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The guidance provided in the White House’s first-ever National Security Memorandum on artificial intelligence is bound to have implications for U.S. allies and partners, some of which are already struggling to keep up with the fast pace of technological change.
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Nov 4, 2024

New U.S. AI guidance puts pressure on allies — and rivals — to adopt tech

The extent to which these guidelines will be fully implemented in Washington may ultimately depend on one important factor, however: Tuesday's presidential election.
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris concluded their presidential campaigns on Monday with closing arguments that mirrored, in tone and in substance, the competing visions they have offered a deeply divided nation.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 5, 2024

Harris and Trump conclude historic campaign with dueling rallies

Their closing arguments mirrored, in tone and in substance, the competing visions they have offered a deeply divided nation.
Democratic Party for the People chief Yuichiro Tamaki (left) and his counterpart in the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Yoshihiko Noda, meet in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 5, 2024

Opposition parties band together to shape Lower House agenda

Four main opposition parties have agreed to jointly request the opening of a session of the budget committee and a special committee on political reform.
An exhibition of captured military hardware from NATO countries in Moscow in May.  Whatever the results of the U.S. presidential election, the prospect of improved U.S.-Russia relations seems even more distant.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 6, 2024

Whether Trump or Harris, pessimism reigns in Russia over U.S. election winner

The sentiment is prevalent in a Russia that feels scorned and underestimated by Democrat administrations and betrayed by Trump.
A sign shows people where to vote in the 2024 presidential election on Election Day in Dearborn, Michigan, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 6, 2024

China braces for more rivalry as close U.S. presidential race ends

Regardless of who wins, Beijing faces four more years of bitter superpower rivalry over anything from trade to Taiwan.
A child looks out of a tent at a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) school-turned-camp for internally displaced people in Deir el-Balah on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 7, 2024

U.N. to Israel: Replacing UNRWA relief agency would be your responsibility

The United Nations has repeatedly said there is no alternative to UNRWA.
Onlookers watch a broadcast of Republican candidate Donald Trump addressing his election night watch party, in Times Square, New York, on Wednesday. Trump has been elected the 47th president of the United States, pulling off a stunning political comeback in one of the most polarized contests for the White House in U.S. history.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 7, 2024

U.S. allies and partners gird for return of ‘transactional’ Trump

Trump is expected to raise his demands at every turn, a scenario that could very well play out with Japan, especially if Tokyo remains mired in political turmoil.
European Union Ambassador to Japan Jean-Eric Paquet says the bloc's unprecedented security and defense partnership recently launched with Japan is a clear reflection of Brussels' moves to “enhance and fortify ties” with its Indo-Pacific partners.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 8, 2024

New EU-Japan partnership to take ties to ‘next level,’ envoy to Tokyo says

It will complement existing initiatives between Tokyo and individual European states and pave the way for broader, collective measures at the EU level in critical areas.
Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Itsunori Onodera (right) and his Democratic Party for the People counterpart, Makoto Hamaguchi, meet in Tokyo on Friday to discuss policies their parties could potentially agree on.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 8, 2024

LDP between a rock and a hard place in struggle to get DPP support

The opposition party wants to raise the threshold for tax exemptions from the current ¥1.03 million ($6,740), a move that would cost the government tax revenues.
Outgoing German Finance Minister Christian Lindner receives his dismissal certificate after being sacked by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, following a coalition crisis in the government, in Berlin on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 8, 2024

Germany’s government puts itself out of its misery

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sacked his Finance Minister Christian Lindner over deep rifts within the government on how to revive Germany’s ailing economy.
An automated truck is seen at Anglo American's Quellaveco copper mine in Peru in April.
JAPAN
Nov 9, 2024

Japan and Peru to agree on mineral mining technology tie-up, report says

Resource-poor Japan has been actively reinforcing global supply chains for critical minerals — essential components for decarbonization technology.
Former President Donald Trump with Elon Musk during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Oct. 5. The Tesla billionaire is a key figure in the president-elect's orbit. One question is whether his views on climate and clean energy will have any sway.
WORLD
Nov 9, 2024

Musk believes in global warming. Trump doesn’t. Will that change?

The Tesla billionaire is a key figure in the president-elect's orbit. One question is whether his views on climate and clean energy will have any sway.
Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. Jose Manuel Romualdez in Manila in 2022
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 11, 2024

Philippines seeks to protect U.S. economic ties under Trump

The Philippines is seeking to sustain the flow of infrastructure aid and investment pledges from the U.S.
Donald Trump believes the U.S. should prioritize its own national interests like other countries rather than maintaining its traditional role as a global leader, signaling a dramatic shift in how the United States may engage with the world.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 12, 2024

Who will step up if Trump steps back?

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is indifferent to the global order and may adopt a foreign policy approach that reshapes the global balance of power.
A meeting between Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Chinese leader Xi Jinping is expected to take place in Lima on the sidelines of a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum on Friday and Saturday.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2024

Ishiba and Xi to affirm mutually beneficial strategic ties

In his meeting with Xi, Ishiba plans to demand China resume imports of Japanese fishery products at an early date.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and other Cabinet members and lawmakers attend a session of the Lower House of parliament in Tokyo on Monday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 13, 2024

Trump return leaves Japan’s leader with no time to snooze

The prime minister drew headlines for a moment after he was caught napping in parliament during proceedings for his own nomination as Japanese leader.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump meets with NATO leaders at a plenary session of their summit in Watford, England, in December 2019. 
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 13, 2024

Living in Trump’s world

Europe’s response to Trump’s return will require creativity, resilience and an unshakable commitment to defending its own interests.
While baldness can often be the butt of jokes in Japan, it can also be a powerfully freeing act of self-acceptance for those struggling with hair loss.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 16, 2024

Thinning up top? Hair loss in Japan is not the end.

Among Asian countries, Japan has the highest rate of alopecia at around 26%, as well as 7.8% of women experiencing some form of hair thinning.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrives at the Government Palace in Lima during an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 18, 2024

Xi’s olive branch to Trump comes with warning on China red lines

The Chinese leader emphasized that the U.S. and China shouldn’t fight a "new Cold War,” and that conflict isn’t inevitable.
Argentina's President Javier Milei waves from a car in Buenos Aires on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 18, 2024

Argentina’s Milei seen playing the role of spoiler at Lula’s G20

Argentina's leader appears to have little regard for multilateral institutions like the G20 and few qualms about irking world leaders with whom he disagrees.
Kashiwazaki Mayor Masahiro Sakurai has expressed his willingness to conditionally green-light the restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture.
JAPAN
Nov 18, 2024

Mayor accepting Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant restart is reelected

Following safety inspections at the plant's No. 7 reactor, Tepco has finished its preparations to restart the facility.
A screen displays trading information about the shares of Truth Social and Trump Media & Technology Group, outside the Nasdaq Market site in New York on March 26.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 18, 2024

Truth Social and late calls take over economists’ lives under Trump

The end goal for economists is to produce accurate forecasts to help traders, businesses and governments navigate the new chaotic world.
Media mogul Jimmy Lai leaves Mong Kok police station after being released on bail in Hong Kong on Aug. 12, 2020.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 20, 2024

After years in a Hong Kong jail, Jimmy Lai has his say in court

The media mogul said his now-shuttered newspaper, Apple Daily, represented the freedoms that people in the city valued.
Family members hug each other in front of the bus to Minsk, Belarus, at the Warsaw West bus station on Oct. 30.
WORLD / Society
Nov 20, 2024

Ukrainians brave arduous journeys to Russian-occupied homeland

For a year now, Russia has only been letting Ukrainian citizens travel to occupied zones through a special checkpoint set up in Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport.
A post-election analysis by the polling company Blueprint discovered that the top reason why American swing voters eventually supported Donald Trump over Kamal Harris was culture (+28) followed by inflation (+23).
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 20, 2024

It’s too soon to say wokeism is dead

The Republicans ran the most unwoke man in America for the presidency, Donald Trump, and were amply rewarded for it.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (right) welcomes International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi during a meeting in Tehran last Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 20, 2024

Iran offers to cap sensitive uranium stock as IAEA resolution looms

Western diplomats dismissed Iran's overture as yet another last-minute attempt to avoid censure, much like its pledge of deeper cooperation that never materialized.
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a Donald Trump rally at the Greensboro Complex in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Nov. 2
WORLD / Politics
Nov 22, 2024

Trump picks Pam Bondi for U.S. Attorney General after Gaetz withdraws

The president-elect moved swiftly to replace his former nominee Matt Gaetz after the embattled former congressman withdrew from consideration.
A man walks past a gasoline station in Tokyo on Thursday.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Nov 24, 2024

How Japan can exit the fossil fuel subsidies it can’t seem to quit

While offering relief to low-income households, such measures encourage the continued use of the fossil fuels driving climate change.
A view of the city skyline and Huangpu river in Shanghai on Feb. 24, 2022
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 25, 2024

China's startups suffer as investors exercise redemption rights

The situation conflicts with the government's resolve to foster innovation and achieve technological self-reliance in systemically important industries.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump attends a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket, in Brownsville, Texas, on Nov. 19. Trump on Monday threatened to slap China, Mexico and Canada with hefty tariffs upon his return to the White House.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 26, 2024

Trump pledges 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and more levies on China

The president-elect says he will sign executive orders to enforce the measures when he returns to the White House on Jan. 20.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji