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JAPAN
Dec 1, 2023

U.S. Osprey crash rekindles safety concerns in Japan

The unique aircraft has had its share of incidents, but still has a relatively safe record compared to other military aircraft.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a presidential campaign rally at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center in Reno, Nevada, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 20, 2023

Trump ineligible for ballot, Colorado Supreme Court rules

The case centers on a post-Civil War-era provision of the U.S. Constitution that bans insurrectionists from holding public office.
An image of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar at the temple in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, the site of his killing in June
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 21, 2023

Western nations grapple with plots to assassinate Sikhs

From undercover stings to diplomatic tensions, unpacking the Sikh hit man plots in Canada and the U.S.
Some analysts say China seeks ambiguity in defense relations to constrain what Beijing sees as U.S. military provocations in the region.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 22, 2023

U.S. and China top brass speak for first time in over a year

U.S. Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown and Gen. Liu Zhenli of China's People's Liberation Army touched on "a number of global and regional security issues."
Former U.S. President Donald Trump attends a campaign event in Waterloo, Iowa, on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2023

U.S. Supreme Court unlikely to uphold Colorado ruling disqualifying Trump

The U.S. Supreme Court could overturn the Colorado courts decision, including challenging the state court's authority to keep Trump off the ballot.
A U.S. Steel coke works in Clairton, Pennsylvania
EDITORIALS
Dec 22, 2023

A steel deal that’s good for Japan and the U.S.

Nippon Steel’s announcement that it plans to purchase U.S. Steel has triggered an uproar in the United States.
A woman holding an umbrella walks near a fluttering Taiwanese flag outside the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall in Taipei in November.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 25, 2023

What’s at stake in Taiwan’s January presidential election?

Depending on the outcome, the closely watched vote could have markedly different security and economic implications for the entire region.
Republicans have been extraordinarily successful in shaping the electoral battlefield to their advantage and depicting U.S. President Joe Biden as too old.
COMMENTARY / The Year Ahead
Dec 30, 2023

American anxiety builds ahead of 2024 vote

The outcome of next year's election may hinge on the economic outlook, which in turn will partly depend on how the Middle East conflict evolves.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump campaigns in Waterloo, Iowa, on Dec. 19.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Dec 30, 2023

Trump ballot fights put pressure on Supreme Court to act soon

The case would be unprecedented and brings Trump’s conduct after losing the 2020 election back to the forefront of his likely 2024 rematch with Biden.
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump speaks during a rally in Newton, Iowa, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 7, 2024

Trump, in Iowa, skirts Jan. 6 talk on attack's anniversary

The lack of mention reflects the degree to which Republican voters have absolved him of responsibility for that day's events.
U.S. Steel’s agreement to sell itself to the Japanese steel-maker has turned into a political football, with key politicians and opponents of the deal seizing on the union’s claims that U.S. Steel didn’t comply with the labor agreement.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2024

U.S. Steel denies breach of labor agreements in Nippon deal

The Pittsburgh-based manufacturer said it repeatedly reached out to the United Steelworkers during the company’s strategic review before the sale.
Taiwanese flags at the Ministry of National Defense in Taipei in December 2022
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 8, 2024

U.S. policy unlikely to shift after Taiwan poll, ex-de facto envoy says

Any differences in Washington's reaction would be "nuanced," and rather involve "adjustments in degree than in type,” said former AIT chief Douglas H. Paal.
EDITORIALS
Jan 12, 2024

Futenma moves forward, but local concerns must be addressed

Originally planned to have been finished by now, the base project is now anticipated to take over nine years to complete.
U.S. President Joe Biden walks to board Marine One at Delaware Air National Guard Base, in New Castle, Delaware, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 22, 2024

Did Biden blunder with New Hampshire primary snub?

After a dispute with officials in New Hampshire over scheduling, he will not be on the ballot when the state's primary kicks off the party's nomination process on Tuesday.
American President Joe Biden hugs Brittany Alkonis after giving a State of the Union in February. The wife of jailed U.S. sailor Lt. Ridge Alkonis ran a successful pressure campaign to get her husband released from a Japanese prison into American custody. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 24, 2024

Japan owes no apology for U.S. Navy officer’s treatment

The case of Navy Lt. Ridge Alkonis is a divisive one, which both the U.S. and Japanese governments have tried to keep quiet about.
E. Jean Carroll and her attorneys Shawn Crowley and Roberta Kaplan react outside the Manhattan Federal Court, after the verdict in the second civil trial was reached after she accused former U.S. President Donald Trump of raping her decades ago, in New York on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 27, 2024

Jury orders Trump to pay $83 million for sex assault defamation

Writer E. Jean Carroll said the former president had destroyed her reputation as a trustworthy journalist by denying he raped her.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrives for a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Jan. 5.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 29, 2024

Threats from Trump and China stoke a very European leadership fight

As a new term as European Commission president hangs in the balance, Ursula von der Leyen's future is intertwined with wider dilemmas.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks in Washington on Wednesday. Japan has stepped up attempts to engage with people close to Trump in recent weeks, worrying that if he returns to power he may seek some kind of deal with Beijing that could undermine recent efforts by the Group of Seven countries to counter China.
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2024

Japan's message for Donald Trump: Don't cut a deal with China

Tokyo has stepped up attempts to engage with people close to Trump in recent weeks.
While in recent years Donald Trump is better known for his trade war with China, the former president has a long history of Japan-bashing and should be taken at his word on the U.S. Steel purchase by Nippon Steel.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 9, 2024

Trump is wrong to oppose Nippon Steel deal

"I would block it instantaneously. Absolutely,” Trump said of Nippon Steel’s bid, and he should be taken seriously and literally.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump at a campaign event ahead of the Republican presidential primary election in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Feb. 14
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 29, 2024

Why Japanese companies need to prepare for Trump 2.0

Given the former president's views on the recent U.S. Steel deal, firms should cover all bases ahead of the Nov. 5 U.S. election.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump holds up a presidential permit for energy development that he signed during a tour of an oil rig in Midland, Texas, in July 2020.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 1, 2024

How the planet could survive another Trump term

In his first term, Trump pulled the U.S. out of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, rolled back environmental regulations, unleashed gas drilling and more.
A 2015 protest against the construction of military infrastructure in Okinawa Prefecture. Many residents are also worried about the impact of a Taiwan contingency on their islands.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 4, 2024

Okinawa’s peace movement carves its own path

Many Okinawans worry about a Taiwan contingency and are angered by U.S. base relocation: Grievances that have given impetus to the islands' own diplomacy.
Anti-capitalist protesters with Occupy San Francisco take part in a demonstration on the streets of the Californian city in October 2011.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 10, 2024

The economic future of our overworked grandchildren

While John Maynard Keynes predicted a future of leisure and abundance, the world has seen an increase in wealth disparity and a culture of overwork.
The defense request is largely seen as a symbolic opening shot in what is expected to be a protracted spending battle in Congress ahead of a November presidential election that will almost certainly pit President Joe Biden against his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 12, 2024

With eye on Indo-Pacific, Biden seeks record U.S. defense budget

But the $895.2 billion figure for fiscal 2025 is only about a 1% increase from the $886.3 billion proposal made last year — far below inflation levels.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 14, 2024

Biden and Trump prepare for marathon White House race

The 2024 election cycle is also expected to be the most expensive ever
Czech Republic's Ondrej Satoria pitches against Japan during the World Baseball Classic at Tokyo Dome on March 11.
BASEBALL
Mar 14, 2024

Ondrej Satoria reflects on electric WBC showdown against Shohei Ohtani

Satoria, an electrician by day, struck out the Japanese superstar during the World Baseball Classic.
An analysis of all the publicly available viral genome sequences yielded a surprising result: humans give more viruses — about twice as many — to animals than they give to us.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 27, 2024

Humans give more viruses to animals than they give us, study finds

Researchers looked at nearly 12 million virus genomes and detected almost 3,000 instances of viruses jumping from one species to another.
Philippine Ambassador Mylene Garcia-Albano is interviewed at the country's embassy in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 4, 2024

Closer defense ties expected after first U.S.- Japan-Philippines summit, Manila's envoy says

The statement comes amid media reports that the three countries plan to launch joint naval patrols in the South China Sea later this year.
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 5, 2024

Judges reject calls to dismiss Trump charges over 2020 vote, secret papers

The former U.S. president has been criminally charged in four cases as he challenges Democratic President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 election.
Mourners gather in Tehran on Friday for the funerals of senior Iranian military and intelligence officials killed in Israel's bombing of the Iranian Embassy building in Damascus, Syria.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 6, 2024

Israel and U.S. are on alert for Iran to strike back at Israel

Analysts say Iran is more likely to strike Israel itself than through Hezbollah, its closest militant ally.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.