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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang presents on the chipmaker's Blackwell platform at an event ahead of the Computex forum, in Taipei on June 2. The flagship Blackwell series was unveiled in March.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 22, 2024

Nvidia preparing version of new flagship AI chip for Chinese market, sources say

The Chinese version of the chip will be made compatible with current U.S. export controls.
A woman watches as soldiers practice laying mines and nets to stymie the landing of enemy forces at the mouth of a major river leading to the city in Taipei on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 24, 2024

China squeezes Taiwan by targeting islands and fishing sites

Mostly using its Coast Guard, Beijing appears to be asserting itself in new ways around Taiwan’s offshore outposts.
A computer-generated image shows the new refined design of a next-generation fighter aircraft being co-developed by Japan, Britain and Italy.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 24, 2024

Japan has ‘no concerns’ over rumored hitch in joint fighter jet plans

While experts agree there are currently no indications that the U.K. might drop out of the program, the multilateral project still faces a number of challenges.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 25, 2024

Netanyahu sketches vague outline for postwar Gaza

Israeli leader also accused anti-Israel protesters as standing with Hamas, charging without evidence that they were backed by Iran
A German army Eurocopter Tiger helicopter flies during the Quadriga 2024 military exercises in Pabrade, Lithuania, on May 29.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 25, 2024

NATO planners count cost of hardening Europe against Russian threat

A recent analysis shows shortages in air defenses and long-range missiles, troop numbers, ammunition and secure digital communications on the battlefield.
La Defense Arena in Nanterre, France, which will host the Olympic swimming competition starting Saturday.
OLYMPICS
Jul 26, 2024

China doping row set to raise tension at Paris pool

Some of the world's best in the sport have criticized anti-doping authorities and raised concerns about the competition's integrity.
A study shows that autocracies and weak democracies are more likely to import Chinese artificial intelligence facial-recognition technology, especially during times of domestic unrest. 
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 28, 2024

China is exporting its AI surveillance state

Trade does not always foster democracy or liberalize regimes. Instead, China’s greater integration with the developing world may do precisely the opposite.
A man with a whip tries to control a crowd of Sudanese refugees waiting to receive food at an impromptu aid distribution on the outskirts of a refugee camp in Adre, Chad, on July 8. As starvation spreads in Sudan, its military is blocking the United Nations from bringing food into the country via the most straightforward route.
WORLD
Jul 29, 2024

As starvation spreads in Sudan, military blocks aid trucks at border

Distrust and the loss of border control is hindering delivery of food by the United Nations via the most straightforward route.
The Maersk Launcher, a ship chartered by The Metals Company, carries seabed samples from the remote Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean on June 7, 2021.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Jul 30, 2024

The future of deep sea mining hinges on a contentious election

The vote will determine whether companies can begin strip-mining the world’s oceans for critical metals despite concerns about the impacts.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris might maintain some of the economic policies of former President Donald Trump.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jul 30, 2024

A President Harris might be decidedly Trumpy in approach to Asia trade

The efforts to contain China economically is a common theme that is likely to be maintained after the election.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government is working hard to enhance Japan's global and regional influence through strategic defense reforms and international partnerships.
EDITORIALS
Aug 2, 2024

Japan’s defense reforms and diplomacy boost regional security

Considerable progress was made this week in a series of meetings with Tokyo's counterparts in various endeavors, the heart of which is the Japan-U.S. alliance.
New Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar's ascension to power, combined with Netanyahu’s refusal to agree to a cease-fire unless the group capitulates, makes finding a resolution in Gaza difficult.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 8, 2024

New Hamas chief is an arsonist in a desert tinderbox

Yahya Sinwar fills a post that opened with the July 31 killing of Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s politburo chairman, while on a visit to Tehran.
Taxis wait for fares outside the airport in Wuhan, China. Ride-hailing and taxi drivers are among the first workers globally to face the threat of job loss from artificial intelligence, experts say.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Aug 9, 2024

China's drivers worry as robotaxis pick up pace — and passengers

Automating jobs could benefit China in the long run given a shrinking population, economists said.
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday as selloffs in global markets, including Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, deepened amid concerns about a slowdown in the global economy.
EDITORIALS
Aug 9, 2024

BOJ rate hike spooked markets, but it's not the sole culprit

Unwinding decades of loose monetary policy was always going to be challenging, and the global economy must brace for similar adjustments from other central banks.
Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota at a campaign rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 12, 2024

Tim Walz’s long relationship with China defies easy stereotypes

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has been an outspoken critic of China's human rights record.
In the past 11 months, health minister Keizo Takemi has been charting his own path, seeking to make Japan's health care policies more global and digitalized.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 14, 2024

Global mindset crucial for reform of Japan's health care, minister says

International strategies and domestic health care reform are inextricably linked, says health minister Keizo Takemi.
Health minister Keizo Takemi fields questions from reporters in March after a Cabinet meeting to deal with health problems caused by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's beni kōji red yeast rice supplements.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 14, 2024

Health Minister Keizo Takemi on how to improve Japan's health care system

Digitalization, hiring high-skilled foreign workers and increasing wages are among the steps that Japan could take.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris hosts a roundtable discussion with Japanese business executives from companies in the semiconductor industry in Tokyo on Sept. 28, 2022. In a recent survey, some 43% of Japanese firms polled said they preferred a Harris presidency.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 15, 2024

Japan firms see Harris presidency as better for business than Trump

The results of a Reuters survey reflect respondents' concerns about protectionism and policy unpredictability.
Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, delivers remarks as U.S. President Joe Biden looks on at an event on Medicare drug price negotiations, in Prince George's County, Maryland, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 16, 2024

Biden goes from star to sideshow at Democratic convention

Like all U.S. presidents, Biden has an eye on the history books, and he knows that the surest way to secure his legacy now runs through Harris.
The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier (left) and its strike group sails in formation with Italy's Cavour carrier (right) strike group in the Pacific Ocean on Aug. 9.
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Aug 17, 2024

NATO steps up naval presence in Western Pacific to counter China

The latest entrant is the Italian aircraft carrier Cavour, the first time Rome has deployed its lone carrier to the Pacific.
Berlin's growing military engagement with Indo-Pacific allies and partners is meant to signal that Germany "stands firmly at the side of those countries that are committed to complying with international law and do not accept it being called into  question," German Navy chief Vice Adm. Kaack told The Japan Times.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2024

Sea lane fears drive German military's Asian engagement, navy chief says

Developments in the Indo-Pacific, both economic and geopolitical, have direct implications for the security and prosperity of Germany, Vice Adm. Jan Christian Kaack says.
Jannik Sinner poses with the Rookwood Cup trophy after winning the men’s singles final against Frances Tiafoe at the Cincinnati Open in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Monday.
TENNIS
Aug 21, 2024

Jannik Sinner cleared of wrongdoing after failed drug tests, ITIA says

The tribunal accepted Sinner's explanation that the anabolic agent clostebol entered his system from a member of his support team through massages and sports therapy.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara (left) and Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (second from left) pose for a photo with Indian defense chief Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in New Delhi on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 21, 2024

Japan and India to update key document on security cooperation

Tokyo is also looking to provide New Delhi with advanced naval antennas and exploring the possibility of repairing Japanese warships in India.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Rostec CEO Sergei Chemezov in Moscow on July 30.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 21, 2024

In rare interview, key Putin ally says West risks global war over Ukraine

The head of the Rostec arms maker slams U.S. over moves to "provoke" the Ukraine conflict by allowing Kyiv to attack Russian territory.
An influencer uses a phone at the United Center, ahead of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), in Chicago on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 22, 2024

At DNC, influencers battle journalists for space and access

The Democratic National Convention has credentialed more than 200 "content creators" to cover the four-day event.
Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk region has potentially enhanced Kyiv's bargaining power, though it may not lead to immediate changes in either country’s strategic goals.
EDITORIALS
Aug 23, 2024

Ukraine makes gains, but the war won’t stop

Continued support for Ukraine is crucial to maintaining pressure on Russia and upholding international order.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda "predictably unpredictable" actions and policy shifts highlight the need for improved communication, reflecting modern central banking practices.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 28, 2024

How long can the BOJ get away with rate shocks?

The BOJ’s shifting policies and Kazuo Ueda’s unpredictable approach reflect the need for better alignment with modern central banking practices.
A Palestinian woman reacts as she walks along a street damaged during a raid in the Nur Shams camp near the city of Tulkarem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Wednesday.
WORLD
Aug 29, 2024

Israeli conducts deadly raids in West Bank as Gaza war rages

Israel launched coordinated raids across four northern West Bank cities where the military has focused much of its recent operations.
A poll shows that many Israelis support expanding the war to confront Hezbollah in Lebanon, though this poses risks of involving Iran and other international actors.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 29, 2024

Should Israel want a bigger conflict with Iran now?

A poll shows that many Israelis support expanding the war to confront Hezbollah, though this poses risks of involving Iran and other international actors.
Nippon Steel Vice Chairman Takahiro Mori
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 30, 2024

Nippon Steel, peers urge Tokyo to curb steel imports from China

China's steel exports rose 24% to 53.4 million tons in the first half of 2024, on track for 100 million tons for the year.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.