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Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 5, 2021

U.K. court rejects extradition of 'suicide risk' Assange to U.S.

The judge at London's Old Bailey denied his lawyers' arguments that the case was political and an assault on journalism and freedom of speech.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 4, 2021

Grassroots efforts set to bring Black voters to the polls in Georgia runoffs

'Black voters are punching above their weight in this runoff,” said Charles Bullock, a political science professor at the University of Georgia.
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2021

Japan's carbon neutrality dilemma: More nuclear power or more renewables?

Suga's declaration the nation would achieve net zero by 2050 has touched off a debate over the best way to provide a safe, stable, secure and green energy.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 3, 2021

Brexit’s silver lining for Europe

The bloc has in some ways been galvanized by the trauma of the drawn out divorce, overcoming long-standing obstacles and lifting its ambitions.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 3, 2021

How Taiwan plans to stay (mostly) coronavirus-free

Consider for a moment, in this time of anguish and loss and death, of mass unemployment and flattened national economies, the Twilight Zone alternate reality that is Taiwan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 3, 2021

Coming of age in Japan during COVID-19

This year's new adults are on the precipice of missing out on their seijinshiki, a time-honored tradition noted for its formality and formalwear.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 3, 2021

Pence welcomes bid to overturn Biden’s election as Republican senators join

Neither Pence nor any of the senators has made a specific allegation of fraud, instead offering vague suggestions that some wrongdoing might have occurred.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2021

Hanko culture set to survive Taro Kono's purge of cheaper stamps

Hanko have been used in Japan for over a millennium, but the practice came under scrutiny this year as workers were forced to visit offices to use the seals amid a state of emergency.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 2, 2021

Iran notifies U.N. of plans to enrich uranium to 20%

Iran has informed the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog that it may start enriching uranium to levels well above those allowed under the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal, the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency reported.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 2, 2021

Senior Chinese diplomat says U.S. relations at 'new crossroads'

China's relationship with the United States has reached a "new crossroads" and could get back on the right track following a period of "unprecedented difficulty", senior diplomat Wang Yi said in official comments published on Saturday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 2, 2021

Exciting books and translations from Japan to look out for in 2021

It's time to put 2020 behind us and look ahead to a new year with a new reading list. Here's a selection of intriguing titles coming out in the next 12 months.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry holds the first meeting of the executive commission since taking over the presidency  from Thomas Bach.
OLYMPICS
Jun 27, 2025

Kirsty Coventry says IOC will take lead regarding gender eligibility in sports

Coventry announced the formation of a working group to lead these discussions.
A voter takes a photograph of a candidate running for a Tokyo assembly seat, in Tokyo on June 21.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 27, 2025

Lawmaker hints at new social media regulations as misinformation taints elections

Under a new law, social media sites can remove posts defaming political candidates if creators don't respond within two days, but lawmakers say that's too long.
The Nagasaki Peace Park in the city of Nagasaki
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2025

Russian envoy to attend peace ceremony in Nagasaki

In May, Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki said that his city would invite Russian and other ambassadors to this year's ceremony.
U.S. President Donald Trump receives a gold helmet with his name on it during a visit to U.S. Steel in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 27, 2025

Trump himself will wield U.S. Steel ‘golden share’ superpowers

After the U.S. president leaves office, the authority will move to executive branch departments.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference during the 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague on Wednesday. He expressed anger and threatened to sue over media reports claiming the U.S. strike on Iran delayed its nuclear program by only a few months.
EDITORIALS
Jun 27, 2025

Airstrikes won’t end Iran’s nuclear ambitions — diplomacy might

The consensus of the U.S. intelligence community earlier this year was that Iran was up to three years away from being able to deliver a nuclear weapon to a target of its choosing.
Plaintiffs of lawsuits on welfare benefit reductions hold up signs celebrating their victory in Tokyo on Friday following the Supreme Court's ruling in favor of them.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 27, 2025

Japan's Supreme Court finds welfare benefit cuts unlawful

The top court revoked the welfare cuts but dismissed plaintiffs' damages claims.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media at the White House in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 28, 2025

Trump says he'd consider bombing Iran again and drops sanctions relief plan

Trump reacted sternly to Khamanei's first remarks after a 12-day conflict with Israel that ended with the U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear sites.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to members of the media after a Senate Republican policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 28, 2025

Tariff deals could be wrapped up by Sept. 1, Bessent says as talks pick up

The U.S. Treasury chief did not mention any changes to a July 9 deadline for countries to reach deals with the United States or see tariffs spike higher.
Security personnel keep watch outside the Wuhan Institute of Virology during the visit by the World Health Organization team tasked with investigating the origins of COVID-19, in Wuhan, China, in February 2021.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 28, 2025

WHO says all COVID-19 origin theories still open, after inconclusive study

The global catastrophe killed an estimated 20 million people, according to the WHO, while shredding economies and crippling health systems.
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for a news conference at the White House on Friday in Washington.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 28, 2025

Trump says he will 'get the conflict solved with North Korea'

Trump also appeared to spotlight fears among U.S. allies that his administration could put their security in jeopardy by not adhering to alliance commitments.
Japan's chief tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, speaks to reporters at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Thursday, before departing for talks on U.S. tariffs in Washington.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 28, 2025

Japan and U.S. to continue tariff talks as July deadline looms

One focus of the bilateral negotiations is whether the suspension of additional "reciprocal" tariffs on Japan will be extended.
Olivier Nduhungirehe, Rwanda's foreign minister (left), U.S. Vice President JD Vance, President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, Democratic Republic of the Congo foreign minister, at the White House in Washington on Friday
WORLD / Politics
Jun 28, 2025

Rwanda and Congo sign peace deal in U.S. after rebel sweep

The two countries pledged to pull back support for guerrillas while U.S. President Donald Trump boasted of securing mineral wealth.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the White House in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 28, 2025

They voted for Trump. Most still back him — but not on everything

A group of 20 Trump voters were asked to share their thoughts on the president's performance so far. The results were a mixed bag.
Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim attends a news conference in Taipei on June 19.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 28, 2025

Czechs say China followed and planned intimidation of Taiwan vice-president

Prague does not have official diplomatic ties with Taiwan but has fostered warm relations with the democratically-governed island.
Japan’s flagship H2A rocket lifts off for the final time early Sunday from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 29, 2025

Japan’s H2A rocket retired after successful final launch

The rocket’s 50th and final mission carried the GOSAT-GW, a government-developed hybrid environmental observation satellite.
Taiwanese Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim speaks during the first exhibition organized by the Czech Center Taipei in the Taiwanese capital in June last year.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 29, 2025

Taiwan VP says she will not be intimidated after Czechs allege Chinese plot

A Chinese diplomat ran a red light while following her car, while other Chinese operatives had planned to stage a demonstrative car crash.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past