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Japan

woman at ceremony in front of line of people

Contempt for the messiah: The scandal behind Shinzo Abe’s murder

Sacred Nation

A messianic sect holds sway with Japan’s ruling party. The murder of ex-premier Shinzo Abe is forcing the country to reckon with this shadowy alliance.

People walk across the famed Shibuya scramble crossing as the sun sets behind the skyscraper, Oct. 11, 2021, in Tokyo.

A Tokyo train company moves to become net-carbon neutral

Energy
a young kid walking down the sidewalk

Netflix’s ‘Old Enough!’ reality TV show sends very young kids on errands by themselves

Lifestyle
The logo for ExxonMobil appears above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange

Top US oil executives to testify before Congress

Top of The World
People pose for a photo, mimicking the character in an advertisement as they visit Ebisu-bashi bridge, a popular tourist spot in Osaka, western Japan, Nov. 30, 2020.

This group in Japan is on a mission to correct English mistranslations

Language
A group of protesters carries protest signs. One wears a colorful tie-dye shirt and has blue hair. The others wear white and black shirts.

BLM Tokyo tackles Japan’s own issues with anti-Black racism

Protest

The activist group organized the largest-ever march against racial discrimination in the city’s history. But a backlash soon formed as online commenters argued that the issue is uniquely American — not a Japanese one. 

A blurry image of a car chase overlaid with Japanese writing.

Japanese TV program turns migrant raids and deportations into entertainment

Arts, Culture & Media

A Japanese “cop reality show” chasing foreigners who have overstayed their visas is not a welcome sign for the 500,000 new foreign workers who will arrive to help ease a chronic labor shortage.

Three young women from Indonesia smile for the camera

Japan eases immigration restrictions to fill chronic care worker shortage

Immigration

Who will care for Japan’s elderly? The government is now welcoming foreign workers to fill the labor gap, but some say racism and discrimination are major obstacles in Japanese society.

Americans spend six billion hours and $10 billion every year preparing and filing their taxes.

Many countries have a simple, fair tax system. Could the US be next?

Books

The US tax code is notoriously dysfunctional. Meanwhile, countries from New Zealand to Estonia have devised equitable, effective tax structures.

UN security council meeting

‘We need North Korea to feel the pressure,’ Japan ambassador says at UN emergency security meeting

Conflict

The UN Security Council on Monday opened an emergency meeting to agree to a response to North Korea’s sixth and most powerful nuclear test as calls mounted for a new raft of tough sanctions to be imposed on Pyongyang.