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The Hamaoka nuclear power station in the city of Omaezaki, Shizuoka Prefecture, is one of the areas that could be at risk if there is a major earthquake in the Nankai Trough.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 18, 2023

Time for a Nankai Trough earthquake warning system

Edited A total of 707 municipal governments in 29 prefectures are considered at risk of major quakes in this region. The at-risk population is nearly 60 million.
Signs hang on a gate as people hike in the Pen y Pass at the foot of Mount Snowdon near Llanberis, Wales, in 2020. For residents of deprived urban areas, going to natural green spaces can be prohibitively expensive.
WORLD
Aug 2, 2023

Isolated from nature, U.K.'s ethnic minorities hit harder by heat

Experts say ethnic minorities will be affected most as they often live in dense, poorly insulated households near fewer parks and less vegetation.
People embrace each other as demonstrators for and against the U.S. Supreme Court decision to strike down race-conscious student admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina confront each other, in Washington on June 29.
WORLD
Aug 3, 2023

U.S. affirmative action ban spurs changes to college essay prompts

U.S. colleges are set to release their essay prompts this month when the common application used by many schools becomes public.
Trucks wait to cross South Africa’s border into Mozambique at Lebombo Border control in Komatipoort.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2023

Global demand for coal is bringing mayhem to South African towns

The trucks began running through in ever greater numbers after South Africa became one of Europe’s main alternatives to Russian coal.
A protester outside a meeting between then-Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Indigenous leaders in 2015. Discussions around a referendum on whether to recognize Indigenous people in the Australian constitution have been held for years, and the vote will be held soon.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 9, 2023

Tough road ahead for Australia’s landmark Indigenous referendum

The campaign to recognize Indigenous people in Australia's constitution in an upcoming referendum may be losing steam, polls say.
From hidden street art to this two-story-tall Pikachu balloon, Yokohama will be blanketed in Pokemon paraphernalia
through Aug. 14.
LIFE / Digital
Aug 10, 2023

Pokemon comes home for the 2023 world championships in Yokohama

For the first time in the Pokemon franchise’s history, its world championships get underway in Japan.
Seattle Kraken center Alex Wennberg recently spoke out about "vile comments" he and his wife were receiving from fans on social media.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 11, 2023

Tensions build after collision of hockey, TikTok and romance novels

BookTok has brought new fans to hockey, but some wonder if fans are crossing the line with explicit comments.
Technical trainees from Vietnam work at a knitwear factory in the city of Mitsuke, Niigata Prefecture, in February 2019.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 6, 2023

Japan is bringing in more foreign nationals than you think

Japan isn’t an outlier when it comes to low fertility rates, merely a front-runner.
Prachi Gupta (left) after the birth of her first child in 2018
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Aug 14, 2023

For foreign expecting mothers in Japan, a struggle over maternity norms

Different expectations over things like natural births and weight gain can cause anxieties for non-Japanese.
Lahaina resident Annelise Cochran poses for a portrait on Monday, after speaking about her harrowing escape from the flames of the fires in Maui.
WORLD
Aug 16, 2023

'The ocean saved my life': How one Hawaii survivor escaped the flames

Surrounded by flames on Hawaii's scenic Lahaina boardwalk, jumping into the sea was her only choice.
Destroyed buildings and cars along Front Street in Lahaina, Hawaii, two days after the historic town on Maui was devastated by wildfire on Aug. 11.
WORLD
Aug 16, 2023

How fire turned Lahaina into a death trap

A week has passed since an inferno swept through West Maui. More than 100 people are confirmed dead, with the toll expected to rise substantially.
Afghan women during a protest against Taliban restrictions on women's freedom in Kabul in 2021
WORLD
Aug 14, 2023

Afghan women take protests online as Taliban crush dissent

Organizing through social media and messaging apps, women have posted pictures and videos of the protests, drawing attention to the worsening crisis.
World Humanitarian Day is a time to remember the people from the organizations and communities who dedicate their lives to helping others around the world in their times of need, despite the risks and dangers.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2023

Paying tribute to those who serve the humanitarian cause

We can't bring back those taken from us. But we can honor their memories by doing everything possible to support those continuing their humanitarian work.
Since Waifu began, inclusivity goals have become more common in clubs across Tokyo.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 26, 2023

Queer clubbing moves beyond Ni-chome

Those looking for a safe space to party don't have to stick to one neighborhood in the capital.
The Nagor fishing harbor in Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, India, in 2016
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Aug 28, 2023

Indian fishermen use smartphones to map a vanishing way of life

Port and power plant development plans could beach a flotilla of boats that trawl the waters for mackerel and sea bass.
Travelers arrive for security checks at the newly-inaugurated terminal of Ercan airport outside Nicosia in the self-declared Turkish Republic of North Cyprus on July 21
WORLD / Politics
Aug 28, 2023

