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Don't let anyone tell you that when it comes to legitimate Mexican food, Tokyo is a culinary desert.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Top 5
Jul 14, 2024

Tokyo’s top tacos dispel the ‘no good Mexican food’ myth

Whether a casual bite from a counter restaurant or a more elegant affair, Tokyo’s tacos do not skimp on variety.
Indian author and activist Arundhati Roy speaks in New Delhi in 2020. Roy is currently facing prosecution in India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, an anti-terrorism law, for comments she made back in 2010 about Kashmir.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 12, 2024

The show trial of India's Arundhati Roy

Comments made by Roy, a Booker Prize-winning author, 14 years ago have put her in the crosshairs of the BJP, which is wielding an anti-terrorism law to punish her.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump takes the stage during a campaign rally at Trump National Doral, his golf resort in Doral, Florida, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 13, 2024

Trump’s subtle shift in his vice president calculations

The former president appears to be giving more weight to political calculations in selecting a running mate, by picking someone who “helps you get elected.”
Secret Service agents cover former President Donald Trump immediately after an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. The incident highlights America's historical and ongoing political violence.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 16, 2024

Trump’s shooting is a legacy of America’s violent past

Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally. The incident highlights America's historical and ongoing political violence.
Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy participates in a practice round on Tuesday in Troon, Scotland, ahead of the British Open.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Jul 17, 2024

Scheffler and DeChambeau loom over McIlroy's bid for major redemption

McIlroy's major drought continued in last month's U.S. Open, where he agonizingly finished second after bogeying three of his last four holes.
Diaper products for babies and adults are displayed at a factory of Daio Paper's subsidiary Elleair in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, in June.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 17, 2024

Japan's diaper-makers look to adult market for revenue as births fall

Japan's population is likely to decline by about 30% to 87 million by 2070, with 4 people in every 10 at the age of 65 or more, estimates show.
Keiju Okada (left) and Miho Yoshioka compete in the 470-class mixed two-person dinghy event of the sailing world championships in August in the Netherlands.
OLYMPICS / Sailing
Jul 17, 2024

Japanese craftsmanship to play vital role in dinghy sailing in Paris

Fifteen of the 19 boats in the new 470-class mixed two-person dinghy event at the 2024 Paris Games will use sails made by North Sails Japan.
U.S. gymnast Simone Biles competes in the uneven bars during the U.S. Olympic trials in Minneapolis on June 30.
OLYMPICS
Jul 18, 2024

Paris Olympics marketing blitz powered by female athletes

While the Olympics has long been considered the pinnacle of women’s sports, increased attention has prompted more brands to feature female athletes.
A memorial service was held at the premises where Kyoto Animation's No. 1 studio was in the city of Kyoto on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 18, 2024

Ceremony marks 5 years since Kyoto Animation arson attack

A total of 144 people, including bereaved relatives and the company CEO, gathered to remember the 2019 attack which left 36 people dead and 32 others injured.
A loggerhead sea turtle hatches eggs on a beach in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, in May.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional voices: Chubu
Jul 29, 2024

Aichi sea turtle researchers assess risks of warmer nesting sites

The warmer the nest is, the more likely hatchlings will be female — that bodes ill for the survival of the marine species.
Cadets at the Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Kure Recruit Training Center row in unison during a cutter boat drill in Kure Bay, Hiroshima Prefecture, in June.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Jul 29, 2024

MSDF’s Kure base faces recruitment challenges as youngsters shy away

The stressful nature of service and an increasing likelihood of actual combat are causing many to opt for other careers.
Dai Nippon Printing's "Midokoro viewer" system displays 3D images of cultural assets on a touch screen.
JAPAN
Jul 19, 2024

Japan firms working on digital cultural assets

Major printing company Toppan has produced more than 60 virtual reality images since launching its digital cultural assets project in 1997.
U.S. President Joe Biden takes part in a conversation with former U.S. President Barack Obama and late-night talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel during a star-studded campaign fundraiser at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on June 15.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 20, 2024

Biden fundraisers on hold as July donations plummet, sources say

The move comes even as the Democratic Party planned to accelerate his nomination and he vowed to continue in the 2024 race.
Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jul 21, 2024

As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals

Can a 700-year-old dance have an effect on extreme heat or torrential rain? Probably not. When you're feeling powerless, though, any little thing helps.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, gives his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 21, 2024

Emerging narratives: Trump is 'a lion’ or he’s 'a lyin’

Is Donald Trump a "man of destiny," as some conservatives are now claiming or a "con man of destiny"? ("Napoleon in a golf cart,” The Free Press called him.)
A full-scale model of the new design of a next-generation fighter that Japan, Italy and Britain plan to develop together is showcased Monday by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Leonardo and BAE Systems — the projects’ lead system integrators — at the Farnborough International Airshow near London on Monday.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2024

Japan and partners unveil design for cutting-edge new joint fighter

While unlikely to be the final design, the refined concept features major changes in the wing and aft fuselage areas ostensibly meant to improve its aerodynamics.
U.S. women's soccer head coach Emma Hayes speaks during a news conference earlier this month in New York.
OLYMPICS
Jul 24, 2024

U.S. women ready to 'create a new history' in Paris, says coach Hayes

The four-time Olympic champion suffered its earliest World Cup exit in the round of 16 last year.
A substitute teacher (Nagisa Shibuya, center front) at a junior high school finds herself caught up in strange goings-on with violent outcomes in “Who’s That Girl?”
CULTURE / Film
Jul 26, 2024

‘Who’s That Girl?’: Junior high school antics just got scarier

J-horror master Takashi Shimizu’s latest offers familiar genre elements with a practiced hand and fresh twists.
A vengeful spirit threatens the residents of Edo Castle’s maze-like women’s quarters in “Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain.”
CULTURE / Film
Jul 26, 2024

‘Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain’: A fast and furious visual spectacle

Kenji Nakamura’s cinematic sequel to his “Mononoke” anime series is an overwhelming onslaught of sights and sounds.
International Monetary Fund guidance on industrial policy must balance protection with market discipline and emphasize fiscal prudence.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 25, 2024

What fiscally sound industrial policy can do

Industrial policy can help countries cope with growing economic and political uncertainty. But the details matter.
Beijing's push to integrate core socialist values into its chatbots highlights a significant challenge in China's bid to compete with the U.S. in AI development.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 26, 2024

What's wrong about ‘Chat XiPT’ is bigger than China

The difficulty of creating AI models infused with specific values will likely hurt China’s efforts to create chatbots as sophisticated as those in the U.S.
TikTok has deployed Washington power brokers and $1,500-an-hour attorneys to fend off a new law barring the app unless its Beijing-based parent, ByteDance, divests.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Jul 27, 2024

TikTok’s survival is at stake in all-out fight against U.S. ban

TikTok has deployed Washington power brokers and $1,500-an-hour attorneys to fend off a new law barring the app unless ByteDance divests.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (left to right), U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defense Minister Minoru Kihara prior their "two-plus-two" talks at the Iikura Guest House in Tokyo on Sunday
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 28, 2024

In historic move, U.S. to upgrade military command structure in Japan

The move — one of the most significant in the alliance's history — comes as Washington and Tokyo overhaul military ties in the face of an increasingly assertive China.
A man with a whip tries to control a crowd of Sudanese refugees waiting to receive food at an impromptu aid distribution on the outskirts of a refugee camp in Adre, Chad, on July 8. As starvation spreads in Sudan, its military is blocking the United Nations from bringing food into the country via the most straightforward route.
WORLD
Jul 29, 2024

As starvation spreads in Sudan, military blocks aid trucks at border

Distrust and the loss of border control is hindering delivery of food by the United Nations via the most straightforward route.
Inside TSMC’s plant in Taiwan. Chip plants, with rows of advanced equipment, require massive amounts of electricity.
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Aug 5, 2024

TSMC’s Kumamoto plant pledges to use 100% renewables despite high costs

The move is not just an exercise of corporate responsibility but also a response to demands from the chipmaker's large customers.
Tadanobu Kanno, the vice principal of Shoin Gakuen Fukushima High School in the city of Fukushima, goes through the itinerary of the school's trip to the Kansai region this year.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Aug 5, 2024

Fukushima schools hesitate to resume overseas trips

The yen's weakness and inflation have resulted in the cost of such excursions to surge — in some cases, more than double what it was prepandemic.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris might maintain some of the economic policies of former President Donald Trump.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jul 30, 2024

A President Harris might be decidedly Trumpy in approach to Asia trade

The efforts to contain China economically is a common theme that is likely to be maintained after the election.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (left), U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (second from left), Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo (second from right), and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro pose for a photo ahead of the allies' "two-plus-two" meeting at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Metro Manila, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 30, 2024

Philippines gets 'unprecedented' aid — and reassurances — during talks with U.S.

Manila will receive $500 million in security assistance, months before the U.S. votes in a contentious presidential election.
Israel is engaged not only in fighting real wars but also in ideological conflicts that shape its security, existence and global legitimacy.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 1, 2024

Challenged on all fronts: Israel’s five wars

What do those who support Israel's right to self-defense suggest it do to combat an enemy that entrenches itself in hundreds of miles of tunnels beneath civilians?
Founded in the early 2000s, Ichiro's Malt has since become a third pole in Japan's whisky world dominated by beverage giants.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 4, 2024

In sleepy Chichibu, Japan's whisky landscape is quietly shifting

Ichiro’s signature flavor profile of rich, woodsy flavors complemented by a clear fruitiness owes in large part to the tempermental 'mizunara' Japanese oak.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.