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China slapped antidumping duties on imports of engineering plastic, including 35.5% duties on shipments from Japan.
BUSINESS
May 19, 2025

China slaps antidumping duties on plastics from U.S., EU, Japan and Taiwan

POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc and have various applications including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Feb. 13. Trump’s coercive use of trade threats against India during the Pakistan military crisis has undermined trust in the U.S.-India partnership and exposed Washington as an unreliable security ally.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 21, 2025

Trump’s wake-up call for India’s foreign policy

Trump may have done India a favor. His actions have exposed an uncomfortable truth: Under his leadership, the U.S. is not a dependable partner in matters of security.
SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has proposed setting up a U.S.-Japan sovereign wealth fund to make large investments in technology and infrastructure, according to the Financial Times.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 25, 2025

Softbank’s Son floats idea of U.S.-Japan sovereign wealth fund, report says

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has discussed the plan with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, although it hasn’t been formally proposed.
A military exercise in Bali, Taiwan, on July 27, 2023. Taiwan Defense Minister Wellington Koo says the Trump administration has a shared interest in security in the region, but Taiwan must also ready its own forces for asymmetric warfare.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 26, 2025

In Trump era, Taiwan defense chief says U.S. still is a check on China

Wellington Koo says the Trump administration has a shared interest in security in the region, but Taiwan must also ready its own forces for asymmetric warfare.
A United States Steel plant in River Rouge, Michigan. The guessing game continues as to what a "partnership" between Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel, as announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, actually entails.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 26, 2025

Even Nippon Steel is unsure about what a ‘partnership’ with U.S. Steel means

U.S. President Donald Trump's plan for the steelmakers has left the markets guessing and the participants keen to remain mum.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivers a speech during the ASEAN-GCC-China Economic Forum's official dinner in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 28, 2025

China aims to capitalize on U.S. tariff turmoil with new ASEAN-GCC forum

The summit with Southeast Asian and Arab Gulf states is the latest sign of more countries looking to join hands to fend off U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff push.
The Trump administration's escalating campaign against Harvard — cutting billions in funding, blocking foreign students, and threatening its independence — marks an unprecedented attack on U.S. higher education.
EDITORIALS
May 30, 2025

U.S. soft power is a casualty in Trump’s war on Harvard

The fight against Harvard will do extensive and potentially irreparable injury. It is an extraordinary act of self-harm.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, is in Washington again for a fourth round of high-level negotiations with the United States.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 30, 2025

Tariff talks with U.S. a mix of slow progress, ever-present uncertainty 

Japan's chief negotiator is back in Washington for another round of high-level negotiations.
Philippines Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro speaks at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 2, 2025

Philippines vague on U.S. missile deployments, but clear on one thing

Manila has already secured the funds to buy its own midrange missiles, according to Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro.
TSMC’s plan to build a second factory in Kumamoto Prefecture is key to Japan’s ambitions to regain leadership in semiconductors.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 4, 2025

TSMC flags delays in Japan expansion while U.S. plans advance

The sudden influx of workers from TSMC’s first plant is already bogging down rural infrastructure in Japan.
Police officers stand at the site of Russian missile strike in Sumy, Ukraine, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 4, 2025

Ukraine officials visit U.S. and accuse Russia of stalling peace efforts

Ukrainian leaders in Washington accuse Russia of stalling peace talks and dodging sanctions, while seeking stronger U.S. backing amid intensifying battlefield attacks.
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a visit to Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar, in May.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 7, 2025

Trump signs orders to bolster U.S. drone defenses and boost supersonic flight

The executive orders aim to bolster defenses against threatening drones and to boost electric air taxis and supersonic commercial aircraft.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s chief tariff negotiator, is expected to head to Washington soon for a sixth round of high-level trade talks with the United States.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 10, 2025

Akazawa talks of 'dense fog' in U.S. trade talks ahead of G7 summit

Japan is sticking to its demand that all new tariffs be removed, the country's tariff czar insists.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick speaks to members of the media at Lancaster House in London on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 11, 2025

U.S. and China officials agree on plan to ramp down trade tensions

Officials on both sides expressed optimism but the framework must now be approved by leaders in Washington and Beijing.
A B-2 stealth bomber drops a dummy bomb during a drill. As diplomacy falters, military options against Iran are gaining traction. 
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 8, 2025

Could U.S. and Israel destroy Iran’s nuke program? Yep, here’s how.

Having lost control of its decimated proxies — Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis — Iran has few moves left on the chessboard.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth meets with Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles at the Pentagon in Washington in February.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 12, 2025

U.S. to review AUKUS as part of Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda

The decision to review the partnership is likely to raise eyebrows among U.S. allies and partners, but was downplayed by Canberra.
The executive order U.S. President Donald Trump signed imposing a “gold standard” in science appears to champion research integrity but is seen by experts as a political move to control which evidence is accepted.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 6, 2025

This isn’t how you ‘restore gold standard’ science

There’s widespread concern the executive order could allow government officials to flag almost anything as not up to their definition of "gold standard.”
Sam Burns lines up a putt on the seventh green during the second round of the U.S. Open on Friday in Oakmont, Pennsylvania.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Jun 14, 2025

Sam Burns shoots 65 to lead demanding U.S. Open

Burns had six birdies, one bogey and a key par save on his final hole to wrap up the low round.
A public clash between Donald Trump and Elon Musk exposed the national security risks of the U.S. government's heavy reliance on SpaceX, a private company controlled by a single individual.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 16, 2025

Washington divorcing SpaceX just isn’t possible right now

The U.S. government depends on SpaceX for low-cost space launches while competitors lag behind.
A U.S. military plane takes off at the Kadena U.S. Air Force Base in Okinawa Prefecture in August 2023.
JAPAN
Jun 19, 2025

Okinawa marks 80 years since 'Typhoon of Steel,' with U.S. presence still a burden

On June 23, Japan’s southernmost prefecture commemorates the end of the Battle of Okinawa, among the bloodiest ground battles of World War II.
Poultry serum samples are tested for antibodies to the avian influenza virus in Campinas, Brazil, in 2023.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 19, 2025

Geography helps shield Brazil from U.S.-style bird flu epidemic, for now

Brazil's vast and diverse geography may be keeping migratory birds away from poultry farms in the country's interior.
Nippon Steel Chairman and CEO Eiji Hashimoto (left) and Nippon Steel Vice Chairman and Executive Vice President Takahiro Mori. The Japanese company is still undecided about a civil suit filed against a U.S. competitor.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 20, 2025

Nippon Steel drops lawsuit against U.S. government after acquiring U.S. Steel

The Japanese company had challenged the legality of U.S. President Joe Biden's rejection of the acquisition.
Chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa has said that his U.S. counterparts are open to an extension of the July 9 deadline for countries that are making an effort toward a deal.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 20, 2025

Japan hopes good-faith negotiations will buy it some time in U.S. tariff talks

U.S negotiators have said that the July 9 deadline is flexible and that extensions might be granted.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son at Donald Trump's resort in Florida in December last year
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 20, 2025

Masayoshi Son pitches $1 trillion U.S. AI hub to TSMC and Trump team

Son envisions a version of the vast manufacturing hub of China’s Shenzhen that would bring back high-tech manufacturing to the U.S.
U.S. President Donald Trump pumps his fist as boards Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, New Jersey, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 22, 2025

Israel tells U.S. it could attack key Iran nuke site before Trump deadline

Israel communicated their concerns to Trump administration officials on Thursday in what sources described as a tense phone call.
Israeli and U.S. air strikes on Iranian targets have heightened regional tensions, leading airlines to avoid Middle Eastern airspace and suspend flights across multiple countries.
WORLD
Jun 22, 2025

Airlines avoid Middle East airspace after U.S. attack on Iran

Japan's foreign ministry said on Sunday it had evacuated 21 people, including 16 Japanese nationals, from Iran overland to Azerbaijan
Rice paddies in the city of Asahikawa, Hokkaido. Rice is a major crop for Hokkaido, with the region having produced 562,400 tons of it last year.
BUSINESS / Economy / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Jun 30, 2025

U.S. import pressure raises concerns for Hokkaido agriculture

The U.S. is nudging Japan to import more rice, soybeans, and maize — vital crops that support Hokkaido's economy.
An Iranian military ship takes part in an annual drill in the coastal area of the Gulf of Oman and near the Strait of Hormuz, Iran, in this picture obtained in December 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 23, 2025

China criticizes attack on Iran as U.S. asks Beijing for trade route help

Beijing "strongly” condemns the attacks on Iran, according to a four-sentence statement from the Foreign Ministry on Sunday.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 23, 2025

Japan denies U.S. directly asked it to hike defense spending to 5% of GDP

Tokyo’s top government spokesman also said it was untrue that Japan had postponed a key bilateral security meeting over the issue.
Chinese tech startup DeepSeek is helping Beijing with military and intelligence operations, according to U.S. officials.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 24, 2025

DeepSeek aids China's military and evaded export controls, U.S. official says

The U.S. conclusions reflect a growing conviction in Washington that the capabilities behind the rapid rise of one of China's flagship AI enterprises may have been exaggerated.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight