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Beards, once symbols of rebellion and counterculture, are making a comeback among elites, reflecting shifting cultural norms even as biases persist in professional settings.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 7, 2025

What does your beard say about you?

During the 19th century, the European monarchies associated beards with dangerous radicals. So did the dangerous radicals.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a news conference in Tokyo on April 1. The approval rating for Ishiba's Cabinet fell to 30.6% over the weekend, according to a JNN poll.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 7, 2025

Ishiba under pressure to take stronger stance against U.S. on tariffs

Some opposition leaders are urging the prime minister to rally his party around a strategy before speaking with the U.S. president, but others are eyeing his removal.
Masters champion Scottie Scheffler hits off the first tee as he starts a practice round at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Apr 8, 2025

Scheffler eyes Masters repeat; McIlroy primed for career Grand Slam

A win for Scheffler would make him only the fourth golfer to retain a Masters title and first since Woods in 2001-02.
Traders work on the floor of the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) area of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Friday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 9, 2025

Market calm is shattered as abrupt selloffs roil Wall Street

As recession fears build, markets have continued to flash warning signs.
One of two Chinese soldiers Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said were captured by Ukrainian forces in the country's Donetsk region is seen in this image released Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 9, 2025

In a first, Ukraine captures two Chinese nationals fighting for Russia

The Chinese men were taken captive during fighting on Ukrainian territory in the Donetsk region.
A National Rally demonstration in Paris on Sunday following party head Marine Le Pen's conviction for embezzlement. The far-right leader and her supporters have decried the ruling as political.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 9, 2025

Le Pen ruling unleashes wave of hypocrisy on populist right

Across the globe, far-right populists have gained popularity as protectors of law and order, but Le Pen's conviction in France reveals the shaky foundations of this commitment.
A man on a platform applies a fresh coat of paint to the landmark anti-U.S. mural drawn on the wall of a building in Tehran on Tuesday, the same day that Iran said will send its top diplomat to Oman for breakthrough talks with the United States.
WORLD
Apr 9, 2025

Iran says it will start nuclear talks with U.S. this weekend

The announcement comes even as debate continued over how the session will unfold.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda said Wednesday the central bank's stance is to conduct policy appropriately by carefully assessing the remaining uncertainties surrounding tariffs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 9, 2025

BOJ's Ueda conveys wait-and-see stance on U.S. tariffs

He suggests the central bank will see how the tariff measures evolve before assessing the potential impact, and any required response.
The White House says U.S. President Donald Trump "has a spine of steel and will not break.”
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 10, 2025

Trump shock pushes U.S. and China toward decoupling cliff edge

Trump's 120% tariffs on Chinese goods and Beijing’s determination to fight back in kind mean a seismic cleavage is rapidly becoming a reality.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a campaign rally in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 10, 2025

Canada’s Mark Carney treads a fine line on climate in a tight election

In a nation whose energy sector is still dominated by oil and gas, the question is how much the new prime minister may need to play down his green resume in order to win.
The Virginia-class fast attack submarine USS Minnesota off the coast of Western Australia in March
WORLD / Politics
Apr 10, 2025

AUKUS nuclear submarine sale under scrutiny as U.S. tariffs shake Australia

Disappointment that defense ties didn't win Australia exemptions from the U.S. tariffs has put the program under unprecedented public scrutiny.
Japan needs a strong leader as it faces huge challenges. With Upper House and Tokyo gubernatorial elections coming up, the LDP needs to lay the groundwork for replacing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, whose polls have entered the danger zone.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 9, 2025

The window to replace Japan's accidental prime minister is nigh

Shigeru Ishiba isn't the right leader to weather Japan through the incoming storm. With Upper House elections this summer, it's time the LDP starts fielding his replacement.
One thing is clear: The era of global interdependence, built on efficiency and mutually beneficial arrangements before U.S. President Donald Trump returned to power, has come to an end.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 10, 2025

Navigating the Trump storm

Trump's second term aims to reshape the global trade system, challenging the current world order with rising tariffs and economic uncertainty.
Trading indexes at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. Bets worth millions of dollars placed on a rebound by unidentified options traders shortly before U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff pause are drawing scrutiny.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 11, 2025

Well-timed option trades ahead of Trump's tariff pause draw questions

Some unidentified options traders placed bets worth millions of dollars on a rebound minutes before the U.S. president's social media post sent the stock market rallying.
Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson arrives at Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain, on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 11, 2025

Liam Lawson reflects on 'crazy' start to season after being dropped by Red Bull

Lawson feels the hectic schedule has helped him avoid dwelling too much on what has been a tough start to 2025.
Having had two meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is slowly building a personal relationship with him, which matters greatly to the U.S. president and in resolving bilateral issues.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 11, 2025

Can anyone deal with Trump better than Ishiba?

