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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the Academy of Defense Sciences in Pyongyang in this image released Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 29, 2024

North Korea's Kim admits failure, but vows to continue building spy satellites

The satellite-carrying rocket had self-destructed Tuesday "due to an abnormality in the first-stage engine," the North Korean leader said.
Lexi Thompson watches her shot from the 12th tee on Day 2 of the 2023 Women's British Open in Walton-on-the-Hill, England, in August 2023.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
May 29, 2024

Lexi Thompson to retire from golf at season end

Thompson is an 11-time LPGA tour winner, a major champion, a two-time Olympian and a six-time U.S. Solheim Cup team member.
Aphelele Vavi (right), 22, who is studying sound engineering, at lunch with fellow students at SAE Creative Media Institute in Rosebank, South Africa, on March 19
WORLD / Politics
May 29, 2024

South Africa’s young democracy leaves its young voters disillusioned

The nation is heading into a pivotal election, in which voters will determine who will pick the president, but voter turnout has been dropping in recent years.
With the recent focus on the yen and individual investing, the phrase "Mrs. Watanabe" — one of the most common pieces of jargon in Japanese financial circles — has seen a resurgence.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 29, 2024

My search for the original 'Mrs. Watanabe'

Yen retail traders are back in the spotlight. But where did the phrase for the archetypal Japanese housewife investor come from?
A man watches a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a train station in Seoul on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 30, 2024

In unusual move, North Korea fires off barrage of at least 10 ballistic missiles

While the North has in the past launched multiple missiles in a single volley, the sheer number fired Thursday pointed to training for so-called saturation strikes.
A supporter of former President Donald Trump protests in Palm Beach, Florida, after the guilty verdict over falsifying business records was announced on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2024

Why Republicans go crawling back to Donald Trump

Donald Trump has been convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. But this is unlikely to make much difference to the Republican Party. Not only is he still the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee; Republicans have repeatedly proved perfectly willing to forgive his indiscretions,...
A plastic bag carrying trash that crossed the inter-Korean border with a balloon believed to have been sent by North Korea is seen in Seoul in this picture released Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 3, 2024

North Korea halts sending trash balloons over border to South

Pyongyang has threatened a resumption of the "unpleasant" practice in the event South Korean activists restart the flying of anti-regime leaflets.
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures outside Trump Tower, the day after a guilty verdict in his criminal trial over charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in New York on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 3, 2024

Trump warns of 'breaking point' for Americans if he's jailed

Prison time is rare for people convicted in New York state of felony falsification of business records, the charge Trump faced at his trial.
In a boon to Saudi Arabia's government, which is seeking to fund a massive economic transformation plan, Saudi Aramco’s $12 billion share sale sold out shortly after the deal opened on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 3, 2024

Saudi Aramco’s $12 billion stock offer sells out in hours

The extent of foreign participation will be closely watched as an indicator of interest in Saudi Arabia's assets.
Visitors take pictures in a booth showing photographs before a rally to commemorate the 35th anniversary of Beijing's Tiananmen Square crackdowns, at the Library Square in Taipei on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 4, 2024

35 years on, Tiananmen memory eroded by Chinese censorship and Sino-U.S. rivalry

While commemorations of the crackdown are effectively banned in mainland China and in Hong Kong, events were being held in Taiwan and other locations.
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Wednesday.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 6, 2024

Boeing carries NASA astronauts to orbit in ‘milestone’ Starliner flight

The long-awaited flight of the vehicle is the latest step in NASA’s efforts to rely more heavily on the private sector for its human spaceflight program.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. More than half of the 50 economists surveyed predict the central bank will decide next week to slow the pace of bond buying.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 7, 2024

Majority of BOJ watchers expect cut in bond buying next week

Some 54% of 50 economists said the bank will slow the pace of bond buying from around ¥6 trillion per month at the policy board gathering.
Gold prices change daily, reflecting wider market movements, but start at about 88,000 won ($64) for a 0.5-gram bar.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2024

You can now buy gold bars from vending machines in South Korea

Prices change daily, reflecting wider market movements, but start at about 88,000 won ($64) for a 0.5-gram bar.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks to journalists following an election campaign event at Melksham Town F.C. on Friday. Sunak apologized after skipping events to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day in France to return early to the U.K.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 8, 2024

The moment the Tories have long dreaded is finally upon them

With Labour so far ahead in the polls, few Tories expect to stay in power after the election.
People wait for the main act to begin at Summer Sonic, which holds simultaneous music festivals for those in Tokyo and Osaka.
CULTURE / Music / Longform
Jun 9, 2024

Can Japan's summer music festivals adapt to a post-pandemic reality?

Soaring temperatures, the cheap yen and a dearth of headline options may require reshaping the outdoor concert formula.
A family marches into the newly opened Fantasy Springs section at Tokyo DisneySea on Thursday.
LIFE / Travel
Jun 9, 2024

Japan's theme parks are ramping up their offerings ahead of summer

You don't need to take the kids overseas when there are plenty of amusement parks at home to plan a summer vacation around.
Fever guard Caitlin Clark did not make the U.S. roster for the 2024 Paris Games.
OLYMPICS
Jun 10, 2024

Caitlin Clark has no bitter feelings after being left off U.S. Olympic team

Clark's exclusion prompted a flurry of debate.
The Bank of Japan is expected to discuss cutting bond purchases at a two-day policy meeting ending Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 11, 2024

BOJ expected to weigh bond buying cuts as rate hike timing nears

A paring back of bond purchases would mark the BOJ’s first clear step toward quantitative tightening after pivoting away from its massive stimulus program in March.
A South Korean soldier stands guard near a military facility where loudspeakers dismantled in 2018 used to be, near the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas in Paju, South Korea, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 11, 2024

South Korea fires warning shots after North Korea soldiers briefly cross border

The Sunday incursion took place in an overgrown area of the Demilitarized Zone, the heavily fortified border area, and was likely accidental.
Shareholder approval of the $56 billion pay package serves as both an endorsement of Elon Musk's tenure and an acknowledgment that investors do not want to risk Tesla's future.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 14, 2024

Tesla's Musk wins shareholder approval for $56 billion pay package

The approval does not, however, resolve a lawsuit on the pay package in a Delaware court.
Opal Lee, the "Grandmother of Juneteenth," visited Japan last month shortly after receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Joe Biden.
COMMUNITY / Voices / Black Eye
Jun 14, 2024

U.S. civil rights icon Opal Lee brings her Juneteenth walk to Tokyo

Juneteenth, held on the 19th of the month, celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. Opal Lee sees it as more than an American holiday.
Imanaga pumps his fist after closing out the seventh inning against the Cardinals on Saturday at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 16, 2024

Shota Imanaga is becoming a star for the Cubs. How did MLB not see this coming?

Shota Imanaga, who is an early candidate for the Cy Young Award, has quickly established himself as a dynamic presence who pitches with passion and style.
South Korean Defense Minister Shin Wonsik at the ministry's briefing room in Seoul on Friday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 17, 2024

U.S., South Korea, Japan to lock in security ties before inauguration

South Korean Defense Minister Shin Wonsik said that the three countries' defense chiefs will soon sign a pact known as the Trilateral Security Cooperation Framework.
Durians at a roadside stand in Chantaburi, Thailand, which is by far the fruit’s biggest exporting country, on April 24. China’s demand for the large and spiky fruit is creating fortunes and reshaping parts of Southeast Asia.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 17, 2024

China’s lust for durian is creating fortunes in Southeast Asia

Last year, the value of durian exports from Southeast Asia to China was $6.7 billion, a twelvefold increase from $550 million in 2017.
American Institute in Taiwan Director Sandra Oudkirk speaks during a news conference in Taipei on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 17, 2024

As China’s pressure on Taiwan rises, departing U.S. envoy urges steady hand

Worries about Chinese belligerence rose during Sandra Oudkirk’s three years in Taipei. As she leaves, she is seeking to assure Taiwan of continued U.S. support.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin walk past children during a welcoming ceremony in Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 19, 2024

Putin and Kim sign mutual defense pact in dramatic upgrade of ties

The North Korean and Russian leaders inked a "strategic partnership treaty," upgrading ties to a level that Kim said was on par with a formal alliance.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte makes a doorstep statement during an informal leaders' meeting in Brussels on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 19, 2024

Dutch PM Rutte to succeed Stoltenberg as NATO chief, media report says

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, a staunch ally of Kyiv and a critic of Russia, is expected to take the reins in October, after Hungary and Slovakia backed him.
Water is sprayed over the stage at a Taylor Swift concert in Rio de Janeiro in November 2023.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 19, 2024

On a warming planet, outdoor concerts need a new safety playbook

Climate change is ushering in more extreme weather worldwide, and with it, greater risks for outdoor events.
Renho attends a news conference in Tokyo on Friday. Renho needs to appeal to a wide range of voters in a race that has over 50 candidates, especially CDP and JCP supporters who don’t like incumbent Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 19, 2024

Japanese Communist Party's shadow looms over Renho in Tokyo race

The appearance of a two-page flier in which the JCP endorsed Renho raised eyebrows and added more uncertainty to her prospects of winning the race.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike (left) and Renho, a member of the House of Councilors, both candidates in the gubernatorial election, attend a news conference at the Japan National Press Club in the capital on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 20, 2024

The battle to be Japan’s most powerful woman is on

The race to become governor of Tokyo has officially kicked off, and is set to determine who will control a region that makes up more than 20% of the nation’s economy.

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