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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stands with him aboard Air Force One on his return to Washington on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 10, 2025

Trump declines to rule out recession in U.S. this year

The U.S. president's on-again, off-again tariff threats have roiled financial markets and stoked unease among consumers.
Firefighters head for the site of a massive wildfire in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Monday to determine whether the fire has been extinguished.
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2025

Iwate wildfire contained, evacuation orders fully lifted

There is no danger of the fire spreading further and firefighters will work to determine if it is has been extinguished, Ofunato Mayor Kiyoshi Fuchigami says.
China’s overnight and seven-day repo rates surged in February, while bond investors took losses from a sharp rise in yields.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 10, 2025

‘Impossible trinity’ conundrum has caused a cash crunch in Asia

Countries can’t simultaneously control their currencies, independently set interest rates and allow capital to move freely across borders — something will break or give way.
A town hall meeting with residents of Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, one of the municipalities evacuated in the aftermath of the nuclear accident at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant. More dialogue is needed to foster truly participatory energy democracy in Japan.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 10, 2025

Japan needs collective public support to reach its nuclear goals

Over a decade after 3/11, Japan has the chance to foster truly participatory energy democracy by engaging its civic environmental organizations in nuclear policymaking processes.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at an Upper House Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Monday. The opposition's slamming of the Liberal Democratic Party over its position on corporate and group donations, as well as their own divisions over whether to restrict or ban such contributions, cast uncertainty over Ishiba’s hopes of reaching a consensus within the month.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 10, 2025

Opposition parties split on whether to restrict or ban corporate donations

Their division casts uncertainty over Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s hopes of reaching a consensus on the matter within the month ahead of a summer election.
Elon Musk, head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, wears a shirt that says "Tech Support" as he speaks during a Cabinet meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington on Feb. 26.
WORLD
Mar 11, 2025

Elon Musk says X hit by major cyberattack

The attack raises questions as to whether the politically divisive billionaire — and top adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump — is being targeted.
Fukushima Gov. Masao Uchibori says he wants the central government to clarify and accelerate the plan for disposing of soil from radiation decontamination work.
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2025

Governor urges contaminated soil be disposed of outside Fukushima by 2045

A law states all contaminated soil must be disposed of outside Fukushima by March 2045.
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Commander of Syrian Kurdish-led forces Mazloum Abdi shake hands, after Syria reached a deal to integrate the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces with state institutions, the Syrian presidency said on Monday, in Damascus, Syria.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 11, 2025

Kurdish-led SDF to join Syria's new state institutions, merging forces

Accord comes at critical moment after mass killings of Alawite minority members in western Syria threatens effort to unite country after 14 years of conflict.
Junko Yagi, a professor at Iwate Medical University, speaks during an interview on Jan. 10 in the town of Yahaba, Iwate Prefecture.
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2025

Experts urge ongoing mental health care for families in 3/11 disaster areas

"Parents and children alike are carrying heavy emotional burdens," one expert said.
Kazuo Momma, a former executive director in charge of monetary policy at the Bank of Japan, says June is the favored option for the central bank's next rate hike.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 11, 2025

BOJ’s next rate hike likely in June, former executive says

Kazuo Momma, a former executive director in charge of monetary policy, says the central bank is likely to move roughly every six months to maintain expectations.
Chinese leaders attend the second plenary session of the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing's Great Hall of the People on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 11, 2025

DeepSeek-fueled AI fever injects new energy into China’s annual meeting

Communist Party cadres from different regions competed to market their locales as China’s next AI hub at the National People’s Congress seven-day gathering.
Fertility rates remain low across much of Asia, with past policies to curb population growth proving difficult to reverse, while governments explore adaptation strategies like immigration and AI.
COMMENTARY
Mar 5, 2025

It’s time we adapt to low fertility rates

South Korea’s fertility rate saw a slight increase, but experts doubt it signals a long-term reversal. Similar trends are seen in Singapore and Japan.
The entrance sign of the headquarters of the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) is pictured, on the outskirts of Vienna, Austria, on March 5, 2025. While the sports organization has faced accusations of working for Pyongyang, ITF has denied "any wrongdoing," insisting the federation promotes taekwondo worldwide.
MORE SPORTS / Taekwondo
Mar 11, 2025

The North Korea taekwondo supremo that Austria can't kick

Austria is trying to kick out Ri Yong Son, the North Korean head of the International Taekwon-Do Federation, who it suspects of funneling foreign currency to Pyongyang.
Signage at a Tesla store in Colma, California, on Monday. Tesla shares plunged to their worst day in more than four years, extending a slide in 2025 amid growing concerns on Wall Street about demand for the company's electric cars.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 11, 2025

Tesla’s stock defied gravity for years. Is Elon Musk’s EV party over?

The bulk of Tesla's worth rests on hopes for autonomous vehicles it hasn't yet delivered, despite Musk's continued promises.
The Osaka Expo site on Yumeshima island in December.
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2025

Osaka Expo-linked spending expected to hit ¥1 trillion

The estimated spending related to the expo was based on the assumption that 28 million people will visit the event through October.
Smoke rises from the MV Solong cargo ship on Tuesday, the day after it collided with the MV Stena Immaculate tanker in the North Sea, off the coast of Withernsea, east of England.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 12, 2025

U.K. arrests cargo ship captain for manslaughter over North Sea crash

The 59-year-old captain was arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with the collision involving a tanker chartered by the U.S. military.
The U.S. Department of Education in Washington on March 6
WORLD / Politics
Mar 12, 2025

U.S. Education Department to cut half its staff ahead of planned elimination

The department oversees $1.6 trillion in college loans, enforces civil rights laws in schools and provides federal funding for needy districts.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who said he would do everything he could to reduce active nuclear reactors to close to zero, changed his stance once he became prime minister.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Mar 12, 2025

Government does about-face on nuclear policy 14 years after triple meltdown

The government cited the need to ensure stable electricity supplies and secure carbon-free energy sources.
Demonstrators demand justice for drug war victims, after the arrest of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, in Manila on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 12, 2025

Duterte arrest raises stakes in clash for control of Philippines

The push by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to sideline his main political opponents marks a gamble that could easily backfire.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri ahead of pre-season testing in Bahrain on Feb. 27
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Mar 12, 2025

Piastri commits long-term to McLaren

Piastri won a sprint race in his rookie season and finished fourth overall in 2024, when he was also the only driver to complete every racing lap.
The Osaka Prefectural Police headquarters in the city of Osaka. Police there arrested three people on Tuesday, including a self-proclaimed spiritual leader and fortune teller, on suspicion of inciting two men to kill themselves five years ago.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 12, 2025

'Spiritual leader' and accomplices arrested over suicides of two men

The "spiritual leader" and her suspected accomplices were also arrested for allegedly forging a suicide note for one of the men.
Protesters demonstrating in front of the Supreme Court in Tokyo on Tuesday against court rulings acquitting two former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings over the 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 12, 2025

Acquittal of two former Tepco executives finalized

Lawyers acting as prosecutors did not file an appeal against the Supreme Court's decision last week that upheld the not-guilty verdicts against the executives.
Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's arrest on an ICC warrant for crimes against humanity related to his brutal drug war is a victory for affected families, but it may plunge the country into political chaos.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 12, 2025

The law finally caught up with Rodrigo Duterte

A reckoning for Duterte — the man they called "The Punisher” — is long overdue. The former Philippine president’s anti-drug crusade killed thousands of people.
Some 8.06 million tickets for the Osaka Expo, to be held on the artificial island of Yumeshima for 184 days from April 13, had been sold as of March 5, less than 60% of the target.
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2025

Advance ticket sales target for Osaka Expo likely out of reach

As of March 5, some 8.06 million advance tickets had been sold — less than 60% of the target.
Travelers make their way through the departures terminal of Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, in 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 13, 2025

Canadians, stung by Trump's tariffs and rhetoric, balk at U.S. travel

Even a 10% drop in Canadian travelers could cost the United States $2.1 billion in lost spending, the U.S. Travel Association estimated.
The level of intraparty animosity between the KMT and DPP is so high that brawls have repeatedly broken out in parliament as the government and opposition try to block each other from physically participating in voting on bills.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 13, 2025

Taiwan’s DPP and KMT lock horns amid specter of recall votes

Recall votes could potentially alter the balance of power in the Legislative Yuan in favor of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
Just like in times of old, with unresolved territorial disputes, regional disunity and economic self-interest prevailing over solidarity, Southeast Asia faces growing instability as tensions escalate.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2025

Southeast Asia must learn to defend itself

Would any of the region’s governments lift a finger to maintain peace on behalf of a neighbor?
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani poses with President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman at Ohtani's introductory news conference at Dodger Stadium on Dec. 14, 2023.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 13, 2025

Dodgers' Andrew Friedman hails team's growing Japan connection

“I think the atmosphere is going to be electric. ... I think it’s the closest I’ll ever get to traveling with the Beatles."
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen attends a press conference at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Mar 13, 2025

Verstappen says Red Bull 'not the quickest at the moment'

Verstappen acknowledged there had been improvements to his car in the offseason but said it was too soon to know how it compared to McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends an Upper House Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 13, 2025

How Upper House pressure led to Ishiba's stunning reversal on medical cost caps

An unprecedented second amendment to Japan's budget shows opposition in the Lower House is not the only external pressure to which the government is exposed.

Longform

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