Search - politics

 
 
A woman and her children at the Minnanouen Kitakagaya community garden in Osaka's Suminoe Ward
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Nov 5, 2023

How simple steps can help alleviate climate anxiety

From gardening to flood-proofing your home, experts say there are simple ways you can ease some of your concern.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong attends an Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in Jakarta in September.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 5, 2023

Singapore’s prime minister to step aside before next polls

Lee Hsien Loong has been leader for almost two decades and the People’s Action Party has long telegraphed a power transition.
U.S. President Joe Biden attends an event at the White House in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 6, 2023

Trump leads in five critical states as voters blast Biden, poll finds

Voters in U.S. battleground states said they trusted Donald Trump over Joe Biden on the economy, foreign policy and immigration.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 6, 2023

China and Australia agree to turn the page as tensions ease

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is seeking to mend relations between the trading partners after disputes in recent years.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a wreath-laying ceremony to mark Defender of the Fatherland Day at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin wall in central Moscow in February 2017.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 7, 2023

Russia's Putin to stay in power past 2024, sources say

The Russian leader has decided to run in the March presidential election, a move that will keep him in power until least 2030.
Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla, discusses artificial intelligence in London on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 7, 2023

Elon Musk's X curtails disinformation research, spurring legal fears

Restrictions on critical methods of gathering data on the platform have suppressed the ability to untangle the origin and spread of false information.
Meta has said it will bar political advertisers from using Facebook's generative AI tools.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 7, 2023

Meta to restrict use of generative AI tools in political adverts

The move may limit campaigns' access to tools lawmakers have warned could turbocharge the spread of election misinformation.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump sits in the courtroom during his civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court on Monday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Nov 7, 2023

Trump shouts from witness stand in $250 million civil fraud trial

The former U.S. president appeared visibly angry and sometimes shouted over questions, accusing the judge next to him of being "biased."
Voting signs outside a polling location in the city of Toledo in Ohio on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Nov 8, 2023

Abortion rights advocates and Democrats score wins in U.S. votes

A string of electoral victories including in conservative Ohio and Kentucky show reproductive rights remain a potent issue.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog's claim all Gazans are responsible for Hamas' actions ignores the iron grip the group has over the strip and how isolated its people are.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 8, 2023

No, Gazans can’t rise up against Hamas

Claiming all Gazans are responsible for Hamas' actions ignores the iron grip the group has over the strip and how isolated its people are.
Italy Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
WORLD / Politics
Nov 9, 2023

Giorgia Meloni defied doubters to survive a year in Italy. Now it gets harder.

The far-right label applied to Meloni for most of her career may be too simplistic for a politician who demonstrates flexibility and pragmatism.
Germany, which likely plays a key role in determining Europe’s China strategy, unveiled its 64-page strategy on China on July 13.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Nov 14, 2023

Germany’s China strategy is epoch-making but ambiguous

While attempting to protect its interests, Berlin has had to deal with business circles attempting to avoid damaging ties with Beijing.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 10, 2023

Former Lower House speaker and LDP heavyweight Hiroyuki Hosoda dies

The seasoned lawmaker served in key posts in the government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, including as chief Cabinet secretary.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 10, 2023

Japan opposition CDP vows to provide tax cuts and benefits

The proposal did not include a goal of lowering the consumption tax rate from 10% to 5% temporarily, which was a campaign pledge of the CDP.
Britain's former Prime Minister and newly appointed Foreign Secretary David Cameron walks outside 10 Downing Street in London on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 13, 2023

Sunak brings back Cameron and sacks controversial interior minister

The return of David Cameron suggests the prime minister wants to bring in a more centrist, experienced hand rather than appease the right of his party.
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Group of 20 leaders summit in Bali, Indonesia, on Nov. 14, 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 14, 2023

Biden and Xi look to put floor under strained U.S.-China ties

The two leaders will have a laundry list of concerns to discuss, but the talks are unlikely to yield any dramatic breakthroughs.
India's exports represent about 40% of rice's global trade. New Delhi has banned or taxed rice and wheat exports to counter domestic food inflation.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 14, 2023

India pushes the world toward another rice crisis

Spooked by volatile foodgrain prices ahead of a general election next year, India’s government has banned or taxed rice and wheat exports.
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Nov 14, 2023

How an executive's arrest struck a blow to Japan-China business

The arrest of a Japanese company executive in China has had what some Tokyo officials described as a considerable chilling effect on business.
U.S. President Joe Biden arrives at San Francisco International Airport on Tuesday for a bilateral meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 15, 2023

Biden says China has 'real problems' ahead of key summit with Xi

The leaders of the world's two largest economies will huddle on the sidelines of the APEC summit in California for their first encounter in a year.
A man wearing a t-shirt in support of QAnon, participates in a 'Back the Blue' rally in New York on Aug. 9, 2020.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 16, 2023

U.S. political violence driven by new breed of 'grab-bag' extremists

Such radicals eschew firm creeds. Instead, they embrace notions, no matter how divergent, that blends with their particular grievances.
Professional groups may lobby for regulations to control artificial intelligence and steer it toward labor-augmenting uses rather than labor-replacing ones.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 16, 2023

Managing the AI backlash: Lessons from the past

The history of professional guilds in Europe provides clues as to how workers may react to AI-caused disruptions.
The U.S.-China relationship faces challenges arising from the two countries' economic interdependence and geopolitical competition.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2023

Navigating a successful U.S.-China diplomatic reset

International cooperation is needed to ensure a U.S.-China reset and political posturing must not be allowed create long-term instability or conflict.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 18, 2023

Former Soka Gakkai leader Daisaku Ikeda dies at 95

The former president of the lay Buddhist group, one of the largest religious groups in Japan, died of old age on Wednesday at his home in Tokyo.
Indo-Pacific Economic Framework leaders pose for a family photo at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 18, 2023

Indo-Pacific trade deal prospects dim as U.S. election year looms

Election-year pressures and resistance to tough commitments from some countries make a deal unlikely anytime soon, observers say.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping during the final session of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco on Friday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 18, 2023

A rare opportunity to see China’s leader up close and (sort of) personal

President Xi Jinping of China is one of the most self-contained Chinese leaders in decades, who reveals next to nothing about his personal life.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2023

Listed firms in Japan work on fostering female managers

An increasing number of publicly traded Japanese companies are actively fostering female managers to assume leadership roles in the future.
Taiwanese Vice President Lai Ching-te (left), presidential candidate from the Democratic Progressive Party, introduces Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan's de facto envoy to the United States, as his running mate in the 2024 election, during a news conference at Lai's campaign headquarters in Taipei on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 20, 2023

Taiwan presidential front-runner taps U.S. envoy as running mate

Lai Ching-te tapped Hsiao Bi-khim, a fluent English speaker who had been Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the U.S., to join him on the DPP ticket.
Japan’s national bar exam was held on Nov. 8 with a pass rate of 45%. Though for decades the pass rate was much lower, this seeming improvement has come on the back of several regulatory blunders.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 20, 2023

The failure behind Japan’s bar exam pass rate

The pass rate for Japan's bar exam has fluctuated, with this year's level coming on the back of several misguided interventions.
Argentine president-elect Javier Milei in Buenos Aires on Sunday
WORLD / Politics
Nov 21, 2023

Milei opens a new era: What comes next in Argentina policymaking

Javier Milei’s victory in Argentina’s presidential election opens a new and uncertain chapter in South American nation’s convoluted history.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, who is running for re-election, visits the southern border in Edinburg, Texas, on Sunday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 22, 2023

Can Japan risk a Trump reelection?

A fundamental risk accompanying Donald Trump’s reelection is the doubts it would raise about American leadership in the world.

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