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Japan has walked a delicate path — taking steps to hedge its dependence on China while distancing itself from the politics of Washington.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 23, 2025

Trump’s trade war with China puts Japan in a tight spot

Japan had long maintained deep economic ties with both China and the United States. Recent trade tensions may challenge that approach.
South Korean prosecutors have indicted former President Moon Jae-in for alleged corruption.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Apr 24, 2025

South Korea prosecutors indict ex-President Moon Jae-in for corruption

The case is related to the appointment of his former son-in-law at a Thai airline.
Since Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency, his rhetoric, tariffs and threats toward allies have helped boost left-leaning or anti-Trump candidates in elections around the world.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 20, 2025

The 'Trump effect' on elections is just beginning, including in Japan

Since his inauguration, the new U.S. president seems to be creating a “Trump effect” on many, though not all, foreign elections.
Trumpism is attacking America's core institutions to gain unchecked power, and only a united civic uprising that defends and reforms these institutions can stop it and build a better future.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 27, 2025

Time for a civic uprising

What’s happening is not normal. America needs an uprising that is not normal.
A company linked to the son of former Liberal Democratic Party heavyweight Makoto Koga is at the center of an income concealment case involving about ¥100 million tied to massage chair operations at Haneda Airport.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 27, 2025

Haneda terminal operator unit underreports income by ¥100 million

The subsidiary, Big Wing, was found to have concealed the income in connection with the business of installing massage chairs.
A person wears a sign with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and U.S. President Donald Trump on it, at an inauguration party held outside the U.S. embassy in Budapest on Jan. 20.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 28, 2025

'Trump tornado' leaves Hungary’s Orban and other far-right leaders reeling

Far-right leaders must now calculate whether unflinching support for Trump will damage their domestic popularity at a time of growing economic pain.
Ground personnel unload weapons and other military hardware delivered by the U.S. military near Kyiv in 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 28, 2025

U.S. aid pullback is making Ukraine more vulnerable to Russian hacks

USAID has been gutted in the first months of Trump’s presidency by Elon Musk’s "department of government efficiency," and Trump has become increasingly impatient with Zelenskyy.
People line up outside a polling station to vote in Canada's federal election, in Toronto on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 29, 2025

Canada votes as Trump renews U.S. takeover push

Trump put himself into Canadian politics again with a social media post saying Canada would face "ZERO TARIFFS" if it "becomes the cherished 51st state."
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney waves to supporters at a victory party in Ottawa on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 29, 2025

Carney's Liberals win Canada election defined by Trump

Following a campaign dominated by Trump's tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart "a new path forward."
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Kenyan President William Ruto attend a welcome ceremony at The Great Hall of The People on April 24 in Beijing.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 30, 2025

Xi is trying to turn world against U.S. as Trump cuts deals

Chinese officials are racing to turn foreign governments against the U.S.
Japan's proposed "one-theater" defense strategy, linking the East China Sea, South China Sea and Korean Peninsula has raised concerns, particularly in South Korea, about its implications for regional security.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 30, 2025

Japan’s ‘one-theater’ defense concept rattles South Korea

Continuing expansion of SDF roles and missions is consistent with adoption of the "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" construct that guides Japanese security policy.
Since 2017, Kotomi Li has won some of Japan’s top literary awards and built a formidable career in the face of persistent online harassment. “Authors are tenacious creatures to begin with,” she says.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
May 5, 2025

Kotomi Li: 'I refuse to choose death'

The Taiwanese writer reflects on the importance of queer community, her ascent in Japan’s literary world and her ongoing battles against online harassment.
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) relies on federal funds for about 16% of its overall budget, the broadcaster’s president and CEO, Paula Kerger, told U.S. House lawmakers in March.
WORLD
May 2, 2025

Trump signs executive order to end federal funding of NPR and PBS

The order requires the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to cease direct funding for NPR and PBS to the maximum extent allowed by law.
Unlike past U.S. presidents who demanded that adversaries curb subversion before improving ties, Donald Trump and his administration are dismantling America’s defenses against foreign meddling without securing anything in return — leaving the country vulnerable.
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2025

Why is Trump unilaterally dismantling U.S. defenses?

Trump may reorganize agencies within the law, but his sweeping cuts to national security defies 2,000 years of great powers using deterrence and diplomacy to manage threats.
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich during a game in April 2024
BASKETBALL / NBA
May 3, 2025

NBA icon Popovich stepping down as Spurs coach after 29 seasons

Popovich, 76, will take on a new role as president of basketball operations, the Spurs said.
Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong arrives at an assembly area for People's Action Party supporters on Saturday, the day of a general election.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 4, 2025

Singapore’s ruling party keeps majority in victory for PM Lawrence Wong

The results may underscore how voters in countries disrupted by U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade wars are increasingly rallying behind incumbent governments.
U.S. President Donald Trump's 100th day rally in Warren, Michigan, on April 29
BUSINESS
May 4, 2025

Auto workers welcome Trump tariffs, no matter the fate of Wall Street

According to some autoworkers, the tariffs are their best chance of restoring American manufacturing might.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with his partner Jodie Haydon (right) and his son Nathan Albanese (left) at the Labor Party election night event in Sydney on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 5, 2025

Albanese landslide offers rare chance to fix Australia’s economy

Albanese’s center-left government has the best chance in years to take the hard steps economists have called for to ignite growth.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters about Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations at his official residence on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 5, 2025

Tariff talks with U.S. seen influencing Japan's Upper House election

The outcome of the ongoing bilateral negotiations will have a major impact on this summer's election in the Upper House.
George Simion, presidential candidate and leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, speaks during a press conference outside of the Palace of the Parliament government building in Bucharest on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
May 5, 2025

Romanian hard-right leader clear winner in first-round presidential vote

Ballots from nearly 99.6% of voting stations showed Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan, 55, was in second place at around 21%.
U.S. President Donald Trump, accompanied by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, delivers remarks on the advanced F-47 sixth-generation fighter jet in the Oval Office on March 21. 

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as an image of an F-47 sixth-generation fighter jet is displayed, in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 21, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2025

The F-47 fighter jet and Trump’s air dominance gamble

The U.S.' announcement signals a shift toward the pursuit of nuclear superiority — which history shows will weaken deterrence and increase the likelihood of nuclear crises.
Designated German Chancellor Friedrich Merz of the Christian Democratic Union following a session of the German lower house of parliament to elect the new German chancellor, in Berlin on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
May 6, 2025

Germany's Friedrich Merz faces new vote for chancellor after surprise loss

The initial shock defeat dealt a heavy blow to Merz, who has vowed to restore stability in Berlin after half a year of political turmoil.
Opinion polls show popular support for Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu has risen further above President Tayyip Erdogan since he was detained and jailed in March.
WORLD / Politics
May 6, 2025

Popular support for jailed Istanbul mayor grows, polls show

Two surveys released in recent days suggest that Imamoglu's detention on March 19 has also reinforced views that he is Erdogan's main rival in any future presidential vote.
Newly elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks as his predecessor, Olaf Scholz, listens during a handover ceremony at the Chancellery in Berlin on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2025

Friedrich Merz becomes German chancellor after surviving shock defeat

The win — on his second try — paves the way for him to take charge of Europe’s biggest economy but with his authority considerably diminished.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth looks on as President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the White House in Washington on March 21.
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2025

Hegseth's order to cancel Ukraine weapons caught White House off guard

The story of how the flights were canceled points to an at-times haphazard policymaking process within the Trump administration.
In South Korea, where presidents are increasingly investigated, impeached or imprisoned, the judiciary has become a well-known pathway to political power.
COMMENTARY / World
May 7, 2025

Is the judiciary the weakest link in South Korea’s democracy?

It’s not unusual for lawyers to pursue personal political ambitions during their careers in democracies. But in South Korea, this has reached a level not seen elsewhere.
Zhao Xintong waves to the crowd with a Chinese flag draped over his shoulders after winning the World Championship Snooker final in Sheffield, England, on Monday.
MORE SPORTS
May 8, 2025

Snooker chief feels Zhao Xintong's historic world title can help Olympic bid

Snooker's hope to be included in the 2032 Brisbane Olympics is realistic and will be enhanced by China's growing power in the sport, according to one of the men behind the bid.
Urgent diplomacy and restraint are needed to prevent further escalation between India and Pakistan, as both sides risk being pulled into a dangerous conflict with potential global consequences.
COMMENTARY / World
May 8, 2025

Can India and Pakistan step back from the brink?

India and Pakistan on many occasions have been on the brink of major conflict, yet have successfully climbed down.
Takahiro Anno, 34, announced Thursday that he will run in the Upper House election this summer as president of his newly founded party, Team Mirai.
JAPAN / Politics
May 8, 2025

After Tokyo election bid, AI engineer Takahiro Anno to run in Upper House race

Anno described entering the race without backing as a ‘baseless, fameless and fundless’ challenge, but said he thinks he has a good chance of winning.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a phone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump from a Jaguar Land Rover automobile manufacturing plant in the West Midlandson, U.K., on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
May 9, 2025

Starmer gets diplomatic win he needs, if not the economic boost

The framework the two leaders unveiled goes some way to reversing the worst impacts on the U.K. of U.S. tariffs.

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