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U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office on Wednesday. His push for quick wins through tariffs and other measures is risking trade turmoil with key allies like Japan.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Apr 28, 2025

Is there a method behind the Trumponomics madness?

Washington’s policies are treading and often crossing a fine line between political jostling and economic strategizing.
Stopping superpollutants like methane, which is the most potent short-lived climate pollutant, offers a fast-track opportunity to slow warming and improve public health, yet global climate plans have only recently begun to target them explicitly.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 28, 2025

The world is waking up to the dangers of superpollutants

Cutting superpollutants like methane offers a fast way to slow warming and boost public health, but climate plans have only recently begun to target them.
Apartments in the district of Miyazato in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, where many students live
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
May 12, 2025

Rents soar in northern Okinawa ahead of Junglia theme park opening

While large-scale hiring may help to revitalize the area, it is also creating a housing supply shortage, affecting students and others who are moving in.
Rows of coffee and tea plants at the Tianyuzhuang coffee plantation in Pu'er, in China's southwest Yunnan province, on April 1.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 28, 2025

Chinese tea hub branches into coffee as tastes change

For centuries, Pu'er in Yunnan province has given its name to a type of richly fermented tea, but growers are increasingly branching out into a historic rival.
A man places a lit candle at a vigil at 41st and Fraser street in Vancouver on Sunday, a day after a car drove into a crowd during the Lapu Lapu Festival, killing at least 11. The suspect in the attack has been charged with murder.
WORLD
Apr 29, 2025

Filipino 'caring culture' hit hard by Canada truck-ramming that killed 11

Many have carved out their place in Canada by raising other people's children while others tend to the elderly or have found careers as medical technicians.
A car with curtains drawn, one of two, is seen leaving Hong Kong's Shek Pik prison just before sunrise on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 29, 2025

First batch of Hong Kong democrats freed after four years in jail

Four former pro-democracy lawmakers, including Claudia Mo, Kwok Ka-ki, Jeremy Tam and Gary Fan, were driven away from three separate prisons across Hong Kong around dawn.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Apr 29, 2025

Trump administration targets scientists behind key climate assessment

Dismissal of nearly 400 contributors leaves the future of the U.S. National Climate Assessment in doubt under Trump's administration.
A view shows the BRICS Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 29, 2025

BRICS meeting in Brazil discusses Ukraine, Gaza and Trump's trade war

Ministers from the bloc — which has traditionally been cautious in comments about the Ukraine war — met to hone their agenda ahead of a leaders' summit in July.
A trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Monday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 29, 2025

After 100 days under Trump, investors reassess the allure of 'brand USA'

The market has seen significant rallies fueled in part by trade negotiation optimism, but investors remain concerned about the longevity and strength of any bounce-back.
Microsoft signage in New York on Oct. 25, 2024. Microsoft’s sudden decision to pause work on some data centers suggests cloud computing providers may be reevaluating expenditures.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 29, 2025

Big Tech’s earnings problem is estimates may be way too high

There’s little expectation executives will be able to give estimates with any degree of confidence, given the high level of macroeconomic uncertainty.
A system failure at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation has made automated teller machines at some branches in the Kansai western Japan region unavailable.

The cause of the failure is under investigation, and there is no prospect of when the system will be restored, the Japanese bank said.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2025

System failure hits Sumitomo Mitsui ATMs

The cause of the failure is under investigation, and there is no timeline yet for restoring the system, the Japanese bank said.
A member of Indian security forces stands guard on a street following an attack on tourists near Pahalgam in Srinagar in the disputed Kashmir region.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 29, 2025

India shuts over half of Kashmir tourist spots after deadly attack

Last week assailants segregated men, asked their names and targeted Hindus before shooting them at close range, killing 26 people, officials and survivors said.
Hiroshi Moriyama (left), secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, meets with Zhao Leji, the third-ranking official of the Chinese Communist Party, in Beijing on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 29, 2025

LDP’s Moriyama pushes for concrete results on China’s seafood import ban

China offered no specific promises, instead emphasizing the stability of Japan-China relations at a time of great international volatility.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the BRICS Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Rio de Janeiro on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 29, 2025

At BRICS meeting, China vows to stand firm against ‘bully’ Trump

On Tuesday, China’s Foreign Minister warned BRICS nations not to cave to U.S. tariffs, urging resistance to pressure amid growing trade tensions.
Reform U.K. party leader Nigel Farage
WORLD
Apr 29, 2025

Populist Reform party could reshape the U.K. political landscape

It also convinced its leader, Brexit veteran Nigel Farage, he had to professionalize the party, and fast.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stands beside Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during the singing of the national anthem at Malacanang Palace in Manila on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 30, 2025

‘Almost like allies’: Tokyo and Manila eye two more defense pacts

The Japanese and Philippine leaders agreed to launch talks on both a military intelligence-sharing pact and a deal to allow their armed forces to share fuel, food and services.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick listens to U.S. President Donald Trump speak during an event to sign executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on April 23.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 30, 2025

Trump eases auto tariff burden as Lutnick touts foreign trade deal

A group representing Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai and nine other foreign automakers said Trump's order provided some relief but that "more must be done."
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks to the media upon arriving at his office on Parliament Hill on Tuesday in Ottawa. Carney pledged Tuesday to beat the United States in Donald Trump's trade war after winning Canada's election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 30, 2025

Carney’s plan to manage Trump: Keep calm, find new friends

Carney assured anxious voters that the country could not just survive the trade war — but win it.
A USB-type charging connector of a laptop was burned during charging due to foreign objects also being in the charging port.
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2025

Technology institute warns of digital device accidents amid a series of fires

The warning comes as some students interact with electronic devices for the first time under the "giga school" initiative of distributing information devices to every student.
A trader kicks a picture of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a protest in Karachi on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 30, 2025

Pakistan says India planning strike as tensions rise after Kashmir attack

On April 22, 26 men were killed in the tourist hub of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, in the deadliest attack on civilians in the contested region in years.
Kabuki actor Onoe Kikunosuke V, now Onoe Kikugoro VIII (front center), gives a greeting during the classical hand-clapping ceremony called "koshiki kaoyose teuchishiki" in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2025

Kabuki actor Kikunosuke assumes the name Onoe Kikugoro VIII

Onoe Kikugoro is a prestigious stage name in the world of the traditional Japanese performing art.
Amazon packages at a distribution center in Washington
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 30, 2025

Amazon denies tariff label pivot after Trump called to complain

The administration’s broadsides against Amazon on Tuesday highlighted the potential political risk for companies if they decide to break out the cost of tariffs for customers.
Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembele celebrates after scoring his club's lone goal of the first leg of its Champions League semifinal against Arsenal, in London on Tuesday.
SOCCER
Apr 30, 2025

Dembele sinks Arsenal as PSG seizes edge in Champions League semifinal

PSG will head into the second leg at Parc des Princes on May 7 as the favorite to reach the final against Barcelona or Inter Milan.
A group of families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea decades ago and a group of Japanese lawmakers tackling the abduction issue at a news conference in Washington on Tuesday
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2025

Families of abductees in North Korea meet with U.S. official

"We reiterated that there is not much time left for the generation of the abductees' parents," said Takuya Yokota, head of the family group.
A drone view shows the car market in Sarmada town, Idlib, Syria, on March 17.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 30, 2025

A tale of two Syrias: Free-market opening sows resentment of new rulers

Bashar Assad's mismanagement helped push the country of 24 million into an economic tailspin, amid Western sanctions and brutal civil war.
Men load solar panels on a rickshaw at a market in Karachi, Pakistan, on March 26.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 30, 2025

Pakistan's solar revolution leaves its middle class behind

Solar made up over 14% of Pakistan's power supply last year, up from 4% in 2021.
Toyota and Alphabet’s Waymo, along with Toyota’s automotive-technology division Woven, will seek to develop a new autonomous-driving platform, according to a joint statement Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 30, 2025

Toyota to partner with Alphabet’s Waymo on autonomous technology

Toyota and other major Japanese firms have poured money into artificial intelligence and autonomous driving for years, but have struggled to keep pace.
Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton celebrates after a basket during Game 5 of Indiana's series against the Bucks, on Tuesday in Indianapolis.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Apr 30, 2025

Haliburton leads comeback as Pacers advance past Bucks

The Pacers battled back from a 20-point deficit and then rallied again in overtime to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 119-118 and seal a 4-1 series victory.
Fuhin, one of the giant pandas at Adventure World in Wakayama Prefecture, when she was a baby
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2025

Chinese official positive about new giant panda contract with Japan

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Tuesday that Beijing welcomes Japan's continued interest in international cooperation on giant panda conservation.
Soldiers march during a parade marking the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 30, 2025

Vietnam’s Lam hails ‘profound’ lessons 50 years after end of war

Behind the flag-waving, the government is engaged in intense trade diplomacy with Washington, seeking to stave off a threatened 46% tariff that could hollow out its export model.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past