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Office employees drink outdoors in Kabukicho. Street drinking at night will be banned in certain areas of Shinjuku on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. However, the ban has no penalties.
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2024

Tokyo's Shinjuku bans street drinking at night on Halloween

The move comes as Shinjuku has faced increased disturbances and other nuisances from young people moving from neighboring Shibuya.
Britain's Reform U.K. party leader Nigel Farage attends an interview in London.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 22, 2024

U.K.'s Nigel Farage says the West provoked Putin's invasion of Ukraine

The remarks, made in an interview with the BBC aired late on Friday, drew strong criticism across the British political spectrum.
The holding lot of the Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corporation-Volkswagen joint venture in Shanghai in April 2023. As the European Union moves to impose tariffs on Chinese cars, Germany, with an auto industry deeply enmeshed with China, is stuck in the middle.
BUSINESS
Jun 23, 2024

Germany hopes to head off a trade war with China

China’s EV exports threaten European automakers, but companies like Volkswagen have extensive operations in China and fear retaliatory actions by Beijing.
Taiwanese soldiers run during the annual Han Kuang anti-landing drill in New Taipei City last July.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 23, 2024

Taiwan war games to mimic combat as closely as possible

A senior Taiwan defense official said there was an urgent need to rethink how the drills were conducted.
Caeleb Dressel dives into the pool during the U.S. Olympic swimming trials in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Thursday.
OLYMPICS / Swimming
Jun 23, 2024

Resurgent Caeleb Dressel has new take on young swimming rivals

Dressel's five golds at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games included individual triumphs in the 50 and 100 free and the 100 butterfly.
Amid AI chip juggernaut Nvidia's staggering successes, startups seeking the attention of Silicon Valley venture capitalists are being asked to innovate — but without a clear indication of where the next chapter of AI will be written.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Jun 23, 2024

Beyond Nvidia: the search for AI's next breakthrough

Startups are being asked to innovate — but without a clear indication of where the next chapter of AI will be written.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un holds a reception for Russian President Vladimir Putin in Pyongyang on Wednesday. Agreements reached by the two leaders this time were tactical in nature and hardly strategic.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 22, 2024

Putin’s Pyongyang visit, pivotal talks and a generational shift reshape regional dynamics

The move by Russia and North Korea this time is tactical in nature and hardly strategic.
An Afghan woman carries empty containers to fetch water in Balkh province, Afghanistan, in August 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 24, 2024

U.N.-led Doha meeting with Taliban sparks outcry over women's rights

The U.N. has been seeking a unified, international approach to dealing with the Taliban, who have cracked down on women's rights since returning to power.
Israelis protest for the release of hostages held in Gaza and against the government in Tel Aviv on June 1.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 24, 2024

Israel tech leaders, irked by Netanyahu, eye moves into politics

The war against Hamas is straining Israel's economy, with the central bank projecting costs of around $67 billion through 2025, nearly 15% of the annual GDP.
People run for cover during an Israeli bombardment in Gaza City on Saturday.
WORLD
Jun 24, 2024

Netanyahu says major operations in Gaza will end ‘very soon’

Netanyahu said the next step for the military will be for Israel to redeploy some forces to the north.
Kiyoshie Saruwaka, 74, a member of Ara Style Senior — Japan's only breakdancing club made up of older citizens — practices a move known as "chair freeze" in Tokyo on April 26.
OLYMPICS / Breakdancing
Jun 30, 2024

Inspired by Olympics debut, Japan's seniors blaze breakdancing trail

Ara Style Senior is Japan's only breaking club made up of older citizens.
Muslim pilgrims pray as sprinklers cool them down amid extremely hot weather during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mina, Saudi Arabia, on June 16.
WORLD
Jun 24, 2024

Saudi Arabia says 1,301 deaths during Hajj were mostly unregistered pilgrims

Temperatures in Mecca this year climbed as high as 51.8 degrees Celsius, according to Saudi Arabia's national meteorological center.
For Japan, carbon credits are seen as important as the nation waits for its climate technology bets to pay off.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Jun 24, 2024

Japan makes a late play on under-fire carbon credit trading

The government and Japanese companies see carbon offsets as important as they wait for their climate tech bets to pay off.
In his 14 years as prime minister, Viktor Orban has become expert in playing hardball with Brussels and has repeatedly wielded his veto to get more EU funds.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 24, 2024

Will Hungary hijack the EU during its presidency?

Officials and diplomats fret that one major victim of Hungary's six months in charge will be EU support for Ukraine as it battles Russia's invading forces.
People light a fire during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police," in Tehran on Sept. 21, 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 24, 2024

For Iran's youth, legacy of 2022 clashes shapes presidential race

Contrasting views of the worth of the election have underscored the division in Iran between supporters and opponents of the 45-year-old Islamic Republic.
On a board for election posters in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward on Monday, duplicates of one featuring a female kickboxer who is not running in the gubernatorial race take up half of all the spots.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 24, 2024

Seeing duplicates of a poster on election boards? It's due to a loophole.

The law only restricts details about other candidates or factually incorrect information from posters on boards set up for elections.
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.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen's National Rally party is expected to win snap parliamentary elections called by French President Emmanuel Macron.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 24, 2024

French elites’ silence on Le Pen is deafening

Despite the economically risky promises of the far right (and far left), France's business leaders are not weighing in on the crucial elections only a week away.
Sakana AI, prospected to become the fastest-ever Japanese company to achieve unicorn status, aims to create energy-efficient AI models that tackle long-term national-level issues.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 24, 2024

What a Japanese AI unicorn can teach Silicon Valley

Sakana AI, prospected to become the fastest-ever Japanese company to achieve unicorn status, is taking a long-term approach to the development of AI for good.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has not yet formally announced whether he will seek another three-year term as party president.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 24, 2024

Pressure mounting on Kishida within LDP to give up on reelection

Veterans fear the LDP — under Kishida — will lose control of the government in a general election, while younger members don't want an unpopular president leading them.
The government has a provisional target of keeping PFAS levels in tap water at 50 nanograms or lower per liter.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 24, 2024

Government instigates nationwide survey on PFAS in Japan's tap water

Some 12,000 water providers have been given until the end of September to report on potential water contamination with PFAS.
The fire-damaged lithium battery factory owned by South Korean battery maker Aricell is seen at dusk in Hwaseong on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 25, 2024

Blaze at South Korea lithium battery plant kills 22 workers

Eighteen Chinese workers, two South Koreans and one Laotian were among the dead.
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.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock speaks at the Herzliya Conference in Herzliya, Israel, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 25, 2024

Risk of all-out Middle East war grows daily, German minister warns

Fears are growing that a war that has already killed tens of thousands in Gaza could spill into neighboring countries.
Both Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike (left) and Renho have been the targeted for threats in recent days.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 25, 2024

Koike and Renho targeted by threats

A threatening message warning of an attack using sulfuric acid has been sent via fax to people close to the governor, similar to that sent to the office of rival Renho.
Runners get started in the Tokyo Marathon 2024 in March.
MORE SPORTS
Jun 25, 2024

Nonbinary checkbox to be added to application for Tokyo Marathon

"We aim to create a more inclusive society through Tokyo Marathon 2025," race organizers said.
Seibu's Ginjiro Sumitani (back left) meets with participants in a program to inspire seriously ill children, at the Belluna Dome in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, on May 26.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jun 25, 2024

Lions catcher Sumitani remains committed to inspiring ill children

The sight of happy children "reminds me that I should do my best," says Ginjiro Sumitani.
Travelers in front of a Suntory duty-free shop at Kansai International Airport in December
BUSINESS
Jun 25, 2024

Duty-free sales at Japan's department stores tripled in May

Record sales were achieved with the help of a significant influx of Chinese tourists and the yen’s weakness.
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov attends a ceremony marking the anniversary of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II by the Kremlin wall in Moscow on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 26, 2024

U.S. and Russia defense chiefs speak as tensions rise over Crimea attack

Russia's Defense Ministry said that Andrei Belousov warned Lloyd Austin of the dangers of continued U.S. arms supplies to Ukraine.

Longform

It's back to the classroom for some residents as municipal governments across the country conduct lessons to learn how to use new technologies.
Can aging Japan go digital without leaving anyone behind?