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July 08, 2026
 

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HUMAN RIGHTS

A man views a slavery exhibition at Cape Coast Castle in Ghana. On March 25, the U.N. General Assembly called the transatlantic slave trade the "gravest crime against humanity," with 123 nations voting in favor, three against and 52 abstaining.
COMMENTARY
Apr 7, 2026
Slavery’s atrocities had many global masters
Most historians date the beginning of the transatlantic slave trade to the year 1500, when Portuguese traders sailed down the coast of Africa.
The sons of late former Ohkawara Kakohki executive Shizuo Aishima during a news conference in Tokyo on Monday after suing the state
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 6, 2026
Bereaved family sues over ‘hostage justice’
It’s the latest in a series of lawsuits challenging Japan’s criminal justice system that critics say doesn’t always presume innocence and relies heavily on coerced confessions.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban attends the first so-called "Patriots' Grand Assembly" of nationalist groups from Europe, in Budapest on March 23.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 6, 2026
Hungary’s Viktor Orban: Global ‘illiberal role-model’
The shrewd prime minister has constantly tweaked his country’s political system to rule for 16 straight years as a dominant, albeit divisive figure.
The United States has serious domestic flaws, but its freedoms, alliances and global influence distinguish it from authoritarian states, a distinction its allies must recognize and actively invest in through engagement.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 3, 2026
The Moon and the Turtle: A lesson in false equivalence
Following the United States does not mean following blindly; it means understanding that the CRINKs offer no alternative order worth living in.
U.S. President Donald Trump gestures after delivering an address to the nation about the Iran war at the White House on Wednesday.
WORLD / FOCUS
Apr 3, 2026
Trump gloats on possible war crimes in Iran, but punishment distant
Experts say the near-term consequences for the U.S. president are probably none, as his administration works hard to undermine international institutions tasked with keeping norms.
Soldiers from Burkina Faso patrol on the road of Gorgadji in the Sahel region, Burkina Faso, March 2019.
WORLD
Apr 2, 2026
Burkina Faso and Mali troops kill more civilians than jihadists do, data shows
Widespread deaths of civilians at the ‌hands of ‌government forces could bolster the political legitimacy of militant groups and fuel recruitment, analysts said.
Russia approved new guidelines in February recommending that health professionals send women who do not want children to a psychotherapist, a move critics say could be damaging to their psychological health.
WORLD / Society
Apr 1, 2026
Russian women decry therapy plan to get them to have children
Russia is in the midst of a demographic crisis, with fertility rates at 1.4 children per woman.
Palestinians inspect a burned vehicle and tractor following an attack by Israeli settlers in the northern outskirts of Tayasir village near the occupied West Bank town of Tubas on March 31.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 1, 2026
Applying Israel’s death penalty law would be a ‘war crime’: U.N.
Under the new law, Palestinians in the occupied West Bank convicted by military courts of carrying out deadly attacks classified as “terrorism” will face the death penalty.
Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, speaks during a parliamentary session in Jerusalem on Monday as Israel's parliament passes a law that makes the death penalty a default sentence for Palestinians convicted in military courts of deadly attacks.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 31, 2026
Israel passes death penalty law for Palestinians convicted of lethal attacks
The law, which has drawn international criticism of Israel, would only apply to Israelis convicted of murder whose attacks aimed at “ending Israel’s existence.”
Gao Zhen, left, and his brother Gao Qiang, with their artwork “Mao’s Guilt” in Beijing in September 2009
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 31, 2026
The secret trial of a Chinese artist accused of mocking Mao Zedong
The trial, where the artist faces suspicion of slandering China’s heroes, will not be open to the public.
Norman Wong, the great-grandson of Wong Kim Ark, poses for a portrait in front of a mural of his late ancestor in San Francisco on March 25.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 30, 2026
In U.S. Supreme Court fight over birthright citizenship, a great-grandson hears echoes of 1898
San Francisco area resident Norman Wong, 76, worries that the principle granting citizenship by birth on U.S. soil enshrined by his ancestor’s case may be in peril.
South Africa's Caster Semenya leads the field in the women's 800-meter race during a Diamond League event in Doha in 2019.
OLYMPICS
Mar 30, 2026
Caster Semenya labels IOC stance on eligibility a disrespect to women
The IOC reinstated genetic testing to determine female sex on Thursday.
An elderly woman in Mariupol, a Russian-controlled city of Ukraine, walks past a flag that says "From Saint Petersburg to Mariupol," in August 2025.
WORLD
Mar 28, 2026
Russia gets resolution through U.N. rights council, in first since 2022
Council observers said Russia had used a seemingly innocuous text to make it difficult for countries to vote against it.
The Olympic rings are pictured during an International Olympic Committee executive board meeting at the Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Thursday.
OLYMPICS
Mar 27, 2026
Transgender athletes barred from female category events at Olympics
All athletes wanting to qualify or take part in female category events from the LA2028 Olympics onwards will have ‌to undergo ‌an SRY gene test to determine their eligibility.
Tetsuro Kamata, then-deputy superintendent-general of Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department, speaks to reporters in August in Yokohama after apologizing to the bereaved family of Shizuo Aishima, who died with wrongful charges standing against him.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 27, 2026
Family of late Ohkawara executive to file suit over judges’ decisions
The family of Shizuo Aishima, who died before charges against him were dropped, is seeking ¥170 million in damages from the state.
Demonstrators hold portraits of disappeared people during a march to Mayo Square on the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the last military dictatorship (1976-1983) in Buenos Aires on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 25, 2026
Torture, hunger, screams: Recalling Argentine dictatorship’s detentions
Thousands of people were killed in more than 600 detention centers over nearly eight years.
The government in Hong Kong has announced a further crackdown on dissent, empowering police ​to demand people provide passwords ‌or decryption methods for electronic devices without a court order.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 24, 2026
Hong Kong police given new powers to obtain phone and computer passwords
The city government has announced the new police powers as amendments to the sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020.
The Indian Supreme Court building in New Delhi in 2010
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 23, 2026
Activists and journalists set for court fight over Modi’s privacy law
Concerns have been raised over a possible chilling effect on newsgathering and the hindering of accountability journalism.
The Olympic rings in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, last month.
OLYMPICS
Mar 18, 2026
IOC urged to drop reported gender test plans for female athletes
The IOC has long declined to apply any universal rule on transgender participation ​and in 2021 instructed international federations to ⁠come up with their own rules.
Plaintiffs at a news conference on Tuesday after a ruling on voluntary sterilization was handed down by the Tokyo District Court
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 17, 2026
Tokyo court rules against women’s right to voluntary sterilization
Under Japanese law, sterilization surgery for women can be performed only when specific health risks are present.
Japan needs caregivers. Young Indians are answering the call.
Young people in India's northeast are increasingly studying Japanese in hopes of building new lives and careers in Japan.
Prior to launch, Japan ‘strongly urged’ China to reconsider missile test in Pacific
A missile is fired from a Chinese Navy nuclear-powered submarine on Monday.
Suspected Asian fraud ring exec served fresh warrant in Japan
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and Osaka Prefectural Police have issued arrest warrants for three people, including a suspected fraud network leader, over alleged immigration and residency violations.
Japan might be giving the currency market the silent treatment
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama has issued verbal warnings recently using the same language and the same tone, saying authorities “will take appropriate action at any time, as necessary.”
Japanese teen arrested for booting users off streaming service
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has arrested a 15-year-old boy for allegedly creating a malicious program and canceling subscription accounts on the Bandai Channel.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.
Filmmaker explores history of discrimination against foreign nationals in Japan
Takashi Nishihara, the director of "Now and Then," in Tokyo on Wednesday. The director has spent 10 years traversing politically charged terrain while exploring youth-driven grassroots political movements that scrutinize the status quo.
Japanese nail salons are tourists’ new obsession
Tourists in Japan have always been interested in quintessentially Japanese approaches to modern culture, and, increasingly, visits to nail salons have become the new hot thing.
Okinawa’s prized seaweed under threat as oceans warm
Local harvesters gather <i>mozuku</i> during low tide at Hyakuna Beach in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture. As the planet warms, rising ocean temperatures are placing increasing pressure on the seaweed industry.
‘Defense,’ not ‘warfare,’ stressed as pacifist Japan beefs up capabilities
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi attends an annual training session near Mount Fuji at Higashifuji Training Field in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, on June 7.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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