Vue lecture

Okinawa Elects a Conservative Amid Fears About China and the Economy

Genta Koja will become the Japanese archipelago’s next governor, a win for the country’s hawkish prime minister as she works to accelerate a military buildup.

© Daisuke Tomita/Yomiuri Shimbun, via Associated Press

Genta Koja, a conservative, celebrating in Naha city, Japan, on Sunday after he was projected as the victor in the election for governor of Okinawa.
  •  

Toyohiro Akiyama, Japan’s Chain-Smoking ‘Space Antihero,’ Dies at 84

A journalist, he was the first Japanese person to enter space, joining a Soviet crew as part of a spectacular $35 million ratings stunt in 1990.

© Kyodo, via Reuters

Toyohiro Akiyama waving from a space capsule after returning to Earth in December 1990.
  •  
❌