Tag - human-rights

 
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June 30, 2026
 

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HUMAN RIGHTS

The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that asylum seekers stopped at the border cannot seek protection abandons the humanitarian purpose of American asylum law.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 30, 2026
The U.S. Supreme Court just betrayed asylum seekers
The majority opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, is a case study in the absurdities of legalism and shows why it has been condemned since the days of Jesus of Nazareth.
Plaintiffs head to the Tokyo District Court ahead of the first hearing in a lawsuit seeking to hold 37 judges accountable over the wrongful prosecution of a former Ohkawara Kakohki adviser, on Monday in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 29, 2026
Government vows to fight suit on bail denials for Ohkawara adviser
The state called for the suit filed by three family members of Shizuo Aishima, who died in 2021 at age 72, to be dismissed.
Alessandro Monteiro sits during the rehearsal of the play "Font Flip is Burning" ahead of its opening night in Mindelo, Cape Verde, on May 24.
WORLD / Society
Jun 29, 2026
Cape Verde, Africa’s outlier in LGBTQ+ tolerance
The archipelago is currently the most welcoming country in Africa for the LGBTQ+ community, ahead of South Africa, according to Equaldex.
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jun 29, 2026
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
LGBTQ+ people in Japan face such limited fertility treatment options, they could ultimately be deprived of the right to safely start a family.
Haru Ono founded Nijiiro Kazoku in 2010 after forming a same-sex stepfamily. She said the impetus for founding the organization was that she couldn’t find much reliable information out there for families such as hers in Japan.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jun 28, 2026
LGBTQ+ families are building lives Japanese lawmakers still struggle to see
Japan does not offer same-sex couples the same legal rights and benefits granted to married couples.
The Judicial Affairs Committee of the House of Councilors holds a hearing on a bill to revise the retrial system under the Code of Criminal Procedure, at the Diet building in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 26, 2026
Expert witnesses demand amendment to retrial reform bill
The bill to revise the Code of Criminal Procedure limits the scope of evidence that courts may order public prosecutors to submit to that related to an appeal for retrials.
A 33-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man have been detained by Hong Kong police for allegedly selling items "with seditious intent."
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jun 25, 2026
Hong Kong arrests two for allegedly selling ‘seditious’ material
Local outlets reported one of the items being sold was a biography of jailed media mogul Jimmy Lai.
Health minister Kenichiro Ueno lays flowers during a ceremony held in Tokyo Monday to restore the honor of leprosy patients in Japan.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 22, 2026
Japan commemorates victims of discriminatory leprosy policy
A ceremony was held in Tokyo to restore the honor of leprosy patients in Japan, who had suffered severe discrimination based on a policy of forced isolation.
Koji Sakahara (center), the eldest son of Hiromu Sakahara, and others attend a news conference at the Shiga Prefectural Government building on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 19, 2026
Man given life sentence likely to be acquitted posthumously
Hiromu Sakahara was convicted of robbery-murder after a liquor shop owner was killed and her safe was stolen in the town of Hino, Shiga Prefecture. He died in 2011.
Hong Kong's chief executive officer, John Lee, speaks at a news conference in Beijing in December.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 19, 2026
The sudden death of judicial reviews in Hong Kong
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee can now certify anything as “endangering national security” and thus restrict freedom of expression.
A lawyer representing the mother (left, blurred for privacy reasons) of a girl who died after being detained speaks during a news conference in Kobe on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 19, 2026
Japanese mother sues state over teen’s ‘hostage justice’ death
The mother of a girl who died from emaciation following detention and alleged interrogations by authorities is seeking compensation, in the latest case of “hostage justice.”
Children stand near a damaged car, which Palestinians say was burned by Israeli settlers, in Halhul near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on May 20.
WORLD
Jun 18, 2026
U.N. warns Israeli settlers could join blacklist for violations against children
A United Nations report says it has verified the killing of 2,668 Palestinian children in Gaza and 57 in the West Bank in 2025.
Democratic Party for the People leader Yuichiro Tamaki speaks during a news conference at the Diet building in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 17, 2026
Japan set to enact bill criminalizing vandalism of the national flag
Backing from the opposition Democratic Party for the People paves the way for the bill’s passage through the Upper House, where the ruling bloc is a minority force.
Taliban fighters celebrate the first anniversary of the fall of Kabul in the Afghan capital on Aug. 15, 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 16, 2026
The toll on Afghanistan of five years of Taliban rule
Afghans are asking the world: How long and to what extent must the Taliban continue internal repression and support for terrorism before the world recognizes the threat?
A new plan calls for collecting information on LGBTQ+-related initiatives, developing educational materials, and training counselors and local government officials.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2026
Japanese government OKs basic plan to raise LGBTQ+ awareness
The plan calls for awareness-raising training programs and improved consultation systems, stating that unjust discrimination must not be tolerated.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a news conference after a meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, in December.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 12, 2026
The U.S. and Israel can’t hide their differences on Iran
The cause of their dispute is, on the surface, simple. Israel says the April ceasefire between Tehran and Washington did not cover Lebanon.
A man salvages construction materials from a collapsed building to resell, as Cuba's state-run economy has descended into a full-blown crisis after the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump hardened sanctions and cut off the Caribbean nation's oil supply, in Havana on May 6.
WORLD
Jun 11, 2026
White House defends Cuba sanctions as U.N. warns of harm
U.N. ⁠High Commissioner for ​Human Rights Volker Turk said the measures were affecting the Cuban population’s human rights, especially ​access to ‌essential supplies and services.
Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, attends a party general council meeting at the Diet building on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 10, 2026
LDP and DPP to discuss bill to criminalize national flag vandalism
The Democratic Party for the People aims “to clarify what constitutes a crime”
Hideko Hakamata attends a parliamentary session on May 27 to observe deliberations on a Criminal Procedure Code revision bill.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 9, 2026
Sister of ex-death row inmate calls for full disclosure of evidence by prosecutors amid retrial system review
A bill under consideration would limit the scope of evidence disclosure and mandate that the defense not be provided with a list of evidence.
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Sakura Uchikoshi (right) and Kazuki Yuda of Touch Immigration Law Firm during a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Monday
JAPAN / Society
Jun 8, 2026
Tighter immigration rules could tarnish Japan’s image, opposition lawmaker says
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Sakura Uchikoshi cautions against a shift in Japan toward exclusionism and xenophobia.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Chinese and Russian bombers and fighter jets stage joint patrol near Japan
A Chinese Air Force H-6 bomber is seen during a joint patrol with Russian military aircraft on Saturday.
U.S. missile moves in Japan send China clear message: A new era has arrived
Soldiers conduct the first Typhon midrange capability live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States, firing an SM-6 missile in July last year in Australia's Northern Territory during Exercise Talisman Sabre.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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