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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.
A man bikes past a wall of campaign posters on the first day of the campaign period for the May 12 midterm elections, in Manila on Feb. 11.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 11, 2025

China takes center stage in Philippines' feisty midterm election

The outcome could shape the country's strategic positioning over the remaining half of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's six-year term.
A protester waves a flag bearing a portrait of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) jailed in Turkey since 1999, during a demonstration calling for his release in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria on Feb. 15.
WORLD
May 12, 2025

Kurdish PKK disbands and ends 40-year Turkey insurgency

The group's decision could boost NATO member Turkey's political and economic stability and encourage moves to ease tensions in neighboring Iraq and Syria.
Since the LDP resumed discussions on the issue in February, members against introducing a selective dual surname system have been gaining momentum, calling for expanding the use of maiden names.
JAPAN
May 12, 2025

LDP to forgo compiling bill on dual surname system

The LDP concluded that it would be unwise to create divisions within the party ahead of this summer's election for the House of Councilors.
A policeman stands guard near a polling station during national mid-term elections in Buadiposo town, Lanao del Sur province, on the southern island of Mindanao on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 13, 2025

Dutertes outperform in Philippine midterms in blow for Marcos

Ex-President Rodrigo Duterte looks set to become mayor of Davao City despite his detention by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.
The headquarters of Fuji Media Holdings, Fuji TV's parent, in Tokyo's Minato Ward
JAPAN / Media
May 13, 2025

Nakai's lawyer refutes third-party report finding 'sexual violence'

The lawyer demanded that the committee disclose the evidence behind its report, which was released in March, by May 26.
Palestinians struggle to receive food cooked from a charity kitchen in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on April 29.
WORLD / Politics
May 14, 2025

U.N. humanitarian chief slams Gaza aid plan Israel proposed and U.S. backs

No humanitarian aid has been delivered to Gaza since March 2, and a global hunger monitor has warned that half a million people face starvation.
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng attends a meeting with global business leaders at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 28.
WORLD / Politics
May 14, 2025

China surrounded Xi aide with seasoned experts to seal U.S. deal

The crew engaging with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer was on public display for the first time Sunday.
Former Uruguayan President Jose Mujica reacts after receiving a tribute in Montevideo on March 26. Mujica, a former guerrilla fighter and icon of the left in Latin America, died at the age of 89 on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 14, 2025

Latin America mourns world's 'poorest president' Mujica, dead at 89

The iconic 89-year-old died of cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on March 13.
WORLD / Politics
May 14, 2025

NATO is sketching out a plan to meet Trump's call for 5% of GDP on defense

Negotiators are making progress ahead of a NATO summit in The Hague in June on a path to hitting the spending goal by 2032.
Japan ranked 14th out of 36 developed countries in the latest child well-being survey, improving from 20th place in the previous survey released in 2020, a report by a UNICEF research institute showed Wednesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 14, 2025

Japan ranks 14th in UNICEF child well-being survey

Top positions in the latest overall rankings were held by the Netherlands, Denmark and other European countries.
Though the protagonist of “Jinsei” (voiced by rapper Ace Cool) is an emotional blank slate, his journey throughout the film takes wild turns.
CULTURE / Film
May 15, 2025

‘Jinsei’: Ryuya Suzuki’s solo animation is a singular debut

The 30-year-old wrote, directed, animated, edited and soundtracked in isolation — creating one of the most striking films of 2025 so far.
Student bookbags lay in front of a school building damaged in a airstrike carried out by Myanmar's military at the Ohe Htein Twin village in Tabayin township, Sagaing Region, on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 15, 2025

'Children are innocent': Myanmar families in grief after school airstrike

The airstrike in central Myanmar occurred during a purported truce and killed 20 students and two teachers, witnesses said.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said the government will do all it can to raise wages, particularly for small and midsize businesses, which account for 70% of employment in Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 15, 2025

Japan to target 1% real wage gains within the next five years

The goal is based on the premise that stable and sustainable 2% inflation is in place.
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen speaks during a news conference ahead of the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 13.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
May 15, 2025

FIA reduces penalty for swearing after driver backlash

Competitors in Formula One and rallying have been at loggerheads with FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem over a crackdown on bad language during events.
This undated image shows cardiologist Kiran Musunuru and pediatrician Rebecca Ahrens-Nicklas with patient KJ Muldoon.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 16, 2025

U.S. baby with rare illness treated with tailor-made gene edit

The baby, who had a gene mutation that affected his liver, was treated using what amounts to a pair of molecular scissors, delivered via an infusion.
Civic Coalition presidential candidate Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski speaks during an election rally in Krakow, Poland, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 16, 2025

In Poland, a presidential election with European stakes

The country's presidential elections come at a fraught moment for Europe, analysts said ahead of the first round of voting on Sunday.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Canberra "is appalled at the sham trial and 13-year sentence given to Australian man Oscar Jenkins."
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 17, 2025

Canberra slams Russian jailing of Australian who fought for Ukraine

Oscar Jenkins, 33, was convicted of being a "mercenary in an armed conflict" by the court in Ukraine's Russian-occupied east Luhansk region.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks with members of the media as he arrives for the European Political Community summit in Tirana, Albania, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
May 18, 2025

U.K. and EU wrangle over students and travel ahead of reset summit

Hours before Prime Minister Keir Starmer was scheduled to host EU leaders on Monday, the U.K. and the EU had still not agreed on plans for a youth exchange program.
Nozomu Hagihara reaches the goal at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi on Thursday after dribbling a soccer ball for about 2,000 kilometers across India.
JAPAN
May 18, 2025

Japanese man dribbles soccer ball 2,000 km across India

Hagihara, who is working to contribute to Indian society through soccer, plans to apply for a Guinness World Record for the longest journey dribbling a soccer ball.
Some of the photos related to Aum Shinrikyo, taken by Seiichi Takeuchi, are displayed at an educational facility in Fujikawaguchiko in Yamanashi Prefecture.
JAPAN
May 18, 2025

1,400 photos donated to remember horrors of Aum Shinrikyo cult

Kamikuishiki resident Seiichi Takeuchi, 97, waged a battle against the group from the time the cult set up the base in the village's Fujigane district in 1989.

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.