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Japanese companies are heading overseas to borrow as their local market is becoming too volatile and rates are rising.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 17, 2025

Japan Inc. takes global credit by storm with record sales

More and more Japanese companies are heading overseas to borrow as their local market is becoming too volatile and rates are rising.
Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee arrives at a court in Seoul on Feb. 3.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 17, 2025

South Korea's top court clears Samsung chairman Lee in 2015 fraud case

The Supreme Court's verdict permanently removes a long-running legal distraction for Lee as Samsung plays catch-up in a global race to develop cutting-edge AI chips.
The crash site of Air India flight AI171 in Ahmedabad, India, on June 12
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jul 17, 2025

Air India junior pilot asked why captain turned off fuel switches, sources say

While fuel supply to the engines was restored about 10 seconds later, it was too late to avert the June 12 crash that killed 260 people.
Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito takes part in a debate with the heads of other political parties at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on July 2.
COMMENTARY / Japan / From Party Leaders
Jul 17, 2025

Komeito hears those hit hardest by rising prices

“To stand forever with common citizens.” Our party has faithfully abided by that founding principle for over six decades
Since the Sino-U.S. trade conflict began in 2018, China has used it to strengthen self-reliance, sharpen its strategies and turn Donald Trump’s tariffs into fuel for its long-term global resilience. 
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 17, 2025

China is winning Donald Trump’s trade war

While China does not want a trade war or to decouple, it is willing to risk a trade war that the United States may lose — and it would rather decouple than kowtow to Trump.
A former company employee who posts highlight videos on YouTube prepares to livestream Shinji Ishimaru's stump speech in Tokyo in June. Jiji
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 17, 2025

Highlight videos online playing big role in Upper House election

Social media is increasingly impacting election results in Japan amid the growing popularity of YouTube and other video-sharing sites.
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda said it is obvious that Japanese society could not function without the help of foreign workers in manufacturing, health care, construction and public transportation.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 17, 2025

CDP leader criticizes ‘Japanese First’ policy and calls for inclusive society

Foreign residents are critical to maintaining Japan’s economy, said Yoshihiko Noda, as he issued a call on the campaign trail for a multicultural society that respects minorities.
Campaign posters in Tokyo. Voters in Japan put immediate economic issues ahead of longer-term concerns about the effects of tariffs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 17, 2025

Trump tariffs fail to register with Japanese voters ahead of key election

Only 8% of voters surveyed by NHK rated tariffs as their top priority.
Solar power more than doubled to 24% of Pakistan's energy mix in the first five months of 2025, becoming the largest source of energy production for the first time.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Jul 17, 2025

Pakistan's quiet solar rush puts pressure on national grid

Solar power more than doubled to 24% of Pakistan's energy mix in the first five months of 2025, becoming the largest source of energy production for the first time.
A student leaves the secondary school building built by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Francis Kere, in Kere's home village of Gando, Burkina Faso, on June 3, 2022.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 17, 2025

How schools are being built for extreme heat — without air conditioning

With techniques such as cross-ventilation and materials such as clay, architects around the world are adapting schools to climate change without the use of air conditioning.
Newly appointed Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko attends a session of Ukrainian parliament in Kyiv on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 18, 2025

Ukraine reshuffles Cabinet with wartime economy struggling

The reshuffle reflects Ukraine’s effort to spend more on its war effort and to strengthen sometimes strained relations with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Pham Thi Bich Hau (fifth from left) began translating and interpreting for the Vietnamese community in Japan in 2013, when she was working for a trainee management organization. She went on to found the Vietnam Women's Union in Japan, organizing activities like the Tet festival pictured here.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Jul 21, 2025

The mothers holding up Japan's Vietnamese community

Online support groups and in-person events are helping Vietnamese women from all walks of life manage motherhood abroad.
Members of Syrian security forces stand on a road as vehicles transporting other Syrian security forces make their way out of the predominantly Druze city of Sweida, Syria, on Wednesday.
WORLD
Jul 18, 2025

U.S. does not support Israel's Syria strikes as al-Sharaa vows to protect Druze

Israel launched airstrikes in Damascus on Wednesday, saying it aimed to protect Syrian Druze, a part of a minority that also has followers in Lebanon and Israel.
A migrant is detained by federal officers at a U.S. immigration court in Manhattan, in New York City, on June 11.
WORLD
Jul 18, 2025

'A trap' — Asylum seekers arrested after attending U.S. court hearings

Homeland Security agents have adopted the tactic of waiting outside immigration courts nationwide and arresting migrants as they leave at the end of mandatory asylum hearings.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attend a meeting on the sidelines of NATO summit in The Hague on June 25. Zelenskyy said his latest talks with Trump focused on a deal that would help each country bolster its aerial technology.
WORLD
Jul 18, 2025

Zelenskyy says he and Trump are considering a drone 'mega-deal'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said drones were the key tool that has allowed his country to fight off Russia's invasion for more than three years.
Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner in freefall during a practice flight across the English Channel between Dover and Calais on July 30, 2003
MORE SPORTS
Jul 18, 2025

Pioneering skydiver Felix Baumgartner dies while paragliding in Italy

The Austrian made headlines around the world in October 2012 when he jumped from a balloon 38 km above Earth, becoming the first skydiver to break the sound barrier.
Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, in Beijing on Thursday
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 18, 2025

Trump’s U-turn on Nvidia spurs talk of grand bargain with China

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the administration wanted Chinese developers "addicted” to American technology.
Bucks point guard Damian Lillard shoots the ball past Trail Blazers shooting guard Shaedon Sharpe during the second half at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon on Jan 28.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Jul 18, 2025

Deal being finalized to return Damian Lillard to Trail Blazers

Lillard, who turned 35 on Tuesday, saw his season come to an abrupt end on April 27 after a torn left Achilles tendon knocked him out of the rest of the playoffs.
Just 17% of Americans approve of U.S. President Donald Trump's handling of the Jeffery Epstein case, a weaker rating than the president received on any other issue in the poll.
WORLD
Jul 18, 2025

Trump faces backlash as 69% believe Epstein details concealed, poll finds

Close to two-thirds of Republicans surveyed think the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is hiding details on Jeffrey Epstein's business.
A woman holding a child listens to a stump speech in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on June 25.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 18, 2025

Parties vow measures to tackle falling birth rate

Last year, Japan recorded fewer than 700,000 births for the first time.
Analysts say the failure of Alimentation Couche-Tard’s attempt to acquire the operator of 7-Eleven stores runs counter to the broader trend in Japan's investing landscape.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 18, 2025

Couche-Tard’s failed bid for Seven and I sparks debate over foreign acquisitions

Couche-Tard's acquisition failure is seen as running counter to the broader trend in the investing landscape in Japan.
Emperor Emeritus Akihito is accompanied by Empress Emerita Michiko as he leaves the University of Tokyo Hospital on Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 2025

Emperor emeritus diagnosed with another heart disorder

In 2022, the emperor emeritus was diagnosed with right heart failure caused by tricuspid valve insufficiency.
Tadej Pogacar (right) and Jonas Vingegaard in action during Stage 12 of the Tour de France on Thursday
MORE SPORTS / Cycling
Jul 18, 2025

Vingegaard and team get a taste of their own medicine on the Tour

Vingegaard was left shattered by Pogacar's brutal attack in the climb up to Hautacam in the 12th stage, leaving the two-time champion 3:31 behind his rival in the standings.
Once seen as an unlikely prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba has struggled to deliver on promises, mishandled ties with U.S. President Donald Trump and now faces an election where the odds don’t look good for his party to come out victorious.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 18, 2025

A trade deal fumble could be Ishiba’s last mistake

Ishiba already leads a coalition that lacks a majority in the Lower House, and another bad showing Sunday will likely mean Japan is looking for its third leader in as many years.
Members of Japan's Self-Defense Forces stand in formation during a review at Camp Asaka in October 2018. The government’s latest Defense White Paper warns of growing threats from China, Russia and North Korea.
EDITORIALS
Jul 18, 2025

Japan must be ready for an increasingly dangerous world

If there is a complaint to be issued against this year’s Defense White Paper, it is its reluctance to fully address the impact of Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency.
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi visits a rice farm in Ibaraki Prefecture on July 9. Inflation is eating into household budgets, and higher prices are causing much concern among the Japanese public.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 18, 2025

In Japanese politics, rice is the 'third rail'

If inexperienced politicians inadvertently damage Japan’s food security, voters will send them packing.
A Sanseito campaign van in Shinjuku. The populist party is gaining ground and challenging the more centrist parties.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 18, 2025

Japanese markets brace for triple whammy if opposition wins big

Bonds, stocks and the yen could be destabilized if spendthrift parties gain influence.
While Seven & I shares are higher than they were before Couche-Tard’s interest became public in August 2024, they fell after the proposal was withdrawn this week and are down by more than a fifth this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 18, 2025

7-Eleven operator risks becoming buyout target again if turnaround fails

Seven & I Holdings remains a buyout target in the eyes of some investors, who say new suitors may emerge unless the operator of 7-Eleven turns around its business.
A man takes part in Tokyo’s Sanja Matsuri by helping to carry a "mikoshi" (portable shrine). Many Japanese festivals are open to foreign residents and tourists to participate in.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 19, 2025

Dancers, festivals and one very useful Japanese grammar point

From Kyoto’s Gion Matsuri to Tokyo’s Sumida fireworks, Japan’s summer festivals offer history, spectacle — and a chance to learn some vocabulary.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a news conference with President Donald Trump in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington on June 27.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 19, 2025

Trump sues Wall Street Journal over Epstein report, seeking $10 billion

The newspaper said that Trump in 2003 sent Jeffrey Epstein a birthday greeting that included a sexually suggestive drawing and a reference to secrets they shared.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’