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Children hold cork sheets to cover them from the sun while walking along a street during a countrywide heat wave in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Sunday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 1, 2024

Extreme heat is closing schools, widening learning gaps worldwide

Many countries experiencing heat waves are torn between closing schools or leaving them open, both of which negatively affect children's learning.
A "cooling shelter" set up inside the city hall in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture
JAPAN
May 1, 2024

Municipalities setting up 'cooling shelters' in bid to prevent heatstroke

Operators of designated facilities will be asked to open them for use by people to escape the heat when a special alert for heatstroke is issued.
We don't know how much damage these polymers do to our health. But we can make significant inroads on litter and emissions to tackle this issue head-on.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2024

Plastic pollution is a growing problem. Here are some ideas on how to solve it.

International cooperation and proactive measures are needed to mitigate the harmful effects of plastics.
A prayer space for Muslims set up at a commercial complex in Tokyo. The Japan Tourism Agency is set to provide subsidies for the establishment of such prayer spaces.
JAPAN
May 2, 2024

Japan aims to attract more vegetarian and Muslim visitors

Pictograms showing what ingredients are included in restaurant food and souvenirs will be promoted.
A guide stands next to a CV9040 infantry fighting vehicle and other military hardware at an exhibition displaying equipment captured by the Russian army from Ukrainian forces in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, at the Victory Park open-air museum on Poklonnaya Gora in Moscow on Wednesday
WORLD / Politics
May 2, 2024

Russians who fled war return, in boost for Putin’s war economy

Many Russians are returning to their homeland after finding countries abroad have become less accommodating for them — a gain for the domestic economy.
A double-hulled tanker sits docked in front of the Burnaby Refinery, near Vancouver. Natural gas is a key component of the city’s energy use.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
May 2, 2024

How sewage is helping along the energy transition

Capturing waste heat worldwide could prevent burning nearly 30 million barrels of oil daily or 650 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually.
A Kayah woman and children carrying containers from a delivery of drinking water in Myanmar's eastern Kayah state.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 3, 2024

'Fuel for water?' Heat wave piles misery on Myanmar displaced

A heat wave that has sent the mercury in Myanmar to 48 degrees Celsius in some places has added to uncertainties of life in the camps.
From left: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Australian defense chief Richard Marles, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro hold a joint news conference in Honolulu on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 3, 2024

With eye on China, defense chiefs agree to bolster interoperability

Although “China” was not uttered by the officials during their news conference in Hawaii, Beijing’s growing assertiveness was clearly on their minds.
Diane Severin Nguyen’s film, “In Her Time (Iris’s Version),” 2023-24, about a young actress struggling with her role in a (fictional) movie about the Nanjing Massacre, is on display at the Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Artificial intelligence and the "rhetoric around gender and authenticity” were themes in this year's show.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 2, 2024

The winner-take-all economy is ruining art, too

The value of art is not just a matter of taste. To appeal to collectors, artists require the approval of the establishment.
A businessman reads a newspaper outside a train station in Tokyo.
JAPAN
May 4, 2024

Japan drops to 70th in press freedom rankings

Japan fell by two places from last year, and was ranked lowest among the Group of Seven major countries.
Russian President Vladimir Putin looks through a helicopter window during his flight to the Novatek-Murmansk's Offshore Superfacility Construction Center in the village of Belokamenka, in Russia's Murmansk region, last July.
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
May 5, 2024

How Western sanctions are strangling Putin’s Arctic gas ambitions

The Novatek PJSC-led Arctic LNG 2 facility is a key part of Moscow’s plans to boost exports and replenish coffers. But it has remained virtually idled.
British opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer and Labour's Claire Ward embrace after Ward was elected as East Midlands Mayor in Mansfield, England, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
May 5, 2024

Labour mayoral wins cap triumphant election run for U.K.'s Keir Starmer

The results dashed any hopes Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had of reassuring Tories anxious about the possibility of a general election wipe out.
A Lamborghini Diablo SL automobile displayed at the company's event to mark the automaker’s 60th anniversary in Seoul in September 2023. While the boost in wealth among crypto investors was mostly poured into discretionary spending, a significant portion spilled into local housing markets, the researchers found.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 6, 2024

Lamborghini bros no more: Crypto is creating a new wealth effect

Study suggests that household spending out of crypto gains is more like the patterns from traditional equity investments, such as on home purchases.
McLaren's British driver Lando Norris celebrates on the podium after winning the 2024 Miami Formula One Grand Prix at Miami International Autodrome in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS
May 6, 2024

McLaren's Norris wins Miami Grand Prix for maiden F1 win

Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished sixth and eighth with RB's Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda ending seventh.
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.
Mikuni Minato is not a town that has recently fallen on hard times — it's been that way for a century.
LIFE / Travel
May 7, 2024

48 hours in Mikuni Minato, Japan’s port town that time forgot

A trip to Mikuni Minato may not appeal to the average tourist, but well-traveled residents will find it fascinating.
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.
Visitors in Macau on May 2. More than a year since China reopened its borders, some 63% of its residents say they’re ready to return to exploring the world, according to a survey published on April 24.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 7, 2024

China’s thrifty travelers show consumer confidence is weak

While more traveled over the five-day Labor Day break in comparison with 2019, each of them spent less on average.
The Mogami-class frigate, which features stealth capabilities and is operated by Japan's Maritime Self-Defence Force, falls within the very broad guidelines of what is being sought by Canberra.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
May 9, 2024

Will Australia’s next frigates come from Japan?

While the competition is stiff, analysts say Japan's Mogami-class warships — or co-developed Australian variants — stand a fair chance in any bidding war.
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi (second from right) and his Komeito counterpart Keiichi Ishii (second from left) hold a signed agreement on political funding reform, on Thursday in parliament.
JAPAN / Politics
May 10, 2024

Japan's ruling parties find agreement on political reform, but gaps remain

The parties' plan lacks specifics on key contentious issues.
A Palestinian man leaves a house hit by an Israeli strike in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Thursday.
WORLD / Society
May 10, 2024

Gaza's sick and injured search for help amid Rafah assault

Fighting has directly shut some of the main medical facilities that had served people sheltering in Rafah.
A toddler tries to pull an electric kettle cord. Parents can often recognize the dangers within their own home, but may not be as vigilant when visiting new places during the holidays.
JAPAN / Society
May 10, 2024

Indoor child safety warnings issued for caregivers in Japan

Parents can often recognize the dangers within their own home, but may not be as vigilant when visiting new places during the holidays.
Many women suffer abuse for decades, afraid to speak out for fear of being stigmatized or blamed.
WORLD / Society / FOCUS
May 10, 2024

'Everyone around you loses': How domestic abuse hurts economies

Research suggests the global cost of all violence against women could be about 2% of gross domestic product, or the size of Canada's economy.
Hanagasa Ondo folk song performers from Yamagata Prefecture take part in the Japan Parade held in Manhattan on Saturday.
JAPAN
May 12, 2024

New York hosts a Japan Parade

About 100 groups took part in the event where parade-watchers were able to enjoy traditional Japanese culture and food.
Visitors climb the slopes of Mount Fuji, Japan's highest peak at 3,776 meters. From May 20, climbers will have access to a new online booking system for Mount Fuji's most popular Yoshida trail in Yamanashi Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society
May 13, 2024

Online booking for Mount Fuji climb to open on May 20

Climbers will be able to reserve their places and pay the mandatory ¥2,000 ($13) climbing fee up to a day before their climb on the official website.
Natural gas burns on a domestic kitchen stove in London.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2024

As war stems Russian gas, Norway's Equinor gains outsized market impact

Norway now supplies 30% of Europe's gas, and roughly two-thirds of Norway's exports last year were sold by Equinor.
Israelis attend a ceremony at Jerusalem's Mount Herzl military cemetery on Monday, marking Memorial Day for fallen soldiers.
WORLD
May 14, 2024

In Israel, a 'different' Memorial Day amid Gaza war

Yom hazikaron, or Memorial Day, pays tribute to soldiers killed in the line of duty and to victims of attacks in Israel.
Soldiers and police stand guard outside a South Korean Army boot camp in Yeoncheon county before the arrival of K-pop's BTS band member Jin, in December 2022. South Korea's economic success is often  overshadowed by its cultural exports.
COMMENTARY / World
May 10, 2024

A surprise South Korean boom is going unnoticed

Despite its robust economic performance, South Korea often takes a backseat to neighboring giants like Japan and China.
Israeli army battle tanks move near the border with the Gaza Strip at a location in southern Israel on Monday.
WORLD
May 15, 2024

Israeli tanks push deeper into Rafah as battles rage in northern Gaza

Israel's international allies and aid groups have repeatedly warned against a ground incursion into Rafah.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee speaks during a press conference, in Hong Kong on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 15, 2024

Hong Kong seeks details on overseas trade office official detained in U.K.

Hong Kong leader John Lee confirmed one of the men was a university classmate who was photographed with him in a group graduation photograph in 2002.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?