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Demonstrators protest against actions taken by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, outside the Treasury Department in Washington, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 9, 2025

U.S. federal judge temporarily blocks Musk's DOGE from accessing payment systems

A federal judge temporarily blocks Elon Musk’s government efficiency team from accessing U.S. Treasury systems, citing risks of sensitive data leaks and cybersecurity threats.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem tours a new camp site on Friday where the Trump administration plans to house thousands of undocumented migrants, at the Naval base at Guantanamo Bay.
WORLD
Feb 9, 2025

Tent city rising at Guantanamo Bay

The Trump administration has moved over 30 people described as Venezuelan gang members to Guantanamo Bay, as U.S. forces and homeland security staff set up a tent city for more.
Shinji Ishimaru, who was the runner-up in last July's Tokyo gubernatorial election, holds a news conference in Tokyo last week.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 11, 2025

Shinji Ishimaru faces criminal complaint over livestreamed campaign event

A civic group says the former mayor may have pledged to illegally pay a fee to a company that streamed the event live.
A suspected victim of modern slavery who was initially denied state support after Britain introduced a tougher immigration policy, in London on Sept. 19
WORLD / Politics
Feb 11, 2025

U.K.'s tougher immigration policy risks trapping victims in modern slavery

The protections created under Britain's Modern Slavery Act have been eroded by rules introduced in 2023 to curb illegal migration.
An uprooted tree as Cyclone Zelia made landfall in a suburb of Port Headland, Western Australia
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 14, 2025

Powerful tropical cyclone hits Australia's iron ore hub

The weather bureau warned the system could bring record-breaking rainfall to the region.
A giant screen shows news footage of Chinese President Xi Jinping shaking hands with DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng during a symposium on private enterprises, at a shopping complex in Beijing on Monday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 18, 2025

China's tech rally rests on 'hot money'

Hong Kong tech shares have surged 31% since the middle of January to hit three-year highs on Monday while President Xi Jinping sat down with top tech leaders in Beijing.
Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki speaks to reporters at the parliamentary building on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 19, 2025

Japan's justice minister admits to giving mooncakes to staff

The minister could be accused of violating the public office election law if the ministry staff who received the cakes include residents of the southern Kanto region.
Supporters watch archive footage of speeches by South Korean leader Yoon Suk Yeol on a screen near the Central District Court in Seoul on Thursday, as the ousted South Korean leader became the country's first sitting head of state to stand trial in a criminal case.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 20, 2025

Ousted South Korean president sought to stop 'dictatorship,' lawyer says

Yoon Suk Yeol has has been behind bars since he was arrested last month on charges of insurrection.
Fuji TV President Kenji Shimizu speaks to reporters in Tokyo's Minato Ward on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 28, 2025

Longtime Fuji Media director Hieda resigns from advisory panel

The move follows a firestorm that engulfed Fuji Media and its core unit, Fuji Television Network, over the handling of a sex scandal involving former TV star Masahiro Nakai.
Netflix reality show “K-foodie meets J-foodie” follows South Korean YouTuber Sung Si-kyung and Japanese actor Yutaka Matsushige as they share meals in their respective countries.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Mar 6, 2025

Can a meal make you besties? ‘K-foodie meets J-foodie’ says yes.

The new Netflix show pairs a Korean crooner and a Japanese food icon for a cross-cultural food rally.
Tariffs and trade uncertainty are causing the U.S. economy to lose steam, and companies more vulnerable to slower growth are starting to show the cracks.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 6, 2025

Investors spy the dawn of a tectonic shift away from U.S. markets

For most of the last three years, investors had bet on "U.S. exceptionalism," with the country ahead of others in economic growth, stock prices and AI.
President Donald Trump’s order making English the official language of the country is unnecessary, as nearly 80% of people in the U.S. already speak it at home.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 14, 2025

America doesn’t need an official language

After all, what is our shared culture if not the mix of cultures — including languages — that make and remake America every day?
Elon Musk and President Donald Trump's assertion that U.S. aid cuts to programs including PEPFAR and USAID in Africa aren't causing harm is not true. Children and others are already dying as a result.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2025

Musk says aid cuts haven’t killed anyone. That's not true.

In South Sudan, one of the world’s poorest countries, the efforts by Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump are already leading children to die.
Bucks guard Damian Lillard dribbles the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first quarter at Fiserv Forum on March 13.
BASKETBALL
Mar 26, 2025

Bucks blow after Lillard diagnosed with blood clot

Lillard has been placed on blood-thinning medication to stabilize the clot, the same ailment that ended San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama's season.
“The Wakey Show” is NHK’s first new daily children’s program in three years, and it carries on the station’s storied past in youth-centric educational entertainment.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Mar 27, 2025

Rise and shine with ‘The Wakey Show’

Broadcaster NHK's first new daily children’s show in years puts puppets and positivity up front.
Hisashi Hieda, a 41-year veteran of Fuji TV’s board of directors and dubbed the broadcaster’s “emperor,” has stepped down.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 27, 2025

In the wake of several scandals, Fuji TV ‘emperor’ Hieda steps down

Hieda, a 41-year veteran of Fuji TV’s board of directors, also plans to step down as chairman of the Fujisankei Communications Group, of which the broadcaster's parent is a part.
How Fuji TV responds to the results of a third-party probe will be crucial to restoring public trust — and could determine whether sponsors, whose TV ads are the company's main source of revenue, choose to return.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2025

Fuji TV returns to spotlight as deadline for scandal probe looms

How Fuji TV responds to the report will be crucial to restoring public trust — and could determine whether sponsors choose to return.
Rescue personnel and a search dog work at the site of a building that collapsed in Bangkok following a strong earthquake
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 30, 2025

Massive quake is latest blow to Thai tourism hit by safety woes

Any impact on tourism will hurt an economy where the industry employs one in five of the country’s workforce and accounts for about 13% of GDP.
The headquarters of Fuji Media Holdings, Fuji TV's parent, in Tokyo's Minato Ward
JAPAN / Media
Mar 31, 2025

Fuji TV bears heavy responsibility over Nakai's 'sexual violence': panel

A third party panel's probe on a series of scandals involving the broadcaster and the TV star acknowledged the nature of his "trouble" with a woman for the first time.
Empty shelves with "Buy Canadian Instead" signs are seen in the American Whiskey section of the BC Liquor in Vancouver, British Columbia, on March 10.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 1, 2025

As ‘Buy Canadian’ grows, more U.S. firms say retailers turning away products

A dramatic reshuffling of Canada's retail shelves illustrates the impact of patriotic consumerism in the country.
A woman holds a poster of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during a street rally in Seoul on Saturday, ahead of the impeachment verdict for the president.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 1, 2025

South Korea to rule on President Yoon’s impeachment on Friday

If the impeachment is upheld, then Yoon will immediately lose power and an election to replace him will be held within 60 days.
U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war has spurred the biggest market losses since the COVID-19 pandemic.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 5, 2025

Stocks slump again after China fires back in trade war with tariffs on U.S. goods

The trade war has spurred the biggest market losses since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ryoko Hirosue
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 8, 2025

Actor Ryoko Hirosue arrested for allegedly injuring medical staffer

Hirosue was in a “panicked state” and injured the medical staff member, her agency said in a statement.
Commuters in Tokyo. ARIs are infectious diseases with respiratory symptoms, such as COVID-19 and influenza.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 8, 2025

Japan begins monitoring acute respiratory infections

The number of patients with ARIs will be published to help the public protect themselves from infections.
While AI-generated simulations of deceased loved ones may offer comfort, they raise ethical concerns about consent, reality distortion and the human experience of grief.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 9, 2025

AI resurrecting the dead threatens our grasp on reality

Experts warn that AI-driven digital immortality could distort reality and emotional well-being, requiring safeguards against unhealthy dependence.
U.S. President Donald Trump attends a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 11, 2025

Trump tariff pause leaves CEOs asking: What happens in 90 days?

Trump's tariff flip spurs a stock rally but sows deeper confusion for companies bracing for long-term trade fallout.
Demonstrators call for action to secure the release of Israeli hostages held captive in the Gaza Strip, outside the Israeli Defense Ministry headquarters in central Tel Aviv on April 5.
WORLD
Apr 11, 2025

Fighter pilots call on Israel to prioritize release of Gaza hostages

A letter said that the war against Hamas "mainly serves personal and political interests, rather than genuine security needs."
Whooping cough is believed to be spreading in Japan mainly among children.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 14, 2025

Whooping cough is spreading in Japan

Cases reported so far this year have already exceeded the total number from 2024.
Comedian Takaaki Ishibashi
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2025

Comedian Ishibashi apologizes over sexual harassment dinner incident

The scandal has been compared to the Fuji TV sexual harassment case involving former television star Masahiro Nakai.
Demand for Japanese debt has risen since March as the Trump administration’s higher tariffs sparked a surge in market volatility.
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2025

Japan’s superlong bonds draw record foreign inflow on haven bid

Global funds bought a net ¥2.18 trillion of the nation’s debt with original maturities of more than 10 years.

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A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami