 18, 2025

Agnes b. Japan CEO hopes to evolve the brand with focus on sustainability

Laurent Patouillet, who has headed the brand's Japanese operations since 2018, believes there is more that it can do to be environmentally sustainable.
Born and raised in Japan, Joshua Thomson has been making videos on YouTube and Instagram to poke fun at stereotypes and challenge assumptions about — or from — Japanese society.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
May 23, 2025

Joshua Thomson: ‘Comedy is a pill that’s easier to swallow’

The bilingual YouTuber talks about his hybrid cultural heritage and his aspirations in the entertainment industry.
Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns dunks during his team's win over the Pacers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals in New York on Wednesday.
BASKETBALL / NBA
May 30, 2025

Knicks rout Pacers to keep season alive and force Game 6

Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns combined for 56 points in New York's win.
The Fighters' Franmil Reyes celebrates after hitting a walk-off home run against the Marines on Sunday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jun 3, 2025

What you need to know ahead of NPB interleague play resuming

Since 2005, one constant has been Pa League dominance.
A dead sea star in 2015. About 5 billion sea stars died from a disease outbreak, likely including this one.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 18, 2025

Marine heat waves are spreading around the world

Some unusual ocean events have become so intense that scientists have coined a new term: super marine heat waves.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh on May 14.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 1, 2025

Trump lifts U.S. sanctions on Syria in bid to boost new government

The order removes various sanctions on Syria, effective July 1, while keeping those on former President Bashar Assad.
The people tasked with removing harmful content from tech giants like Meta Platforms or TikTok report a range of noxious health effects, from loss of appetite to anxiety and suicidal thoughts.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 4, 2025

Content moderators for Big Tech unite to tackle mental trauma

Social media companies are facing increasing pressure to address the emotional toll of moderation, with many moderators reporting a range of toxic health effects.
Israeli-American businessman Moti Kahana holds a flag during a mission to evacuate 200 Jews in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, in March 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 13, 2025

How a U.S. mission to push a Trump deal in Congo unraveled

The story of the ill-fated venture, which has not previously been reported, provides a glimpse of how the Trump administration is prepared to work through unconventional channels.
A serviceman of the 57th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces works with an Mk 19 U.S.-made automatic grenade launcher near the front-line town of Vovchansk in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, on March 13.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 16, 2025

Europeans open to buying U.S. arms for Ukraine under Trump plan but need details

Much of the plan remains undisclosed, including the amounts and precise types of weapons to be provided, how quickly they would be supplied and how they would be paid for.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the start of bilateral talks during the Group of 20 summit in Osaka in June 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 22, 2025

Aides to Trump and Xi discussed autumn U.S.-China leaders' meeting

Ideas floated include a Trump stopover around the time of an APEC summit in South Korea or talks on the sidelines of the Oct. 30-Nov. 1 event.
Nadeshiko Japan reached the knockout stage at a fourth consecutive FIFA Women's World Cup before being eliminated in the quarterfinals on Friday by Sweden.
SOCCER / Women's World cup / From the Spot
Aug 15, 2023

Bold steps needed from JFA, WE League to maintain momentum after WWC

After Nadeshiko Japan's inspiring quarterfinal run in New Zealand, the country's soccer bodies must avoid the missteps of the post-2011 boom and bust.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with the Chinese Communist Party's foreign policy chief, Wang Yi, on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Jakarta on July 13.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 16, 2023

Southeast Asia uses great power competition to dodge failures

The U.S. needs to rethink its approach toward Southeast Asia, counter China's narrative, and engage in effective public diplomacy.
A child stands in front of the Hibiya Music Hall, which collapsed during the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake.
PODCAST / deep dive
Aug 31, 2023

The earthquake that turned Tokyo to ash

This week we commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake.
Caroline Ellison (left), former chief executive officer of Alameda Research LLC, exits court in New York on Tuesday. Her ex-boyfriend and former boss, FTX Co-Founder Sam Bankman-Fried, is charged with seven counts of fraud and money laundering following the collapse of his cryptocurrency empire last year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 11, 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried's ex says he directed her to commit crimes

In her first day of testimony, Caroline Ellison, 28, portrayed Sam Bankman-Fried as the brains behind fraudulent operations at FTX.
Relief pitcher Paul Sewald celebrates with catcher Gabriel Moreno after the Diamondbacks defeated the Phillies in Game 7 of the NLCS.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 25, 2023

Diamondbacks cap NLCS comeback to stun Phillies in Game 7

Corbin Carroll collected three hits and two RBIs as the Diamondbacks advanced to the World Series by beating the Phillies 4-2.
Spurs center Victor Wembanyama dunks during a game against the Grizzlies on Tuesday.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Jan 6, 2024

Victor Wembanyama sets course to become a basketball billionaire unlike any other

Known to fans as "Wemby,” Victor Wembanyama entered the NBA with a level of buzz unlike any player since LeBron James.
Naomi Osaka attends a news conference in Melbourne on Friday ahead of the start of the Australian Open.
TENNIS
Jan 12, 2024

It's a changed landscape at the top as Osaka returns to the Australian Open

2023 was all about the continued rise of players like Gauff and Sabalenka and the dominance of Swiatek, and it remains to be seen where Osaka fits in that picture.
Huang Jie, who was elected on Jan. 13, called her win a "positive outcome," and said that her election reflected "certain progress in Taiwan's society."
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 31, 2024

Taiwan's first openly gay lawmaker hopes to inspire

Huang Jie's journey to the legislature was not easy — she has been the target of discriminatory attacks and has faced distrust from voters due to her age.
The most relevant measure to gauge plastic bag use isn’t how many carriers get used, but how much material is consumed and how much pollution is produced in their making.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 25, 2024

Plastic bag bans have failed in every way except one

Reusable plastic bags need to be used 52 times before its environmental impact drops below that of a disposable one, according to a 2018 Danish study.
A Sudanese man looks out his balcony in Cairo as he waits for his displaced family to arrive from war-ridden Khartoum, in April.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 14, 2024

Unable to survive in Egypt, refugees return to war-torn Sudan

Since the fighting began in April between the Sudanese army and paramilitary forces, over 450,000 people have crossed the border into Egypt.
Padres starter Yu Darvish throws during a spring training workout in Peoria, Arizona, on Feb. 13.
BASEBALL / MLB
Feb 24, 2024

Padres star pitcher Darvish aims to be ready for series in Seoul

The 37-year-old threw 32 pitches in a simulated inning on Friday and wants to take the mound when the Padres play the Dodgers in South Korea next month.
Factions, cliques, caucuses — whatever they may be called, groupings in legislatures are not unusual in many countries.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Perspectives
Mar 2, 2024

Is the funding scandal unraveling the LDP?

The media is caught up in the money-politics scandal of the moment, framing factions as all good or all bad. Things are a lot more nuanced than that.
Dogs are long-lived enough to serve as better models for human aging than mice, but short-lived enough that aging treatments can be tested in just a few years.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 5, 2024

Your dog will have an anti-aging drug before you do

Dogs are long-lived enough to serve as better models for human aging than mice, but short-lived enough that aging treatments can be tested in a few years.
Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. runs with the ball during a game against Wisconsin in October. Harrison Jr. is widely expected to be among the top selections in the NFL Draft on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Apr 24, 2024

From Rice to Harrison, bloodlines run deep in 2024 NFL draft

A large group of sons of football legends are available in this year's NFL draft as team personnel weigh the importance of bloodlines.

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan