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July 06, 2025
 

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Michael Crowley
U.S. President Donald Trump talks to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting where Trump announced nuclear talks with Iran, in Washington on April 7.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 12, 2025
Israel appears ready to attack Iran, officials in U.S. and Europe say
The step could further inflame the Middle East and derail or delay U.S. efforts to broker a deal to cut off Iran’s path to building a nuclear bomb.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in London on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 26, 2024
As U.S. election looms, Biden aides struggle with Middle East wars
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was dispatched to the region to find a way toward stability, but there was no sign of progress.
U.S. President Joe Biden hugs Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, as he and other prisoners freed from Russia arrive at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland late Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 3, 2024
Prisoner deals stoke fears of perverse ‘incentive’ to grab Americans
Hostile governments like Russia and Iran are often involved, and practical alternatives are hard to come by, experts say.
U.S. President Joe Biden makes a campaign stop at Strath Haven Middle School in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 9, 2024
Providing both bombs and food, Biden puts himself in the middle of Gaza’s war
Biden's decision to send aid by air and sea represents a shift prompted by the growing humanitarian crisis. But it also raised uncomfortable questions.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks after a U.N. Security Council meeting in New York on Friday.
WORLD
Dec 23, 2023
A world leader on Ukraine, the U.S. is now isolated over Gaza
With the year drawing to a close, the United States finds itself diplomatically isolated and in a defensive crouch over the Israel-Hamas war.
Taliban security personnel in Kabul on Aug. 15. So far, U.S. President Joe Biden has not decided to restore any U.S. support to Afghanistan, despite the country's worsening humanitarian crisis.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 31, 2023
Two years after exit, Biden resists calls for more Taliban contact
Some analysts and U.S. officials had clung to the hope that the Taliban had moderated since they last controlled Afghanistan in the 1990s.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 14, 2023
Ukraine’s offensive could set stage for diplomacy with Russia, U.S. officials say
It is unclear how the officials will define success in the counteroffensive, which could last many months, or how its outcome might affect their approach.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 22, 2023
One of the most influential ambassadors in Washington isn’t one
Taiwan’s representative, Bi-khim Hsiao, calls herself a “cat warrior” walking a delicate diplomatic line. China calls her a troublemaker who could trigger a war.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 10, 2022
Blinken presses China’s top diplomat on Ukraine but stresses cooperation
As Washington works to shore up alliances with its Asian allies to constrain China, it is also trying to assemble a global effort to punish Moscow for its aggression in Ukraine.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 19, 2022
Trump’s shadow looms over fading Iran nuclear talks
With no compromise in sight and Iran making steady progress toward nuclear capability, the Biden administration could soon face a stark choice.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 30, 2022
For NATO, Turkey is a disruptive ally
Within an alliance that operates by consensus, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has come to be seen as something of a stickup artist.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 14, 2022
Ukraine war ushers in ‘new era’ for U.S. abroad
The Russian invasion has bonded America to Europe more tightly than at any time since the Cold War and deepened U.S. ties with Asian allies.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Feb 23, 2022
Putin insulated Russia’s economy. Will Biden’s sanctions hold him back in Ukraine?
The Biden administration might find it has to impose the absolute harshest sanctions — ones that would inflict suffering on many ordinary citizens — or look for a noneconomic option.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 12, 2022
Puzzle in Ukraine crisis: Where’s the U.S. ambassador?
Neither the Biden administration nor Ukraine's government is providing a clear explanation for a delay that career diplomats say would be baffling and inexcusable even in ordinary times
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 21, 2022
Biden strengthens his words on Ukraine after flustering European partners
The comments came a day after the president triggered alarm in European capitals with his suggestion of divisions among allies.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 11, 2021
Biden backs Taiwan, but some call for a clearer warning to China
As China grows stronger and bolder, some experts want to end Washington's decades-long policy of “strategic ambiguity.”
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 24, 2021
Antony Blinken, without leaving U.S., tries to mend fences with allies abroad
As part of his effort to re-energize American alliances frayed by the Donald Trump years, Blinken has spoken with dozens of his counterparts around the world but has yet to leave the U.S.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 23, 2020
Biden picks Blinken, defender of global alliances, as top envoy
Antony J. Blinken, a defender of global alliances and one of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s closest foreign policy advisers, is expected to be nominated for secretary of state, a job in which he will try to coalesce skeptical international partners into a new competition with China, according to...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 7, 2020
Joe Biden’s China journey
As Biden faces fierce campaign attacks from President Donald Trump, his language on China points to a drastic shift in thinking.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 5, 2008
Obama can't escape America's realpolitik
During the Democratic Party primary season, all those eons ago, Barack Obama deployed no more powerful line against Hillary Clinton than his insistence that "we can't just tell people what they want to hear. We need to tell them what they need to hear." More than just a catchy couplet, the phrase was...
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
U.S. military apologizes over Okinawa sexual assault case
Col. Neil Owens (right), chief of staff for the 3rd Marine Division, bows in apology at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office in Naha on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

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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