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May 04, 2025
 

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A lesbian couple, consisting of a 35-year-old woman (left) and 40-year-old woman, cover their faces with bouquets as they pose for wedding photos in Yokohama on Nov. 1.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 14, 2024

Amid same-sex marriage ban, LGBTQ couples opt for 'photo weddings'

These carefully choreographed images are often kept hidden in conservative Japan.
Olympic rings are displayed on Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris ahead of the city hosting the 2024 Olympic Games. One way of reducing the carbon emissions of mega sporting events is to limit the attendance of spectators traveling by air.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 10, 2024

Only locals should be allowed to attend the Olympics

The single best way of reducing the carbon emissions of an Olympics? Limiting ticket sales to locals. Evidence from the Tokyo Games shows how far-reaching the impact is.
George Clooney attends a premiere for the film "The Boys in the Boat" in Beverly Hills, California, on Dec. 11, 2023. Clooney, a lifelong Democrat who helped raised $30 million for U.S. President Joe Biden at an event last month, has now advocated for a new candidate.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 11, 2024

Hollywood turns against Biden as George Clooney warns ‘dam has broken’

Heavy hitters, including Netflix Chairman Reed Hastings and author Stephen King, have joined the chorus calling on Joe Biden to drop his reelection bid.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the 2024 NATO Summit in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 11, 2024

NATO allies gloomy on Biden’s prospects seek out Trump circle

Leaders at the alliances summit watched Biden's every move for another gaffe that would further undermine his electoral hopes.
An empty street in Fukiya, Okayama Prefecture. Japan may be both experiencing overtourism in some places and witnessing the opposite in others.
JAPAN
Jul 11, 2024

Japan doesn't have too many tourists, statistics suggest. It just feels that way.

The country received 0.2 tourists per capita in 2023, compared with France's 1.5, Greece's 3.4, Portugal's 2.5 and Spain's 1.8.
Public support for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Cabinet marked a new low of 15.5% in July, Jiji poll shows.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 11, 2024

Kishida Cabinet's approval rating sinks to 15.5%, poll shows

The results marked a new low for the Liberal Democratic Party since it returned to power in December 2012.
U.S. President Joe Biden reacts to the audience during a campaign stop in Detroit on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 13, 2024

'I'm not going anywhere,' Biden says as campaign struggles

The 81-year-old president is trying to shift the conversation from his mental sharpness to the impact of another Donald Trump presidency.
Storage tanks at the Northern Lights carbon capture and storage project controlled by oil companies Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies in Norway. The Norwegian government is funding 80% of the initial investment for the state-of-the-art facility.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 14, 2024

A giant carbon dump gives glimpse into net-zero future

As the cost of renewables declines at pace with fossil fuel use, the need for carbon, capture and storage tech will diminish, making cost reductions a challenge.
Secret Service agents cover former President Donald Trump immediately after an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. The incident highlights America's historical and ongoing political violence.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 16, 2024

Trump’s shooting is a legacy of America’s violent past

Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally. The incident highlights America's historical and ongoing political violence.
Sue Mi Terry, then director at Bower Group Asia, speaks on a panel at the Asia Society in New York in 2017.
WORLD
Jul 17, 2024

Former White House official accused of acting as South Korea agent

In exchange for gifts, a foreign policy specialist is accused of giving South Korea information on the United States government, among other things.
Protesters mark the eighth anniversary of the 2016 arbitration ruling over China's claims in the South China Sea, in Quezon City, Philippines, on Friday. Beijing still refuses to abide by the ruling.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 17, 2024

South China Sea ruling anniversary and the disregard for the rule of law

Last Friday marked the eighth anniversary of the Philippines-China South China Sea arbitral tribunal ruling. That decision was a win for Manila.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance (right), the Republican's vice-presidential nominee, attend the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 17, 2024

J.D. Vance is red meat for Trump’s MAGA base

It’s a shrewd pick — a nod to Trump’s base. More than any of the other contenders, Vance’s selection shows that Trump wants to lock down the MAGA faithful.
China's success in retrieving samples from the far side of the moon and its strategic advances in space exploration are prompting calls for international collaboration amid growing concerns over efforts to achieve space dominance.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 17, 2024

It's too early to be fighting a space race with China

Lunar exploration is dangerous enough without turning it into a contest between great powers.
U.S. President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that he has contracted COVID-19, forcing him to cancel an appearance before a key Latino advocacy group.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 18, 2024

Biden’s COVID-19 case delivers latest blow to hard-luck campaign

While U.S. President Joe Biden's symptoms are mild, the COVID-19 diagnosis removes him from the campaign trail and thrusts his health back into the spotlight.
The background footage shows a Chinese Coast Guard ship using a water cannon against a Filipino resupply vessel, during a news conference at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila in August 2023.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 18, 2024

The risky business of standing up to Beijing

Philippines faces balancing act between economic interests and territorial rights.
Japan's tradition of offering investors gifts is nice. But with the stock market at record highs, such perks are no longer needed.
COMMENTARY
Jul 18, 2024

It’s time Japan's shareholders buy their own wine

The practice by Japanese companies of giving gifts once served as a good way to encourage trading novices to dabble in the stock market.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris supports President Joe Biden as he speaks from the White House on Sunday about the shooting of his Republican challenger, Donald Trump.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 18, 2024

It’s no big deal that a woman may be the president. What a beautiful thing.

Despite some lingering biases, evidence suggests that female leaders often outperform male leaders, particularly in areas like public health.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 19, 2024

Trump describes assassination attempt and accepts Republican nomination

As he has done throughout his career, Trump argued he alone can save a dwindling nation, capping a four-day event marked by his party's adulation.
Recent events in U.S. politics, including an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, a favorable court ruling and his nomination at the Republican National Convention, have strengthened the perception he may be “untouchable,” yet nothing is set in stone.
EDITORIALS
Jul 19, 2024

Trump’s wild week and a changing U.S. presidential race

Recent events have reinforced the idea of the “Teflon Don,” an extraordinarily lucky man for whom the laws of politics do not apply.
The West in developing its response to the new Russia-North Korea alliance should leverage the strategic incongruence between China and its junior allies.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 19, 2024

What to make of Russia and North Korea's new relationship

Russia and North Korea's military alliance has unnerved China as much as it has the U.S. and its Asian allies owing to its potential to destabilize the region.
Self-Defense Forces soldiers walk past a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile unit in Tokyo in October 2017.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2024

U.S.-Japan Patriot missile production plan hits Boeing component snag

The plan to boost production by the U.S. ally is being delayed by a shortage of a critical component manufactured by Boeing.
Passengers wait at the international airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Friday after airlines grounded flights due to a worldwide tech outage caused by an update to CrowdStrike’s Falcon sensor software, which crashed Microsoft Windows systems. 
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 21, 2024

CrowdStrike’s global outage doesn’t have to be a recurring nightmare

This time the scale is unprecedented. That should spur Microsoft and other IT firms to do more than simply administer a band-aid.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, gives his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 21, 2024

Emerging narratives: Trump is 'a lion’ or he’s 'a lyin’

Is Donald Trump a "man of destiny," as some conservatives are now claiming or a "con man of destiny"? ("Napoleon in a golf cart,” The Free Press called him.)
The misinterpretation of data on guns and self-defense in the United States highlights how studies may overstate the benefits while downplaying risks and unintended consequences.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 21, 2024

Guns aren’t as good for self-defense as America thinks

Like other public health crises, gun violence has been studied and scientists have data pointing to ways the carnage can be reduced.
A demonstrator shows appreciation for U.S. President Joe Biden near the White House after Biden announced his exit from the election and endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 22, 2024

Biden finally shows true leadership by passing the torch

Better late than never. By dropping out of the November election, Biden has crowned five decades of public service and put the Democrats in a better position to win.
Paris is preparing to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which start on Friday. These Summer Games will likely be very different from the previous ones, held in Tokyo in 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 22, 2024

In defense of Tokyo 2020, the loneliest Olympics

As Paris gets ready to host the Olympics, a reflection on the previous Games, held in Tokyo three years ago, prompts doubts about predictions of a COVID-induced disaster.
Homes are surrounded by flood waters after Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Sargent, Texas, on July 8.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 22, 2024

The great climate change wealth transfer is here

Fossil fuel profits are sky-high, as are the costs of climate change. By subsidizing oil and gas while putting tariffs on green tech, governments are making things worst.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 23, 2024

Taking on Trump, Kamala Harris vows to draw on prosecutorial experience

The U.S. vice president has also promised to drive forward laws to protect abortion rights and ban assault rifles, and focus on rebuilding the middle class.
Artificial intelligence is transforming various business sectors and the economy. But concerns about humanoid robots replacing all jobs are unfounded, as human dexterity will remain essential for the foreseeable future.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2024

AI is making robots smarter. They’ll need boundaries.

Where AI meets the physical world — and creates the potential for conflicts — is in manufacturing and logistics.
Honoka Hayashi in action during a match against Great Britain at the Tokyo Olympics, in Sapporo on July 24, 2021. Hayashi’s clinical passing, acute understanding of the game and high work-rate make her an embodiment of Nadeshiko soccer principles.
OLYMPICS
Jul 24, 2024

Nadeshiko Japan’s Honoka Hayashi ready to settle the score at Paris Games

Lauded for her intricate passing and soccer intelligence, Hayashi has adjusted her game to fit the demanding nature of elite leagues over the course of her career.
Israel protests after Kyoto inn seeks war crime declaration from tourist
A street in Kyoto in March 2023. An Israeli tourist was asked to sign a document stating that he had not committed war crimes when he checked in at a Kyoto guesthouse in April, prompting a response from Israel's ambassador.
Nearly half of workers in Japan engage in ‘quiet quitting’
"Quiet quitting" is most common among the younger generation, with 46.7% of respondents to a survey in their 20s identifying with the practice, reflecting a less-motivated workforce more focused on work-life balance.
Signs of change emerge in constitutional interpretation of same-sex marriage
Plaintiffs celebrate the Tokyo High Court's ruling in a same-sex marriage lawsuit in Tokyo on Oct. 30.
Britain responds after Expo 2025 afternoon tea brews outrage
The café space at the Osaka Expo's British pavilion
Truck driver's body recovered from huge Japan sinkhole after three months
Workers stand around a vehicle carrying the body of a person recovered from a sinkhole in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, on Friday.
'Ukiyo-e in Play' showcases traditional art carved anew
The Adachi Institute has been working on creating brand new ukiyo-e prints in collaboration with contemporary artists such as Yayoi Kusama, whose “Mt. Fuji in Seven Colours: When life boundlessly flares up to the universe” (2014) can be seen on display at “Ukiyo-e in Play.”
Want to see the future at Expo Osaka? Get in line.
“‘Future of life,’ by Ishiguro,” the World Expo pavilion by roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro, displays humanlike androids.
Ishiba hears advice from across the aisle on how Japan should handle Trump
Prime Minister Shigaru Ishiba and CDP head Yoshihiko Noda at a parliamentary session in Tokyo on April 23.
Don't send in the clones: AI event nixed as Alt accounts get reality check
A screenshot from the website for Alt's AI conference, which was canceled after the company disclosed an investigation into its sales figures.
CDP submits bill proposal on separate surnames, but challenges remain
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers speak to reporters in parliament on Wednesday after submitting a bill in the Lower House to allow married couples to retain different surnames.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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
By Alex K.T. Martin

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Fujitsu crafts sustainable innovation for itself, society

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