Trump’s shift on Japan tariffs offers relief, but Ishiba’s grip remains shaky amid internal discontent and challenging U.S. demands.
In the dystopian society of Sayaka Murata's latest book to come out in English, sex between married couples is considered incest and therefore taboo.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 14, 2025

'Vanishing World': Sayaka Murata’s vision of a sex-hating society

In Sayaka Murata’s latest book to come out in English, sex between married couples is considered taboo, and humans reproduce predominantly via IVF.  
On the eve of nuclear talks with the United States, Iranians wave the flags of Palestine and Hezbollah as they march in Tehran to denounce the U.S. and Israel on Friday. Iran and the U.S. were set to hold the first round of talks in Oman on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 12, 2025

Years of distrust hang over U.S. and Iran as negotiators head to Oman

The high-level talks on Tehran's advancing nuclear program are seen as a sign of its eagerness for sanctions relief and to avoid a crippling military attack.
Muslim protestors pray outside the main campus of Columbia University during a demonstration to denounce the immigration arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist who helped lead protests against Israel at the university, in New York on March 14.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 12, 2025

U.S. judge rules Palestinian Columbia student can be deported

The judge's decision came after a combative 90-minute hearing held in a court located inside a jail complex for immigrants.
A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during afternoon trading on Wednesday in New York.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Apr 12, 2025

Asset flight challenges U.S. safe haven status

The U.S. has long been considered a financial safe haven —but Trump's trade war is starting to raise questions about if that's still true.
The opening ceremony for the Osaka Expo on Saturday.
JAPAN
Apr 12, 2025

Ishiba warns of divided world at futuristic Osaka Expo opening ceremony

"Having overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, the world now faces the crisis over many different divisions," Ishiba told the opening ceremony.
Customers line up patiently for some early-afternoon baked goods outside Truffle, which is located close to Hiroo Station on the Hibiya Line.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Apr 13, 2025

How to spend the perfect day in Hiroo, Tokyo’s expat enclave

A stroll through Hiroo reveals both the comforts of expat luxury and the quiet intrusions of a changing Tokyo.
Jared Isaacman (left), U.S. President Trump’s nominee to head NASA, testifies during his Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

Bloomberg
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 13, 2025

NASA nominee should resist Musk’s pull toward Mars

During a Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Jared Isaacman, the nominee for NASA administrator, was — in a twist on the Will Smith ’90s tune — gettin’ squishy wit it.
McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri (left) and Lando Norris (right) celebrate with team principal Andrea Stella after the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sakhir, Bahrain, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 14, 2025

Oscar Piastri's victory in Bahrain GP puts McLaren in F1 driver's seat

McLaren faces a welcome but nonetheless potentially complex question of how to deal with two talented teammates battling for the same prize.
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura speaks during the opening ceremony of the 2025 Osaka Expo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 14, 2025

As Osaka Expo kicks off, Nippon Ishin continues to hold its breath

The Kansai-centered opposition party has a lot to lose if the six-month event being held in its stronghold turns out to be a flop.
U.S. President Donald Trump, right, and Nayib Bukele, El Salvador's president, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday
WORLD / Politics
Apr 15, 2025

El Salvador's Bukele won't return man the U.S. mistakenly deported

The Trump administration has deported hundreds of people to El Salvador, which is receiving $6 million to house the migrants in a high-security mega-prison.
The Bank of Japan will likely postpone raising interest rates due to uncertainties stemming from U.S. tariff measures that could deal a blow to Japan’s economy, a former executive director said.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 15, 2025

BOJ will likely put rate hike aside for now, ex-official says

"They will be in a wait-and-see mode for a while,” said Kenzo Yamamoto, a former executive at the Bank of Japan.
Sachiko Ishizuka, who was born via artificial insemination by donor (AID), tells her story to lawmakers from the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan on April 9.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Apr 15, 2025

Privacy and transparency clash in debate over bill on artificial insemination

At stake is the thorny question of when children conceived through artificial insemination by donor can access information on their biological parents, and to what extent.
A Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) logo is displayed on a wall in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on Tuesday. A recent rout saw TSMC’s forward price-to-earnings ratio hit a two-year low at one point.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 16, 2025

TSMC and ASML outlooks to reveal depth of tariff pain and AI angst

Both have borne the brunt of a broader market selloff, weighed down by both U.S. tariff threats and doubts over future AI demand.
The start of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah on March 9 last year.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 16, 2025

Team ownership could be next F1 step for Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia first hosted Formula One in 2021, while energy giant Aramco is a global partner of the sport and also the title sponsor of the Aston Martin team.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan