Search - about-us

 
 
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara speaks on July 30 during a parliamentary inquiry into a series of scandals involving the ministry and the Self-Defense Forces.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 6, 2024

The wider international and domestic implications of the SDF scandals

The problems have put the spotlight on Japan’s ability to convince its partners that it’s ready to shoulder a larger security role.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz at the White House in Washington on July 3.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 6, 2024

Harris picks Minnesota's Tim Walz for vice president, sources say

Walz is a progressive policy champion and a plain speaker from America's heartland who may help Harris win over rural, white voters.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the newly minted Democratic vice presidential candidate, speaks during a campaign rally with U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 7, 2024

Harris and Walz campaign together for first time as White House ticket

The event kicked off a multiday tour of U.S. battleground states aimed at introducing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to the national stage.
Anthony Davis celebrates after a basket as the American men's basketball team rolled to a quarterfinal win over Brazil at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday.
OLYMPICS / Basketball
Aug 7, 2024

U.S. crushes Brazil to set up Olympic basketball semifinal with Serbia

Devin Booker scored 18 points for the Americans and Anthony Edwards added 17 as six U.S. players scored in double figures.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the U.S. Democratic vice presidential candidate, speaks as Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris looks on at Temple University in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 7, 2024

New Democratic VP pick Walz adds deep China experience to ticket

The Minnesota governor’s focus on China issues include a foray there as a teacher and a role on a key human rights panel as a congressman.
The Nagasaki Municipal Government, which is hosting the city's annual peace ceremony, said it did not extend an invitation to the Israeli ambassador due to security concerns.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2024

Nagasaki peace ceremony overshadowed by diplomatic wrangling

Ambassadors of Group of Seven countries are set to skip Friday’s ceremony after the city’s decision not to invite the Israeli envoy to Japan.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a summit in Bangkok in November 2022. Despite Japan-China relations stagnating in recent years, Xi's administration presents some interesting opportunities for an overture between the two countries.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Aug 12, 2024

Will Japan and China’s relations continue to stagnate?

Japan and China have historically been at odds and relations have stagnated. This pattern can be broken by seizing the moment, one that offers some key opportunities.
Elon Musk held a conversation with Donald Trump on the tech mogul’s X platform on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 13, 2024

Musk pitches White House role in glitchy Trump conversation on X

The conversation gave Elon Musk an opening to increase his influence with Donald Trump if the former president returns to power.
Philippine Defense Minister Gilberto Teodoro (right) speaks during a joint press conference with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius at a hotel in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines, on Aug. 4.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 14, 2024

Manila looks beyond Asia for defense support

Germany is the latest Western power to announce plans to deepen security ties with the Philippines amid Manila's escalating territorial disputes with China.
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.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (center right) arrives in Tel Aviv on Sunday — his ninth trip to the Middle East since the Gaza war began when Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 19, 2024

Blinken to push for Gaza cease-fire while Israel launches more strikes

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is making his ninth trip to the region since the war began. 
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 19, 2024

Harris heads to Chicago with momentum as GOP attacks her economy plans

A recent poll shows U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris narrowly leads former President Donald Trump in a head-to-head matchup.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, speaks on the first night of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 20, 2024

Democratic Party platform emphasizes Asia, but muted on Harris

The platform laid out a familiar list of priorities and also criticized Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump over his shaky history with regional allies.
U.S. President Joe Biden enters the stage after an introduction by his daughter, Ashley Biden, on the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2024

Joe Biden begins a long and necessary goodbye

It took grace, maturity and generosity for Biden to bow out. A measure of resentment has also accompanied his exit.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama waves after speaking on the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on Tuesday night.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 21, 2024

Obama night at the DNC: Barack and Michelle rouse crowd for Harris

Obama has thrown his considerable political capital behind Harris as she seeks to make history herself on Nov. 5 as the first woman president.
A Ukrainian tank crew take a break while operating a Soviet-made T-72 tank in the Sumy region, near the border with Russia, on Aug. 12.
WORLD
Aug 21, 2024

Russia and Ukraine can’t mount major offensives against each other, U.S. says

The Pentagon’s intelligence agency said in new assessments that the two sides appeared headed toward a stalemate.
A ship transports passengers to Honiara Port in the Solomon Islands. The region’s maritime location between Asia, North America and Australia is set to keep it at the forefront of major powers’ defense strategies.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 22, 2024

New ‘great game’ in Pacific between U.S. and China puts development at risk

Great power attention in the Pacific could cause local needs like poverty reduction, education, health and other key areas to be neglected in favor of strategic projects.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel has asked Japan to name its representatives for a joint task force on disaster relief hub.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2024

U.S. urges Japan to name disaster relief hub task force members

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel asked Japan's foreign and defense ministers to provide the names of four officials at its "earliest convenience."
U.S. Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her husband, second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, wave from the stage on the fourth and last day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 24, 2024

Harris faces challenge of translating convention joy to fall momentum

Trump is no pushover, and history is littered with presidential candidates who roused their partisans at conventions only to fall short come November.
Lions players celebrate after a win over the Buffaloes on Wednesday at Belluna Dome in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Aug 25, 2024

A fight over free agency in NPB, with help from an American union

The union representing players in NPB is fighting to secure rights over players' images and give them the opportunity to make the jump to MLB sooner.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is scheduled to meet with senior U.S. official Jake Sullivan this week in the first visit by an American national security adviser to China since 2016.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 25, 2024

China says will voice 'serious concerns' on Taiwan and security in U.S. talks

This will be the first visit by a U.S. national security adviser to China since 2016, although other senior officials have visited over the past two years.
Suntory's canned cocktail Minus 196 Double Lemon on sale at a store in Sydney
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 27, 2024

Japan's Suntory bets on spirits expertise to boost U.S. canned cocktail market share

Suntory believes its annual RTD revenue could double from current levels to about $3 billion (¥434 billion) by 2030.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris addresses the United Nations' COP28 climate change conference in Dubai on Dec. 2. Harris and Donald Trump are poles apart when it comes to climate change.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 27, 2024

America’s coming climate election

Clearly, the positions of the two U.S. presidential candidates on the climate crisis could not be more different.
The Chinese government has dismissed U.S. accusations, saying the hacking attacks attributed to Volt Typhoon are the work of cyber criminals.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 28, 2024

Chinese hackers breach U.S. internet firms via startup

The revelation will add to concerns over the susceptibility of U.S. critical infrastructure to cyberattacks.
Political polarization in the U.S. is fueling domestic social divisions, eroding democratic norms and leading to a more self-centered U.S. foreign policy that threatens the global liberal order.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Aug 28, 2024

The transformation of American liberalism

Liberalism in the U.S. is the product of overextending the idea of individual autonomy, resulting in selfishness, and, at the same time, a return to traditional morality.
Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris waves during a campaign rally in Savannah, Georgia, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 30, 2024

In CNN interview excerpts, Harris defends ideological shift to center

In her interview, Kamala Harris sought to stake out political ground that would appeal to swing voters even as she assured progressive supporters she was still with them.
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he attends a town hall event in La Crosse, Wisconsin, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 30, 2024

Trump's high-wire act on abortion angers conservatives

The Republican nominee, who often brags about his role in overturning the constitutional right to abortion in the U.S., now claims to promote "reproductive rights."
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.
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump dances during a campaign rally at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena in Johnstown, Pennsylvania,  on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 31, 2024

Trump moves to contain fallout of abortion and IVF rows

The ex-president has been under fire from conservatives over an announcement that in a second term he would ensure free in vitro fertilization.
Masanori Murakami poses with a Willie Mays-themed clock during a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Monday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 3, 2024

The man who opened MLB's door to Japanese players

Masanori Murakami's time with the San Francisco Giants in the 1960s made him something of an accidental trailblazer.

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.