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October 14, 2025
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October 14, 2025
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U.S. President Donald Trump gestures next to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Ben Gurion International Airport as Trump leaves Israel en route to Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, to attend a world leaders' summit on ending the Gaza war, amid a U.S.-brokered prisoner-hostage swap and ceasefire deal, in Lod, Israel, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Trump convinced Netanyahu to take a deal. Can he keep him onboard?
By Gram Slattery, Alexander Cornwell and Humeyra Pamuk
With Israel and Hamas divided over many aspects of Trump's plan, Netanyahu's approach may shift as he attempts to keep his right-wing coalition together for next year's elections.

More coverage

Hamas carries out wave of Gaza killings, citing crime and security concerns
Trump hails 'tremendous day for Middle East' as leaders sign Gaza declaration
U.S. President Donald Trump gestures next to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Ben Gurion International Airport as Trump leaves Israel en route to Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, to attend a world leaders' summit on ending the Gaza war, amid a U.S.-brokered prisoner-hostage swap and ceasefire deal, in Lod, Israel, on Monday.
Newly-elected leader of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party Sanae Takaichi (right) celebrates with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba after winning the LDP leadership election in Tokyo on October 4.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Number of scenarios now on the table for who might be Japan’s next prime minister
By Eric Johnston
With Komeito’s exit from the ruling coalition, there is now no guarantee LDP chief Sanae Takaichi will be voted prime minister when parliament convenes.
Bear warning signs at the Akita Prefectural Government building
JAPAN
As temperatures drop in Japan, bear attacks shoot up to historic highs
By Yukana Inoue
A total of 39 people sustained injuries from bear attacks in September alone.
The Nagano District Court on Tuesday handed down the death penalty on Masanori Aoki, 34, for killing four people, including two police officers, in the city of Nakano, Nagano Prefecture, in 2023.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nagano court sentences man to death for quadruple murder
Presiding Judge Masashi Sakata said the crime “leaves no room for leniency, and deserves the highest level of condemnation.”
<i>Sashiko</I> dates to the Edo Period (1603-1868) and began as a technique that allowed working-class people to prolong the lifespan of their clothing.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Beauty in slowness: Life lessons from Japanese embroidery
By Cassie Xu
After taking up the practice of sashiko stitching six years ago, a Chinese Canadian woman found an anchor in the traditional craft amidst major life transitions.
<i>Sashiko</I> dates to the Edo Period (1603-1868) and began as a technique that allowed working-class people to prolong the lifespan of their clothing.

JAPAN

University of Osaka professor Shimon Sakaguchi (right), and Susumu Kitagawa, special professor at Kyoto University, attend a reception for Swedish Crown Princess Victoria hosted by the Swedish Embassy in Tokyo on Monday.
Japanese Nobel winners attend reception in Tokyo
It was the first time Shimon Sakaguchi and Susumu Kitagawa had appeared together in public since being named Nobel laureates last week.
The Imperial Household Agency's headquarters building inside the Imperial Palace. The agency released the list of 1,777 invitees on Tuesday for a garden party to be hosted by Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako at the Akasaka Imperial Gardens in Tokyo on Oct. 28.
More than 1,700 people invited to autumn imperial garden party
The list includes meritorious individuals, local government officials and their spouses.
Sake industry boosting promotion in Britain
Japan welcomes release of Israeli hostages in Gaza
Chinese survey ship spotted in Japan's EEZ off Amami Oshima
DPP and CDP chiefs likely to meet over prime minister nomination

BUSINESS

A container ship at the Port of Los Angeles. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has accused China of pointing a bazooka at the supply chains and the industrial base of the entire free world with its rare earth curbs.
Trump and Xi spark another standoff with world economy at risk
The question now is which side blinks first.
People walk past a large electronic screen showing the Samsung logo at a train station in Seoul on Tuesday.
Samsung rides global AI boom to its biggest profit since 2022
By Yoolim Lee
South Korea’s largest company reported an operating profit of 12.1 trillion won in the September quarter, according to a preliminary earnings report.
Firms show off Japanese food at event in Brazil
CEATEC digital tech show kicks off near Tokyo
This old thing? Why brands are hyping well-worn, heritage hand-me-downs
By Chris Rovzar
U.S. investments, and rhetoric, help AstraZeneca seal drug deal with Trump
By Maggie Fick

WORLD

Thai army and police (bottom) face off with Cambodian people in a disputed area along the Cambodia-Thailand border, as seen from Sa Kaeo province, on Sept. 17.
Trump to attend signing of Thai-Cambodian 'peace deal'
Malaysia's foreign minister said the U.S. leader would visit Malaysia on Oct. 26 to attend the ASEAN summit in the Malaysian capital, which runs through Oct. 28.
Mourners and villagers carry the coffin of a Pakistani soldier in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Monday.
Why has the latest Afghanistan-Pakistan conflict erupted?
By Saeed Shah
Late on Saturday, Taliban forces attacked Pakistani military posts along the length of the 2,600-kilometer border, with Pakistani forces later retaliating.
Brexit, decay and politics collide on U.K.’s industrial east coast
By Maddie Parker and Jamie Nimmo
Myanmar scam cities booming despite crackdown — using Musk's Starlink
By Isabel Kua, Matthew WALSH and Nalini Lepetit-Chella
Trump basks in the spotlight in Egypt with harder part to come
China detains prominent underground pastor in crackdown

Sports

Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Monday ahead of a game against Brazil the following day.
Moriyasu aiming for a result against Brazil
By Sam Byford
Japan has never beaten Brazil, but the Samurai Blue head coach says, "Our own players are now competing on the European stage, and we want to go toe-to-toe."
Dodgers barely preserve Blake Snell's win in NLCS opener
Cape Verde erupts in celebration after first World Cup qualification
France faces crunch match against Ukraine after 2-2 draw with Iceland
Mariners rout Blue Jays to seize 2-0 lead in MLB playoffs

Opinion

Amid the election of Sanae Takaichi as Liberal Democratic Party president, and possibly the next prime minister, Japan's economy shows signs of recovery, but weak wages, a conservative corporate culture and currency issues raise doubts about a true economic thaw.
Hypothermia in the land of the rising Sanae
John Authers
Of late, the country has suddenly given every impression of heat. There are good reasons to believe hypothermia is over.
Putin is taking his hybrid warfare to the sea
By James Stavridis
What if everything we think about obesity is wrong?
By F.D. Flam
Europe can build its own social media
By Sebastian Vogelsang
Machado receives the Nobel Peace Prize as Trump’s attempts to secure award fall short
By Andreas Kluth

ENVIRONMENT

A worker feeds shrimp in Pandeglang, Banten province, Indonesia, on July 29.
Indonesia says no to scrap metal after shrimp radiation scare
By Chandra Asmara
Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq said the pause aims to ensure that the local steel-recycling industry meets radiation safety standards.
Europe's bees and butterflies at risk, conservation body says
U.K. spearheads polar climate change research as U.S. draws back
By Joe JACKSON
Trump calls climate change a con; science braces for more
By David Sherfinski
Global renewable power output overtakes coal for the first time, report says

CULTURE

In his book, correspondent Chris Horton examines Taiwan's history but also brings the story into the present by tracing its strategic alignments today.
'Ghost Nation' puts Taiwan’s history in present context
By Athena Tong
Horton, a veteran correspondent who has lived in Taiwan for more than a decade, devotes substantial space in the book to the transformative years of Japanese rule over Taiwan.
Oscar-winning actress Diane Keaton dead at 79
Autumn Meteorite stages a month of inventive theater in Tokyo
By Jessica Kozuka
Iyo Sky takes flight: How the ‘Genius of the Sky’ turned risk into art and fear into fun
By Adam Davidson
Hungarian 'master of the apocalypse' Laszlo Krasznahorkai wins Nobel Prize in literature

LIFE

This year’s World's 50 Best Bars list features bars from 29 cities worldwide, including debuts from Eastern Europe.
Tokyo earns three spots on World’s 50 Best Bars list
By Weiwen Lin
Bar Benfiddich climbs ranks, but Hong Kong steals the show with Bar Leone making history as the first bar in Asia to be named No. 1 in the listing.
Nara inn offers room, board and an ancient burial mound
By Kimberly Hughes
From straight to curly: Getting your hair done in Japanese
By Mishu Callan
Roasted green tea gets a milky makeover
By Simon Daly
Eat your balloons: The culinary theater of Grant Achatz comes to Tokyo
By Weiwen Lin

COMMUNITY

<i>Sashiko</I> dates to the Edo Period (1603-1868) and began as a technique that allowed working-class people to prolong the lifespan of their clothing.
Beauty in slowness: Life lessons from Japanese embroidery
By Cassie Xu
After taking up the practice of sashiko stitching six years ago, a Chinese Canadian woman found an anchor in the traditional craft amidst major life transitions.
Shrunali Ranade: ‘Stepping back isn’t failure but another form of strength’
By Megha Wadhwa
Student groups nurture Japan-South Korea dialogue and cultural ties
By Moe Shimizu
Linda Joyce: ‘We hope people recognize the benefits of exploring rural areas’
By Louise George Kittaka
Stirred, not shaken: Kyoto business platform blends local and global
By Samantha Seghers

Editors' Picks

JAPAN
A frenetic diplomatic schedule looms for Japan’s next leader — whomever that may be
By Jesse Johnson
As horse-trading and speculation surge over who will be elected the next prime minister in parliament — the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Sanae Takaichi or a possible candidate put forward by a unified opposition — Japan’s next leader will be confronted with a quick succession of key diplomatic events.
LIFE
Ghost of Yotei’s bloodstained fun sidesteps Ainu identity
By Owen Ziegler
Ghost of Yotei, the follow-up to 2020's smash hit Ghost of Tsushima, is a violent, vengeful and engaging romp through 17th-century Hokkaido that fails to stick the landing on its most sensitive cultural material.
ENVIRONMENT
At Osaka Expo, gas giants promote a greener future. But is it a lot of hot air?
By Joel Tansey
The Gas Pavilion had welcomed around 500,000 visitors by the end of August, making it one of the most popular exhibits at the Osaka Expo.
BUSINESS
‘Takaichi trade’ starts unwinding as political calculus upended by Komeito exit
By Kazuaki Nagata
Less than a week ago, Sanae Takaichi seemed set to become Japan's first female prime minister.
JAPAN
‘Save the Ring’ calls intensify as Osaka Expo’s end nears
By Tomoko Otake
Visitors lounge on the grassy hill on the top of the Grand Ring during the 2025 Osaka Expo in the city of Osaka in May.

Podcast

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

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building
By Patrick St. Michel

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SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons
Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons

COMFACTS

New Food Products Utilizing Tsunan Sake Brewery’s Sake Lees Unveiled at “TORANOMON JUST RIGHT NEW FOOD” Tasting Event
New Food Products Utilizing Tsunan Sake Brewery’s Sake Lees Unveiled at “TORANOMON JUST RIGHT NEW FOOD” Tasting Event
TSUNAN SAKE BREWERY

WHAT’S TRENDING

JAPAN
As the Osaka Expo comes to a close, what will its legacy be?
By Joel Tansey and Tomoko Otake
After a run-up marked by apathy, organizers soon found they had the opposite problem as crowd control became a concern.
COMMENTARY
Hypothermia in the land of the rising Sanae
By John Authers
Amid the election of Sanae Takaichi as Liberal Democratic Party president, and possibly the next prime minister, Japan's economy shows signs of recovery, but weak wages, a conservative corporate culture and currency issues raise doubts about a true economic thaw.
LIFE
Ghost of Yotei’s bloodstained fun sidesteps Ainu identity
By Owen Ziegler
Ghost of Yotei, the follow-up to 2020's smash hit Ghost of Tsushima, is a violent, vengeful and engaging romp through 17th-century Hokkaido that fails to stick the landing on its most sensitive cultural material.
JAPAN
After ruling bloc collapses, LDP and opposition scramble to find needed votes for PM
By Eric Johnston
Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday after leaving the ruling coalition earlier in the day.
COMMENTARY
What if everything we think about obesity is wrong?
By F.D. Flam
Recent research shows obesity may be driven by ultraprocessed and hyperpalatable foods that disrupt fullness signals and lead to overeating.