Search - 2025

 
 
The Trump administration, in a desperate bid to cushion trade war inflation, is pushing for cheap oil, but $50-a-barrel will ultimately widen the very trade deficit the U.S. president wants to reduce.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 13, 2025

$50-a-barrel oil is a problem for the U.S. trade deficit

If oil prices fall to $50, under that scenario, total petroleum production in America will probably decline by 1 million barrels a day by the end of 2025.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Japanese Trade Union Confederation chief Tomoko Yoshino in a meeting Tuesday at the Prime Minister's Office
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 15, 2025

Why Ishiba became the first prime minister to hold talks with Rengo in 16 years

The last time an official meeting was held between a prime minister and Rengo to discuss labor policies was in 2009.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, his partner Jodie Haydon and chairman and Board President of Tennis Australia, Jayne Hrdlicka, in the stands before the Australian Open final on Jan, 28, 2024
WORLD / Politics
Apr 16, 2025

Australian politicians gifted sports tickets while weighing betting ban

Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had promised a crackdown on gambling advertising following a 2023 report by his government.
Kirishima (behind) battles Atamifuji during a regional tour event in Hyogo Prefecture in 2023.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Apr 16, 2025

Sumo's throwback regional tours offer glimpse into sport's heart and history

With tickets for grand tournaments tough to come by, regional tours are the best chances for fans to watch live sumo — and even interact with the sport's biggest names.
A crowd of tourists walks through Nishiki Market in Kyoto in March. The number of foreign visitors to Japan was 3.5 million last month, bringing the total through the first quarter to 10.54 million.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2025

Japan crosses 10 million visitors mark at fastest ever pace

Arrivals of foreign visitors for business and leisure were 3.5 million last month, bringing the total through the first quarter to 10.54 million.
It's not just the far right, even some liberal voices worry that Marine Le Pen's conviction and disqualification undermine France's democracy, but their arguments don’t hold up.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 15, 2025

No, Le Pen was not railroaded

Le Pen is appealing the verdict and her supporters are not the only ones finding fault with it.
Palestinian American photographer Adam Rouhana’s exhibition at this year’s Kyotographie festival shows Palestinian life, not death and rubble.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 18, 2025

Kyotographie 2025 opts for laughter and levity in the face of global strife

Artists at the 13th edition of the international photography festival find humor and heart in their portrayals of humanity.
ASEAN should use the 90-day pause on Donald Trump’s punishingly high tariffs to develop a unified position and broaden its membership by admitting East Timor and opening accession talks with Sri Lanka.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 16, 2025

ASEAN should expand to counter Trump’s tariffs

It came as no surprise that China would be the hardest hit, but the punishing duties imposed on most Asian countries were a profound shock.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has most support from eligible voters ahead of this summer's election for the House of Councilors, a Jiji Press poll showed Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 17, 2025

LDP has most support ahead of Upper House election, poll shows

Respondents who said they will vote for the LDP in the Upper House's proportional representation bloc accounted for 20.6%.
Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, speaks at the IMF headquarters in Washington on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 18, 2025

World economy likely to avoid recession despite tariffs, IMF chief says

Donald Trump's stop-start tariff have fueled levels of market volatility unseen since the COVID-19 pandemic.
U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington on Thursday
BUSINESS
Apr 18, 2025

Trump’s tariff policies are hurting the businesses he’s trying to help

Some firms are putting hiring and expansion plans on hold while they come up with short-term plans to cope with the tariffs.
Hyundai Motor vehicles bound for export are loaded aboard a cargo ship at the port in Ulsan, South Korea, in July 2015.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 17, 2025

Can Trump’s tariffs restore U.S. manufacturing?

Rather than encouraging foreign direct investment in local manufacturing, Trump’s tariffs are deterring it.
A vegetable stand displays prices at a supermarket in Tokyo in 2023. Some lawmakers are proposing lowering the consumption tax on food to 0%, which is expected to result in a loss of up to ¥5 trillion in tax revenue annually.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 18, 2025

LDP and CDP lawmaker groups propose 0% consumption tax on food

Reducing the tax to 0% is expected to result in a loss of up to ¥5 trillion in tax revenue annually.
People walk past an advertisement featuring Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani outside Tokyo Dome on March 18.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 18, 2025

Nothing sells like Shohei Ohtani, MLB’s marketing megastar

The Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player is at the peak of his stardom, and brands are rushing to cash in with huge sponsorship deals.
An autonomous aerial vehicle designed to carry one passenger conducts a test flight in Guangzhou, China. Flying taxis and even drone-powered food delivery services are rapidly becoming realities in the country's government-backed "low-altitude economy."
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Apr 18, 2025

Will a 'low-altitude economy' make Chinese growth soar again?

Beijing wants to repeat the economic success story of its battery and EV players by propelling companies operating in low-altitude airspace to global market dominance.
Japanese Ambassador to India Keiichi Ono (right) and others during the "Miss Sake India" event in New Delhi.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2025

'Miss Sake India' contest held in New Delhi to promote the Japanese drink

The winner, Aakansha, who works in the marketing industry, said she was very excited to be chosen for the one-year role of promoting sake.
U.S. President Donald Trump listens to remarks during a swearing-in ceremony for Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Mehmet Oz in the Oval Office in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 19, 2025

Trump seeks to put more civil servants under his control

The move would give him power to directly hire and fire as many as 50,000 jobs reserved for career federal employees.
A soldier from the U.S.-led coalition holds the hand of a boy during a joint U.S.- Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces patrol in the countryside of Qamishli in northeastern Syria in February 2024.
WORLD
Apr 19, 2025

U.S. to withdraw some 1,000 troops from Syria

President Donald Trump has long been skeptical of Washington's presence in Syria.
Tariffs, and the risk they pose to both the economy and inflation, have been the focus of global attention.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 20, 2025

First shock waves of Trump’s tariffs are about to hit the world economy

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is set to lower its outlook for economic growth in new projections released on Tuesday.
Shinji Ishimaru, leader of the regional political party Path to Rebirth, holds a news conference on March 14 in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 20, 2025

Party of Tokyo governor race challenger Ishimaru to field 10 Upper House candidates

Ishimaru himself, however, does not plan to run in the election for the upper chamber of parliament.
When Jera co-fired ammonia at its Hekinan coal plant in Aichi Prefecture last year, it reduced emissions by 20%.
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2025

Japan embraces lab-made fuels despite costs and climate concerns

Japanese utilities say e-methane is chemically almost identical to natural gas but is effectively carbon-neutral.
Cranes and containers are pictured at the Yantian port in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 21, 2025

China warns countries against striking trade deals with U.S.

Beijing will firmly oppose any party striking a deal at China's expense and "will take countermeasures in a resolute and reciprocal manner," its Commerce Ministry said.
Next year’s FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the U.S., will test whether America — with President Donald Trump pushing tariffs and tough immigration policies — can draw global fans or drive them away.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 21, 2025

The White House just kicked a World Cup own-goal

Next year’s FIFA World Cup will test whether the U.S. — with President Donald Trump pushing tariffs and tough immigration policies — can draw global fans or drive them away.
The Tokyo Yakult Swallows' Munetaka Murakami bats during spring camp on March 14 in the city of Urasoe, Okinawa. Murakami returned from a spring injury on Thursday but was taken off the roster again the next day.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Apr 21, 2025

Munetaka Murakami's return cut short as Swallows’ struggles deepen

The Tokyo team’s star slugger returned on Thursday but was taken off the roster again the next day.
Steve Holland helped Marinos reach the quarterfinals of the Asian Champions League Elite, but poor league results led to the end of his tenure with the club.
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 21, 2025

Steve Holland runs out of time at Marinos amid poor results and bad breaks

The 54-year-old was dismissed on April 18 with the club languishing in the lower reaches of the J1 table.
Cultured meat over 1 centimeter thick developed using a new method incorporating hollow fibers into the cell culture process
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2025

New method developed to make cultured meat thicker

By incorporating hollow fibers into the cell culture process, the team succeeded in creating meat that was about 1 centimeter thick and weighed about 11 grams.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (right) and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton shake hands ahead of the second leaders' debate of the 2025 federal election campaign Sydney on April 16.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 22, 2025

Early voting kicks off in close election for Australia’s prime minister

Almost 50% of Australians cast their ballots early in the last election in 2022.
MS&AD forecasts that net profit for its North American operations will reach ¥166 billion in the fiscal year ended in March, a 3.5fold increase from the previous fiscal year.
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2025

Insurer MS&AD plans to invest $5 billion to double U.S. profits

The Tokyo-based casualty insurer has the highest market share in Asia among global firms, but it’s No. 3 among Japanese peers in North America.
Nomura has been expanding in asset management in a bid to generate more stable income and reduce its reliance on volatile trading and investment banking.
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2025

Nomura’s biggest deal since Lehman forms $770 billion fund giant

Tokyo-based Nomura has been expanding in asset management in a bid to generate more stable income and reduce its reliance on volatile trading and investment banking.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (right) and his Dutch counterpart, Dick Schoof, shake hands after a joint news conference at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 22, 2025

Japanese and Dutch leaders agree to strengthen cooperation

The two leaders announced an action plan calling for cooperation in a wide range of fields, including diplomacy, security, economy and culture.

Longform

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