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UN

Takuya Yokota (second from right), head of a group of families of abductees to North Korea, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 26, 2024
Families of North Korea abductees give Japan breathing room for summit
The group won't oppose Tokyo's lifting of sanctions on Pyongyang if all abductees are returned while their parents' generation is still alive.
Members of the Palestinian civil defense extinguish a fire in a building following Israeli bombardments east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 20, 2024
U.S. proposes its own U.N. Security Council draft opposing Rafah offensive
The U.S. draft comes ahead of a vote by the U.N. body on an earlier proposal for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, which Washington has opposed.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has in recent months repeatedly touted his openness to “unconditional” talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, calling for “a bold step to change the status quo.”
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 19, 2024
North Korea eyes well-worn playbook with Japan summit hints
Pyongyang's offer of repairing ties with Japan may be concealing what may be a more likely motivation — to drive a wedge between Tokyo and its partners.
Protesters hold a Palestinian flag as they gather outside the International Court of Justice as judges rule on emergency measures against Israel following accusations by South Africa that the Israeli military operation in Gaza is a state-led genocide, in The Hague on Jan 24.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 19, 2024
U.N. court to weigh consequences of Israel occupation
Nations including the United States, Russia and China will address judges in a weeklong session at the Peace Palace in The Hague.
Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said on Thursday that a visit by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to Pyongyang could materialize, but only if Tokyo met several caveats.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 16, 2024
North Korea-Japan summit push gains steam after remarks by Kim’s sister
A visit by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to Pyongyang could materialize, but only if Tokyo met several caveats, Kim Yo Jong said.
U.S. Special Envoy on North Korean Human Rights Issues Julie Turner speaks to media at the U.S. embassy in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 15, 2024
U.S. supports Japan's push for talks with North Korea, envoy says
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told parliament last week that he wants to hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers a speech at the Defense Ministry in Pyongyang on Feb. 8, the 76th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Army.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 14, 2024
North Korea fires several cruise missiles in fifth barrage of 2024
The South Korean military said that an undetermined number of cruise missiles had been spotted over waters off the North's northeastern coast around 9 a.m.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva (right) speaks during the World Governments Summit in Dubai on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 13, 2024
IMF and World Bank warn Gaza and Red Sea chaos imperils global economy
The Israel-Hamas war and its knock-on effects could impact the world the longer the fighting drags on, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said.
Palestinian children wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday.
WORLD
Feb 10, 2024
Israel prepares assault on Rafah as it seeks to allay fears of 'bloodbath'
Aid agencies warned that a military offensive in such a densely populated area could end up killing large numbers of innocent people.
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un visits the Ministry of National Defense in Pyongyang to mark the 76th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Army on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 9, 2024
North Korea has legal right to destroy South at any time, Kim says
The North Korean leader said it was correct to label South Korea as the "primary enemy" as its "puppets” were bent on absorbing its neighbor.
A Palestinian woman walks with a child at Mar Elias refugee camp in Beirut on Jan. 29.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 6, 2024
UNRWA funding cuts put Lebanon's Palestinian refugees on alert
"It's difficult to imagine that Gazans will survive this crisis without UNRWA"
Workers on a production line manufacturing false eyelashes at a workshop of Monsheery in Pingdu, China, in November
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 4, 2024
How North Korean eyelashes arrive in the West as 'made in China'
North Korea exported 1,680 tons of false eyelashes, beards and wigs to China in 2023, worth around $167 million.
Water jugs are filled at a United Nations Relief and Works Agency camp for displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, on Nov. 22.
WORLD
Feb 4, 2024
The 8 days that roiled the U.N.’s top agency in Gaza
UNRWA is the largest aid agency on the ground in Gaza, providing shelter to more than half the population and coordinating aid from Egypt and Israel.
People distribute bags of flour to Palestinians in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on behalf of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in November. The agency has come under fire after a few of its employees were accused of supporting terrorism.
EDITORIALS
Feb 2, 2024
Hold UNRWA accountable — but don’t harm those in need
Some 30,000 UNRWA employees serve 5 million people in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, with 13,000 of them working in Gaza alone.
Foreign Minister Yōko Kamikawa will likely face some institutional challenges in achieving quick and meaningful progress in advancing the United Nation's Women, Peace and Security initiative.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 2, 2024
Japan unveils task force for gender-inclusive security issues
U.N. mandate spurs Japan into action with new task force aimed at enhancing women's roles in global conflict resolution.
A news broadcast showing at a railway station in Seoul on Tuesday shows footage of a previous North Korean missile launch.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 2, 2024
North Korea fires missiles as Kim seeks ‘war preparation’ boost
Kim is likely using the tests to show he many ways to launch a strike, adding to the planning contingencies for the U.S. and its allies in the region.
A Palestinian girl sits on bags of flour distributed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 30, 2024
In dossier, Israel accuses 190 U.N. staff of being 'hardened killers'
Over 10 countries, including major donors the United States and Germany, have halted their funding to the agency, which employs 13,000 people in Gaza.
A test-firing of the submarine-launched cruise missile "Pulhwasal-3-31" at an undisclosed location in North Korea on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 29, 2024
North Korea tested submarine-launched cruise missiles, state media says
Kim Jong Un supervised the test of the missiles, which were identical to the strategic cruise missiles the North said last week were under development.
Displaced Palestinian people sit on benches as they wait outside a clinic of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2024
Japan suspends funding to U.N. Palestinian refugee agency
Several of the agency's top donors including the United States and Germany have since halted funding to UNRWA.
Flour is distributed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency at its headquarters in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, in November.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 28, 2024
Major donors pause funding for U.N. agency as scandal widens
One of the area's largest employers, the UNRWA is a lifeline for Palestinians in Gaza, many of whom are facing starvation after 16 weeks of war.

Longform

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree