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Japan faces tough choices amid the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas. The issue now is how Tokyo will navigate the conflict.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 12, 2023

Hamas tests the limits of Japan's Israel-Palestine policy

Japan is the lone outlier in the Group of Seven, condemning the Hamas attacks but also expressing concern over potential casualties in the Gaza Strip.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Arab leaders pose for a group photo during the China-Arab summit in Riyadh on Dec. 9.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 12, 2023

China’s economic stake in the Middle East: Its thirst for oil

China, the world’s second-largest economy, has become addicted to foreign oil at a stunning pace.
Naoya Hatakeyama’s “Rikuzen Takata 2011-2023” is a display of hundreds of color contact prints of his hometown, Rikuzen Takata, Iwate Prefecture. The images show the shifting landscape of a place that was heavily affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.
CULTURE / Art
Oct 13, 2023

Tokyo Biennale 2023 seeks healing through art

The contemporary art festival creates safe spaces for its artists and their works by embracing a “we accept anything” maxim.
A ball of fire erupts in Gaza City after an Israeli airstrike on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 13, 2023

China defends position on Hamas war in talk with Israel’s envoy

China’s special envoy on Middle East issues said the country condemns actions that lead to the death of civilians.
A woman holds a portrait of Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah, as South African activists shout slogans against Israel and wave Palestinian flags outside the South African Jewish Museum during a pro Palestinian demonstration in Cape Town on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 13, 2023

Possible Israel-Hezbollah war hinges on Gaza invasion

Hezbollah and Hamas have long been part of a "joint operations room," a source close to Hezbollah has said.
The U.S. is struggling to cut China off from top AI technology.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 13, 2023

Biden eyes adding AI chip curbs to Chinese companies abroad

Efforts to close the loophole allowing access to chips the show how the Biden administration is struggling to cut China off from top AI technology.
A 19-year-old girl plagued with strange visions sets out with her younger brother to uncover the truth about her perfect family in Banana Yoshimoto’s “The Premonition.”
CULTURE / Books
Oct 14, 2023

Banana Yoshimoto’s new book is a sickly sweet fantasy

In “The Premonition,” the characters exist in a dream-like state of sweetness and steer clear of examining complex questions.
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban meet in Budapest in October 2021. Modern autocrats focus on manipulating public opinion while gradually weakening the democratic institutions from which they claim legitimacy.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 5, 2023

No, the world's democracies are not 'backsliding'

Fears that we're turning the clock back on democracy are inaccurate — and unhelpful for dealing with new shades of authoritarianism.
Nearly 60 years old, Pop-Tarts remain a polarizing yet iconic symbol of America's love of processed sweets.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 15, 2023

How one family influenced the rise and recipes of Pop-Tarts

As Kellogg’s prepares to celebrate the 60th birthday of Pop-Tarts next year, the polarizing treats remain a cultural touchstone.
A man pours water atop his head outside the Emergency Aid Coalition during a heat wave in Houston in August.
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 14, 2023

2023 virtually certain to be warmest year on record, U.S. says

"There is a greater than 99% probability that 2023 will rank as the warmest year on record," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 15, 2023

Japan evacuates eight citizens from Israel as 51 others arrive in Seoul

An SDF aircraft will remain on standby in Djibouti for the possibility of airlifting additional Japanese nationals.
The Tokyo headquarters of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, also known as the Unification Church
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 15, 2023

Japan opposition seeks law on Unification Church asset protection

Despite differing views on method, the CDP and Nippon Ishin no Kai want to prevent the organization's money being deliberately moved overseas.
One of Lily's eyes has been "dark" since she was young, but she won't have any trouble seeing the light in a new family's hearts.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Oct 15, 2023

Lily the cat will make a sweet addition to your home

A feline in her evening years, Lily is full of love and looking for a calm place to call home.
Hiruzen Kougei employee Moeko Hirao, craft brewer “Sugichan” and furry friend Tsubu help out with the tomato harvest at 6:37 a.m.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Oct 16, 2023

The farmer's intern: A month in the Japanese countryside

Escaping the chaos of Tokyo for a month, our writer heads to rural Okayama Prefecture and discovers the delights of natural farming.
A demonstration in support of Ukraine in Tel Aviv in March 2022
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 13, 2023

Israel and Ukraine are linked, and the U.S. must stand with both

Ukraine and Israel are at the forefront of the battle between freedom and tyranny.
Fiji's outside center and captain Waisea Nayacalevu (left) is tackled by England fly-half and captain Owen Farrell during the France 2023 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal match between England and Fiji.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Oct 16, 2023

Borthwick backs England to rise once more for World Cup semis

"A lot of people said we wouldn't get out of the pool. We got out of the pool, now we got out of the quarterfinal," said the England coach.
Israeli soldiers organize armored personnel  near the border with Lebanon on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 16, 2023

After Iran warning, Washington pushes to avert wider Israel war

The ramped-up moves come amid concerns that an invasion of the Gaza Strip by Israeli forces could prompt Iran to enter the conflict.
Thanks to a rally in Japanese stocks, even some "bad governance” companies have been unfairly benefiting from the wave, a fund manager has said.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 16, 2023

Time to short Japan’s ‘bad governance’ stocks, hedge fund says

A rally in Japanese stocks has unfairly benefited companies that are flouting the bourse’s campaign to boost valuations, according to a fund manager.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 16, 2023

Kishida seeks steps to protect children from sexual abuse

"The environment surrounding the safety and security of children has been threatened. The government needs to act quickly," the prime minister said.
The 2028 Los Angeles Games are set to feature cricket, flag football, lacrosse, squash and baseball-softball, following approval from the International Olympic Committee.
OLYMPICS
Oct 16, 2023

Cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash make 2028 Games cut

Each host city, under IOC rules, can request the inclusion of several sports for their edition of the Games.
Suchart Kaewkhio, 75, is bedridden in his home in the Klong Toey slum in Bangkok. Thailand is one of the world's fastest graying societies, but the kingdom's economy, households, government coffers and rapidly shrinking workforce are ill-prepared.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Oct 17, 2023

Old and poor: Thailand sleepwalking toward an aging crisis

Thailand is one of the world's fastest aging societies — but its economy is ill-prepared.
Visitors walk down the main shopping street of Nanjing East Road, one of Shanghai's main commercial and tourist areas, on Sept. 30.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 17, 2023

China data likely to show fragile economy in need of support

Data due Wednesday will likely show gross domestic product expanded 4.5% in the July-to-September period from a year earlier.
Elon Musk’s X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, is allowing child sexual exploitation material to rampantly proliferate, according to Australian regulators, the latest in a growing list of legal challenges the company is facing.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 17, 2023

Australian regulators latest in series of legal woes for Musk's X

X is allowing child sexual exploitation material to rampantly proliferate across the platform, according to Australian regulators.
Chinese fishing boats depart from a port in Zhejiang province on their way toward the East China Sea where the disputed Senkaku Islands are located. China uses swarming tactics around the islets involving multiple vessels in its effort to challenge Japan's control over the area.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 17, 2023

Increased vigilance is needed to address unconventional warfare in the Indo-Pacific

Increased vigilance is needed to address security challenges posed by states that use unconventional methods to achieve their geopolitical objectives.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 18, 2023

Upcoming by-elections first test of Kishida’s new Cabinet

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida faces his first electoral test after making Cabinet and Liberal Democratic Party leadership changes last month.
A Chinese fighter jet is seen during an intercept of a U.S. aircraft in the South China Sea, including by approaching a distance of just 12 meters before repeatedly flying above and below the U.S. aircraft and flashing its weapons.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 18, 2023

U.S. sees 'sharp increase' in Chinese military's 'risky' behavior

The Pentagon said it has documented nearly 300 dangerous incidents that affected U.S., allied and partner aircraft since the fall of 2021.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. The central bank announced an emergency bond-buying operation on Wednesday after the 10-year Japanese government bond yield hit a new decade high.
BUSINESS
Oct 18, 2023

Bank of Japan steps into debt market to slow rising bond yields

The operation had no immediate impact on the benchmark 10-year yield, which earlier in the day touched 0.815%, a fresh decade high.
A young university grad (Kana Kita, right) is introduced to the world of "shunga" erotic art by an older academic (Seiyo Uchino) in “Picture of Spring.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 19, 2023

‘Picture of Spring’: Smart, silly and lots of fun

Akihiko Shiota’s film about the world of Japanese erotic art feels like a crash course in “shunga” before veering into playfully risque territory.
Without the World Games, the Sumo World Championships remain amateur sumo's top-level international competition.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Oct 18, 2023

Sumo's Olympic dream requires fresh approach

A new variant of the sport wouldn't replace the professional or amateur versions, but would instead create a new path to participation and fandom.
Hamas fighters take part in a military parade in Gaza on July 19 to mark the anniversary of the 2014 war with Israel.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 18, 2023

What pushed Hamas to launch its boldest attack ever?

Nothing justifies Hamas' brutality, but analyzing its motivations and goals is the first step to unpacking the present crisis.

Longform

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