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The Unification Church's Tokyo headquarters in Shibuya Ward. The group is appealing a district court order stripping it of its religious corporation status.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 7, 2025

Unification Church appeals stripping of religious corporation status

The group argued that the district court order was decided as a foregone conclusion and ignored law and the facts.
A Haas F1 car on display in the fan zone at Suzuka Circuit on Saturday as Toyota marks a soft return to Formula One.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 7, 2025

Toyota's synergy with Haas fuels automaker's modest return to Formula One

Toyota’s decision to partner with the American team immediately left observers wondering if it might have its eyes on more, such as an engine deal or a full-blown Toyota team.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks in a video message shown at a national rally demanding the return of the Northern Territories held in Tokyo in February.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2025

Russia bans Japanese NGO amid disputed islands row

The four islands were captured by the Soviet military during the final months of the war, and have been held by Moscow since, in what Tokyo describes as an "illegal occupation."
Masters champion Scottie Scheffler hits off the first tee as he starts a practice round at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Apr 8, 2025

Scheffler eyes Masters repeat; McIlroy primed for career Grand Slam

A win for Scheffler would make him only the fourth golfer to retain a Masters title and first since Woods in 2001-02.
South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Tuesday that the country will hold a presidential election on June 3, adding that the day would be designated as a temporary public holiday to facilitate voting.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 8, 2025

South Korea to hold snap presidential election on June 3

The announcement comes days after former leader Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from office over a short-lived martial law declaration.
The Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on March 19
WORLD / Politics
Apr 8, 2025

Harvard plans to borrow $750 million amid federal funding threats

Trump has threatened to slash federal funding for U.S. universities that his administration says have tolerated antisemitism on their campuses.
The Unification Church decided in June 2009 to give its residual assets to Tenchi Seikyo, based in the Hokkaido city of Obihiro, if the group is disbanded.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2025

Hokkaido group set as recipient of Unification Church assets

The controversial group decided in June 2009 to give its residual assets to Tenchi Seikyo, based in the Hokkaido city of Obihiro.
George Glass, U.S. President Donald Trump's pick to be ambassador to Japan, attends a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing in Washington on March 13.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 9, 2025

Japan gets a new U.S. ambassador — and he has his work cut out for him

The U.S. Senate has voted to confirm George Glass, whose top agenda items include resolving the tariff row and getting Tokyo to spend more on defense.
Traders work on the floor of the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) area of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Friday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 9, 2025

Market calm is shattered as abrupt selloffs roil Wall Street

As recession fears build, markets have continued to flash warning signs.
One of two Chinese soldiers Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said were captured by Ukrainian forces in the country's Donetsk region is seen in this image released Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 9, 2025

In a first, Ukraine captures two Chinese nationals fighting for Russia

The Chinese men were taken captive during fighting on Ukrainian territory in the Donetsk region.
Former Kanto Rengo member Tetsuya Yamaguchi arrives at Haneda Airport in Tokyo's Ota Ward on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 9, 2025

Ex-member of 'Kanto Rengo' quasi-gang group arrested

Tetsuya Yamaguchi, 46, was arrested for his alleged involvement in a phone scam operation in Cambodia.
A man on a platform applies a fresh coat of paint to the landmark anti-U.S. mural drawn on the wall of a building in Tehran on Tuesday, the same day that Iran said will send its top diplomat to Oman for breakthrough talks with the United States.
WORLD
Apr 9, 2025

Iran says it will start nuclear talks with U.S. this weekend

The announcement comes even as debate continued over how the session will unfold.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of South Korea's Democratic Party, during a meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul on Monday. Lee is the top candidate for the next presidential election, with support of 34% respondents in a Gallup poll released April. 4.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 9, 2025

South Korea opposition leader Lee steps down amid expectations of presidential run

The country holds a presidential election on June 3 after former president Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment.
The U.S. Justice Department is disbanding its National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, a memo has shown.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 9, 2025

U.S. Justice Department disbands crypto enforcement team

Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. government has been reversing course on crypto.
Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery gives a press conference on the eve of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal first leg against Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, on Tuesday.
SOCCER
Apr 9, 2025

Villa's Emery relishes PSG clash but wants consistent European success

Emery will return to Paris for Wednesday's first leg after having managed PSG from 2016 to 2018, winning a domestic quadruple in his final year.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks near Elbridge Colby (right) at Colby’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee for undersecretary of defense for policy, at the Capitol in Washington on March 4.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 9, 2025

U.S. confirms new Pentagon No. 3 as Japan defense budget in crosshairs

Elbridge Colby is a known China hawk and advocate for Asian allies — including Japan — to spend more on defense.
Yumi Watanabe (right), head of the residents' association of the Tsubamesawa public housing complex in Sendai, delivers a meal to a resident.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Apr 21, 2025

Disaster public housing complexes in Sendai work to boost interactions

Residents are working with volunteers to organize a children’s cafeteria and other events.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever and business officials in Kyiv on Tuesday
WORLD
Apr 10, 2025

Zelenskyy says at least 155 Chinese nationals are fighting on Russia's side

Ukraine captured two Chinese nationals in eastern Ukraine, where Russian troops have been advancing.
Lee Jae-myung releases a statement to the public at the National Assembly in Seoul in December.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 10, 2025

South Korean presidential front-runner Lee Jae-myung enters leadership race

The presidential election will be held on June 3, after the impeachment of former president Yoon Suk Yeol for his December martial law declaration.
A flag outside United Nations headquarters in New York.
WORLD
Apr 10, 2025

U.N. may get first female chief as Latin bloc unites

Latin American and Caribbean nations are working to back a single candidate — likely a woman — for U.N. chief as Antonio Guterres prepares to step down.
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a bag as he visits the Louis Vuitton Rochambeau Ranch leather workshop in Keene, Texas, in 2019.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 10, 2025

LVMH finds making Louis Vuitton bags messy in Texas

Former staff say Louis Vuitton’s Texas plant wastes up to 40% of leather and encouraged defect coverups to hit targets.
Moussa Sacko, a Malian deported from France — where he had lived since he was a young child — stands on a street in Bamako, Mali, in December. Compared with his home in France, Bamako feels like a different planet, Sacko said.
WORLD / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Apr 10, 2025

From France to Mali, a deportee's struggle far from home

Hundreds of foreign nationals previously protected because they grew up in France now face expulsion under legislation introduced last year.
The Virginia-class fast attack submarine USS Minnesota off the coast of Western Australia in March
WORLD / Politics
Apr 10, 2025

AUKUS nuclear submarine sale under scrutiny as U.S. tariffs shake Australia

Disappointment that defense ties didn't win Australia exemptions from the U.S. tariffs has put the program under unprecedented public scrutiny.
Japan needs a strong leader as it faces huge challenges. With Upper House and Tokyo gubernatorial elections coming up, the LDP needs to lay the groundwork for replacing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, whose polls have entered the danger zone.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 9, 2025

The window to replace Japan's accidental prime minister is nigh

Shigeru Ishiba isn't the right leader to weather Japan through the incoming storm. With Upper House elections this summer, it's time the LDP starts fielding his replacement.
A trader works during the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 11, 2025

Trump trade war with China revives recession and bear market fears

While announcing a 90-day tariff pause on dozens of countries, Trump ratcheted up tariffs on Chinese imports, raising them effectively to 145%.
While Unzen Onsen's "hells" can be visually striking, locals describe them and their effects as "a source of emotional healing."
LIFE / Travel
Apr 12, 2025

Heaven from hells: The sulfuric pleasure of Unzen Onsen

Located deep within Kyushu’s Shimabara Peninsula, this hot spring town offers dramatic scenery worth the effort it takes to get there.
"Giselle” is a ballet telling the story of a peasant girl that dies from a broken heart and the supernatural revenge and haunting that follow.
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 11, 2025

National Ballet of Japan takes its 'Giselle' to Royal Opera House in London

First staged in 2022 to celebrate the NBJ’s 25th anniversary season, Miyako Yoshida's production is revived for the first time with several Tokyo shows in April.
The Dodgers' Mookie Betts (left) and Shohei Ohtani pose with their Silver Slugger awards before a game against the Cardinals on March, 29, 2024.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 11, 2025

Is Mookie Betts or Shohei Ohtani the better athlete? Dodgers teammates weigh in

The beauty of the question is that even as baseball players, Ohtani and Betts are so different.
At many prominent Chinese universities, there are more graduate than undergraduate students. While a high level of educational attainment is seen as a measure to contrast youth unemployment, it may be compounding the problem instead.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Apr 11, 2025

Is China overproducing highly qualified talent?

Chinese universities are investing heavily in graduate education, but burgeoning ranks of highly qualified job seekers are struggling to find work and increasingly looking abroad.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte meets with members of an explosives disposal team while inspecting equipment aboard the Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Mogami frigate at the Yokosuka Base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Apr 11, 2025

Japan and NATO strengthen links amid rising security fears

The starting point for the deepening ties is a shared view that security is indivisible and events that create instability in one part of the world will impact other regions.

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A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami