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October 17, 2025
 

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CONGRESS

The U.S. Capitol in Washington on Friday. The current government shutdown is the most acute symptom of a general lack of goodwill in Washington, where bipartisan deal-making has increasingly gone out of vogue.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 12, 2025
Trump layoffs and broken trust harden Democrats’ shutdown stand
Democrats have expressed doubts that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump will deliver a health care fix unless forced to do so.
U.S. President Donald Trump returns to the White House on Friday after a medical checkup at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Trump said on Saturday that he had identified funds that would allow the administration to pay members of the military, even though the government remains shut down and Congress has not approved additional money for the troops.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 12, 2025
U.S. military will use R&D money to pay troops if shutdown persists
With no signs of a resolution anytime soon, the administration on Friday began making good on Trump's threat to lay off thousands of federal workers.
The U.S. Capitol in Washington on Friday. The White House is making good on threats to fire thousands of federal workers amid a government shutdown now in its 10th day, with job cuts across federal agencies.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 11, 2025
Trump fires federal workers amid shutdown fight with Democrats
The firings mark the first large-scale layoffs of federal employees during a funding lapse in modern history.
A Royal Australian Navy submarine during a maritime exercise in Darwin, Australia
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 8, 2025
Pentagon conducting ‘brass-tack’ review of AUKUS, nominee says
The comments from John Noh, Trump’s pick for assistant secretary for Indo-Pacific security affairs, mark a rare moment that the administration has acknowledged the review.
U.S. President Donald Trump attends an event at the White House on Monday.
WORLD
Oct 7, 2025
White House says no shutdown-related layoffs yet, but warns they could come
Previous shutdowns have not forced the government to fire any workers, though hundreds of thousands are typically told not to work.
The Capitol Building in Washington on Oct. 1. The mass layoffs of federal workers could begin if President Donald Trump decides negotiations to end a partial government shutdown are "absolutely going nowhere," a senior White House official said Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 6, 2025
White House says mass layoffs will start if shutdown talks 'going nowhere'
No tangible signs of negotiations have emerged between congressional leaders since Trump met with them last week.
The U.S. Capitol in Washington. The leaders of both parties are sticking to their talking points as the first shutdown in nearly seven years stretches into its third day.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 4, 2025
Shutdown drags on as senators leave Washington amid impasse
The leaders of both parties are sticking to their talking points as the first shutdown in nearly seven years stretches into its third day.
The U.S. government shut down on Wednesday, though essential services are still being offered.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 2, 2025
U.S. federal shutdown affects Americans in Japan and diplomatic talks
Some consular services are being offered, but the U.S. Embassy site is not being regularly updated
Signage outside the Capitol Hill visitors center in Washington notifies the public of its closure due to the government shutdown on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 2025
The U.S. government shutdown fight has life-or-death consequences
About 4.2 million people are expected to lose coverage if Congress fails to extend premium subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
A U.S. flag is illuminated in a doorway of the otherwise empty rotunda at the U.S. Capitol in the hours before a partial government shutdown in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 1, 2025
U.S. government shutdown begins after Congress fails to reach deal
The shutdown comes as deep partisan divisions in Washington have raised fears regarding the length and consequences of the halt.
Labor union members hold placards on the day of a rally in support of federal workers during a rush hour protest outside the L'Enfant Plaza Metro Station in Washington on March 24.
BUSINESS
Oct 1, 2025
U.S. government faces brain drain as 154,000 federal workers exit this week
The loss of expertise is making it harder for many agencies to carry out their work and serve the American public.
With just hours to go until a midnight deadline, the deadlock over spending threatens to paralyze many U.S. government operations for the first time in nearly seven years.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 1, 2025
White House commences shutdown plans as Democrats block funding
With no more votes planned before the deadline, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget instructed government agencies to "execute their plans for an orderly shutdown.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 20, 2025
Trump predicts U.S. government could ‘very well’ shut down on Oct. 1
The prospect of a shutdown increased after Senate Republicans and Democrats earlier Friday each blocked rival plans to provide temporary funding.
