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A Palestinian flag is seen held outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 31, 2025

Could the Palestinians gain full membership at the United Nations?

The Palestinian Authority, which represents the Palestinian people, is not a full member and has no vote in the 193-member General Assembly.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 8, 2023

Next LDP leadership race looms over Kishida's reshuffle plans

The prime minister looks set to retain two veteran Liberal Democratic Party leaders in their posts in a Cabinet and LDP leadership reshuffle.
Keith Kellogg, a national security adviser to Donald Trump, speaks to reporters during a daily press briefing at the White House in 2020.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 14, 2024

Trump adviser poses 'tiered' system for NATO states who don't pay up

NATO could become an alliance in which some members enjoy greater protections based on their compliance with defense spending agreements.
Violin, a day care center for the elderly, is housed in a building that used be an office of the Kudokai crime syndicate in the city of Kitakyushu. It retains the original look of the Kudokai facility, with its thick steel-plated front door, glittering chandelier and marble floor.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Oct 28, 2024

Former yakuza office repurposed to become elderly care facility

The building that houses Violin, a day care center for the elderly, was once one of the main facilities for the Kudokai syndicate.
Hiroko Nagano, a former member of the assembly of Tokyo's Toshima Ward, speaks during an interview in Tokyo in January.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 7, 2025

Female assembly members with children seeing better work conditions

As of July 2024, there were 5,187 female municipal assembly members in the country, or only 17.9% of the total, however.
The United Nations Command-Rear, which operates from Yokota Air Base, plays a critical role in maintaining peace and stability in Asia.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jul 17, 2025

Little-known U.N. Command bases in Japan play a critical security role in Asia

The United Nations Command-Rear is a small multinational team that works quietly to ensure peace and stability in the region.
A Bank of Japan board member suggested the possibility of a rate hike by year-end, depending on the impact of U.S. tariffs, according to a summary of opinions from the central bank’s policy meeting last week.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 8, 2025

BOJ may exit wait-and-see mode by year-end, policy meeting summary says

Depending on the impact from U.S. tariffs, another rate hike then might be possible, an unnamed board member hinted.
A photograph by Joel Pulliam provides a hint at what is on offer at VoidTokyo's "Sharaku" exhibition at HikoHiko Gallery.
CULTURE
Jul 19, 2023

Street photography by VoidTokyo on full display in Ginza

With the goal of capturing the city of Tokyo in physical form and not just on social media, VoidTokyo celebrates its members at “Sharaku.”
Giorgia Meloni, Italy's prime minister, speaks during a joint news conference following her meeting with Olaf Scholz, Germany's chancellor, at the Chigi Palace in Rome on June 8.
BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2023

Meloni’s Italian populism puts investors and China on notice

The prime minister is doubling down on a state-led approach to managing prosperity, unsettling markets and testing relations with China.
New Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa is seen in formal attire to attend an attestation ceremony after a Cabinet reshuffle in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 13, 2023

In Kishida's Cabinet reshuffle, two changes stand out

It will be the first time in 20 years that a woman has been foreign minister, while the new defense chief arrives amid dramatic shifts in defense posture.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida poses with his new Cabinet in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 14, 2023

Kishida's Cabinet reshuffle is about keeping friends and rivals close

The Cabinet reshuffle and Liberal Democratic Party senior leadership changes reflect a leader concerned with factional politics and potential rivals.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 18, 2023

Upcoming by-elections first test of Kishida’s new Cabinet

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida faces his first electoral test after making Cabinet and Liberal Democratic Party leadership changes last month.
An assembly engineer works on a lithography system at chipmaker ASML in Veldhoven, Netherlands, on June 16.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Nov 2, 2023

How can the EU strengthen its strategic autonomy regarding chips?

The bloc has felt a sense of crisis over the fact that its growth strategy has been largely dependent on third countries.
Cadets at the Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Kure Recruit Training Center row in unison during a cutter boat drill in Kure Bay, Hiroshima Prefecture, in June.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Jul 29, 2024

MSDF’s Kure base faces recruitment challenges as youngsters shy away

The stressful nature of service and an increasing likelihood of actual combat are causing many to opt for other careers.
A sign in support of Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump is displayed in Bad Axe, Michigan, on Sept. 30.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 9, 2024

Election officials backing Trump’s 'Big Lie' stir unease in U.S.

Donald Trump's false ideas about voter fraud have become an article of faith among many Republican members of local election boards that certify results.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda during a news conference at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo following a BOJ policy meeting on Dec. 19
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 27, 2024

Some BOJ policymakers called for rate hike soon, December summary shows

The Bank of Japan held interest rates steady at 0.25% at this month's meeting.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 4, 2023

U.N. experts criticize Johnny’s sex abuse investigation

The experts called on the government to do more to investigate decades of suspected abuse against male idols by Johnny Kitagawa.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 16, 2023

Appointment fuels speculation of LDP-Komeito-DPP coalition

On Friday, Wakako Yata, a former lawmaker who previously served as vice president of the DPP, was named special adviser to the prime minister.
Bank of Japan board members discussed progress toward their inflation target and the need to put together an exit strategy in their September policy meeting.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 2, 2023

BOJ board members see price goal progress and need to plan exit

The comments are likely to strengthen expectations among BOJ watchers that the central bank will adjust policy in early 2024.
U.S. Republican Rep. Jim Jordan speaks during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 21, 2023

New field of would-be U.S. House speakers takes shape

The GOP has dispensed with Jim Jordan as their nominee for the U.S. speakership and now several more representatives are preparing to enter the fray.
A scheduling conflict resolves the diplomatic issue of Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee's participation in the APEC forum being hosted by the United States.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 8, 2023

Resolving Hong Kong conundrum key to U.S.-China APEC summit

Four U.S. lawmakers urged the State Department to bar Hong Kong leader John Lee, calling him a “human rights abuser.”
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 13, 2023

State minister of finance resigns in further blow to Kishida

Kenji Kanda submitted his resignation after admitting that his firm had failed to pay fixed asset taxes.
A vehicle from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, is deployed in Naqoura, southern Lebanon, near the border with Israel.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 4, 2023

U.N. peacekeeping is an essential multilateral tool for peace

Ghana hosts a U.N. meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday at which international ministers are expected to strengthen their commitment to peacekeeping.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 29, 2023

LDP lawmaker's local office raided over funds scandal

The special squad of the Tokyo Public Prosecutor's Office raided lawmaker Yasutada Ono's local office in the city of Hashima, Gifu Prefecture.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 22, 2024

Kishida's LDP factions gamble fails to improve his popularity

A Yomiuri Shimbun poll conducted over the weekend found the Kishida Cabinet’s approval rating was 24%, the lowest since the LDP returned to power in 2012.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda (center) attends a monetary policy meeting at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Jan. 23.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 31, 2024

'Golden opportunity': BOJ signals rate hike ahead with ramped-up exit talk

Central bank board members indicate that conditions allowing the termination of its negative rate policy are increasing.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 11, 2024

After slush funds, LDP now faces fresh scandals

An event that featured dancers in revealing outfits and an affair with a Canadian saxophone player have resulted in three resignations in the past week.
The Palestinian push for full U.N. membership comes six months into a war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 18, 2024

U.N. Security Council to vote Friday on Palestinian U.N. membership

The United States — an Israel ally — is expected to block the membership request as it would effectively recognize a Palestinian state.
An International Criminal Court prosecutor's request for an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has created a diplomatic quandary for some of Israel's key allies.
WORLD / ANALYSIS
May 22, 2024

Israel's allies grapple with bid for ICC warrant against Netanyahu

The move has some of the ICC's vocal backers questioning the extent of their loyalty.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event in Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 7, 2024

As Biden digs in, more supporters look to push him out

Interviews with dozens of Democrats illustrated an imminent clash between a defiant president and those who question his ability to win.

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers