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Imba, a clove farmer who inherited 70 trees from her parents, in Ternate, North Maluku, Indonesia. Colonial powers once warred over the cloves grown on the eastern Indonesian island of Ternate. Today, farmers say the crop's gravest threat is climate change.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 6, 2025

Climate change takes spice from Indonesia clove farms

Clove trees can take more than a decade to mature, and flowers can only be harvested in a small window that depends heavily on weather conditions.
U.S. President Donald Trump, accompanied by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, delivers remarks on the advanced F-47 sixth-generation fighter jet in the Oval Office on March 21. 

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as an image of an F-47 sixth-generation fighter jet is displayed, in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 21, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2025

The F-47 fighter jet and Trump’s air dominance gamble

The U.S.' announcement signals a shift toward the pursuit of nuclear superiority — which history shows will weaken deterrence and increase the likelihood of nuclear crises.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric will meet with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during his visit to Japan and will also inspect the World Exposition in Osaka.
JAPAN / Politics
May 7, 2025

Chilean President Gabriel Boric to make first visit to Japan

Boric will meet with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during his stay and will also inspect the World Exposition in Osaka.
Kazuo Sumi, former president and chairman of railway operator Hankyu Hanshin Holdings
JAPAN
May 7, 2025

Ex-Hankyu Hanshin Holdings chief Kazuo Sumi dies at 76

The Kansai native died at his house in the city of Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture, on April 26.
Apple Music personalities (from left) Ebro Darden, Kentaro Ochiai, Zane Lowe and Mino came together for a special recording in late April to discuss music and celebrate the newly opened Apple Music studio in Tokyo.
CULTURE / Music
May 8, 2025

With a new Shibuya studio, Apple Music bets big on Japan

Streaming numbers are up, world tours are growing, and now, Tokyo has a new studio aimed at amplifying Japan’s voice.
A semiconductor wafer is magnified through the lens of a microscope in Seoul on April 30. A rule introduced by former U.S. President Joe Biden to restrict the export of sophisticated chips has been described as "unenforceable."
BUSINESS / Tech
May 8, 2025

Trump administration to rescind and replace Biden's AI chip export curbs

A spokeswoman for the Department of Commerce said the rule is "overly complex" and "unenforceable."
Air pollution is one of the most pressing health issues in India, where the country's 1.4 billion people breathe air exceeding the World Health Organization's guidelines for particulate matter.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health / ANALYSIS
May 8, 2025

Indian industries swap polluted air with each other in health fix

India's 1.4 billion people breathe air exceeding the World Health Organization's guidelines for particulate matter, which can cause severe health issues.
A makeshift tent camp near a railway track, following a strong earthquake in Amarapura township, Myanmar, on April 4
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 8, 2025

Health care crisis follows Myanmar quake as junta drives medics underground

After medics took a prominent role in the anti-junta movement that emerged after the coup, the military administration has sought to root out opponents to its rule.
Toyota CEO Koji Sato announces the firm's financial results during a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 8, 2025

Toyota cites tariffs as it forecasts 35% drop in 2025-26 net profit

Carmakers have been among the hardest-hit by Trump's multipronged assault on free trade.
The Osaka Expo, which opened last month, runs through mid-October.
JAPAN
May 8, 2025

Man admitted to 2025 Osaka Expo with 85-year-old ticket

Previous expos in Japan have had similar policies of giving "invitation tickets" to people holding passes for the 1940 event, expo organizers said.
Teachers and students from Karachi University take part in an anti-India protest on April 28. Pakistan has warned that any attempt by India to stop water supplies from the Indus River could be seen as an "act of war."
COMMENTARY / World
May 8, 2025

New Delhi’s warning to Islamabad

Modi has thus retained strategic ambiguity, while sending a resolute message: Resource-sharing comes with conditions.
SusHi Tech Tokyo 2025 was bustling with participants of various nationalities Thursday, and multiple languages could be heard around the room as many engaged in conversations throughout the day.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 8, 2025

SusHi Tech Tokyo 2025 expands to become one of Asia's largest startup events

This year, the conference — focused on sustainable cities and high technology — feels bigger and more global.
A J-10C fighter jet
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 9, 2025

Pakistan hails role of Chinese jets in repelling India strikes

Hostilities between India and Pakistan have escalated since an April 22 attack that killed 26 civilians in the Indian-controlled part of the territory.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (second right) and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer (left) meet with Japan’s economic revitalization minister, Ryosei Akazawa, in Washington on May 1. In an attempt to ease trade tensions, Bessent and Greer will meet with a Chinese team in Switzerland from Saturday. 
EDITORIALS
May 9, 2025

A moment of hope for U.S-China trade frictions

The U.S. and China will meet in Switzerland to discuss trade tensions, but deep mistrust and structural issues are hurdles they will have to overcome to make progress.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters during the announcement of a trade agreement with Britain in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
May 10, 2025

China and the U.S. to talk trade war ceasefire — not peace

Ahead of the meeting, the two sides seem much further apart and at greater risk of a major fallout than during their first trade war in Trump's previous term.
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.
Italy's Jannik Sinner in action during his round of 64 match against Argentina's Mariano Navone during the Italian Open in Rome on Saturday
TENNIS
May 11, 2025

Sinner enjoys triumphant return at Italian Open following doping ban

For the three-time Grand Slam champion, winning not about just about victory on home soil but also rebuilding momentum.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (left) and Chilean President Gabriel Boric at the Prime Minister's Official Residence in Tokyo on Sunday
JAPAN / Politics
May 11, 2025

Ishiba and Boric reaffirm importance of free trade

Ishiba told Boric that Japan wants to deepen bilateral cooperation with Chile in the mining sector, given that Chile is the largest source of copper and lithium for Japan.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer address the media after trade talks with China in Geneva on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 12, 2025

U.S. and China cite ‘substantial progress’ in Geneva trade talks

U.S. negotiators described "substantial progress" and also said details would be announced Monday.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney finishes a news conference in Ottawa on May 2. U.S. President Donald Trump's persistent desire to annex its northern neighbor continues despite Canada's rejection the notion.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 12, 2025

Sorry, America. Canada’s just not that into you.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has been tactful but firm. Yet President Donald Trump can’t seem to take no for an answer.
Empowering nuns and laypeople could help preserve struggling parishes and restore the Catholic Church’s role as a vital community anchor, especially with nuns who have long been its most dedicated and overlooked servants.
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2025

To save Catholicism, let’s talk nuns, not popes

All eyes were on Rome as Pope Leo XIV was announced. But to secure the future of the faith, Catholics should look closer to home.
Then-Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping visits a school in South Gate, California, in February 2012. Experts say Xi won big in his standoff with U.S. President Donald Trump.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
May 13, 2025

Xi defiance pays off as Trump meets most China trade demands

Going forward, experts say, this will make the Chinese side confident that they have leverage over the U.S. in any negotiations.
A gate to the Osaka Expo site is crowded with visitors on Monday.
JAPAN
May 13, 2025

One month on, Osaka Expo urged to boost heat and crowd control measures

Experts say the real test will come in August when higher turnout is expected.
A humanoid robot walks as an employee conducts tests, on the production line at the AgiBot factory in Shanghai on March 20.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 13, 2025

China's AI-powered humanoid robots aim to transform manufacturing

Beijing is aiming for a new industrial revolution where many factory tasks would be performed by humanoid robots.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping speaks during the opening ceremony of the China-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum in Beijing on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 13, 2025

China's Xi slams 'bullying' as Beijing hosts Latin American leaders

The Chinese leader also pledged $9.2 billion in credit toward "development" for the region — part of a broad set of initiatives aimed at deepening cooperation.
A Warren Buffett Squishmallow is displayed during a Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, in May 2023. Buffett’s $25 billion bet on five Japanese trading houses reflects his belief that the country’s overlooked market rewards patient investors who embrace its unique business culture.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 13, 2025

Buffett’s little Japan handbook — and other lessons

The legendary investor recently revealed what inspired his interest in Tokyo’s trading houses — and offered a host of tips for would-be followers.
People smoking in Yuxi, in China's southwest Yunnan province. China is home to a third of the world's smokers and tobacco-related diseases are a major cause of death in the country — a trend likely to worsen as its population rapidly ages.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
May 13, 2025

Tobacco town thrives as China struggles to kick the habit

China is home to a third of the world's smokers and tobacco-related diseases are a major cause of death in the country.
Ashikaga Takauji was a 14th-century warrior whose shifting alliances had a profound impact on the turbulent politics of his day. More than 500 years later, imperial loyalists were moved to channel their lingering fury at Takauji's betrayal of Emperor Go-Daigo.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
May 17, 2025

The emperor and the shogun: A power struggle across the centuries

For imperial loyalists of the late Edo Period, the experiences of Emperor Go-Daigo from five centuries past were an inspiration — and a warning.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the Saudi-U.S. business investment forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 14, 2025

Trump’s Middle East visit opens floodgate of AI deals led by Nvidia

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are poised to win wider access to advanced AI chips from Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices.
Former Reds player Pete Rose speaks during a pregame ceremony in Cincinnati, Ohio, in June 2017.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 14, 2025

MLB removes Pete Rose and 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson from ban list

Commissioner Rob Manfred made the historic decision on Tuesday, potentially making the two late players eligible for election into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji