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August 20, 2026
 

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JAPAN

A cross-party group of Japanese lawmakers will visit China from Monday through Aug. 27 at the invitation of the Chinese Communist Party's International Department.
JAPAN
Aug 19, 2026
Japanese cross-party lawmaker group to visit China next week
It will be the first time for a Japanese lawmaker group to meet with a Chinese Communist Party official since November.
Japan¡¯s visitor arrivals from South Korea, the United States and Indonesia were at all-time highs for the month of July.
JAPAN
Aug 19, 2026
Foreign visitors to Japan increased 0.1% in July
The uptick comes despite visitors from mainland China dropping 56.1% due to the Chinese government¡¯s advisory against travel to Japan.
Osaka Prefectural Police investigators raid Takenaka's Osaka headquarters in the city of Osaka on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 19, 2026
Former Takenaka manager arrested for breach of trust over Osaka Expo project
Tatsumi Kawai, 61, is suspected of conspiring with a subcontractor to have it repeatedly overcharge in 2025, resulting in ?13.69 million in damages.
Hokkaido Electric Power's Tomari nuclear power plant in Tomari, Hokkaido
JAPAN
Aug 19, 2026
Japanese nuclear power plant death threatens to delay restart
By Kai Wilson
A worker was killed after falling into a silo containing gravel needed to help build a seawall at Unit 3 of the Tomari plant late on Tuesday.
Japan is considering setting out a nonbinding code for generative artificial intelligence businesses to encourage them to disclose their AI training data and methods for collecting such data to the public.
JAPAN
Aug 19, 2026
Japan to require AI firms to disclose training data
A draft code has been drawn up amid growing concerns that texts and images may be used to train AI models without consent, potentially infringing on copyrights.
Hayato Suzuki, state minister at the Cabinet Office (center), speaks during a meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Aug 19, 2026
Japan starts planning language program for foreign residents
The program would also assist in helping residents understand local systems and rules, and is hoped to be trialed in fiscal 2028.
Japan is planning to set up a system to dispatch expert cybersecurity teams to local governments in the event of a cyberattack.
JAPAN
Aug 19, 2026
Japan mulls expert teams for cyberattack-hit local governments
The considerations come as difficulties rise in securing sufficient personnel and budgets for cybersecurity measures.
The U.S. president¡¯s order to shorten allied military exercises with South Korea will prompt challenges for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi¡¯s administration and the U.S.-Japan alliance.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 19, 2026
Trump¡¯s South Korea move creates more headaches for Takaichi
By Michael MacArthur Bosack
The U.S. president¡¯s order to shorten allied exercises with South Korea to avoid sending ¡°inappropriate and hostile¡± signals to Pyongyang jolted Seoul with immediate implications.
A collapsed house in Hikawa, Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, last month.
JAPAN
Aug 19, 2026
Kumamoto earthquake insurance claims and inquiries top 40,000
In addition to Kumamoto, the six other prefectures in Kyushu were also included in the figure.
Japanese fishers have called for an expansion in the quota for Pacific bluefin tuna as they have had to scale down their operations or release some of their catches to abide by the current cap.
JAPAN
Aug 19, 2026
International commission on Pacific bluefin tuna to raise catch quota by 25%
Japanese fishers have called for an expansion in the quota as they have had to scale down their operations or release some of their catches to abide by the current cap.

ASIA PACIFIC

A satellite view of Antelope Reef in the South China Sea on July 19. China has yet to acknowledge construction of a new military base on the reef, while state media have said Antelope will serve civilian needs such as weather forecasting and scientific research.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 19, 2026
China finishes first phase of construction at South China Sea reef, images show
The project, on Antelope Reef in the Paracels archipelago, involves building a man-made island analysts say will form part of China¡¯s largest military base.
U.S. soldiers move fuel cans at an army base near the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, in Dongducheon, South Korea, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 19, 2026
U.S. and South Korea to nearly halve joint military drills after Trump criticism
By Jesse Johnson
The move appears aimed at luring North Korean leader Kim Jong Un back to talks, years after denuclearization negotiations with Washington collapsed.

WORLD

A person stands on the back of an ambulance at a site destroyed during the Israeli offensive, in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Aug 19, 2026
¡®American Doctor¡¯ shows brutality of conflict in Gaza
By Paula Ramon
Director Poh Si Teng makes no attempt to explain the rights or wrongs of the conflict, focusing instead on the work in Gaza of three American doctors from different backgrounds.
Ultra-Orthodox protesters demonstrate against Cafe Basimta operating on Shabbat, the weekly Jewish day of rest, as secular activists stage a counter-protest in support of the cafe, in central Jerusalem on Saturday.
WORLD / Society
Aug 19, 2026
Sabbath clashes over Jerusalem cafe expose Israel¡¯s social fault lines
By Shaun TANDON
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has relied politically on ultra-Orthodox Jews for nearly two decades, and has helped the ultra-Orthodox exert growing clout.
Tomoko Akane, president of the International Criminal Court, delivers a speech during a news conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo in June 2024.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 19, 2026
U.S. sanctions Japanese ICC chief, testing Tokyo¡¯s support for global court
By Kenji Yoshida
The move by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump presents a dilemma for Tokyo, a strong backer of multilateral groupings and a key American ally.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu attends a panel discussion during the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, on May 14. Tinubu is seeking reelection in January.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 19, 2026
As campaigns begin in Nigeria, Tinubu¡¯s reelection bid puts his party on trial
By Camillus Eboh
The gap between improving economic indicators and worsening household finances is likely to define the campaign.
Empty tables at a restaurant in Old Havana are seen amid a lack of tourists in Havana on June 9. Once synonymous with carefree revelry, Havana is fading away amid power cuts, an exodus and deep uncertainty about its future.
WORLD
Aug 19, 2026
Lights out, crowds gone: Havana waits for what comes next
By Andrew Beatty
After a seven-month U.S. fuel embargo and rolling power cuts, Havana locals joke that they are sick of seeing the stars.
A child sits next to G1 humanoid robots produced by China's Unitree Robotics as he interacts with a Go2 robot, at a Unitree store in Beijing on Aug. 1.
WORLD
Aug 19, 2026
How U.S. military funding propelled China¡¯s robot dogs
By Michael Martina
The link underscores broader problems with the United States¡¯ ability to compete with China¡¯s state-directed manufacturing sector in high-tech strategic industries.
Palestinian American Loui Ridi (right), whose house was encircled by militant settlers for over a week, films an Israeli settler (left) who entered his property in Qusra, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Society
Aug 19, 2026
Israeli settler confronts Palestinian American at his besieged West Bank home
Settlers began besieging the homes in Qusra more than a week ago, part of what rights groups say is a wider effort by settlers to seize more land from Palestinians.
Abu al-Duhur base in Syria following strikes on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Aug 19, 2026
Israeli airstrikes hit Syrian airbase, drawing Turkish condemnation
Tom Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria and Iraq, called the strikes an ¡°unnecessary escalation.¡±
Members of the Civil Protection team, wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), disinfect after handling the body of a man who died of Ebola, in Bunia, Ituri province, Congo, on July 10.
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 19, 2026
Congo Ebola outbreak ¡®far from being under control¡¯: WHO chief
Congolese officials said on Monday that the outbreak had killed over 2,300 people out of nearly 5,000 cases, making it the deadliest in the country¡¯s history.
Oil tankers and cargo vessels anchored off the coast of Oman in June
WORLD / Politics
Aug 19, 2026
Trump takes Iran hard line as Hormuz tensions mark new normal
By Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Patrick Sykes
His insistence that the U.S. has total control over the strait is directly at odds with the stance of Iranian officials.

BUSINESS

Employees prepare udon noodles at a Marugame restaurant in Tokyo on July 27.
BUSINESS
Aug 19, 2026
Udon billionaire bets that thick noodles will win over Americans
By Eru Ishikawa and Yui Hasebe
The challenge is scaling up the business and finding a way to win over consumers unfamiliar with a staple of no-frills Japanese cuisine.
An in-development money-sending feature by TikTok, if launched, would use the TikTok Pay offering already available in Southeast Asia to handle the transactions.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 19, 2026
TikTok is exploring feature to send money over direct messages
The move would extend the social media app¡¯s push into financial services.
The Nikkei 225 stock average fell on Wednesday, as stocks and bonds remained weak.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 19, 2026
Japan¡¯s bad market week continues, with the yen, bonds and stocks struggling
By Kazuaki Nagata
Fiscal concerns are denting investor confidence, while a global tech rout is a contributing factor.
LG Energy Solution battery cells displayed at the InterBattery exhibition in Seoul on March 11
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 19, 2026
LG Energy may supply batteries for U.S. drones in pivot to defense
The potential shift highlights broader moves by commercial companies as Washington pushes to replenish munitions used in the Iran and Ukraine wars.
Europe's space sector is becoming more closely tied to defense and security priorities.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 19, 2026
As Europe rearms, Italy¡¯s fragmented space sector faces a scale test
Italy¡¯s space sector is known for niche engineering expertise but remains dominated by small and medium-size companies.
Kenya Koshimizu, co-head of global markets at Mizuho Financial Group, said the likelihood of a rate increase by the Bank of Japan in September is quite high, and that it may shorten the interval of policy action to once every three months from roughly six months currently.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 19, 2026
Mizuho markets head expects BOJ to raise rates soon and more often
By Taiga Uranaka and Hideki Suzuki
Many Japanese financial institutions remain reluctant to wade back into the nation¡¯s bond market as rates rise and inflation persists.
U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney as he welcomes Carney at the White House in Washington in October 2025.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 19, 2026
Trump says U.S. and Canada strike deal to temporarily pause tariffs
The U.S. president added that the Keystone XL Pipeline ¡°may be awoken from the grave,¡± but did not provide details.
Development Bank of Japan President and CEO Hirofumi Maki
BUSINESS
Aug 19, 2026
Development Bank of Japan to boost ties with regional banks
The government-backed bank plans to accept personnel seconded from regional lenders and form investment funds as part of efforts to support regional economies.
The Marina Bay Sands hotel and casino in Singapore
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 19, 2026
Singapore casino¡¯s winning streak puts pressure on losing rival
By Bernadette Toh and Shirley Zhao
Marina Bay Sands¡¯ casino revenues for the first half of 2026 topped $2.1 billion, while Resorts World Sentosa¡¯s comparable numbers were less than a third of that.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives to testify in a tech addiction trial in Los Angeles on Feb. 18. Meta is again defending itself in court over claims it caused young people to become addicted to social media, this time in the first bellwether federal trial, brought by states seeking roughly $200 billion in damages.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 19, 2026
Meta hooked children and misled public: prosecutors
A coalition of states is asking Meta be hit with $200 billion in penalties for making products addictive to children, in what many have called social media¡¯s ¡°big tobacco moment.¡±
Japanese companies' earnings improved across both export-oriented and domestic sectors, suggesting firms are gaining pricing power, helping lift their profitability even amid elevated energy prices.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 19, 2026
Japan¡¯s earnings surprise analysts to fuel bets for broad rally
By Hideyuki Sano
Companies posted their largest earnings beat in five years despite soaring oil costs.
Komatsu Chairman Masahiro Sakane in Tokyo in January 2013. A native of Shimane Prefecture, Sakane served as Komatsu president from 2001 to 2007.
BUSINESS
Aug 19, 2026
Former Komatsu President Masahiro Sakane dies at 85
A native of Shimane Prefecture, Sakane helped spur the construction firm¡¯s turnaround while serving as president from 2001 to 2007.

ENVIRONMENT

Live blue crabs harvested by local fishermen in the Po river are seen in a waste bucket at Scardovari, Italy, on June 26.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Aug 19, 2026
Italian scientists bet on octopus to fight crab invasion
By Umberto Bacchi
The invasive and voracious crustacean has ravaged shellfish production in the Adriatic.
People gather at the beach at Joss Bay as temperatures climb over the bank holiday weekend due to a heat dome spreading across the region, in Broadstairs, Britain, on May 24.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 19, 2026
Ocean heat waves threaten to supercharge storm season in Europe
By Laura Millan
Parts of the Mediterranean Sea and the European Atlantic coast have recorded surface temperatures that were more than 6 degrees Celsius?hotter than normal for the month of June.
Motoaki Iijima, 36, owner of the Nikko Engei flower farm, harvests gerbera flowers inside an illuminated greenhouse at night in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 19, 2026
Deadly heat pushes Japan¡¯s farmers to go nocturnal
By Mariko Katsumura, Tom Bateman and Issei Kato
Once-busy midday hours are now avoided by farmers as a mortal threat, replaced by after-dark work to protect crops, livestock and themselves.

Opinion

China¡¯s dominance in generative video positions it to lead the development of world models that could define the next era of AI.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 19, 2026
Chinese AI video is coming for more than Hollywood
By Catherine Thorbecke
Outside of Alphabet¡¯s Google, nearly all of the leading video-generation models are Chinese.
Rising vehicle weights in the U.S. such as the Ford F-150 pickup truck create major safety and policy problems that political and economic forces make difficult to solve.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 19, 2026
Americans love giant trucks ¡ª but they¡¯re killing us
By Justin Fox
An key obstacle is that U.S. automakers apparently can¡¯t make money on anything but large vehicles.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands during a meeting on the south side of the Military Demarcation Line that divides North and South Korea, on June 30, 2019. North Korea continues to develop its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile capabilities, while tensions between Japan and China ¡ª and between China and the United States ¡ª remain high.
COMMENTARY
Aug 19, 2026
Trump¡¯s North Korea pivot is a warning for Japan
By Simon Hutagalung
The White House¡¯s outreach to Kim Jong Un marks a test for the U.S.-led security order.
Muslim children watch other children play at a park in Sakaimachi near Ota, Gunma Prefecture. Immigrant children often navigate their lives differently than adults as they adjust to a new country.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 19, 2026
Japan¡¯s migrant children: The hidden challenges of belonging
By Kay Ann A. Ramos
As Japan continues to debate migration, belonging is often framed as something migrants must eventually earn through adaptation and contribution.

Sports

AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa attends the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok on May 17.
SOCCER
Aug 19, 2026
Asian soccer rift deepens as AFC president responds to criticism from Qatar
In an unusually forthright letter, the Bahraini administrator also slammed the Qatari federation¡¯s decision to prioritize ¡°technicalities¡± over the defense of the sport.
Rodri poses with a jersey during his official unveiling with Barcelona on Tuesday in Barcelona.
SOCCER
Aug 19, 2026
Rodri eager to ¡®feel that excitement again¡¯ after move to Barcelona
Barcelona said the 30-year-old has signed a deal that will run until 2030, bringing an end to one of the longest-running transfer sagas of the summer.
Calais Campbell, seen with the Cardinals during a game against the Jaguars in Glendale, Arizona, on Nov. 23, 2025, is dealing with a family tragedy as he prepares for the 2026 season with the Ravens.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Aug 19, 2026
Ravens¡¯ Calais Campbell appreciative of support after family tragedy
Campbell¡¯s brother Ciarre faces murder and aggravated assault charges in the July 1 death of their mother, Nateal Campbell.
Bryson DeChambeau has agreed to play in the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa in early December,
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Aug 19, 2026
Bryson DeChambeau among players making contingency plans amid LIV Golf uncertainty
LIV Golf CEO Scott O¡¯Neil is scheduled to hold a news conference on Wednesday, with the league reportedly facing a Sept. 1 deadline to secure funding to continue in 2027.

CULTURE

Keiko Kishi
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Aug 19, 2026
Japanese actor Keiko Kishi dies at 93
Born in Yokohama, Kishi was one of the stars of Japan¡¯s postwar film industry and also built a distinguished career as a writer.
Madonna performs during a surprise concert at Times Square in New York on June 4.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Aug 19, 2026
Madonna tops Taylor Swift in nominations for MTV¡¯s Video Music Awards
By Lisa Richwine
Iconic pop star is up for video of the year for her ¡°Confessions II ¡ª?The Film.¡±
Takaichi¡¯s punishing workload draws renewed scrutiny after 6?-hour checkup at hospital
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the Prime Minister's Official Residence in Tokyo on Thursday
60% in Japan give up activities due to sweat, survey finds
The summer heat hits Tokyo's Ginza District on July 23.
Congo Ebola outbreak ¡®far from being under control¡¯: WHO chief
Members of the Civil Protection team, wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), disinfect after handling the body of a man who died of Ebola, in Bunia, Ituri province, Congo, on July 10.
Japan and Australia tout progress on high-energy laser and missile range tests
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi reacts as he talks with Australian defense chief Richard Marles during a news conference at Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday.
China¡¯s Unitree unveils ¡®Superman¡¯ robot as fervor builds ahead of Shanghai debut
A Unitree Robotics R1 humanoid robot on display at the company's booth during the Embodied Intelligent Robot Industry Exhibition in Shanghai on Aug. 12
Japan¡¯s Summer Koshien baseball tradition comes face-to-face with new climate reality
Ariake High School players greet their cheering section after winning their first game on Aug. 7.
Takaichi¡¯s punishing workload draws renewed scrutiny after 6?-hour checkup at hospital
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the Prime Minister's Official Residence in Tokyo on Thursday
Unrelenting Russian anti-war protesters in Japan fight through inescapable doubt
Anti-war Russians protest Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward in February.
Japan¡¯s macabre literati go global
From Edogawa Ranpo to Uketsu, Japanese writers have long put their own twists on the conventions of crime, horror and mystery, creating a literary tradition that can be as unsettling as it is inventive.
How U.S. bombing survey in Japan shed light on civilian sentiments of WWII
Residents are seen walking beside rubble in the city of Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, in this undated photo taken soon after the end of World War II.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Japan¡¯s earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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