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Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at an Upper House session in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 9, 2025

No-confidence motion against Ishiba Cabinet could lead to double election

A double election could result in more political stability if either bloc manages to capture both chambers, or continued instability if neither holds a majority.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a bill signing ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 13, 2025

Trump's 'peacemaker' pledge takes big hit as Israel strikes Iran

U.S. ally Israel struck dozens of Iranian targets in a dramatic attack that analysts say threatens to spiral into an all-out regional war.
Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda’s reelection garnered almost 97% of voted shares during the carmaker’s annual meeting, the company said in a statement Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 13, 2025

Toyota chair reclaims support after scandals that hurt last vote

The rebound in Toyoda’s popularity suggest tacit shareholder approval of how he handled the certification issues.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on April 7. Netanyahu is playing a risky game by launching a war against Iran that may not stop its nuclear program and could trigger a wider conflict beyond Israel’s control.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 15, 2025

Netanyahu’s big gamble risks a quicker Iranian bomb

Whether the air strikes can indeed succeed is a very big "if.” It’s more likely that Israel can do no more than delay Iran’s nuclear program.
Israeli air defense systems intercept Iranian missiles over the Israeli city of Tel Aviv early on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 19, 2025

Trump wraps situation room meeting as Iran plan remains mystery

The White House offered few clues about whether Trump had decided to join Israel's offensive aimed at destroying Tehran’s nuclear program.
Though Kyotoites play down their reputation for not meaning what they say, there are certain phrases you should look out for if you’re invited to a home.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 20, 2025

How to get kicked out of a Kyoto home with a smile

In Kyoto, a polite offer of tea might really mean “please leave.” Learn how to decode Kansai’s indirect dialect through a few phrases.
A person who contracted HIV after losing access to Pre-exposure Prophylaxis, works out at a gym in Awka, Nigeria, on June 1.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 22, 2025

Trump aid cuts deal a blow to HIV prevention in Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa remains the epicenter of the AIDS pandemic.
Smoke rises from an Israeli attack on an oil refinery in Tehran on June 15.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 22, 2025

Trump’s airstrikes on Iran leave oil market poised for surge

A recent rise in the price of oil is expected to restart on Monday after the U.S. assault dramatically raised the stakes in a region that accounts for a third of global oil output.
Arisa Trew understands both sides of the debate around the introduction of a minimum age limit for World Skateboarding Tour events.
MORE SPORTS
Jun 23, 2025

World Skate puts brakes on skateboarding's preteen movement with new age limits

The minimum age of 11 this year will be raised one year each in 2026, 2027 and 2028 so that when the LA Olympics roll around in 2028, the minimum age will be 14.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that terror victims can sue the Palestinian Authority and PLO in American courts, a decision likely to impact future cases and the law.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 27, 2025

Foreign terror has a price in U.S. courts

The lower courts dismissed the cases on the ground that they lacked jurisdiction over the defendants. The U.S. Supreme Court disagreed.
IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi attends a news conference in Vienna on Wednesday.
WORLD
Jun 29, 2025

Iran could again enrich uranium 'in matter of months,' IAEA chief says

One key question is whether Iran was able to relocate some or all of its estimated 408.6-kilogram (900-pound) stockpile of highly enriched uranium before the attacks.
U.S. President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte attend the opening of the NATO leaders summit in The Hague on June 25.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 29, 2025

NATO’s Donald Trump dilemma

NATO's fate — and the future of global stability — will hinge on whether European leaders push back.
A Self-Defense Forces tank unit takes part in parade at Camp Asaka, near Tokyo, in October 2018. The percentage of GDP spent on defense is a politically convenient but flawed metric that oversimplifies the complex realities of alliance management.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 2, 2025

In the Trump era, how much should countries really be spending on defense?

In truth, the “percentage of GDP” approach is a political one, not a practical one
The remains of an Iranian missile launched during the 12-day Israel-Iran war lie on a road near Tekoa in the occupied West Bank on Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 2, 2025

Nuclear proliferation cannot just be bombed away

The most powerful deterrent for any state is possession of nuclear weapons or membership in an alliance that offers a nuclear umbrella (like NATO).
U.S. F-35 stealth fighters fly side by side with South Korean F-35s as part of a bilateral exercise over the Yellow Sea in July 2022. The U.S. Air Force is grappling with whether to prioritize air superiority or air denial in response to lessons from Ukraine and the growing threat from China.  
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jul 9, 2025

Air superiority vs. air denial: Redefining U.S. airpower strategy

The strategic debate is centering on whether to prioritize offensive or defensive airpower. The decision will determine how U.S. air resources are allocated.
A Ground Self-Defense Force member conducts a military drill with an anti-ship missiles unit, at the GSDF's base on Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture in April 2022.
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2025

U.S. urges clarity on Japan’s role in potential war over Taiwan, report says

The move reportedly caught Japanese officials off-guard, since the U.S. itself maintains a policy of “strategic ambiguity” on whether or not it would defend Taiwan.
Jerome Powell, the embattled chairman of the Board of Governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve, appears before a House committee in Washington on June 24.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 16, 2025

Wary that Fed chief may be ousted, investors protect portfolios from inflation risk

A Fed chief warmer to cutting rates could have a mixed effect on equities but could weaken the U.S. dollar, increase volatility in the Treasurys market and raise longer-term rates.
Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito takes part in a debate with the heads of other political parties at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on July 2.
COMMENTARY / Japan / From Party Leaders
Jul 17, 2025

Komeito hears those hit hardest by rising prices

“To stand forever with common citizens.” Our party has faithfully abided by that founding principle for over six decades
You don't need an oven to make Kenji Morimoto's easy and delicious Miso Sticky Toffee Crepe Cake.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 20, 2025

In microbes we trust: Embracing the nature of fermented food

With simple, fuss-free recipes, Kenji Morimoto's debut cookbook effortlessly guides home cooks into the unpredictable but rewarding world of fermentation.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who serves concurrently as president of the Liberal Democratic Party, leaves at the party's headquarters following announcement of Upper House election result projections in Tokyo early Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 21, 2025

Japan ruling bloc loses majority in Upper House after election drubbing

The ruling LDP-Komeito coalition's devastating loss in Sunday’s poll could lead to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s resignation or political gridlock in parliament.
Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP), speaks to the media in Tokyo on Sunday hours after voting closed for the Upper House election.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 21, 2025

CDP shows ‘modest’ outcome as Noda struggles to unite the opposition camp

There is speculation the opposition party might form a coalition with the Liberal Democratic Party and its partner Komeito to form a stable, centrist-oriented government.
Ichiyamamoto (left) defeats Gonoyama to secure a winning record at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament, at IG Arena on Monday.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jul 23, 2025

Disappointing start to Nagoya tournament turns into fascinating final stretch

Sumo’s schedule makers will almost certainly ensure that if Ichiyamamoto is going to taste glory for the first time, he’ll have to do it the hard way.
The Liberal Democratic Party’s historic Upper House defeat leaves the party fragmented and searching for a capable leader who can reunite conservatives, modernize its appeal, deliver real policies and rebuild its internal power structure.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 25, 2025

Who will save the Liberal Democratic Party?

The LDP is now faced with two fundamental questions: what tasks must it accomplish to restore its political dominance and who is actually capable of accomplishing them?
Senate Republicans must undo their reckless confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary, whose anti-vaccine crusade is fueling a deadly measles outbreak and putting more Americans at risk.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 25, 2025

RFK Jr. is making America sick again. Republicans need a cure.

Kennedy, who has no training in medicine or health, has long been the nation’s foremost peddler of junk science and the crackpot conspiracy theories that flow from it.
Audrey Strauss, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, speaks during an news conference announcing charges against Ghislaine Maxwell for her role in the sexual exploitation and abuse of minor girls by Jeffrey Epstein.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jul 25, 2025

Amid Epstein furor, Ghislaine Maxwell seeks relief from U.S. Supreme Court

The justices, now on their summer recess, are expected in late September to consider whether to take up an appeal by the jailed British socialite.
The Bishu Maru LNG tanker, owned by Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, next to the Freeport LNG terminal in Texas
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Aug 3, 2025

How Trump is gaslighting on climate change — with Japan’s help

As the U.S. president ramps up high-polluting LNG projects, Japan is among the nations he's pressuring for investments. The economic case for the push, however, is far from clear.
A person visits the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 26.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 4, 2025

AI search pushing an already weakened media ecosystem to the brink

A recent study has revealed that AI-generated summaries now appearing in Google searches discourage users from clicking through to source articles.
It may look like U.S. President Donald Trump is winning his trade war, but analysts say significant hurdles remain.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Aug 8, 2025

Trump may look like he's winning the trade war, but hurdles remain

Some recent data indicate the tariffs are already affecting jobs, growth and inflation in the U.S.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to U.S. troops based in Osan Air Base in South Korea in June 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 10, 2025

Defense to take top billing at U.S.-South Korea summit as Trump eyes alliance reset

With China looming large, security ties will take center stage at the first summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean leader Lee Jae Myung.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg makes a keynote speech at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, in September last year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 15, 2025

Meta AI rules let bots hold ‘sensual’ chats with kids and offer false info

Meta's standards don’t necessarily reflect "ideal or even preferable” generative AI outputs, an internal document states. But they have permitted provocative behavior by the bots.

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