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May 16, 2025
 

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EXPLAINER

A demonstrator against impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol reacts after the Constitutional Court ruled to remove him from office in Seoul on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / EXPLAINER
Apr 4, 2025
What happens next after South Korea removes President Yoon
Yoon's removal from office was the culmination of months of turmoil in which hundreds of thousands took to the streets, either to protest or support him.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in the Upper House of the Diet on Friday. The clock is ticking for Ishiba's administration to get the budget for fiscal 2025 passed in parliament.
JAPAN / Politics / EXPLAINER
Mar 28, 2025
Is it a big problem if the budget fails to clear parliament by the end of March?
Government functions won't be significantly hindered, but the Ishiba administration's reputation will take another beating.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waits for a session of the House of Councillors Budget Committee to begin in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Explainer
Mar 19, 2025
What's the fuss over Ishiba's gift vouchers?
The prime minister's standing has worsened following reports that he handed out gift vouchers worth ¥100,000 ($668) each to rookie lawmakers from his party.
Alimentation Couche-Tard founder Alain Bouchard (center), CEO Alex Miller (left) and CFO Filipe Da Silva attend a photo session after a news conference on their bid for Seven & I Holdings in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies / EXPLAINER
Mar 17, 2025
Why Couche-Tard's deal with Seven & I isn't going anywhere
The buyout bid has seen a mixed response in Japan, with some expressing concerns over the convenience store chain being taken over by a foreign company.
France's President Emmanuel Macron addresses the media during a news conference at the end of a Special European Council to discuss continued support for Ukraine and European defense at the EU headquarters in Brussels on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics / EXPLAINER
Mar 7, 2025
How realistic is France's offer to extend its nuclear umbrella?
France has only a fraction of the number of airborne nuclear weapons the U.S. can provide, and any upgrade of its systems would be costly.
Firefighters work to extinguish the forest fire in the city of Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, in this screenshot of a video footage from the Fire and Disaster Management Agency on Friday.
JAPAN / Science & Health / EXPLAINER
Mar 3, 2025
Why the latest Iwate wildfire is so difficult to extinguish
The unusually dry weather, strong winds, the prefecture's mountainous terrain — as well as what's known as a fire cycle — have made the situation worse than usual.
Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar, are stuck in limbo at a compound in Myawaddy, Myanmar, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal / EXPLAINER
Feb 28, 2025
Southeast Asia's latest scam center crackdown
Here's a look at why the crackdown is happening now and the broader implications for relations between China, Thailand and Myanmar.
Leaders of patients' groups submit signatures opposing the move by the government to raise the medical copayment ceiling on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health / EXPLAINER
Feb 14, 2025
Japan to rethink medical copayment hike amid patient outcry
Many patients, especially those undergoing costly but effective cancer therapy, say a hike might force them to abandon their treatments.
The International Criminal Court building
WORLD / Crime & Legal / EXPLAINER
Feb 8, 2025
'Existential threat': What next for the ICC after U.S. sanctions?
Experts say the sanctions announced by Trump will have a wide-reaching impact on the court.
China said on Tuesday it would impose tariffs on imports of U.S. energy, vehicles and equipment, firing a return salvo in an escalating trade war between the world's two biggest economies.
BUSINESS / Economy / EXPLAINER
Feb 4, 2025
Where things stand in China-U.S. trade tensions
China has made good on its threats to retaliate in the escalating trade war with the United States, imposing tariffs on American imports of energy, cars and machinery parts.
Construction workers near a sinkhole in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, on Monday
JAPAN / Society / EXPLAINER
Feb 3, 2025
Why it's taking so long to reach the driver trapped in a Saitama sinkhole
The biggest challenge for the operation, now in its seventh day, is that the sinkhole continues to expand, complicating the rescue efforts.
Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on houses in Gaza City on Jan. 4
WORLD / Politics / EXPLAINER
Jan 16, 2025
How many Palestinians has Israel's Gaza offensive killed?
The official Palestinian Health Ministry count of more than 46,600 Palestinian dead is disputed by Israeli officials but is seen by the U.N. as an undercount.
A mirror reflects a collapsed house in the city of Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Dec. 10, nearly one year after a major earthquake struck nearby on New Year's Day in 2024.
JAPAN / Explainer
Jan 14, 2025
Miyazaki quake falls short of triggering Nankai Trough megaquake advisory
Though Monday's temblor struck a similar area to one in August that sparked the first advisory, no such alert was issued.
A health ministry survey showed that 5,824 people age 65 and older died in a bathtub in their home or other residential facilities in 2022, more than double the number of people who died in a traffic accident.
JAPAN / Explainer
Dec 10, 2024
Winter chill, hot baths and the risk of heat shock: How to stay safe
Heat shock has come under the spotlight after popular actor and singer Miho Nakayama was found dead at her home last week.
Critics have said that drivers who were speeding well over the speed limit or those who were extremely drunk were not indicted for dangerous driving because of its vague definition.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / EXPLAINER
Dec 6, 2024
What constitutes fatal dangerous driving in Japan?
Critics say its vague definition has often led prosecutors to indict offenders with less-serious charges of fatal negligent driving instead.
A TV screen broadcasts a news report of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law and a following announcement that he will lift the martial law after the measure was voted down by parliament, at a railway station in Seoul on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / EXPLAINER
Dec 5, 2024
How to impeach a South Korean president
A two-thirds majority in parliament needs to pass an impeachment motion, and the Constitutional Court will conduct a trial to either confirm or reject it.
A My Number card reader at a pediatric clinic in Tokyo. While the government will stop issuing new health insurance cards on Monday, most people will remain unaffected by the move in the short term as existing health insurance cards can still be used for another year.
JAPAN / Explainer
Dec 1, 2024
Don’t worry, you can still use your Japan health insurance card — for now
While the government will stop issuing new health insurance cards on Monday, there is a one-year grace period for their integration with My Number cards.
One shortcoming of the Freelance Act — a new law designed to improve the working conditions of freelancers — is that freelancers and clients don't know much about it.
JAPAN / Explainer
Oct 31, 2024
What is the Freelance Act, Japan’s first-ever law to help freelancers?
The law introduces new measures to help self-employed workers. However, some shortcomings remain, experts say.
Yoshihiko Noda, head of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, walks past a monitor displaying a live news broadcast showing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / EXPLAINER
Oct 29, 2024
Without an LDP-Komeito majority, will Ishiba stay prime minister?
Opposition parties could band together and vote Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan chief Yoshihiko Noda into power, but this remains an unlikely scenario.
A satellite image from Wednesday shows Typhoon Shanshan south of Kyushu as the storm was rapidly intensifying.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 30, 2024
From tropical storm to 'violent': Japan’s typhoon classifications
Japan's system differs from that used for hurricanes, and there also differences in how the storms are discussed in English versus Japanese.
Success of Chinese-made fighter jets against India raises alarm in Asia
Chinese J-10 fighter jets from the People's Liberation Army Air Force August 1st Aerobatics Team perform during a media demonstration at the Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, in November 2015.
Japan to recognize Taiwan as place of origin in family registration system
Masataka Yuhara, secretary-general of the Friends of Lee Teng Hui Association in Japan, which has been calling for "Taiwan" to be permitted as a place of origin in family registers.
Rich Japanese still fear yen crash, wealth manager says
The yen slumped more than 2% on Monday alone, nearing ¥150 to the dollar, after the U.S. and China temporarily lowered tariffs, triggering a reversal of bearish dollar bets.
Japanese retailers turn to California rice for cheaper alternative
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass eats California rice at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on Tuesday along with Mitsuko Tsuchiya, vice president of retailer Aeon.
Japanese automakers looking at a ¥1 trillion hit from Trump tariffs 
Cars on display at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama on Tuesday. The automaker posted a massive annual net loss and confirmed that it plans to cut thousands of jobs worldwide.
Historian Rob Fitts discovers earliest ever reference to baseball in Japan
Japan's Shohei Ohtani carries the Japanese flag onto the field before the start of the World Baseball Classic final against the United States in Miami on March 21, 2023.
Japanese retailers turn to California rice for cheaper alternative
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass eats California rice at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on Tuesday along with Mitsuko Tsuchiya, vice president of retailer Aeon.
Harmfully hot days for pregnant women in Japan nearly doubled over past five years
New research by a U.S. climate scientists’ group reveals that extreme heat has increased the risks of preterm births and other pregnancy complications in Japan, nearly doubling the number of days that are harmfully hot for pregnant women over the past five years.
Sumo title contenders already emerging in early stages of Tokyo meet
Onosato (left) battles Abi on Day 3 of the Summer Basho in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Japanese automakers looking at a ¥1 trillion hit from Trump tariffs 
Cars on display at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama on Tuesday. The automaker posted a massive annual net loss and confirmed that it plans to cut thousands of jobs worldwide.

Podcast

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

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?
By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones
Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones

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