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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez addresses the media in Madrid on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 20, 2025

Spain risks derailing NATO summit by resisting 5% defense spending goal

At an estimated 1.28% of GDP, Spain had the lowest proportion of expenditure on defense in the alliance last year, according to NATO estimates.
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's grandson Hassan Khomeini stands next to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the 36th anniversary of the death of the leader of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, at Khomeini's shrine in southern Tehran on June 4.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 24, 2025

Search for successor to Iran's Khamenei hastens as tensions erupt into conflict

Israel attacked Iran and threatened to assassinate its veteran leader.
Fuji Media Holdings President Osamu Kanemitsu (center) and Kenji Shimizu (right), the president of Fuji TV, who serves on the board of Fuji TV's parent, at the annual shareholders meeting on Wednesday in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 25, 2025

Fuji TV parent secures approval for new board members at shareholders meeting

The focus was on how much support there was for the proposal of activist Dalton Investments, which reportedly holds 7.5% of shares in the company.
In a statement on their official website, Tokio said it had decided to disband following a compliance violation by Taichi Kokubun, without providing details as to what the violation entailed.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jun 26, 2025

Japanese pop-rock band Tokio announces disbandment after 31 years

The group said it will bring an end to its activities as Tokio following a compliance violation by member Taichi Kokubun but did not disclose details.
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting dedicated to the foundation of cultural, educational institutions and museums via a video link at his residence outside Moscow on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 26, 2025

Putin will not travel to BRICS summit in Brazil due to ICC warrant

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters Putin would participate in next month's BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro via video link.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at the 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 26, 2025

NATO spending deal creates new standard — for Indo-Pacific allies

NATO members agreed on a spending target of 5% of GDP by 2035, enabling the U.S. to shift its focus to the region as it zeros in on containing China.
Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun and his counterparts pose for a group photo before the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Defense Ministers' Meeting in Qingdao, Shandong province in China on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 26, 2025

China hosts Iran and Russia's defense ministers amid 'momentous change'

The Qingdao meeting of the SCO's top defense officials comes as a fledgling ceasefire between Israel and Iran holds after 12 days of fighting between the arch-foes.
International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane speaks in Tokyo in July 2023.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jun 28, 2025

ICC President Tomoko Akane criticizes U.S. sanctions

"The sanctions have had impacts on third countries, and they violate international law," Akane told Japanese media outlets online Friday.
U.S. President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte attend the opening of the NATO leaders summit in The Hague on June 25.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 29, 2025

NATO’s Donald Trump dilemma

NATO's fate — and the future of global stability — will hinge on whether European leaders push back.
Taiwan, under constant threat from AI-powered disinformation by authoritarian regimes, has emerged as a global leader in digital democratic defense.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 30, 2025

Taiwan provides a model for digital defense of democracy

As the U.S. and others struggle to confront AI-driven disinformation, Taiwan’s resilience has become its latest key export.
Critics of plans to build a condominium on a vacant lot in the Komachi area of Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, argue that valuable relics may be buried beneath the site.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2025

Development project at historic Kamakura site raises concerns

Citizens and history researchers are urging authorities to halt construction, expressing concerns that valuable relics may be buried beneath the site.
Albin Enbacke is among the train drivers responsible for ferrying iron ore from the Kiruna mine.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 3, 2025

Sweden’s arctic railway prepares for a more militarized future

Should Finland’s border with Russia ever become an active front, the track would be one of the best ways for NATO to transport vehicles and supplies.
Suspended Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra gestures as she arrives at Government House in Bangkok on Thursday before being sworn in as the new culture minister as part of a Cabinet reshuffle following her suspension.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 3, 2025

Thai prime minister's suspension sets latest political crisis in motion

The ruling government is already faced with infighting, U.S. trade talks, a border dispute with Cambodia and a sluggish economy.
Shuhei Nakata, president of Nakata Kogei — a wooden-hanger maker in Toyooka, Hyogo Prefecture — says a revised work evaluation system and a strict policy against workplace harassment has helped to attract women to the company.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Jul 14, 2025

Fukushima looks to local initiatives to combat population decline

The measures will bring the area in line with other parts of Japan that are proactively trying to retain residents.
White Sox relief pitcher Bobby Jenks throws against the Astros during Game 1 of the World Series on Oct. 22, 2005.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jul 6, 2025

Former White Sox closer Bobby Jenks dies at 44

Jenks was a flame-throwing reliever who appeared in the 2006 and 2007 All-Star Games and closed out the 2005 World Series for Chicago.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 20
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 8, 2025

Trump's latest tariffs cast shadow on Rubio's first Asia trip as top U.S. envoy

Rubio is expected to seek to firm up U.S. ties with partners unnerved by Trump's global tariff strategy, but the tariff announcements seem certain to make that task harder.
BRICS leaders including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (front row left), Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (second left), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (center), Chinese Premier Li Qiang (second right) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov join hands during a group photo at the bloc's summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 8, 2025

BRICS fills soft-power vacuum as Trump-led U.S. retreats

The 10-nation BRICS grouping of major emerging economies has stepped up its efforts on issues such as AI, health care and climate change.
Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends the EU-Japan summit in Brussels in July 2023. Economic cooperation between the EU, Japan and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership is showing promise but faces political and structural hurdles that could limit progress.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 8, 2025

EU-CPTPP talks highlight shared goals and stubborn obstacles

EU economic cooperation with Japan and the CPTPP shows promise but could face political and structural hurdles that limit progress.
Tetsuro Kamata (second from left), deputy superintendent-general of Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department, and Hirohide Mori (left), head of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office's public security division, apologize to former Ohkawara Kakohki executive Junji Shimada (second from right) and company President Masaaki Okawara on June 20 in Yokohama.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Jul 10, 2025

Improper law-enforcement interrogations persist in Japan

The Japan Federation of Bar Associations has emphasized the urgent need for further reforms in interrogation procedures.
After nearly shuttering earlier this year, the Tokyo-based Game Preservation Society continues its work to save the early history of Japanese gaming.
LIFE / Digital
Jul 12, 2025

‘Our ultimate goal is to save every single Japanese video game’

The Tokyo-based Game Preservation Society almost shuttered earlier this year, but a flood of support has buoyed efforts to save games on extinct media.
A picture shows a promotional poster bearing the portrait of Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, next to a defaced portrait of U.S. President Donald Trump in Damascus on Wednesday.
WORLD
Jul 12, 2025

U.N. report sees no active Syrian state links to al-Qaida

The finding could strengthen an expected U.S. push for removing U.N. sanctions on Syria.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gives a speech during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on July 9.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 14, 2025

EU to engage more with other nations hit by U.S. tariffs — including Japan

The move comes as talks between the EU and the U.S. have dragged on and continue to be stuck on several issues, including cars and tariff rates on agriculture.
Protesters hold a “Stand Up for Science” march in Sacramento, California, on March 7. Faced with deep budget cuts and political threats, scientists in the U.S. and Japan are realizing they must step out of the lab to defend science’s place in society.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 21, 2025

Scientists can’t stay in their ivory tower

Now is the time for scientists to return to society — not just as experts, but as engaged members of the public.
The Maritime Transport Group's medium-size 3,500-ton Yoko-class landing support vessel will be used for rapid transportation of personnel and supplies.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jul 22, 2025

SDF maritime transport group boosts mobility in contingencies

China's ongoing maritime expansion has heightened regional tensions and increased concerns about a potential crisis involving Taiwan.
Followers of doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo chant in religious training before a portrait of guru Shoko Asahara in 1999 at Aum's Adachi Ward office in Tokyo, where extensive facilities are located.
JAPAN
Jul 22, 2025

Son of executed Aum Shinrikyo founder identified as Aleph leader

The unnamed 31-year-old son of Chizuo Matsumoto has been “involved in organizational decision-making and is leading Aleph’s operations.”
European Council President Antonio Costa (left) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (right) join hands with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba prior to a meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 23, 2025

Japan and EU launch trade ‘alliance’ amid concerns over U.S. and China

The new agreement will expand bilateral trade ties, promote business cooperation and explore ways to diversify critical mineral supply chains.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media after arriving at Glasgow Prestwick Airport, in Prestwick, Scotland, on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 26, 2025

EU’s Von der Leyen to meet Trump in bid to clinch trade deal

After months of talks and shuttle diplomacy between Brussels and Washington, the two sides have been zeroing in on an agreement.
A supporter (center right) of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba holds up a placard reading "Don't quit Ishiba" as he takes part in a rally across the street from the Prime Minister's Office in central Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 27, 2025

Stay or go? Key events give Ishiba time to ponder his future.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has pledged to stay in office — in defiance of growing calls for him to step down after the LDP's poor showing in the Upper House election.
A technician works on the assembly line at a solar panel manufacturing hub on the outskirts of New Delhi last October.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Jul 27, 2025

Amid fossil fuel shift in U.S., hope emerges for India and Japan tie-up on solar

As the Trump administration shifts back to gas and coal, solar power stakeholders in Japan and India are seeking new ways to collaborate.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte looks at military equipment on the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Mogami stealth frigate during a visit to the MSDF's naval base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in April.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 29, 2025

Japan and NATO to launch defense-industrial talks, top envoy says

The talks will aim to explore new areas of cooperation and facilitate coordination between the two sides’ defense and security industries.

Longform

Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.
Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?