Life

The Philippines is the first country to green light commercial production of genetically modified Golden Rice, right.
Agriculture

Philippines stirs controversy with genetically modified rice

Critics take aim at nutrient-enriched Golden Rice, but government says it is safe

27 September 2021
Indian students wear Japanese kimono during an event organized by the India-Japan Initiative in Mumbai in April 2005. In order to better understand the world, we need cross-cultural perspectives.
Tea Leaves

The positive side of 'cultural appropriation'

Instead of being condemned, cross-cultural perspectives should be embraced

22 September 2021
A pillbox built by the Japanese army on a British-made artillery observation post commands a sweeping view of Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour. (Takeshi Kihara)
Life

Race to save Hong Kong's wartime relics

Growing interest spurs new interest in region's World War II heritage sites

17 September 2021
Hong Kong's Foreign Correspondents' Club serves an important role for journalists based in the city. (All photos by Tommy Walker)
Tea Leaves

In the wake of COVID-19, reporting on Asia isn't what it used to be

Amid rising authoritarianism in Hong Kong and elsewhere, correspondents seek next regional hub

15 September 2021
For Sachiko Nakamichi, being the okami-san -- or "female boss" -- at Beniya Mukayu means looking after every detail at the ryokan, or traditional Japanese inn. (Courtesy of Beniya Mukayu)
Life

Behind every good Japanese inn is an 'okami-san'

Traditional hostelries rely on the centuries-old custom of female bosses

15 September 2021
Jean-Paul Belmondo, left, shot to international fame with the film Breathless.
Obituaries

Jean-Paul Belmondo, a national treasure of French cinema

Talented actor charmed movigoers around the world

13 September 2021
At the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, the Roll of Honour, adorned with red poppies, lists the names of over 102,000 members of the Australian armed forces who have died in service. (Courtesy of Australian War Memorial)
Life

Costly expansion of Australia's war memorial stirs controversy

Critics argue that national budget better spent on fighting pandemic than elevating war memories

12 September 2021
An Osaka neighborhood engulfed in flames after a firebombing raid on June 7, 1945. (Photo courtesy of Hidenori Watanave)
Life

Rebooting Memories Project helps Japan retain its wartime past

Colorized photographs shed light on a fading era

10 September 2021
Yoshiki gives recital at Carnegie Hall in New York in 2017.
20 years after 9/11

X Japan's Yoshiki sees music as a potential cure for trauma

Philanthropist and rock 'n' roller has been supporting disaster victims since 1995

10 September 2021
"Children reading a history book" features two figures looking at a page that simply says "Remember." 
20 years after 9/11

Minako Yoshino sculpts messages to the future

Japanese sculptor hopes her work will help connect a divided world

9 September 2021
A Buddhist nun offers prayers to Saint Kukai on Koyasan in Wakayama Prefecture. (All photos by Stephen Mansfield)
Tea Leaves

Seeking the 'right' rite of passage

Space, cost and tradition dictate Japan's colorful funeral practices

8 September 2021
A female taxi driver transports a passenger in Tehran in August 2011. About 500 women drive for the Women's Taxi company, which serves only female passengers. In Iran, women are playing an increasing role in society.
20 years after 9/11

Keiko Sakai sees Islam, democracy as compatible

Expert says deep understanding of each country's culture and traditions needed

8 September 2021
Mohsen Makhmalba: director, novelist, human rights activist.
20 years after 9/11

Mohsen Makhmalbaf warns of extremists

Iranian filmmaker worries over fate of journalists and artists stuck in Afghanistan

7 September 2021
Firefighters work beneath the destroyed mullions, the vertical struts, of the World Trade Center's twin towers after a terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001. 
20 years after 9/11

Thomas Friedman argues for more cooperation and less confrontation

Columnist hopeful our good intentions will triumph over our tribal instincts

6 September 2021
Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani is now being called the greatest player in all of baseball.
Sports

Shohei Ohtani gives Japanese baseball a moment to savor

Country has reached the end of a 150-year spiritual journey

5 September 2021
Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani, the American League's starting pitcher for the MLB All-Star Game on July 13 in Denver, throws during the first inning.
Sports

Shohei Ohtani and the quest to rewrite baseball's record books

Purist warrior monk rises above a game consumed by greed and entitlement

4 September 2021
Vendors offer food and drinks from their small boats to people visiting the Amphawa floating market in Samut Songkhram Province, west of Bangkok, in 2013. 
Tea Leaves

Pandemic takes flavor out of Bangkok's grocery shopping

Thai capital's wet markets struggle to survive disruptions

1 September 2021
A Buddhist monk protests the arrest of Wirathu, an ultranationalist monk who has been accused of conspiring to persecute Muslims, in Yangon in January. Even well before the coup, the military and some racist monks were tapping into a latent xenophobic strain among the country’s mainly Buddhist ethnic Burman majority to target Muslims and other minorities. 
Life

As anti-coup protests continue, where are Myanmar's monks?

Ignoring history, some prominent Buddhist clergy have sided with the military

28 August 2021
One of the most beautiful black opals from Lightning Ridge is the 180-carat Aurora Australis, on display at the Altmann & Cherny retail store in Sydney. (Courtesy of Altmann & Cherny)
Life

Australia's black opal fields lure dreamers and prospectors

Part-time miners flock to desolate but colorful Lightning Ridge in search of riches

27 August 2021
Western tourists cut conspicuous figures while strolling through a village on Mabul Island in the east Malaysian state of Sabah. (Photo by Kit Yeng Chan)
Tea Leaves

Developing Asia can do without Western 'influencers'

Tough line needed on ill-informed social media and antisocial tourists

25 August 2021
"Being selected to be the final torchbearer for the 2020 Olympics has been by far the top personal achievement of my life thus far. Perhaps it will be the greatest honor in all my life." --Naomi Osaka. 
Sports

This is Naomi: Japan gave me pride that will stay with me for life

Tennis star vows to come back to represent her country at the Paris Olympics

25 August 2021
Tang Little Kyoto in Dalian, in China's northeastern Liaoning Province, is the country's biggest Japanese-themed commercial and residential complex. (Photo by Shin Watanabe)
Travel & Leisure

Chinese commercial and housing complex offers taste of Japan

Tang Little Kyoto near Dalian expected to lure 3m visitors a year

21 August 2021
These women work as ama sea divers, catching fish and shellfish and collecting seaweed in Japan's Ise Bay. Protective symbols are stitched onto their bonnets to ward off danger and ensure a safe return. (Stephen Mansfield)
Life

Traditional Japanese divers restore 'balance' to the sea

Marine culture is dominated by women in the fishing villages of the Ise Peninsula

18 August 2021
Three young women who recently graduated from FLAME University in Pune have set up an online archive to collect recipes that are being forgotten amid more modern cuisine trends. (Photo courtesy of the Indian Community Cookbook Project)
Tea Leaves

Honoring past generations through culinary memories

Three Indian women gather long-forgotten recipes to revive and preserve forgotten culture

11 August 2021
Ko Min, left, and his wife Ma Moe. Together with their two young children, they live in this poor district on the outskirts of Yangon. Ko Min was a bricklayer but lost his job when construction sites closed due to recent civil unrest. (©WFP Myanmar/2021)
Life

Photo essay: Close-up on Myanmar's growing hunger

'It's for my family': Parents struggle to keep children fed amid country's multiple crises

11 August 2021