Search - politics

 
 
Greenland's flag flies in Igaliku settlement, Greenland
WORLD
Jan 10, 2025

Denmark says it has neglected Greenland defense for years

Greenland is crucial for the U.S. military and its ballistic missile early-warning system, since the shortest route from Europe to North America runs via the island.
A resident sprays water outside the fire-stricken Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church in Pacific Palisades, California, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 10, 2025

California leaders criticized over fires as political clash ensues

The criticism, fanned by President-elect Trump across social media, has triggered a political clash over the two massive wildfires menacing Los Angeles from the east and west.
A demonstrator holds a banner with the image of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in Tijuana, Mexico, on Dec. 18.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / ANALYSIS
Jan 11, 2025

Politics, not climate, to drive sustainable finance trends in 2025

The return of Donald Trump as U.S. president heralds more regional divergence on everything from fund flows to legal cases and market regulations.
In season two of "Squid Game," protagonist Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) returns to put an end to the deadly competition.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Wide Angle
Jan 12, 2025

The unnervingly timed return of ‘Squid Game’

The show’s themes of wealth disparity and exploitation of power resonate far beyond South Korea, tapping into a universal vein of unease about the unstable systems we live under.
Palestinians pass through an Israeli checkpoint as they make their way to Jerusalem's al-Aqsa compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, in the West Bank, in March 2024. Israeli forces have frequently used disguises to infiltrate Gaza and target Hamas operatives.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 12, 2025

In the art of war, mimicry runs the gambit from disguises to deepfakes

Impersonation is one of the oldest tactics in war, because it exploits our social nature and persists because humans are dependent on identities for cooperation.
A man casts his ballot during the general election at a polling station in Tokyo on Oct. 27.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 13, 2025

Ishiba keeping eye on Lower House multiseat constituency talks

The prime minister is believed to be eyeing cooperation with opposition parties by using electoral system reform as an opportunity.
A Hindu devotee looks on as he takes part in a religious procession of Naya Udasin Akhara ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj, India, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jan 13, 2025

Indian Hindu pilgrims take the plunge ahead of largest gathering

Organizers expect up to 400 million pilgrims from India and beyond in the six weeks running from January 13 to February 26.
Solar panels and a coal-fired power station in Fukushima Prefecture. Japan has not set a clear path for phasing out coal and its new draft energy plan foresees an important role for fossil fuels, especially gas, and nuclear power in its future energy mix.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 13, 2025

Japan’s energy plans endanger real climate solutions

The government's draft energy plans were not subject to open debate and their outcome shows an insufficient commitment to making the changes needed to tackle climate change.
U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Steel Works in Braddock, Pennsylvannia, in 2019. Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel face significant legal challenges in their case against the United States.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 15, 2025

Nippon Steel’s case against Biden probably unwinnable, attorneys argue

A U.S. president's rejection of a deal following review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has only been successfully challenged once.
Migrants wait to be processed on U.S. soil after crossing from Mexico in El Paso, Texas, in May 2023.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 15, 2025

Trump’s immigration crackdown will be swift and ugly. Here’s how.

U.S. President-elect Trump plans major immigration crackdowns, focusing on deportations, birthright citizenship, and humanitarian programs, marking a significant shift in policy.
Akutagawa Prize winners (from left) Jose Ando, author of "Dtopia" and Yui Suzuki, author of "Goethe wa Subete o Itta," and Naoki Prize winner Shin Iyohara, author of "Ai o Tsugu Umi."
CULTURE / Books
Jan 15, 2025

Japan's most prestigious literary awards go to a trio of contemporary voices

Jose Ando and Yui Suzuki take home Akutagawa honors, while Shin Iyohara nabs the Naoki Prize.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers his farewell address to the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 16, 2025

Biden warns U.S. faces oligarchy as Trump looms over legacy

In a final Oval Office speech, Biden urged Americans to join together but quickly warned about a dangerous concentration of wealth in the U.S.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers his farewell address to the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD
Jan 17, 2025

American ‘oligarchy’ decried by Biden gained $1.5 trillion in his term

The 100 wealthiest Americans got more than $1.5 trillion richer over the last four years.
Private firefighters gather near their vehicles at a mall in Pacific Palisades, California, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Society
Jan 17, 2025

Private firefighters highlight wealth divide in ruined Los Angeles

Questions are being asked about how some of the city's superrich seem to have survived almost unscathed after enormous blazes spread through the metropolis.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump and other Asian leaders pose for a family photo during a the ASEAN-U.S. 40th Anniversary Summit in Manila in November 2017. The U.S. president-elect’s Cabinet secretary level and other picks for his second term point to a tougher China policy.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 17, 2025

What Trump’s appointments tell us about his Asia policy

Donald Trump’s second term as president appears set to intensify efforts to curb China’s influence while maintaining crucial alliances in Asia.
Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump in Tokyo march ahead of the inauguration of then President-elect Joe Biden on Jan 20, 2021.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 17, 2025

Japan has nothing to fear from Trump — except in maybe one area

Japan is far better positioned in the areas most important to Trump than many other countries. If Shinzo Abe were still alive, Japan would be in a great place.
After months of legal tussles, the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law that would ban TikTok in the name of national security.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 19, 2025

TikTok shuts down U.S. access as Trump seeks app's reinstatement

Only months after overwhelmingly backing the law, lawmakers are now fretting about the ban, with all eyes on whether Trump can swoop in and find a way to save the app.
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama speaks to reporters after meeting with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 19, 2025

LDP heavyweight Moriyama boosting profile within party

Moriyama's increased presence within the Ishiba administration has failed to shore up low levels of public support.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jan 19, 2025

Democrats search for economic policy lessons as Trump takes office

Scarred by the 2007-09 recession, the Biden administration bet big on the labor market. The bet worked but not exactly as they hoped.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo in May 2019.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 19, 2025

As Trump returns, will Japan be able to weather the storm?

Tokyo may be surprisingly more suited to work with Trump — and beat back any exorbitant demands — than it was during his first stint.
Seiji Maehara, co-leader of Nippon Ishin no Kai, is interviewed in Tokyo on Thursday. The party is calling for a ban on political donations from firms and organizations.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 19, 2025

Nippon Ishin stresses need for corporate donation ban

Nippon Ishin has also called for making high school free, eliminating nursery fees for kids up to 2 and realizing tuition-free higher education.
U.S. President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 21, 2025

Trump pledges to save U.S. from 'decline,' vowing new 'golden age'

Trump quickly signed a series of executive actions to curb immigration and roll back environmental regulations, but did not take immediate action to raise tariffs.
Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Majed Al-Ansari, looks at a paper as he speaks after Qatar helped mediate a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, in Doha on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 21, 2025

Mediators on standby for obstacles as Gaza ceasefire starts

"These kinds of deals are never easy to maintain," said a spokesperson for Qatar's foreign ministry, which helped broker the ceasefire.
As Donald Trump begins his second term, the U.S. holds a strong position in the Indo-Pacific. However, missteps, economic policies and shifting alliances could undermine the Biden administration's progress in strengthening partnerships and countering China.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 21, 2025

Will Trump sustain or squander Biden's Indo-Pacific gains?

The legacy of the Joe Biden administration could prove fleeting, however, the result of missteps by Washington or developments in allied states.
Members of the far-right Proud Boys gather on the day of the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 22, 2025

Trump's pardons will embolden far-right groups, experts say

In a few pen strokes, Donald Trump reversed the largest U.S. Justice Department investigation and prosecution in history.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya at the State Department in Washington on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 22, 2025

Top diplomats agree to take U.S.-Japan alliance to 'new heights'

Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and new U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also agreed on the importance of trilateral cooperation with South Korea and others.
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, sentenced to 14 years for corruption, reflects the country's recurring cycle of leaders rising with military backing and then falling out of favor.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 21, 2025

Jailing Imran Khan won’t fix Pakistan’s problems

Pakistan’s economic recovery hinges on reforms, stability and military backing.
Shipping containers at an industrial port in the Keihin Industrial Zone in Kawasaki. Japanese businesses see a larger role for Japan if global trade breaks down and multilateral trade institutions become less effective without U.S. participation.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 23, 2025

Japan contemplates global free-trade leadership as U.S. goes protectionist

Tokyo could find opportunity in the turmoil while avoiding direct confrontation with Washington.
TikTok boasts 170 million monthly U.S. users and has become a major driver of culture and politics among young Americans.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 24, 2025

TikTok’s possible buyers, from Elon Musk to MrBeast

There will be no shortage of interested acquirers for the popular video service, which boasts 170 million monthly U.S. users.
Supporters of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol protest in Seoul on Tuesday. The previous leaders of the U.S. and Japan, along with Yoon, focused on strengthening alliances and regional stability through cooperation whereas newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump’s approach to foreign policy may prioritize transactional relationships.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 24, 2025

Japan and South Korea were stable U.S. allies. Not anymore.

Political paralysis in the U.S., Japan and South Korea has left a leadership vacuum in the Indo-Pacific.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo