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Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 15, 2023

Biden’s missteps on secret papers create a self-inflicted crisis

Recent disclosures have embarrassed and undermined the president and his spokespeople, who argue that they're handling it by the book.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 12, 2023

A stronger Japan defense posture is easier said than done

The meeting between Prime Minister Kishida and U.S. President Biden comes as Tokyo and Washington find themselves in sync on the major security challenges.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Dec 10, 2022

Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai sentenced to over five years in prison on fraud charge

Lai, 75, was found guilty of two counts of fraud for covering up the operations of a private company, Dico Consultants, at the headquarters of the now shuttered Apple Daily newspaper.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Nov 30, 2022

China could triple nuke arsenal, Pentagon says in report spotlighting submarine capabilities

In an annual report that also spotlighted Beijing's designs on Taiwan, the U.S. Defense Department said it expected China could have 1,500 nuclear warheads by 2035.
The Bank of Japan raised it economic assessments for the Hokuriku and Tokai regions in its quarterly regional report Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 8, 2024

BOJ signals it remains on rate hike path with regional report

The Bank of Japan indicated it remains on track to consider more interest rate hikes by upgrading its assessments for two regional economies.
The Goi thermal power station in Chiba Prefecture
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Oct 18, 2024

Japanese youth sue utilities over climate impact

The plaintiffs, all in their teens and 20s, say it is the first such case brought by young people in Japan.
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Huntington Place in Detroit on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 19, 2024

U.S. cities seek to 'Trump-proof' inequality action ahead of election

After the pandemic and protests following the death of George Floyd in 2020, racial and economic inequality moved to the center of federal policymaking.
Iranians walk next to an anti-U.S. and Israeli billboard with pictures on the left of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, and on the right, U.S. President Joe Biden and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on a street in Tehran on Sunday.
WORLD
Oct 28, 2024

Israel boasts strategic gains from attack on Iran, but quietly

Israel's mission may have set the stage for another attack, possibly after the U.S. election, which could be aimed at Iran’s nuclear program or its oil infrastructure.
People carry a casualty near a fire at the site of an Israeli strike on a tent housing displaced people, at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 10, 2024

Qatar stalls its Gaza ceasefire mediation

The Gulf country has been working alongside the U.S. and Egypt for months on fruitless talks between the warring sides in Gaza.
The Philippines is countering Chinese aggression with a strategy of exposing coercive actions through media, embedding journalists with its military and leveraging visual evidence to gain domestic and international support.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 19, 2024

Philippines uses the media spotlight to fight back against China

Manila is promoting “assertive transparency” to shape the media landscape, putting Beijing on the defensive.
A screenshot taken from video footage posted on the Metropolitan Expressway's X account shows an electric scooter entering the highway on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 5, 2024

Electric scooter seen unlawfully entering Tokyo expressway

Officials released video footage of the incident on social media to warn riders of the extreme danger.
Miho Nakayama rose to stardom in 1985 after the release of her first single “C,” which established her popularity as an idol.
CULTURE
Dec 9, 2024

Miho Nakayama, known for 'Love Letter' and her music, dies at 54

Nakayama had a solo Christmas show scheduled in Osaka on Friday, but had canceled the show in the morning, citing health reasons.
A staff member wearing a "Squid Game" costume stands at an activation zone for the Netflix series at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Dec 9, 2024

'Squid Game' premieres in Seoul after martial law declaration

"Squid Game" showrunner Hwang Dong-hyuk called the political chaos "extremely unfortunate and infuriating" at a press event for the Netflix series.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda said in a Nikkei interview last month that hikes are "nearing.”
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 12, 2024

BOJ said to see little cost to waiting for next rate hike

At the same time, some officials are not against a rate hike at this meeting if it is proposed, sources have said.
Palestinians gather at a charity kitchen in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Dec. 4.
WORLD
Dec 25, 2024

Looting cripples Gaza food supply despite Israeli pledge to tackle gangs

Israel has failed to crack down on armed gangs attacking food convoys in Gaza, despite a pledge to do so in mid-October to help ward off famine in the Palestinian enclave, according to three U.N. and U.S. officials familiar with the matter. The commitment, made behind closed doors, seemed like a breakthrough...
Trump started his term on Jan. 20 by issuing an executive order "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism," which declared the government will only recognize two sexes — male and female.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 30, 2025

LGBTQ+ Americans in crisis as Trump rolls back rights

Nine organizations supporting LGBTQ+ people said they had a surge in use of their crisis services and calls to their helplines on Trump's first day in office.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s reluctance to engage with newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump while strengthening ties with China raises concerns about Japan’s strategic priorities.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 31, 2025

Ishiba nudges his ‘little Japan’ closer to China

Prime Minister Ishiba’s reluctance to engage with Trump while strengthening ties with China raises concerns about Japan’s strategic priorities and its alliance with the U.S.
A Palestinian sits among the rubble of buildings destroyed during an Israeli offensive in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 6, 2025

Trump aides defend Gaza takeover proposal but walk back some elements

Trump shattered decades of U.S. policy with a vaguely worded announcement saying he envisioned transforming Gaza into the "Riviera of the Middle East."
The rubble of destroyed buildings in Jabalia on Jan. 30
WORLD / Society
Feb 7, 2025

Trump call for Gazan exit echoes in destroyed homes

The war has stopped after 16 months, but the destruction left in its wake leaves Palestinians in a daily battle of trying to decide whether to stay or go.
The Thai Royal Police held a meeting on Monday in Bangkok with representatives from 18 countries, including Japan, as well as international organizations like the United Nations regarding the transnational scam operation.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 18, 2025

Japanese nationals thought to be held captive at Myanmar-Thailand border

Foreign nationals from several countries have been held at the border and forced to participate in a variety of scams.
U.S. President Donald Trump is seen on a TV screen in Kabul. Trump’s first term resulted in talks that eventually led to the Taliban’s return to power, but this time around, Afghans hope that the president will take a tough stance against the brutal regime.  
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 21, 2025

What Trump’s return could mean for Afghanistan

Despite Afghan refugees being denied admission to the U.S., at least for now, there is hope that the new Trump administration will undermine the brutal Taliban regime in Kabul.
Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, offers blessings to his followers at his Himalayan residence in the northern hill town of Dharamshala, India, on Dec. 20.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 11, 2025

Dalai Lama says his successor to be born outside China

Tibetans worldwide want the institution of the Dalai Lama to continue after the 89-year-old's death, he writes in his new book, "Voice for the Voiceless."
Judge James Boasberg in his chambers at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington in March 2023. Boasberg ordered the Trump administration to cease its use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 as a pretext for the expulsion of migrants.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 18, 2025

Trump’s deportation push tests courts’ ability to check his power

The legal clash, which ultimately could land at the Supreme Court, quickly emerged as a test of the ability of the judiciary to act as a check on Trump’s agenda.
Shigeru Iwasaki, then the Self Defense Forces' chief, during an interview in Tokyo in 2013.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 21, 2025

Taiwan names Japan’s ex-SDF chief as Cabinet consultant

China has lodged protests with the Japanese side in regards to the appointment of Shigeru Iwasaki.
Hamas gunmen stand guard at a funeral for a deputy military commander in the central Gaza Strip in February.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 22, 2025

Hamas studies U.S. 'bridge' proposal for truce as Israel escalates return to war

Israel has intensified a military onslaught to press the Palestinian militant group to free the remaining Israeli hostages.
A protestor waves a Turkish flag in front of riot police during a rally in Istanbul in support of its arrested mayor on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 26, 2025

Turkey protesters fill streets, defying crackdown

The demonstrations erupted after the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu, the main political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
U.S. President Donald Trump departs for Washington from West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 31, 2025

Trump says he’s ‘not joking’ about seeking a third term in defiance of Constitution

Any attempt to seek a third term would run afoul of the 22nd Amendment, which begins, 'No person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice.'
Though Haruki Murakami's trademark whiff of offbeat existentialism is threaded throughout NHK's "After the Quake," the final episode — conceived as a sequel to the story "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" — is the most stylized, featuring an anthropomorphic talking frog (voiced by Non) and his erstwhile associate Katagiri (Koichi Sato).
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Apr 3, 2025

Haruki Murakami TV adaptation revisits 30 years of watershed moments

NHK's new four-episode miniseries, “After the Quake,” probes the ripple effects of past major disasters across Japanese society.
People walk past the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 22, 2025

Does Trump's Venezuela deportation notice comply with Supreme Court ruling?

A judge has expressed skepticism that the notice informs Venezuelan migrants of their right to legally challenge their removals.
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.

Longform

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