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August 18, 2026
 

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JAPAN

Kumamon, Kumamoto Prefecture¡¯s mascot character, visits Ryuhoku Saibu Elementary School in Hikawa, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2026
Kumamon visits quake-hit children¡¯s school to spread cheer
The popular mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture saw both students and evacuees using the school as temporary shelter.
The summer heat hits Tokyo's Ginza District on July 23.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 17, 2026
60% in Japan give up activities due to sweat, survey finds
The most common changes respondents made amid sweltering heat included giving up their preferred clothing and avoiding approaching others.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi looks on among children during a ceremony commemorating the 81st anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, at the city's Nagasaki Peace Park on Aug. 9.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 17, 2026
Behind Takaichi¡¯s subtle signals at Â鶹´«Ã½ WWII events
By Kenji Yoshida
From prayers from afar for Yasukuni Shrine to altering key language in a remembrance speech, the moves were seen as signaling to domestic supporters and neighboring countries.
Commuters disembark a tram in Melbourne in March.
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2026
Young Japanese anxious as Australia slows working holiday visa processing time
By Elizabeth Beattie
The move comes as Australia¡¯s top officials have been under political pressure to take a harsher immigration stance.
A two-night, three-day stay on the Hakuo II ferry is being offered to those hit by last month's quake in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2026
Ferry offers solace in quake-hit Kumamoto
Free meal, bathing and medical services as well as a play area for children are provided on the ferry, anchored at Yatsushiro port in the prefecture.
A Chinese research vessel was spotted extending a wire-like object into the sea within Â鶹´«Ã½ exclusive economic zone off Okinawa Prefecture on Sunday, prompting the Japan Coast Guard to warn the vessel to stop.
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2026
Chinese vessel suspected of conducting survey within Â鶹´«Ã½ economic zone
A coast guard patrol ship observed the Dong Fang Hong 2 extending a wire-like object into the sea west of the Okinawa island of Kume, and warned it to stop.
Extended stays in evacuation shelters can lead to death resulting from physical and mental stress caused by the prolonged displacement.
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2026
Authorities shift focus to evacuees¡¯ prolonged displacement after Kumamoto quake
Initial response during the month after a disaster is essential for mitigating deaths resulting from extended stays in evacuation shelters, experts say.
Ground Self-Defense Force troops take part in an annual New Year's military drill at Narashino exercise field in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, in January.
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2026
Japan aims to create support agency for ex-SDF personnel as early as fiscal ¡¯27
By Kenji Yoshida
The initiative, spearheaded by Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, would serve as a one-stop consultation center in overseeing veterans¡¯ transitions to civilian life.
A groundbreaking ceremony for reconstruction of a war memorial pagoda was held in the Sagaing region, Myanmar, on Saturday.
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2026
Reconstruction starts on quake-damaged Japanese war memorials in Myanmar
The memorial pagoda and stone monuments in northern Myanmar were damaged by a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that hit the region in March last year.
As scaled-down funerals become more common in Japan and complicated pricing structures emerge, many people are complaining of being misled by advertisements placed by service providers.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 17, 2026
Japan continues to see troubles related to funeral fees
Many complain that they were made to sign a contract for a more expensive plan than what was advertised.
A vehicle waiting to be towed on a road in the city of Chiba after last week's downpour
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2026
Fatalities due to record Chiba rainfall rise to 10 with one person still missing
The 10th victim was a man in his 30s who died from carbon monoxide poisoning after using an electric generator due to a power outage at his home.
Akari Kanbe, the chief priest of Ono Hachiman Shrine in Jinsekikogen, Hiroshima Prefecture, cleans the shrine¡¯s hall of worship.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Aug 17, 2026
Hiroshima¡¯s shrinking community keeps ties alive through festivals and newsletters
For residents in the district of Ono in the highlands of Jinsekikogen, festivals and newsletters give those who have left a reason to come back, if only for a visit.
People crowd in front of Yasukuni Shrine to pay tribute to the war dead on the 81st anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II, in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics / EXPLAINER
Aug 17, 2026
At Yasukuni, the politicians followed the script, but the shrine did not
By Michael MacArthur Bosack
For the first two decades after World War II, the head priest resisted the enshrinement of any documented war criminals. That changed after his death in 1978.

ASIA PACIFIC

A U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter flies over Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, on Monday, after Seoul said that its annual Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercises with the United States had started.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 17, 2026
Trump orders ¡®inappropriate¡¯ U.S.-South Korean military drills scaled back
By Jesse Johnson
Citing his ties with North Korea¡¯s Kim Jong Un, as well as Seoul¡¯s decision not to join U.S.-led actions against Iran, Trump said he was ¡°not happy¡± with the current situation.
Work crews from the Hawaiian Electric Company repair power lines next to a large fallen tree in the McCully district of Honolulu, Hawaii, on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 17, 2026
Lala leaves one dead in Hawaii with heavy rain, wind to come
The storm got closest to the South Point area on the southern tip of the Big Island where one person died in a car accident on Saturday.

WORLD

Fishers unload their fresh catch near a market in Manta, Ecuador, on June 4.
WORLD / Society
Aug 17, 2026
Between cartel threats and U.S. airstrikes, Ecuador fishers have nowhere to hide
Drug cartels have turned the small ports of Ecuador¡¯s Manabi province into a cocaine-trafficking hub, extorting local fishers who are prized for their navigation skills.
A woman adjusts the blanket covering her sleeping son as they take shelter in a metro station in anticipation of a Russian missile strike in Kyiv on Friday.
WORLD
Aug 17, 2026
The Ukrainian social media channels tracking Russian missiles
By Barbara WOJAZER
Ukrainians consult them to track potential Russian attacks. Authorities tolerate them because they inform the public.
A woman with a child and a dog walks past a partially collapsed apartment building on July 31, 2025.
WORLD / Society
Aug 17, 2026
Facing invasion and abuse, vulnerable mothers take refuge in Kyiv shelter
The shelter, funded by the Ukrainian Public Health Foundation has taken in 150 women and children since 2022.
U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he steps off Air Force One upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Sunday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Aug 17, 2026
U.S. takes risky bet on private ¡®pirates¡¯ to combat cybercrime
By Benjamin Legendre
The seemingly unprecedented measure is dividing experts who say it has potential to succeed or spiral out of control.
Firefighting vehicles and a truck carrying a water tank drive through smoke amid a wildfire in Waimes, in the High Fens region, Belgium, on Sunday.
WORLD
Aug 17, 2026
Belgium races to tame huge wildfire creeping toward Germany
The blaze has mushroomed to 3,000 hectares two days after breaking out in the High Fens park, an area of boggy peatlands and pine forests popular with hikers.
The Nyamurongo cemetery, one of the burial sites receiving a large number of people who have died from Ebola virus disease since the beginning of the outbreak, in Bunia, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on June 13.
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 17, 2026
Ebola outbreak in Congo becomes deadliest in country¡¯s history
Government data shows that 2,325 people have died from the disease, surpassing the toll from the 2018-2020 outbreak.
A migrant holds a sign reading "Queremos Asilo," Spanish for "We want asylum," during a gathering in Ceuta, Spain¡¯s tiny North African enclave, on Sunday.
WORLD
Aug 17, 2026
Second Ceuta border push falls flat with security forces ready
By Souhail Karam
Bogus posts had circulated on social media promoting the claim that Spain would open its border on Aug. 15, a national holiday.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during a campaign rally in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 17, 2026
Brazil¡¯s Lula launches reelection bid, aims to win back workers to his Workers Party
The president is grappling with how to rally a new generation of gig workers with little connection ?to the ?unions and factory floors that once formed the backbone of PT.
A first responder searches for victims amid the rubble on the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a house in the southern Lebanese village of Ansar on Saturday.
WORLD
Aug 17, 2026
Israel strikes Lebanon as U.S. prepares fresh Iran sanctions
The fighting threatens a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that calls for Hezbollah¡¯s disarmament and an eventual Israeli withdrawal from occupied territory.

BUSINESS

An All Nippon Airways airplane flies past an oil refinery as it approaches to land at Tokyo's Haneda Airport.
BUSINESS
Aug 17, 2026
JAL and ANA to coordinate flight schedules for first time
The move affects flights by the two major Japanese airlines on the route between Haneda Airport in Tokyo and Okayama Airport in western Japan, starting in late October.
Demonstration models of Helsing¡¯s HX-2 AI strike drones
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 17, 2026
Rakuten, German startup Helsing test military drones for Japan
By katria alampay
The country¡¯s Ground Self-Defense Force will conduct field tests of Helsing drones through the end of September, according to a Rakuten spokesperson.
Convenience store chain Lawson is selling frozen noodles without any toppings priced at ?297 ($1.90), more than 20% lower than that for its frozen noodles with toppings.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 17, 2026
No-frills noodles gaining popularity in Japan amid rising prices
Convenience stores and supermarkets are enhancing their lineup of plain noodles to appeal to customers looking for low-priced products.
Japan's second-quarter economic growth came in under expectations as corporations held back.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 17, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ economy loses some steam in the second quarter
By Kazuaki Nagata
Consumers are holding back as corporations retreat, giving the Bank of Japan some disappointing data to process.
An artificial intelligence data center, which could become one of Japan's largest, is being planned in Akita Prefecture with a goal of commencing operations in 2030 at the earliest.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 17, 2026
Akita eyes AI data center that could become Â鶹´«Ã½ largest
Two firms are cooperating with the city and prefecture to make the center a hub to attract AI-related businesses and human resources.
People queue at a Five Guys fast-food restaurant after the U.S. burger chain opened its first two locations earlier this month, in Beijing on Saturday.
BUSINESS
Aug 17, 2026
From coffee to hotpot, brands race to grab a bite of China¡¯s growing burger market
The rush into burgers reflects broader shifts in China¡¯s consumption habits.
A woman uses an umbrella to shield herself from the sun as she walks across Millennium Bridge during a heatwave in London on Thursday. Heat waves are reducing productivity, curbing consumer spending and raising costs, while such losses can be difficult for insurers to cover because they stem from indirect disruption rather than property damage.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 17, 2026
Heat waves expose insurance gap as European business losses mount
Moody¡¯s estimates that last summer¡¯s European heat waves cost €43 billion ?in lost ?economic output while generating only about €500 million of insured payouts.
A screenshot shows ODD No.'s game app Link! Like! Lovelive! The company has filed for bankruptcy with ?10.7 billion in liabilities.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 17, 2026
Idol game app firm collapses as data shows bankruptcies up 7% on year
By Sota Suzuki
Even as share indexes reach record highs on the back of corporate profits, bankruptcies have also been on the rise amid higher material costs and labor shortages.
A branch of Japanese restaurant chain Ootoya in Tokyo. Ootoya currently operates about 140 Japanese restaurants across eight countries and regions, including Thailand, Taiwan and the United States.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 17, 2026
Restaurant chain operator Ootoya plans to accelerate expansion overseas
The company currently operates about 140 Japanese restaurants across eight countries and regions, including Thailand, Taiwan and the United States.
Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, on Aug. 10.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 17, 2026
Covert Mideast oil flows are keeping global prices in check
The trade of ferrying oil through the Strait of Hormuz undetected to tankers in the Gulf of Oman is running at full tilt, despite recent attacks on vessels.

ENVIRONMENT

Houseboats are seen on the Het Meertje river, as water levels being lower than expected for this time of the season in Nijmegen, Netherlands, on July 17.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Aug 17, 2026
Faced with historic drought, the Dutch rethink water management
The Netherlands, which designed its dikes, dams and vast waterworks to battle floods, faces a dilemma: how to retain water while protecting itself from it?
Juvenile wild Bornean orangutans swing from tree to tree searching for food in Sepilok, Malaysia, on Aug.17, 2024.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Aug 17, 2026
AI-generated wildlife images are endangering animals and people, experts warn
Hyper-realistic visuals of wild animals behaving like pets can distort public perceptions of wildlife and harm conservation efforts.
A cyclist rides shortly after sunrise as an amber heat health alert comes into effect and after Britain¡¯s Environment Agency declared seven areas of England to be in drought, in Richmond Park, London, on Aug. 3.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 17, 2026
¡®Horrific¡¯ conditions grip U.K. hospitals unprepared for heat
By Olivia Rudgard
In hospitals built for a cooler climate, staff dealt with patients too sweaty to receive IV drips, medication at risk of degrading and colleagues collapsing on the job.
Plastic waste seen at the Fujimae tidal flat in Nagoya
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / Regional Voices: Chubu
Aug 17, 2026
Tidal flat in Nagoya hit by plastic waste pollution
The amount of plastic waste at the tidal flat ¡ª a protected wetland hosting diverse wildlife ¡ª has researchers concerned about its effect on the ecosystem.

Opinion

A Buddhist monk protests against nuclear weapons in front of the memorial dome at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima in May 2023.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 17, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ nuclear doublethink is getting harder to defend
By Gearoid Reidy
Â鶹´«Ã½ defense posture has relied on doublethink, being opposed to atomic weapons while sitting under the U.S. nuclear umbrella.
The American No Surprises Act has protected patients from financially ruinous medical bills, but flaws in its arbitration system may be driving up health care costs and insurance premiums.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 17, 2026
The No Surprises Act could be a shock to the U.S. health care system
By Lisa Jarvis
If physicians¡¯ fees rise and insurers face mounting arbitration costs, consumers will ultimately be on the hook.
The British frigate HMS Argyll (front), Japanese destroyer Inazuma (center) and Japanese helicopter carrier Kaga take part in a joint naval drill in the Indian Ocean in September 2018. The Iran crisis has exposed new vulnerabilities in the global maritime order.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Aug 17, 2026
Why the Strait of Hormuz is a warning for Japan
By Yuki Goto
The maritime order has two aspects: a vertical order based on hegemony and command of the sea and a horizontal order based on norms and rules agreed upon among nations.

Sports

Cristiano Ronaldo has said this might be the final season of his career.
SOCCER
Aug 17, 2026
Cristiano Ronaldo says upcoming season likely his last
Ronaldo, whose ?Al Nassr contract runs until June ?2027, has previously stopped short of giving a ?timeline of when he¡¯d be ready to call it a career.
Arsenal's Martin Odegaard lifts the trophy after his team's win over Manchester City in the Community Shield in Cardiff, Wales, on Sunday.
SOCCER
Aug 17, 2026
Arsenal beats Manchester City to win Community Shield
Arsenal kicks off the ?new Premier League campaign on Friday against Coventry City.
Red Sox pinch hitter Masataka Yoshida singles against the Athletics in Sacramento, California, on July 28.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 17, 2026
Red Sox place Masataka Yoshida on injured list with hamstring issue
Yoshida told reporters after the game that when ?he injured his hamstring while ?playing in Japan that he missed about a month.
Kensuke Kondo and the Hawks are starting the week with a 7?-game lead in the Pacific League.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Aug 17, 2026
¡®Ghost¡¯ win prospects add intrigue to NPB clubs¡¯ jockey for playoff positions
By Jason Coskrey
Triggering an extra ghost win would make a league champion¡¯s path to the Japan Series a little clearer than usual.
Tommy John pitches for the Yankees during a game against the Royals, in New York in August 1986.
BASEBALL
Aug 17, 2026
Former pitcher Tommy John, known for surgery that saved careers, dies at 83
Current Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is just one of the MLB pitchers who has undergone Tommy John elbow ligament reconstruction surgery.
Former Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who retired after the 2023 season, is reportedly mulling a return to the NFL.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 17, 2026
Rams coach: No ¡®invisible deadline¡¯ on Aaron Donald decision
Donald, 35, spent his entire 10-year NFL ?career with the Rams before retiring in March 2024.
Scottie Scheffler plays his shot from the third tee during the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, Tennessee, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 17, 2026
Scottie Scheffler walks away with dominant FedEx St. Jude win
Scheffler is the world¡¯s No. 1 golfer, but this marked ?his first victory since January.
South Korea fires warning shots after North Korean soldiers crossed DMZ
North Korea's propaganda village Gijungdong as seen from a South Korea's observation post inside the Joint Security Area on the Demilitarized Zone in March 2023
Slowly but surely, Tokyo is becoming a hot spot for chicken rice
One of Singapore's most iconic dishes, the humble chicken rice is given an upscale treatment at a new Marunouchi cafe.
At Yasukuni, the politicians followed the script, but the shrine did not
People crowd in front of Yasukuni Shrine to pay tribute to the war dead on the 81st anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II, in Tokyo on Saturday.
New shinkansen model delivered to Taiwan
A new Taiwan High Speed Rail train car is unloaded from a cargo ship at a port in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Saturday.
Trump orders ¡®inappropriate¡¯ U.S.-South Korean military drills scaled back
A U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter flies over Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, on Monday, after Seoul said that its annual Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercises with the United States had started.
Unrelenting Russian anti-war protesters in Japan fight through inescapable doubt
Anti-war Russians protest Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward in February.
How U.S. bombing survey in Japan shed light on civilian sentiments of WWII
Residents are seen walking beside rubble in the city of Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, in this undated photo taken soon after the end of World War II.
Forty-five meters down, a diver races to record a fleeting moment of WWII history
Kingo Wakasa photographs the kamikaze plane wing section he discovered at the USS Emmons wreck site.
Takaichi needs Aso on her side to solidify position in LDP
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a Liberal Democratic Party meeting alongside LDP Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki (left) and LDP Vice President Taro Aso in Tokyo earlier this month
Ikarigata closer to emulating older brother Fujinokawa than many think
The future Fujinokawa (third from left) and Ikarigata (right) compete against each other at ages 5 and 3, respectively.

Podcast

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

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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