Search - agree

 
 
A demonstrators protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's moves to force changes at colleges such as Columbia University and others by cutting grants and imposing various sanctions, at Foley Square in New York on April 17.
WORLD / Society
Apr 23, 2025

U.S. college presidents unite against Trump's higher education policies

They have described the moves as "the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education."
Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly offered to halt Russia's invasion of Ukraine at the current front lines.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 23, 2025

Ukraine presses for ceasefire as Russia reported to offer concession

Both sides are trying to demonstrate progress toward ending the war after U.S. President Donald Trump said he could walk away from peace talks if there is no breakthrough.
A United Nations agency said it will hold an Asia-Pacific ministerial conference on disaster prevention and response in Sendai in 2027.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2025

Sendai to host U.N. disaster reduction conference in 2027

Such a meeting will be held in Japan for the first time.
Regional lenders Daishi Hokuetsu Financial Group and Gunma Bank have entered into an agreement to consolidate their businesses in 2027.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 24, 2025

Regional lenders Daishi Hokuetsu and Gunma Bank agree to consolidate

The banks have entered a memorandum of understanding to integrate their businesses under a holding company structure on or around April 1, 2027.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the White House in Washington on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 25, 2025

Trump’s trade whiplash sinks world into dreaded ‘uncertainty’

"The worry I hear more often is actually not even tariffs, it is uncertainty,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told reporters Thursday. "Let’s have clarity.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff prior to their talks in Moscow on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 26, 2025

Trump says Russia-Ukraine deal 'very close' after new Kremlin talks

But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again rejected suggestions that his country give up on Russian-held Crimea.
An artist's impression of the K2-18b super-Earth, the only super-Earth exoplanet known to host both water and temperatures that could support life
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 28, 2025

In a galaxy far, far away ... did we find life?

K2-18b, which has eight times the mass of Earth, just might be covered with a massive ocean and blanketed by an atmosphere complete with water vapor and rain clouds.
Terumi Tanaka, co-chair of Japanese atomic bomb survivors' group Nihon Hidankyo, speaks during the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony in Oslo on Dec. 10, 2024.
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2025

Nobel laureates urge Trump and Putin to meet on denuclearization

Three groups campaigning for the elimination of nuclear weapons, including Japan's Nihon Hidankyo, say the situation has become the most volatile in decades.
U.S. President Donald Trump faces the enormous challenge of implementing the cavalcade of executive orders he has enacted.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 29, 2025

‘Welcome to the Thunderdome’: Inside the dizzying start of Trump 2.0

The administration's breakneck speed is both one of the administration’s most effective tools and most glaring vulnerabilities.
Sunset at Dudley Page Reserve, in Dover Heights, Sydney, on April 21
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 29, 2025

Australia’s economic ‘miracle’ is ending no matter who wins vote

Polls suggest the May 3 election will be tight, with many pundits predicting the winner will lead a minority government.
A woman takes part in an OpenNyAI field trial in Bengaluru, India, in April 2023. The AI trial was aimed at helping some of the nation’s poorest people access money from government anti-poverty programs.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2025

Will AI close or widen the development gap?

The social, economic and political effects of AI will not naturally bend toward inclusion or equity across the global economy.
U.S. President Donald Trump during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 1, 2025

Trump says tariffs politically risky, but he’s not rushing deals

Trump said there was a significant political risk to his efforts, but added that he remained determined to push on.
Both the March jobless rate and the February job-to-applicant ratio rose in Japan, keeping upward pressure on wages as companies try to boost pay to hire and retain workers.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 2, 2025

Japan’s job market stays tight, supporting wage momentum

The jobless rate ticked up to 2.5% in March from 2.4% in the previous month, the internal affairs ministry reported.
A local resident takes his belongings out of a damaged residential building after a drone attack in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
May 3, 2025

Trump team has prepped options to pressure Russia to end war

People familiar with the matter cautioned that Trump has made no decision yet as diplomatic efforts were ongoing.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's tariff envoy, speaks to members of the media at the Japanese Embassy in Washington on May 1.
BUSINESS
May 3, 2025

Japan's tariff envoy says Tokyo insisting on U.S. rethink

After arriving back in Japan, Ryosei Akazawa told reporters that the two sides "made progress" toward an agreement, but stressed Tokyo was insisting that all tariffs be reviewed.
People walk on the Grand Ring on the opening day of the Osaka Expo on April 13.
JAPAN
May 3, 2025

Organizers broadly agree to preserve part of Osaka Expo ring

A concrete plan to determine which section will be conserved is due to be finalized at a meeting next month.
Israeli tanks are positioned near the Israel-Gaza border in southern Israel on April 23.
WORLD / Politics
May 6, 2025

Israel may seize all of Gaza in expanded operation, officials say

The newly approved offensive would move the territory's civilian population southward and keep humanitarian aid from falling into Hamas' hands.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies before a House Appropriations subcommittee oversight hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 7, 2025

U.S.-China trade talks to start this week focused on de-escalation

The meeting will be the first confirmed trade talks between the countries since U.S. President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on Beijing.
Smoke billows up at Sanaa Airport in Yemen after Israeli military warplanes struck the Houthi rebel-held capital on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2025

U.S. and Yemen's Houthis agree to ceasefire

The deal comes after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States would end attacks against the Houthis after the rebels agreed to stop harassing ships.
Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
May 9, 2025

China can play hardball at looming trade talks with U.S., analysts say

After weeks of tit-for-tat escalation that sent global markets into a tailspin, the two powers will meet this weekend for a chance to break the ice.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (second right) and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer (left) meet with Japan’s economic revitalization minister, Ryosei Akazawa, in Washington on May 1. In an attempt to ease trade tensions, Bessent and Greer will meet with a Chinese team in Switzerland from Saturday. 
EDITORIALS
May 9, 2025

A moment of hope for U.S-China trade frictions

The U.S. and China will meet in Switzerland to discuss trade tensions, but deep mistrust and structural issues are hurdles they will have to overcome to make progress.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte delivers remarks during a news conference at alliance headquarters in Brussels on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
May 10, 2025

NATO chief said to seek defense spending at 5% of GDP by 2032

U.S. President Donald Trump has demanded that NATO allies ramp up their military spending to 5% of GDP, a level that not even the United States currently hits.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a Lower House committee meeting on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 11, 2025

Ishiba vows Japan will stand its ground, demanding U.S. lift auto tariffs

The U.S. is an important market for the Japanese automobile industry, accounting for about 20% of its total car exports in terms of volume and about 30% in terms of value.
Idemitsu Kosan President Noriaki Sakai speaks during an interview in Tokyo on April 23.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 11, 2025

Idemitsu to enhance all-solid-state battery business

All-solid-state batteries have shorter charging times and enable vehicles to travel longer per charge, compared with conventional batteries.
Varda Ben Baruch, grandmother of hostage Edan Alexander, points at the portrait of her grandson at Kibbutz Nir Oz, in southern Israel on April 20.
WORLD / Politics
May 12, 2025

Hamas says it will release Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander

Israeli officials said that their offensive will continue until the remaining 59 hostages are freed and Gaza is demilitarized.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at a G20 summit in Japan on June 28, 2019.
WORLD / Politics
May 12, 2025

Prospects of Saudi ties to Israel elusive as Trump seeks $1 trillion bonanza

Supporters of normalizing relations say it would bring stability and prosperity to the region, while countering Iran's influence.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attend a news conference after trade talks with China, in Geneva on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 12, 2025

U.S. and China agree to lower tariffs in 90-day cooling-off period

The temporary move will give the world’s two largest economies three more months to resolve their differences.
A sign for battery manufacturer CATL is seen at the Auto China 2024 exhibition in Beijing on April 25, 2024.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 12, 2025

CATL starts taking investor orders for world’s biggest listing this year

The Chinese electric vehicle battery giant is seeking to raise as much as HK$41 billion ($5.3 billion).
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House earlier this year. Ishiba said Monday that farmers won't be sacrificed for automakers in Japan's tariff negotiations with the U.S.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
May 12, 2025

Japan might be playing long game in U.S. tariff talks

Tokyo is resisting making any major concessions, possibly in the hope that mounting domestic pressure will force U.S. President Donald Trump to give it a better deal.
Since the LDP resumed discussions on the issue in February, members against introducing a selective dual surname system have been gaining momentum, calling for expanding the use of maiden names.
JAPAN
May 12, 2025

LDP to forgo compiling bill on dual surname system

The LDP concluded that it would be unwise to create divisions within the party ahead of this summer's election for the House of Councilors.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?