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A statue of Mohandas Gandhi in Tetsugakudo Park, Tokyo. The Indian nationalist saw lessons for humanity in the trajectory of modern Japan and the violence wrought by — and perpetrated upon — the nation.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Jun 21, 2025

Gandhi and Japan: Turning away from ‘brute force’ and toward love

“I did not move a muscle when I first heard that an atom bomb had wiped out Hiroshima.”
Lawmakers from the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Nippon Ishin no Kai and the Democratic Party for the People submit a motion to dismiss the chairman of the House of Representatives' Financial Affairs Committee, on Tuesday at parliament.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 17, 2025

Opposition parties submit motion to dismiss Lower House panel chief

The motion to dismiss comes amid the panel chairman's refusal to hold deliberations on a bill to abolish the provisional gasoline tax rate.
Firefighters at the site of Russian drone and missile strikes in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 17, 2025

Trump administration disbands group focused on pressuring Russia, sources say

The effort lost steam as it became clear to participants that Trump was not interested in adopting a more confrontational stance toward Moscow.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shakes hands with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung ahead of their meeting on the sidelines of the Group of Seven leaders' summit in Kananaskis in Alberta, Canada, on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 18, 2025

South Korea's Lee touts ‘inseparable’ Japan ties after Ishiba meeting

Seeking to ride the momentum that has pushed the neighbors closer following years of chilly ties, the pair also reaffirmed their commitment to trilateral cooperation with the U.S.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a meeting with Group of Seven leaders during the bloc's annual summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 18, 2025

G7 abandons joint Ukraine statement as Zelenskyy says diplomacy in crisis

The Ukrainian president also did not get to meet U.S. President Donald Trump, with whom he hoped to talk to about acquiring more weapons.
A minivehicle that crashed head-on with another vehicle in the Enasan Tunnel in Nakatsugawa, Gifu Prefecture, on June 11 after being driven the wrong way on the Chuo Expressway
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Jun 18, 2025

Wrong-way driving on expressways proves a persistent problem in Japan

Around 200 cases of wrong-way driving on expressways are reported each year.
Smoke rises after an Israeli air strike in Tehran on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2025

Japan raises travel warning for Iran to highest level

"The situation is becoming increasingly tense," Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya told a news conference, adding that the government will do all it can to protect Japanese nationals.
Bali Regional Police Chief Daniel Adityajaya speaks to journalists during a news conference at the Badung district police station in Badung regency on Indonesia's resort island of Bali on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jun 18, 2025

Australian suspects in Bali murder of compatriot face death penalty

Authorities had been searching for several suspects over the shooting of a 32-year-old Australian national on Saturday.
People take part in a solidarity march organized in support of the Cambodian government's actions in its recent border dispute with Thailand, in Phnom Penh on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 18, 2025

Cambodian government musters support from huge crowds in Thai border row

The two sides held talks in Phnom Penh over the weekend, which Thailand said had made progress, but the border row shows little sign of dying down.
The first five months of 2025 saw 18,140,100 visitors enter Japan, up from 14,641,780 in the same period last year.
JAPAN
Jun 19, 2025

Foreign visitors to Japan at record high for May

The increase in visitors during May was driven by travelers from China, Taiwan and the United States, who visited for holidays and on cruise ship port calls.
A Nippon Steel facility in Kashima, Ibaraki prefecture on Dec. 6, 2024
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 19, 2025

Nippon Steel closes acquisition of U.S. Steel to end 18-month saga

The controversial deal weathered two presidential administrations, union opposition, an expensive lobbying campaign and two U.S. security panel reviews.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with representatives of international news agencies on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum  in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 19, 2025

Putin says NATO rearmament not a 'threat' to Russia

NATO will hold a crucial summit in The Hague next week to discuss increasing defense spending to 5% of gross domestic product.
David Sacks, White House artificial intelligence and crypto czar, said the U.S. should be concerned that Huawei Technologies is moving fast to catch up to its rivals outside China.
BUSINESS
Jun 19, 2025

China adept at evading chip curbs, Trump adviser David Sacks says

DeepSeek’s breakthrough artificial intelligence model earlier this year demonstrated how China could still advance even with export controls in place, Sacks said.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN
Jun 19, 2025

SDF planes fly to Djibouti to aid return of Japan nationals from Israel and Iran

There are currently around 1,000 Japanese people in Israel and 280 in Iran, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako greet upon their arrival at Hiroshima Airport on Thursday.
JAPAN
Jun 19, 2025

Japan's emperor and empress arrive in Hiroshima

Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako traveled to the city to commemorate the victims of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing.
England's Lucy Bronze says its not just players who receive negative comments on social media.
SOCCER
Jun 19, 2025

England women to avoid 'awful' social media during European Championship

Chelsea forward Lauren James said the abuse never really stops.
Protesters from the Socialista National Confederation of Labor, angered by China's actions in the South China Sea, hold a rally outside the Chinese Consulate in Makati City, Metro Manila, in June 2015.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 19, 2025

Beijing's peace message on South China Sea contradicts its actions

The four principles articulated in a recent Chinese paper are propaganda and concocted realities of communist thinking.
The public approval rate for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Cabinet in June was up 6.1 percentage points from the previous month, likely reflecting measures that were taken to combat soaring rice prices under new agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 19, 2025

Ishiba Cabinet approval rate improves to 27%, poll shows

The increase likely reflects measures that were taken to combat soaring rice prices under new agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi.
Japan’s trade surplus with the U.S. last year stood at ¥8.6 trillion ($59.3 billion). Roughly 82% of the gap was due to Japan’s surplus in cars and auto parts.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 19, 2025

U.S. focus on auto trade gap is sticking point for Japan deal

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba briefed CDP leader Yoshihiko Noda and others about the latest developments in the bilateral trade negotiations.
The Liberal Democratic Party’s pledges ahead of the Upper House election are in sharp contrast to those of the opposition parties, which have all promised tax cuts in various degrees.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 19, 2025

LDP pledges cash handouts and a better economy ahead of Upper House vote

“Driving Japan forward, enriching lives” will be the ruling party’s campaign slogan as it prepares for the upcoming Upper House election.
Upper House lawmaker Hirofumi Yanagase in his office on June 9. Last month in parliament, he urged the criteria for naturalization to be revised.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 20, 2025

Calls to make naturalization more difficult emerge in parliament talks

Naturalization requires applicants to have lived in Japan for at least five consecutive years, or half of the duration required for permanent residency.
A satellite image shows the damaged Arak heavy water reactor facilities, following Israeli airstrikes, in Iran, on Thursday.
WORLD / EXPLAINER
Jun 20, 2025

What are the nuclear contamination risks from Israel's attacks on Iran?

The major concern would be a strike on Iran's nuclear reactor at Bushehr.
Norway's central bank in Oslo. The krone slid roughly 1% against the dollar and the euro after a rate cut.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Jun 20, 2025

Oil, war and tariffs tear up global markets' central bank roadmap

Monetary policy uncertainty is one more headwind for markets to navigate against a backdrop of geopolitical and trade risks.
Protesters stand outside Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Thursday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 20, 2025

Dodgers say team kept U.S. immigration agents from accessing Dodger Stadium

The Dodgers have been criticized for their failure to publicly comment on the U.S. government's immigration crackdown in Los Angeles.
Iyogin Holdings is ready to jump back into buying Japanese government bonds once a rise in yields runs its course.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 20, 2025

Rural bank plans its return to Japan bonds after winning on Nvidia

Once yields become attractive enough, Japanese government bonds could make up as much as half of the bank's portfolio.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani attend the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on May 31.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2025

Pentagon says Japan must meet ‘global standard’ and spend 5% of GDP on defense

Both allies had been mum on whether the U.S. would press Japan specifically to hit the 5% target amid political sensitivities over the issue.
The HMS Spey, a patrol vessel for Britain's Royal Navy, conducted a routine navigation through the Taiwan Strait that was part of a long-planned deployment and took place in full compliance with international law, the Royal Navy said.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 20, 2025

China calls British warship's Taiwan Strait transit an attempt to 'cause trouble'

Britain's Royal Navy said the patrol vessel conducted a routine navigation through the narrow waterway that was in full compliance with international law.
An elephant walks through the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 20, 2025

Humans adapted to diverse habitats before trekking out of Africa

Homo sapiens acquired an adaptability useful for tackling the wide range of conditions awaiting beyond the continent.
The Upper House during a plenary session in Tokyo on Wednesday
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 20, 2025

Ishiba handles minority government well over the six-month session

With parliamentary business concluding, all eyes are on next month’s Upper House election.
Katsuya Toji looks at Jizo statues, which his father Kentaro had installed in his garden to honor the men he had executed, on May 13. The statues have been moved to a different location in the city of Fukuoka.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2025

Diaries of a Japanese war criminal reveal 'how irrational war truly is,' son says

“It felt like I was sinking quietly into the bottom of a deep sea,” the convicted war criminal wrote after hearing of his death sentence.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji