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Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg meet during a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 19, 2023

NATO's delicate balancing act in the Indo-Pacific

Japan and NATO are already working together on new technologies and on efforts to safeguard the new domains of cyber, outer space and other vectors.
Today in Russia, a robust consumer world carries on, helping Russian President Vladimir Putin maintain a sense of normalcy despite a war that has proved longer, deadlier and costlier than he predicted.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 19, 2023

How Putin turned a Western boycott into a bonanza

If companies want to leave Russia, the president is setting the terms — in ways that benefit his government, his elites and his war.
Buildings in Xiamen on mainland China across the Taiwan Strait from anti-landing barriers on a beach in Kinmen, Taiwan.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 20, 2023

Taiwan’s ability to defend against Chinese invasion questioned

For all the support given by Washington, the reality is that when it comes to both civil and military defense, Taiwan still has a lot to do.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting near Moscow on Dec. 12.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 20, 2023

U.S. allies brace for high cost of defeat as Ukraine aid stalls

Russian victory in Ukraine would be felt around the world as U.S. partners and allies questioned Washington’s promises of defense.
Voters in countries representing more than 40% of the world’s population, including India, Indonesia and the U.S., will go to the polls between now and the end of 2024.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2023

Democracy and climate politics are set to collide next year

Voters in countries representing more than 40% of the world’s population will go to the polls between now and the end of next year.
The Colorado Supreme Court building in downtown Denver on Tuesday. The Colorado Supreme Court, which barred former U.S. President Donald Trump from the state’s primary ballot, is composed of seven justices who were all appointed by Democratic governors.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 21, 2023

Colorado ballot case adds fuel to Trump's nomination drive

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that the former president was barred from its state ballot for engaging in "insurrection."
Donald Trump vowed to seek Supreme Court review after Colorado’s top court on Tuesday barred him from the 2024 presidential ballot there.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 21, 2023

Trump’s fate rests with the U.S. Supreme Court he shaped

The court will play a pivotal role in determining whether Trump will land in prison — or return to the White House.
Manchester City players celebrate winning the Champions League final over Inter Milan in Istanbul in June.
SOCCER
Dec 21, 2023

Super League vs UEFA: Court to rule on future of European soccer

The latest bid to set up a Super League of the biggest European soccer clubs collapsed swiftly under the weight of fan anger, but the idea did not die.
The U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works in Clairton, Pennsylvania. U.S. President Joe Biden's top economic advisor said the purchase of the firm by Nippon Steel deserves serious scrutiny, in the latest sign of political pressure over the deal.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 22, 2023

Nippon-U.S. Steel deal deserves 'serious scrutiny,' White House says

The White House said it views a strong domestic steel industry as vital to the U.S. economy and national security.
Japan's core consumer prices rose 2.5% in November from a year earlier, marking the slowest pace of increase in over a year in a sign of easing cost-push pressures in the world's third-largest economy.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 22, 2023

Japan’s cooling inflation also offers encouraging signs for BOJ

Consumer prices excluding fresh food items rose 2.5% from a year earlier as falls in energy costs deepened and gains in processed food prices eased.
Competitors play "Warships" at Squid Game: The Trials, Netflixユs new attraction in Los Angeles on Nov. 28, 2023. For $30, fans can compete in some 70 minutes of play, with moral twists and six group activities, including nonlethal versions of the showユs challenges.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Dec 13, 2023

Netflix builds a ‘Squid Game’ universe as it awaits a second season

A reality show and a live experience are two ways of keeping the dystopian series in the public eye. Is the original’s bleak message being diluted?
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 22, 2023

Japan to scrap health insurance cards from December next year

The government aims to streamline administration and improve health care services by integrating the function of the cards into My Number cards.
Taiwan's president, Tsai Ing-wen, leads a political rally in New Taipei City, Taiwan, on Nov. 4.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2023

How Tsai Ing-wen aligned Taiwan with the free world

The question now is to what extent Tsai’s foreign policy legacy will endure after Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election on Jan. 13.
A Houthi fighter stands on the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the Red Sea in a photo released Nov. 20.
WORLD
Dec 23, 2023

U.S. says Red Sea patrol will be able to thwart Houthi attacks

The force will patrol "the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to respond to and assist as necessary commercial vessels,” Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said.
The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington
WORLD / Politics
Dec 23, 2023

Push to disqualify Trump pits democracy against the rule of law

Trump’s status as the Republican front-runner for the presidential nomination has created severe tensions.
A member of the Israeli security forces inspects humanitarian aid trucks arriving from Egypt on the Israeli side of the Kerem Shalom border crossing with the southern Gaza Strip on Friday.
WORLD
Dec 24, 2023

Without a truce, U.N. resolution may do little for Gaza, aid groups say

Humanitarian assistance is "impossible" to deploy in an active combat zone, they said.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 24, 2023

Embattled LDP's Nikai faction also suspected of logging kickbacks

The faction is suspected of not reporting excess fundraiser revenues as income but reporting the kickbacks as expenditures.
A Rohingya refugee woman holds her child at a temporary camp, at a port on Sabang island in Indonesia's Aceh province.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Dec 25, 2023

Rohingya refugees in Indonesia face hostile welcome

Jakarta has called on neighboring countries to offer the Rohingya a permanent home.
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speaks at a campaign town hall in Atkinson, New Hampshire, on Dec. 14.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 26, 2023

Nikki Haley works to broaden reach as bid to beat Trump gains pace

Support for the Republican presidential contender has risen in opinion polls, but falls short among rural voters and those without college degrees.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 26, 2023

Prosecutors question former LDP policy chief over funds scandal

Koichi Hagiuda has become the latest veteran lawmaker to be questioned on a voluntary basis over the political funds scandal.
A group of 19 host club owners in Kabukicho who own most of the host clubs in the area have pledged to ban the pay-later system by April and prohibit entry to those under 20 years old from January.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 26, 2023

How Japan's host clubs trap young women under mountains of debt

False promises of love — and even marriage — lead to huge bills for some as young as 18, who are often then coaxed into sex work to make repayments.
The Colorado Supreme Court in Denver, Colorado, on Dec. 20. The court ruled on Dec. 19 that Trump is ineligible for the White House under a provision of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment prohibiting officials who engage in "insurrection or rebellion" against the U.S. government from holding elected office.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 27, 2023

Police probe threats against Colorado justices after Trump ruling

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled last week that Trump is ineligible for the White House under the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment .
As president of Japan's largest opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Kenta Izumi has the unenviable task of mounting a challenge against the ruling coalition led by the Liberal Democratic Party.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 28, 2023

Amid LDP woes, a familiar question reappears: Is the opposition ready?

Faced with a divided opposition and voter skepticism, CDP President Kenta Izumi says he is looking to adopt a stronger tone.
U.S. President Joe Biden answers reporters questions as he departs for Camp David from the South Lawn at the White House in Washington on Dec. 23.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 28, 2023

With vote ahead, Biden trails Trump's pace of judicial appointments

Ahead of the 2024 election, Senate Democrats are pledging to stay focused on confirming Biden's judicial nominees and adding to the 166 already approved.
Reporters gather in front of the Upper House parliamentary building on Thursday in Tokyo. Prosecutors raided LDP lawmaker Yasutada Ono's office, which is located in the building, the same day.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 28, 2023

Second LDP member’s office raided over political funds scandal

Upper House member Yasutada Ono became the second lawmaker to have his offices searched by prosecutors in connection with the scandal.
Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 29, 2023

After breakthrough talks, China's military slams U.S. for 'meddling'

U.S. officials had hoped last week's talks between U.S. Gen. Charles Brown and China's Gen. Liu Zhenli could herald a restoration in military ties.
Salesforce headquarters in San Francisco.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 29, 2023

Software companies finally had to care about profit in 2023

The pressure was acute for money-losing companies.
The first rule of the International Chess Federation's dress code is "dress to impress." The dress code is supposed to promote a "good and positive image of chess” and "shall be strictly enforced,” according to the federation's website.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 29, 2023

Chess federation fines player over her ‘sports shoes’

Critics on the internet were quick to condemn the strict dress code, with some people arguing that the chess organization has the wrong priorities.
Demonstrators march as they protest in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in London on Dec. 9. Huge demonstrations against the Israeli military’s attacks on Gaza have been taking place in the U.K. and elsewhere.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jan 9, 2024

Europe rattled by Israel-Hamas war

Attempts to establish a peaceful international order after two world wars have been greatly shaken by recent conflicts.
Daihatsu Motor President Soichiro Okudaira speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Dec. 20. 
EDITORIALS
Dec 29, 2023

Daihatsu scandal is a warning for Japan Inc.

Investigations indicate that improprieties at Daihatsu stretch as far back as 1989, indicating a profound problem with the company’s culture.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan