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U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive to hold a news conference at the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 5, 2025

Trump's Gaza stunner builds on his expansionist aims

Since Trump's return to the White House a little more than two weeks ago, his "America First" approach seems to have morphed into "America More."
Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi (left) describes a detail of a mawashi presented as a gift to French President Jacques Chirac at the Elysee Palace in 1999.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Feb 5, 2025

No Paris Syndrome for Japan’s national sport

Despite an up and down history, sumo and France remain amorous.
Toyota is investing in increased capacity for electric vehicles and has unveiled plans to establish a subsidiary in Shanghai.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 5, 2025

Toyota raises annual profit guidance despite quarterly income drop

The automaker now expects a profit of ¥4.7 trillion ($31 billion) for the fiscal year ending March, up from its previous forecast of ¥4.3 trillion.
Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte speaks during a news conference at her office in Manila in December.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 6, 2025

Philippine lower house impeaches Vice President Sara Duterte

The impeachment stemmed from a number of allegations, with Duterte having repeatedly denied wrongdoing.
A woman stands outside the gates of the family house of detained Myanmar civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon, Myanmar, on Wednesday, during an attempt to sell the lakeside mansion.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 5, 2025

Bid to sell Suu Kyi's Myanmar mansion flops for third time

It is unclear who in the country would be in a position to spend $140 million on a single, increasingly dilapidated property.
A Palestinian sits among the rubble of buildings destroyed during an Israeli offensive in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 6, 2025

Trump aides defend Gaza takeover proposal but walk back some elements

Trump shattered decades of U.S. policy with a vaguely worded announcement saying he envisioned transforming Gaza into the "Riviera of the Middle East."
A 45-year-old widow (Takako Matsu) repeatedly travels back in time to meet her future — and late — husband (Hokuto Matsumura) in “First Kiss.”
CULTURE / Film
Feb 6, 2025

‘First Kiss’: Time-traveling romantic drama isn’t afraid of a few wrinkles

Ayuko Tsukahara’s high-concept love story has wit and wisdom to spare with an endearing screen couple at its center.
The sinkhole in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, on Wednesday. It has expanded since the initial collapse on Jan 28.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2025

Truck cabin found in sewer pipe in Saitama sinkhole rescue operation

Despite the development, the truck’s 74-year-old driver remained missing as of Thursday morning.
The bestselling Switch has a confirmed successor, but what little we know about the Switch 2 console so far raises some concerns about its longterm viability in a crowded gaming market.
LIFE / Digital
Feb 6, 2025

Making sense of Nintendo’s tight-lipped Switch 2 reveal

Nintendo will remain mum on details until April, but questions on how its new console fits into the modern gaming landscape abound.
Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally surged in French legislative elections last year. Despite social media being a key megaphone for political campaigning, issues like voter dissatisfaction still play a determinant role in electoral outcomes.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 5, 2025

Social media alone didn’t decide last year’s elections

Last year's record number of elections around the world hold some important lessons. One is that social media wasn't the key determinant of outcomes that many made it out to be.
Only couples experiencing infertility would be eligible to access assisted reproductive technology, while those in de facto marriages and same-sex couples will be excluded.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 6, 2025

Assisted reproductive tech bill submitted to Upper House

The proposed legislation is aimed at guaranteeing the right of people born through the use of such technology to know their origins.
The ruling coalition has put forward a plan to make public school tuition free, with costs of up to ¥118,800 yearly subsidized for all families regardless of income.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 6, 2025

Recent talks on education funding for all might be missing the point

As the government works to pass its budget without a majority, the issue of free education for all has become key to negotiations for support in parliament.
China, under President Xi Jinping, is resisting Donald Trump’s trade tariffs, but may need to respond with major fiscal stimulus, currency devaluation or allowing TikTok’s sale to navigate economic challenges.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2025

China’s Mr. Big Won’t Cave in to Trump for Nothing

Does Xi Jinping have a trade war game plan? He’ll need to make hard choices.
Philippine National Security Council Assistant Director-General Jonathan Malaya says information and psychological warfare have "become part and parcel" of China's malign influence in his country.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 7, 2025

Chinese hybrid warfare ops surge in Philippines: top security official

There has been a rise in Chinese disinformation tactics as well as suspected surveillance and espionage activities in the Philippines, the official said.
Cedar pollen has made its earliest appearance in Tokyo's air, so it's time to start thinking about how wearing face masks and applying other allergy-busting sprays will affect your style for the weeks to come.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Feb 8, 2025

Hay fever beauty: The aesthetics behind Japan’s allergy products

Face-sculpting masks and anti-pollen, makeup-fixing sprays can help you stay beautiful when the pollen starts flying.
Demonstrators rally during a protest against U.S. President Donald Trump and the actions he has taken in the first weeks of his presidency, in Washington, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 7, 2025

U.S. judge blocks Trump buyout program as 60,000 sign up to quit

The Trump administration is pressuring workers to leave their jobs in an unprecedented drive to overhaul the federal government.
The Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (center) attends a Cabinet meeting in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 7, 2025

Japan's Cabinet approves legislation on 'active' cybersecurity

The new measures aim to enable the government to infiltrate the sources of cyberattacks in order to neutralize them.
After starting out as a games journalist, John Davis found opportunities in marketing and consulting that led him to work in the Japanese gaming industry.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Feb 8, 2025

John Davis: ‘At its core, indie is about creative freedom’

The co-founder of BitSummit, Japan’s biggest indie gaming showcase, shares how he pivoted from journalism to gaming after moving here.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declares martial law in Seoul on Dec. 3. Yoon is currently facing charges related to his actions over that two-day period.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 7, 2025

Was there an insurrection in Seoul on Dec. 3, or is that happening now?

Yoon can now be held for up to six months in prison simply at the behest of the prosecutors.
Far from making America great again, Donald Trump’s actions since assuming the presidency are giving a giant boost to China’s attempts at world leadership.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 7, 2025

‘America First’ in action

Far from making America great again, Trump is giving a giant boost to China’s claims to world leadership.
Singapore is positioning itself as a key player in the effort to diversify supply chains away from China, leveraging its proximity to Malaysia’s Johor state.
COMMENTARY
Feb 7, 2025

Singapore finds its seat at the China+1 table

Singapore is positioning itself as a key player in the effort to diversify supply chains away from China.
After gaining a record number of Oscar nominations for a foreign-language movie, "Emilia Perez" has become embroiled in scandal linked to past social media posts by star Karla Sofia Gascon.
CULTURE / Film
Feb 7, 2025

Oscars frontrunner 'Emilia Perez' suffers awards season crash

Actor Karla Sofia Gascon has seen her path to glory seriously compromised by her past social media posts about Islam, U.S. anti-racism protests and even the Oscars themselves.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during a ceremony near Pyongyang on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 8, 2025

North Korea says its nuclear weapons not a 'bargaining chip' as Trump and Ishiba meet

The two leaders expressed their commitment to ensuring North Korea ends its nuclear weapons program.
Tomoko Akane, President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), in Tokyo in June 2024.
JAPAN
Feb 8, 2025

ICC president condemns U.S. order enabling sanctions on staff

The order allows the U.S. government to impose sanctions such as an asset freeze and a travel ban on ICC staff and their families.
Hamas fighters escort Israeli hostages before handing them over to a Red Cross team in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, on Saturday, as part of the fifth hostage-prisoner exchange of a fragile ceasefire.
WORLD
Feb 8, 2025

Hamas hands over three Israeli hostages in fifth Gaza exchange

The swap comes after U.S. President Donald Trump proposed clearing out the Gaza Strip of its inhabitants and for the U.S. to take over the territory.
The concept of diversity isn't foreign to Japanese people, but new ways of referring to the practice in society might be.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 9, 2025

DEI, woke and 'forest bathing': When a direct translation just won't cut it

Take a three-step approach that includes context and nuance when describing buzzwords and complicated terminology.
Ohad Ben Ami, a Israeli man seized during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas is reunited with his family at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel, on Saturday.
WORLD
Feb 9, 2025

Hamas frees three hostages; Israel begins releasing Palestinians

Three Israeli hostages, visibly malnourished, were released by Hamas in a ceasefire exchange, while Israel freed 183 Palestinian prisoners amid ongoing negotiations.
Visitors pack Bourbon Street on Saturday ahead of the NFL's Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, in New Orleans, Louisiana,
WORLD
Feb 9, 2025

Super Bowl parade celebrates fact that New Orleans is 'still in business'

New Orleans mixed celebration and remembrance with a Super Bowl parade ahead of the big game.
Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma will be acquired by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital for ¥510 billion.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 9, 2025

Bain to acquire Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma in $3.3 billion deal

Tanabe Pharma focuses on therapeutic areas such as immunology and inflammation, vaccines, diabetes, and central nervous system and metabolic disease.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, following his announcement of the formation of the new government at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, on Saturday.
WORLD
Feb 9, 2025

Newly appointed Lebanon PM names ministers and vows to regain trust

Lebanon's new government, led by Nawaf Salam, faces the challenge of enacting reforms and managing a fragile ceasefire with Israel.

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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