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May 18, 2024
 

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JAPAN

The number of children 14 years old or younger fell for the 43rd straight year to around 14.01 million as of April 1.
JAPAN / Society
May 4, 2024
Japan’s record-low children population weighs on growth
The number of children 14 years old or younger fell for the 43rd straight year to around 14.01 million as of April 1.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and her Sri Lankan counterpart, Ali Sabry, after a bilateral meeting in Colombo on Saturday.
JAPAN
May 4, 2024
Japan seeks Sri Lanka recovery for regional stability
After talks with her Sri Lankan counterpart, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said that Colombo should secure agreements with bilateral lenders.
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.
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (right) and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shake hands during a joint statement at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 4, 2024
Japan and Brazil vow cooperation in fighting climate change
Kishida and Lula also agreed to work together to maintain and strengthen the international order based on the rule of law.
The National Diet building in Tokyo
JAPAN / Politics
May 4, 2024
Japan says Biden's description of nation as xenophobic is 'unfortunate'
The government said it was "unfortunate that comments not based on an accurate understanding of Japan's policy were made."
With less than two months left before the conclusion of the current session of parliament, any possibility that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida can deliver constitutional reform before the end of his term as Liberal Democratic Party president in late September, as he has promised, appears remote.
JAPAN / Politics
May 4, 2024
Debate on constitutional revision at a standstill despite Kishida's pledges
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
Lawmakers are instead focusing their attention on reviewing the political funds control law in the wake of the LDP's slush funds scandal.

ASIA PACIFIC

A Long March 5 rocket, carrying the Chang'e-6 mission lunar probe, lifts off as it rains at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern China's Hainan Province on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
May 4, 2024
China launches first probe to collect samples from far side of moon
Hundreds of onlookers gathered nearby to witness the latest leap for China's decadeslong space program.
Superintendent Mandeep Mooker, officer-in-charge of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT), speaks at a news conference providing an update into the Hardeep Singh Nijjar homicide investigation in Surrey, British Columbia, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 4, 2024
Indian nationals charged in murder of Canadian Sikh activist
The murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia, last year sparked a major diplomatic clash between India and Canada.

WORLD

Members of the Polish military train with the Patriot air defense system at an airport in Warsaw in February 2023.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 4, 2024
Missile defense successes fuel global urgency to acquire systems
By Gerry Doyle
Experts say the practical and political incentives of investing in the systems will be too hard to ignore — and intensify arms races.
Palestinian group Hamas' top leader, Ismail Haniyeh, speaks during a news conference in Tehran on March 26.
WORLD / Politics
May 4, 2024
Hamas says delegation heading to Cairo for truce talks
Mediators have been waiting for a Hamas response to a proposal to halt the fighting for 40 days and exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
A local resident visits the Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine, on Thursday. The U.S. is in talks with close partners to lead a group of allies that would give as much as $50 billion in aid to Ukraine.
WORLD / Politics
May 4, 2024
G7 eyes plan on U.S.-led $50 billion aid package for Ukraine
By Jennifer Jacobs, Alberto Nardelli and Viktoria Dendrinou
The plan is being discussed among the Group of Seven nations, with the U.S. pushing to have an agreement when G7 leaders meet in Italy in June.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a news conference at WHO headquarters in Geneva in July 2020.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 4, 2024
'Get this done,' WHO chief urges pandemic accord talks
World Health Organization member states have spent the last two years drafting an international accord on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

BUSINESS

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at the United Steelworkers Union headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 17. Biden made clear that he does not want the proposed takeover of U.S. Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel to happen.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 4, 2024
Political furor over Nippon Steel's U.S. Steel bid puts investment panel in spotlight
By Alan Rappeport
Backlash over the deal has echoes of the 1980s when Nippon Steel tried and failed to buy another American metal company.
Traders edged back from record bets on yen weakness this past week, in a period that included a likely bout of intervention by Japan to prop up the currency.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 4, 2024
Traders spooked by intervention risk trim record yen shorts
By Carter Johnson
Traders edged back from record bets on yen weakness this past week, in a period that included a likely bout of intervention by Japan.
Shunichi Suzuki, Japan's finance minister
BUSINESS / Markets
May 4, 2024
Japan’s finance minister keeps traders guessing on yen intervention
By Erica Yokoyama
The comments came days after Japanese authorities apparently entered the market to support the yen on two occasions this week.
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers
BUSINESS / Economy
May 4, 2024
Ex-U.S. Treasury chief says currency interventions fail even at Japan’s scale
By Christopher Anstey
Policymakers likely spent some ¥9 trillion this week, an analysis of Bank of Japan accounts shows.

ENVIRONMENT

A salmon farm in Giske, Norway. The country produces more than half of the world’s farmed salmon.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
May 4, 2024
The world’s hunger for salmon is linked to an ecological disaster
By Jonas Ekblom
High demand for salmon is driving another species to the verge of extinction.

Sports

Japan players celebrate after beating Uzbekistan in the final of the Under-23 Asian Cup in Doha on Friday.
SOCCER
May 4, 2024
Kokubo's injury time penalty save secures Under-23 Asian Cup for Japan
Kokubo dived to his right to keep out Umarali Rakhmanaliev's spot kick to give Japan its second under-23 title since 2016.
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham during a game against the Pelicans in New Orleans on April 14.
BASKETBALL / NBA
May 4, 2024
Lakers fire head coach Darvin Ham after two seasons
The Lakers finished the regular season with a 47-35 mark, good enough for only an eighth-place finish in the Western Conference.

LIFE

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
LIFE / Style & Design / Longform
May 4, 2024
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces
By Stephen Mansfield
Once an exotic curiosity, Japanese gardens have gone on to inspire green thumbs around the world.
Japanese stripper bids to have her porn movies taken off internet
Plaintiff Miyuki Ariga (left) speaks at a news conference along with her lawyer, Yoshitomo Morohashi, after filing a lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court on Monday.
Japan passes bill to introduce 'blue ticket' fines for cyclists
A new system under which bicycle riders pay fines for minor traffic violations to escape criminal punishment is expected to be introduced in Japan no later than 2026.
Japan changes law to allow joint custody after divorce
Legislation that allows the option of joint custody of children after divorce is passed at the Upper House plenary session on Friday.
U.S. envoy to Japan makes landmark visit to front-line island near Taiwan
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel meets with members of the Self-Defense Forces stationed on Yonaguni, Okinawa Prefecture, on Friday.
Japan to review romanization system for first time in 70 years
An advisory panel to the education ministry will consider how the Japanese language should be transcribed into the Latin alphabet, including unifying different romanization styles currently in use.
Can AI-generated inventions be patented? A Tokyo court says no.
The Tokyo court's ruling comes amid ongoing debates on how to regulate generative AI and is part of a transnational class action lawsuit.
A new initiative rethinks old Tohoku crafts
The colored patterns of Tsuguru "nuri," made in Aomori Prefecture, are achieved by applying multiple coatings of lacquer, which are later polished down to reveal layers of colors beneath.
Xi and Putin mark ‘new era’ amid efforts to counter U.S. ‘containment’
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend an event in Beijing on Thursday. During Putin's visit, the leaders showed off their growing alignment amid efforts to push back against the U.S.-led world order.
Unraveling the Japanese prose of Yukio Mishima
Author Yukio Mishima accepts the Arts Festival Award in the drama category at the 20th Arts Festival Award Ceremony on Jan. 22, 1966.
New Taiwan president to set tone for ties with China at inauguration
Taiwan President-elect Lai Ching-te arrives at the CyberSec 2024 Exhibition in Taipei on Wednesday.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Things may look perfect to the outside world, but today's mom is fine with some imperfection at home.
How 'Reiwa moms' are reshaping motherhood in Japan
By Mai Yoshikawa

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Spotlighting a Niigata castle town through sushi
Spotlighting a Niigata castle town through sushi

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