Search - new

 
 
U.S. President Donald Trump reviews troops aboard the USS Wasp in Yokosuka, Japan, in May 2019. The shifting global security landscape has sparked discussions in many countries, including Japan, about developing nuclear weapons in response to changing U.S. commitments.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 18, 2025

Changing U.S. commitments spark nuclear armament debates, including in Japan

Given Japan's unique history in 1945, it will take more than fear or harsh rhetoric to push the country into considering the development of nuclear weapons.
Shipping containers at a port in Long Beach, California. Higher tariffs will raise the cost of doing business in the U.S., raising the bar for Japanese companies to invest in America.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 18, 2025

Trump tariffs to raise bar to invest in the U.S., JETRO says

Higher tariffs will raise the cost of doing business in the U.S. with more expensive materials and products, said JETRO’s chair, Norihiko Ishiguro.
The Japanese postal mark displayed on a Japan Post post box in Tokyo
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2025

Number of Japan Post clients affected by misuse of information rises to 10 million

"We deeply apologize for causing anxiety and worry," Japan Post Holdings Managing Executive Officer Miho Ichiki told a news conference.
The buildings sector consumes 32% of the world's energy and contributes 34% of CO2 emissions.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Mar 18, 2025

'More and faster': U.N. calls to shrink buildings' carbon footprint

CO2 emissions from the building sector rose around 5% in the last decade when they should have fallen 28%, according to a new report.
Megan Garcia
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 18, 2025

Teen’s suicide turns mother against Google and AI chatbot startup

Megan Garcia says her son would still be alive today if it weren’t for a chatbot urging the 14-year-old to take his own life.
Smoke billows behind a cemetery (foreground) during Israeli strikes west of Gaza City, in the Gaza Strip, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Mar 19, 2025

Israeli Gaza strikes widen attacks on Iran’s militant allies

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the renewed strikes were "only the beginning” and vowed to maintain military pressure until Hamas releases hostages.
People protest as the USAID building sits closed to employees after a memo was issued advising agency personnel to work remotely, in Washington on Feb. 3.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 19, 2025

Powerful Asian countries will struggle to fill aid gap left by U.S.

China may be reluctant to fully fill the void, while South Korea and Japan could struggle to give enough.
Google will acquire cloud security platform Wiz for $32 billion, citing the need for greater cybersecurity capacity as artificial intelligence embeds itself in technology infrastructure.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 19, 2025

Google to buy cybersecurity company Wiz for $32 billion

The transaction will test Donald Trump's openness to large takeovers after resistance to such deals by the administration of his predecessor.
Minoru Kariya, who lost his father, Kiyoshi, in 1995 in an abduction case involving the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult, speaks during an interview in Tokyo in February.
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2025

Aum Shinrikyo victim's son wants continued remorse

Minoru Kariya's father, Kiyoshi, then 68, was killed in an abduction case involving the doomsday cult in 1995.
Gonzalo Gallegos, director of communications for the U.S. Institute of Peace, carries a box out of the building in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 19, 2025

Elon Musk’s team evicts officials at the U.S. Institute of Peace

Officials say that as the institute is a congressionally chartered nonprofit, not part of the executive branch, Trump and Musk do not have authority to gut its operations.
Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali (left) speaks to Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra during a meeting in Bangkok on Tuesday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Mar 19, 2025

Thailand eyes hosting Formula One race from 2028, prime minister says

The government will study the investment requirement, economic benefits to Thailand and the possibility of holding the competition in a street circuit.
Alain Bouchard (left), chairman and founder of Alimentation Couche-Tard, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on March 13.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 19, 2025

Couche-Tard meets privately with Seven & I investors, pressing case for takeover

The Canadian firm has sought to reassure the public and key stakeholders that it's not considering a hostile takeover, despite a monthslong standoff with Seven & I.
Japan's shipments abroad have advanced in the first two months of this year, as Japanese companies brace for the rollout of higher tariffs in the United States.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 19, 2025

Japan’s exports rose more quickly in February ahead of Trump tariffs

Global trade flows face potential major disruptions as the U.S. continues to escalate its tariff campaign, targeting nations where Japanese carmakers have manufacturing bases.
Shohei Ohtani tips his batting helmet during the opening game of the MLB season between the Dodgers and Cubs on Tuesday at Tokyo Dome
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 19, 2025

At Tokyo Dome, a stage so big that even Shohei Ohtani felt nervous

Even the game's preeminent superstar admitted to feeling nervous as the MLB season kicked off with what amounted to a celebration of Japan and its place in the sport.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waits for a session of the House of Councillors Budget Committee to begin in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Explainer
Mar 19, 2025

What's the fuss over Ishiba's gift vouchers?

The prime minister's standing has worsened following reports that he handed out gift vouchers worth ¥100,000 ($668) each to rookie lawmakers from his party.
Prime Minister and ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader Shigeru Ishiba is facing a political funding scandal that has damaged his reputation and sparked speculation that internal efforts to remove him are underway.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 19, 2025

Japan’s leader didn’t read the job description

The lastest scandal comes amid broader concerns over the LDP's misuse of political funds, further damaging Prime Minister Ishiba’s reputation.
Soldiers take part in the first day of the annual Han Kuang military drills in Taoyuan, Taiwan, in July last year.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 19, 2025

Taiwan defense drills identify 2027 for potential China invasion for first time

The Taiwanese Defense Ministry unveiled the date in a document released Tuesday to brief lawmakers on upcoming war games simulating an attack by the Chinese military.
Matt Fuller and his son, Isaiah, were lucky enough to meet Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong in the lead-up to the season-opening Tokyo Series.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 19, 2025

Tokyo Series gives diehard American baseball fans the ideal gateway into Japan

The Tokyo Dome may be filled with Japanese baseball diehards this week, but more than a few Americans have also made the trip to see the Cubs and Dodgers.
A 7-Eleven convenience store, operated by Seven & I Holdings, at the company's headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 19, 2025

Seven & I signs confidentiality pact with Canada’s Couche-Tard

The nondisclosure agreement (NDA) will pave the way for discussions around antitrust issues in the United States, Seven & I said.
The number of foreign visitors to Japan exceeded 3 million in February, the first time for the month.
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2025

Japan records 3.25 million visitors in February

The number shot up 16.9% from a year before, boosted mainly by an increase in travelers from China during the Lunar New Year holiday period.
Supporters of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu take part in a demonstration in Istanbul on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 20, 2025

Turkey detains Erdogan’s top rival, triggering market meltdown

The mayor's detention highlights an increasingly aggressive campaign that Turkey's president is waging against critics to silence dissent.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting in Moscow on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 20, 2025

Putin advances strategic aims while ceding little to Trump

The agreement to a narrow ceasefire in which Russia and Ukraine would stop attacking each other's energy facilities gives Moscow an edge against Kyiv.
Protesters demonstrate against the Dakota Access Pipeline near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, in 2016.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 20, 2025

Jury finds Greenpeace liable for more than $660 million in damages

The verdict was a major blow to the environmental organization.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group has walked away from the banking industry’s largest climate alliance.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 20, 2025

MUFG leaves climate group as Japanese banks join Wall Street exits

MUFG follows Tokyo-based rivals Nomura Holdings and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group in leaving the Net-Zero Banking Alliance.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Itamar Ben Gvir shake hands as the government approves Netanyahu's proposal to reappoint Ben Gvir as minister of National Security on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 20, 2025

Netanyahu tightens grip on divided Israel with return to war

Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening, with more demonstrations in Jerusalem on Wednesday.
Visitors at Myoko Suginohara Ski Resort in Myoko, Niigata Prefecture, on March 5
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2025

Myoko ski resort area feels trepidation as foreign money pours in

Many locals fear Myoko could go the way of Niseko.
An example of a Russian disinformation poster that was spread via Telegram. Some analysts said that reducing work to counter Moscow's hybrid war tactics would prove dangerous for the U.S.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 20, 2025

U.S. suspends some efforts to counter Russian sabotage

Since U.S. President Donald Trump took office, much of the work on monitoring and countering Russia's hybrid warfare campaign has come to a standstill.
The European Commission informed Google parent Alphabet in a "preliminary view" that its search engine treated its own services more favorably compared to rivals.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 20, 2025

EU skewers Google and Apple over tech rules — despite Trump threats

The moves risk opening up a new front in the already fraught relationship between the EU and U.S. President Donald Trump.
World Boxing President Boris van der Vorst speaks to reporters on Thursday in Costa Navarino, Greece.
OLYMPICS / Boxing
Mar 20, 2025

Boxing earns spot in the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Games

The IOC last month granted provisional recognition to World Boxing in a major step toward the sport's inclusion in the LA Games.
Russians queue to apply for visas at the Japanese Embassy in Moscow on March 4.
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2025

Cherry blossoms and free visas draw Russians to Japan

The number of Russians holidaying in Japan is set to double this year from around 100,000 in 2024, helped by a strengthening ruble.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years