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Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim speaks with the press as he waits to greet leaders before an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 26, 2025

ASEAN nations decry Trump tariffs at summit and seek to diversify trade

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim opened talks by saying that he had written to President Donald Trump seeking a U.S.-ASEAN meeting on the topic.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's new plan to restrict updated COVID-19 vaccines to high-risk groups has sparked confusion and criticism, with experts warning it could limit public access and bypass established advisory channels.
COMMENTARY / World
May 26, 2025

The FDA’s new COVID-19 vaccine policy is clear as mud

The U.S. health agency's promises of transparency and choice for COVID-19 vaccines fall short in its first big test. 
Takahiro Mori, executive vice president of Japan's biggest steelmaker Nippon Steel, speaks about its strategy in its headquarters in Tokyo on Nov. 28, 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
May 26, 2025

Garage meets and sleepless flights: How Nippon Steel's negotiator stuck at U.S. merger

With Biden's incoming successor Donald Trump also voicing opposition to the planned purchase, the outlook was bleak.
Britain's King Charles III reacts as he visits the Rideau Hall residence during a two-day visit in Ottawa on Monday.
WORLD
May 27, 2025

King Charles visits Canada to help send a message to Trump about its sovereignty

U.S. President Donald Trump has made repeated calls for Canada to become the 51st U.S. state.
An Israeli military vehicle is seen near the border between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Syria on May 4.
WORLD / Politics
May 28, 2025

Syria and Israel in direct talks focused on security, sources say

The contacts mark a significant development in ties between states that have been on opposite sides of conflict in the Middle East for decades.
Members of Spanish Guardia Civil, supported by Europol, arrest a man (right) during an operation against drug trafficking in Mijas, near Malaga, in June 2024.
WORLD
May 28, 2025

Sun, sand and suspects: Spain tackles fugitives seeking a haven

Criminals from around the globe flock to Spain, but police stress that their chances of evading justice are slim.
Charisma was overweight when she arrived at ARK, but has slimmed down to 8 kilograms.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
May 29, 2025

This charming Shiba enjoys life’s simple pleasures

Charisma loves soft toys, snoozing in her favorite spot and getting a nice massage.
Itsunori Onodera, policy chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, on Wednesday visited the city of Kawaguchi in Saitama Prefecture to address issues between Kurdish residents and locals, including illegal waste dumping.
JAPAN
May 29, 2025

LDP policy chief visits Kawaguchi over reported problems with Kurdish residents

The problems reported include illegal waste dumping and foreigners illegally working.
People hold up signs during a rally in support of international students at the Harvard University campus in Boston on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Society
May 29, 2025

Halt of U.S. visa process puts Japanese students' futures in question

The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo has confirmed that the embassy and U.S. consulate offices in Japan have suspended scheduling new interviews for student visa applicants.
The Hotaruan Royal Garden Suite, a renovated traditional "minka" home, will host the second iteration of the Minka Preservation Society's MinkaMeets event.
LIFE / Style & Design
May 31, 2025

Traditional home experts to gather at MinkaMeets event

Roof thatching expert Haruo Nishio is one of several experts scheduled to speak at the June 7-8 event.
Anime director Shunsuke Nakashige accepts the anime of the year award for “Solo Leveling” at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards.
CULTURE / Film
May 30, 2025

Anime's big night out is getting bigger — and more surreal

The soft-power spectacle at Crunchyroll's awards ceremony in Tokyo underscores anime's expanding global influence.
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.
Members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces prepare to load boxes of medical relief supplies onto a helicopter in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in September last year.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 31, 2025

SDF ramps up campus outreach amid recruitment slump

Officials say the initiative is an effective way to foster a stronger connection between the public and the SDF.
The sun sets over the Gaza Strip, as seen from Israel, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 1, 2025

Hamas seeks changes in Gaza proposal as U.S. calls response 'unacceptable'

Hamas reiterated demands for an end to the war and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, conditions Israel has rejected.
Tugboats assist a liquified natural gas tanker as it docks at a port in Yantai, China, in February. In 2021, China became the largest importer of LNG, and as of this year, China now has the most long-term LNG contracts.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Jun 1, 2025

China is eroding Japan's LNG dominance. How does that affect Japanese buyers?

Japanese companies have long held the leading position in the buying and trading of one of the world's key energy sources, but that era of hegemony has come to an end.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has called for a parliamentary confidence vote in a bid to demonstrate continuing support for his pro-EU government, after nationalist Karol Nawrocki won the Polish presidential election.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 3, 2025

Tusk calls confidence vote after nationalist wins Polish presidential election

European far-right leaders welcomed the election of Karol Nawrocki, a fan of U.S. President Donald Trump who has said he will oppose the government's progressive agenda.
A case in which two Japanese nationals were killed in China’s northeastern city of Dalian last month is still being investigated, with local police saying the incident arose from a business dispute between acquaintances.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 3, 2025

Two Japanese nationals killed in Dalian, China

Local police have told the Japanese consulate that the incident arose from a business dispute between acquaintances, and a Chinese national has been taken into custody.
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 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.
Self-propelled guns are refurbished at a Rheinmetall plant in Unterluess, Germany, in June 2023.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 4, 2025

The Europeans are facing an existential choice

U.S. officials are openly stating that they do not intend to devote most of their time or resources to dealing with what they deem European issues such as the war in Ukraine.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk attend a news conference in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on May 30.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 5, 2025

Will ex-aide Musk leave a stink in the White House?

U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping domestic policy bill has careened into an Elon Musk-shaped brick wall, complicating its passage into law.
Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph speaks during a rally held by U.S. President Donald Trump (right) at U.S. Steel Corporation-Irvin Works in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, on May 30.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Jun 5, 2025

Steelers respond to fans after QB Mason Rudolph attends Trump rally

The team reminded fans that the opinions of individual players "do not necessarily represent the view of the entire Pittsburgh Steelers organization."
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.
Takuya Haraguchi, head of ReFruits, speaks while looking at the kiwifruit vine at his farm in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, on April 24. A newcomer to farming, he hopes to revive the area by growing kiwifruits in this former no-go zone.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2025

'Moving forward': the Gen Z farmer growing Fukushima kiwifruits

Fukushima is renowned for its delicious fruit, from pears to peaches, but the nuclear disaster led many people in Japan to shun produce grown there.
Canada defender Alphonso Davies (left) dribbles the ball during the second half of a CONCACAF Nations League semifinal match against Mexico at SoFi Stadium in California on Mar. 20.
SOCCER
Jun 6, 2025

Soccer surging in Canada a year from World Cup hosting

Data ranks soccer as the most popular sport among Canadian youth and, while the country retains its love for ice hockey, families increasingly struggle to take part.
Police detain a protester blocking the garage entrance of the Los Angeles Federal Building following multiple detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in downtown Los Angeles on Friday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Jun 7, 2025

Rifles, stun grenades and armored trucks in ICE raids spur tensions

The Trump administration is intensifying efforts to round up migrants. It’s also doing so with increasingly aggressive tactics.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba visits Jins Park in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 7, 2025

Ishiba vows to set up council for regional revitalization

He hopes to include the plan in a basic concept of his signature "Regional Revitalization 2.0" program.
An Israeli armored personnel carrier near the Israel-Gaza border, as seen from Israel on Saturday
WORLD
Jun 8, 2025

Israeli airstrikes kill 55; body of Thai hostage retrieved from Gaza

Thai agricultural worker Nattapong Pinta was abducted from a small Israeli community near the Gaza border during Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack.
Swedish climate advocate Greta Thunberg speaks together with part of the crew of the ship Madleen, before departure for the Gaza Strip, in Catania, Italy, on June 1.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 9, 2025

Israel blocks Greta Thunberg’s ship from reaching Gaza, group says

The vessel was intercepted about 200 kilometers from Gaza, according to coordinates provided by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.
South Korean musical "Maybe Happy Ending" won big at the 78th Tony Awards in New York on June 8. From left: Hunter Arnold, Dez Duron, Marcus Choi, Hue Park, Helen J. Shen, Darren Criss, Will Aronson and Jeffrey Richards.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jun 11, 2025

South Korean musical 'Maybe Happy Ending' tops Broadway's Tony Awards

The awards celebrated Broadway's biggest year since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.

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