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Hamas' political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, attends a swearing-in ceremony for new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian at the parliament in Tehran on Tuesday.
WORLD
Jul 31, 2024

Hamas says political chief Ismail Haniyeh killed in 'Zionist' strike in Tehran

The group said he was killed in a "Zionist strike on his headquarters in Tehran" after he joined the inauguration of the new Iranian president.
Gold medalist Pan Zhanle of China celebrates on the podium after winning the men's 100-meter freestyle event at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday.
OLYMPICS / Swimming
Aug 1, 2024

Chinese swim fans hit back at doping claims as Pan takes gold

Pan burnished his reputation in his home country with a world-record time of 46.40 seconds, beating the previous fastest time of 46.80 he had set in February.
Haruka Kitaguchi competes in the final of the women's javelin on Saturday at the Paris Olympics.
OLYMPICS / Athletics
Aug 11, 2024

Japan's Haruka Kitaguchi secures javelin gold with opening throw

Last year Kitaguchi needed her final throw to take the world gold in Budapest, but there was little suspense at the Stade de France on Saturday.
Former tennis player Andre Agassi (right) presents the U.S. Open trophy to Jannik Sinner in Flushing Meadows, New York, on Sept. 8.
TENNIS
Sep 17, 2024

The key to Agassi’s reentry: Don’t be too busy, and don’t be too bored

One minute, the former player was in the tennis wilderness in Nevada. The next, he was at the Australian Open.
Moninder Singh, a spokesperson for BC Gurdwara council, speaks at a news conference at the site of a 2023 murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, in May.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 19, 2024

Warned by police, some of Canada's Sikhs feel threatened by India

The Canadian police said this week it has communicated more than a dozen threats to people who are advocating for Sikh separatism.
People walk along Wall Street in New York.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 11, 2024

Wall Street math wizards are decoding private-market returns

Decoding such illiquid investments is fraught with pitfalls, however, as many modeling mortgage bonds and derivatives before the financial crisis would testify.
Visitors to the "Henri Matisse: The Path to Color" exhibition at Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum face tough decisions in the gift shop.
CULTURE / Art
Aug 5, 2023

Matisse gachapon, Hockney parfaits: Japan’s next-level art merch

A Tokyo art exhibit doesn’t feel complete without a room filled wall-to-wall with custom trinkets.
Matt Daniels of the Buffalo Bills Wheelchair Football Team moves with the ball during a scrimmage against the Cleveland Browns Adaptive Sports team in Cleveland on Aug. 5, 2023.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 24, 2023

Wheelchair football provides camaraderie amid metal-on-metal clashes

Dawson Broad was instantly drawn to wheelchair football after attending a game in Buffalo.
"Lost in Translation" was a sleeper hit about two people meeting in an unfamiliar city and forming an intense and fleeting emotional bond.
CULTURE / Film / Longform
Sep 9, 2023

'Lost in Translation' at 20: A Tokyo perspective

The Japanese cast and crew of Sofia Coppola's "Lost in Translation" reflect on their experiences decades later.
Burnt olive groves following a wildfire in the village of Dikella, west of Alexandroupolis, Greece, on Aug. 29. Nature-based investment aims to back projects that tackle land degradation, rectify biodiversity loss and combat climate change.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 22, 2023

Japan an outlier as interest in nature-based investment grows

Such investments aim to back projects that tackle land degradation, rectify biodiversity loss and combat climate change.
Tokyo now boasts five different Quidditch teams, while universities in Osaka and Kyoto also play host to their own clubs.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Nov 4, 2023

'Accio broomstick!' Quidditch is back and open to everyone

From relatively humble beginnings, Quidditch has continued to grow in popularity across Japan.
David Joiner’s books all share a detailed focus on local arts and crafts . In his latest book, “The Heron Catchers,” "kutaniyaki" ceramics of Yamanaka Onsen, Ishikawa Prefecture, take center stage.
CULTURE / Books
Nov 12, 2023

Location is everything in 'The Heron Catchers'

Author David Joiner ties the local crafts and literary history of Ishikawa Prefecture's Yamanaka Onsen into his new novel.
Japan’s national bar exam was held on Nov. 8 with a pass rate of 45%. Though for decades the pass rate was much lower, this seeming improvement has come on the back of several regulatory blunders.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 20, 2023

The failure behind Japan’s bar exam pass rate

The pass rate for Japan's bar exam has fluctuated, with this year's level coming on the back of several misguided interventions.
The Euro trophy in front of the drawn groups for the 2024 edition of the tournament, in Hamburg, Germany, on Saturday
SOCCER
Dec 3, 2023

Germany to take on Scotland in Euro 2024 opener as draw set

The Germans, three-time winners, will kick off the one-month tournament in Munich on June 14, with the final on July 14 at Berlin's Olympic stadium.
Just over 100 days after Oct. 7, enduring pain is a key reason why polls in Israel show consistently high support for its military offensive in Gaza.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 19, 2024

Enduring pain keeps public support for Gaza war strong in Israel

The support comes despite optimism fading over whether Israel can achieve its stated goals.
Yuma Kagiyama competes in the men's free skate at the Four Continents figure skating championships in Shanghai on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Figure skating
Feb 4, 2024

Japan's Kagiyama smashes competition to take Four Continents title

Kagiyama made an error early in the free skating but his expressive, lightning-quick performance still earned him 200.76 points for a total of 307.58.
Lewis Hamilton arrives at a news conference in Sao Paulo in November ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Feb 4, 2024

Racing for Ferrari fulfills a childhood dream, Lewis Hamilton says

Britain's seven-time Formula One world champion stunned the sport when his move on a multiyear deal was announced on Thursday.
Motoki Taniguchi (left) and one of his clients, Maurice Shelton, hope their lawsuit can change alleged police practices involving stop-and-search.
PODCAST / deep dive
Mar 8, 2024

A lawsuit puts alleged racial profiling by police on trial in Japan

Three residents with foreign roots have filed a lawsuit claiming Japanese police target visible minorities. We discuss what they hope to achieve.
Dodgers' pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitches during the first inning of his MLB debut in Seoul. The outing was one to forget for the former Orix Buffaloes ace.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 22, 2024

Yamamoto shelled in debut as Dodgers lose to Padres

Yamamoto, who joined the Dodgers on a 12-year, $325 million deal in December, was taken out of the game after just one inning.
Haruko Obokata speaks to reporters in the city of Osaka in 2014. Ten years after the STAP scandal, structural problems that led to the scandal persist, leaving ample room for researchers to tamper with research data, experts say.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Apr 9, 2024

Little change in Japan’s research sector 10 years after stem cell fraud

A decade after the STAP scandal, there is still a lot of leeway for researchers to tamper with data.
Naomi Osaka serves to Yulia Putintseva during their women's singles match in a qualifying tie between Japan and Kazakhstan for the Billie Jean Cup finals, in Tokyo on Friday.
TENNIS
Apr 13, 2024

Osaka wants to play at Paris Olympics 'if they let me'

The four-time Grand Slam champion may need to go through an appeals process missing previous chances to play for Japan at the Billie Jean Cup.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting in St. Petersburg on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 28, 2024

Putin’s war will soon reach Russians’ tax bills

The move reflects both the burgeoning costs of his war in Ukraine and the firm control he has over the Russian elite.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee speaks during a press conference, in Hong Kong on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 15, 2024

Hong Kong seeks details on overseas trade office official detained in U.K.

Hong Kong leader John Lee confirmed one of the men was a university classmate who was photographed with him in a group graduation photograph in 2002.
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan attends a meeting with Venezuela's National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez (not pictured) at the Federal Legislative Palace, in Caracas, Venezuela April 22, 2024.
WORLD / Politics
May 23, 2024

Why a prosecutor went public with arrest warrant requests for Hamas and Israeli leaders

ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan accused Netanyahu and his defense minister of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
The members of bed are (from left to right) vocalist Une, guitarist Joneu, bassist Shinji and drummer Shun.  
CULTURE / Music
Jun 23, 2024

Don't sleep on bed's genre-melding mayhem

The band co-runs a rave called Uzu, and an event series at clubasia called “bedroom” that features an impressive roster of names from the Japanese music scene.
A gyrotron, which is used to heat plasma for nuclear fusion reactions, developed by Kyoto Fusioneering
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Jul 7, 2024

Kyoto Fusioneering looks toward a 'Made in Japan' approach for nuclear fusion

Although it recognizes that international collaboration is key, the startup sees the country playing an integral role in the fusion ecosystem.
Public support for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Cabinet marked a new low of 15.5% in July, Jiji poll shows.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 11, 2024

Kishida Cabinet's approval rating sinks to 15.5%, poll shows

The results marked a new low for the Liberal Democratic Party since it returned to power in December 2012.
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Jul 14, 2024

The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'

Great pianists aren't made overnight, it takes years of practice. It can all be undone in a matter of days, however, due to a medical condition called dystonia.
The Milky Way, known as "ama no gawa" in Japanese, is seen above Mount Fuji.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 18, 2024

Comets and constellations: The language of stargazing

Whether it's telling someone to look at a shooting star or describing the difference between stars and planets, the vocabulary of space is vast and interesting.
Cameron Lew, who makes music under the name Ginger Root, recently released “Shinbangumi,” an album that was influenced by the glimmering pop echoes of Japan in the 1980s as well as the nerviness of Devo, the loose rock-pop of Hall & Oates and even Haruomi Hosono’s ’70s explorations of exotica.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 5, 2024

Ginger Root expands on effervescent retro sound

New release "Shinbangumi" comes after a whirlwind year for the American artist who blends glittering pop echoes of 1980s Japan with a mish-mash of Western influences.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?