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Much like other hot spots across Okinawa, Onna has diligently strived to captivate both domestic and international tourists, while at the same time grappling with the environmental strain induced by the influx of visitors.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
May 5, 2024

As visitors surge, Japan seeks ways to make tourism eco-friendly

A record tourism boom has raised concerns over the enormous stress visitors put on the environment.
A supporter of Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump waves a flag during a gathering in Palm Harbor, Florida, in March.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 5, 2024

Trump vows to fight 'anti-white feeling' in U.S. His allies have a plan.

Some high-profile supporters say policies for safeguarding people of color should be repurposed to protect the rights of white people as well.
Volunteers help carry out furniture in the town of Anamizu, Ishikawa Prefecture on April 26.
JAPAN / Society
May 5, 2024

Volunteer activities in full swing in Noto during Golden Week

Local governments prepare for an influx of traffic during the holiday period as some volunteers begin entering the area in their own vehicles.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivers a speech during a welcoming ceremony hosted by an organization of Nikkei immigrants from Japan and descendants in Sao Paulo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 5, 2024

Kishida meets with Brazilians of Japanese descent

At 2.7 million, Brazil has the world's largest community of Nikkei — immigrants from Japan and their descendants.
Former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (right) speaks at a news conference with then-South Korean President Park Geun-hye and former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after their trilateral summit at the Presidential Blue House in Seoul in November 2015.
JAPAN
May 5, 2024

Japan, China and South Korea arranging summit for May 26-27

The meeting is expected to bring together Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
Presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino (left) poses with ex-President Ricardo Martinelli during the general election, in Panama City in this photo released Sunday. Mulino was named the winner of Sunday's presidential election.
WORLD / Politics
May 6, 2024

Ex-minister Jose Raul Mulino wins Panama presidential race

Jose Raul Mulino, the protege of a graft-convicted former head of state, was declared Panama's president-elect after elections Sunday.
People are rescued after flooding in Canoas, at the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul on Sunday.
WORLD / Society
May 6, 2024

Death toll from southern Brazil rainfall rises to 78, with many still missing

Floods from several days of storms have affected more than two-thirds of some 500 cities in Rio Grande do Sul, leaving more than 115,000 people displaced.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath attend an election campaign rally in Kanpur, India, on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 6, 2024

Fake videos of Modi aides trigger political showdown in India election

India's election will be the world's largest democratic event. With nearly a billion voters, tackling the spread of misinformation is a high stakes job.
National flags of the Alliance's members flutter at the NATO headquarters in Brussels.
WORLD / Politics
May 6, 2024

Far right gains expected in EU election may test policy ideals for all

To what extent will mainstream parties, used to working together to pass laws, be willing to cooperate with the extreme right?
Over the past two years, 2.4 million people arrived in Canada, more than the population of the U.S. state of New Mexico. Yet Canada barely added enough housing that would cater to just the residents of the New Mexico capital of Albuquerque.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 6, 2024

Global housing shortages are crushing immigration-fueled growth

In developed economies such as Canada, Australia and the U.K., life is getting tougher for both locals and immigrants alike.
The National Police Agency coined the term "tokuryū" to classify individuals involved in dark part time jobs and quasi-gangsters, using the words "tokumei" (anonymous) and "ryūdo" (fluid) to reflect their characteristics.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
May 6, 2024

Tokuryū, a new crime menace in Japan, emerges from the shadows

Unlike the yakuza, which have a hierarchical structure and strict codes of conduct, they lack a clear organizational structure and thrive on anonymity.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson calls on USC President Carol Folt to convene an emergency student dialogue for the protest encampment in support of Palestinians at the University of Southern California's Alumni Park in Los Angeles on April 29.
WORLD
May 6, 2024

Police clear pro-Palestinian encampment at USC

The demonstrations have emerged as a political flash point during a contentious election year as President Joe Biden seeks a second term in office.
Jordan Bardella, President of the French far-right National Rally party, gestures he attends a political rally during the party's campaign for the European elections in Perpignan, France, on May 1.
WORLD / Politics
May 6, 2024

Just how dangerous is Europe’s rising far right?

Anti-immigration parties with fascist roots — and an uncertain commitment to democracy — are now mainstream.
Exiled Russian historian Tamara Eidelman delivers a lecture titled “The Judgment of History” at the Bender JCC of Greater Washington community center in Rockville, Maryland, on April 25.
WORLD / Politics
May 6, 2024

Exiled Russian historian rallies fellow emigrants in dark times

Tamara Eidelman, who was declared a "foreign agent" by the government in Moscow, is one of many who are rebuilding their careers abroad.
Quantas will pay out AU$20 million between more than 86,000 customers who booked tickets on the so-called "ghost flights" and pay an AU$100 million fine instead of defending the lawsuit that it had previously vowed to fight.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 6, 2024

Australia's Qantas to pay $79 million to settle flight cancellation case

The fine is the biggest ever for an Australian airline and among the largest globally in the sector.
A Cambridge research fellow's dismissal is sparking outcry amid a freedom of speech debate about the university's diversity, equality and inclusion policies.
COMMENTARY
May 7, 2024

Will Cambridge support free speech?

Cambridge research fellow's dismissal sparks outcry amid a freedom of speech debate at the university and its diversity, equality and inclusion policies.
Recent losses faced by the Conservative Party in local British elections indicate there are greater challenges ahead for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government in the upcoming national poll.
COMMENTARY
May 6, 2024

Can the Tories rebuild their train wreck of a party?

If you’re a centrist British voter, today’s Conservatives aren’t for you.
A child receives cotton candy at a free cafeteria opened in the city of Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on March 31.
JAPAN / Society
May 6, 2024

'Children's cafes' persevere in Noto despite quake damage

Some kodomo shokudō operating in the Okunoto region are struggling and need support.
A man films with a smartphone in front a placard for the German far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party during a campaign event for the upcoming European Parliament elections, and ahead of Saxony's municipal and state elections, in Dresden, eastern Germany, on May 1.
WORLD / Politics
May 6, 2024

German far right's TikTok success sparks rush to platform

Germany's political heavyweights have been spooked by the successes in reaching youth voters ahead of June's European elections.
A screencap of a performance of Hiroto Nagai's “String Quartet No. 1 ‘Polar Energy Budget’” by the PRT Quartet
CULTURE / Music / OUR PLANET
May 7, 2024

How a Japanese scientist is turning the climate crisis into music

Hiroto Nagai has sonified polar climate data, resulting in a string quartet piece that he thinks can get people to care more about what the data expresses.
For someone who grew up in a country with a system of street names, finding an address in Japan — or worse: trying to guide someone else to one — is no easy task at first.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
May 7, 2024

Lost in translation? No, lost in Japan’s maze of streets.

Anyone who experienced wayfinding in Japan before the age of map apps will remember how much sleuthing was required to get to your destination.
The Kioke Summit on Shodoshima has seen a steady rise in participants from dozens in its early days 12 years ago and about 100 in 2019 to more than 600 this past February.
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 8, 2024

On Japan’s island of olives, age-old shoyu secrets survive

Each Kioke Summit features many activities including a "kioke" auction — shoyu fermentation barrels that fetch anywhere from ¥60,000 to ¥450,000.
Displaced Palestinians who fled Rafah ride atop a car in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2024

Saying cease-fire plan falls short, Israel continues attacks on Rafah

Israel’s war Cabinet unanimously rejected the truce as "far from Israel’s necessary demands,” dashing hopes for an immediate pause in the fighting.
Nomura Holdings is targeting 20% revenue gains for its global markets unit over the next few years.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 7, 2024

Nomura targets 20% revenue growth from global markets business

The target builds on last year's 8% growth and follows a two-year revamp of trading teams for its rates and fixed-income business in Asia and EMEA.
A social welfare office in Tokyo sets up a counter for special COVID loans in June 2020.
JAPAN
May 7, 2024

Only 37% of COVID-19 special loans were repaid in Japan

Some special loan recipients had been facing financial difficulties even before the pandemic
A cargo plane sits on a flooded runway at the airport in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, on Monday.
WORLD
May 7, 2024

'Today, I saw death': Tales of horror as floods hit Brazil

A woman in Brazil recounts the horrors of floodwater overwhelming her home as residents are left to rescue one another in the Rio Grande do Sul state.
Her, a self-described feminist bar in Shanghai, on March 15. Women in Shanghai gather in bars, salons and bookstores to reclaim their identities as the country’s leader calls for China to adopt a “childbearing culture.”
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
May 7, 2024

In China, ruled by men, women quietly find a powerful voice

Women in Shanghai gather to reclaim their identities as the country’s leader calls for China to adopt a “childbearing culture.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the Orthodox Easter service at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2024

U.S. and most EU nations to boycott Putin's inauguration over Ukraine war

France and some other EU states were expected to send an envoy despite a plea by Kyiv.
Sony’s shares have dropped more than 5% this year, compared with a 16% gain in the Topix index, amid a global electronics slump.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 7, 2024

Sony shares fall as offer for Paramount spurs financing concerns

Investors are worried because the $26 billion proposal is larger than the Japanese electronics company's cash holdings.
Stellantis premium brand Alfa Romeo reveals the Milano, its first fully electric car, during an event in Milan on April 10.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 7, 2024

EU election could force sharp turn in electric car policy

Europe's right-wing parties have made cancelling the 2035 deadline to phase out sales of internal combustion engine cars a rallying cry.

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A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake