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The Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda last month reiterated his long-held position that he needs more time to mull the fate of the ETFs because it’s a complicated issue.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 17, 2025

BOJ shifts focus to ETF assets as end of bank stock sales nears

The ETF holdings are the last major piece of Gov. Kazuo Ueda’s policy puzzle.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (second from left), Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (right) and envoys meet in Riyadh on Feb. 18.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 5, 2025

Putin agrees to help Trump broker nuclear talks with Iran

Discussions are in their initial stages and it’s not clear whether any talks between the U.S. and Iran would yield any progress.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (left) and U.S. President Donald Trump arrive for a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on Feb. 7.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 7, 2025

Tokyo responds to Trump remarks on 'interesting' Japan-U.S. security pact

Japan's top government spokesperson underlined the agreement's cooperative element after the U.S. president complained the deal was one-sided.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei looks on during a meeting with students in Tehran on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 15, 2025

Despite tough talk, economic woes may force Iran to bargain with Trump

Behind the defiant rhetoric of Iran's leaders in public, there is a pragmatic willingness within Tehran to strike a deal with Washington.
Thames Water's Beddington Sewage Treatment Works near Croydon, south London, on Friday. Thames Water, and other British water companies privatized since 1989, are under fire for allowing the discharge of large quantities of sewage into rivers and the sea.
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 15, 2025

A stain on Britain: Sewage contaminates its waterways and seas

Failings with the most basic services in British society, such as water and sewage, have been harming the broader U.K. economy.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a press briefing in Kyiv on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 16, 2025

Zelenskyy accuses Russia of trying to trap Ukraine’s forces amid ceasefire talks

Fighting is raging in and around the part of the Kursk region that Ukraine seized in a surprise offensive into Russian territory last summer.
While climate demonstrations around the world often draw thousands of participants, in Japan such demonstrations rarely break the 100-person barrier.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Mar 16, 2025

Japan’s youth climate activists still searching for a breakthrough

With Japan endorsing climate targets criticized as unambitious, activists are looking to education and more tailored strategies to make an impact.
An aerial view of Thames Water's Beddington Sewage Treatment Works near Croydon, south London on Friday. Thames Water — and other British water companies privatized since 1989 — are under fire for allowing the discharge of large quantities of sewage into rivers and the sea.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 17, 2025

A stain on Britain: Sewage contaminates its waterways and seas

The pollution affects the seafood and tourism industries, while delaying construction projects and hampering the economy.
The buildings sector consumes 32% of the world's energy and contributes 34% of CO2 emissions.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Mar 18, 2025

'More and faster': U.N. calls to shrink buildings' carbon footprint

CO2 emissions from the building sector rose around 5% in the last decade when they should have fallen 28%, according to a new report.
Honda Racing President Koji Watanabe says the carmaker's development on the next generation of Formula One engines is proceeding as planned ahead of sweeping regulation changes in 2026.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 5, 2025

Honda looks toward its F1 future as Red Bull partnership nears end

Honda Racing President Koji Watanabe discusses the carmaker's past and future in Formula One as its Red Bull partnership draws to a close.
Iranian missiles are displayed at the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force Museum in Tehran last November.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 8, 2025

U.S. and Iran set for return to nuclear talks

While U.S. President Donald Trump called the talks "direct," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said they would be "indirect" and held in Oman on April 12.
Yamaguchi-gumi executives (center and right) leave the Hyogo Prefectural Police headquarters in Kobe after submitting a pledge to end turf battles on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 8, 2025

Yamaguchi-gumi pledges end to yakuza war

The crime syndicate has been involved in turf battles with the rival Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi, formed by more than a dozen gangs that splintered from it, since 2015.
Nuggets head coach Michael Malone gestures in the third quarter against the Chicago Bulls at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, on March 24.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Apr 9, 2025

Nuggets fire coach Michael Malone three games before playoffs

Malone led the Nuggets to the franchise's first ever NBA title in 2023, but Denver has struggled for consistency this season and is currently on a four-game losing streak.
Bento boxes and other food items attract visitors at the Sera roadside station in Hiroshima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Apr 21, 2025

10 years on, Hiroshima-Shimane highway boosts logistics and tourism

The Chugoku Yamanami Highway has played a crucial role in regional development since its full opening in 2015.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (left) meets with Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi in Muscat, Oman, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 13, 2025

U.S. and Iran hold 'positive' talks in Oman, with more to come this week

The talks were indirect, though Iran's foreign minister said his delegation had a brief encounter with its U.S. counterpart after they exited the talks.
A man reads a newspaper on a park bench in Tehran on Saturday. The first meeting between the U.S. and Iran over its expanding nuclear program displayed a seriousness of purpose, but hardliners in both countries — and Israel — are expected to balk at any deal.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 14, 2025

Iran says U.S. talks to focus solely on nuclear issue and sanctions

Analysts had said the U.S. would push for discussions over Iran's ballistic missile program along with Tehran's support for the anti-Israel "axis of resistance."
Iranian missiles are displayed at the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force Museum in Tehran on Nov. 15, 2024
WORLD / Politics
Apr 16, 2025

Would military strikes kill Iran's nuclear program? Probably not

Rather than destroying the nuclear program, an attack could prompt Iran to kick out United Nations nuclear inspectors and drive their program fully underground.
An anti-U.S. mural on a building in Tehran earlier this month
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 18, 2025

With his promises of peace unmet in Gaza and Ukraine, Trump may find Iran just as tough

Adding to regional tensions is Trump's repeated threat to bomb Iran's nuclear sites if a deal cannot be reached.
Pope Francis, a reformer known for his humility, inclusivity and focus on social justice, passed away at 88, leaving behind a divided church and a legacy of advocating for humanity's most vulnerable.
EDITORIALS
Apr 25, 2025

The Catholic church loses a lion

Francis’ spirit of inclusion should define who we are as human beings and his compassion should be the lodestar for action, both personal and political.
The flags of the U.S. and Iran hang on the road leading to the Muscat International Book fair in Oman on April 25.
WORLD / Politics
May 11, 2025

Iran and U.S. to resume nuclear talks amid clashing red lines

Though Tehran and Washington both have said they prefer diplomacy to resolve the decadeslong dispute, they remain deeply divided on several red lines.
A uranium conversion facility in Iran. The country currently enriches uranium to 60% purity — far above the 3.67% limit set in the 2015 deal but below the 90% needed for weapons-grade material.
WORLD / Politics
May 15, 2025

Top Iran aide says nuclear deal possible for sanctions relief

An adviser to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran could accept far-reaching curbs on its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
Former U.S. President Joe Biden departs Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Jan. 20.
WORLD / Politics
May 18, 2025

Release of 2023 Biden recording renews debate on his capabilities

The four-minute audio clip comes as a book is being released alleging the White House staff covered up Biden's decline even as he was seeking reelection.
Then-U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington on Jan. 17.
WORLD / Politics
May 19, 2025

Joe Biden diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer

The former U.S. president has a form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, and is reviewing treatment options, his office said Sunday.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba offers a flower during a ceremony to pay respects to unidentified war dead from World War II at the Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery in Tokyo on May 26.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 3, 2025

Ishiba faces political and diplomatic quandary ahead of WWII anniversary

There is fierce opposition among conservatives to any form of official reflection on the 80th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II.
Keita Ueno (right), the owner of Kiki Driving School and an instructor who supports both foreign nationals and Japanese citizens returning from abroad in getting their foreign driver’s licenses converted, is worried about the current lax system for the process.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Jun 6, 2025

Accidents raise concern over how Japan vets foreign drivers

A driving school owner points out that traffic signs could carry different meanings in other countries, and driving standards might vary significantly.
Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg rides a bike before the Monaco Grand Prix on May 25.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Jun 12, 2025

Nico Hulkenberg says Le Mans-F1 double too much for drivers to handle now

Nico Hulkenberg raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans a decade ago when the Formula One calendar allowed it, and he came away a winner with Porsche.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces the launch of a targeted military operation against Iran in a video statement on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 13, 2025

After years of waiting, Israel's Netanyahu finally makes his move on Iran

Iran once ridiculed Netanyahu as the boy who cried wolf for his constant warnings about Tehran's nuclear program, and his repeated threats to shut it down.
Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis shoots a free throw during a playoff game against the Knicks on May 7.
BASKETBALL
Jun 25, 2025

Hawks reportedly acquire Celtics' Kristaps Porzingis in three-team trade

Porzingis averaged 19.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in only 42 regular-season games last season.
The Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran scored a tactical win and prompted a tentative ceasefire, but they failed to eliminate the threat posed by Tehran’s nuclear ambitions or shift the long-term strategic calculus.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2025

There is no 'one-and-done' on Iran's nuclear ambitions

Trump still faces tough calls that will decide the future of non-proliferation.
Japan said on Tuesday that it had lodged a protest with China after observing a new structure in a natural gas field in the East China Sea.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2025

Japan protests new Chinese construction in East China Sea

In the latest development, Japan said on Tuesday it lodged a protest with China after observing a new structure in a natural gas field in the East China Sea.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear