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Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto salutes during a welcoming ceremony at the government palace, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, in Lima, Peru, on Nov. 14, 2024.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 28, 2025

New Indonesian president's reliance on military tests fragile democracy

Replacement of civilian functions with the military is raising comparisons to an authoritarian-era doctrine that let the armed forces crush dissent and dominate public life.
A video clip shows former lawyer Yamato Eguchi remaining silent during an interrogation by prosecutors.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 6, 2025

Tokyo High Court upholds compensation order over interrogation abuse

The Tokyo High Court upheld a lower court's ruling that the state must pay compensation to a former lawyer over the verbal abuse he suffered while he was interrogated.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has a video conference with the Sevastopol governor in Moscow on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 15, 2025

Putin assembles team of heavyweights to negotiate Ukraine deal

U.S. President Donald Trump’s team by contrast lacks the same depth of background on Ukraine and has little experience negotiating directly with Russia.
Cadets of the Russian patriotic movement Youth Army hold trench candles at a school museum in the town of Istra in the Moscow region on Jan. 24.
WORLD / Society
Feb 17, 2025

Berets, boots and flags: Russia teaches young children to revere army

One pro-military youth group's agenda covers everything from sports competitions to how to handle a Kalashnikov rifle.
Takashi Tachibana, leader of controversial political group NHK Party, said he received information from Minoru Kishiguchi of Nippon Ishin no Kai, relating to allegations of harassment by Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 20, 2025

Nippon Ishin says member involved in giving papers to NHK Party head

Nippon Ishin says Minoru Kishiguchi provided documents related to alleged harassment by Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito.
Chinese President Xi Jinping
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 3, 2025

Xi prepares to unveil China stimulus plan as trade war heats up

AI breakthroughs and Xi’s recent embrace of private entrepreneurs have driven a rally ahead of the National People’s Congress.
Officials from Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), the Ministry of National Defense’s research arm, say the lessons from the Ukraine conflict are clear for the democratic island: drones and other autonomous systems are crucial for its defense.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Mar 14, 2025

Drones, budgets and infighting: Taiwan's daunting defense challenges

In bridging its military gap with China, Taiwan needs to both overcome key technical challenges of asymmetric warfare.
K-Ballet Tokyo celebrates its 25th anniversary with an extended lineup including a revival of the vibrant pirate-story ballet "Le Corsaire."
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 15, 2025

K-Ballet Tokyo marks 25 years of passion and perseverance

The dance company celebrates a milestone anniversary with an extended lineup including a revival of the vibrant pirate-story ballet "Le Corsaire."
U.S. President Donald Trump holds up a signed executive order to shut down the Department of Education.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 21, 2025

Trump signs order aimed at dismantling U.S. Department of Education

With a new executive order, Trump weakens federal oversight of education, taking the first step toward shutting down the department.
The Fukuoka Prefectural Police Headquarters. Between October 2022 and late September 2023, a Chinese couple developed about 2,300 square meters of land owned by 21 individuals without their consent and opened a campsite, according to police.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 21, 2025

Chinese couple arrested for opening campsite at historic Fukuoka ruins

A city official first spotted prefab huts erected at the castle ruins around October 2022 and demanded their removal, but the couple refused to comply, according to police.
U.S. President Donald Trump with Elon Musk and his son at the White House this month. The Pentagon is scheduled on Friday to brief Musk on the U.S. military’s plan for any war that might break out with China, two U.S. officials said Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 21, 2025

Musk set to get access to top-secret U.S. plan for potential war with China

Providing Musk with access to some of the nation’s most closely guarded military secrets would bring into sharp relief questions about his conflicts of interest.
Shinobu Yamagishi, the former president of Osaka-based real estate company Pressance, speaks during a news conference on Friday.
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2025

Osaka court rejects damages suit over coercive interrogations

Shinobu Yamagishi, 62, the former president of Osaka-based real estate company Pressance, was seeking about ¥700 million in damages.
Officials of the National Public Safety Commission inspect the Kabukicho area of Shinjuku, Tokyo, in June 2024, as crimes committed by unscrupulous host clubs have surfaced.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Mar 24, 2025

Crimes by 'tokuryu' anonymous groups pose serious issue in Japan

Police have made capturing the ringleaders a top priority but are struggling in their investigations, largely due to the criminals' use of highly encrypted communication apps.
The city of Kurayoshi in Tottori Prefecture celebrated the opening of its public art museum with festivities such as a parade that drew 1,000 revelers.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 4, 2025

Tottori takes a bold leap forward in the arts

The prefecture's new art museum aims to engage the community through interactive activities rather than merely showcasing boundary-pushing art.
Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery gives a press conference on the eve of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal first leg against Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, on Tuesday.
SOCCER
Apr 9, 2025

Villa's Emery relishes PSG clash but wants consistent European success

Emery will return to Paris for Wednesday's first leg after having managed PSG from 2016 to 2018, winning a domestic quadruple in his final year.
Takayasu during the one-day Annual Sumo Tournament at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on Feb 9, 2020
SUMO / Inside Sumo
Apr 9, 2025

Takayasu’s latest heartbreak makes sumo history

The former ozeki now has more second-place finishes without winning a championship than any other wrestler.
Workers transport soil containing rare earth elements for export at a port in Lianyungang, in China's Jiangsu province, in October 2010.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 14, 2025

China halts critical rare earth exports as trade war intensifies

The official crackdown is part of Beijing’s retaliation for President Donald Trump’s sharp increase in tariffs that started April 2.
Indian security forces personnel escort an ambulance carrying the bodies of tourists who were killed in a suspected militant attack near Pahalgam, outside the police control room in Srinagar, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 24, 2025

India downgrades ties with Pakistan after attack on Kashmir tourists kills 26

The dead included 25 Indians and one Nepalese national, and at least 17 people were also injured in the worst attack on civilians in decades.
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah takes a selfie with fans at Anfield in Liverpool, England on Sunday.
SOCCER
Apr 28, 2025

Liverpool fans revel in chance to finally celebrate Premier League title

Five years after COVID-19 restrictions prevented Liverpool fans from celebrating at Anfield after their team's first top flight title triumph in 30 years, Reds faithful wasted little time on Sunday getting the party started on another Premier League success.
A Boeing 747 from Qatar at Palm Beach International Airport, following President Donald Trump’s tour of the plane, in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Feb. 15. The president and his family have profited from the White House more than any other occupant, normalizing activities that once would have provoked heavy blowback and official investigations.
WORLD / Politics
May 26, 2025

As Trump family monetizes presidency, profits outstrip protests

The scale and the scope of the presidential mercantilism has been breathtaking.
Destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized Israel's actions in the territory as "no longer comprehensible."
WORLD / Politics
May 27, 2025

Germany shifts tone on Israel over 'incomprehensible' Gaza carnage

The message reflects a broader shift in public opinion but also a greater willingness from top-ranking German politicians to criticize Israel's conduct.
The Taiwanese military conducts its first High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) live-fire test launch at the Jiupeng base in Pingtung, Taiwan, on May 12.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 30, 2025

Trump aims to exceed first term's weapons sales to Taiwan, officials say

If U.S. arms sales to Taiwan do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump's commitment to the island.
Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembele controls the ball during the first leg of the team's Champions League semifinal against Arsenal in London on April 29.
SOCCER
May 30, 2025

New-look Paris Saint-Germain on brink of long-coveted Champions League glory

Luis Enrique, who took charge last year, said his team had long targeted this moment, which comes after it won the domestic double of Ligue 1 and the French Cup.
Tokyo police declared that Japanese young men and women were simply "not accustomed to one another’s society" due to their cultural upbringing — and thus freewheeling dance venues and foreign customs needed to be reined in.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Jun 4, 2025

Japan Times 1925: Tokyo police impose curfew on ‘social dances’

In June 1925, concern over “the moral effects of the Western dancing” on Japanese youth led to restrictions on social venues.
Cantonese opera actor Lung Koon-tin, portraying U.S. President Donald Trump, performs on stage in "Trump, The Twins President" in Hong Kong, on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jun 6, 2025

Trump-inspired Cantonese opera in Hong Kong aims to bring love and peace

"Trump, The Twins President" has been through several iterations since its 2019 debut, with the latest version featuring the attempted assassination of the U.S. president.
Bain Capital has about five deals under discussion that leverage a strategy to unlock value from real estate assets held by Japanese companies.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 10, 2025

With ¥723 billion in Japan real estate already, Bain ramps up property deals

Property is becoming a key feature of the booming private equity landscape in Japan, as global investment firms look to scoop up undervalued assets.
Demonstrators write messages during a Defend Our Schools rally to protest U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order to shut down the U.S. Department of Education outside its building in Washington on March 21.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 15, 2025

U.S. Supreme Court clears way for Trump to gut Education Department

The justices lifted an order that had reinstated nearly 1,400 workers and blocked the administration from transferring key functions to other federal agencies.
Ichiro presents then-Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson with the bat he used to break the single-season hits record in 2004.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jul 24, 2025

Hall of Fame always held deeper meaning for Ichiro

Ichiro, who will be inducted into the Hall on Sunday, is so familiar with the storied museum that he could probably lead the tour that new inductees receive.
Special counsel Jack Smith attends a news conference to announce an indictment of former U.S. President Donald Trump, in Washington in August 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 3, 2025

Federal agency opens probe into former Trump prosecutor Jack Smith

Smith brought two criminal cases against Trump: one accusing him of illegally retaining classified material and another related to attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
This undated handout photo released by the Australian Defence Force on Tuesday shows the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force JS Mogami frigate sailing at an undisclosed location.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 6, 2025

The Japan-Australia frigate sale is a big deal. Here’s why.

For the Japanese government, this will make for the largest defense export to date.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past