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Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 8, 2025

Trump targets U.S. trade deficit in first meeting with Ishiba

The two leaders pledged to pursue a "new golden age" of U.S.-Japan relations — though Ishiba did get an earful about America's trade deficit with its ally.
The Supreme Court could be called upon in the coming weeks or months to act in a challenge to U.S. President Donald Trump's policies, depending on how quickly appeals move through the lower courts.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Feb 8, 2025

As U.S. Supreme Court girds for Trump cases, can it be an 'effective firewall'?

Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump's views of presidential authority appear far less restrained than those of his White House predecessors.
The new Nippon TV series “The Hot Spot” follows an alien superhero navigating rural Japanese life but focuses more on dialogue than splashy, action-packed plot points.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Wide Angle
Feb 10, 2025

‘The Hot Spot’: Close encounters of the mundane kind

Japanese dramas have been taking bolder risks recently, and Bakarhythm’s new sci-fi series surprises by centering its high-concept ideas on trivial occurrences.
Fukushima University student Itsuki Yamada (right) takes part in a workshop in December in the village of Iitate, Fukushima Prefecture, together with local residents. Yamada leads a group of student volunteers that runs an internet community radio program featuring Iitate.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Feb 17, 2025

University students launch community radio show for Fukushima village

The program aims to spread word about the realities faced by Iitate's aging population, and support the village's revitalization.
Donald Trump has halted most U.S. government-funded aid globally for 90 days, while moving to dismantle USAID, which he accused of being run "by a bunch of radical lunatics."
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 11, 2025

U.S aid freeze risks handing influence to China in Beijing's backyard

Trump has halted most U.S. government-funded aid globally for 90 days, while moving to dismantle USAID, which he accused of being run "by a bunch of radical lunatics."
Showa Kogyo employee Yuki Maeda (right) holds fish-gathering plates she developed, alongside company president Akinori Kazeoka.
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional voices: Chubu
Feb 24, 2025

Fish-gathering plate proves a big hit with anglers

The plate, which reflects light under the sea to attract filefish, was developed by a Showa Kogyo employee who loves fishing.
Kendrick Lamar performs at the halftime show of Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, Louisiana.
COMMUNITY / Voices / Black Eye
Feb 17, 2025

Black History Month in 2025: The boundaries between 'us' and 'them'

Our columnist reflects on the fraught ideologies of race from both sides of the Pacific.
Chinese President Xi Jinping
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 14, 2025

Xi to chair symposium attended by Jack Ma and other Chinese business leaders, sources say

Xi rarely chairs symposiums about the private sector, and the event underscores the numerous challenges currently facing China.
Netflix reality series “Offline Love” follows five men and five women as they spend 10 days in Nice, France, finding romance.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Feb 18, 2025

‘Offline Love’ ditches digital dating and puts old-school romance to the test

Netflix Japan's new reality series whisks its participants to a picturesque seaside city in France and leans into nostalgia for a simpler time.
A Ukrainian serviceman in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Nov. 29
WORLD / Politics
Feb 19, 2025

European forces would struggle to guarantee Ukraine peace without U.S.

Deterrence in the form of U.S. medium-range missiles and ultimately nuclear weapons will remain crucial, experts say.
Nissan in recent weeks has been searching for a strategic partner in the tech industry, with some board members suggesting Tesla and Apple as ideal targets, the Financial Times reported.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 21, 2025

Japan seeks Tesla investment in Nissan as Foxconn approaches Honda

Taiwan's Foxconn has reportedly proposed forming a partnership with Honda, aiming for a framework that would also include Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors.
Tracers are seen in the night sky as Ukrainian servicemen fire at a drone during a Russian drone strike in Kyiv on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 23, 2025

U.S. could cut Ukraine's access to Starlink internet services over minerals, say sources

Ukraine's continued access to SpaceX-owned Starlink was brought up in discussions between U.S. and Ukrainian officials.
Ancient trees and animals play crucial roles in ecosystems, carbon storage and even human health, yet their populations are dwindling due to deforestation, fishing and climate change.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 2025

Who will speak for the trees?

A slew of scientific discoveries shows why we should protect not just 1,000-year-old trees but also 200-year-old whales, 400-year-old fish and 10,000-year-old sea sponges.
Komeito head Tetsuo Saito speaks at a party meeting in Tokyo on Jan. 28.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 27, 2025

Policy differences push Komeito to tread carefully in LDP coalition

Komeito is likely to emphasize where it stands apart, but it isn't preparing for a breakup with the ruling party.
A woman who works at a private university in Fukuoka Prefecture as a part-time lecturer is still negotiating with the university over a cut in the number of classes she teaches.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Mar 10, 2025

'Highly educated working poor': Part-time lecturers lament stagnant wages

Many worry that raising their voices could lead to a reduction in classes, which impacts pay, or even dismissal.
Yoshiaki Nakano (center), head of the Mebuki residents’ association, comprising residents of the Moniwa No. 2 municipal-run housing complex in Sendai’s Taihaku Ward, addresses a board meeting on Feb. 2.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Mar 10, 2025

Public housing residents' associations in Sendai struggle to find leaders

Those age 65 and older account for 43.9% of the residents in such housing, 18.7 percentage points higher than the ratio of elderly in the city.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr. by his side, speaks with the media during his first official arrival at the Pentagon to take his new post on Jan. 27.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 28, 2025

Firing top generals makes the U.S. less secure

How should we think about this rare purge at the very top of the uniformed military? Is it unprecedented?
Hirofumi Yoshimura (center left), president of Nippon Ishin no Kai, at the party's convention in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Saturday.
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2025

Nippon Ishin vows to push ruling bloc into minority in Upper House

"I will accept any outcome and take responsibility in the end," Nippon Ishin leader Hirofumi Yoshimura said at a party convention in Tokyo.
A S-300 missile system is seen during the National Army Day parade in Tehran on April 17, 2024.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 4, 2025

Russian missile experts flew to Iran amid clashes with Israel

It could not be determined what the seven specialists were doing in Iran.
Yoko Suetsugu at Haco, her gallery in New York
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Mar 17, 2025

Sculptor connects Fukushima to U.S. through New York gallery

Yoko Suetsugu is aiming to launch a program inviting U.S. artists to hot springs in the city of Fukushima for a creative retreat.
Elementary and junior high school students study online at Free School Mirai in the city of Nagano.
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Mar 17, 2025

Schools face challenges in evaluating students not attending classes

There is concern that assessing students through grades may run counter to supporting those who cannot attend school.
Wealthier women in the prewar era had been the targets of various media-related health campaigns that mistakenly encouraged them to avoid everything from riding bicycles to reading novels when their monthly cycles came around.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Mar 7, 2025

Menstruation in Japan: Breaking the silence, slowly

Despite longstanding taboos, evolving attitudes toward women's health highlight shifting cultural norms.
France's President Emmanuel Macron addresses the media during a news conference at the end of a Special European Council to discuss continued support for Ukraine and European defense at the EU headquarters in Brussels on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics / EXPLAINER
Mar 7, 2025

How realistic is France's offer to extend its nuclear umbrella?

France has only a fraction of the number of airborne nuclear weapons the U.S. can provide, and any upgrade of its systems would be costly.
Signage at a Tesla store in Colma, California, on Monday. Tesla shares plunged to their worst day in more than four years, extending a slide in 2025 amid growing concerns on Wall Street about demand for the company's electric cars.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 11, 2025

Tesla’s stock defied gravity for years. Is Elon Musk’s EV party over?

The bulk of Tesla's worth rests on hopes for autonomous vehicles it hasn't yet delivered, despite Musk's continued promises.
Just like in times of old, with unresolved territorial disputes, regional disunity and economic self-interest prevailing over solidarity, Southeast Asia faces growing instability as tensions escalate.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2025

Southeast Asia must learn to defend itself

Would any of the region’s governments lift a finger to maintain peace on behalf of a neighbor?
“Ravens” stars Tadanobu Asano as Masahisa Fukase, a real-life figure who was known for his photos of the psychedelic party scene of 1960s Shinjuku, portraits of his wife and images of the ravens of his home prefecture of Hokkaido.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 14, 2025

‘Ravens’ is a portrait of art, love and inner demons

Director Mark Gill brings the turbulent life of celebrated photographer Masahisa Fukase into focus in his new film.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called South African Ambassador to the U.S. Ebrahim Rasool "a race-baiting politician who hates America and hates @POTUS," referring to U.S. President Donald Trump by his White House X account handle.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 15, 2025

U.S. expels South African ambassador, saying he 'hates' Trump

The expulsion of the ambassador — a very rare move by the United States — is the latest development in rising tensions between Washington and Pretoria.
The Tourville, a new French navy nuclear attack submarine, stops in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Friday.
WORLD
Mar 16, 2025

As Trump stirs doubt, Europeans debate their own nuclear deterrent

Talk of replacing the American nuclear umbrella over Europe with the small British and French nuclear armories is in the air, however vague and fanciful.
Smoke rises while members of the Syrian forces ride on a vehicle as they battle against an insurgency by fighters from ousted leader Bashar Assad's Alawite sect, in Latakia, Syria, on March 7.
WORLD
Mar 17, 2025

'Pray for us. They've arrived': How Syria descended into revenge bloodshed

Just three months after Bashar Assad's ouster, parts of western Syria descended into vengeful bloodletting.
Johan Leutwiler checks a sword he made at his workshop studio in the Kui district of Mihara, Hiroshima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Mar 24, 2025

Japan's first foreign swordsmith opens workshop in Hiroshima Prefecture

Johan Leutwiler hopes to promote the charm of Japanese swords following the completion of his five-year apprenticeship.

Longform

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