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Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto (right) and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during a ceremonial welcome at the Presidential Palace in Bogor, Indonesia, on Saturday
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 12, 2025

Ishiba turns to Southeast Asia amid growing international uncertainty

Experts say that Ishiba's decision to prioritize Malaysia and Indonesia was a sign of the importance of the two major regional economies.
It's back to the classroom for some residents as municipal governments across the country conduct lessons to learn how to use new technologies.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Jan 13, 2025

Can aging Japan go digital without leaving anyone behind?

Amid a push to digitalize, some experts believe citizens should have the right to stay offline.
U.S. Vice President-elect JD Vance following a meeting with Republican Senators in Washington on Jan. 8
WORLD / Politics
Jan 13, 2025

JD Vance predicts hostage deal before Trump’s return to White House

JD Vance says a hostage deal with Hamas is likely before Trump’s inauguration, crediting tough rhetoric for pushing negotiations forward.
The Nvidia headquarters in Santa Clara, California
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 14, 2025

White House unveils new curbs on exporting Nvidia AI chips

The rules, which are set to take effect in one year, establish caps on the amount of computing power that can be sold to most countries.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang (center) with Komeito Secretary-General Makoto Nishida (left) and Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama in Beijing on Wednesday
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 15, 2025

Japan ruling party execs and Chinese premier agree to seek stable ties

Chinese Premier Li Qiang said that China-Japan relations are currently in a critical period for improvement and development.
People wave Palestinian flags while celebrating the announcement of a ceasefire in Ramallah in the West Bank on Wednesday.
WORLD
Jan 16, 2025

Israel and Hamas reach ceasefire deal to end 15 months of war in Gaza

Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire agreement that includes a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces, the release of hostages and humanitarian aid to Gaza.
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with President-elect Donald Trump at the White House in Washington in November last year.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 16, 2025

Biden to hand unfinished agenda to Trump for a chaotic Middle East

Joe Biden's Middle East record is likely to be remembered not so much for how conflicts ended on his watch, but mainly for how they unfolded.
KKR is discussing investing several hundred billion yen for an equity stake in the operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 16, 2025

KKR considers joining Seven & I management buyout after Apollo

The U.S. firm is discussing investing several hundred billion yen for an equity stake in the operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s potential role in any plan to save TikTok remains both intriguing and complicated. The ban is set to take effect just one day before his inauguration, and while it has been reported that President Joe Biden won’t enforce the ban on day one, the decision on what to do long-term will become Trump’s problem almost immediately.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Jan 18, 2025

TikTok’s fate rests on Trump after U.S. Supreme Court upholds law

U.S. President -elect Donald Trump’s potential role in any plan to save TikTok remains both intriguing and complicated.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo in May 2019.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 19, 2025

As Trump returns, will Japan be able to weather the storm?

Tokyo may be surprisingly more suited to work with Trump — and beat back any exorbitant demands — than it was during his first stint.
A message welcoming users back and thanking U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is displayed on the TikTok app on a smartphone Sunday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 20, 2025

TikTok restoring U.S. service after Trump says he will stall ban

Trump said he would "extend the period of time before the law's prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security."
A member of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stands along a street after rebels seized the capital and ousted Syria's Bashar Assad, in Hasakah, Syria, on Dec. 11.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 20, 2025

Negotiators zero in on potential deal to disarm Syria's last battleground

Many thorny issues still need to be resolved, however, including how to integrate Kurdish-led forces into Syria's security framework.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio arrives ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration as the 47th president of the United States in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 21, 2025

Rubio wins unanimous nod to be top U.S. diplomat

Unusually in a highly partisan era, Rubio was confirmed 99-0, with several senators from the rival Democratic Party describing Rubio as a friend.
International law and norms are eroding, especially due to the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, as multilateral security systems break down and powerful nations prioritize their own interests over global stability.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 20, 2025

To avoid collective ruin requires renewed global cooperation

Alarmingly, geopolitical tensions are deepening just as humanity faces existential threats demanding urgent international cooperation.
French workers load a replica of the Statue of Liberty, or Lady Liberty, onto a truck outside the Musee des Arts et Metiers in Paris in June 2021, before it departs for Ellis Island in New York to arrive on Independence Day.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 19, 2025

Liberal democracy faces doubts. But collapse? Not likely.

Democracy, it is often heard these days, is in crisis.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivers a speech during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Jan 22, 2025

Zelenskyy says security guarantee would need 200,000 peacekeepers

"From all the Europeans? 200,000, it's a minimum. It's a minimum, otherwise it's nothing," Zelenskyy said when asked about the idea of a peacekeeping contingent.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Laotian Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone shake hands in the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 22, 2025

Japan and Laos agree to arrange vice ministerial security talks

The two countries also issued a joint statement calling for upgrading their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya at the State Department in Washington on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 22, 2025

Top diplomats agree to take U.S.-Japan alliance to 'new heights'

Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and new U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also agreed on the importance of trilateral cooperation with South Korea and others.
Chinese actor Wang Xing shakes hands with a Thai police officer after being assisted in his return to the country, after being kidnapped into one of the telecom fraud centers, at a police station in Thailand-Myanmar border's Mae Sot district, Tak province, Thailand, on Jan. 7.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jan 22, 2025

China families appeal to free relatives held by scam gangs in Myanmar

Chinese law does not consider men as potential victims of human trafficking.
Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito answers questions from reporters after meeting with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 22, 2025

Ruling parties agree to discuss dual surname system

Party leaders stopped short of deciding when to begin discussions on the issue.
Attendees inside the Congress Center at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday. The annual Davos gathering of political leaders, top executives and celebrities runs from Jan. 20 to 24.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 23, 2025

China tones it down at Davos this time ahead of Trump tariffs

Donald Trump has warned that a 10% levy could be imposed on China as soon as Feb. 1.
U.S. President Donald Trump takes the stage with Vice President JD Vance after being sworn in as the 47th president of the United States during the presidential inauguration in Washington on Monday.
EDITORIALS
Jan 24, 2025

Japan should prioritize free trade as it adapts to Trump’s policies

It is difficult, if not impossible, to know what Trump and his administration will do in specific situations. Words and documents are one thing, actions another.
Then-U.S. President-elect Donald Trump addresses the America First Policy Institute gala at Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, in November. REUTERS
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 23, 2025

'America First' didn't just return — it has always been there

The Trump administration is no different from previous administrations and remains as inherently "America First" as ever.
Supporters of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol protest in Seoul on Tuesday. The previous leaders of the U.S. and Japan, along with Yoon, focused on strengthening alliances and regional stability through cooperation whereas newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump’s approach to foreign policy may prioritize transactional relationships.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 24, 2025

Japan and South Korea were stable U.S. allies. Not anymore.

Political paralysis in the U.S., Japan and South Korea has left a leadership vacuum in the Indo-Pacific.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with U.S. President Donald Trump at the G20 summit in Osaka in June 2019.
WORLD
Jan 24, 2025

Putin ready to talk to Trump and waiting for 'signals,' Kremlin says

The Ukraine conflict has plunged relations between the U.S. and Russia their lowest levels since the Cold War.
U.S. President Donald Trump signs executive orders including a flurry of actions on immigration in the hours after taking office.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 27, 2025

America’s mass deportation clash is unprecedented

So when ICE moves from selective targets aimed at serious criminals to the mass roundups Trump promised, that is when the public may recoil.
U.S. tech billionaire and businessman Elon Musk is seen on a large screen as Alice Weidel, co-leader of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, addresses an election campaign rally in Halle, eastern Germany, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 28, 2025

German Holocaust remembrance under fire from far right and Elon Musk

Remembrance of the Nazis' genocide of Jews and other atrocities has for decades been a central feature of German politics and society as the country seeks to atone for its past.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba answers questions during a Lower House plenary session on Monday. Ishiba needs to secure passage of the annual budget to demonstrate he can run policy effectively with his minority government.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 28, 2025

Japan's opposition DPP to block budget without higher tax allowance

The ruling LDP and Komeito are also negotiating with Nippon Ishin no Kai, who want the government to make school education free for all students.
Al Hilal's Neymar during an Asian Champions League fixture against Al Ain, in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, on Oct. 21
SOCCER
Jan 28, 2025

Neymar and Al Hilal agree to terminate contract, club says

The 32-year-old forward played just seven times since joining the club in August 2023.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani speaks to reporters at the parliamentary building on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 31, 2025

Top U.S. and Japan defense officials agree to beef up military ties

The newly appointed U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, confirmed that the U.S.-Japan defense treaty covers the uninhabited Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.

Longform

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