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The suspects used free AI software to create images of naked adult women, who do not exist in the real world, using prompts that included terms such as "legs open," according to NHK.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 16, 2025

Four arrested over obscene AI images in Japan first

Concern is growing worldwide over the use of AI for malicious purposes including through deepfakes, which turn genuine photos, video or audio of people into false likenesses.
A flag bearing a portrait of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah displayed on Feb. 28 in the southern Lebanese border town of Aitaroun.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 15, 2025

Disarming Lebanon's Hezbollah possible under U.S. pressure, analysts say

Hezbollah was left badly weakened by more than a year of hostilities with Israel, and Lebanon has since elected a president and formed a government.
Shuhei Kishimoto, in April 2023 in Wakayama Prefectural Government
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 15, 2025

Wakayama Gov. Kishimoto dies at 68

The governor died on Tuesday morning of septic shock at a hospital where he was receiving treatment after being found collapsed at home a day earlier.
An 80-year-old man was arrested at the Osaka Expo on Monday after he allegedly told a security guard he had a bomb in his backpack.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 15, 2025

Man arrested over bomb threat at Osaka Expo

Suspect Jun Noguchi, 80, allegedly told a security guard he had explosives in his backpack, which led to the evacuation of about 200 people.
The Trump administration, in a desperate bid to cushion trade war inflation, is pushing for cheap oil, but $50-a-barrel will ultimately widen the very trade deficit the U.S. president wants to reduce.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 13, 2025

$50-a-barrel oil is a problem for the U.S. trade deficit

If oil prices fall to $50, under that scenario, total petroleum production in America will probably decline by 1 million barrels a day by the end of 2025.
Japan Head Coach Eddie Jones
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Apr 15, 2025

Jones' under-23 Japan team beaten by his old club Randwick

The Japan team's defeat came after it was hammered 54-27 by Australia's under-20 side in Coffs Harbour last week.
Journalists Sergei Karelin, Antonina Favorskaya and Artem Kriger, accused of taking part in the activities of an "extremist" organization founded by late opposition politician Alexei Navalny, attend a court hearing in Moscow on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 16, 2025

Russian journalists jailed for 5½ years for alleged extremist ties to Navalny

Moscow has intensified pressure on domestic and foreign reporters since the start of its war in Ukraine.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) speaks to Communist Party of Vietnam chief To Lam in Hanoi on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 16, 2025

Xi’s visit shows Vietnam’s balancing act amid looming U.S. tariffs

Hanoi’s initial silence on the Chinese president's request to jointly oppose "unilateral bullying” shows its attempt to walk a tightrope between the two powers.
U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff told Fox News the U.S. will focus on restricting Iran’s uranium enrichment and missile capability rather than dismantling its entire nuclear program. He later took a different tone on social media.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 16, 2025

U.S. backs away from envoy saying Iran can keep enriching uranium

Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff later posted on social media "that Iran must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program."
The Business School campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Apr 16, 2025

After Harvard rejects U.S. demands, Trump adds new threat

The Trump administration has rebuked universities across the country over their handling of last year's pro-Palestinian student protest movement.
Facing a new round of U.S. tariffs, China may devalue the yuan — possibly by as much as 20% — if fiscal stimulus falls short, risking a global currency war as it fights to meet its growth target.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 16, 2025

When will China start to devalue the yuan?

One way to think about China’s currency policy is its fiscal stance. Unless Beijing brings out the stimulus bazooka, devaluing the yuan might be the most expedient option.
The trade war is ratcheting up tensions between Beijing and Washington. Taipei needs to be more prepared. 
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 15, 2025

Taiwan is under siege with or without tariffs

Taiwan must urgently strengthen defenses and unite politically to counter rising threats from China, despite Trump’s trade war.
Samples of rare earth minerals on display at the Molycorp Mountain Pass Rare Earth facility in California in 2015
WORLD / Politics
Apr 16, 2025

Seven rare earth metals that China is weaponizing against the U.S.

China’s dominance of both mining and processing rare earth minerals means these niche metals have become a cudgel to use against opponents.
American rapper Post Malone performs at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 13.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Apr 17, 2025

Music, revolution and Y2K: Coachella 2025 takeaways

Highlights from the California music festival included an appearance from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and an increase in leather pants.
A drone view shows a cargo ship at Kwai Tsing Container Terminals in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 17, 2025

U.S. looks to box in China by recruiting other trading partners

Washington is set to ask nations to limit Beijing’s might when they negotiate tariffs.
Arata Hirano, owner of the restaurant Shokudou Arata, pours California-grown Calrose rice into a rice cooker at his restaurant in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2025

More Japanese embracing foreign rice, even before it became a tariff topic

A change in mindset could allow Tokyo leeway to relax restrictions if rice becomes a thorny topic in tariff talks with U.S. President Donald Trump.
With Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's visit to Vietnam and the Philippines later this month, Japan is hoping to counter China through stronger cooperation with Southeast Asian countries.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 17, 2025

Ishiba to visit Vietnam and the Philippines from April 27

The trip comes at a time when China is cozying up to Southeast Asian countries.
A U.S. security report cites DeepSeek’s ties to Chinese government interests as "significant.”
WORLD / Politics
Apr 17, 2025

DeepSeek poses ‘profound’ security threat, U.S. house panel claims

The committee urged Nvidia to hand over information on sales of chips that the Chinese startup may have used to develop its breakthrough chatbot model.
An Israeli tank maneuvers in the Gaza Strip, as seen from the Israeli side of the Gaza border, on April 7.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 17, 2025

Israel will keep Gaza buffer zone, minister says, as truce bid stalls

Israeli forces have carved out a broad "security zone" extending deep into Gaza, squeezing Palestinians into smaller areas in the south and along the coastline.
Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta, departs federal court in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 17, 2025

Meta saw TikTok as ‘highly urgent’ threat, Zuckerberg says at trial

Zuckerberg was composed, but occasionally evasive, when challenged to explain past messages indicating a concerted effort to muscle out competitors.
Students practice dance during a project activity at Hotei Junior High School in Konan, Aichi Prefecture.
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Apr 28, 2025

'Voluntary' school clubs face reform amid excessive burdens

Club activities have long been a standard part of junior high and high school life in Japan, but some schools now struggle to form teams.
Japan's exports measured by value gained 3.9% in March from a year earlier, slower than estimated.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 17, 2025

Japan’s exports rise at slower pace as Trump tariffs begin

The outlook for Japan's economy appears increasingly uncertain as Trump deepens his tariff campaign, prompting nations like China to retaliate.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks as Vice President JD Vance looks on during a meeting with President Donald Trump and President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador in the White House in Washington on April 14. Rubio and his aides shut down a State Department office on Wednesday that tracks and counters global disinformation from foreign actors, including the governments of China, Russia and Iran, U.S. officials said.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 17, 2025

U.S. State Department closing office targeting foreign disinformation

The GEC had come under intense criticism from some Republicans who said it was straying from its mission, accusing it of disfavoring opinions by conservative media in particular.
Michael McMahon, a retired New York City police sergeant working as a private investigator, arrives for the start of his trial at the Brooklyn federal court in New York on May 31, 2023. McMahon was sentenced to 1½ years in prison on Wednesday for acting as an illegal Chinese agent.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 17, 2025

Ex-New York cop sentenced to 1½ years' jail for acting as Chinese agent

A jury found Michael McMahon guilty of interstate stalking and of acting as an agent of China without notifying the U.S. attorney general.
Hiroyuki Sanada poses with the award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series for "Shogun" at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, on Jan. 5.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Apr 17, 2025

Actor Hiroyuki Sanada among Time's 100 most influential people

Contemporary artist Yoshitomo Nara and musician Yoshiki also made the list.
A recently enacted ordinance aimed at respecting individual differences in Sapporo has not been without controversy.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Apr 28, 2025

Sapporo enacts ordinance to foster diversity and inclusion

The number of foreign residents in Sapporo has doubled over the past decade, despite an overall population decline in the city.
ASEAN should use the 90-day pause on Donald Trump’s punishingly high tariffs to develop a unified position and broaden its membership by admitting East Timor and opening accession talks with Sri Lanka.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 16, 2025

ASEAN should expand to counter Trump’s tariffs

It came as no surprise that China would be the hardest hit, but the punishing duties imposed on most Asian countries were a profound shock.
People walk past a puddle of water by a tent shelter erected near the rubble of a collapsed building in the Nasr neighborhood in western Gaza on Tuesday.
WORLD
Apr 18, 2025

Hamas says it is ready to release remaining hostages for an end to Gaza war

Israel is unlikely to accept Hamas' position, potentially further delaying an end to the attacks that restarted in recent weeks.
Jerome Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, during an Economic Club of Chicago event in Chicago on Wednesday
BUSINESS
Apr 18, 2025

Trump mulls firing Fed chair Powell over rate policy dispute

Trump’s threat to oust Powell draws warnings from economists and aides about risks to markets and Fed credibility.
Luigi Mangione, who is charged in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, arrives for his arraignment at the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan on Dec. 23.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 18, 2025

Luigi Mangione faces federal charges in health executive’s killing

Mangione has separately been charged by New York state prosecutors with Brian Thompson’s murder and awaits trial.

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