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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.
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.
U.S. President Donald Trump's policies, including attacks on research funding, immigration and trade threaten the foundations of American economic exceptionalism, and the resulting damage may be difficult to undo.
COMMENTARY / World
May 14, 2025

American exceptionalism meets its maker

The question is whether U.S. President Donald Trump’s destructive policies have now brought this economic exceptionalism to an end.
New research by a U.S. climate scientists’ group reveals that extreme heat has increased the risks of preterm births and other pregnancy complications in Japan, nearly doubling the number of days that are harmfully hot for pregnant women over the past five years.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 14, 2025

Harmfully hot days for pregnant women in Japan nearly doubled over past five years

Heat stress can raise the risks of stillbirths, miscarriages, preterm births and low-weight births, as well as congenital abnormalities for the babies.
Solar panels on display at the Canton Fair in Guangzhou, China, on April 16
BUSINESS / Tech
May 15, 2025

Rogue communication equipment found in Chinese-made solar power inverters

The rogue components provide undocumented communication channels that could allow security measures to be circumvented remotely, sources said.
SeaForest CEO Sam Elsom at the company's headquarters in Triabunna, Tasmania, on March 26
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 15, 2025

Australian seaweed farm tackles livestock burps to combat climate change

While far less abundant in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, methane is about 80 times more potent over a 20-year timescale at warming the planet.
The yen slumped more than 2% on Monday alone, nearing ¥150 to the dollar, after the U.S. and China temporarily lowered tariffs, triggering a reversal of bearish dollar bets.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 15, 2025

Rich Japanese still fear yen crash, wealth manager says

Japan's most prosperous households are still scarred by the market’s collapse in the early 1990s.
Walking along Osaka's Kanjosen brings you closer to a different side of the city that the head-in-the-clouds Expo 2025 misses.
LIFE / Travel
May 17, 2025

Fighting Osaka Expo fatigue? Walk the 21-km Loop Line for a cure.

Officially completed in 1961, the Osaka Kanjosen runs through the city’s most famous and less touristed neighborhoods alike.
Jannik Sinner celebrates after his win over Casper Ruud in the quarterfinal round of the Italian Open in Rome on Thursday.
TENNIS
May 16, 2025

Jannik Sinner makes statement by demolishing Casper Ruud to reach semifinals

Ruud was supposed to be Sinner's toughest test in Rome since his return from a three-month doping ban.
A new U.S. citizen holds a U.S. flag after a naturalization ceremony in Boston on March 11.
COMMENTARY / World
May 16, 2025

U.S. citizenship could soon look very different

Trump's vision tilts heavily toward the wealthy and well-to-do, with special shortcuts for them and barriers to entry for the rest.
Nissan's Oliver Rowland drives during qualifying for Miami E-Prix at Homestead Motor Speedway in Homestead, Florida, on April 12.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
May 16, 2025

Nissan hoping to electrify home crowd as Formula E returns to Tokyo

Nissan heads into the race leading the constructor standings.
The Lynas Rare Earths processing plant in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
BUSINESS
May 18, 2025

Australian firm produces heavy rare earth, in first outside China

Beijing has banned the export of processing technology that could help rival nations, and has been accused of using state-imposed quotas to control supply.
Muneyuki Izawa, a chef at the Japanese ambassador's official residence in Phnom Penh, prepares Japanese cuisine dishes.
JAPAN
May 18, 2025

Japan working to improve treatment of 'culinary diplomats' in diplomatic missions

In July, the ministry will start accepting applications for chef positions under improved working conditions, with the improved treatment set to take effect next January.
Italy's Jasmine Paolini celebrates after winning the Italian Open in Rome on Saturday.
TENNIS
May 18, 2025

Paolini makes history by seeing off Gauff to win Italian Open

Late bloomer Paolini is the first Italian woman to win the Rome event since Raffaella Reggi in 1985.
Founded with a mission of promoting electric vehicles, Formula E has always placed sustainability at the forefront of its raison d’etre.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
May 18, 2025

For Formula E, ‘sustainability is at the heart’

Now in its 11th season, Formula E's efforts to reduce emissions and promote electric vehicles are paying off.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer (left) U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (second from left), U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (second from right) and Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's economic revitalization minster, pose for a photo ahead of a meeting in Washington on May 1.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
May 19, 2025

China-U.S. trade truce prompts nations to consider tougher tactics

After China’s tough negotiating tactics earned it a favorable deal, nations taking a more diplomatic and expedited approach are questioning whether that’s the right path.
Moody’s downgrade of the U.S. credit rating reflects growing concern over Washington’s unwillingness to confront rising debt, soaring deficits and interest costs — even as global investors keep piling into Treasuries.
COMMENTARY
May 19, 2025

Moody’s tells us what we already know about U.S. debt

Take the firm’s decision to strip the country of its top AAA credit rating seriously, not literally.
The crowded center circle of the Kansai Pavilion at the Osaka Expo, featuring photos and videos of various prefectures
JAPAN
May 25, 2025

Osaka Expo highlights uniqueness of Kansai region

The Kansai Pavilion offers numerous experiences to allow visitors to understand the rich history and culture of the region.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba
JAPAN / Politics
May 19, 2025

Ishiba rebuffs tax cut demands with Greek debt comparison

The premier said he disagrees with the idea of funding tax cuts with Japanese government bonds, signaling caution over additional government spending.
Visitors at the 2025 Osaka Expo in the city of Osaka earlier this month
JAPAN
May 19, 2025

BIE head suggests later Osaka Expo close time

The expo's current opening hours are 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Tomomi Bitoh, seen crossing the finish line in Antarctica, on the first stop of the World Marathon Challenge, is one of the very few Japanese athletes to speak publicly about her experience with egg freezing.
MORE SPORTS
May 19, 2025

The race for more time: Japanese runner decided to freeze eggs for her future

More women in Japan are expressing interest or following through with freezing their eggs in recent years, but only a few athletes in Japan have spoken about it publicly.
Teru Hasegawa, Esperanto name Verda Majo, wrote leftist political essays during WWII.
CULTURE / Books
May 20, 2025

A window into the mind of Esperantist and political activist Teru Hasegawa

During WWII, a young Japanese woman resisted her country's descent into fascism by writing leftist essays, now collected and translated in "Whispers of a Storm."
Scottie Scheffler celebrates after winning the PGA Championship golf tournament at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
May 20, 2025

Scheffler installed as U.S. Open favorite

The event will begin June 12 at Oakmont Country Club in Plum, Pennsylvania, a week before Scottie Scheffler's 29th birthday.
Brazilian real and a U.S. dollar notes are seen in this illustration taken on Dec. 18, 2024
BUSINESS / Markets
May 20, 2025

Dollar set for more weakness as 'Brand USA' falls further out of favor

Investors see the currency losing more of its luster as the greenback comes back to earth from lofty valuations.
Huawei Technologies has unveiled its first in-house operating system for personal computers.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 20, 2025

Huawei unveils in-house operating system to replace Windows

The rollout of HarmonyOS on the company's new laptops comes as China pushes to replace American technologies amid rising geopolitical tensions.
Robin Zeng, founder and chairman of battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), attends the company’s listing ceremony at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in Hong Kong on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 20, 2025

Chinese battery giant CATL soars more than 13% on Hong Kong debut

A global leader in the sector, CATL produces more than a third of all electric vehicle (EV) batteries sold worldwide.
The cast and crew of Indian drama film "All We Imagine As Light" pose with their award for best film at the 18th Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong on March 16.
CULTURE / Film
May 21, 2025

Women fight for the spotlight in India's macho movie industry

Women filmmakers in India are reshaping cinema with authentic, female-led stories, challenging outdated stereotypes and finding box office success.
A branch of Danish jewelry maker Pandora in central Copenhagen on Feb. 6, 2024. Pandora CEO Alexander Lacik said the company is debating whether to raise prices globally or more in the U.S.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 21, 2025

Global retailers' tariff strategy risks spreading pain beyond U.S. consumer

Raising prices elsewhere to avoid big hikes in the U.S. risks fueling inflation in those other markets.
Firefighters battle forest fires in the Turkmen mountains in the Rabiah area of Syria's western Latakia's governorate on May 11.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 21, 2025

Fires drive tropical forest loss to 'red alert' record high

The world lost 67,000 square kilometers of precious primary tropical forest last year, an area double the size of Belgium or Taiwan.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo