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July 07, 2026
 

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Mumbi Gitau
Cocoa beans are roasted at a chocolate factory in Paris.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 17, 2025
Europe¡¯s cocoa slowdown highlights global chocolate struggle
Cocoa futures have more than doubled in the past two years and touched a record in December.
A farmer cuts down cocoa pods from a tree on his farm in Azaguie, Cote d'Ivoire.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 17, 2025
High cocoa prices drive smuggling surge, alarming traders
Cote d¡¯Ivoire is the world¡¯s largest cocoa producer, but much higher prices in neighboring countries create an arbitrage that some can¡¯t resist exploiting.
A farmhand prunes trees on a 4-year-old cocoa plantation, replanted after swollen shoot disease, in Enchi, Ghana, on March 4.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 23, 2025
Cocoa crunch isn¡¯t over yet as top growers struggle with supply
Africa¡¯s cocoa heartland has long grappled with blight and aging trees, leaving farms vulnerable as severe weather hammered crops in recent years.
Ebenezer Agyarko tends to his cocoa plantation in Kwabeng, north of Accra, the capital of Ghana.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 22, 2024
Chocolate prices unlikely to decline even as African cocoa harvest improves
Issues that have long hobbled the industry remain, meaning bean prices aren¡¯t likely to fall back to previous levels.
A farmer at his cocoa farm in Gabeadji near San Pedro, Cote d'Ivoire, in January
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 1, 2023
Chocolate could get even pricier if Africa¡¯s cocoa crop flops
Cocoa prices have soared on fears that bad weather and crop disease will hurt output in Cote d¡¯Ivoire and Ghana, which make up two-thirds of world supply.
A leaf of a sorghum plant after it was eaten by a crop-eating armyworm at a farm in Settlers, South Africa
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 26, 2023
Climate change is helping pests and diseases destroy our food
Pests and diseases are exacerbating crop shortages that have sent prices for goods like cocoa, olive oil and orange juice soaring.
Murakami says his novels are ¡®different¡¯ from AI literature
Haruki Murakami's first book in three years hit shelves in Japan on Friday.
Thailand gets serious about chasing high-spending tourists
Chinese tourists at Wat Arun Ratchawararam Rathawaramahawihan in Bangkok
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.
Tokyo hospital baby hatch accepts 20 newborns in first year
Hitoshi Kato (left), head of San-ikukai Hospital in Tokyo's Sumida Ward, speaks during a news conference at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building on Thursday.
Hayabusa2 flies past asteroid as Japan aims to acquire data for planetary defense
A graphic illustration of the Hayabusa2 probe flying past the asteroid Torifune
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.
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
X Games returns to Chiba with new team format
Skateboarder Sora Shirai practices at Makuhari Messe in Chiba on Friday afternoon. X Games Chiba begins on Saturday.
NU Festival tests Takanawa Gateway City complex¡¯s culture cred
Veteran improvisers Kazuo Imai and Atsuhiro Ito brought some unruly energy to NU Festival, a three-day multimedia event held at the Takanawa Gateway City complex. ?

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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