The Senate approved U.S. President Donald Trump's 48 nominees for diplomatic, military and other administration positions on Thursday after Republicans changed the rules.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 19, 2025
As U.S. Senate goes 'nuclear,' dozens of Trump nominees are confirmed
A Senate rules change means the majority can move large groups of nominees in one package for votes on confirmation, instead of voting on them one at a time.
FBI Director Kash Patel (right) listens to senior White House adviser Stephen Miller speak in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 16, 2025
White House threatens broad crackdown on liberal groups
A senior official said that the Trump administration would dismantle an alleged "vast domestic terror movement" that he linked to the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) building in Washington
WORLD / Politics
Sep 6, 2025
U.S. appeals court says Trump cannot continue foreign aid cuts
A U.S. appeals court declined to block a lower court ruling that said the administration could not unilaterally cut billions of dollars of foreign aid.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services, during a Senate Finance Committee hearing in Washington on Thursday
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 5, 2025
U.S. senators pit Kennedy against Trump on vaccine policy
Half a dozen heated exchanges during a combative three-hour Senate hearing focused on his decision to fire Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez.
U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (third from right), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, poses for pictures alongside U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer (third from left) and others upon arriving at the Songshan Airport in Taipei on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 30, 2025
Senior U.S. senator expects joint weapons production with Taiwan
A Taiwan official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters that co-production of weapons was "very important."
Pedestrians walk past a flag that reads “Free DC” hanging on an overpass near the U.S. Capitol building in Washington on Aug. 15
WORLD / Politics
Aug 30, 2025
Trump notifies Congress of plan to rescind billions in foreign aid
The maneuver challenges Congress’ spending powers and intensifies an already contentious battle over government funding, which is due to lapse Sept. 30.
U.S. President Donald Trump wears a "Trump Was Right About Everything!" hat, as he visits The People’s House: A White House Experience museum in Washington on Aug. 22.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 30, 2025
Seeking more power, Trump uses firings to test presidential limits
The actions underscored Trump's desire for influence in sectors normally seen as independent from overt political control.
Coalition talks could bring Takaichi closer to being PM
Nippon Ishin no Kai leader and Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura meets with Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Trump declares U.S.-China trade war as Bessent floats long truce
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during a press conference in Washington on Wednesday.
Asia can learn from Europe’s immigration mistakes
Refugees and migrants, mostly from Syria and Afghanistan, crowd a platform at a train station in Budapest in September 2015. Hungary's focus on pro-natalist policies and minimal immigration has led to a significant improvement in its fertility rate compared to Japan.
Singapore thrived in a U.S.-led world. Now what?
The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt moors at Changi Naval Base in Singapore in April 2018.
Sumo is about to hit London and the West with a force previously unseen
Preparations advance on Monday for the Grand Sumo Tournament at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Sumo is about to hit London and the West with a force previously unseen
Preparations advance on Monday for the Grand Sumo Tournament at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Number of scenarios now on the table for who might be Japan’s next prime minister
Newly-elected leader of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party Sanae Takaichi (right) celebrates with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba after winning the LDP leadership election in Tokyo on October 4.
Pace eyes great strides for Japan’s art market
Pace Japan Vice President Kyoko Hattori, the de facto head of the nation’s business, believes a larger, more lucrative art market will allow Japan to be more attractive for collectors.
A frenetic diplomatic schedule looms for Japan’s next leader — whomever that may be
As horse-trading and speculation surge over who will be elected the next prime minister in parliament — the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Sanae Takaichi or a possible candidate put forward by a unified opposition — Japan’s next leader will be confronted with a quick succession of key diplomatic events.
Ghost of Yotei’s bloodstained fun sidesteps Ainu identity
Ghost of Yotei, the follow-up to 2020's smash hit Ghost of Tsushima, is a violent, vengeful and engaging romp through 17th-century Hokkaido that fails to stick the landing on its most sensitive cultural material.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building
By Patrick St. Michel

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