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Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin (left) and then-Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in the Kremlin on May 7. While President Vladimir Putin has no real challengers, powerful actors within his government are vying against each other.
COMMENTARY / World
May 16, 2024

The battle of ministries in Putin’s Russia

Historical parallels suggest that Putin’s top-down approach, like Khrushchev’s de-Stalinization and Gorbachev’s perestroika, risks sparking opposition by causing intra-elite infighting.
People in Tehran demonstrate in support of Iran's attack on Israel on April 15. After the helicopter crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the question is whether his successor will take a similar foreign policy path by keeping slivers of communication open and avoiding direct conflict with the United States.
WORLD / Politics
May 21, 2024

Aggression or caution: The choice facing Iran’s next leaders

After the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister it will be possible to maintain communications between Washington and Tehran?
Former U.S. President Donald Trump sits for his trial at the Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on Tuesday.
WORLD
May 22, 2024

How Trump's hush money trial verdict could affect the 2024 election

Jurors could deliver a verdict as soon as next week.
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang delivers a keynote address on the latest innovations in AI, during a developers conference at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, on March 18. Nvidia on Wednesday issued a second-quarter revenue forecast of about $28 billion, topping the $26.8 billion predicted by analysts.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 23, 2024

Nvidia delivers on AI hype, igniting $140 billion stock rally

Its shares rose as much as 7.8% in extended trading on Wednesday, taking them above $1,000 for the first time.
Joe Biden’s tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and other imports are more than symbolic — they are a signal that the U.S. won’t accept a surge of imports that could undermine crucial parts of his administration’s agenda.
COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2024

The U.S. is preparing for a second 'China shock'

The immediate impact of these tariffs will be small, because the United States currently imports very few of the affected goods from China.
Toshihiro Kinjo (center), a research support technician at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, inspects an audio recording device in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, on April 3 as Masako Ogasawara, a research support specialist at OIST, looks on.
PODCAST / deep dive
May 23, 2024

What does climate change sound like in Okinawa?

This week, Japan Times climate editor Chris Russell joins us to discuss what researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology are listening to.
The Japanese government updated its English education guidelines in 2017 to emphasize communication over grammar and memorization. Public school teachers are incredibly busy, however, which means schools haven’t been able to implement changes uniformly. Private and alternative schools are attempting to remedy this.
LIFE / Language / Longform
May 27, 2024

The language of opportunity: Bilingual education is on the rise in Japan

Stuck with a reputation for poor English, Japan is pushing its next generation to be bilingual. Privately run schools are seeing the benefits.
Takashi Miike (front left) is among the big-name directors slated to work with K2 Pictures, a new film production startup that aims to disrupt the Japanese film industry.
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
May 25, 2024

Can K2's goal of creating a better film industry in Japan win over skeptics?

While established auteurs such as Takashi Miike, Miwa Nishikawa and Hirokazu Kore-eda are slated to work with the startup, it still faces an uphill struggle.
Simon Cheng, a pro-democracy activist from Hong Kong now living in Britain, at the offices of an organization he founded to aid new Hong Kong arrivals, in London on May 20. Hundreds of thousands of Hong Kongers have resettled in the United Kingdom since 2021, including prominent pro-democracy activists — and China has not forgotten them.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
May 27, 2024

Spying arrests send chill through Britain’s thriving Hong Kong community

The arrests have cast a spotlight on activists’ concerns about China's surveillance of its critics abroad.
A Nuri rocket takes off from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Korea, on June 21, 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 28, 2024

South Korea is gearing up to become space powerhouse

KASA will work on ambitious projects such as an uncrewed moon landing by 2032, with a Mars mission proposed by the middle of the following decade.
President of China Xi Jinping and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa attend the China-Africa Leaders' Roundtable Dialogue on the last day of the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Aug. 24, 2023.
WORLD
May 28, 2024

Post-COVID, China is back in Africa and doubling down on minerals

While new Chinese investment in Africa increased 114% last year, it was centered on minerals essential to the global energy transition and China's plans to revive its economy.
Some experts are concerned about the potential for worldwide conflict within the next few years as China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are likely preparing for major confrontation.
COMMENTARY / World
May 28, 2024

Echoes of 1962, the Berlin crisis and a world teetering on war

There is the potential for worldwide conflict within the next three years as China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are likely preparing for major confrontation.
Mainland Chinese tourists on a converted car ferry in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor on April 19, 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 29, 2024

Business-first Hong Kong now comes with a catch: Beijing politics

The former British colony is hewing closer to mainland China, blurring distinctions that once cemented the city’s status as mostly free from Chinese politics.
Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun speaks at the Shangri-la Dialogue security conference in Singapore on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 2, 2024

A tale of two narratives: China and U.S. defense chiefs agree to disagree

Dong Jun, China’s first naval officer to be named defense minister, also took aim at U.S. allies in a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue.
While European countries such as Germany have strengthened bilateral ties with Beijing, the EU as a whole is set on reducing reliance on the Chinese economy: a strategy that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen calls "de-risking."
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
May 31, 2024

Europe’s vulnerability in the EU-China-U.S. geoeconomic triangle

Behind a semblance of unity, the EU and U.S. could be on clashing trajectories in their pursuit of economic security to reduce dependence on China.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang gives a presentation on Sunday night before Computex Taipei’s official opening to talk about the chipmaker’s strategic plans.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 4, 2024

Nvidia and AMD square off in fight to take control of AI

The heads of both companies employed different tacks in conveying their expertise during back-to-back shows at the world’s largest computing conference this week in Taipei.
The Two International Finance Center, left, and other buildings in Hong Kong in May 2021
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 5, 2024

Chinese move billions into Hong Kong banks, seeking higher yields

Regulators in Beijing have clamped down on high-yielding wealth management products onshore, while sinking real-estate prices have sapped nest eggs across China.
Christina Griffin-Jones was a big part of a historically strong U.S. women's team at the 2023 Sumo World Championships.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jun 5, 2024

American sumo organization becomes battleground in fight for equality

At the heart of the fight is growing opposition to a longtime federation trustee who has not been shy about expressing his homophobic views.
Demonstrators hold Fatah flags during a protest in support of the people of the Gaza Strip in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on Oct. 27, 2023.
WORLD
Jun 5, 2024

Hamas signals post-war ambition in talks with Palestinian rival Fatah

The meetings highlight that the Islamist militant group is likely to retain influence in the Gaza Strip after its war with Israel.
Dunkirk has revamped its seafront to create a modern promenade, new hotels have gone up and public transportation has been made free.
WORLD
Jun 5, 2024

Macron’s charms falter in Le Pen’s industrial heartland

The area around Dunkirk has suffered from the demise of industries such as steel and mining.
Ilya Sutskever, then-chief scientist at OpenAI, at the company’s offices in San Francisco in March 2023. Sutskever recently left the firm. He had been on the company’s board and had voted to oust Sam Altman, the chief executive, last year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 5, 2024

OpenAI insiders warn of a ‘reckless’ race for dominance

Sources claim the firm has used hardball tactics to prevent workers from voicing their concerns about certain AI technology.
The NewsBreak company logo adorns a sign at a corporate office building in Mountain View, California, on April 26
WORLD
Jun 6, 2024

Top news app in U.S. has Chinese origins and ‘writes fiction’ with AI

NewsBreak launched in the U.S. in 2015 as a subsidiary of Yidian, a Chinese news aggregation app.
Yayoi Kusama’s “Pumpkin,” once the victim of high waves that dragged it into the sea, sits at the end of a pier on the south side of Naoshima.
PODCAST / deep dive
Jun 6, 2024

The sweaty pleasure of Japan’s inconvenient art

This week, writer Thu-Huong Ha is our tour guide into the world of Japan’s inconvenient art movement.
Voters show their index fingers marked with indelible ink after casting their ballots at a polling station in Amritsar, India, on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 6, 2024

India keeps its glorious, messy tradition alive

"People were fed up with the BJP,” a local business leader said. "People will not always fall for the caste or temple-mosque politics."
Kenji Iikura (right), head chef at Akasaka Tantei, and manager Hibiki Kitazawa pose with Okinawan cuisine served at the restaurant in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Jun 17, 2024

How a Michelin-star Okinawan restaurant made a V-shaped recovery

A return to its roots — and Okinawan flavors — struck a chord with new and returning customers.
The policies of just-reelected Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reflect India's desire for independence in international affairs, emphasizing friendship without dependence.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 7, 2024

A resurgent India to play a bigger role on the world stage

With a busy foreign-policy agenda awaiting him, Modi is expected to hit the ground running right after he is sworn in.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida answers questions during a Lower House committee session on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 7, 2024

Japan maintains goal of primary budget surplus from 2025 to 2030

The plan will be reflected in the annual economic and fiscal policy guidelines that the central government aims to adopt at a Cabinet meeting by the end of this month.
A customer buys a ticket for ramen at a vending machine at Goumen Maruko ramen shop in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 8, 2024

Japan runs on vending machines. It’s about to break millions of them.

New yen notes set to be introduced this summer won't be compatible with many machines that businesses like ramen shops rely on.
People wait for the main act to begin at Summer Sonic, which holds simultaneous music festivals for those in Tokyo and Osaka.
CULTURE / Music / Longform
Jun 9, 2024

Can Japan's summer music festivals adapt to a post-pandemic reality?

Soaring temperatures, the cheap yen and a dearth of headline options may require reshaping the outdoor concert formula.
A family marches into the newly opened Fantasy Springs section at Tokyo DisneySea on Thursday.
LIFE / Travel
Jun 9, 2024

Japan's theme parks are ramping up their offerings ahead of summer

You don't need to take the kids overseas when there are plenty of amusement parks at home to plan a summer vacation around.

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’