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Former labor minister Kim Moon-soo arrives at the People Power Party's national convention in Goyang, South Korea, on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 3, 2025

South Korea's conservatives pick hard-liner Kim Moon-soo as presidential candidate

Kim, 73, was a labor activist in his university days but later became a hard-line conservative.
Israeli tanks operate in the Gaza Strip, by the Israel-Gaza border, on Saturday.
WORLD
May 4, 2025

Israel calls up tens of thousands of reservists for Gaza offensive

All aid deliveries to Gaza have been blocked since March 2, prompting warnings from U.N. agencies of impending humanitarian disaster.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (right) speaks during an Oval Office meeting on April 24 with President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store (not pictured) to discuss tariffs.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 4, 2025

A turning point in trade: The U.S. effort to reverse global imbalances

This large trade imbalance is also the primary driver of the U.S. current account deficit, largely due to the gap in goods trade.
Palestinians receive food cooked by a charity kitchen in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on April 29.
WORLD
May 5, 2025

Hamas executes looters in Gaza as food crisis worsens under Israeli blockade

Hamas officials have accused some of the looters of working in collaboration with Israel, which has sealed off aid from entering Gaza.
Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
May 5, 2025

A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan

How one artist is using history, culture and community spirit to revive a fading samurai legacy — and possibly reshape rural Japan’s future.
People wait for dinner at a shelter run by Sant'Egidio, a Catholic association dedicated to social outreach, across the street from St. Peter's Basilica in Rome on April 24.
WORLD / Society
May 5, 2025

Homeless sheltered by Pope Francis wonder who will follow

Pope Francis shunned much of the pomp and privilege of the papacy and sought to make the Roman Catholic Church more inclusive and less judgmental.
China's Bayan Obo rare earth mine in Inner Mongolia. As U.S.-China tensions strain critical mineral supply chains, Tokyo’s multipronged approach based on sovereignty, resilience and sustainability is gaining quiet relevance.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 5, 2025

Japan's resource security path may hold answers to trade turmoil

Critical mineral supply chains are made vulnerable by China's dominance and U.S. protectionism. Japan's strategy may provide clues as to how to secure these vital resources.
Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato (center) delivers a speech at the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank on Monday in Milan.
JAPAN
May 6, 2025

Asian Development Bank will hold its annual meeting in Nagoya in 2027

It will be the first time in 10 years for the ADB's annual meeting to be held in Japan.
Power lines connecting pylons of high-tension electricity are seen during sunset at an electricity substation on the outskirts of Ronda, Spain, during a blackout in the city on April 28.
WORLD
May 6, 2025

EU power grid needs trillion-dollar upgrade to avert Spain-style blackouts

Authorities in Spain and Portugal are investigating the cause of last week's blackout, but whatever the findings, analysts say infrastructure investment is essential.
Data center servers and components containing the newest artificial intelligence chips from Nvidia are seen on display at the company's GTC software developer conference in San Jose, California, on March 19.
WORLD / Politics
May 6, 2025

U.S. lawmaker targets smuggling of Nvidia chips to China with new bill

Rep. Bill Foster said the technology to track chips after they are sold is readily available, with much of it already built into Nvidia's chips.
A new U.S. FDA policy requiring full placebo-controlled trials for updated vaccines, pushed by Commissioner Marty Makary (right) and U.S. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (center), is seen as a backdoor effort to sideline COVID-19 boosters and undermine broader vaccine development.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 2, 2025

RFK Jr.’s new vaccine scrutiny is alarming

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who oversees the FDA, intends to set new regulatory standards vaccine manufacturers couldn’t possibly meet.
U.S. President Donald Trump, accompanied by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, delivers remarks on the advanced F-47 sixth-generation fighter jet in the Oval Office on March 21. 

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as an image of an F-47 sixth-generation fighter jet is displayed, in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 21, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2025

The F-47 fighter jet and Trump’s air dominance gamble

The U.S.' announcement signals a shift toward the pursuit of nuclear superiority — which history shows will weaken deterrence and increase the likelihood of nuclear crises.
Designated German Chancellor Friedrich Merz of the Christian Democratic Union following a session of the German lower house of parliament to elect the new German chancellor, in Berlin on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
May 6, 2025

Germany's Friedrich Merz faces new vote for chancellor after surprise loss

The initial shock defeat dealt a heavy blow to Merz, who has vowed to restore stability in Berlin after half a year of political turmoil.
Israeli soldiers work on a mobile cannon at a position near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
May 6, 2025

Hamas says Gaza truce talks pointless as Israel wages 'hunger war'

The comments from a senior Hamas official followed Israel's approval of a military plan involving the "conquest" of Gaza, where nearly all 2.3 million people have been displaced.
With the U.S. Capitol in the background, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks to reporters after his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2025

Carney stresses Canada will never be for sale in first meeting with Trump

Overall, Carney termed the meeting as constructive, and said the two sides would start serious talks on a new relationship.
The government is looking into measures to address a situation in which online advertisements with sexual content are posted on websites that may be accessible by children.
JAPAN / Media
May 7, 2025

Regulation of online ads with sexual content draws mixed views in Japan

While advocates seek measures to better protect children, critics worry they might infringe on freedom of expression.
Kazuo Sumi, former president and chairman of railway operator Hankyu Hanshin Holdings
JAPAN
May 7, 2025

Ex-Hankyu Hanshin Holdings chief Kazuo Sumi dies at 76

The Kansai native died at his house in the city of Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture, on April 26.
Former sekiwake Toyonoshima and Airi Hisano train at Tachihi Sumo Club on May 1.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
May 7, 2025

Former sekiwake Toyonoshima is new head coach at innovative women’s club

Detailing how she struggled with injury over the past few years, Airi Hisano said she had considered retirement before being approached to join the club.
In a world where capital and rich individuals can cross borders freely, only international cooperation can ensure that multinational corporations and the superrich are fairly taxed.
COMMENTARY / World
May 7, 2025

America is becoming the world’s largest tax haven

Trump is turning the U.S. into a tax haven by weakening enforcement, deregulating crypto and abandoning international tax cooperation, favoring secrecy and the ultrarich.
Japan's Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa speaks to the press upon his arrival at Haneda Airport on April 18. He has said that all tariffs need to be reconsidered by the United States.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 7, 2025

U.S. and Japan remain far apart on tariffs

While both sides have said they will aim for a deal as soon as possible, they have also indicated that they aren't in a rush for a swift settlement.
SMBC Nikko Securities hired former Nomura Holdings senior executive Susumu Usui as co-head of equity and ex-Citigroup’s Keita Matsumoto as head of financial markets.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 7, 2025

SMBC Nikko hires former Nomura and Citi top executives in rebuild

The firm is seeking to strengthen its business following the rigging scandal more than two years ago, which led to the loss of several equity executives.
Tachikawa Municipal 3rd Elementary School, where two men broke in on Thursday
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 8, 2025

Two men arrested after storming Tokyo elementary school and injuring staff

A school staff member called emergency services after the intruders entered the school building and began smashing windows.
Veterans in France. For over a dozen NATO members, pensions make up a large — and largely overlooked — chunk of their defense budgets.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 8, 2025

Europe's costly military pensions complicate defense buildup

For over a dozen NATO members, pensions make up a large — and largely overlooked — chunk of their defense budgets.
Officials from the 15 hotel companies had met once a month to exchange information about room occupancy rates, average room prices and room reservations, according to the FTC.
JAPAN
May 8, 2025

15 hotel operators in Tokyo warned over possible price-fixing

Officials from the 15 companies had met once a month to exchange information about room occupancy rates, average room prices and room reservations, according to the FTC.
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost of the United States, appears on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Thursday.
WORLD
May 9, 2025

In his first appearance, Pope Leo offers three big clues about his papacy

Although Leo follows in the tradition of Pope Francis, he signaled he is a new, and different, pope.
Palestinians queue for a portion of hot food distributed by a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on Monday.
WORLD
May 9, 2025

U.S. says solution for Gaza aid is 'steps away' as aid groups raise alarm

Anticipation has built up about a new aid plan for Gaza, laid waste by 19 months of an Israeli military campaign against Hamas.
Kotoba Slam Japan runs regional competitions to select a representative for the annual World Poetry Slam Championship, which will take place in Mexico at the end of the month.
CULTURE / Stage
May 9, 2025

Japan’s slam poetry scene is all about raw vulnerability

Slam poetry is a rarity in Japan, but the scene is full of energy and potential that the poets have been bringing to the world slam poetry stage for 10 years now.
Wings guard Paige Bueckers, seen during media day, was the top pick in the 2025 draft.
BASKETBALL
May 9, 2025

Paige Bueckers and Wings to measure success in terms of growth

The UConn star and No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft could play a major role in revitalizing a Dallas franchise that missed the playoffs in 2024 with a 9-31 record.
Clockwise from top left: Former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi, former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi, Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi
JAPAN / Politics
May 9, 2025

Who could become Japan's next prime minister?

Regardless of the outcome of July's Upper House election, the bar will be high for anyone seeking to unseat incumbent Shigeru Ishiba.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent leaves his hotel for a meeting with Chinese officials on tariffs in Geneva on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 10, 2025

U.S. and China begin talks in bid to 'de-escalate' trade war

The talks were the first between the world's two largest economies since U.S. President Donald Trump slapped steep new levies on China last month.

Longform

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