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Masatoshi Asari is one of Japan’s foremost living authorities on cherry trees and their blossoms.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2025

The man who sent Japan's cherry blossoms out to the world

Masatoshi Asari's trees — symbols of peace and reconciliation — blossom in the U.K., U.S., Poland and China.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of South Korea's Democratic Party, during a meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul on Monday. Lee is the top candidate for the next presidential election, with support of 34% respondents in a Gallup poll released April. 4.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 9, 2025

South Korea opposition leader Lee steps down amid expectations of presidential run

The country holds a presidential election on June 3 after former president Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he attends the National Republican Congressional Committee dinner in Washington on Tuesday. Trump allowed new tariffs — including a 24% levy on Japan — to go into effect as scheduled on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 9, 2025

Trump's tariff gambit leaves Asia stunned and scrambling

Tariffs take time to actually affect prices and trade flows, but financial markets are already responding to the possibility of severe economic dislocation.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte speaks during a forum at Keio University in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 9, 2025

NATO chief calls on allies and partners to ‘outproduce and outpace’ rivals

In Tokyo on Wednesday, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte called on members of the alliance and its four Indo-Pacific partners to work more closely together.
Yumi Watanabe (right), head of the residents' association of the Tsubamesawa public housing complex in Sendai, delivers a meal to a resident.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Apr 21, 2025

Disaster public housing complexes in Sendai work to boost interactions

Residents are working with volunteers to organize a children’s cafeteria and other events.
Chiharu Shida of Japan in action during the bronze medal match with Nami Matsuyama against Pearly Tan and Muralitharan Thinaah of Malaysia at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France on Aug. 03, 2024
MORE SPORTS / Badminton
Apr 9, 2025

Japanese badminton ace Shida blasts 'stalker' Chinese fans

Shida, who won women's doubles bronze at the Paris Olympics, has a strong following in China partly because of her engagement with the local culture.
A large statue of Osaka Expo mascot Myaku Myaku sits near the east entrance of the event's venue in Yumeshima island, Osaka, on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2025

After a tumultuous buildup, a first look at the Osaka Expo

Members of the media and other invited guests got a glimpse of the event's shiny pavilions spread over 155 hectares, and the signature Grand Ring overlooking them.
Members of the pharmacology department take inventory of the last boxes of drugs delivered by the now-dismantled United States Agency for International Development (USAID) amid medical supply shortages in a pharmacy storeroom at Lodwar County Referral Hospital in Lodwar on April 1.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 9, 2025

'Everything was stopped': USAID cuts hit hard in northern Kenya

Protests broke out last month after news that rations, already lowered last year, would be further reduced because of the cuts to U.S. foreign aid spending.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever and business officials in Kyiv on Tuesday
WORLD
Apr 10, 2025

Zelenskyy says at least 155 Chinese nationals are fighting on Russia's side

Ukraine captured two Chinese nationals in eastern Ukraine, where Russian troops have been advancing.
Jon Rahm hits a shot during a practice round ahead of the Masters on Wednesday. Rahm is one of 12 players from LIV Golf in the 95-player field.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Apr 10, 2025

Masters not planning to create exemption for LIV Golf players

Augusta National Golf Club Chairman Fred Ridley pointed out that the Masters is an invitational tournament, and Augusta National can extend special invitations to anyone.
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.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and others at a ceremony to encourage regional revitalization support officers on Wednesday at the prime minister's official residence
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 10, 2025

Ishiba names 180 regional revitalization officers

The officers will work in groups of three to help 60 municipalities.
Bereaved family members of crime victims on the sidelines of National Stadium during the J. League's Levain Cup final on Nov. 2 in Tokyo. A Tokyo police initiative in which children who have lost family to crimes or accidents are invited to sports and entertainment events marks its 10th anniversary this year.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 10, 2025

Tokyo police program for bereaved children marks 10 years

Sponsorship from private companies and nonprofits have helped grow the initiative, and today, other prefectures have also adopted similar support programs.
The whereabouts of a bear that attacked three people in Nagano Prefecture on Wednesday were still unknown the following day.
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2025

Authorities on alert after three injured in Nagano bear attack

Two men are believed to have sustained serious injuries, but all three victims remain conscious. The whereabouts of the bear remain unknown.
Military officers salute in Moroni, Comoros. Several African nations fear that Washington is losing interest in their affairs and may withdraw hundreds of millions of dollars in annual security assistance.
WORLD
Apr 10, 2025

Trump aid cuts stir fears of reduced military support in Africa

With U.S. President Donald Trump slashing aid, African officials worry U.S. military partnerships — key to fighting terror — may be next to go.
Hon Hai Precision Industry, which does business as Foxconn, wants to make electric vehicles for Japanese carmakers.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Apr 10, 2025

It makes iPhones. Now Hon Hai wants to make cars for Japanese automakers.

The Taiwanese company's seemingly unlikely proposition — given the structure and history of Japan's auto industry — just might work.
A trader works during the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 11, 2025

Trump trade war with China revives recession and bear market fears

While announcing a 90-day tariff pause on dozens of countries, Trump ratcheted up tariffs on Chinese imports, raising them effectively to 145%.
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.
U.S. President Donald Trump's abrupt U-turn on his tariff measures has been met with a mix of relief and bewilderment.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 11, 2025

U.S. allies greet Trump’s tariff U-turn with relief and defiance

As governments try to divine what would convince Trump to grant permanent waivers, his new willingness to reverse course inserts another layer of uncertainty.
The Braves' Ronald Acuna Jr. rounds the bases after hitting a home run against the Mets in New York on May 10, 2024.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 11, 2025

Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. to have knee evaluated

Acuna, 27, has participated in batting practice but hasn't yet been cleared to run the bases.
The Osaka Prefectural Police headquarters in the city of Osaka
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 11, 2025

Japan Post employee arrested for mailing used condom to post office

According to the police, the envelope was addressed to a female employee working at the targeted branch.
Fried rice is a traditional dish, but even the classics can use updating from time to time.
LIFE / Food & Drink / The Recipe Box
Apr 13, 2025

As rice prices rise, a bit of tea adds needed luxury

Add depth and your personal flair to fried rice with your favorite brand of tea.
When you stare into the abyss at the bottom of the No. 3 shaft of the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel, the abyss stares back.
LIFE / Travel
Apr 14, 2025

A new tour of Tokyo’s most underground attraction

From April, the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel will offer guided treks of areas previously inaccessible to the public.
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.  
Ousted former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol waves to his supporters as he moves out of the presidential residence in Seoul on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 11, 2025

Ousted South Korean President Yoon leaves official residence

The Constitutional Court upheld Yoon's impeachment last Friday, capping four months of unprecedented constitutional turmoil.
U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he steps off Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 12, 2025

Trump defends policy as White House says he's 'optimistic' on China deal

President Donald Trump has insisted that his tariff policy is "doing really well," with the White House saying that 15 countries have offers "on the table."
U.S. Vice President JD Vance walks with Col. Susannah Meyers, then-commander of the U.S. military's Pituffik Space Base, as they tour the base in Greenland on March 28.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 12, 2025

Head of U.S. base in Greenland fired after vice president's visit

Col. Susannah Meyers was removed after reports she distanced herself and the base from U.S. Vice President JD Vance's criticism of Denmark.
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 member states of the World Health Organization reached "an agreement in principle" on Saturday on a text designed to better protect the world from future pandemics, after more than three years of discussions, the co-chair of the negotiating body said.
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 13, 2025

Accord reached 'in principle' over tackling future pandemics

Delegates will meet on Tuesday to put the finishing touches to a landmark text on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
Japanese Ambassador to NATO Osamu Izawa (left) meets with the alliance's secretary-general, Mark Rutte, at NATO headquarters in Brussels recently.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 13, 2025

Japan’s NATO envoy targets industrial tie-ups to boost defense supply chains

Tokyo's first dedicated ambassador to the alliance says this will also boost interoperability with partners amid the tense regional security environment.

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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