Tag - europe

 
 

EUROPE

Firefighters work to tackle a wildfire spread at Les Pennes-Mirabeau, near Marseille, southern France, on July 8
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / EXPLAINER
Jul 15, 2025
How climate change is fueling wildfires in Europe
Wildfires have burnt 227,000 hectares of land since the beginning of the year — more than double the average for this time of year over the past two decades.
A high school student uses social media applications in November 2024.
WORLD / Society
Jul 15, 2025
EU states to test age-check app to limit children's access to online services
The European Commission has unveiled a prototype of the app that Denmark, France, Greece, Italy and Spain will customize and launch within several months.
Alberto, a local farmer, sprays an apple orchard with pesticides in the village of Agia, in the Thessaly region, Greece, on June 12.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Jul 15, 2025
Europe's illegal pesticide trade surges as farmers cut costs
At least 14% of pesticides used on European Union fields today are illegal, up from around 10% in 2015.
The recent massive pride parade in Hungary shows that even under authoritarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, popular resistance for liberal democracy persists — but the region’s deeper political stalemate endures.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 14, 2025
Is democracy stalemated?
Yet neither triumphalism nor fatalism captures the real dynamic. A more measured analysis shows that history’s arc is not bending at all — it is stuck.
Britain’s abolition of the "nondom" tax regime has triggered an exodus of wealthy residents to tax-friendlier countries like Italy, sparking warnings of lost revenue, diminished appeal and a missed chance to reform the system more effectively.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 14, 2025
The ultrarich move in herds. Just ask London.
The beneficiaries are countries such as Italy, which is attracting wealthy foreign residents with an annual flat fee of €200,000.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gives a speech during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on July 9.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 14, 2025
EU to engage more with other nations hit by U.S. tariffs — including Japan
The move comes as talks between the EU and the U.S. have dragged on and continue to be stuck on several issues, including cars and tariff rates on agriculture.
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington in April.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 12, 2025
A U.S.-EU trade deal hinges on cars, agriculture and Trump
Cars and tariff levels on agriculture have emerged as key sticking points between the European Union and the U.S., sources have said.
Grok, a chatbot made by xAI, on Tuesday made antisemitic comments on billionaire owner Elon Musk's social media platform, X.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 10, 2025
Europe’s clash with Musk’s xAI escalates after Grok’s rants
The chatbot on Tuesday made antisemitic comments on social media platform X.
In the European Parliament, the plan for urgent consideration of the greenhouse gas reduction law aimed at cutting emissions 90% by 2040 from 1990 levels was backed by the Socialists & Democrats, Renew and Greens.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 10, 2025
EU’s far right to help shape 2040 climate goals after vote fails
An initiative to fast-track legislation, which would have stripped power from the climate-skeptical Patriots of Europe group, on the European Union's 2040 climate goals failed.
The European Parliament's censure vote against Commission President Ursula von der Leyen highlights backlash over her rightward shift and, if passed, could force a choice between centrists and nationalists.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 9, 2025
Ursula Von der Leyen faces a moment of truth
Von der Leyen’s ongoing political ambiguity has become a strategic liability at a time when Europe’s allies need clarity.
Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends the EU-Japan summit in Brussels in July 2023. Economic cooperation between the EU, Japan and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership is showing promise but faces political and structural hurdles that could limit progress.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 8, 2025
EU-CPTPP talks highlight shared goals and stubborn obstacles
EU economic cooperation with Japan and the CPTPP shows promise but could face political and structural hurdles that limit progress.
A person wears a mask depicting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on the back of the head during the Budapest Pride March on June 28.
WORLD / Society
Jul 7, 2025
Inside Budapest Pride: How organizers defied Orban's ban
The team behind the parade in Budapest went offline, meeting in private behind closed doors with everyone leaving their laptops and phones outside.
A front-page article from July 1950 reported that Kyoto's historic Kinkakuji had been "totally razed" in a fire.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Jul 5, 2025
Japan Times 1950: Kyoto’s ‘Golden Temple’ burns to the ground
The historic Kinkakuji was destroyed in an act of arson in July 1950, a shocking event that would serve as the inspiration for a novel by Yukio Mishima.
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.
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.
A tourist holding an umbrella to protect himself from the sun walks at Trocadero square next to the Eiffel Tower as an early summer heat wave hits Paris on Tuesday.
WORLD
Jul 1, 2025
France shuts schools as heat wave grips Europe
The Mediterranean Sea was up to 6 degrees Celsius warmer than usual for the time of year.
German Ambassador to Japan Petra Sigmund says that Tokyo and Berlin "face similar security challenges," and that they must "invest in defense, deterrence and diplomacy alike."
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 1, 2025
‘No time to lose’: Germany aims to boost defense-industrial ties with Japan
Berlin’s ambassador to Tokyo says her country is looking to quickly ramp up cooperation amid a growing Russian threat.
People buy ice cream in Rome, near the Vatican, on Saturday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 29, 2025
Europe bakes in summer's first heatwave as continent warms
According to Copernicus and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Europe has been warming at roughly twice the global average since the 1980s.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte stands next to U.S. President Donald Trump as alliance leaders pose for a group photo during a NATO summit in The Hague on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 25, 2025
NATO lines up ‘big success’ for Trump with new defense spending target
The new target for NATO member nations could give more ammunition to the U.S. in its calls for Japan to spend more money on defense.
Migrants are rescued from a wooden boat by Doctors Without Borders in international waters off the coast of Tunisia in the central Mediterranean Sea in July 2024.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 24, 2025
Hard EU line on migration rose from the ashes of compassion
A decade ago, the image of a 3-year-old Syrian boy washed up dead on a beach prompted an outpouring of emotion and renewed commitments to take in refugees.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan