91²Ö¿â

author

 
Menu
Search
 
June 25, 2026
 

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Steven TRASK
The coastline of Funafuti Atoll in Tuvalu. Gravely threatened by rising seas, the low-lying island nation relies on a $200 million trust fund to help foot the ballooning costs of climate change.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 23, 2026
Australia withholds climate fund reports over risk of diplomatic ¡®damage¡¯
Australia is the largest contributor to the Tuvalu Trust Fund, which has been invested on Tuvalu¡¯s behalf in funds exposed to coal mining, gas exploration and a crude oil refinery.
The coastline of Funafuti Atoll, Tuvalu. A trust fund set up to help a South Pacific nation gravely threatened by climate change has invested in coal mining, gas exploration and the world's largest crude oil refinery.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 28, 2026
Fund for climate-exposed Pacific nation invests in fossil fuels
A trust fund set up to help a South Pacific nation gravely threatened by climate change has invested in coal mining, gas exploration and the world¡¯s largest crude oil refinery.
People observe a moment of silence on Sunday in Sydney during a vigil for victims and survivors of the mass shooting at Bondi Beach on Dec. 14.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Dec 21, 2025
Australia falls silent and lights candles for Bondi Beach shooting victims
A father and son are accused of targeting the beachside Hanukkah celebration, killing 15 people including children and Holocaust survivors.
Marine biologist Teina Rongo on his boat passing the research vessel MV Anuanua Moana in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, on June 12. Mining exploration has left many Cook Islanders such as Rongo fearing deep-sea mining could taint their precious ocean forever.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 23, 2025
The Pacific island nation that wants to mine the ocean floor
Research vessels roam the seas around the Cook Islands in search of deposits of battery metals, rare earths and critical minerals.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Pacific island leaders have agreed to establish up to four regional police training centers and a multinational crisis reaction force.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 28, 2024
Pacific island leaders ¡®endorse¡¯ joint policing plan
The policing plan is seen as an attempt to limit China¡¯s security role in the region amid Beijing¡¯s efforts to build Pacific influence.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on July 10.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 15, 2024
Opposition figurehead decries China¡¯s ¡®alarming¡¯ sway in Solomon Islands
The archipelago is the unlikely focal point of a diplomatic scramble pitting a rising China against Western rivals.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during an event in Pyongyang. Smuggling efforts could be directly linked to the North's military ambitions, analysts have said.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 8, 2023
North Korean smugglers disguised under Pacific island flags
With strict sanctions limiting Pyongyang¡¯s ability to import fuel, smugglers have adopted increasingly creative methods.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 19, 2023
Sexual assault claims cast light on Australia¡¯s macho politics
The macho nature of Australian politics was highlighted in late 2021 when a scathing review found Parliament House rife with heavy drinking, bullying and sexual harassment.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 20, 2023
Graves sink, fisheries shrink as climate change hits Fiji
Togoru is one of dozens of coastal villages in the Pacific archipelago now confronting the reality of climate change.
Reader Mail
Dec 30, 2007
Korean workers not used as slaves
Regarding Joergen Jensen¡¯s Dec. 25 letter, ¡°Japanese aren¡¯t the only victims¡°: Koreans were not forced to work as slaves during World War II. Koreans had Japanese nationalities in those days, since Korea had been annexed to Japan in 1910. So they had the same duties as the Japanese had.
Double barrage of storms to hit Japan this week
A map depicting the paths of Typhoon Mekkhala and Tropical Storm Higos
Japanese companies get serious about workplace DEI
People working in human resources departments participate in a workshop in Tokyo in January. The participants played a card game in which they took on roles of people with various disabilities.
Two Japanese held in China for allegedly smuggling export-restricted goods
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara speaks during a news conference on Wednesday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
Consumer affairs watchdog raises alarm over air conditioner repair scams
The National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan has issued a warning over a rise in air conditioner repair scams.
China accuses Japan of ¡®harassment¡¯ during far-seas aircraft carrier training
China's Liaoning aircraft carrier takes part in a military drill in the western Pacific in April 2018.
Remembering the wrestlers who rarely make the headlines
Tsurugisho throws salt at a one-day sumo event at the Kokugikan in Tokyo in February 2020.
China¡¯s mineral squeeze testing Japan¡¯s military buildup
Samples of rare earth luminescent materials displayed at an exhibition on China¡¯s manufacturing achievements at the National Museum in Beijing in March
Stepping up, not aside: Japan¡¯s retirement-age tour guides
Yoichi Miura (third from left) now divides his time between his import business and guiding international visitors across Japan.
Japan-South Korea detente persists ¡ª but breakthrough remains elusive
While Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung have kept relations from sliding backward, experts say they have struggled to turn stability into concrete steps forward.
Japan¡¯s AI goldrush faces backlash as data centers sprout up in urban areas
Erin and Munekazu Tanikawa look out from their balcony at the construction site of a planned 52-meter-tall data center that would dominate their surroundings, in the city of Inzai, Chiba Prefecture, last month.

Podcast

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

Longform

Social camouflaging can help neurodivergent people navigate social situations, but researchers say the effort often comes with significant emotional and mental strain.
The challenge of being neurodivergent in Japan¡¯s culture of conformity
By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER