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The Trans-Alaska Pipeline along the Dalton Highway in Stevens Village, Alaska, on Sep. 19, 2024
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 5, 2025

Trump says Japan and South Korea want to partner in Alaska pipeline

Japan, South Korea and other countries want to partner with the United States in a "gigantic" natural gas pipeline in Alaska, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, claiming they would invest "trillions of dollars each."
Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, on Jan. 26, the final day of the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Mar 5, 2025

Can sumo avoid becoming another soulless corporate sport?

Whether sumo also falls into the trap of creating greater separation between supporters and athletes remains to be seen.
Japan and South Korea are in their most fragile political states in decades just as their ally, the United States, enters the second administration of President Donald Trump.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 5, 2025

Japan and South Korea in the age of ‘America first’

Japan and South Korea are at their most fragile political states in decades just as their ally, the United States, has begun the second administration of Donald Trump.
The international system led by the United Nations faces challenges such as failing to maintain peace, end corruption and implement reforms, raising concerns of a League of Nations-like collapse.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 4, 2025

Transitioning to a new global structure without a League of Nations-style collapse

Like many idealistic efforts throughout history, the League of Nations teetered for years before its final collapse as the end of World War II.
Netflix reality show “K-foodie meets J-foodie” follows South Korean YouTuber Sung Si-kyung and Japanese actor Yutaka Matsushige as they share meals in their respective countries.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Mar 6, 2025

Can a meal make you besties? ‘K-foodie meets J-foodie’ says yes.

The new Netflix show pairs a Korean crooner and a Japanese food icon for a cross-cultural food rally.
After the ruling in the lawsuit seeking an injunction against the operation of the No. 3 reactor at Shikoku Electric Power's Ikata nuclear plant, the representatives of the legal team led by attorney Kan Ebisuda (center) hold a news conference on Wednesday in Naka Ward, Hiroshima City.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 6, 2025

Hiroshima court rejects request for Ikata reactor injunction

Presiding judge Kazumi Ohama said "It cannot be said that there is a specific danger that violates the lives of the plaintiffs."
People walk past the Department of Education building in Washington on Feb. 4.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 6, 2025

Trump to order U.S. Education Department abolished, WSJ reports

Trump has repeatedly called for eliminating the department, calling it a "big con job."
Toru Akama cares for dogs and cats left behind in the March 2011 Fukushima meltdown disaster, at his home in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2025

Former Fukushima plant worker continues caring for pets left behind

The 62-year-old was driven by a sense of responsibility for the pets being abandoned as “it came about because of the meltdown at our plant.”
Masamune Goto (front) pilots his boat during a powerboat racing competition at Tokyo's Tamagawa boat course on Feb. 23.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 6, 2025

Powerboat racing revs up bid to shed shadowy reputation in Japan

Powerboat racing started more than 70 years ago under a special gambling law that classifies it alongside horse racing, speedway and cycling in Japan.
Firefighters battle a wildfire in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Thursday.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2025

Wildfire slows in Iwate as government announces relief support

The city saw 26.5 millimeters of rain on Wednesday, far exceeding the 2.5mm total for the entire month of February.
Former Executive Vice President Ichiro Takekuro enters the Tokyo High Court for the appellate court ruling in January 2023 in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 6, 2025

Acquittal of two former Tepco executives to be finalized

The Supreme Court supported the lower courts' decisions that the accident was unpredictable and decided to dismiss an appeal by lawyers acting as prosecutors.
Nippon Ishin no Kai co-leader Seiji Maehara (left) greets Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba after the budget was passed at the Lower House — with the support of the opposition party — on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 7, 2025

Is Nippon Ishin the ruling LDP-Komeito coalition's friend or foe?

The party is juggling between supporting the ruling coalition in return for some of its policies being realized, and opposing them to win votes.
Fenerbahce coach Jose Mourinho reacts during a Europa League match against Rangers in Istanbul on Thursday.
SOCCER
Mar 7, 2025

Fenerbahce coach Jose Mourinho denies racism allegations

Fenerbahce said Mourinho's comments were taken out of context.
Couche-Tard has made clear that it wants to learn from Seven & I Holdings to improve its North America operation, and has ruled out going hostile in takeover talks.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 7, 2025

Couche-Tard holds talks for sale of U.S. shops in Seven & I deal

The retailer last year proposed to purchase Seven & I Holdings for $18.19 per share, but so far hasn’t been able to enter negotiations with the firm.
Chinese teacher Shuaib Ma (right) gives a Mandarin language lesson at a school in Riyadh.
WORLD
Mar 7, 2025

Mandarin lessons in Saudi schools show growing ties with China

Mandarin's entry into public schools is the latest sign of growing ties between Saudi Arabia and China.
Joao Fonseca hits a shot during his first-round match against Jacob Fearnley at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, on Thursday.
TENNIS
Mar 7, 2025

Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca delivers in Indian Wells debut

Fonseca, ranked 80th in the world, enjoyed the vocal support of the boisterous Brazilian fans on hand for the match at the ATP 1000 event.
As the U.S. under Donald Trump reassesses its commitment to Ukraine, countries worldwide, particularly in Europe and Asia, are reconsidering their defense policies and alliances with America. 
EDITORIALS
Mar 7, 2025

Europe braces for a post-American world. Is Japan ready?

A diplomatic posture that makes demands only of Ukraine and not Russia suggests, however, that Washington has taken sides.
Ukraine has become a leader in drone warfare, particularly with its innovative use of first-person view drones. These drones have proven highly effective in targeting Russian military equipment and ammunition depots.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 6, 2025

Breaking down Ukraine’s true value

With the U.S. now increasingly acting in Russia’s interests, supporting Ukraine is not just a moral imperative for Europe, it is an existential one.
Students walk through the University of Pennsylvania campus. It has been reported that the U.S. State Department will use artificial intelligence to revoke the visas of foreign students who it perceives as supporters of Palestinian Hamas militants.
WORLD
Mar 7, 2025

Reported U.S. plan to use AI to revoke student visas sparks alarm

Axios reported that a "Catch and Revoke" effort will include AI-assisted reviews of tens of thousands of student visa holders' social media accounts.
US President Donald Trump listens to a reporter as he speaks from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 8, 2025

Trump threatens Russia with sanctions until Ukraine peace reached

Trump's threat of banking curbs and tariffs followed a report Monday that the White House was preparing to give Russia possible sanctions relief as part of the push to end the war.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks to members of Iran's air force in Tehran in February.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 8, 2025

Trump says he sent Iran leader letter urging nuclear talks

Trump said that while he isn’t ruling out a military intervention, he would "rather negotiate a deal.”
A demonstrator holds a sign with a picture of death row inmate Brad Sigmon outside the South Carolina Department of Corrections following his execution by firing squad, at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina, on Friday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 8, 2025

South Carolina carries out first firing squad execution in U.S. in 15 years

The convicted murderer said he feared the alternatives of the electric chair or lethal injection would risk a slower and more torturous death.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Friday about his decision to cancel plans to raise the ceiling on out-of-pocket expenses for high-cost medical care.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 8, 2025

Ishiba cancels planned August medical expense cap hike

It is the third time the Ishiba administration has changed its policy on the high-cost medical care system.
U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he walks to board Marine One, while departing the White House en route to Florida, in Washington, on Friday.
JAPAN
Mar 8, 2025

Majority in Japan expect stronger economic ties under Trump

Also in the survey, 81.5% said they strongly or somewhat agree that the security environment in East Asia is becoming more severe.
South Korean impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol reacts outside the Seoul detention center after his release, in Uiwang, South Korea, on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 8, 2025

South Korea's impeached President Yoon released from detention

The suspended president walked out of the detention center smiling, before bowing deeply to a small crowd of cheering supporters.
Iran's Russian-built Bushehr nuclear power plant in the south of the country
WORLD
Mar 9, 2025

Trump administration ends Iraq's waiver to buy Iranian electricity

Trump restored "maximum pressure" on Iran in one of his first acts after returning to office in January.
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda attends a news conference on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 9, 2025

CDP leadership faces growing internal frustration

Due to the CDP's lackluster performance, a party source said, "We can't compete in (this summer's) House of Councilors election if we don't do anything."
Italian President Sergio Mattarella lays flowers on Saturday before the cenotaph for the victims of the 1945 atomic bombing at Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2025

Italian president lays flowers at Hiroshima Peace Park

The president observed a moment of silent in front of the cenotaph and then toured the park, accompanied by Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui.
A soldier stands guard at a roundabout in Latakia, Syria, on Sunday. Syrian President Ahmed Sharaa called for national unity and peace after more than 1,000 people were reportedly killed in clashes in coastal regions of the country.
WORLD
Mar 9, 2025

Syria's new leader calls for peace as communal clashes continue

More than 1,000 people had been killed in the two days of fighting in the Mediterranean coastal region in some of the worst violence for years in a 13-year-old civil conflict.
The British government and Fujitsu have agreed to begin talks on compensation for the Post Office scandal involving the Horizon accounting software developed by the Japanese company.
BUSINESS
Mar 9, 2025

Britain and Fujitsu to begin compensation talks over post office scandal

More than 700 people were indicted on embezzlement and other charges by 2015, but the issue was later found to stem from flaws in Fujitsu's software.

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An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo