Search - new

 
 
Former U.S. President Donald Trump and his attorney, Todd Blanche, at Manhattan criminal court in New York on Tuesday. Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of an alleged scheme to silence claims of extramarital sexual encounters during his 2016 presidential campaign.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 8, 2024

Trump’s private life exposed in intimate Stormy Daniels testimony

The remarkable testimony is the latest example of how Trump’s dealings with women are coming back to haunt him in court.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (center right) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (center left) during a welcoming ceremony at Belgrade Airport on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 8, 2024

China's Xi Jinping visits Serbia on anniversary of 1999 NATO bombing

Three Chinese nationals were killed and 20 wounded in the attack, which prompted outrage in China and an apology from then U.S. President Bill Clinton.
Attendees stand on an escalator in the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, on Nov. 25, 2016.
WORLD / Politics
May 8, 2024

Saudi Arabia AI fund would divest from China if U.S. asked, CEO says

U.S. officials have apparently told their Saudi Arabian counterparts that they need to choose between Chinese and American technology.
Palestinians crowd a street as smoke billows after Israeli strikes in Rafah on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 8, 2024

U.S. paused shipment of bombs to Israel, concerned over Rafah invasion

The U.S. has not made a final decision about how to proceed with the shipment, according to the official.
Philippine Marines wave to Philippine Navy personnel and the media during a resupply mission at their military outpost, the BRP Sierra Madre, a warship run aground in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in 1999, in the South China Sea, in March 2014.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
May 8, 2024

Stormy seas ahead as Beijing and Manila trade barbs over secret deal

China has accused the Philippines of reneging on a "gentlemen's agreement" concerning activities in the South China Sea.
The latest figure is significantly less than a previous projection released in 2015 that said more than 8 million people would have dementia by 2040.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 8, 2024

Nearly 6 million elderly people in Japan will have dementia by 2040

While the figure is lower than a previous projection, the latest estimate still showed a steady growth in the number of people with dementia.
If Donald Trump were to win a second term, his aggressive stance toward China and inclination for protectionist measures could complicate the situation for Southeast Asian nations.
COMMENTARY / World
May 8, 2024

What a second Trump term could mean for Southeast Asia

Donald Trump has made bold promises about U.S.-China policy that, if enacted, would transform the world.
Despite Shinzo Abe's numerous achievements as prime minister, including job creation and efforts to promote workforce gender equality, recent controversies surrounding his tenure, including ties to controversial groups and scandals within his political faction, have tarnished his image.
COMMENTARY
May 7, 2024

The economic legacy of Japan's longest-serving prime minister

Under Abenomics and the BOJ's monetary policy, employment rose more than under any other Japanese government in the 21st century.
Economic security has evolved to include offensive measures, such as industrial policy. Countries like Japan are increasingly on-shoring strategic industries such as semiconductors, regardless of the cost.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
May 7, 2024

The shift from economic security to geoeconomics

Economic security started out as a defensive concept, but it has now been weaponized to include an offensive element, morphing into a geoeconomic tool.
A skeptical reporter (Yukichi Tanaka, right) about the existence of extraterrestrials travels to a self-proclaimed UFO city for a story in “Alien’s Daydream.”
CULTURE / Film
May 9, 2024

'Alien’s Daydream': Micro budget film delivers fresh takes

Yoshiki Matsumoto’s debut feature is an ambitious, multilayered essay on the UFO phenomenon with tongue firmly in cheek.
Andy Summers’  exhibition “A Series of Glances,” currently on view in Tokyo and Kyoto simultaneously, features photographs taken in a wide range of locations around the world, including “Centaur,” which was snapped in Montserrat in July 1981.
CULTURE / Art
May 9, 2024

Andy Summers captures life on and off stage in moody monochrome

The guitarist for The Police, who cites Akira Kurosawa as an important influence, puts his passion for photography on display in Japan.
Displaced Palestinians construct makeshift shelters in the rubble of destroyed homes after fleeing from Rafah, in central Khan Younis, Gaza, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 9, 2024

Biden warns he’d hold back more weapons if Israel invades Rafah

U.S. President Biden's warning does not signify a break with Israel, U.S. officials said, but is rather to exert as much pressure as possible.
In response to the Manila Times report, Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., the chief of staff of the Philippine Armed Forces, said that transcripts could be fabricated and audio recordings could be manufactured using deepfake tools.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 9, 2024

Philippine military chief accuses China of 'malign influence effort'

He said Beijing's claim of a secret deal to de-escalate tensions in the South China Sea is a distraction from its coast guard's aggression in the waterway.
Real wages fell 2.5% from a year earlier in March, marking the 24th straight month of declines, exacerbated by a 9.4% drop in bonuses.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 9, 2024

Real wages fell for 24th month in March, dented by 9.4% decline in bonuses

Data for full-time workers that avoid sampling problems and exclude bonuses and overtime pay grew by 2.3%, above 2% for the seventh month.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol held a news conference on Thursday, his first in about two years as he tried to set a new course for his conservative government after suffering a stinging defeat in parliamentary elections last month.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 9, 2024

South Korea’s Yoon tries to reset agenda with rare news conference

The leader used the event to lay out his priorities for his remaining three years in office.
The Mogami-class frigate, which features stealth capabilities and is operated by Japan's Maritime Self-Defence Force, falls within the very broad guidelines of what is being sought by Canberra.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
May 9, 2024

Will Australia’s next frigates come from Japan?

While the competition is stiff, analysts say Japan's Mogami-class warships — or co-developed Australian variants — stand a fair chance in any bidding war.
The growing divide between U.S.-led and China-aligned blocs is taking a toll on the global economy as trade and investment flows are redirected along geopolitical lines in ways not seen since the Cold War.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 9, 2024

Cold War-type divide puts trade and investment at risk, top IMF official warns

After years of shocks, countries are reevaluating their trading partners, an IMF official has said.
Japan will add large fin whales to its list of commercial whaling species.
JAPAN
May 9, 2024

Japan to start hunting fin whales after five years of commercial whaling

The country resumed commercial whaling in 2019, after withdrawing from an international body that regulates the commercial hunt of the marine mammals.
Futures of robusta coffee beans have hit their highest price in over 40 years, while cocoa prices have more than doubled this year.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 9, 2024

Cocoa’s dizzying volatility is spilling into the coffee market

Many major traders deal in both commodities, so soaring cocoa prices are squeezing market players for cash and forcing them out of coffee trading.
Archaeologists say a 1,600-year-old wooden coffin at the Tomio Maruyama tumulus in the city of Nara was kept in good condition probably because it was protected by a layer of clay and copper ions that had seeped out of the mirrors that were buried together.
JAPAN / History / FOCUS
May 9, 2024

How the discovery of a giant sword in Nara offers clues into ancient Japan

Experts say a series of surprise finds at the burial mound could help untangle the many mysteries surrounding the rulers of fourth-century Japan.
Former Shizuoka Vice Gov. Shinichi Omura announces he is running for the gubernatorial election, on April 12.
JAPAN / Politics
May 9, 2024

Campaigning for Shizuoka's next governor kicks off with all eyes on maglev line

A record six candidates are running for the post after the previous governor resigned over controversial remarks.
The H5N1 bird flu virus, which has been found in cattle, is a pathogen that has loomed large in the minds of infectious disease experts for its potential to cause a deadly human pandemic.
COMMENTARY / World
May 9, 2024

The bird flu outbreak brings more questions than answers

This is a pathogen that has loomed large in the minds of infectious disease experts for its potential to cause a deadly human pandemic.
Hong Kong is looking to Saudi Arabia in efforts to attract a new set of investors to replace Western nations who may be deterred from doing business in China at a time of rising geopolitical tensions.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 9, 2024

Hong Kong woos Saudi money in attempt to revive stock market

Its bourse operator has been having a tough time in recent years amid a stuttering Chinese economy and saber-rattling by Beijing and Washington.
The idea of quitting tends to be associated with weakness, but moving on from a problematic situation can sometimes be extremely positive.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 10, 2024

Sometimes there's power in quitting

Modern society tends to see quitting as a sign of weakness, but Buddhist teaching has extolled the benefits of letting go of something at the right time.
Pete Reynolds (front row, right) has trained for 38 years with the Bujinkan, an organization that teaches skills used by ninja. The American moved to Japan in 2000 and is now a senior instructor at the organization’s dojo in the Nezu neighborhood in Tokyo.
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 10, 2024

The unexpected acolytes helping to keep ninja heritage alive

What may have started as youthful fantasy has led to a deeper passion in an area of Japanese history by non-Japanese martial arts practitioners.
Having succeeded her father, Akira Mori, Miwako Date has been CEO of real estate development firm Mori Trust since 2016.
BUSINESS / WOMEN AT WORK
May 19, 2024

Leading a major property developer with an eye on art and culture

Third-generation CEO Miwako Date is making her mark with Mori Trust's regional luxury hotels.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Chinese President Xi Jinping hold a joint news conference at the Carmelite Monastery in Budapest, Hungary, on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 10, 2024

Xi uses Europe visit to slow continent’s ‘de-risking’ from China

Closer ties with Hungary and Serbia serve to benefit Beijing politically and economically as they help sustain its waning footprint in the region.
China’s fading appeal to foreign firms comes despite Chinese President Xi Jinping’s pledge in November to take more "heart-warming” measures to ease access to the world’s second-largest economy.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 10, 2024

EU firms’ appetite for China investment sinks to record low

Only 13% of firms surveyed earlier this year saw the country as a top destination for investments, a survey found.
A host promotes lipstick on TikTok Shop
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
May 10, 2024

Livestream shopping foils high-tech tools from stopping counterfeits

The sheer volume of violations means e-commerce infringement enforcement can feel like a game of "whack-a-mole" for those who monitor the internet.
Ryo Wakabayashi, a distal myopathy patient, lives alone in the city of Fukushima.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional Voices: Tohoku
May 20, 2024

Persistence pays off with approval of distal myopathy drug

The disease is estimated to affect only 300 to 400 people in Japan.

Longform

"Shake hands with Lima-chan," a statue that shares the name of the Peruvian capital looks in the direction of Peru, where a sister statue, "Sakura-chan," is located. Erected in Yokohama's Rinko Park in 1999, it commemorates Peruvian-Japanese friendship.
The journey of Peru’s Nikkei: Finding identity in Japan