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A member of Pakistan armed forces takes a selfie at the International Defense Exhibition and Seminar in Karachi in November.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
May 27, 2025

India and Pakistan's drone battles mark new arms race in Asia

The South Asian powers are now locked in a drones arms race, according to security officials, industry executives and analysts in both countries.
The leaders of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito bloc hold up a document on their agreement to reform the pension system in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 27, 2025

Coalition clears last hurdle of parliamentary session with pension bill

The agreement largely revolves around a plan to boost funding for the basic pension program, which provides coverage to all residents in Japan age 20 to 60.
Destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized Israel's actions in the territory as "no longer comprehensible."
WORLD / Politics
May 27, 2025

Germany shifts tone on Israel over 'incomprehensible' Gaza carnage

The message reflects a broader shift in public opinion but also a greater willingness from top-ranking German politicians to criticize Israel's conduct.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio buttons his jacket at the start of a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing in Washington on May 21.
WORLD / Politics
May 28, 2025

U.S. suspends student visa processing as Trump ramps up social media vetting

A U.S. diplomatic cable has ordered embassies and consulates not to allow "any additional student or exchange visa ... appointment capacity until further guidance is issued."
An Israeli military vehicle is seen near the border between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Syria on May 4.
WORLD / Politics
May 28, 2025

Syria and Israel in direct talks focused on security, sources say

The contacts mark a significant development in ties between states that have been on opposite sides of conflict in the Middle East for decades.
A total 37 million people in Southeast Asia suffered from cardiovascular disease in 2021 and 1.7 million died from it, according to new research.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
May 28, 2025

Southeast Asia sees near 150% rise in heart disease, study shows

A total 37 million people in the region suffered from cardiovascular disease in 2021 and 1.7 million died from it.
A Skechers store in Times Square in New York. The company has announced plans to sell to investment firm 3G Capital in a take-private deal for about $9.4 billion.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 28, 2025

Retailers pummeled by Trump's trade war entertain more 'take-private' offers

Such companies have been hard-hit by rapidly shifting tariff announcements and are frustrated with an inability to provide earnings guidance.
A view of the site of the chemical plant explosion in Gaomi, Shandong province, China, on Wednesday
ASIA PACIFIC
May 28, 2025

Residents pick up the pieces one day after deadly China chemical blast

Local officials have not yet released the results of air quality tests as emergency services continued to tend to the site.
Workers assemble a Nissan Juke at the production line at Nissan's factory in Sunderland, England, in November 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 28, 2025

Nissan seeks to raise $7 billion with backing from U.K. government

The struggling automaker plans to issue debt and sell assets to raise funds for keeping its operations on track, according to internal documents.
People ride outdoor escalators as they visit the 2025 Osaka Expo in the city of Osaka on May 21.
JAPAN / Society
May 28, 2025

Japan's 2025 Osaka Expo draws 5 million visitors in first six weeks

More than 160 countries, regions and organizations are participating in the event.
The Finance Ministry in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
BUSINESS / Markets
May 28, 2025

Weak 40-year bond sale keeps pressure on Japan to tweak issuance

The 40-year yield rose 5 basis points following the sale, to 3.335% as of 4:20 p.m. in Tokyo, while the 30-year rate jumped 7 basis points.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda
BUSINESS / Economy
May 28, 2025

Ueda to monitor risk of high long-term bond yields affecting shorter-term rates

The comments come at a time of heightened concern about volatility at the long end of the bond market.
Members of Spanish Guardia Civil, supported by Europol, arrest a man (right) during an operation against drug trafficking in Mijas, near Malaga, in June 2024.
WORLD
May 28, 2025

Sun, sand and suspects: Spain tackles fugitives seeking a haven

Criminals from around the globe flock to Spain, but police stress that their chances of evading justice are slim.
Rock band Mrs. Green Apple performed an emotional rendition of hit song “Darling” on the final night of the Music Awards Japan.
CULTURE / Music
May 29, 2025

Songs, stars and strategy: Japan debuts its newest awards ceremony

From viral hits to legacy tributes, Japan's 'answer to the Grammys' delivers a celebration of J-pop's past and present at its inaugural event in Kyoto.
AI hallucinations — when generative models fabricate information — are becoming more frequent, harder to detect and increasingly dangerous as we embed the technology deeper into society.
COMMENTARY / World
May 28, 2025

AI hallucinations? What could go wrong?

The notion that we can’t ensure that AI will produce accurate information is, uh, “disturbing” if we intend to integrate that product so deeply into our daily lives.
The Chinese Communist Party has significantly expanded its global influence operations by using tactics like election interference, disinformation, elite capture and pressure on the diaspora to sway politics and policies in democracies worldwide.
COMMENTARY / World
May 28, 2025

Is Beijing engineering election wins for 'soft on China' politicians?

Beijing legally requires all citizens to support Communist Party policies and views ethnic Chinese everywhere as instruments for advancing its global goals.
An employee of Nissan Motor works on a Leaf electric car on an assembly line at its Oppama plant in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.
BUSINESS
May 29, 2025

Factory that symbolized Nissan's rise may become victim of its decline

Nissan faces a mountain of debt repayment and is scrambling to upgrade its aging lineup of vehicles, but hasn't said which of its 17 plants will be closed.
Products affected by the U.S. order to stop shipping goods to China without a license include design software and chemicals for semiconductors.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 29, 2025

U.S. curbs chip design software, chemicals and other shipments to China

The new restrictions appear aimed at choke points to prevent China from getting products necessary for key sectors.
Atsuko Okatsuka tries out some of the jokes from her new special, “Father,”  at the Tokyo Comedy Bar in Shibuya in January.
CULTURE / Stage
May 30, 2025

Atsuko Okatsuka brings big 'dad' energy to new special

The comedian’s upcoming special, titled “Father,” blends whimsical comedy and family drama — just in time for Father's Day.
The Hotaruan Royal Garden Suite, a renovated traditional "minka" home, will host the second iteration of the Minka Preservation Society's MinkaMeets event.
LIFE / Style & Design
May 31, 2025

Traditional home experts to gather at MinkaMeets event

Roof thatching expert Haruo Nishio is one of several experts scheduled to speak at the June 7-8 event.
Located in Nagano Prefecture, Samurai Gakuen tries to help young and old individuals who have withdrawn from society rediscover their places out in the world.
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 31, 2025

How ‘hikikomori’ shut-ins ‘start to have dreams for the future’

As many as 1.5 million “hikikomori” shut-ins withdraw from social life in Japan, but one school in Nagano is finding success is coaxing them back into the world.
Smoke billows in the Gaza Strip on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
May 30, 2025

U.S. says Israel accepts Gaza ceasefire plan; Hamas cool to it

A senior Hamas official says the plan does not contain commitments to end the war, withdraw Israeli troops or admit aid as the group has demanded.
The Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 30, 2025

Trump aims at Chinese students and tech in threat to truce with Xi

Just weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump declared a "total reset” with China following a trade truce in Geneva, tensions are rising again between the world’s biggest economies.
73% of sports organizations in Japan have not made consultation desks available for LGBTQ  and other sexual minorities, as well as people seeking advice on gender identity and sexual orientation, according to a survey led by Pride House Tokyo.
JAPAN
May 30, 2025

No LGBTQ+ help desks for 73% of sports groups in Japan

The survey was conducted in March and April on efforts to protect sexual minorities and secure diversity.
Pipelines at Jera's thermal power station in Futtsu, Chiba Prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies
May 30, 2025

Japan’s top LNG importer will explore buying from Alaska

Jera, which is also the nation’s largest power producer, inked the nonbinding pact ahead of a summit in the U.S. state next week.
The Taiwanese military conducts its first High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) live-fire test launch at the Jiupeng base in Pingtung, Taiwan, on May 12.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 30, 2025

Trump aims to exceed first term's weapons sales to Taiwan, officials say

If U.S. arms sales to Taiwan do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump's commitment to the island.
Nomura aims to reduce the smoking rate among its more than 14,000 employees in Japan to 12% by March 2026.
JAPAN
May 30, 2025

Nomura’s smoking ban leads to less staff lighting up

Close to 15% of staff at Japan’s largest brokerage were smokers in the fiscal year ended March 2024, down from 21.4% as of March 2018.
AI is beginning to suppress white-collar job growth in high-cost, tech-heavy U.S. cities like San Francisco, signaling a potential structural shift in the labor market amid stagnant interstate migration.
COMMENTARY / World
May 30, 2025

The next great job churn is already starting

San Francisco’s sluggish labor market may signal the AI disruptions ahead.
U.S. President Donald Trump at the U.S. Steel Corporation Irvin Works facility in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, on Friday
BUSINESS / Companies
May 31, 2025

Trump to hike steel tariffs to 50% to aid Nippon-U.S. Steel

The U.S. president said the move would help protect American steelworkers during a visit to a United States Steel plant on Friday.
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline along the Dalton Highway near Stevens Village, Alaska
ASIA PACIFIC
May 31, 2025

Trump officials set for talks with Asia leaders on Alaska energy

Foreign officials from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, India and the United Arab Emirates are expected to be included in the talks.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years