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U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick speaks in the Oval Office after President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with the U.K. on May 8. The agreement is far from a win for London, which has chosen deference over strength in dealing with Washington's bullishness.
COMMENTARY / World
May 16, 2025

Lessons from the U.S.-U.K. trade deal: Don’t appease a bully

The tariff agreement signed between London and Washington does little to boost the U.K. economy and, despite appearances, is a diplomatic defeat for Prime Minister Starmer.
A Mynavi survey has found that even dual-income households are facing financial strain in Japan.
JAPAN / Society
May 16, 2025

Finances are tight for dual-income households too, survey finds

Nearly half of full-time workers whose spouses also work say they are struggling financially.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks with members of the media as he arrives for the European Political Community summit in Tirana, Albania, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
May 18, 2025

U.K. and EU wrangle over students and travel ahead of reset summit

Hours before Prime Minister Keir Starmer was scheduled to host EU leaders on Monday, the U.K. and the EU had still not agreed on plans for a youth exchange program.
Unlike Silicon Valley, many Asian societies, due to their penchant for risk aversion, need more government support to boost early-stage deep-tech innovation.
COMMENTARY / World
May 18, 2025

Government capital is not just 'silly money'

Unlike Silicon Valley's predominantly private-sector-driven ecosystem, many Asian societies exhibit greater risk aversion, necessitating proactive government involvement.
Akemi Tao talks on behalf of late hibakusha Masahiro Kunishige during an event to pass down the memories of the atomic bombing experiences at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in February.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 20, 2025

'Memory keepers' pass on Hiroshima A-bomb survivors' stories

Becoming a memory keeper requires about two years of training. Applicants study the realities of the U.S. nuclear attack and practice public speaking skills.
The cast and crew of Indian drama film "All We Imagine As Light" pose with their award for best film at the 18th Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong on March 16.
CULTURE / Film
May 21, 2025

Women fight for the spotlight in India's macho movie industry

Women filmmakers in India are reshaping cinema with authentic, female-led stories, challenging outdated stereotypes and finding box office success.
An Upper House committee approves new rules drawn up in April following a revision of the law governing lawmaker allowances.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 22, 2025

Parliament moves to boost transparency in lawmaker allowances

Both chambers have adopted new rules mandating the disclosure of how the allowances are spent and requiring the return of unused funds to government coffers.
A student walks on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Friday.
WORLD / Society
May 24, 2025

Harvard wins temporary block of Trump’s foreign student ban

The attempted ban could make foreign students shy about coming to the U.S. at all, even if the government doesn’t take similar actions against any other universities.
Pacers forward Pascal Siakam drives to the hoop while being defended by Knicks forward Mikal Bridges during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals on Friday in New York.
BASKETBALL / NBA
May 24, 2025

Siakam shines as Pacers take 2-0 lead over Knicks

The series now moves to Indianapolis with the Pacers in control after Pascal Siakam led them with a playoff career-high 39 points.
Students on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Friday
WORLD / Politics
May 25, 2025

Trump's moves seen threatening key sources of U.S. 'soft power'

The U.S. president has attacked the media, cut foreign aid and canceled or seriously scaled back university research programs — raising fears of a brain drain in the country.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (second from left), the businessman Dang Thanh Tam, (third from left), and Eric and Lara Trump (center) attend a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Trump hotel and golf course in the Hung Yen Province of Vietnam on May 21.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 26, 2025

Why Vietnam ignored its own laws to fast-track a Trump family golf complex

Hanoi faces intense pressure to strike a trade deal that would head off Trump’s threat of steep tariffs, which would hit about 30% of Vietnam’s exports.
Yu-Hsuan Lin, 27, poses for a photo with a Harvard hat and hoodie in Taipei on May 24.
WORLD / Politics
May 26, 2025

Taiwan students heading to Harvard 'anxious' after U.S. enrolment block

Taiwan's education ministry said it expects 52 Taiwanese students to be affected by the U.S. government's move.
More Chinese families are clustering in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, a district renowned for having the finest educational environment in Japan.
JAPAN / Society
May 29, 2025

Chinese parents are fueling Tokyo’s education race

International schools in Tokyo are already witnessing an influx of children from the newly arrived, highly involved Chinese households.
A lab at Kyoto University Hospital. A team comprising members from Kyoto University and elsewhere has discovered a way to predict whether someone will develop esophageal cancer.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 29, 2025

Team develops esophageal cancer prediction method using the inside of the cheek

The team managed to make cancer probability predictions with an accuracy of over 70%.
As humidity rises in the rainy season, it’s a good idea to get some moisture absorbers and place them around the home.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 30, 2025

How to talk about change in Japanese — one forecast at a time

Use the changing seasons as a springboard to learn how Japanese expresses cause-and-effect shifts.
Harvard University students wearing graduation gowns walk through Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Thursday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 30, 2025

Judge blocks Trump ban on Harvard's international students

The ruling is a victory for the Ivy League school that is entangled in multiple battles with the administration.
Located in Nagano Prefecture, Samurai Gakuen tries to help young and old individuals who have withdrawn from society rediscover their places out in the world.
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 31, 2025

How ‘hikikomori’ shut-ins ‘start to have dreams for the future’

As many as 1.5 million “hikikomori” shut-ins withdraw from social life in Japan, but one school in Nagano is finding success is coaxing them back into the world.
The United Nations is preparing to cut about 6,900 jobs, according to an internal memo.
WORLD
May 30, 2025

U.N. eyes budget and job cuts for 2026 as U.S. scales back aid

The U.N. Secretariat is preparing to cut its $3.7 billion budget by 20% and slash about 6,900 jobs, according to an internal memo.
The Trump administration's escalating campaign against Harvard — cutting billions in funding, blocking foreign students, and threatening its independence — marks an unprecedented attack on U.S. higher education.
EDITORIALS
May 30, 2025

U.S. soft power is a casualty in Trump’s war on Harvard

The fight against Harvard will do extensive and potentially irreparable injury. It is an extraordinary act of self-harm.
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.
Wataru Hisasue (L) and Masaya Kamei (R)
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2025

Japanese pianists win 2nd and 5th prizes in Brussels contest

Of the 12 finalists in Belgium's Queen Elisabeth Competition, four were Japanese.
Japan has enforced tougher rules on companies to protect workers from heat after 30 workplace deaths and roughly 1,200 injuries were reported last year that were associated with high temperatures.
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2025

Protect workers from heat waves or face fines, Japan tells firms

The revised legislation is a rare global example of a national-level policy on heat safety for employees.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Singapore's Minister of Defense Chan Chun Sing and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas attend a ministerial lunch on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 2, 2025

Asia defense summit reveals gaps between U.S. and European perspectives

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made clear he wanted Europeans to concentrate on European security while the U.S. focuses on the Indo-Pacific.
Muslim worshipers gather to pray around the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine, at the Grand Mosque complex in the holy city of Mecca on Sunday ahead of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
WORLD
Jun 2, 2025

Saudi Arabia cracks down on unauthorized Hajj pilgrims, aiming to save lives

Last year, 1,301 pilgrims, most unregistered and lacking access to air-conditioned facilities, died as temperatures soared to 51.8 degrees Celsius.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba offers a flower during a ceremony to pay respects to unidentified war dead from World War II at the Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery in Tokyo on May 26.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 3, 2025

Ishiba faces political and diplomatic quandary ahead of WWII anniversary

There is fierce opposition among conservatives to any form of official reflection on the 80th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II.
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.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba  addresses a meeting held at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday to discuss enhancing Japan's international competitiveness in the field of intellectual property.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2025

Government adopts new intellectual property program to enhance competitiveness

The government aims to raise the country's ranking in the World Intellectual Property Organization's annual Global Innovation Index to fourth or higher by 2035.
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.
Intermediary support is crucial for drug availability in Japan, where more than 50 therapies have been identified as needed but unavailable to patients.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 5, 2025

Itochu working to support overseas pharma firms to fill Japan's drug gaps

Two units of the trading house will assist with everything from early-stage consulting, regulatory advice and clinical testing support to post-launch distribution.
A tax-free shop in Kyoto in April 2024. Last week, members of a Liberal Democratic Party study group drafted a proposal seeking to scrap the country's tax-free shopping system altogether.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 5, 2025

Japan eyes tougher rules for foreign residents and tax hike for tourists

Ideas range from stricter driver's license tests for foreign nationals to increasing taxes on foreign visitors.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight