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A potato field in summer in Hokkaido. The prefecture is a significant source of food and produced 81% of Japan's potatoes in 2022.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Jun 24, 2024

Hokkaido's farmers look for a silver lining to climate change disruption

As the prefecture becomes warmer, it could produce more apples and sweet potatoes, agricultural cooperative officials say.
For hundreds of thousands of people around the world every year, heat is deadly. In the U.S., it takes more lives than hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes or floods.
COMMENTARY
Jun 20, 2024

Heat waves are deadlier than hurricanes. Make them ‘disasters.’

For hundreds of thousands of people around the world every year, heat is deadly. In the U.S., it takes more lives than hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes or floods.
Electric cars are stacked for export at the international container terminal of Taicang Port in Suzhou, China.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 20, 2024

Europe’s EV battery plans fade on China price war and U.S. subsidies

As electric-vehicle sales slow, companies including Volkswagen, Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz are scaling back or refocusing battery projects.
U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the new missiles are expected to arrive in the coming weeks and should provide Ukraine with capabilities through the remainder of this and the next fiscal year.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 21, 2024

U.S. diverts air defense missiles ordered by allies to Ukraine

The redirection is part of a "difficult but necessary decision” to reprioritize planned deliveries, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
Muslim pilgrims use umbrellas to shade themselves during the annual Hajj pilgrimage, on Saturday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 21, 2024

Deadly heat waves mark Northern Hemisphere's first day of summer

Record temperatures in recent days are suspected to have caused hundreds, possibly thousands, of deaths across Asia and Europe.
JJ Redick looks on before Game 4 of the NBA Finals on June 14.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Jun 21, 2024

Lakers reportedly set to hire JJ Redick as next coach

Redick was offered a four-year contract on Thursday morning, according to ESPN. Financial terms were not yet known.
The Oku knife "hooks or wraps elegantly along the edge of a plate or board," designer Kathleen Reilly says.
LIFE / Style & Design
Jun 22, 2024

A playfully subversive knife from a rising Scottish design star

The Scottish artist fuses East and West in a new knife design crafted in and inspired by Niigata Prefecture’s Tsubame-Sanjo.
Ruby might be shy at first, but as long as you have some treats, she'll warm up to you in no time.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Jun 24, 2024

When Ruby warms up to you, you've got it made

Once this tricolor girl finds that special person who will adopt her, Ruby is sure to settle in, breathe easy and make a gentle, precious and very pretty companion.
Japan is considering a system to let foreign visitors who are exempted from obtaining short-stay visa declare online their information such as purpose of stay before entering the country.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2024

Japan to launch online travel authorization system for visitors

The system's introduction aims to prevent illegal stays.
Japan head coach Eddie Jones attends a training session in Tokyo on Friday.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Jun 21, 2024

Wary England set for Eddie Jones reunion in steamy Japan Test

Temperatures are set to reach 30 degrees Celsius in the capital for Eddie Jones' first game since returning to the Japan job for a second stint.
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.
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.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrives at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 21, 2024

For Kishida, the LDP election means a fraught summer ahead

Attention is turning to what the prime minister will do as potential rivals rally support ahead of September's vote for party president.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends an event in Hanoi on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 22, 2024

One year after Wagner uprising, Putin more powerful than ever

In the aftermath, a bruised Putin implemented a new rule: no one would ever be allowed the same level of autonomy again.
An employee at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The greatest heat-related labor losses are born by outdoor industries such as construction, mining and agriculture.
BUSINESS
Jun 22, 2024

When hot weather arrives, worker productivity is at risk

Exposure to high temperatures can diminish cognitive performance and have other lingering affects on one's health.
Portraits of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (right) and Russian President Vladimir Putin during a welcome ceremony at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2024

Japan conveys concerns to Russia over closer ties with North Korea

The fact that a meeting was realized between both sides shows that Russia is willing to maintain a certain level of dialogue with Japan.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump delivers the keynote address at the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in Washington on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 23, 2024

After conviction, Trump presents himself as a martyr to the Christian right

Trump’s appeals to the evangelicals come at a crucial phase in the presidential campaign.
Japan head coach Eddie Jones said he saw promising signs on Saturday as he tries to instill a high-tempo playing style in his new team.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Jun 23, 2024

Japan's Jones positive despite England defeat

An inexperienced Japan side featuring four debutants in the starting lineup conceded eight tries but scored two of its own in a stirring finish to the game.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Vietnam President To Lam during a reception in Hanoi on Thursday
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 23, 2024

Putin came to Asia to disrupt, and he succeeded

After stops in Pyongyang, North Korea, and Hanoi, Vietnam, last week that were draped in communist red, Putin left behind a redrawn map of risk in Asia.
Nissan's Hyper Force at the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing on May 3
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 23, 2024

Nissan closes car plant in China

The closure on Friday came amid the rapid spread of electric vehicles in China, which has led to serious sales slumps for Japanese automakers.
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.
Japan's men's and women's gymnastics teams pose for photos during a news conference to announce the team's uniforms for the 2024 Games.
OLYMPICS / Gymnastics
Jun 24, 2024

Leotard vs. unitard debate in gymnastics still raging ahead of Paris Olympics

The German gymnastics team took a stand against sexualization in the sport in 2021, but heading into Paris, the leotard is still very much in vogue in Japan and abroad.
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.
Narendra Modi, India's prime minister, greets supporters at the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters during election night in New Delhi, India on June 4.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 24, 2024

Some of Modi’s agenda could disappear in India’s fractured Parliament

A new Parliament taking office in India may give some hint of whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s domestic policies are now in doubt.
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer (center), shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (left) and shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy in Paris in 2023
WORLD / Politics
Jun 24, 2024

Labour's Brexit red lines set to limit shift in U.K.'s ties with EU

Officials believe the party will struggle to deliver a significantly different trading relationship unless it U-turns on certain issues.
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.
The U.S. will no longer view itself through the lens of exceptionalism, regardless of whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden wins the next election.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 24, 2024

American exceptionalism is dead no matter who wins the election

The U.S. will no longer view itself through the lens of exceptionalism regardless of the presidential election's outcome, focusing instead on its narrow self-interests.
Naoto Ohtake, president-elect of the Institute of Science Tokyo, said it aims to have international students make up 30% of all undergraduate science and engineering majors by 2050.
JAPAN
Jun 24, 2024

Institute of Science Tokyo will reapply for grant from ¥10 trillion fund

Tokyo Institute of Technology and Tokyo Medical and Dental University, which will merge to form the new university, had jointly applied before but failed.
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.

Longform

Passengers that were on a morning train attacked by members of the Aum Shinrikyo group wait for medical assistance outside Kasumigaseki Station on March 20,1995.
The day a religious cult brought terror to Tokyo