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Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal / ANALYSIS
Jul 2, 2021

Serious tax charges test loyalty of longtime Trump ally

The indictment against Allen Weisselberg threatens the 73-year-old executive with years in prison and puts heavy pressure on him to implicate the former U.S. president.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 30, 2021

Coronavirus and China’s geopolitical rollercoaster

It seemed for a time that the pandemic could mark a moment of ascendancy in the “psychological balance of power” as China moved to supplant America's leadership role.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 30, 2021

How China’s security law changed Hong Kong forever in 12 months

The law China imposed on Hong Kong a year ago was much more than a piece of legislation: It showed Beijing was now running the show.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 28, 2021

After Duterte, the Philippines may get more Duterte

Barred by the constitution from standing again for the presidency, Duterte is preparing for life after next year's elections from a position of unprecedented strength.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 27, 2021

It’s now life or death for the U.S. military’s Afghan interpreters

Done Ultimately, given the small amount of time remaining, the military needs to conduct a full-scale evacuation.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 27, 2021

Tesla dealt ‘black eye’ in recall of cars sold in China

The automaker will make a software fix to more than 285,000 cars in China, or most of the vehicles it delivered there in recent years, to address a safety issue.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2021

Tokyo Games organizers to offer COVID-19 vaccine to volunteers, report says

The Nikkei daily, citing organizers, said some of the volunteers have already been vaccinated.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jun 26, 2021

Four-time Olympian Lindsey Vonn feels boycotts should be left up to athletes

'If athletes want to boycott that's their prerogative and their right,' Vonn said.
Japan Times
EDITORIALS
Jun 26, 2021

Hong Kong’s voice for democracy is silenced

The sweep of the security law encompasses far more than the media. Businesses that once flocked to Hong Kong because of its energy and proximity to China are now rethinking those choices.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 26, 2021

A summer of competition for the LDP-Komeito coalition

Japan's big cities are not reflective of national level politics, so even if the LDP and Komeito suffer a poor outcome in a few weeks, it will not portend some sweeping movement.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jun 26, 2021

Derek Chauvin sentenced to 22½ years in murder of George Floyd

The verdict was widely seen as a landmark rebuke of the disproportionate use of police force against Black Americans.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 24, 2021

Musk-Bezos spat reflects bad space policy

Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate passed a measure that would allot $10 billion over five years for NASA to develop two new lunar landers. Buried in a nearly $250 billion bill intended to boost innovation, the measure was equal to about 43% of the space agency’s total budget.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declares martial law in Seoul on Dec. 3. Yoon is currently facing charges related to his actions over that two-day period.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 7, 2025

Was there an insurrection in Seoul on Dec. 3, or is that happening now?

Yoon can now be held for up to six months in prison simply at the behest of the prosecutors.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump will likely aim at maintaining the status quo, avoid new trade issues and ensure Japan isn’t targeted by tariffs.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 7, 2025

A new golden age for U.S.-Japan? I don’t think so.

Ishiba won’t be looking for any great breakthrough, a dramatic defense re-posturing, or support for any of his long-held foreign policy goals
Singapore is positioning itself as a key player in the effort to diversify supply chains away from China, leveraging its proximity to Malaysia’s Johor state.
COMMENTARY
Feb 7, 2025

Singapore finds its seat at the China+1 table

Singapore is positioning itself as a key player in the effort to diversify supply chains away from China.
Nippon Steel's pursuit of U.S. Steel has stretched on for more than a year, with U.S. President Donald Trump vociferously condemning the proposal on numerous occasions, before Friday's more tempered remarks at the Oval Office with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at his side.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 8, 2025

Trump says Nippon Steel will invest in U.S. Steel, not buy it

It was unclear if the investment referred to a new deal structure and what the details of the transaction would be.
Trucks cross the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, in Canada in the early morning hours of Feb. 1.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 10, 2025

Betrayed: How Trump’s tariff threats tore the U.S.-Canada bond

Donald Trump’s menacing rhetoric seems to have fractured the fraternal trust that has been the core of the relationship between the U.S. and Canada.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (left) and head coach Nick Sirianni celebrate after winning Super Bowl LIX at the New Orleans Superdome on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Feb 10, 2025

Eagles dominate Chiefs to capture Super Bowl title and prevent three-peat

The game was played before a crowd that included U.S. President Donald Trump and pop superstar Taylor Swift.
The Marquis de Sade’s original rolled manuscript called Le Rouleau de la Bastille of “Les 120 jours de Sodome ou l’ecole du libertinage” (“The 120 Days of Sodom, or the School of Libertinage”) is displayed before being auctioned in Paris in November 2017. 
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 10, 2025

The Marquis de Sade’s guide to cancel culture

The Marquis de Sade’s legacy proves that even the most reviled figures can outlast cancellation.
Southeast Asian economies, once seen as beneficiaries of the U.S.-China trade war, now face challenges as escalating tariffs and trade tensions threaten their growth and regional stability.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2025

Winners of the first trade war may not be so victorious

Stuck between the U.S. and China, Southeast Asia’s challenges this time around are much greater.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shows a picture of him with U.S. President Donald Trump during a joint news conference at the White House on Friday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 12, 2025

Ishiba navigates the low expectations for Japan’s foreign policy

The summit proceeded well enough, but some will argue that this is only because Ishiba had a low bar for his engagement.
The International Criminal Court is pursuing arrest warrants for Taliban leaders accused of human rights abuses against Afghan women and girls, but legal and political obstacles complicate the process.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2025

The long road to justice for Afghan women

Afghan women and girls need every bit of global support they can get to push back against the Taliban’s unhinged misogyny.
In “Kanasando,” when Mika (Ruka Matsuda, left) returns to her hometown in Okinawa Prefecture, she starts to see her estranged father (Tadanobu Asano) in a new light as his health deteriorates.
CULTURE / Film
Feb 13, 2025

‘Kanasando’: Heartwarming homecoming inspires a change of heart

Tadanobu Asano shows a vulnerable side of his tough-guy image while playing a dementia-afflicted father reconnecting with his daughter in Toshiyuki Teruya’s film.
Japan has effectively exited deflation, but Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s reluctance to acknowledge it reflects outdated economic fears rather than current reality.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 13, 2025

It’s time for Japan to admit victory over deflation

The last time prices declined was in July 2021, the same month the Tokyo Olympic Games took place.
The Ishiba Cabinet's approval rating has risen 0.3 percentage point in February, at 28.5%, while its disapproval rating was down 0.2 point at 40.1%, according to Jiji Press opinion poll.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 13, 2025

Public approval for Ishiba Cabinet steady at 28.5%, poll finds

The Cabinet approval rating was up 0.3 percentage point, while its disapproval rating was down 0.2 point at 40.1%.
While AI has added increased uncertainty over what is and isn't true, misinformation has been around for a while.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 14, 2025

How to tell if what you're hearing is true (or just sounds like it is)

Some Japanese grammatical terms signal uncertainty, and that is when you need phrases to help you get to the truth of the matter.
Donald Trump’s demand for Ukrainian resources in exchange for aid may be unseemly, but Europe should accept it as the price of keeping the U.S. engaged in Ukraine and Europe's defense.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 14, 2025

Trump’s resource grab in Ukraine is a price worth paying

Europe shouldn’t complain. This is a cost of its defense failures.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years