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July 01, 2026
 

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DISCRIMINATION

Private hire driver Ali Haydor is reflected in his vehicle wing mirror in Southampton, Britain, on Feb. 23. The 44-year-old, who moved from Bangladesh at age five, says he sometimes wishes he could hide his heritage and identity.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 30, 2026
Anti-migrant politics sparking resurgence of racism in the U.K., polls suggest
A focus on crimes committed by members of ethnic minorities by right-wing activists and politicians has tapped into tensions over national identity and immigration.
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.
People working in human resources departments participate in a workshop in Tokyo in January. The participants played a card game in which they took on roles of people with various disabilities.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jun 22, 2026
Japanese companies get serious about workplace DEI
Firms are stepping up their efforts on diversity, equity and inclusion in a bid to improve their management of human resources.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has blocked the promotions of at least 40 senior officers to general and admiral ranks this year. About half of those are women or members of minority groups.
WORLD
Jun 20, 2026
Secret vetting and blocked promotions in the Pentagon: Inside Pete Hegseth’s war on diversity
A Black admiral fixed one of the U.S. Navy’s worst messes. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blocked his promotion anyway.
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.
Participants in the Tokyo Rainbow Pride march through the streets on Sunday.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 7, 2026
Tokyo Pride draws thousands to spotlight important year for LGBTQ rights
Japan remains the only Group of Seven nation that does not recognize same-sex marriage, even as public support for marriage equality has reached about 67%.
Japan’s foreign resident population rose 9.5% to a record 4.12 million at the end of 2025, topping 4 million for the first time, according to data from the Immigration Services Agency.
JAPAN / Society
May 19, 2026
Almost half of foreign residents have experienced discrimination: government survey
The Immigration Services Agency found 47% of foreign residents have experienced some form of discrimination in their everyday lives in Japan, most commonly from strangers.
"Sinners" wins the outstanding Motion Picture honor at the 57th NAACP Image Awards in Pasadena, California, in February. Debates over Black British actors playing African Americans ignore Hollywood’s global nature and risk limiting opportunities.
COMMENTARY
May 19, 2026
Should Black Brit actors play African Americans?
Nearly 7% of Black children in the U.S. don’t have access to arts education in school, more than twice the rate of their White peers, according to a 2019 report.
The Osaka High Court in the city of Osaka. While the court did not order specific action in the case of a person seeking a nonbinary gender designation in Japan's family register system, it said that the lack of legal recognition infringes on Article 14 of the Constitution.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 13, 2026
High court finds exclusion of nonbinary gender option in family register system unconstitutional
Gender identity is “directly linked to an individual’s personal existence, making it a significant legal good,” the court has said in its judgment.
Three years have passed since COVID-19 was reclassified into lower-risk category, and the government is making efforts to avoid a repeat of misinformation and discrimination during infectious disease outbreaks.
JAPAN
May 8, 2026
Three years after COVID-19’s reclassification, what’s changed?
Government efforts to overhaul its communication to stamp out misinformation, discrimination and public confusion in times of health crises remain ongoing.
The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Wednesday, the day justices released a ruling in Louisiana vs. Callais. The Supreme Court’s ruling on the Voting Rights Act in the middle of primary season could create a potentially chaotic scramble among states that may consider drawing new maps.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 30, 2026
U.S. Supreme Court guts key provision of Voting Rights Act
With November congressional elections looming, the decision could prompt Republican-led states to seek to redraw electoral maps in order to gain an advantage.
Iranian women walk along a busy street in Tehran on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 29, 2026
As some hijabs come off in Iran, restrictions stay in place
Though enforcement of wearing hijab appears to have slackened, authorities can still summon women for not wearing the headscarf and shut down cafes for not upholding the rule.
Newly arrived Rohingya refugees are stranded on a boat after the nearby community decided not to allow them to land after giving them water and food in Pineung, Aceh province, Indonesia, on Nov. 16, 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 21, 2026
Scarce food, bleak futures spur Rohingya refugees to gamble with death at sea
Hundreds die en route, but the numbers keep growing as dwindling international aid pushes yet more to make the treacherous journey to countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia.
The executive committee of Women in Law Japan poses for a photo at the organization’s 10th anniversary gala.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Mar 30, 2026
Women in Law Japan marks 10 years amid persistent gender gap in the profession
Through events, workshops and mentorship programs, the platform offers opportunities to connect for women in the legal profession in Japan.
Tomomi Goto speaks during an interview in Tokyo on March 17. Goto heads a group of plaintiffs in Tokyo who contracted HIV through the administration of untreated blood products.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 29, 2026
Settlement of HIV-tainted blood scandal marks 30 years
Tomomi Goto, 53, who currently leads a group of plaintiffs in Tokyo, warns that prejudice and discrimination against people with infectious diseases remain unresolved.
According to a survey covering some 2,000 LGBTQ+ people over three years to 2024, 54.9% of respondents said in the final year that their workplaces did not have any specific measures for sexual and gender minorities.
JAPAN
Mar 16, 2026
No LGBTQ+ measures at over half of workplaces in Japan: survey
The figure slightly improved from 57.2% in 2022 and 60.4% in 2023, according to the survey.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Feb. 18.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 13, 2026
Japanese government OKs gender equality plan featuring use of maiden names
It aims to submit legislation related to the sixth gender equality basic plan, which contains measures to be taken over the next five years, to the ongoing session of parliament.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her Canadian counterpart, Mark Carney, meet in Tokyo on March 6. Takaichi is Japan’s first female prime minister, while Canada has not had a woman serve in the post in more than three decades.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 13, 2026
Mirrors and blind spots: Japan, Canada and gender equality
Canada’s numbers do not describe a country that has solved gender inequality. They suggest one that may be coasting on a progressive reputation not fully matched by outcomes.
Afghan women walk toward a safer place on Sept. 3 after their house was damaged following a deadly magnitude 6 earthquake in Kunar province, Afghanistan. Women in the country have to cover up when outside the home, with only their hands and eyes visible.
WORLD / Society
Mar 10, 2026
Rituals of resilience: How Afghan women stay sane in their ‘cage’
From singing to going up into the mountains to scream, five Afghan women talked about how they cope with their lives tightly controlled by Taliban government rules.
Hiroko Akizuki, a member of the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, says the political sector is what obstructs gender equality in Japan.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 8, 2026
U.N. panel member implores Japan to address gender equality
Japan ranks 118th among the 148 economies included in the United Nations’ Global Gender Gap Index.
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.
Yen hits 40-year low against the dollar, breaking ¥162 level
Japan's currency broke ¥162 to the dollar on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Japan falls in gut-wrenching fashion as Brazil strikes late to win World Cup clash
Brazil's Gabriel Martinelli (right) shoots past Japan defenders Shogo Taniguchi (left) and Takehiro Tomiyasu to score in the second half of a match in the round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Houston on Monday.
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’

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