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Grant Shapps, U.K. defense secretary, departs following a meeting of cabinet ministers at 10 Downing Street on Nov. 22, 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 8, 2024

China seen hacking systems to build profiles of U.K. defense personnel

The U.K. is accusing China of using hacked data to build up their profiles of British military personnel and those in sensitive roles.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Izumo helicopter carrier is docked in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in April.
JAPAN
May 10, 2024

Japan says viral video of MSDF ship likely real, not fabricated

The Defense Ministry said it has determined that the footage was not AI-generated because details matched that of the actual Izumo helicopter carrier.
Spectators gather on South Padre Island to watch the planned launch of SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft from the company's Boca Chica launchpad, near Brownsville, Texas, on March 14.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2024

Musk's SpaceX is quick to build in Texas, slow to pay its bills

Unpaid bills and finger-pointing among contractors have led many construction-industry businesses to file liens against SpaceX properties.
Samples of cannabis edibles are offered during The 1st Phuket Cannabis Cup in Phuket, Thailand, in March 2023. Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said marijuana should soon be classified as a narcotic again and its use limited to medical and health purposes.
COMMENTARY
May 17, 2024

Thailand’s cannabis U-turn is a cautionary tale

Banning the drug outright will no doubt cause a lot of pain to farmers, small business owners and consumers. A middle-ground approach to return to medical usage would be wise.
Though the West has supplied desperately needed weapons and ammunition, it has done little else to address Ukraine’s needs or establish shared goals.
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2024

The war in Ukraine needs a stronger unified Western strategy

Though the West has supplied desperately needed weapons and ammunition, it has done little else to address Ukraine’s needs.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump sits for his trial at the Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on Tuesday.
WORLD
May 22, 2024

How Trump's hush money trial verdict could affect the 2024 election

Jurors could deliver a verdict as soon as next week.
A passenger who was on board Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 arrives at Changi Airport in Singapore on Wednesday. The flight had experienced severe turbulence, resulting in the death of a British man and multiple injuries.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 24, 2024

Fliers concerned about safety after airline mishaps

But despite this year's spate of high-profile airline accidents, statistics show that flying is still safer than the drive to the airport.
A member of a Ukrainian artillery crew stores munitions at a firing position near the town of Vovchansk, in the northern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, on May 19. Two classified Ukrainian reports show that some U.S. precision-guided weapons are vulnerable to electronic warfare, an element in Ukraine's recent battlefield setbacks.
WORLD
May 26, 2024

Some U.S. weapons stymied by Russian jamming in Ukraine

Two classified Ukrainian reports show that some U.S. precision-guided weapons are vulnerable to electronic warfare, an element in Ukraine’s recent battlefield setbacks.
Self-Defense Forces soldiers walk past a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile unit at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo in October 2017.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
May 26, 2024

Evolving drone and missile threats prompting Tokyo to rethink air defense

The low cost of mass-producing tools for modern warfare is pushing the Defense Ministry to find ways to upgrade detection, tracking and interception capabilities.
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures as he arrives back at Trump Tower after being convicted in his criminal trial, in New York City on Thursday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 31, 2024

Trump found guilty on all counts in hush money case

Prosecutors said Trump led a broader scheme to influence the election by concealing stories of his alleged sexual encounters with women.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks at Trump Tower in New York on Friday. Some Republican strategists say they believe the news of Trump's conviction will have little influence on voters' thinking by Nov. 5.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 1, 2024

Some Republicans less likely to vote for Trump after guilty verdict, poll finds

The election is still more than five months away, however, meaning much could change between now and Nov. 5.
Chinese President Xi Jinping walks past members of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Sept. 30, 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 6, 2024

U.S., 'Five Eyes' allies warn China courting Western military trainers

Offers sent to military personnel often entail promises of lucrative salaries or excessive flattery, the "Five Eyes" agencies said.
A man offers a prayer in Nakano, Nagano Prefecture, on May 25 near the site where four people were fatally stabbed or shot a year before.
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2024

Japan enacts bill to ban encouragement of illegal gun ownership

Such acts will be punishable by a prison sentence of up to one year or a maximum fine of ¥300,000.
Tourists rest in the shade at the Tsukiji outer market in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2024

Japan marks first 'extremely hot day' of 2024

The temperature hit 35 degrees Celsius in Fukushima Prefecture and rose above 30 C in parts of Tokyo, the Meteorological Agency said.
The Sde Teiman base, which has become synonymous with the detention of Gazans, in the Negev desert of Israel.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jun 14, 2024

Inside the base where Israel has detained thousands of Palestinians

Since the start of the Gaza war, the Sde Teiman military base has housed detainees who are blindfolded, handcuffed and held without charge or legal representation.
The city of Fukuoka. The government plans to draw up guidelines for supporting midsize companies, many of which have headquarters outside big cities and are expected to play key roles in boosting regional economies.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 17, 2024

Japan to compile guidelines on supporting midsize firms

The guidelines will specify how support should be provided to such companies based on their management conditions.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meet at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2024

Kishida and Luxon affirm information security pact

Kishida and Luxon also agreed to discuss a pact for Japan and New Zealand to exchange military supplies, enhancing defense cooperation between the two countries.
During the attacks, private data on JAXA employees as well as information on external parties might have leaked, it has been reported.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2024

Japan’s space agency hit by repeated cyberattacks since last year

JAXA has begun a probe to determine the scope of the damage caused and taken measures to shut down the networks that may have been involved.
A sling pistol confiscated by Osaka police
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 24, 2024

Japanese police and experts seek regulations for sling pistols

Sling pistols are classified as harmful toys under Osaka Prefecture's juvenile protection ordinance, however they are available to purchase freely online.
U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at a campaign event in North Carolina on Friday, the day following the president's disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump. Biden has brushed aside calls from some Democrats to step aside.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 1, 2024

Replacing Joe Biden is a fantasy Democrats must abandon

Those Democrats calling for a change in candidate need to keep calm and let Biden carry on. He may have had a bad performance, but he's still the man who beat Trump.
Pedestrians shelter themselves from the sun using parasols as they cross a street in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo on Thursday. The temperature in Tokyo hit 35 degrees Celsius just after noon on Thursday, the first time so far this year.
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2024

Mercury hits 39.3 degrees Celsius in Shizuoka

Many cities experienced 35 degree weather, resulting in heatstroke alerts being issued for several regions across Japan.
Ryo Sakai, the chief of staff of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, is expected to quit his post following reports that several MSDF vessels allowed unvetted personnel to handle top secret information related to national security.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2024

MSDF chief may quit over widespread mishandling of secret info

The latest revelation comes just months after the ministry punished five SDF members over leaks of secret information to unvetted personnel.
The Government Pension Investment Fund's holdings of government bonds increased 25% to ¥50.3 trillion in fiscal year ended in March.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 11, 2024

Japan’s public pension fund steps up as BOJ mulls bond cuts

The BOJ is expected to release a plan to substantially reduce its debt buying at the next policy decision later this month.
Members of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces take part in a military review at Camp Asaka in October 2018. The nation’s public is currently favorable to the SDF, but if scandals aren’t handled correctly, that opinion may change. 
EDITORIALS
Jul 12, 2024

A multitude of scandals threaten Japan’s national defense

Individually, recent scandals are troubling. Together they are reflective of a problematic culture within the defense forces and bureaucracy.
Recent events in U.S. politics, including an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, a favorable court ruling and his nomination at the Republican National Convention, have strengthened the perception he may be “untouchable,” yet nothing is set in stone.
EDITORIALS
Jul 19, 2024

Trump’s wild week and a changing U.S. presidential race

Recent events have reinforced the idea of the “Teflon Don,” an extraordinarily lucky man for whom the laws of politics do not apply.
Homes are surrounded by flood waters after Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Sargent, Texas, on July 8.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 22, 2024

The great climate change wealth transfer is here

Fossil fuel profits are sky-high, as are the costs of climate change. By subsidizing oil and gas while putting tariffs on green tech, governments are making things worst.
Team France celebrates after winning gold in the judo mixed team event at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo in July 2021.
OLYMPICS
Jul 25, 2024

Is it too early to celebrate gender equality at the Olympics?

In both Japan and abroad, women are far from achieving equality in the ranks of coaching and at the administrative level.
Internationally isolated North Korea has a long history of using covert hacking teams to steal sensitive military information.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 26, 2024

North Korea is trying to steal military secrets, U.S. and allies say

North Korea has a long history of using covert hacking teams to steal sensitive military information.
Takeshita street in Tokyo's Harajuku shopping district on Wednesday, when temperatures reached 35.6 degrees Celsius.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 1, 2024

New 'most severe' category added to Japan’s heatstroke guidelines

The move is meant to stress the need for urgent medical attention in severe cases as the number of heatstroke cases soars amid record-high temperatures.
People cross a street in Tokyo's Harajuku district on Wednesday. In July, the deviation from the average temperature between 1991 and 2020 — a period when warming was already well underway — was 2.16 degrees Celsius.
JAPAN / Boiling Point
Aug 1, 2024

Japan experienced its hottest July on record

The number of “extremely hot days” — those where the highest temperature hits 35 C and above — was the largest figure for a July.

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