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The Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion was issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce a week before the end of the Biden administration. The Trump administration is now trying to alter it.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 30, 2025

Trump officials eye changes to Biden's AI chip export rule

Removing the tier system could open the door to using U.S. chips as an even more powerful negotiating tool in trade talks.
A trader kicks a picture of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a protest in Karachi on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 30, 2025

Pakistan says India planning strike as tensions rise after Kashmir attack

On April 22, 26 men were killed in the tourist hub of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, in the deadliest attack on civilians in the contested region in years.
Japanese junior high school students attending a traditional calligraphy class
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2025

Foreign tourists get taught the Japanese high school experience

Amid a tourism boom fuelled by an extremely weak yen, repeat visitors to Japan are looking for more immersive activities.
Amazon packages at a distribution center in Washington
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 30, 2025

Amazon denies tariff label pivot after Trump called to complain

The administration’s broadsides against Amazon on Tuesday highlighted the potential political risk for companies if they decide to break out the cost of tariffs for customers.
Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembele celebrates after scoring his club's lone goal of the first leg of its Champions League semifinal against Arsenal, in London on Tuesday.
SOCCER
Apr 30, 2025

Dembele sinks Arsenal as PSG seizes edge in Champions League semifinal

PSG will head into the second leg at Parc des Princes on May 7 as the favorite to reach the final against Barcelona or Inter Milan.
Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks controls the ball while being guarded by forward Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs during the 2025 NBA All-Star Game in February.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Apr 30, 2025

NBA mulling All-Star Game change: USA vs. World

Silver said an international format is appealing because the game will air on NBC during the middle of that network's Winter Olympics coverage.
A drone view shows the car market in Sarmada town, Idlib, Syria, on March 17.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 30, 2025

A tale of two Syrias: Free-market opening sows resentment of new rulers

Bashar Assad's mismanagement helped push the country of 24 million into an economic tailspin, amid Western sanctions and brutal civil war.
Men load solar panels on a rickshaw at a market in Karachi, Pakistan, on March 26.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 30, 2025

Pakistan's solar revolution leaves its middle class behind

Solar made up over 14% of Pakistan's power supply last year, up from 4% in 2021.
Prime Minister Shigaru Ishiba and CDP head Yoshihiko Noda at a parliamentary session in Tokyo on April 23.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 30, 2025

Ishiba hears advice from across the aisle on how Japan should handle Trump

A shared sense of national crisis and a desire to appeal to voters ahead of the July Upper House elections is pushing opposition parties to speak up.
U.S President Donald Trump meets with economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa at the White House during Akazawa's first trip to the U.S. to discuss tariffs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 30, 2025

Akazawa heads to Washington as Japanese automakers 'losing $1 million an hour' 

Speaking to reporters at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan’s chief trade negotiator remained polite but firm as he suggested that the pressure is on.
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama (left), who also chairs the Japan-China Parliamentary Friendship Association, meets with Zhao Leji, the third-ranked official in the Chinese Communist Party and chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, in Beijing on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 30, 2025

Communist China’s quiet influence on Japanese politics

China Communist Party influence operations have been embedded in the Japanese government and political structures for 75 years.
The United States and Ukraine signed a minerals deal on Wednesday, offering a measure of assurance to officials in Kyiv.
WORLD / Politics
May 1, 2025

U.S. and Ukraine sign resources deal after fraught negotiations

The signing ceremony on Wednesday concluded weeks of contentious negotiations and pulled the two countries back from a rift.
Frontale's Kota Takai (right) and Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo vie for the ball during their Asian Champions League Elite semifinal in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday.
SOCCER
May 1, 2025

Underdog Frontale topple Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr to reach ACL Elite final

Kawasaki will next face Al-Ahli, another Saudi side packed with high-profile foreign internationals.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. President Donald Trump during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington on Wednesday
WORLD / Politics
May 1, 2025

U.S. eyes more migration deals, with Rwanda said to be in talks

"We are actively searching for other countries to take people from third countries," said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A street in Kyoto in March 2023. An Israeli tourist was asked to sign a document stating that he had not committed war crimes when he checked in at a Kyoto guesthouse in April, prompting a response from Israel's ambassador.
JAPAN / Society
May 1, 2025

Israel protests after Kyoto inn seeks war crime declaration from tourist

The guesthouse said the purpose of the document was to ensure a safe stay for other guests and not due to discrimination.
Barcelona's Lamine Yamal moves between two Inter players during their match in Barcelona, Spain, on Wednesday.
SOCCER
May 1, 2025

Barcelona fights back for draw against Inter in sensational first-leg match

The second leg takes place on Tuesday, with the winner to face Paris Saint-Germain or Arsenal in the final.
Kawasaki Frontale's Tatsuya Ito controls the ball against Al-Nassr during the Asian Champions League Elite semifinals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday.
SOCCER
May 1, 2025

Frontale's Tatsuya Ito compares facing Cristiano Ronaldo to being in video game

Ito shrugged off any sense of being starstruck to open the scoring in spectacular fashion in the 10th minute at Jeddah's King Abdullah Sports City Stadium. Kawasaki went on to win.
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff prior to their talks in Moscow on April 25.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2025

The U.S. is letting Putin string it along on Ukraine

Russia is stringing Trump along with empty ceasefire gestures and escalating demands, exploiting his desperation to claim a quick Ukraine peace deal.
Lee Jae-myung, former leader of the Democratic Party, makes a final speech during the party's presidential primary election in Goyang, South Korea, on April 27.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 2, 2025

South Korea presidential race rocked by court ruling and resignations

South Korea's third acting president in five months, Lee Ju-ho, said that he will ensure stable government ahead of a June 3 presidential election.
"It does exist as a card,” said Kato, speaking on a TV Tokyo program Friday, when asked if Japan’s stance of not selling U.S. Treasury holdings could be a negotiation tool.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 2, 2025

Japan’s Kato says U.S. Treasury holdings could be negotiation card

The comments come amid negotiations between Japan and the U.S. after President Donald Trump ramped up his global tariff campaign.
A new study is offering fresh insight into where consciousness resides in the brain.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 2, 2025

Scientists explore where consciousness arises in the brain

There are practical applications in gaining a deeper understanding of the mechanics of consciousness in the brain.
Workers stand around a vehicle carrying the body of a person recovered from a sinkhole in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, on Friday.
JAPAN
May 2, 2025

Truck driver's body recovered from huge Japan sinkhole after three months

A road in the city of Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, caved in during morning rush hour in late January while the 74-year-old man was driving his truck on it.
The economic fallout from the U.S.-China confrontation may be giving new momentum to efforts to bring both sides to the negotiating table.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 2, 2025

China says it’s assessing U.S. talks, hinting at possible thaw

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said Chinese President Xi Jinping needs to contact him in order to begin tariff talks.
A carbon removal plant. Direct air capture and other technologies delivered less than 320,000 tons of carbon removal credits last year.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 2, 2025

Why investors are souring on this once red-hot climate tech

Venture capital funding of U.S.-based startups developing direct air capture (DAC) was down more than 60% in the first three months of 2025.
Donald Trump’s trade war and the dollar’s volatility are prompting Asia’s wealthy to reassess where they park their money, with Hong Kong and Singapore competing for capital as the U.S. loses its appeal as a financial haven.
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2025

Trump’s trade war shakes dollar’s haven status and opens door for Asian financial hubs

Trump’s trade policies, even if substantially reversed, have sent a loud message to the Asian affluent classes.
Time Out Market Osaka, located in the basement of Grand Green Osaka's South Building, is the London-based media and hospitality business' first Asian edition of their food market.
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 4, 2025

More than a food court: Time Out Market curates Osaka’s best flavors

After whetting appetites in cities like New York and Dubai, Time Out Market, the food event of the eponymous magazine and media group, has opened its first Asian edition in Osaka.
A local resident takes his belongings out of a damaged residential building after a drone attack in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
May 3, 2025

Trump team has prepped options to pressure Russia to end war

People familiar with the matter cautioned that Trump has made no decision yet as diplomatic efforts were ongoing.
Myaku-Myaku, the mascot of the 2025 Osaka Expo. Some people in the Japanese government are hoping that U.S. President Donald Trump will visit Japan to see the expo.
JAPAN
May 3, 2025

Trump visit to Osaka Expo likely to depend on tariff talks

A visit could provide a tailwind to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's ruling coalition ahead of this summer's Upper House election, observers said.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has been a staunch advocate for constitutional reform.
JAPAN / Politics
May 3, 2025

Despite shifts in Japan's political landscape, constitutional revision still far off

Weak political leadership, traditional sensitivity around the issue, and new policy priorities have forestalled a larger debate over the Constitution.
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.

Longform

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic