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Tag - press-freedom

 
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July 24, 2026
 

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PRESS FREEDOM

An independent bookstore employee is being led away by policemen after the officers raided the "Have A Nice Stay" bookshop and confiscated items in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 16, 2026
Hong Kong police raid independent bookstore run by former journalists
Police said it searched two shops after being alerted to books with ¡°seditious intention¡± found in a shipment from overseas.
The NATO leaders' summit is due to begin in Ankara today.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 7, 2026
Turkey cracks down on press as NATO leaders gather in Ankara
As Turkey rises as a strategic defense partner, criticism of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his heavy-handed methods is unlikely to be widely expressed.
Turkish police officers walk in front of protestors during an anti-NATO demonstration in Istanbul on Sunday, ahead of a NATO summit in Ankara.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 6, 2026
Journalists arrested in Turkey as NATO summit looms
Human rights groups have complained of a shrinking space for dissent in Turkey in recent weeks.
Muhoozi Kainerugaba, son of Yoweri Museveni and Uganda's Chief of Defense Forces, inspects a military parade from a vehicle during the inauguration ceremony of his father following his reelection as president at the Kololo Ceremonial Grounds in Kampala on May 12.
WORLD
Jun 29, 2026
Ugandan army chief shuts down main independent media group
Nation Media Group¡¯s television station NTV Uganda and Daily Monitor newspaper will remain closed until further notice, Uganda¡¯s army chief said in a series of posts on X.
People read the headlines of Ivorian newspapers at the side of a street in Ajame, a popular district of Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Jun 10, 2026
Self-censorship, insecurity, financial squeeze: Press under pressure in Cote d¡¯Ivoire
Press freedom is more established in Cote d¡¯Ivoire than in other west African nations but remains precarious in a region hit by conflict and under political and economic pressure.
A giant screen shows Chinese leader Xi Jinping meeting U.S. President Donald Trump in Beijing on May 14. China distorts narratives portraying Japan as a military threat while similar dynamics in the U.S. erode truth and accountability.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2026
Defending democracy from the global war on reality
From Beijing to Washington, the very concept of objective truth feels unattainable
Pope Leo XIV addresses the crowd from a window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter's Square in the Vatican on Sunday.
WORLD
May 3, 2026
Pope marks World Press Freedom Day, laments violations and honors slain reporters
The pope ?urged the faithful to ?remember journalists and reporters who have lost their lives pursuing the truth, particularly ?in areas afflicted ?by conflicts.
Japan moved up from 66th the previous year while the U.S. slid to 64th, down from 57th in 2025, the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom index showed.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Media
May 1, 2026
Japan overtakes U.S. in global press freedom index
The report found press freedom has sunk to a 25-year low, with 52% of the countries and territories being categorized as in ¡°difficult¡± or ¡°very serious¡± situations.
Sebastien Lai, son of jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai, poses for a portrait next to a poster featuring his father during an interview in London in December.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2026
Memo to Xi: There is no downside to freeing Jimmy Lai
Lai started his media business following the 1989 Tiananmen massacre in which Chinese authorities killed hundreds, perhaps thousands, of their own citizens.
Copies of The Wall Street Journal for sale in in New York on April 9. On Monday, a federal judge dismissed U.S. President Donald Trump¡¯s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the publisher of The Wall Street Journal over its report of a birthday card sent to financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 14, 2026
U.S. judge throws out Trump¡¯s defamation case against Wall Street Journal
U.S. District Court Judge Darrin P. Gayles said Trump had not ?come close to meeting the ¡°actual malice¡± standard that public figures must clear in defamation.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has approved a policy which has been criticized as giving the Pentagon free rein to freeze out reporters and news outlets over coverage the department does not like.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 24, 2026
Pentagon adopts new press restrictions after court order against previous limits
Press ?freedom advocates have criticized policy changes under U.S. President Donald Trump¡¯s administration that have limited journalists¡¯ access to the Pentagon.
Pete Hegseth calls on a reporter while answering questions during a news briefing at the Pentagon on March 19. A former Fox News host, he has limited access to his briefings on the 51³Ô¹ÏÍø.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 24, 2026
Iran is America¡¯s first war of the social media age. It¡¯s a black box.
Though the hostilities are occurring in an era of information overload, blanket reporting bans make it difficult to ascertain what is going on while AI further muddies reality.
The Indian Supreme Court building in New Delhi in 2010
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 23, 2026
Activists and journalists set for court fight over Modi¡¯s privacy law
Concerns have been raised over a possible chilling effect on newsgathering and the hindering of accountability journalism.
The aftermath of an Israeli military strike on Tehran's Evin Prison is seen here on June 29, nearly a week after the hostilities ceased.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 13, 2026
Japan should urge Iran to release people in detention
A Japanese government spokesperson has confirmed that Iranian authorities detained a Japanese national on Jan. 20 and Tokyo has been urging Tehran to release them.
Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy supporter Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong in 2014. Lai won an appeal on Thursday over a 2022 fraud conviction, days after a court jailed him on separate national security charges.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 26, 2026
Hong Kong court overturns China critic Jimmy Lai¡¯s fraud conviction in rare victory
Lai will still remain imprisoned for 20 years in a separate national security case.
Greek and foreign journalists hold pictures of recently killed journalists in the Gaza Strip, during a protest outside the Union of Greek Journalists in Athens on Sept. 4, 2025.
WORLD
Feb 26, 2026
Record 129 journalists and media workers killed in 2025, mostly by Israel
Last year marked the second consecutive year that two-thirds of them were killed by Israel, the Committee to Protect Journalists says.
Pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, after his conviction on charges of of ¡°conspiracy to collude with foreign forces,¡± at the Apple Daily newsroom in Hong Kong on Aug. 12, 2020.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 12, 2026
Hong Kong journalists face ¡®precarious¡¯ future after Jimmy Lai jailed
Media bosses ¡°increasingly see themselves as an extension of the government propaganda arm,¡± said Selina Cheng, chair of the Hong Kong Journalists Association.
Media tycoon Jimmy Lai at the Next Digital offices in Hong Kong in 2020. A Hong Kong court sentenced Lai to 20 years in prison on Monday, following a yearslong, high-profile national security trial that rights groups and Western nations have condemned as a symbol of the city's shriveling press freedoms.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 9, 2026
Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai given 20 years¡¯ prison after national security trial
The founder of the shuttered Apple Daily newspaper was first arrested in August 2020 and was ?convicted last year.
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, 72, at the Next Digital offices in Hong Kong on June 16, 2020
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 9, 2026
After years of legal battles, Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai faces sentencing
Lai¡¯s plight has been criticized by global leaders spotlighting a yearslong crackdown following mass pro-democracy protests in ?2019.
Frenchie Mae Cumpio, a detained Filipino journalist, gestures as she arrives at Tacloban Regional Trial Court in Leyte island on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jan 22, 2026
Philippines convicts journalist on terror charge called ¡®absurd¡¯
Community journalist and radio broadcaster Frenchie Cumpio, 26, is the first Filipina journalist to be prosecuted under the terror financing laws.
Japan scientists identify clusters of protein believed to trigger Alzheimer¡¯s disease
A team of researchers said they found a ¡°seed¡± that accelerates the amyloid beta accumulation process in the brain, naming it ¡°Peak 1 amyloid beta,¡± as seen in a mouse's brain.
Indian brothers make manga debut in Japan
Two Indian brothers made their manga debut in Japan with "Kung Fu Kung Fool" ¡ª an action-comedy series that follows the adventures of a notorious thief and a young boy.
Japan weighs regulating Pokemon cards amid trading mania
A Pokemon event is held in Jakarta on July 11
Low-income families in Japan cut food and air conditioning during summer break
Yumiko Watanabe, the chairperson of nonprofit Kidsdoor, explains the results of a survey in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on July 1.
Iran strikes on CIA facilities prompt questions about possible Russian role
Iranian drones are displayed in an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on Jan. 13, 2025.U.S. officials have acknowledged that Russia has ?provided targeting ?and other support for Iran in its drone strikes on U.S. targets in the Persian Gulf region.
The sci-fi sensibilities of electronic trio Black Boboi
Black Boboi was formed in 2018 when solo artists Julia Shortreed, Utena Kobayashi and Ermhoi came together under Kobayashi¡¯s newly founded label, Bindividual.
A perfect storm: Kaze Fujii fans flock to Fuji Rock
Okayama-born singer-songwriter Kaze Fujii has carved out a distinctive place in Japanese pop since his major-label debut in 2019.
Can Japanese comedy get laughs in English? Yoshimoto Kogyo lets the jokes rip
Wes-P has millions of followers and his viral clips made him recognizable out of Japan.
The 180-day locals: Life on Japan¡¯s digital nomad visa
Christopher Flinn works remotely from Tokyo earlier this month. Japan issued 646 digital nomad visas in 2025, but tourism officials are hoping to increase that figure in the coming years, with Japan's relatively cheap cost of living and the weak yen seen as potential draws for young professionals.
Japan reveals hint of new defense spending target in fiscal blueprint
The Self-Defense Forces' Type 16 mobile combat vehicle fires during a joint live-fire drill with U.S. Marines as part of the annual Resolute Dragon exercises in Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on June 28.

Podcast

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

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
By Alex K.T. Martin

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