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Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba takes part in a campaign event in Yokohama on July 6. Japan faces deep structural challenges but lacks bold political vision and leaders willing to take risks for transformative change.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 20, 2025

Performative ‘elections’ expose a sad lack of vision

Political parties jostle for position and trade barbs but offer no clear plan for Japan’s growing structural challenges.
Canada’s Couche-Tard has abandoned its bid for Japan’s Seven & I, easing fears it would ruin the beloved convenient store experience, while giving the company a chance to refocus and strengthen its business.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 18, 2025

The bid for Japan’s 7-Eleven was doomed from the start

Seven & I ’s more measured response shows the company is ready to move on.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who serves concurrently as president of the Liberal Democratic Party, leaves at the party's headquarters following announcement of Upper House election result projections in Tokyo early Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 21, 2025

Japan ruling bloc loses majority in Upper House after election drubbing

The ruling LDP-Komeito coalition's devastating loss in Sunday’s poll could lead to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s resignation or political gridlock in parliament.
Palestinians gather to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, on Sunday.
WORLD
Jul 20, 2025

Israel issues new evacuation orders in central Gaza as hunger worsens

Much of Gaza has been reduced to a wasteland during more than 21 months of war and there are fears of accelerating starvation.
In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jul 21, 2025

The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan

AI chatbots are becoming stand-ins for pets and partners — offering comfort, connection and raising new concerns.
Palestinians transport people who were killed or injured while trying to get humanitarian aid, into the Red Cross field hospital in the Mawasi area of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday.
WORLD
Jul 21, 2025

Gaza civil defense says Israeli gunfire kills 93 aid seekers

Israel's military disputed the death toll and said soldiers had fired warning shots as thousands gathered near Gaza City.
Ukrainian soldiers fire a howitzer near the Russian border in the Sumy region, Ukraine, on June 19.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 21, 2025

U.K. urges ‘50-day drive’ to arm Ukraine and raise pressure on Putin

The push comes after U.S. President Donald Trump promised more weapons for Ukraine and threatened 100% "secondary tariffs” on Russia unless it agrees to a ceasefire within 50 days.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (left) and Donald Trump during their meeting at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on March 8, 2024
WORLD / Politics
Jul 21, 2025

'Trump before Trump': Orban's illiberal model on show

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been accused of silencing critical voices from the judiciary, academia, media and civil society, and of restricting minority rights.
Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya in Tokyo on Sunday night
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 21, 2025

‘Japanese First’ Sanseito emerges as powerful force after Upper House poll

The small rightwing populist party led by firebrand Sohei Kamiya won 14 seats in Sunday’s Upper House election.
Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, in Tokyo on Sunday. Smaller conservative parties such as the DPP gained in the election at the weekend, at the expense of the Liberal Democratic Party.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 21, 2025

Conservatives win big in Japan — just not the Liberal Democratic Party

Sunday's election marks the first time the once-proud party has lost a majority in both houses since its foundation in 1955.
A salesperson livestreams inside a BYD showroom in Shanghai on June 22.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 21, 2025

Life atop China’s car market is starting to look shaky for BYD

BYD’s monthly sales have stagnated of late and with the summer months being a traditionally slower time, that trajectory isn’t expected to reverse any time soon.
Commanders helmets are seen on the field during training camp in Ashburn, Virginia, in July 2022.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Jul 21, 2025

Trump threatens stadium deal unless Commanders revert to Redskins name

The NFL team dropped the name Redskins in 2020 after decades of criticism that it was a racial slur with links to the U.S. genocide of the Indigenous population.
Shipping containers at Barcelona port
BUSINESS
Jul 21, 2025

EU to prepare retaliation plan as U.S. trade stance hardens

The overwhelming preference is to keep negotiations with Washington on track in a bid for an outcome to the impasse ahead of next month’s deadline.
Venus Williams competes during the Miami Open in March 2019.
TENNIS
Jul 21, 2025

Venus Williams prioritizing fun over results in return from long break

Williams is setting new personal goals, prioritizing enjoyment over results.
Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP), speaks to the media in Tokyo on Sunday hours after voting closed for the Upper House election.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 21, 2025

CDP shows ‘modest’ outcome as Noda struggles to unite the opposition camp

There is speculation the opposition party might form a coalition with the Liberal Democratic Party and its partner Komeito to form a stable, centrist-oriented government.
“As the first party in parliament, we have to fulfill our responsibility with the public so as to prevent politics from stagnating or drifting away,” Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said at a news conference at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 21, 2025

Ishiba clings to leadership after election setback

In the wake of another electoral setback, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s political capital has plunged.
A demonstrator holds the Mohawk Warrior Flag during a protest in front of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario against the federal government’s Bill C-5, as members of the Canadian Armed Forces fire cannons in the background during a celebration marking Canada Day in Toronto on July 1.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 21, 2025

Indigenous people in Canada challenge fast-track mine and energy projects

The tensions between the government and Indigenous communities reflect longstanding concerns over consultation and the environmental impact of mining projects in Canada.
A Thai anti-mine worker demonstrates how to demine in a Thai village bordering Cambodia's Preah Vihear Temple in 2008.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 21, 2025

Thailand claims Cambodia planted land mines, escalating dispute

Three soldiers were injured when they stepped on a land mine during a routine patrol along an established route within Thai territory on July 16.
Temporary shelters for abused or at-risk children in Japan's major cities are overwhelmed, as staff shortages and prolonged stays strain the child welfare system.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2025

Temporary child protection facilities in major cities hit capacity as staff shortages deepen

Extended stays by children who have nowhere else to go also compound the problem.
Firefighters work to remove the wreckage from a building after an air force training aircraft crashed into Milestone College campus in Dhaka on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 22, 2025

At least 20 killed as Bangladesh fighter jet crashes into school

Twenty people were killed, including the pilot, and 171 others were injured when the jet crashed following a mechanical failure.
Venus Williams hits a volley as partner Hailey Baptiste looks on in their women's doubles match against Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue on Day 1 of the Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington on Monday.
TENNIS
Jul 22, 2025

Venus Williams returns with doubles win at DC Open

The 45-year-old American joined compatriot Hailey Baptiste to defeat Canada's Eugenie Bouchard and U.S. teen Clervie Ngounoue.
The Microsoft logo is seen at the Hannover Messe, one of the world's largest industrial trade fairs in Hanover, Germany, on March 31.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 22, 2025

Microsoft rushes to stop hackers from wreaking global havoc

Unidentified hackers are exploiting a flaw in the SharePoint document management software to break into the systems of governments, businesses and other organizations.
Luke Donald during the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina, on May 16
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Jul 22, 2025

European captain Luke Donald agrees to Ryder Cup rules change

Donald agreed to change the rule to allow one of the American vice captains to assume counterpart Keegan Bradley's advisory duties.
Oliver Rowland of Team Nissan during qualifying for the ABB Formula E Series race at the Homestead Motor Speedway in Miami on April 12
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Jul 22, 2025

Rowland targets multiple titles after Formula E breakthrough

Rowland said his ambition for the future was to try to cement himself as one of the top drivers in the series.
Smoke rises during Israeli strikes in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, on Monday.
WORLD
Jul 22, 2025

Israel sends tanks into Gaza's Deir al-Balah, leaving hostage families concerned

Families of the hostages have expressed concern for their relatives about the move and demanded an explanation on how they will be protected.
Spain forward Athenea del Castillo celebrates after opening the scoring during a UEFA Women's Euro 2025 quarterfinal match against Switzerland in Bern, Switzerland, on Friday.
SOCCER
Jul 22, 2025

Del Castillo and Spain 'full of hope' ahead of Germany Euro 2025 semi

A win for Spain will keep the team on track to add a first ever European crown to the World Cup it won in 2023.
Ayaka Ohira (center) celebrates the launch of “Shinsei Galverse” with interpreter Himari Lala Shimizu and executive producer Jack Baldwin.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jul 24, 2025

Ayaka Ohira: ‘Being outside of the traditional path gave me more freedom’

Anime director Ayaka Ohira talks about her newly launched ‘Shinsei Galverse’ series and how she navigates the industry as a self-taught female artist.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the administration of President Donald Trump's priorities in tariff deals are not the inner workings of the Japanese government, but the American people.
BUSINESS
Jul 22, 2025

U.S. seeking best deal for Americans in talks with Japan, Bessent says

The treasury secretary said the inner workings of the Japanese government are not a priority, in an apparent check on Tokyo's aim to review U.S. automobile tariffs.
Polymetallic nodules — bulbous lumps of rock that are rich in battery metals such as cobalt and nickel which carpet huge tracts of Pacific Ocean seabed — in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands on June 12.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 22, 2025

Trump’s critical minerals obsession reignites deep-sea mining

President Donald Trump has issued an executive order expediting U.S. licensing of seabed mining, departing from international law.
A lack of clarity around fiscal and economic policies is likely to dim the global appeal of Japanese assets, analysts say.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 22, 2025

Japanese bonds remain vulnerable as unpopular Ishiba holds on

Benchmark 10-year bonds fell only slightly as trading resumed in Tokyo, pushing yields up by 1.5 basis points.

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’