Search - new

 
 
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki (center) takes part in a joint patrol involving the U.S. military and the Okinawa Prefectural Police in the city of Okinawa on April 18.
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2025

U.S. forces and Okinawa officials to meet in May to address local concerns

The forum is designed to address a range of issues and improve community relations.
Japanese junior high school students attending a traditional calligraphy class
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2025

Foreign tourists get taught the Japanese high school experience

Amid a tourism boom fuelled by an extremely weak yen, repeat visitors to Japan are looking for more immersive activities.
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.
An unidentified weapons system is fired from the deck of North Korea's latest destroyer, the Choe Hyon, during two days of tests on Monday and Tuesday in this undated photo released Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 30, 2025

North Korea's Kim sets sights on nuclear-armed navy

Leader Kim Jong Un directed officials to push forward equipping his naval forces with nuclear weapons following the unveiling of his country’s biggest destroyer.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (right) participate in a trilateral meeting during the AUKUS summit on March 13, 2023, at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego, California.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 30, 2025

Nuclear submarine deal lurks below surface of Australian election

A key feature of the AUKUS agreement is for Australia to acquire a fleet of cutting-edge nuclear-powered submarines from the United States.
The Tomari nuclear power plant in Tomari, Hokkaido, in March 2024
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2025

Japan approves restart of nuclear reactor for first time in four years

The Nuclear Regulation Authority approved a preliminary report saying Hokkaido Electric Power’s Tomari No. 3 reactor meets post-Fukushima safety rules.
A branch of Nomura Securities, a unit of Nomura Holdings, in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 30, 2025

Nomura’s China losses narrow as brokerage seeks turnaround

The China unit has been undergoing an overhaul after its initial ambition to grow its wealth management business veered off track during the pandemic.
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.
Chiyoshoma (right) battles Churanoumi during the New Year Basho in Tokyo in January. The Mongolian's drop down the sumo rankings ahead of the May tournament was one of the biggest surprises of the latest banzuke.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Apr 30, 2025

Puzzling decisions and opaque rankings are all part of sumo's charm

There are always a handful of head-scratching promotions and demotions, and the latest banzuke is no exception.
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.
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama (left), who also chairs the Japan-China Parliamentary Friendship Association, meets with Zhao Leji, the third-ranked official in the Chinese Communist Party and chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, in Beijing on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 30, 2025

Communist China’s quiet influence on Japanese politics

China Communist Party influence operations have been embedded in the Japanese government and political structures for 75 years.
A woman takes part in an OpenNyAI field trial in Bengaluru, India, in April 2023. The AI trial was aimed at helping some of the nation’s poorest people access money from government anti-poverty programs.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2025

Will AI close or widen the development gap?

The social, economic and political effects of AI will not naturally bend toward inclusion or equity across the global economy.
Tapple, one of Japan's most popular dating apps, has launched the nation's first feature to verify a user's single status via their My Number card.
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2025

Single, or not? Japanese dating app launches relationship verification system

With Tapple boasting over 20 million users, worries about dishonest relationship statuses were common.
The United States and Ukraine signed a minerals deal on Wednesday, offering a measure of assurance to officials in Kyiv.
WORLD / Politics
May 1, 2025

U.S. and Ukraine sign resources deal after fraught negotiations

The signing ceremony on Wednesday concluded weeks of contentious negotiations and pulled the two countries back from a rift.
Jannik Sinner will return from a three-month doping ban during the upcoming Italian Open.
TENNIS
May 1, 2025

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner considered leaving tennis during doping controversy

Sinner accepted a three-month ban in February after a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Armed Druze men stand at a checkpoint in Jaramana, southeast of Damascus, Syria, on Friday.
WORLD
May 1, 2025

Israel strikes Syria, saying it hit group that attacked Druze

Since Assad was ousted in December, Israel has seized ground in the southwest and vowed to protect the Druze.
Shedeur Sanders laughs during an NBA game between the Mavericks and Nuggets in Dallas, on Jan. 14.
MORE SPORTS / Football
May 1, 2025

NFL fines Falcons and Jeff Ulbrich in fallout after prank call to Sanders

The NFL fined the Falcons for allowing Sanders' private information to be leaked.
Shimane University adopted colorful and stylish furniture in classrooms at its new building for the Faculty of Materials for Energy. The university has been improving facilities to be more appealing to female students.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
May 12, 2025

Japanese universities expanding female quotas in science

The initiative is aimed at correcting a gender imbalance in science-related fields, but also raises concerns over discrimination.
U.S. President Donald Trump during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 1, 2025

Trump says tariffs politically risky, but he’s not rushing deals

Trump said there was a significant political risk to his efforts, but added that he remained determined to push on.
The Apple App Store app on an iPhone on June 25, 2024
BUSINESS / Tech
May 1, 2025

Apple must halt non-app store sales commissions, judge says

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers sided Wednesday with Fortnite maker Epic Games over its allegation that the iPhone maker failed to comply with a court order.
Participants in Chinese hacking competitions are required to report their findings to the government first, according to a 2018 regulation.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 1, 2025

Chinese hacking competitions fuel the country’s broad cyber ambitions

Chinese hacking contests now serve national security, with vulnerabilities passed to the state, not fixed by tech makers.
Hiroshi Kanamoto, a representative of Nihon Hidankyo, speaks at a preparatory meeting for the 2026 Review Conference of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in New York on Wednesday.
JAPAN
May 1, 2025

Hidankyo member calls for nuclear weapons to be eliminated

The previous two Nonproliferation Treaty review conferences ended in failure.
Stephen Dacus, incoming chief executive officer of Seven & I Holdings, speaks to reporters in Tokyo on April 24.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 1, 2025

Seven & I and Couche-Tard sign nondisclosure agreement

The move might signal that discussion on Couche-Tard's takeover proposal is moving forward.
A screenshot from the website for Alt's AI conference, which was canceled after the company disclosed an investigation into its sales figures.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 1, 2025

Don't send in the clones: AI event nixed as Alt accounts get reality check

An artificial intelligence conference set for May 16 that was to introduce digital clones has been canceled after the company involved was accused of accounting irregularities.
Working long hours is believed to be causing loneliness by worsening people's mental health and restricting their family life.
JAPAN / Society
May 1, 2025

New Japanese study shows 1 in 12 people feel lonely at work

Working long hours is believed to be causing loneliness by worsening people's mental health and restricting their family life.
A view of Koror, Palau’s main town, on April 10
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 1, 2025

Inside the U.S. battle with China over a Pacific island paradise

Palau is again on the frontline as China and the United States and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control.
LeBron James will take his time to decide if he wants to return for a 23rd NBA season.
BASKETBALL / NBA
May 1, 2025

LeBron James to take time to decide future after Lakers' playoff exit

James, who turned 40 on Dec. 30, averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game this season.
Lee Jae-myung, former leader of the Democratic Party, makes a final speech during the party's presidential primary election in Goyang, South Korea, on April 27.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 2, 2025

South Korea presidential race rocked by court ruling and resignations

South Korea's third acting president in five months, Lee Ju-ho, said that he will ensure stable government ahead of a June 3 presidential election.
U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 2, 2025

Trump ousts White House national security adviser Waltz, replacing him with Rubio

Waltz was blamed for adding the editor of The Atlantic to a private thread describing details of an imminent U.S. bombing campaign in Yemen.
While the results were better than analysts had expected, investors are focused on how tariff concerns will play out in the coming quarter.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 2, 2025

Tim Cook says unchanged U.S. tariffs could dent Apple’s next-quarter margins

Apple Q2 beats expectations but warns that unchanged tariffs could cost the company $900 million and requires drastic supply-chain realignment.

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