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May 15, 2026
 

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PRESS FREEDOM

Pope Leo XIV addresses the crowd from a window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter's Square in the Vatican on Sunday.
WORLD
May 3, 2026
Pope marks World Press Freedom Day, laments violations and honors slain reporters
The pope ?urged the faithful to ?remember journalists and reporters who have lost their lives pursuing the truth, particularly ?in areas afflicted ?by conflicts.
Japan moved up from 66th the previous year while the U.S. slid to 64th, down from 57th in 2025, the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom index showed.
JAPAN / Media
May 1, 2026
Japan overtakes U.S. in global press freedom index
The report found press freedom has sunk to a 25-year low, with 52% of the countries and territories being categorized as in "difficult" or "very serious" situations.
Sebastien Lai, son of jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai, poses for a portrait next to a poster featuring his father during an interview in London in December.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2026
Memo to Xi: There is no downside to freeing Jimmy Lai
Lai started his media business following the 1989 Tiananmen massacre in which Chinese authorities killed hundreds, perhaps thousands, of their own citizens.
Copies of The Wall Street Journal for sale in in New York on April 9. On Monday, a federal judge dismissed U.S. President Donald Trump¡¯s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the publisher of The Wall Street Journal over its report of a birthday card sent to financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 14, 2026
U.S. judge throws out Trump's defamation case against Wall Street Journal
U.S. District Court Judge Darrin P. Gayles said Trump had not ?come close to meeting the "actual malice" standard that public figures must clear in defamation.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has approved a policy which has been criticized as giving the Pentagon free rein to freeze out reporters and news outlets over coverage the department does not like.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 24, 2026
Pentagon adopts new press restrictions after court order against previous limits
Press ?freedom advocates have criticized policy changes under U.S. President Donald Trump's administration that have limited journalists' access to the Pentagon.
Pete Hegseth calls on a reporter while answering questions during a news briefing at the Pentagon on March 19. A former Fox News host, he has limited access to his briefings on the Iran war.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 24, 2026
Iran is America's first war of the social media age. It¡¯s a black box.
Though the hostilities are occurring in an era of information overload, blanket reporting bans make it difficult to ascertain what is going on while AI further muddies reality.
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 aftermath of an Israeli military strike on Tehran's Evin Prison is seen here on June 29, nearly a week after the hostilities ceased.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 13, 2026
Japan should urge Iran to release people in detention
A Japanese government spokesperson has confirmed that Iranian authorities detained a Japanese national on Jan. 20 and Tokyo has been urging Tehran to release them.
Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy supporter Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong in 2014. Lai won an appeal on Thursday over a 2022 fraud conviction, days after a court jailed him on separate national security charges.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 26, 2026
Hong Kong court overturns China critic Jimmy Lai's fraud conviction in rare victory
Lai will still remain imprisoned for 20 years in a separate national security case.
Greek and foreign journalists hold pictures of recently killed journalists in the Gaza Strip, during a protest outside the Union of Greek Journalists in Athens on Sept. 4, 2025.
WORLD
Feb 26, 2026
Record 129 journalists and media workers killed in 2025, mostly by Israel
Last year marked the second consecutive year that two-thirds of them were killed by Israel, the Committee to Protect Journalists says.
Pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, after his conviction on charges of of ¡°conspiracy to collude with foreign forces,¡± at the Apple Daily newsroom in Hong Kong on Aug. 12, 2020.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 12, 2026
Hong Kong journalists face ¡®precarious¡¯ future after Jimmy Lai jailed
Media bosses "increasingly see themselves as an extension of the government propaganda arm," said Selina Cheng, chair of the Hong Kong Journalists Association.
Media tycoon Jimmy Lai at the Next Digital offices in Hong Kong in 2020. A Hong Kong court sentenced Lai to 20 years in prison on Monday, following a yearslong, high-profile national security trial that rights groups and Western nations have condemned as a symbol of the city's shriveling press freedoms.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 9, 2026
Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai given 20 years¡¯ prison after national security trial
The founder of the shuttered Apple Daily newspaper was first arrested in August 2020 and was ?convicted last year.
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, 72, at the Next Digital offices in Hong Kong on June 16, 2020
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 9, 2026
After years of legal battles, Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai faces sentencing
Lai's plight has been criticized by global leaders spotlighting a yearslong crackdown following mass pro-democracy protests in ?2019.
Frenchie Mae Cumpio, a detained Filipino journalist, gestures as she arrives at Tacloban Regional Trial Court in Leyte island on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jan 22, 2026
Philippines convicts journalist on terror charge called ¡®absurd¡¯
Community journalist and radio broadcaster Frenchie Cumpio, 26, is the first Filipina journalist to be prosecuted under the terror financing laws.
Media tycoon Jimmy Lai is escorted into a Hong Kong Correctional Services van outside the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong in 2021.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Dec 16, 2025
Jimmy Lai remains beacon of Hong Kong press freedom, say ex-colleagues awaiting his sentencing
Lai¡¯s guilty verdict over national security and sedition charges comes over four years after police raided the Apple Daily newsroom, arresting Lai and others.
Media tycoon Jimmy Lai is escorted into a Hong Kong Correctional Services van outside the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong in February 2021.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 15, 2025
Hong Kong¡¯s Jimmy Lai found guilty in landmark security case
The city¡¯s High Court convicted Lai on two counts of conspiring to collude with foreign forces ¡ª a crime punishable by life in prison.
People wait outside the West Kowloon Law Courts Building in Hong Kong on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 15, 2025
Jimmy Lai's supporters queue in Hong Kong overnight for verdict
Two counts ¡ª of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security ¡ª carry prison terms of up to life in prison for Lai, a British citizen.
Jimmy Lai speaks during an interview in Hong Kong in June 2020.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Dec 12, 2025
Verdict in trial of Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai set for Monday
Lai, 78, is charged with foreign collusion under Hong Kong's national security law, which Beijing imposed following pro-democracy protests in 2019.
The burned Wang Fuk Court housing complex after a deadly fire in the Tai Po area of Hong Kong on Nov. 30
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 7, 2025
China warns foreign media in Hong Kong over fire coverage
The Office for Safeguarding National Security said it had summoned a number of unspecified foreign media outlets, criticizing coverage of the fire.
The New York Times alleges that the Pentagon's new press policy violates the rights to free speech and due process and that, if allowed to stand, will "deprive the public of vital information about the United States military and its leadership."
WORLD
Dec 5, 2025
New York Times sues Pentagon over press access
At least 30 news organizations, including Fox News, the Washington Post and Reuters, chose to give up their press badges rather than sign the Pentagon's new press policy.
Legendary figure skater Kaori Sakamoto announces marriage
Figure skater Kaori Sakamoto smiles as she holds a bouquet of flowers at a news conference in Kobe on Wednesday.
After rule change, Japan see 96% drop in business manager visa applications
Manish Kumar, an Indian national who has run an Indian restaurant in Saitama Prefecture for 18 years, speaks at a rally in Tokyo in protest of new business manager visa requirements.
Hello Panda: A globally loved snack Japan said goodbye to in 1989
Meiji's Hello Panda chocolate cookies are displayed for sale at a store in Manhattan in April.
Designated trash bags run low in Japan as fears grow over supply shortages
Many municipalities across Japan say buzz online and anxiety over the situation in the Middle East has led to people panic buying garbage bags.
Honda takes $10 billion hit on EVs and posts net loss
Honda Motor CEO Toshihiro Mibe reports the automaker¡¯s first full-year loss ever as a public company.
Legendary figure skater Kaori Sakamoto announces marriage
Figure skater Kaori Sakamoto smiles as she holds a bouquet of flowers at a news conference in Kobe on Wednesday.
Hello Panda: A globally loved snack Japan said goodbye to in 1989
Meiji's Hello Panda chocolate cookies are displayed for sale at a store in Manhattan in April.
Takaichi¡¯s Golden Week diplomacy: a cheat sheet
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (left) and her Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, visit the Canberra Nara Peace Park in Canberra on May 4.
Rising bear encounters test Japan¡¯s approach to wildlife management
The nature guides and conservationists at Picchio Karuizawa focus on nonviolent interventions like collaring and tracking bears to keep the animals away from human settlements and oft-used hiking routes.
Path to glory opens for Hoshoryu after injuries to rivals Onosato and Aonishiki
Yokozuna Hoshoryu will be in the spotlight as the favorite during the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament.

Podcast

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

Longform

Japanese content creators in China have emerged as informal ¡°digital diplomats,¡± using social media to share everyday experiences amid a period of deepening tension between Tokyo and Beijing.
How Japanese influencers in China are bridging a growing divide
By Mike Fu

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