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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.
These old houses, damaged by the January 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, are set to be demolished using public funds.
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2025

Home demolition applications rising in quake-hit Ishikawa

Since many of the damaged houses are traditional, picturesque buildings, concerns are rising that their demolition could impair the region's landscape and cultural value.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem tours a new camp site on Friday where the Trump administration plans to house thousands of undocumented migrants, at the Naval base at Guantanamo Bay.
WORLD
Feb 9, 2025

Tent city rising at Guantanamo Bay

The Trump administration has moved over 30 people described as Venezuelan gang members to Guantanamo Bay, as U.S. forces and homeland security staff set up a tent city for more.
Participants applaud onstage at the end of a meeting of Patriots for Europe, the European Parliament's largest far-right bloc, at a hotel in Madrid on Saturday.
WORLD
Feb 9, 2025

EU's largest far-right bloc makes show of force in Spain

Far-right leaders, including Hungary’s Viktor Orban and France’s Marine Le Pen, gathered in Madrid to rally behind Patriots for Europe as it seeks greater influence in the EU.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and U.S. President Donald Trump. Microsoft and Nvidia are quietly engaging with the Trump administration on policies affecting AI, chip exports and data centers
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 9, 2025

Tech giants Microsoft and Nvidia taking a quieter approach to Trump

Under Biden, the United States curbed the sale of Nvidia chips to China and capped the sales of its AI chips to more than 100 other countries
Governor of California Gavin Newsom talks to U.S. President Donald Trump on Jan. 24 upon his arrival to tour areas impacted or destroyed by the southern California wildfires.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 9, 2025

California governor Newsom allocates $50 million to help immigrants

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a pair of bills allocating $50 million to fight the Trump administration in court and provide legal aid for immigrants, escalating the state’s efforts to push back against the president’s policies.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump hold a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 9, 2025

Ishiba says Trump didn't push defense spending hike or discuss tariffs

Ishiba also echoed Trump's pledge to help mediate a move by Japan’s Nippon Steel to invest in U.S. Steel rather than purchasing the American company.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin attend a meeting on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Osaka in June 2019.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 9, 2025

Trump says he has spoken to Putin about ending the Ukraine war

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the TASS state news agency that "many different communications are emerging."
Social loneliness contributes to the development of mental illness, obesity and Type 2 diabetes, a study finds.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 9, 2025

Social loneliness found to worsen arteriosclerosis in mice

A team from Keio University and others said that loneliness without social connections contributes to the development of mental illness, obesity and Type 2 diabetes.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's visit to the U.S. for talks with Donald Trump yielded moderate success, highlighting the strategic focus of the American presidents second administration.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 9, 2025

So far, so good for Ishiba — at least for now

It's safe to say, Ishiba’s visit to the U.S. went well. But we mustn't become complacent.
U.S. President Donald Trump salutes during the national anthem at the Super Bowl on Sunday in New Orleans, Louisiana
MORE SPORTS / Football
Feb 10, 2025

Super Bowl LIX kicks off with Trump and Swift in attendance

The Super Bowl in New Orleans' Superdome has attracted a star-studded crowd that includes U.S. President Donald Trump, Taylor Swift and Hollywood celebrities.
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump, at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka in 2019.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 10, 2025

Trump's plan for U.S. to own Gaza provokes rebuke from Middle East

Trump's idea to take over and redevelop Gaza faces mounting opposition, with Jordan's King Abdullah calling it a dangerous plan that could destabilize the region.

Longform

"Shake hands with Lima-chan," a statue that shares the name of the Peruvian capital looks in the direction of Peru, where a sister statue, "Sakura-chan," is located. Erected in Yokohama's Rinko Park in 1999, it commemorates Peruvian-Japanese friendship.
The journey of Peru’s Nikkei: Finding identity in Japan