91²Ö¿â

author

 
Menu
Search
 
July 31, 2026
 

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Michael Blum
People wait for former hostage Alon Ohel to return home after leaving the hospital in Lavon, Israel, on Oct. 24, 2025.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 29, 2026
The key issues that will shape Israel¡¯s elections
Voters in Israel will weigh in on issues ranging from conscription to the 2023 Hamas attack when they head to the polls on Oct. 27.
Israeli women hug in front of a banner with photos of former hostages including Israeli police officer Ran Gvili in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Monday.
WORLD
Jan 27, 2026
Israel brings home remains of last Gaza hostage Ran Gvili
The return closes the chapter on a painful saga that has haunted Israeli society since Hamas¡¯ attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference at his office in Jerusalem on Aug. 10.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 4, 2025
Netanyahu¡¯s pardon plea seen as bid to ensure survival ahead of 2026 vote
The Israeli prime minister has been dogged by corruption allegations for years, and has had to appear in front of a judge weekly for hearings.
Israeli tanks are positioned on the border with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
WORLD
Sep 4, 2025
Israel says expecting 1 million Gazans to flee new offensive
In Jerusalem, hundreds of Israeli protestors took to the streets to call for a truce and hostage release deal after nearly two years of war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 22, 2025
Israel open to ¡®temporary ceasefire¡¯ in Gaza to free hostages, Netanyahu says
The remarks come as international pressure intensified over Israel¡¯s renewed offensive and aid blockade in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
A solar panel provides electricity in northern Gaza on Feb. 13. Israel¡¯s energy minister said on Sunday that he was immediately cutting off electricity to the Gaza Strip as Israel tries to pressure Hamas amid talks over their fragile truce.
WORLD
Mar 10, 2025
Israel halts Gaza¡¯s electricity supply ahead of new truce talks
Israel¡¯s decision comes a week after it blocked all aid supplies to Gaza.
Relatives and friends attend a memorial ceremony for the Kutz family at the Gan-Yavne cemetery in the southern Israeli town of Beer Tuvia on Sept. 5.
WORLD
Sep 23, 2024
Kibbutz visit stirs grim memories of Israeli family slain on Oct. 7
In Kfar Aza, a kibbutz of 800 people, some 64 people were killed and 18 kidnapped by Palestinian militants and taken to the Gaza Strip.
Former Hamas hostage Aviva Siegel poses during an interview with AFP during her visit to the 55th session of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, on Feb. 28. Nearly six months into the Gaza war, with the families of hostages still held captive by Hamas desperate for their release, many former hostages are finding the words to describe the ordeal of captivity.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 4, 2024
After six months of war, former Hamas hostages speak of ordeals in Gaza
About 130 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, Israel believes, including 34 who are presumed dead.
This handout picture released by the Israeli army shows hostages released by Hamas, Gal (center) and Tal Almog-Goldstein (left) being transported in a helicopter after they were released by the Palestinian militant group Hamas from the Gaza Strip on Monday.
WORLD
Nov 28, 2023
11 more Gaza hostages released as Israel-Hamas truce extended
Shortly after the arrival of the hostages was confirmed, Israel¡¯s prison authority said 33 Palestinian inmates had been released.
Japanese population falls below 120 million for first time in decades
As of Jan. 1, the population of Japanese residents in Japan stood at 119.74 million, down 0.76% from the previous year.
Japanese man arrested for years of guitar noise
Police seized over 40 guitars ¡ª many electric ¡ª from a Kyoto musician's residence, along with CD and radio cassette players and amplifiers.
Japan¡¯s overlooked language crisis
Students in Tokyo participate in a Work In Japan job fair. The country needs to support both academic Japanese studies and children¡¯s family languages to promote educational success.
South Korea¡¯s women web sleuths fight AI deepfake porn
The National Center for Digital Sexual Crime Response in Seoul last year pulled down 318,000 videos and photos ¡ª deepfakes, spycam content and intimate images ¡ª on behalf of 10,600 people, 75% of whom were women and girls.
Sumo¡¯s top wrestler isn¡¯t a yokozuna ¡ª yet
Aonishiki (left) receives the trophy from Hakkaku, chairman of the Japan Sumo Association, after winning the July Grand Sumo Tournament at IG Arena in Nagoya on Sunday.
Keigo Higashino¡¯s ¡®global afterlife¡¯
Keigo Higashino's meticulously constructed mysteries and memorable characters earned him readers across languages and cultures.
Suzu Hirose is ready to ¡®step into the unknown¡¯
Suzu Hirose received the Cut Above Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film from New York¡¯s Japan Society this month.
J-pop idols are behind much of Japan¡¯s Gen Z slang
Social media, streaming platforms and online communities have become major drivers of how Japanese slang spreads among young people.
With secondary-capital bill passed, competition between cities heats up
A view of downtown Sapporo. Hokkaido Gov. Naomichi Suzuki is pushing Sapporo as a candidate for a second capital outside Tokyo.
Tough new permanent residency measures trigger concern in Japan
The Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau in the capital's Shinagawa Ward in March. Japan's revised guidelines for permanent residency are set to be introduced as early as Oct. 1 and applied to applications filed from April 2027.

Podcast

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

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER