Search - politics

 
 
Republican Vice President-elect JD Vance (left) and President-elect Donald Trump speak during an election night event in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 7, 2024

JD Vance once compared Trump to Hitler. Now, he's his vice president-elect.

Trump and many of his allies see Vance's transformation as genuine, but detractors see his shift in views as a ploy to ascend the ranks of Republican politics.
For some Americans, physical distance between them and their country in the immediate post-election period is the best thing they can do for their mental health.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 9, 2024

Americans are traveling abroad as a post-election salve

One woman who temporarily relocated to Mexico City wishes she had traveled even further to a place like Japan for even more distance from domestic politcal news.
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, walks on stage during a campaign rally at Huntington Place in Detroit on Oct. 18. President-elect Trump is not known for adherence to a disciplined and rigorous personnel selection process, but behind the scenes his advisers and allies have been preparing lists of candidates for the most important jobs in his administration.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 9, 2024

Trump weighs key personnel choices, schooled by his first-term experience

The president-elect held his first formal transition meetings and has been given lists of candidates, but is calling around to friends and allies for ideas.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes stage at an election night event in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 11, 2024

How a Trump presidency could lead to a purge at the Pentagon

During his campaign for reelection, Donald Trump vowed to purge the military of so-called woke generals. Now the question is how far will he go?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at a meeting on political reform at the Liberal Democratic Party's headquarters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 14, 2024

Ishiba faces tightrope walk with minority government

As the opposition is seen ramping up pressure on the government, a single mistake could put the administration into jeopardy.
A Ukrainian flag flies over the site of the former monument to Russian Empress Catherine the Great in Odesa, Ukraine.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 15, 2024

Ukraine’s post-colonial future

If the Ukrainians are truly fighting for us, it is because they are fighting the last battle against European imperialism.
Marco Rubio debates Donald Trump during the 2016 Republican presidential primary race. The president-elect has named the senator from Florida as his prospective secretary of state.
EDITORIALS
Nov 15, 2024

Trump’s Cabinet picks make clear his priorities. Allies get ready.

Trump claims a mandate — winning the popular vote and both Houses of Congress — but his margin of victory is smaller than he will admit.
A post-election analysis by the polling company Blueprint discovered that the top reason why American swing voters eventually supported Donald Trump over Kamal Harris was culture (+28) followed by inflation (+23).
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 20, 2024

It’s too soon to say wokeism is dead

The Republicans ran the most unwoke man in America for the presidency, Donald Trump, and were amply rewarded for it.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Donald Trump greet each other at a campaign event in Duluth, Georgia, in October.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 23, 2024

Gaetz exit puts spotlight on other Trump nominees accused of sexual misconduct

Trump’s willingness to choose cabinet members with histories of alleged sexual misconduct threw his transition plans off course this week.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump approaches to embrace Donald Trump Jr. at his campaign rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 4.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 25, 2024

Trump's son helping him pick most controversial Cabinet of modern times

Donald Trump Jr. is helping contenders sink or rise to the fore, according to a half dozen sources with knowledge of his role.
Sanae Takaichi (left) celebrates Shigeru Ishiba’s victory in becoming the head of the Liberal Democratic Party along with then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo in September. Takaichi appears to be the only woman in any party who is close to breaking the glass ceiling to become the nation’s first female leader. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 26, 2024

The derailing of potential female prime ministers

Sanae Takaichi stands as the closest woman to breaking the glass ceiling and becoming Japan's first female prime minister.
Members of the Maori community and their supporters take part in a protest about indigenous rights outside of New Zealand's parliament in Wellington on Nov. 19.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 26, 2024

Shadow of the British Empire hangs over New Zealand's treaty debate

The controversy over one of the nation’s founding documents touches a raw nerve. The agreement has two versions, one in English and the other in Maori.
While the economic benefits of Nippon Steel's acquisition of U.S. Steel are clear, concerns remain about sustaining U.S. domestic steel production, preserving national security interests and addressing union concerns.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 28, 2024

Nippon Steel endgame: Resistance or renaissance for the U.S. steel industry

The endgame for Nippon Steel’s bid for U.S. Steel appears near and the results could have a significant impact on U.S.-Japan relations, depending on the outcome.
South Korea’s currency recovered while its stocks fell Wednesday as investors braced for prolonged political uncertainties following a brief decree of martial law by President Yoon Suk Yeol.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 5, 2024

Capitalism is the unsung hero of South Korean democracy

Capitalism, with its economic pressures and global integration, has been crucial in fostering democracy in South Korea.
French Prime Minister Michel Barnier reacts after the result of the no-confidence vote on his administration at the National Assembly in Paris on Wednesday. French lawmakers ousted his government after just three months in office.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 6, 2024

This is not France's 'Truss moment'

While the political instability and economic challenges are worrying, France is not facing a full-blown financial crisis.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba addresses a Liberal Democratic Party meeting of regional chapter secretaries-generals in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 8, 2024

Ishiba vows to show resolve in run-up to Upper House poll

Ishiba vowed to strengthen the party ahead of next summer's House of Councilors election.
Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo in action with Al Ittihad's Abdulrahman in a Saudi Pro League match in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Friday
SOCCER
Dec 10, 2024

'Humanizing' Saudi soccer': Netflix show paves way for World Cup

The series depicts how the Saudi Pro League has been transformed by the arrival of global stars.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the National Caucus holiday party in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Dec 19, 2024

Trudeau’s political crisis rips up playbook for trade fight with Trump

Canada's prime minister is now on the back foot after his finance minister resigned, a move that cast doubt on his preparation for a clash with the U.S.
Here we go again, a Christmas marked by legal battles, evolving traditions, commercial influence, and debates over greetings.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 23, 2024

There is no war on Christmas. There are many.

As usual, our holiday cornucopia overfloweth with litigation.
Elon Musk has waded into German politics twice in recent days on X.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 23, 2024

Germany’s SPD calls for antitrust act to clip Elon Musk’s power

While Wiese's comments will likely intensify the war of words with the world’s richest person, it’s unclear whether regulators in the U.S. will agree with his proposal.
Former U.S. President Jimmy in 1996. Carter, who rose from Georgia farmland to become the 39th president of the United States on a promise of national healing after the wounds of Watergate and Vietnam, then lost the White House in a cauldron of economic turmoil at home and crisis in Iran, died on Sunday at his home in Plains, Georgia. He was 100.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 30, 2024

Jimmy Carter, president known as a peacemaker, is dead at 100

While Carter's presidency was remembered more for its failures than for its successes, his post-presidency was seen by many as a model for future chief executives.
Former President Jimmy Carter, furthest right, in a group photo with his successors at the White House in 2009. From his re-election defeat in 1980 until his death on Sunday, he was the odd man out, distant from the Republicans and Democrats who followed him.
WORLD
Dec 30, 2024

In the presidents’ club, Carter was the odd man out

Jimmy Carter’s relationship with his successors in the Oval Office, both Republicans and fellow Democrats, was generally tense because of his outspokenness.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends a conference organized by the European Jewish Association in Krakow, Poland, in January 2024.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 4, 2025

Musk projects his hard-right influence in Europe

The multibillionaire has demanded new elections in Britain, promoted Germany's far-right, blasted the European Commission — and that's just the start.
Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol rally near his official residence in Seoul on Friday morning. Right-wing YouTube​rs helped Yoon win his election. They are now his allies in the wake of his botched imposition of martial law.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 5, 2025

How fear and conspiracy theories fuel South Korea’s political crisis

Right-wing YouTube​rs helped President Yoon Suk Yeol​ win his election. They are now his allies in the wake of his botched imposition of martial law.
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on Nov. 13. Trump’s presidency is expected to disrupt U.S. energy transition efforts through weakened policies and heightened trade tensions.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 6, 2025

Can Biden’s green boom survive Trump’s wrecking ball?

The incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump promises to undo at least some of the progress made on decarbonization under President Joe Biden.
Jean-Marie Le Pen gives a speech on Feb. 3, 1973
WORLD / Politics
Jan 7, 2025

French far-right figurehead Jean-Marie Le Pen dies

The far-right bogeyman of French politics, infamous for his dismissal of the Holocaust and anti-immigrant rhetoric, has died at age 96.
Billionaire Elon Musk speaks during an election rally for then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 5.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 9, 2025

Musk takes slash-and-burn style to Europe after bolstering Trump

The billionaire has honed in on Germany and the U.K., criticizing their governments, questioning their laws and casting doubt on their economic competence.
A man stops at a site near a sports center in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, China, where a deadly car attack in November killed 35 people.  
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 14, 2025

China's rising violence that could lead to foreign aggression

While China does have social welfare programs, the current economic system provides insufficient resources for the working class and unemployed individuals.
Shinji Ishimaru announces details of his new regional party at a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 15, 2025

With new regional party, Shinji Ishimaru touts rebirth

The former mayor of Akitakata in Hiroshima Prefecture aims to field candidates in July's Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election.
U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden walk across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington in August 2022, after returning from a trip to Kentucky.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 18, 2025

How Biden’s inner circle protected a faltering president

“Your biggest issue is the perception of age,” Mike Donilon, the president’s longtime strategist, told him in 2022, according to people who heard him.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years