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Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (right) and Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov shake hands at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 16, 2025

Ishiba's expo diplomacy begins with hosting of Turkmen president

The two leaders released a joint statement calling for maintaining "the free and open international order based on the rule of law."
Dodger Stadium will host the baseball competition during the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, organizers announced Tuesday.
OLYMPICS
Apr 16, 2025

LA Games announce venues, including baseball at Dodger Stadium

The competition will be sprawled out around the greater Los Angeles region and will make use of some of the city's most famous venues.
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg departs after attending a Federal Trade Commission trial at a U.S. District Court in Washington on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 16, 2025

Zuckerberg defends strategy behind Instagram, WhatsApp deals

The Federal Trade Commission alleges the acquisitions of the two apps give Meta Platforms a social media monopoly, and is fighting to break up the company.
The building of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia in Phnom Penh. The court, which ended proceedings in 2022, tried former Khmer Rouge officials for crimes committed during the regime, reinforcing global norms against impunity.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 16, 2025

Japan should challenge Washington in defense of justice

Japan played a key role in trying the Khmer Rouge for their crimes in Cambodia. Half a century on from the genocidal regime, Tokyo must renew its commitment to international law.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has sent a delegation to Washington for high-stakes tariff talks, as other nations watch to see if Tokyo can secure favorable terms from the Trump administration.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 16, 2025

If Japan can’t get a good trade deal, can anyone?

The Asian nation is the canary in the tariff coal mine. If it can’t secure a good deal, there’s little hope for others.
Under the Economic Security Promotion Act, the government implements a range of measures to secure vital supply chains, from providing subsidies and low-interest loans to coordinating regulations, stockpiling essential goods and protecting advanced technologies.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 16, 2025

METI may list undersea cables and satellites as critical for economic security

The move comes amid an increasingly uncertain geo-economic climate, with global powers becoming more protectionist.
A reincarnated Chinese strategist (Osamu Mukai) finds himself in modern-day Japan and helps an up-and-coming pop singer win a music competition in “Ya Boy Kongming! The Movie.”
CULTURE / Film
Apr 17, 2025

‘Ya Boy Kongming! The Movie’: J-pop spectacle goes heavy on performances

Shuhei Shibue's film about the improbable musical career of a Chinese strategist reincarnated in modern-day Japan delivers J-pop high notes and history deep cuts.
Economists fail to understand that Donald Trump's tariff policy is part of a broader strategy to prepare the U.S. for long-term competition with China, driven by national security concerns rather than traditional economic or trade policy.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 17, 2025

What economists 'don’t get' about Trump tariffs

My view is that the U.S. has started to prepare seriously for a long-term competition with China for global dominance.
Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs have dealt a blow to U.S. credibility and the greenback. It’s a bigger leap to project the currency's demise.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 16, 2025

King dollar’s reign looks secure — for now

The greenback survived Trump's first term at the pinnacle and will likely endure his second.
Japan coach Eddie Jones (right) shakes hands with France coach Fabien Galthie before a match in Saint-Denis, France, on Nov. 9, 2024.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Apr 17, 2025

Japan coach Eddie Jones at peace after messy exit from Australia

Jones oversaw Australia's worst Rugby World Cup performance at the 2023 tournament in France.
While taking refuge on Mount Kasagi from the shogunate’s forces, Emperor Go-Daigo had a prophetic dream that eventually led him to secure the support of military strategist Kusunoki Masashige.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Apr 19, 2025

‘I scud before the autumn wind’: Emperor Go-Daigo’s fall from grace

The “Masukagami,” a 14th-century historical chronicle, offers a wrenching account of the emperor’s struggle for power — and eventual downfall.
On the 28th floor of the Waldorf Astoria Osaka, the Peacock Lounge exemplifies the art deco decadence the brand has become synonymous with.
LIFE / Travel
Apr 19, 2025

Japan’s first Waldorf Astoria brings art deco luxury to Osaka

Stays at the Waldorf Astoria Osaka start at ¥150,000 per night, but this is no hotel to be pinching pennies.
U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington on Thursday
BUSINESS
Apr 18, 2025

Trump’s tariff policies are hurting the businesses he’s trying to help

Some firms are putting hiring and expansion plans on hold while they come up with short-term plans to cope with the tariffs.
Container ships at the Port of Los Angeles on April 7. U.S. President Donald Trump has long argued that China’s dominant role in the maritime industry has made the U.S. overly dependent on the Asian nation.
BUSINESS
Apr 18, 2025

Trump moves to levy Chinese vessels in trade war shakeup

The proposal follows a monthslong investigation ordered by the Biden administration into whether Chinese shipbuilding threatens U.S. national security.
Ado opened her Sunday night concert at the 2025 Osaka Expo with “Shin Jidai” (New Genesis)” after a rain-soaked lead-up to the show’s 7:45 p.m. start.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 18, 2025

Japan wanted a cultural do-over. Ado gave it one.

The 22-year-old J-pop singer cast a spell on the first weekend of the Osaka Expo
People walk past an advertisement featuring Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani outside Tokyo Dome on March 18.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 18, 2025

Nothing sells like Shohei Ohtani, MLB’s marketing megastar

The Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player is at the peak of his stardom, and brands are rushing to cash in with huge sponsorship deals.
An autonomous aerial vehicle designed to carry one passenger conducts a test flight in Guangzhou, China. Flying taxis and even drone-powered food delivery services are rapidly becoming realities in the country's government-backed "low-altitude economy."
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Apr 18, 2025

Will a 'low-altitude economy' make Chinese growth soar again?

Beijing wants to repeat the economic success story of its battery and EV players by propelling companies operating in low-altitude airspace to global market dominance.
Tennis' anti-doping authorities have had to fend off a fresh round of criticism after it reminded players that if they choose to shower before giving a urine sample, they must be supervised by a chaperone.
TENNIS
Apr 19, 2025

Tennis doping watchdog defends supervised shower rule amid fan backlash

The agency said players chosen to give samples must remain in full view of chaperones if they choose to take a shower first.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's Economic Revitalization Minister and top tariff negotiator with the U.S., speaks to the press upon his arrival at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 20, 2025

Japan mulls reviewing car safety rules to strike deal with Trump

The report comes after Japan’s chief negotiator Ryosei Akazawa kicked off tariff discussions with U.S. counterparts in Washington last week.
Visitors walk atop the Grand Ring at Expo 2025 in Osaka on April 13.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 20, 2025

Digitalized Osaka Expo troubling elderly visitors

Under the Expo's digital and paperless policies, visitors are asked to use devices such as smartphones to make reservations and navigate the massive venue.
A visitor looks on from the Grand Ring venue of the 2025 Osaka Expo on April 14.
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2025

Osaka Expo struggles with drawing visitors and managing crowds

Long lines formed in front of entrance gates as a communications failure left many unable to access their electronic admission tickets on their smartphones.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri celebrates after winning the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 21, 2025

Oscar Piastri plans to do more winning after rising to top of F1 standings

The last Australian to lead the championship was Mark Webber, who is now the 24-year-old Piastri's manager, at Red Bull in 2010.
Hyundai vehicles drive into a cargo ship at a port near the company's Ulsan plant in March.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 21, 2025

Shrinking South Korea exports send global warning on Trump tariffs

The data will be closely watched for clues on how Trump’s new levies are playing out in the real world.
Cranes and containers are pictured at the Yantian port in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 21, 2025

China warns countries against striking trade deals with U.S.

Beijing will firmly oppose any party striking a deal at China's expense and "will take countermeasures in a resolute and reciprocal manner," its Commerce Ministry said.
Hiroshima is full of memorials to the 1945 atomic bombing. Among them, the peace museum promotes an ambiguous message: One against nuclear weapons without acknowledging the role of nuclear deterrence in preserving the postwar peace.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 21, 2025

The ambiguity of Japan’s message on nuclear weapons

It is common in Japan to be both anti-atomic weapons and anti-war. But are these positions not contradictory if nuclear deterrence actually works to preserve the peace?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at a parliamentary committee session in Tokyo on Monday, during which U.S. tariffs were discussed.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 21, 2025

Tokyo insists defense issues and tariff talks must remain separate

Mixing the two risks distorting the essence of each issue, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba says.
Lower House lawmaker Kai Odake in his Tokyo office on Wednesday
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 21, 2025

Is Japan’s parliament ready to welcome more youth to its ranks?

Among the world’s largest democracies, Japan has some of the highest minimum age requirements for politicians.
Multinational victims of scam centers, who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar, stand on a vessel floating towards the Thai side of border via Moei River in Phop Phra District, Tak province, Thailand, on Feb. 12.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Apr 21, 2025

'Cancer' of billion-dollar cyberscam industry spreading globally: U.N.

Even as Southeast Asian governments have intensified a crackdown, syndicates have moved within and beyond the region.
Cultured meat over 1 centimeter thick developed using a new method incorporating hollow fibers into the cell culture process
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2025

New method developed to make cultured meat thicker

By incorporating hollow fibers into the cell culture process, the team succeeded in creating meat that was about 1 centimeter thick and weighed about 11 grams.
A monitor displays stock market information on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 22, 2025

U.S. assets slump again as Trump sharpens attack on Fed chief

Trump called Jerome Powell a 'loser' for not cutting interest rates, underscoring questions about whether the U.S. President will try to fire Powell.

Longform

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