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Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 15, 2023

Iran executes British Iranian dual national accused of spying

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was 'appalled' by the execution of the British Iranian citizen.
Vehicles travel along the 110 freeway in downtown Los Angeles. California's GDP has overtaken Japan's to become the world's fourth largest economy, according to the U.S. state.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 27, 2025

California says it overtakes Japan to become world’s No. 4 economy

Japan's annual GDP was surpassed by China in 2010 and Germany in 2023, positioning the country in fourth place.
Hiroshi Moriyama (left), secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, meets with Zhao Leji, the third-ranking official of the Chinese Communist Party, in Beijing on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 29, 2025

LDP’s Moriyama pushes for concrete results on China’s seafood import ban

China offered no specific promises, instead emphasizing the stability of Japan-China relations at a time of great international volatility.
U.S. President Donald Trump at his 100th day rally in Michigan on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Apr 30, 2025

Trump bashes Powell and touts tariffs at rally marking 100 days

The president’s denunciation came even though earlier this month he said he did not plan to fire the central bank chief.
U.S. President Donald Trump during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 1, 2025

Trump says tariffs politically risky, but he’s not rushing deals

Trump said there was a significant political risk to his efforts, but added that he remained determined to push on.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks at the Labor Party's election night event in Sydney on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 4, 2025

Trump backlash helps Australia’s leader to historic reelection

For the second time in a week, voters in a prominent U.S. ally angered by President Donald Trump punished conservatives and reelected a left-leaning incumbent.
China's Bayan Obo rare earth mine in Inner Mongolia. As U.S.-China tensions strain critical mineral supply chains, Tokyo’s multipronged approach based on sovereignty, resilience and sustainability is gaining quiet relevance.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 5, 2025

Japan's resource security path may hold answers to trade turmoil

Critical mineral supply chains are made vulnerable by China's dominance and U.S. protectionism. Japan's strategy may provide clues as to how to secure these vital resources.
A gauge of confidence among store managers, taxi drivers and others who interact directly with Japanese consumers dropped 2.5 points to 42.6 in April.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 12, 2025

Japan’s merchants’ mood hits worst in three years on tariff woes

A gauge of confidence among store managers, taxi drivers and others who interact directly with Japanese consumers dropped 2.5 points to 42.6 in April.
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

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.
U.S. President Donald Trump talks to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington on April 7.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 15, 2025

Bypassed by Trump, Israel dismayed but silent

Israel has maintained a diplomatic silence this week even as their assumptions about their standing with the U.S. were shaken by Trump's moves.
Ursula von der Leyen (left), president of the European Commission, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (center) and Antonio Costa, president of the European Council, visit the HMS Sutherland frigate as part of the U.K.-EU summit in London on Monday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
May 20, 2025

Britain’s big EU reset turns out to be just the start of talks

Most of the "renewed agenda” unveiled at a summit in London amounted to an agreement to keep negotiating.
Microsoft Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella (left) returns to the stage after a pre-recorded interview with Elon Musk was played following the announcement that Grok AI, by Musk's artificial intelligence start up xAI, will be available on Microsoft's Foundry Models, during the Microsoft Build conference opening keynote in Seattle, Washington, on Monday.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 20, 2025

Microsoft is bringing Elon Musk’s AI models to its cloud

Grok 3, which Musk’s AI outfit introduced earlier this year, will be available on Microsoft’s cloud computing platform, the company said Monday.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer is among the key Democrats who have raised concerns about Middle East chip deals.
WORLD / Politics
May 20, 2025

Democrats warn Trump’s Middle East chip deals imperil U.S. security

Key U.S. Senate Democrats have urged the administration of President Donald Trump to revisit new artificial intelligence deals with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, saying that expanded sales of AI chips to the Middle Eastern countries risk exposing advanced technology to China and Russia,...
Global markets have fluctuated wildly since U.S. President Donald Trump announced so-called reciprocal levies in a sweeping executive order on April 2.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 29, 2025

U.S. trade court blocks Trump's global tariffs, dealing major blow to agenda

The U.S. Supreme Court may ultimately have the final say in the high-stakes case that could impact trillions of dollars in global trade.
Cranes at the Port of Los Angeles on May 13. U.S. President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs will kick in on July 8 after 90-day pause.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 3, 2025

U.S. pushes countries for best offers as tariff deadline looms

It will evaluate the responses, to be submitted by Wednesday, within days and offer "a possible landing zone."
The highly anticipated call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping came in the middle of a dispute over "rare earths" minerals that threatened to tear up a fragile truce in the trade war.
WORLD
Jun 6, 2025

Trump and Xi pledge more talks as trade disputes brew

In a rare call, Trump and Xi pledged to resume trade talks, but tensions over rare earth minerals and Taiwan remained unresolved.
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., testifies before a Senate Committee in Washington, on May 14.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 11, 2025

Kennedy's firing of CDC panel undermines vaccine confidence, experts say

The firing of the vaccine committee comes weeks before a public meeting in which advisers were to vote on the 2025-26 COVID-19 vaccine boosters.
U.S. Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng shake hands at Lancaster House in London on Monday.
BUSINESS
Jun 12, 2025

Deal to get U.S.-China trade truce back on track is done, Trump says

The deal removes Chinese export restrictions on rare earth minerals and allows Chinese students access to U.S. universities.
U.S. President Donald Trump makes an announcement regarding the Golden Dome missile defense shield next to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on May 20.
WORLD
Jun 13, 2025

After Trump feud, role of Musk's SpaceX in Golden Dome missile shield in question

A new framework for the U.S. missile defense system is now being considered that could reduce the role of Elon Musk's SpaceX.
An Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) stand is blocked off with black partitions during the 55th edition of the International Paris Air Show on Monday.
WORLD
Jun 17, 2025

Israel furious as France shuts weapons stands at Paris Air Show

The French government considers it unacceptable for attack weapons to be on show; Israel says the move stymies competition.
U.S. President Donald Trump is granting a third reprieve to TikTok from enforcement of a congressionally mandated ban that was supposed to take effect in January.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 18, 2025

Trump to extend TikTok sale deadline for third time, White House says

The U.S. president will extend the June 19 deadline for 90 days.
Citing challenges such as a declining workforce and rising costs, four major newspapers will discontinue their Saturday evening editions from August, in a shift away from a publishing tradition that has endured for decades in Japan.
JAPAN / Media
Jun 18, 2025

Four newspapers in Japan to cease Saturday evening editions from August

The announcements mark a shift away from a publishing tradition that has endured for decades in Japan, where evening newspapers had been a staple of the media landscape.
Israeli air defense systems intercept Iranian missiles over the Israeli city of Tel Aviv early on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 19, 2025

Trump wraps situation room meeting as Iran plan remains mystery

The White House offered few clues about whether Trump had decided to join Israel's offensive aimed at destroying Tehran’s nuclear program.
Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato during an interview at the Finance Ministry in Tokyo in April
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 20, 2025

Japan surprises with plan for bigger cut to superlong bond issuance

The Finance Ministry proposed reducing the issuance of 20-, 30- and 40-year bonds by a total of ¥3.2 trillion ($22 billion) through the end of March 2026.
The Dodgers, coming off a World Series championship in 2024, are a cultural icon in Los Angeles and have a large Latino fan base.
BASEBALL
Jun 21, 2025

Dodgers pledge $1 million to support families impacted by U.S. immigration raids

The Dodgers will partner with the city to get the money to those in "critical need," the team said.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and his OpenAI counterpart, Sam Altman, attend an event to pitch AI for businesses in Tokyo in early February. The SoftBank founder is now proposing his most ambitious venture yet — a $1 trillion AI and robotics hub in Arizona.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 24, 2025

The magical thinking of Masa Son

The race to lead the world in AI-enabled robots is still in the early stages, but many signs point to China coming out on top.
Hamas militants carry grenade launchers at the funeral of Marwan Issa, a senior Hamas deputy military commander who was killed in an Israeli airstrike during the conflict between Israel and Hamas, amid a ceasefire between the two sides, in the central Gaza Strip, in February.
WORLD / FOCUS
Jun 28, 2025

Battling to survive, Hamas faces defiant clans and doubts over Iran

Hamas fighters are operating autonomously under orders to hold out as long as possible but the Islamist group is struggling to maintain its grip.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the White House in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 28, 2025

They voted for Trump. Most still back him — but not on everything

A group of 20 Trump voters were asked to share their thoughts on the president's performance so far. The results were a mixed bag.
A banner announces the construction of a photovoltaic solar farm in Cabaiguan, Cuba, on May 21.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 1, 2025

China is quietly supplanting Russia as Cuba's main benefactor

Where many of Russia's most recent promises to Cuba have fizzled, China has discreetly stepped up to fill the void.
A container is loaded onto a cargo ship at Hai Phong port in Vietnam. A trade deal secured by Vietnam with the U.S. sets a high bar for Japan's tariff talks.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 3, 2025

Vietnam steals a march and leaves Japan in a tough spot on U.S. tariffs

The deal sets a high bar for Japan and other countries still negotiating with the United States.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
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