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Haruki Hirao, second grader at Torikai Elementary School in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, attends a mathematics class in May as nurse Yoshimi Yoshiyama looks on from the back of the classroom.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 24, 2023

More children who need daily medical care attend regular schools since 2021 law

Since 2021, more children who require daily medical care have been able to attend regular schools, broadening their horizons and raising awareness of diversity in classroom.
Professor Mutsuko Tendo (right) teaches a class in career development theory at Miyagi Gakuin Women’s University.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 24, 2023

Women’s universities in Tohoku seeking to survive with distinctive education

Women's colleges had long been regarded as schools with a focus on home economics and liberal arts, but some are now reorganizing their programs in a bid to attract students.
A fire ant found at a container terminal in the Port of Tokyo
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2023

Japan to test fire ant sniffer dog for first time

The government has designated fire ants as an invasive species requiring emergency measures due to the insect's potential for damage.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un walks in front of an intercontinental ballistic missile in this undated photo released in March 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 25, 2023

From 'Young General' to 'Supreme Leader': The evolution of Kim Jong Un

North Korea's thinking on its relations with the U.S. has undergone dramatic changes, and Kim Jong Un's past evolution offers indications of where the country might be headed.
Hoshoryu (right), joined by Tatsunami stablemaster, participates in a news conference following his promotion to ozeki in Nagoya on Wednesday.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jul 27, 2023

Hoshoryu's Nagoya triumph shows enduring power of Mongolian rikishi

Kirishima and Hoshoryu’s promotions to ozeki have shown that the Mongolian era of sumo dominance isn’t close to concluding just yet.
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Dec. 29. Meloni is expected to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden this week.
WORLD
Jul 27, 2023

Meloni to tell Biden privately Italy plans break with China

The Italian prime minister is not planning to go public on her decision to break with China during her short trip to Washington.
Veteran Japanese investors are split over whether to put their money into Chinese bonds.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 27, 2023

Friends who help manage $640 billion clash on China bonds

While they’ve been friends for at least a decade, their take on trading China bonds couldn’t be more diametrically opposed.
Lighting fireworks on Myeongpa Beach, where families can camp near the DMZ border, in Goseong-gun, South Korea, on July 30, 2022. ​In recent years, northern counties of South Korea have become unlikely tourist destinations, attracting people drawn to the history of the DMZ.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 27, 2023

Life along the Korean DMZ, 70 years after the fighting ended

After nearly eight decades of living separated across the tightly sealed border​, many South Koreans see reunification as a distant dream.
Cameron Lew, the 27-year-old behind the California-based music project Ginger Root, crafted a detailed city-pop-inspired universe with a 1980s idol storyline for last year’s “Nisemono” album.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 28, 2023

Ginger Root's modern spin on Showa nostalgia

The California-based project is set to bring its distinct interpretation of city pop to Fuji Rock Festival this weekend.
Pedestrians hold umbrellas for protection from the sun during a heat wave in New York on Thursday.
ENVIRONMENT
Jul 28, 2023

July set to be world's hottest month on record

We may have to go back thousands if not tens of thousands of years to find similarly warm conditions on our planet.
Marines pitcher Atsuki Taneichi will try to help full the void left behind by Roki Sasaki.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Jul 28, 2023

Atsuki Taneichi set to step into spotlight in Roki Sasaki's absence

Taneichi is often overlooked because he pitches in the same rotation as Roki Sasaki, but the 24-year-old righty is a solid pitcher in his own right.
The Takahama No. 1 reactor (right) is the oldest of Japan's nuclear reactors not set for decommissioning.
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2023

Kansai Electric restarts 48-year-old Takahama reactor

It is the second time that a reactor over 40 years old has been reactivated, after the restart of the No. 3 reactor at Kansai Electric's Mihama plant, also in Fukui.
Pan Gongsheng
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jul 29, 2023

China’s central bank chief is taskmaster Xi couldn’t let retire

Pan Gongsheng is expected to turn around growth slowdown for the world's second largest economy and safeguard the $60 trillion domestic financial system.
A woman in Vatican City on July 19 during a heat wave. Projecting temperatures is inherently imprecise because modern humans have never experienced such extremes.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 29, 2023

An overheating planet requires extreme climate solutions

Projections say warming will only get worse, but humans exert control over planet-warming pollution and can change these models’ trajectories.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda gives a news conference in Tokyo on Friday. The BOJ jolted financial markets by loosening its grip on bond yields.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 30, 2023

BOJ yields some control, but also throws a curveball

In trying to keep several plates spinning as it pertains to monetary policy and inflation, BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda steps on his message.
The towers of Canary Wharf, in London, occupied by several major international banks, seen from Greenwich Park in the city
BUSINESS
Jul 31, 2023

Banks voted to limit accounting of capital market emissions

The plan to keep carbon emissions linked to bond and stock sales out of banks' footprints came after wrangling over the issue delayed new standards.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike is highly likely to run for a third term in the capital's gubernatorial election in summer 2024, according to sources familiar with the matter.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 1, 2023

Tokyo's Gov. Koike expected to run for third term in 2024 race

Koike was first elected governor of the capital in 2016, and won a landslide victory in 2020.
Then-Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attends a news conference in Beijing on May 23.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 1, 2023

China's ex-foreign minister is gone but wait for explanation goes on

A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman on Thursday said Beijing will release information in a timely matter regarding Qin Gang and opposes "malicious hype."
A new high-rise is erected in Beijing in October 2021. The same year, 41% of the assets in China’s banking system were accounted for by property-related loans and credit.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 1, 2023

Is Japan’s economic past China’s future?

China is facing a long period of low growth similar to Japan’s experience since the 1990s.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump makes his way inside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse in New York on April 4. Trump was indicted on Monday over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election — the most serious legal threat yet to the former president as he campaigns to return to the White House.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 2, 2023

Trump charged with conspiracy for efforts to overturn 2020 election

The indictment alleges Trump knowingly spread lies about the election in order to undermine public faith in the vote and remain in power.
Alpine's Pierre Gasly and his teammate, Esteban Ocon, during the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Aug 3, 2023

Alpine facing more upheaval a year on from Oscar Piastri saga

On track, the team has slumped from fourth last season to a distant sixth and suffered more retirements than any team.
Masae Yamanaka joins colleagues from Panasonic Connect to take part in the Tokyo Rainbow Pride parade in April.
BUSINESS / WOMEN AT WORK
Aug 3, 2023

How one woman's career in sales flourished across four companies

As she rose through sales in various companies, Masae Yamanaka stuck to her mother’s teachings: keep working, commit to actions.
Australian Ambassador to Japan Justin Hayhurst (center) walks beside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (right) during the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima in May.
JAPAN
Aug 3, 2023

Tokyo-Canberra ties key to Indo-Pacific’s future: Australian envoy

"We’ve never been more important to each other," says Justin Hayhurst, Australia’s new Ambassador to Japan.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, arrives at Reagan National Airport in Washington en route to his arraignment in federal court on Thursday.
WORLD
Aug 4, 2023

Trump pleads not guilty to charges of obstructing election

After the hearing, the former U.S. president briefly addressed reporters at the Washington airport, calling it a "very sad day for America.”
Simone Biles competes on the balance beam during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics at Ariake Gymnastics Centre.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 4, 2023

Simone Biles ready for long-awaited return to gymnastics

After confirming her return to competition last month, Biles said she is still undergoing therapy to help her handle the mental side of the sport.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks to reporters in Tokyo on July 28.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 4, 2023

Kishida confirms plan to merge My Number and health insurance card

Kishida apologized for the anxiety caused by recent errors and announced a series of steps in the hope of restoring public trust.
Ater Jimmie Husen
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 6, 2023

On plates, Sweden and Japan are a natural pair

Swedish and Japanese cuisine are not natural allies, but diners in Japan don’t seem to care when they taste this unique fusion for themselves.
Demonstrators hold a rally in Washington on Thursday, the day former U.S. President Donald Trump, who is facing federal charges related to attempts to overturn his 2020 election, appeared in a U.S. district court in the nation's capital.
EDITORIALS
Aug 4, 2023

The United States of America vs. Donald J. Trump

The outcome of the trial against former U.S. President Donald Trump will test the rule of law and U.S. democracy.
Simone Biles performs on the balance beam during the U.S. Classic in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Gymnastics
Aug 6, 2023

Simone Biles wins U.S. Classic in return to gymnastics competition

The meet was the last chance to qualify for the U.S. nationals on Aug. 24-27 at San Jose, California.
A test event for the 2024 Summer Olympics' open swimming competition was scheduled to take place in Paris this weekend.
OLYMPICS
Aug 6, 2023

Paris Games swimming test in Seine canceled due to pollution

Heavy rains for the past week in Paris have caused sewers to overflow, polluting the Seine.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat