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Ground personnel unload weapons and other military hardware delivered by the U.S. military near Kyiv in 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 28, 2025

U.S. aid pullback is making Ukraine more vulnerable to Russian hacks

USAID has been gutted in the first months of Trump’s presidency by Elon Musk’s "department of government efficiency," and Trump has become increasingly impatient with Zelenskyy.
Indian military personnel stand guard near a border crossing near Amritsar on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 1, 2025

U.S. urges India and Pakistan to de-escalate amid fears of clash

Relations between the longtime adversaries have rapidly deteriorated in the wake of last week's attack in Kashmir.
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.
Chinese military vehicles carrying DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missiles travel in Beijing's Tiananmen Square during a military parade in October 2019.
WORLD
May 14, 2025

U.S. warns of China missile threat ahead of 'Golden Dome' announcement

China may within a decade possess scores of orbiting missiles with nuclear payloads capable of quickly reaching the U.S., the Defense Intelligence Agency has said.
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.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivers remarks at the National Memorial Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
May 28, 2025

Hegseth to face questions on U.S. commitment at top Asian defense conference

The event comes amid growing anxiety over Washington's tariff program and uncertainties about U.S. defense policy.
The United Nations is preparing to cut about 6,900 jobs, according to an internal memo.
WORLD
May 30, 2025

U.N. eyes budget and job cuts for 2026 as U.S. scales back aid

The U.N. Secretariat is preparing to cut its $3.7 billion budget by 20% and slash about 6,900 jobs, according to an internal memo.
By spurring the ASEAN countries to deepen cooperation, with one another and with others, U.S. tariffs could bring about an even more prosperous — and, crucially, resilient — grouping.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 9, 2025

Trump vs. a united ASEAN

By spurring the ASEAN countries to deepen cooperation, U.S. tariffs could bring about an even more prosperous — and, crucially, resilient — grouping.
U.S. Marines conduct beach rehearsals with the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) in preparation for Exercise Kamandag in Aparri, the Philippines, on May 23.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 11, 2025

U.S. military drills in Philippines end — but anti-ship missile system stays

Confirmation that the NMESIS coastal defense system will remain in the Philippines is likely to anger Beijing, which has already been calling for the missile system to be removed.
Protesters stand outside Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Thursday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 20, 2025

Dodgers say team kept U.S. immigration agents from accessing Dodger Stadium

The Dodgers have been criticized for their failure to publicly comment on the U.S. government's immigration crackdown in Los Angeles.
An Iranian daily newspaper displays an image of a damaged building in Israel on Sunday. Israel’s attack on Iran’s nuclear program has raised tensions, exposed divisions and put pressure on the U.S. to decide on its next move.
EDITORIALS
Jun 20, 2025

Chasing peace with Iran as the Middle East smolders

Iran’s nuclear program is a danger, but so too is a wider war in the Middle East.
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Joel Vowell, the deputy commanding general of United States Army Pacific (fourth from right), walks with soldiers during the Khaan Quest 2025 exercises on June 15 at the Five Hills Training Area in Mongolia.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 29, 2025

U.S. Army capable of countering China’s plans to keep it at bay, top general says

Increased firepower, cutting-edge tech and greater interoperability with regional allies and partners are key for U.S. deterrence.
Despite trade pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has held firm, constrained by upcoming elections, mistrust of U.S. intentions and growing public opposition to concessions.
EDITORIALS
Jul 4, 2025

As trade deadline approaches, Japan must draw lines

Most worrisome now is a growing sense among the Japanese public that the U.S. is no longer a reliable partner.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s escalating tariffs, erratic trade threats and linkage of economic and defense issues are undermining trust in America and pushing allies like Japan to rethink their dependence on Washington.
EDITORIALS
Jul 11, 2025

Trump declares war on the international economic order

Trump has a simple understanding of international relations. In his mind, might makes right.
The United Nations Command-Rear, which operates from Yokota Air Base, plays a critical role in maintaining peace and stability in Asia.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jul 17, 2025

Little-known U.N. Command bases in Japan play a critical security role in Asia

The United Nations Command-Rear is a small multinational team that works quietly to ensure peace and stability in the region.
Waves slam into a sea wall off Waikiki Beach after authorities downgraded earlier tsunami warnings following an earthquake off Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Wedenesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 31, 2025

Tsunami danger has Chile to U.S. on alert after Russia quake

Aftershocks will likely continue for months and there is no way to predict if there will be another massive shake.
Jamco, a Japan-based maker of airplane seats, toilets, and galleys that was recently acquired by Bain Capital, is betting its U.S.-based manufacturing hub will give it an advantage under President Donald Trump’s tariff regime.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 5, 2025

Bain’s Japanese plane seat-maker sees U.S. hub as shelter from Trump tariffs

Supply chain issues that have seen extended wait times for cabin fittings also present an opportunity to fill, Jamco Executive Chair Kate Schaefer says.
The logo of Nvidia is seen during the annual Computex computer exhibition in Taipei on May 30, 2017.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 11, 2025

Nvidia and AMD to pay U.S. 15% of China chip revenue, says report

The Trump administration had frozen the sale of some advanced chips to China earlier this year as trade tensions spiked between the world’s two largest economies.
The Trump administration’s push for a lunar nuclear reactor by 2030 highlights both the technological ambition and the steep challenges facing small modular reactors, which remain slow to deploy even on Earth.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 13, 2025

The real nuclear moonshot is here on Earth

Developing extraterrestrial nuclear power is a worthy research project. If we are to someday establish permanent settlements on the moon, they will require a lot of energy.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell attends the Kansas City Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium in Moran, Wyoming, on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 23, 2025

U.S. Fed chair opens door to rate cut as Trump steps up pressure

But Fed chief Jerome Powell also continued to argue that policymakers must guard against the prospect that President Donald Trump’s tariffs lead to persistent inflation.
Anti-immigrant protestors demonstrate in Epping, northeast of London, on July 27.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 25, 2025

U.K. antimigrant protests continue after asylum reforms set out

Britain has seen regular protests in recent weeks outside hotels housing asylum seekers, spurred in part by concerns about public safety.
Hours before talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, South Korean leader Lee Jae Myung has signaled that reaching a deal with Washington on its demand to have U.S. forces in South Korea play a larger role in countering China will prove difficult.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 25, 2025

Lee signals resistance to shifting U.S. Forces Korea’s focus to China

President Lee Jae Myung’s remarks come just hours before he meets with U.S. President Donald Trump in talks that are expected to be dominated by defense and security issues.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba meet in Tokyo on Aug. 23, before Lee traveled to Washington for a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.
EDITORIALS
Aug 29, 2025

Lee Jae Myung had a very good week

Lee said that he had read the “Art of the Deal” — Trump’s ghost-written magnum opus — before their meeting and reportedly got advice on handling the U.S. leader from Ishiba.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services, during a Senate Finance Committee hearing in Washington on Thursday
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 5, 2025

U.S. senators pit Kennedy against Trump on vaccine policy

Half a dozen heated exchanges during a combative three-hour Senate hearing focused on his decision to fire Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez.
Sha'Carri Richardson waits for the start of the women's 100-meter final during a Diamond League meet in Chorzow, Poland, on Aug. 16.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Sep 8, 2025

Controversy continues to follow U.S. sprint star Sha'Carri Richardson

She arrives in Tokyo for the defense of the world crown on the back of another headline-making incident.
The 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force conducts the first Typhon midrange missile system live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States on July 16, successfully sinking a maritime target during the Talisman Sabre exercises in Australia's Northern Territory.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Sep 10, 2025

High-tech U.S. missile systems come to Japan amid policy shifts and China concerns

Long wary of such a move, Tokyo’s acquiescence — and its own planned missile deployments — highlights a gradual but monumental shift in defense policy.
While the U.S. referenced China 20 times in its October announcement of semiconductor export controls targeting Chinese companies, Japan has chosen broad equipment controls not specifically aimed at its bigger neighbor.
BUSINESS
Jul 24, 2023

As Japan aligns with U.S. chip curbs on China, some in Tokyo feel uneasy

Tokyo remains worried that targeting China will provoke damaging retaliation, such as a ban on Japanese electric cars.
U.S. President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and South Korean leader Yoon Suk-yeol greet each other ahead of a trilateral meeting during the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima on May 21.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 29, 2023

U.S. announces trilateral summit with Japan and South Korea

The leaders of the three countries will use the summit at the Camp David presidential retreat to expand trilateral cooperation “across the Indo-Pacific and beyond.”
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stands for the U.S. national anthem before a meeting with his Australian counterpart ahead of the Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations in Brisbane on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 31, 2023

U.S. defense tieup efforts pay dividends with Australia deals

The agreements will mean not only more U.S. troops in Australia, but also the integration of Japan into more military initiatives between the two.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday called the downgrade of the United States' top-tier sovereign credit grade by Fitch Ratings "arbitrary” and "outdated.”
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 2, 2023

U.S. credit rating downgraded from AAA by Fitch 

Fitch Ratings criticized the country’s ballooning fiscal deficits and an "erosion of governance” that have led to repeated debt limit clashes.

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