New airport sparks unlikely dreams in isolated north Cyprus

Tourism provides crucial income for the north, whose economy relies on Ankara for support and, like Turkey, has suffered from soaring inflation.
A sign reading "suspend the sale of all fish products imported from Japan" in an area of Japanese restaurants in Beijing
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 30, 2023

China’s actions on Japan and religion are cut from the same cloth

Beijing’s stoking of anti-Japanese sentiment based on unscientific accusations mirrors its suppression of religious freedom in Xinjiang.
Singaporean presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian gives speech on Aug. 22 in the lead-up to Friday's election.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 31, 2023

Singaporeans should vote in their imperfect elections

While the selection process for presidential candidates and the behavior of some of them may not be perfect, Singaporeans should vote on Friday.
A statue of Lady Justice is seen at the Court of Final Appeal building in Hong Kong on Tuesday as the city's top court ruled in favor of same-sex partnerships, including civil unions, though it stopped short of granting full marriage rights in a partial win for the city's LGBTQ community.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Sep 5, 2023

Hong Kong's top court rules to recognize same-sex civil unions

The ruling, a partial win for the city's LGBTQ community, stopped short of granting full marriage rights.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang is attending the Association of Southeast Asian nations' summit in Jakarta and the Group of 20 summit in New Delhi.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 6, 2023

China’s No. 2 steps onto world stage as Xi skips G20 in India

Chinese Premier Li Qiang's debut at the ASEAN and G20 summits will increase his global visibility, but they're unlikely to boost his political influence.
Part of the deserted Legend of Sea project developed by Country Garden
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 7, 2023

China’s credit wreck exposes governance failings to the world

"Foreign money managers still have willingness to invest in China, but how much we invest is in flux.”
Kohei Saito, a philosophy professor at the University of Tokyo who appears regularly in Japanese media to discuss his ideas, at home in Tokyo on March 16.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 7, 2023

Can shrinking be good for Japan? A Marxist bestseller makes the case.

Saito has tapped into what he describes as a growing disillusionment in Japan with capitalism’s ability to solve the problems people see around them.
People wait for flights at Marrakech-Menara airport following a powerful earthquake in Morocco on Saturday.
WORLD / Society
Sep 13, 2023

After Morocco quake, tourists grapple with the ethics of travel

Each disaster’s impact is unique, and travelers are usually advised to follow the guidance of government officials in the aftermath of such events.
A worker is seen in front of one of the pavilions at the construction site of the 2025 Osaka Expo during a government-sponsored tour of the area on Yumeshima island, Osaka, on Sept. 14.
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2023

Osaka Expo venue construction cost likely to soar

The figure is expected to rise above the current ¥185 billion to exceed ¥200 billion, sources have said.
Since the arrival of ChatGPT and other bots, fears over the potential for abuses and unintended consequences have gripped the public conscious.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 15, 2023

Worried about rogue chatbots? Hire a hacker.

It’s the good hackers being dangerous that allows us to find out what are the risks to artificial intelligence.
Prominent Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed on the grounds of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple in British Columbia, Canada, in June.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 26, 2023

India-Canada clash should be a wake-up call on diaspora extremism

Western countries are failing to keep the radicalization of certain migrant communities in check. They have much to lose.
Lebanese Armenians clash with security forces during a demonstration outside the Azerbaijani embassy in Ain Aar on Thursday, denouncing Azerbaijan's reintegration of Nagorno-Karabakh.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 29, 2023

Karabakh separatists to disband after surrender to Azerbaijan

The dramatic announcement came moments after it became clear that more than half of the region's population had fled the advancing Azerbaijani forces.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet addresses the 78th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Sept. 22
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 29, 2023

Cambodia's dictatorship marches on and nary a word

Just as quickly as countries condemned Cambodia’s sham elections, its new leader, Hun Manet, was welcomed by the U.N.
Akira Otsuka (left) and Miki Tamaki formed the performing arts troupe DamaDamTal in 2016. They have performed in every edition of the Nakanojo Biennale in Gunma Prefecture since 2017 and credit the festival as a source of inspiration for new productions.
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 4, 2023

DamaDamTal turns abstract dreams into visual art

The Japanese performing arts troupe led by Miki Tamaki and Akira Otsuka gets creative in the mountains of rural Gunma Prefecture at Nakanojo Biennale.
Tourists leave Ittoqqortoormiit, Denmark, after visiting the village on Aug. 20.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Oct 4, 2023

Inuit hunters blame cruise ships as narwhal disappear

While some view Arctic tourism as a means to reinvigorate the community, others worry it could destroy the last surviving Inuit hunting societies.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji