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The Syrian flag is flown in Aleppo on May 14.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 18, 2025

U.S. envoys focused on Syria ousted amid pro-Damascus shift, sources say

The diplomats at the de facto U.S. mission to Syria, based in Istanbul, all reported to the U.S. special envoy for Syria, a longtime friend of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Agricultural minister Shinjiro Koizumi was the most favored candidate for the Liberal Democratic Party's next president, a Jiji survey found.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 18, 2025

Agriculture minister Koizumi most favored for LDP chief, poll finds

Koizumi was favored by 23.8% of respondents, while 21% backed former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi.
Polls suggest a head-to-head contest in the Liberal Democratic Party’s presidential race, but powerbrokers may sideline veteran contenders to engineer a youth-versus-youth showdown that could reshape both the party and Japan’s political landscape.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 18, 2025

Whiteboarding the LDP election

As I whiteboard the election scenarios, Koizumi vs. Takaichi is the most obvious race.
Chinese tech stocks have surged in past weeks, driven by a perception that the nation’s industry leaders are making steady progress in developing homegrown AI and chips.
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2025

Huawei unveils AI chip road map to challenge Nvidia’s lead

Chinese tech stocks have surged in past weeks, driven by a perception that the nation’s industry leaders are making steady progress in developing homegrown AI and chips.
U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer shake hands as they hold a news conference at Chequers at the conclusion of a state visit Thursday in Aylesbury, Britain.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 19, 2025

Trump flattery pays off for Starmer with major pitfalls averted

While the British concluded the trip without any open conflict, they failed to score any obvious diplomatic breakthroughs.
A sign is seen outside of the "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" show outside the El Capitan Entertainment Centre on Hollywood Boulevard, from where the show is broadcast in Hollywood, California, on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 19, 2025

Trump threatens licenses of TV stations that criticize him

Trump’s remarks represent a startling break with the nation’s long-standing traditions of freedom of speech and of the press enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.
ChatGPT owner OpenAI says it "actively works to identify and disrupt scam-related misuse of ChatGPT.”
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Sep 19, 2025

ChatGPT was used ‘to help scammers do their thing’ at Asia fraud compound

Scammers used the artificial intelligence tool to craft convincing messages designed to trick people into parting with their money.
A new type of Mizuho Bank outlet in Yokohama in March
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 19, 2025

Major Japanese banks are opening new types of outlets

There is a hope to increase direct contact with customers again amid rising interest rates and the growing appetite for asset management services.
Australian sprinter Gout Gout during the men's 200-meter semifinals at the World Athletics Championships on Thursday in Tokyo
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Sep 19, 2025

Australian teen sensation Gout Gout hails learning experience at debut worlds

Following his exit, Gout reflected on what it was like to rub shoulders with some of sprinting's biggest names.
Staff of United Nations agencies gather to denounce the killing of their colleagues in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, outside the global organization's European headquarters in Geneva on Thursday.
WORLD
Sep 19, 2025

U.S. and Israel criticize U.N. staff over Gaza war stance amid protests

Hundreds of U.N. staff protested outside the global organization's European headquarters on Thursday.
Erectile dysfunction drug Cialis
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 19, 2025

Panel OKs first OTC sales of erectile dysfunction drug in Japan

Cialis is set to become the first erectile dysfunction treatment that can be purchased at drugstores in Japan.
U.S. deputy Middle East envoy Morgan Ortagus raises her hand to veto a draft resolution during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the situation in the Gaza Strip, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 19, 2025

U.S. vetoes U.N. demand for ceasefire and aid access in Gaza

The U.N. resolution would also have demanded the immediate, dignified and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups.
Shuji Nakagawa created a teahouse using the same technique for making traditional wooden buckets.
CULTURE / Art
Sep 19, 2025

A bucket becomes a house in the hands of craftsman Shuji Nakagawa

At Go for Kogei 2025, a third-generation woodworker envisions new forms for a humble vessel.
One of Singapore Design’s Week’s lighter exhibitions is the “Unnatural History Museum of Singapore,” where levity and engineering combat anxieties over ecological crises.
LIFE / Style & Design
Sep 20, 2025

‘Pluriversal’ Singapore Design Week brings solution-oriented works

Running through Sept. 21, the design fair in the island city-state grapples with issues especially common in Japan.
Yuki Joseph Nakajima after finishing sixth in the men's 400-meter final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Sep 19, 2025

How Yuki Joseph Nakajima turned failures into breakout success at Tokyo worlds

Nakajima was the first Japanese runner to make the 400 final since Susumu Takano in 1991 and he even managed to finish one place higher than his senior compatriot.
Phishing emails posing as major securities firms spiked in Japan between March and May, topping 70,000 in May alone.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 19, 2025

Police look to crack down harder on phishing scams amid record surge

Online banking fraud surged to about ¥4.22 billion in the first half of this year, a roughly 73% jump from last year.
Candidates take part in the Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership race in September 2024 at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo, including many of the contenders for next month’s contest. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 19, 2025

LDP candidates through a 'Japanese conservative' lens

The three key elements of Japanese conservatism are preserving national identity and traditions, sustaining the imperial succession and affirming the Self-Defense Forces’ role.
Channing Tatum, one of the English-language voice actors, and others attend the premiere of “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Infinity Castle” at the TCL Chinese 6 Theater in Los Angeles on Sept. 9. Japanese anime has surged from niche fandom to global box-office powerhouse with the latest “Demon Slayer” installment.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 19, 2025

Anime’s ‘Demon Slayer’ hit is a watershed for Japan

Its animation finally has a global box-office smash. Now the country must capitalize on it.
Veteran lawmaker Sanae Takaichi outlines her policy platform at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday as she makes another bid for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party presidency.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 19, 2025

Takaichi works to soften her image in LDP presidential bid

A long-time conservative champion, the former economic security minister had long worked to present herself as the poster child of the more hawkish wing of the LDP.
SoftBank Group’s Vision Fund is considering cutting as much as 20% of its staff.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 19, 2025

SoftBank's Vision Fund mulls 20% job cuts after Son’s pivot to AI

The unit, which employed about 282 people as of the end of March, may shed more than 50 roles, a person familiar with the matter said.
People line up to purchase the iPhone 17 at a store in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward on Friday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 19, 2025

Apple iPhone 17 launches in Japan

About 30 people lined up at an Apple store in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward to get their reserved new phones as soon as possible.
Haruka Kitaguchi competes in the women's javelin throw during the World Athletics Championships at National Stadium on Friday.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Sep 19, 2025

Reigning world champion Haruka Kitaguchi fails to qualify for women's javelin final

Momone Ueda finished one spot ahead of Kitaguchi and narrowly missed out on a spot in the final.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a Group of 20 summit in the city of Osaka in June 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 20, 2025

Trump and Xi make progress on TikTok deal and plan to meet in South Korea

The two leaders are now scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea in six weeks.
Then-Taiwanese Vice Foreign Minister Alexander Yui — who is currently the island's de facto ambassador to the U.S. — speaks during a news conference in Taipei in July 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 20, 2025

Trump intelligence advisers met with Taiwanese official

The meeting with Alexander Yui, Taiwan's de facto U.S. ambassador, amounted to one of the higher-level Taiwan-U.S. contacts to date during Trump's second term.
A demo of Taiwan's “Beyond 5G LEO Satellite,” the island's first communication experimental satellite program made by the Taiwan Space Agency, is displayed during an event in Taipei in July.
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Sep 20, 2025

Taiwan running out of time for satellite communications, space chief says

Wu Jong-shinn says the "clock is ticking" for Taiwan to launch its own satellites to secure communications during a potential conflict with China.
A screen grab from video posted to U.S. President Donald Trump's Truth Social account shows what he said is a U.S. military strike on a boat carrying alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean Sea on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 20, 2025

Trump says U.S. struck alleged drug vessel in latest operation

The latest strike — at least the third against alleged drug vessels — comes amid a large U.S. military buildup in the southern Caribbean.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 20, 2025

Trump to impose $100,000 fee per year for H-1B visas, in likely blow to tech

Trump's threat to crack down on H-1B visas has become a major flash point with the tech industry, which contributed millions of dollars to his presidential campaign.
New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a news conference in New York in February 2024.
WORLD
Sep 20, 2025

Top U.S. prosecutor overseeing Letitia James case resigns after Trump threat

Trump said he had soured on Erik Siebert after learning that Virginia's two Democratic U.S. senators supported his nomination.
A wheat harvest in Ukraine
ENVIRONMENT
Sep 20, 2025

NASA scientist starts food crisis hotline with tech giant funding

The aim is to use images from space that are then sifted and interpreted by AI models to predict potential crises early.
Travelers wait at Brussels airport after a cyberattack at a service provider for check-in and boarding systems disrupted operations at several major European airports on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 20, 2025

Cyberattack disrupts European airports including London's Heathrow and Brussels

A "cyber-related disruption" at a provider of check-in and boarding systems has disrupted operations at several airports including London's Heathrow.

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building