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May 15, 2025
 

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COMMENTARY

World

World
Japan
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and French President Emmanuel Macron at the AI Action Summit in Paris in February. The mood at the event was largely optimistic despite growing evidence that chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT are being used by malicious actors.
COMMENTARY / World
How much will we risk in the name of AI?
AI safety breaches are a very present danger. Evidence shows that leading chatbots are perpetuating Kremlin talking points, while many leaders tout optimism rather than concern.
COMMENTARY / World
American exceptionalism meets its maker
The question is whether U.S. President Donald Trump’s destructive policies have now brought this economic exceptionalism to an end.
COMMENTARY / World
Why China’s EV claims aren’t as revolutionary as they seem
Companies once treated with benign neglect by Beijing are becoming major recipients of government funding.
A small boat transits through the Bay of Balaklava near the Crimean Peninsula city of Sevastopol on the Black Sea coast. Plans to dump bundled biomass into the Black Sea have raised concerns about environmental risks.
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2025
Dumping biomass in the ocean is not a climate solution
By James Kerry and Lisa Levin
Plans to dump bundled biomass into the Black Sea as part of a carbon-sequestration project have raised concerns about environmental risks.
The 90-day truce in the U.S.-China trade war was a huge relief for small businesses and millions of workers on both sides of the Pacific.
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2025
Trump and Xi tone down a senseless trade war
By Shuli Ren
It was a huge relief for small businesses and millions of workers on both sides of the Pacific.
Sinovac, a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine, is administered in Bangkok in 2021. The recent U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization has further opened the field for Beijing to assert its role in global health, including through vaccine diplomacy.
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2025
If China triumphs, America has itself to blame
By Thomas O. Falk
While Trump's policies bite at home, Beijing is stepping in to fill the void left by the U.S. retreat from global leadership in areas ranging from trade and investment to health.
Empowering nuns and laypeople could help preserve struggling parishes and restore the Catholic Church’s role as a vital community anchor, especially with nuns who have long been its most dedicated and overlooked servants.
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2025
To save Catholicism, let’s talk nuns, not popes
By Frank Barry
All eyes were on Rome as Pope Leo XIV was announced. But to secure the future of the faith, Catholics should look closer to home.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (left), U.S. President Joe Biden (second from left), German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (second from right) and French President Emmanuel Macron prepare to take a family photo during their "Quad" meeting in Berlin on Oct. 18. Leaders in the West have tried to revive the old order, but Donald Trump’s return to power shows they need a new way of looking at the world.
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2025
Europe after the end of the liberal international order
By Mark Leonard
We were wrong to think that we had secured a golden age of peace at the end of the Cold War. In reality, there was violence everywhere.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping joins Russian President Vladimir Putin and other foreign leaders at a ceremony at the Kremlin’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow on Friday to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2025
Beijing talks peace in Ukraine while aiding Putin’s war
By Thomas Graham and Zongyuan Zoe Liu
China benefits strategically as long as the war stays within Ukraine, the nuclear risk remains low and its “unlimited partner,” Russia, does not lose.
American faithful celebrate after Pope Leo XIV appeared at the central balcony of the Vatican's St. Peter’s Basilica following his election on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
May 9, 2025
The new American pope can take Catholics in three directions
By Howard Chua-Eoan
Americans (and Donald Trump) may want to stake their claims on him, but he now belongs to a much bigger organization.

Transport ministry issues warning to Haneda Airport operator
The operator of Tokyo's Haneda Airport has been warned by the government over its inappropriate transactions.
Success of Chinese-made fighter jets against India raises alarm in Asia
Chinese J-10 fighter jets from the People's Liberation Army Air Force August 1st Aerobatics Team perform during a media demonstration at the Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, in November 2015.
One month on, Osaka Expo urged to boost heat and crowd control measures
A gate to the Osaka Expo site is crowded with visitors on Monday.
Xi defiance pays off as Trump meets most China trade demands
Then-Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping visits a school in South Gate, California, in February 2012. Experts say Xi won big in his standoff with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Japanese retailers turn to California rice for cheaper alternative
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass eats California rice at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on Tuesday along with Mitsuko Tsuchiya, vice president of retailer Aeon.
Tokyo Stock Exchange wants stocks to be affordable for the average investor
The Tokyo Stock Exchange building in Nihonbashi. The exchange wants companies to lower the entry cost of investing in their shares.
Sculpted waves, sleek updos: Showa hairstyles are back in fashion
The larger-than-life hairstyles of Japan's Showa Era are unmistakable — and they're making a comeback.
Consumption tax set to dominate Upper House election debate
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Japan should produce its own AI defense solutions, Sakana AI CEO says
Sakana AI CEO David Ha speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Nissan gets ‘wake-up call’ with $4.5 billion annual net loss
Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa in Tokyo as the company releases its results

Podcast

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

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?
By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027
Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027

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