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Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters the Prime Minister's Office on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 23, 2025

Ishiba and Guterres agree to deepen Japan-U.N. cooperation

Ishiba stressed the importance of the role played by the United Nations at a time when the international community faces a host of challenges.
Democratic Party for the People head Yuichiro Tamaki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on April 22.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 23, 2025

Three Upper House candidates are creating headaches for DPP

The DPP hopes to win more seats this summer, but keeping every candidate on-message could be a challenge for leader Yuichiro Tamaki.
Russian and Ukrainian delegations attend a meeting in Istanbul on May 16.
WORLD
May 23, 2025

Major Russia-Ukraine POW exchange begins

Russia and Ukraine each agreed after two hours of talks in Istanbul last week to swap 1,000 prisoners, but failed to agree to a ceasefire.
Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito lawmakers meet to discuss a pension reform bill at the Diet in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 24, 2025

Bill that would raise Japanese pension benefits on track to pass parliament

The ruling bloc will back the CDP's amendment, which includes a plan to raise basic pension benefits.
Director Koji Fukada and actor Kyoko Saito pose during a photocall for Fukada's new film, "Love on Trial," in Cannes, France.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
May 25, 2025

At Cannes, Fukada spotlights J-pop’s ban on idol romance

Director Koji Fukada’s new film, "Love on Trial," explores Japan’s idol industry and the contracts that ban young women from dating.
A worker sorts plastic waste for recycling at Minato Resource Recycle Center in Tokyo in 2019. Japan has been criticized by environmental groups for its strategy on plastics, which is heavily reliant on recycling instead of reduction.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
May 25, 2025

Are microplastics hurting our fertility?

While a lot remains unknown about how microplastics affect our health, scientists in Japan and around the world broadly agree there's an urgent need to reduce plastic production.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk arrive for a "Coalition of the Willing" news conference at St. Mary's Palace in Kyiv on May 10.
WORLD / Politics
May 26, 2025

How can Europe maintain a supply of weapons for Ukraine? Buy American

Such a move would force the U.S. president to pick between his desire to avoid antagonizing his Russian counterpart against his wish to bring in more cash.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with representatives from Russian business circles in Moscow on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
May 27, 2025

Putin threatens to 'throttle' Western firms remaining in Russia

There has been growing media speculation that some companies might consider a comeback amid U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to reset relations with Russia.
Muhammad Yunus, the interim head of the Bangladeshi government, attends the 55th annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 23.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 27, 2025

Protests grip Bangladesh as pressure mounts on Yunus-led government

The Nobel peace laureate's caretaker government is attempting to guide the country through a fragile transition before holding a general election.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has reached an agreement with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to strengthen security cooperation.
JAPAN / Politics
May 27, 2025

Japan and Italy agree to advance security cooperation

The cooperation includes a project between Japan, Italy and Britain to jointly develop a next-generation fighter jet.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Icelandic President Halla Tomasdottir at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday
JAPAN / Politics
May 28, 2025

Ishiba and Tomasdottir agree to deepen cooperation between Japan and Iceland

The Icelandic president said Japan is Iceland's most important partner in Asia, and expressed her eagerness to collaborate on geothermal energy and gender equality.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda
BUSINESS / Economy
May 28, 2025

Ueda to monitor risk of high long-term bond yields affecting shorter-term rates

The comments come at a time of heightened concern about volatility at the long end of the bond market.
As part of the tie-up between NTT and SBI Holdings, NTT Docomo will make SBI Sumishin Net Bank a consolidated subsidiary.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 29, 2025

NTT and SBI agree on business and capital tie-up

Through the alliance, the two sides hope to work together to merge the two worlds of telecommunications and finance.
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on tariffs at the White House in April.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 30, 2025

Trump's tariffs to remain in effect after appeals court grants stay

The move comes a day after a trade court had ruled Trump had exceeded his authority in imposing the duties and ordered an immediate block on them.
Smoke billows in the Gaza Strip on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
May 30, 2025

U.S. says Israel accepts Gaza ceasefire plan; Hamas cool to it

A senior Hamas official says the plan does not contain commitments to end the war, withdraw Israeli troops or admit aid as the group has demanded.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito coalition and Nippon Ishin no Kai have agreed to remove up to 110,000 redundant hospital beds across the country.
JAPAN / Politics
May 30, 2025

LDP, Komeito and Nippon Ishin agree to phase out redundant hospital beds

The removal of 110,000 unnecessary hospital beds is estimated to save around ¥1 trillion in medical costs.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani (second from right) and Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro (second from left) attend a meeting in Singapore on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 2, 2025

Japan and Philippines agree to strengthen defense cooperation

The two ministers confirmed expanding joint exercises after signing a reciprocal access agreement to ease military visits between their countries.
The Eagle S oil tanker is seen near a Finnish border guard ship and tugboat off the Porkkalanniemi Peninsula in the Gulf of Finland in December. Finland seized the Russian-linked vessel on suspicion it damaged undersea cables amid growing concerns over sanctions evasion and maritime security.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2025

Braving the storm: It’s time to board Russia’s shadow fleet

European sanctions against the Kremlin’s oil vessels are futile without actual enforcement.
Russian delegation head and presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky speaks to the press after a meeting at Ciragan Palace during the second round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 3, 2025

Russia sets out punitive terms at peace talks with Ukraine

The terms highlighted Moscow's refusal to compromise on its longstanding war goals despite calls by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the "bloodbath" in Ukraine.
The number of "zombie companies" in Japan, which do not make enough to cover their interest payments, was estimated to have grown some 228,000 in fiscal 2023, one of the highest in a decade.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jun 3, 2025

'Zombie company' apocalypse might be the point of Japan's minimum wage push

Government efforts to accelerate the pace of pay increases could lead to poorly performing companies going out of business.
Police officers stand at the site of Russian missile strike in Sumy, Ukraine, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 4, 2025

Ukraine officials visit U.S. and accuse Russia of stalling peace efforts

Ukrainian leaders in Washington accuse Russia of stalling peace talks and dodging sanctions, while seeking stronger U.S. backing amid intensifying battlefield attacks.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof in The Hague, Netherlands on Tuesday. Schoof has resigned as prime minister after the far-right Freedom Party pulled out of the government.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 4, 2025

Dutch prime minister resigns after far-right party pulls out of coalition

The Freedom Party withdrew from the Dutch government over the refusal of three coalition partners to agree to its plans to curb migration.
Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and other imperial family members attend the New Year's appearance at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Jan. 2, 2020.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2025

Japan lawmakers likely to put off decision on imperial family plan

Leaders of the House of Representatives have found it difficult to reach a conclusion before the current parliamentary session is set to end on June 22.
Self-propelled guns are refurbished at a Rheinmetall plant in Unterluess, Germany, in June 2023.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 4, 2025

The Europeans are facing an existential choice

U.S. officials are openly stating that they do not intend to devote most of their time or resources to dealing with what they deem European issues such as the war in Ukraine.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivers a speech during the Meta Connect event at in Menlo Park, California, in September 2023. The partnership between Zuckerberg's Meta and defense firm Anduril to build battlefield XR gear underscores how working with the military, once taboo in Silicon Valley, is now actively embraced.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 5, 2025

Mark Zuckerberg finally found a use for his Metaverse — war

Anduril and Meta are partnering to design, build and field a range of integrated XR products that provide warfighters with enhanced perception on the battlefield.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's top negotiator in tariff talks with the U.S. speaks to reporters at the Japanese Embassy in Washington on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 7, 2025

Japan won’t wait for G7 summit for possible U.S. trade deal

Trade discussions between Japan and the U.S. have "progressed” but have not yet reached a consensus on a deal to revisit sweeping U.S. tariffs, Tokyo's top negotiator said.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and his wife, Kim Hye-Kyung (left), arrive for a ceremony to mark the 70th Memorial Day at Seoul National Cemetery on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 7, 2025

South Korea's Lee and Trump agree to work toward swift tariff deal

The future of South Korea's export-oriented economy may hinge on what kind of deal the country's new president, Lee Jae-myung, can strike with U.S. leader Donald Trump.
An Israeli armored personnel carrier near the Israel-Gaza border, as seen from Israel on Saturday
WORLD
Jun 8, 2025

Israeli airstrikes kill 55; body of Thai hostage retrieved from Gaza

Thai agricultural worker Nattapong Pinta was abducted from a small Israeli community near the Gaza border during Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at an Upper House session in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 9, 2025

No-confidence motion against Ishiba Cabinet could lead to double election

A double election could result in more political stability if either bloc manages to capture both chambers, or continued instability if neither holds a majority.
U.S. Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent (L) and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (R) shake hands as they pose for a photo during trade discussions at the Lancaster House in London on Monday.
BUSINESS
Jun 10, 2025

U.S.-China trade and minerals talks in London set to extend to second day

Washington and Beijing are trying to revive a temporary truce struck in Geneva that had briefly lowered trade tensions and calmed markets.

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