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Russian President Vladimir Putin attends an online Security Council meeting from the Kremlin in Moscow on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 11, 2025

Russian disinformation 'infects' AI chatbots, researchers warn

A well-resourced Moscow-based operation is said to be distorting the output of chatbots by flooding large language models with pro-Kremlin falsehoods.
Coils of rolled steel sit in an industrial yard in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 12, 2025

U.S.-Canada trade war heats up as Trump doubles metals tariffs, then backs off

The switch came after a Canadian official also backed off his own plans for a 25% surcharge on electricity.
A sign featuring the logo of Germany's Federal Ministry For Economic Affairs And Climate Action, at the construction site of the Northvolt Drei EV battery gigafactory in Heide, Germany, on Oct. 15, 2024
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 12, 2025

If Europe builds the gigafactories, will an AI industry come?

The hope is that local firms like France's Mistral will use the factories to create AI models that operate in line with EU safety rules.
Taiwanese Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Wu told The Japan Times in an interview last week in Taipei that he hopes with the island democracy can strengthen ties with Japan and other like-minded nations “at every level.”
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 12, 2025

Taiwan’s No. 2 diplomat seeks higher-level ‘unofficial’ Japan meetings as ties grow

Taipei has been shifting away from its competition with China over formal recognition, focusing instead on pragmatism to circumvent diplomatic obstacles.
A woman reacts next to one of the pictures of victims of a recent wave of sectarian violence targeting Syria's Alawite minority in the west of the country along the Mediterranean sea coast, during a protest condemning the attacks in Syria's northeastern city of Qamishli on Tuesday.
WORLD
Mar 12, 2025

Syria determined to 'prevent unlawful revenge,' says fact-finding committee

The latest violence has marked the gravest threat to Syria's new authorities, calling into question their ability to govern.
A Bloomberg survey said almost three quarters of Bank of Japan watchers who responded said that U.S. tariffs could exert enough of a drag on Japan’s economy to delay the central bank’s rate hike path.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 12, 2025

BOJ watchers see gradual rate hikes with higher terminal rate

Economists now anticipate the terminal rate to be 1.25%, up from 1% in the previous survey.
A Toyota bZ4X battery electric vehicle on display at the company's showroom in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, in June 2024
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 12, 2025

Toyota sees potential risk to deal brokered with Tesla in Europe

Toyota and other carmakers that were planning to pool with Tesla for this year may need much less help than envisioned back in January.
If Russia emerges victorious from the Ukraine war, nuclear proliferation will ensue as states view armaments and not agreements as the only way to protect their sovereignty.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 12, 2025

Lessons from Ukraine: Allies are fickle, nukes are forever

If Russia emerges victorious from the Ukraine war, nuclear proliferation will ensue as states view armaments and not agreements as the only way to protect their sovereignty.
Masao Adachi’s “Escape” is a fictionalized biopic about fugitive Satoshi Kirishima, played by Rairu Sugita (left) and Kanji Furutachi (right).
CULTURE / Film
Mar 13, 2025

‘Escape’: Masao Adachi’s fugitive biopic salutes a kindred spirit

The 85-year-old director keeps his revolutionary fire burning with a respectful portrait of a wanted terrorist who spent nearly half a century on the run.
Just like in times of old, with unresolved territorial disputes, regional disunity and economic self-interest prevailing over solidarity, Southeast Asia faces growing instability as tensions escalate.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2025

Southeast Asia must learn to defend itself

Would any of the region’s governments lift a finger to maintain peace on behalf of a neighbor?
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen attends a press conference at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Mar 13, 2025

Verstappen says Red Bull 'not the quickest at the moment'

Verstappen acknowledged there had been improvements to his car in the offseason but said it was too soon to know how it compared to McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki in July 2018.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 14, 2025

Americans worry Trump is too closely aligned with Russia, poll finds

The two-day poll also found little appetite among Americans for Trump's expansionist agenda.
Atletico Madrid's Julian Alvarez scores a penalty on Wednesday that was later disallowed after a VAR review.
SOCCER
Mar 14, 2025

UEFA to discuss rule that disallowed Alvarez penalty

UEFA said the correct decision was made to disallow Julian Alvarez's penalty in Atletico Madrid's Champions League loss to city rivals Real Madrid on Wednesday.
“Ravens” stars Tadanobu Asano as Masahisa Fukase, a real-life figure who was known for his photos of the psychedelic party scene of 1960s Shinjuku, portraits of his wife and images of the ravens of his home prefecture of Hokkaido.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 14, 2025

‘Ravens’ is a portrait of art, love and inner demons

Director Mark Gill brings the turbulent life of celebrated photographer Masahisa Fukase into focus in his new film.
Bong Joon-ho’s latest film “Mickey 17” is centered on a man so desperate for work he’s agreed to be endlessly “reprinted” and endlessly killed doing super-risky jobs.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 14, 2025

The sci-fi satire 'Mickey 17' might be a classic — someday

Bong Joon-ho's latest dystopian film offers a brutal metaphor for societal inequality.
After multiple failed attempts, Emperor Go-Daigo (1288-1339) and his loyalists overthrew the Kamakura shogunate and restored imperial power — for a time.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Mar 15, 2025

Divine authority and mortal desires in the turbulent 14th century

The literary monk Kenko yearned for an “uncontaminated world,” even during the tumultuous rule of Emperor Go-Daigo, who toppled the shogunate and consolidated imperial power.
President Donald Trump’s order making English the official language of the country is unnecessary, as nearly 80% of people in the U.S. already speak it at home.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 14, 2025

America doesn’t need an official language

After all, what is our shared culture if not the mix of cultures — including languages — that make and remake America every day?
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.
The logo of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, better known as the Unification Church, is seen at the entrance of its Japan branch headquarters in Tokyo in October 2023.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Mar 15, 2025

Unification Church faces dissolution in Japan

The dissolution would remove the church's tax-exempt status while branding the organization a harmful entity.
Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte appears on a screen in a courtroom at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 15, 2025

Duterte’s swift descent from ‘Punisher’ president to inmate

Duterte's team seemed unconcerned about rumors that the International Criminal Court might issue an arrest warrant against him. It was a fatal mistake.
An early pioneer of artificial intelligence is interested in teaching AI models how to efficiently forget.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 15, 2025

AI pioneer wants Europe to forge its own nimbler way forward

Sepp Hochreiter, an early pioneer of the technology, is interested in teaching AI models how to efficiently forget.
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.
French President Emmanuel Macron takes part in a virtual video summit held by Britain's prime minister to discuss a peace plan for Ukraine, from the Elysee Palace in Paris on Saturday.
WORLD
Mar 16, 2025

Not for Russia to decide on peacekeepers in Ukraine, Macron says

Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer have been rushing to consolidate military support for Ukraine as U.S. Preident Donald Trump presses for a peace deal with Russia.
Salvadoran police officers escort alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua recently deported by the U.S. government to be imprisoned in the Terrorism Confinement Center prison, as part of an agreement with the Salvadoran government, at the El Salvador International Airport in San Luis Talpa, El Salvador, in this image released on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 17, 2025

U.S. flies alleged gang members to El Salvador despite court block

Legal experts called the move the most radical test of America's system of checks and balances since the Civil War.
This combination picture shows candidates for the presidency of the IOC (from top left) Sebastian Coe, Kirsty Coventry, Johan Eliasch, Prince Feisal al-Hussein of Jordan, David Lappartient, Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. and Morinari Watanabe speaking during a press conference following a presentation before fellow IOC members, in Lausanne on Jan. 30.
OLYMPICS
Mar 17, 2025

Heavyweight seven eye finish line in race to succeed Olympics chief

Surprises from the electorate of 100-plus IOC members cannot be ruled out in the battle to become the most powerful figure in sport governance.
Officials from the state-run Alaska Gasline Development Corporation and development partner Glenfarne Group want to transport natural gas south from Alaska's remote north via a $44 billion 1,300-kilometer pipeline, to be shipped as liquefied natural gas to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2025

Alaskan officials to seek investors in Japan as Trump touts LNG

Japanese energy firms have yet to commit, with cost being a focal point.
On Jan. 22 last year, the education ministry called on prefectural boards of education across the country to instruct schools to conduct annual checkups by, in principle, having students wear gym clothes or underwear during examinations and holding them separately for boys and girls under the supervision of teachers of the same gender.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2025

School doctors still risk complaints from parents over health checkups

A survey shows many physicians do not want to be involved in schools' annual checkups out of concern that parents do not want their children's bodies to be shown to doctors.
BYD's large cylindrical cell batteries are pictured at Smart Energy Week in Tokyo on Feb. 19.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 18, 2025

How BYD’s five-minute charging stacks up against the competition

The Chinese firm is now staking claim to a system it says will make it as quick to charge an electric vehicle as to refuel a gasoline car.
Megan Garcia
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 18, 2025

Teen’s suicide turns mother against Google and AI chatbot startup

Megan Garcia says her son would still be alive today if it weren’t for a chatbot urging the 14-year-old to take his own life.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami