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Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen near houses destroyed in the Israeli military offensive in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, on May 30.
WORLD
Jun 17, 2024

Aid groups welcome pauses in fighting but say Israel must do more to ease hunger

Some aid groups expressed skepticism that the Israeli military’s action would be transformative.
The ANC's Cyril Ramaphosa was re-elected president of South Africa after the country's lawmakers voted during the first sitting of the New South African Parliament in Cape Town on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 17, 2024

A historic deal sets South Africa on a new path

There's enough overlap between the ANC and its main coalition partner, the Democratic Alliance, to allow President Ramaphosa to try and fix the beleaguered economy.
The experiences of our protagonist (Yukino Takahashi, right) and her fellow sex workers lead them to wonder if they still have some spark of humanity left in Shimpei Yamasaki’s “During the Rains.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 20, 2024

‘During the Rains’ captures a blunt, modern glimpse of Japan’s sex industry

Yukino Takahashi’s self-immolating performance makes her character hard to like but also forces the viewer to contend with the reality of her line of work.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun makes a rare public appearance at the Berlin Aviation Summit on June 4. His presentation — swinging between defiance and contrition — might offer clues on how he aims to handle himself during the Washington hearing on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 18, 2024

Boeing faces senate grilling as CEO search gains momentum

How outgoing CEO Dave Calhoun handles the spotlight is important not just for his legacy, but also for the company’s work to shore up confidence.
A typhoon hits Hong Kong. Scientists warn that the danger ahead isn’t just from supercharged weather catastrophes. A warmer planet increases the chances of "compound events,” where multiple disasters — natural and manmade — occur at the same time or place.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 19, 2024

The era of super-wild weather is already here

Floods, wildfires, droughts and heat waves have become more widespread and volatile than before.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 19, 2024

Biden offers legal path to undocumented spouses of citizens

Spouses and children of citizens who have been in the U.S. for at least a decade can apply for residence without first being forced to leave the country.
When describing meal times in his novel “No Longer Human,” Osamu Dazai refers to his family as being "jūikunin," which translates to "10 and change." By being vague, he diminishes the importance of the size of his family.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 21, 2024

Attempting the classics: Decoding Osamu Dazai’s sinister diction

A gritty realism and gut-wrenching plots were the mark of the "I-novel" push in the 20th century.
After his Emperor's Cup triumph in Tokyo last month, Onosato (right) is the clear favorite to be the next wrestler to earn promotion to ozeki.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jun 19, 2024

Onosato heads slim field of sumo wrestlers with ozeki potential

The wrestler's meteoric rise makes him the clear-cut favorite to become the sport's next "ozeki."
Two Javan rhinos in Ujung Kulon national park in Indonesia's Banten province. In 2023, a newborn Javan rhino in Indonesia raised hopes for the highly endangered species.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Jun 19, 2024

Javan rhino clings to survival after Indonesia poaching wave

Conservationists fear poachers have killed up to a third of the surviving population, possibly with inside help.
A novice Tibetan monk holds the U.S. and Tibetan flags at the Kangra airport in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 19, 2024

U.S. lawmakers meet Tibet's Dalai Lama and warn China on choice of successor

Tibetan tradition holds that the Dalai Lama is reincarnated after his death, and the current leader has said his successor may be found in India.
Staff lower the Chinese national flag in the Central Financial District in Hong Kong in March. Hong Kong is an established trading hub for raising capital while Singapore excels in private wealth management.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 19, 2024

Stop comparing Hong Kong to Singapore

Think of it this way: Hong Kong is where the Chinese can grow their wealth while Singapore is where they can preserve it.
Members of Onomichi High School's baseball team (back) have longer hair than members of teams that stick to traditional buzz cuts.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Jul 1, 2024

High school baseball gets a makeover as buzz cut rules are no more

What was once seen as a symbol of fighting spirit is getting a rethink as coaches try to be mindful of students' mental states and preferences.
Japan's core inflation accelerated in May due to energy levies but an index that strips away the effect of fuel slowed for the ninth straight month, complicating the central bank's decision on how soon to raise interest rates.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 21, 2024

Energy costs drove up inflation in May, backing case for BOJ rate hike

Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.5% in May from a year ago, quickening from 2.2% in April, the internal affairs ministry said Friday.
Textbook publisher Kyoiku-Shuppan switched a section about Ippei Mizuhara (left) in its English textbook to a story about Japanese men's national soccer team.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 21, 2024

Section on Ohtani's ex-interpreter removed from Japanese textbook

The section has been replaced with a section on the Japanese men's national soccer team.
Tourists walk through Nakamise shopping street near Sensoji temple in Tokyo. This year is expected to bring 33 million travelers to Japan, an unprecedented surge and a 30% increase from last year.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 21, 2024

How an arrival tax could stem the overtourism tide

How can Japan ensure that tourism benefits locals and travelers alike? There's no silver bullet but an arrival tax of around $40 could be a good starting point.
Despite mainstream media downplaying the significance, the rise of figures like France's Marine Le Pen and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni indicates a normalization of the radical right.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 21, 2024

The specter of neo-fascism is haunting Europe

Despite mainstream media downplaying the significance, the rise of figures like Marine Le Pen and Giorgia Meloni indicates a normalization of the radical right.
A Palestinian boy carries food cooked by a charity kitchen amid shortages of aid supplies in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
WORLD
Jun 23, 2024

Food piles up at Gaza crossing as aid agencies say unable to work

Desperation among Gaza's 2.4 million population has increased as fighting rages, sparking warnings from agencies that they are unable to deliver aid.
Foreign investors, who helped push up Japanese stocks to a record high just a few months ago, became net sellers for a fourth straight week through June 14.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 23, 2024

Global investors turn cautious on once favorite Japanese stocks

Foreign investors, who helped push up Japanese shares to a record high just a few months ago, became net sellers for a fourth straight week through June 14.
A screen tracks Nvidia's stock price movements as a trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 23, 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 24, 2024

Nvidia sales grow so fast that Wall Street can’t keep up

No one can figure out what the chipmaker’s revenues are actually going to be amid an artificial intelligence boom.
A wind farm in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture. For Japan's future energy roadmap to center on clean sources, the government should reform the institutions overseeing energy policy to avoid vested interests from slowing the transition down.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 24, 2024

It’s time for Japan to set up a climate change agency

The government is currently reviewing Japan's Strategic Energy Plan. But who's shaping this key document for the future? It's mostly older men with vested interests.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is seen in this screen shot taken from video in London on Monday.
WORLD
Jun 25, 2024

WikiLeaks' Julian Assange to be freed after pleading guilty to U.S. Espionage Act charge

Assange, 52, has agreed to plead guilty to a single criminal count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified U.S. national defense documents.
Adidas CEO Bjorn Gulden at Adi-Dassler-Sportplatz in Herzogenaurach, Germany, on June 10.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 25, 2024

Adidas CEO rides Samba craze to revive brand after Ye debacle

Adidas' stocks have more than doubled from when Bjorn Gulden was announced as the new boss 18 months ago.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that the commitment to the proposed cease-fire and hostage deal does not contradict the position that Israel will not end the war until it eliminates Hamas.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 25, 2024

Netanyahu says he is committed to truce proposal for Gaza Strip

As Israel's military reports advances made against Hamas in southern Gaza's Rafah, the Israeli prime minister reiterates his goal of eliminating the militant group.
French President Emmanuel Macron
WORLD / Politics
Jun 25, 2024

Macron warns podcast of 'civil war' risk as French elections loom

French President Emmanuel Macron told a podcast that front-runners in the parliamentary election risked bringing "civil war" to France.
Emergency personnel and investigators examine the site of a deadly blaze that tore through a lithium battery factory owned by South Korean battery maker Aricell in Hwaseong on Tuesday, a day after the fire left 23 dead.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jun 26, 2024

Deadly fire exposes harsh conditions migrant workers face in South Korea

Foreign nationals do dirty, hazardous work, and advocates say the blaze that killed 23 at a battery plant shows that they need better protection.
Ursula von der Leyen is lined up for a second term as European Commission president. Together with the EU’s new leadership, she should preserve her tough stance on China.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 26, 2024

New EU leaders must unite on China

As Ursula von der Leyen lines up for a second term as European Commission president, she should continue taking a tough stance on China together with other EU leaders.
Aichi Gov. Hideaki Omura explains irregularities found at welfare service provider Megumi during a news conference in Nagoya on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2024

Japanese government punishes operator of group homes for overcharging

About 100 group homes for people with disabilities run by the Tokyo-based firm will be banned from having their service-provider designations renewed.
The rate of the yen against the dollar displayed in the trading room at foreign exchange brokerage Gaitame.com in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 27, 2024

Yen taken back to the '80s by messaging missteps and loss of confidence

Some analysts see the speculative fever as unsustainable, and that any signs of U.S. inflation falling faster than expected could allow a dramatic comeback.
Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte emerged as the sole candidate for NATO secretary-general after his final challenger, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, dropped out of the race last week.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 27, 2024

NATO’s next chief, Mark Rutte, will have his work cut out for him

The war in Ukraine, uncertainty about Washington's position in the alliance and growing tensions with China are among the challenges he will face.
Kamekichi Fujiwara has been making 'New York-style' pizza in Tokyo's Kichijoji neighborhood since 1967.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 30, 2024

At Tony’s Pizza, ‘New York style’ is a state of mind

In 1967, Kamekichi Fujiwara made his first pizza layered with Dutch edam, mozzarella from Germany and Danish Maribo — and it’s what Tony’s Pizza still serves today.

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