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Nippon Steel’s pursuit of U.S. Steel may succeed thanks to a U.S. veto-wielding golden share, but the high costs, political concessions and strategic risks suggest the deal could end up being a costly misstep.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 30, 2025

Stop the steel! Japan’s giving too much away in this deal.

Nippon Steel risks handcuffing itself giving Trump a golden share.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, is in Washington again for a fourth round of high-level negotiations with the United States.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 30, 2025

Tariff talks with U.S. a mix of slow progress, ever-present uncertainty 

Japan's chief negotiator is back in Washington for another round of high-level negotiations.
French President Emmanuel Macron gives the keynote address of the Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 30, 2025

Macron calls for Europe and Asia to unite and resist ‘spheres of coercion’

The French president used a keynote speech at Asia’s top regional security conference to call on European and Indo-Pacific nations to avoid picking sides between China and the U.S.
Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich speaks at a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington on March 17. Grynkewich is expected to be the U.S. nominee for the positions of both Supreme Allied Commander Europe and U.S. European Command.
WORLD
Jun 1, 2025

America's next top general in Europe will also lead NATO forces

Since taking office in January, Trump's administration has pressured Europe to ramp up its own defense spending.
Otakukon, an anime, manga and cosplay meet in Harare, Zimbabwe, last August. Japan should take advantage of decades worth of hugely popular cultural content by taking the big swings in bringing its own stories to global audiences.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 1, 2025

Japan can ride the anime wave to become the new soft superpower

It's time for Japan to better leverage anime's global popularity, reaching international audiences via streaming platforms while opening the door to other cultural exports.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito speaks to the press following the opening of the prefectural assembly's June regular session on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 3, 2025

Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito to take 50% pay cut over info leak

The leak concerned the personal information of a former prefectural government employee who distributed a document alleging harassment by the governor.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer passes a Royal Navy nuclear-powered submarine at a shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, England, on March 20.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 3, 2025

Welfare demands put pressure on Starmer's commitment to defense overhaul

Labour lawmakers want to prioritize domestic issues blowing back on the left-leaning party at the ballot box, such as controversial benefit cuts.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani meets with his U.S. counterpart, Pete Hegseth, at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 3, 2025

Why Japan isn’t panicking about Trump’s foreign policy

Hegseth’s SLD speech is the first extended statement about U.S. policy and it checked all the boxes.
Despite doubts and talk of alternatives in Asia and beyond, the dollar remains dominant because there are no viable rivals and it continues to serve as the world’s key safe asset.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2025

The problem with Asia's ‘sell America’ moment

The region’s currencies are enjoying a healthy rally. History warns against anti-dollar triumphalism.
Business and household sentiments "have deteriorated recently," Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda said Tuesday at an event in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 4, 2025

Uncertainties over Trump tariffs extremely strong, BOJ chief says

The Bank of Japan will continue to raise interest rates if the Japanese economy and prices move in line with the central bank's outlook, Gov. Kazuo Ueda added.
Arrows lead to the tax-free counter at a branch of discount retailer Don Quijote in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 4, 2025

Is Japan ready to say goodbye to tax-free shopping?

Amid widespread abuse of Japan’s tax-free shopping system, a group of Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers are mulling over its possible abolition.
Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (center) during the NFC wild card game against the Los Angeles Rams at State Farm Stadium on Jan 13, 2025.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Jun 4, 2025

Seahawks coach slams door on Sam Darnold QB2 talk

"I respect that you've got to ask it, but it's just a crazy question," said Mike Macdonald. "It's just not going to happen. Sam's our starting quarterback."
An Iranian newspaper's cover shows a photo of U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in Tehran on May 11. The U.S. has started new talks with Iran with the aim of imposing fresh nuclear restrictions on Tehran.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 4, 2025

Any U.S. deal with Iran must tackle nuclear watchdog's blind spots

The International Atomic Energy Agency has lost track of elements of Iran's nuclear activities since U.S. President Donald Trump ditched a 2015 deal with Tehran.
The year so far is only proving that Mrs. Green Apple is the biggest band in Japan. Their success also seems to be hinting at a change in the musical landscape more broadly.
CULTURE / Music
Jun 5, 2025

Six months into 2025, J-pop is having a full-on identity crisis (and a great time)

Halfway through 2025, J-pop is in flux — swinging between AI absurdity, idol nostalgia and viral sugar highs.
The scene where a crumbling glacier partially collapsed and tumbled, at the village of Blatten, Switzerland, on Monday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 4, 2025

Swiss glacier collapse is a lesson on climate disaster management

The collapse of the glacier in the Swiss Alps was an expected disaster. When the first signs of instability started to appear, the town was evacuated.
Travel advisories, declining visitor numbers from key countries and stricter border enforcement by the Trump administration have cast doubt on tourism gains for Los Angeles, which is hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup and also the 2028 Olympics.
COMMENTARY / World
May 28, 2025

Is LA throwing a world cup party no one will attend?

At a time when the U.S. should be preparing to roll out the welcome mat to the world, President Trump’s erratic immigration policies and rhetoric are scaring tourists away.
French President Emmanuel Macron gives the keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 4, 2025

The 'Macron Doctrine' goes to Asia: Autonomy with partners, steady on China

Macron affirmed that "France is a friend and ally of the United States, and a friend that cooperates — even if we sometimes disagree and compete — with China”.
Toyota Industries' Nagakusa plant in Obu, Aichi Prefecture. Toyota group's tender offer to privatize Toyota Industries represents an 11.4% discount to its closing price before the plan was announced.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 5, 2025

Toyota Industries buyout hinges on squeezing minority investors

In order for the buyout to work, the ¥16,300 per share tender offer will need to attract enough minority shareholders to cross a 42% threshold.
Joseph Nye (left) joins then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as he speaks at Harvard’s Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in April 2015. The deaths of Nye and Richard Armitage, two giants in Japan-U.S. relations, will surely leave a lasting impact on the alliance they helped shape.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 5, 2025

A new generation of 'Japan hands' and a changing world

For decades, Joseph Nye and Richard Armitage helped shape a vision of U.S.-Japan ties grounded in shared values, strategic trust and mutual respect.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivers a speech during the Meta Connect event at in Menlo Park, California, in September 2023. The partnership between Zuckerberg's Meta and defense firm Anduril to build battlefield XR gear underscores how working with the military, once taboo in Silicon Valley, is now actively embraced.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 5, 2025

Mark Zuckerberg finally found a use for his Metaverse — war

Anduril and Meta are partnering to design, build and field a range of integrated XR products that provide warfighters with enhanced perception on the battlefield.
A Mercedes-Benz production line in Rastatt, Germany, earlier this month. European auto suppliers alone have filed hundreds of requests to China for rare earths since early April, with only about a quarter granted.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 6, 2025

The world's auto supply chain is in the hands of a few Chinese bureaucrats

China holds a near-monopoly on rare earth magnets — a crucial component in EV motors — and it added them to an export control list in April.
U.S. President Donald Trump (R) meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka in 2019.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 8, 2025

Trump’s China gambit belies rocky road ahead on tariff deals

The U.S. president has scheduled a call with Xi Jinping, paving the way for a new round of talks on Monday in London.
New Zealand Defense Minister Judith Collins speaks during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on May 31.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 9, 2025

New Zealand looking at new ways to grow security ties with Japan, defense chief says

The move is part of a reset in New Zealand’s foreign and defense policy as Wellington grows concerned over international security tensions.
For Isamu Tatsuno, the founder and CEO of outdoor gear maker Montbell, his youth was all about reaching the pinnacle. Today, he’s far more interested in enjoying the journey.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 9, 2025

Montbell founder went from a feeble boy to a renowned mountaineer

Drawing on his experience as a climber, Isamu Tatsuno planned ahead for the survival of his outdoor gear and clothing company. It paid off.
A woman walks past campaign posters calling to vote in a referendum in downtown Rome on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 9, 2025

Italy holds referendum on citizenship and workers' rights

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her coalition partners encouraged voters to boycott the referendum.
Ohkawara Kakohki President Masaaki Okawara (right) and the eldest son of late Shizuo Aishima, a former adviser to Ohkawara Kakohki, in Tokyo on Monday
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 9, 2025

Ohkawara president asks Tokyo police not to appeal damages suit ruling

Masaaki Okawara was arrested in 2020 for allegedly exporting a spray dryer that could be repurposed for weapons production, but indictments were withdrawn the following year.
Amid growing global tensions and military rearmament, allies in Europe and Asia increasingly fear that under Donald Trump, the U.S. has become an unreliable partner — undermining trust, unity and the foundation of the postwar international order.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 9, 2025

Whose side is the U.S. on? Doubts strain alliances

The U.S. once anchored a stable world order. Now, with rising threats from China and Russia, allies scramble to adapt as Washington sends mixed signals on defense and trade.
The messy, transactional fallout between Donald Trump and Elon Musk has exposed a toxic alliance built on money, power and chaos — one that now threatens both men’s influence and the stability of U.S. governance.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 9, 2025

The MAGA odd couple turns combustible

The world’s most powerful man and the world’s richest man have fallen out. No matter who wins, America loses.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes warms up before Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans last February. Flag football is set to debut at the 2028 Olympics — but if the NFL wants the sport to thrive globally, it should resist overshadowing it with high-profile pro players.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 8, 2025

NFL stars don’t belong on the Olympics' flag football field

If the NFL is really serious about growing football’s global footprint, it and its players should sit the Olympics out.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stands alongside Chief of the Defense Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan and Minister of National Defense David McGuinty as he makes a speech about defense and security at Fort York Armory in Toronto on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 10, 2025

Canada vows to meet NATO defense budget target early

New Canadian leader Mark Carney said he will boost funding for the armed forces and hit NATO's 2% military spending target this fiscal year, five years earlier than promised.

Longform

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