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July 12, 2025
 

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FOCUS

The Bundeswehr booth at the Hannover Messe 2025 trade fair in Hannover, Germany, on March 31.
WORLD / FOCUS
Apr 12, 2025
Germany wants to be a military powerhouse. Can it pull it off?
Achieving this may be easier said than done. Germany’s defense and national security apparatus is fragmented and encumbered by bureaucracy.
U.S. President Donald Trump wants Apple to begin building iPhones in the United States. But Apple is unlikely to move production to the country in the foreseeable future for a variety of reasons.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Apr 12, 2025
Why Trump’s dream of made-in-the-USA iPhones isn’t going to happen
Apple is unlikely to move production to the U.S. in the foreseeable future for a variety of reasons, including a shortage of facilities and labor.
Cargo is uploaded onto a China-Europe freight train at the China-Kazakhstan (Lianyungang) Logistics Cooperation Base in Lianyungang, China, on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 12, 2025
Jolted by Trump, EU woos new partners from Asia to Latin America
The EU has embarked on a charm offensive to diversify its alliances, with summits lined up back-to-back and trade talks launched in all directions.
On the eve of nuclear talks with the United States, Iranians wave the flags of Palestine and Hezbollah as they march in Tehran to denounce the U.S. and Israel on Friday. Iran and the U.S. were set to hold the first round of talks in Oman on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 12, 2025
Years of distrust hang over U.S. and Iran as negotiators head to Oman
The high-level talks on Tehran's advancing nuclear program are seen as a sign of its eagerness for sanctions relief and to avoid a crippling military attack.
Having had two meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is slowly building a personal relationship with him, which matters greatly to the U.S. president and in resolving bilateral issues.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 11, 2025
Can anyone deal with Trump better than Ishiba?
Trump’s shift on Japan tariffs offers relief, but Ishiba’s grip remains shaky amid internal discontent and challenging U.S. demands.
Hon Hai Precision Industry, which does business as Foxconn, wants to make electric vehicles for Japanese carmakers.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Apr 10, 2025
It makes iPhones. Now Hon Hai wants to make cars for Japanese automakers.
The Taiwanese company's seemingly unlikely proposition — given the structure and history of Japan's auto industry — just might work.
Moussa Sacko, a Malian deported from France — where he had lived since he was a young child — stands on a street in Bamako, Mali, in December. Compared with his home in France, Bamako feels like a different planet, Sacko said.
WORLD / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Apr 10, 2025
From France to Mali, a deportee's struggle far from home
Hundreds of foreign nationals previously protected because they grew up in France now face expulsion under legislation introduced last year.
Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa, who Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has appointed Japan's tariff negotiator, is one of his closest allies and busiest ministers.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 9, 2025
Who is Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's tariffs negotiator?
The man tasked with convincing the U.S. drop its tariffs on Japanese goods is one of the prime minister's closest allies and busiest ministers.
Toyota is considering transferring some production in the key Tokai region, which is expected to be hit hard in a Nankai Trough earthquake, to the Tohoku and Kyushu regions.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Apr 8, 2025
Japanese makers rush to mitigate possible Nankai Trough earthquake damage
The government is calling on manufacturers to diversify their production bases and suppliers to mitigate the risks.
A television station broadcasts U.S. President Donald Trump speaking during a Rose Garden event, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Apr 8, 2025
Frustrated world leaders wonder if Trump even wants a deal
U.S. President Donald Trump has set a high bar, telling reporters that any agreements would need to eliminate bilateral trade deficits.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte speaks during a news conference at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels last week.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 7, 2025
With focus on ‘projecting power,’ NATO eyes greater Indo-Pacific role
NATO chief Mark Rutte expects the alliance to ramp up its engagement in the strategically important region as threats become increasingly interconnected.
Soybeans are harvested near Stuttgart, Arkansas in October 2023.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 6, 2025
'Anxious' U.S. farmers see tariffs as threatening earnings
U.S. farmers hoping for a profit this year instead find themselves facing lower crop prices — and the prospect of ceding more ground in foreign markets.
U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order during a tariff announcement in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Wednesday. Trump's tariff policies are the centerpiece of his effort to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. and reshape a world trade system he has long decried as unfair.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 6, 2025
Trump promised a manufacturing boom. Industries are not so sure.
Some question the tariffs' underlying logic, saying that supply chain issues, high costs and other obstacles stand may in the way.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average after the close of trading on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange after the closing bell on Friday.
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Apr 5, 2025
Recession trade engulfs Wall Street on tariff fight
Traders are pricing in what increasingly looks like a negative-feedback loop as Trump indicates he’s not going to back down.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Wednesday. The return of scandal-tainted Liberal Democratic Party members could make life tougher for Ishiba within the party.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 3, 2025
Ishiba to face more political headaches with return of scandal-hit LDP members
For an already-unpopular administration, the return of party members implicated in a slush funds scandal will create further political headaches.
Japanese cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama. The United States will start collecting new 25% import duties on cars and car parts from Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 2, 2025
Japan has some cards to play in trade war with the United States 
It could offer voluntary restraints on exports, or it could offer to buy more from the U.S. in order to reduce the trade surplus with that country.
Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar gather at a compound inside KK Park, a fraud center on the country's border with Thailand, after a multinational crackdown in February.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Apr 2, 2025
A new human trafficking trend emerges from Myanmar scam centers
Syndicates are increasingly targeting middle- to upper-class individuals from across the world through something as harmless as online video games.
Lawyer Akira Takeuchi (center), the head of a third-party panel commissioned by Fuji TV to investigate a series of scandals at the broadcaster, fields questions along with other panel members at a news conference on Monday in Tokyo's Minato Ward.
JAPAN / Media / FOCUS
Apr 1, 2025
What the Fuji TV third-party probe uncovered
The panel concluded that TV personality Masahiro Nakai committed "sexual violence" against a female newscaster and that there is a culture of harassment at the broadcaster.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 1, 2025
No rest for weary Ishiba as challenges await in parliament
After finally securing passage of the country's budget earlier this week, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba now faces an uphill battle to win back the public's trust.
Myanmar's military chief, Min Aung Hlaing (center), arrives to meet earthquake survivors gathered on the compound of a hospital in Naypyitaw on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 1, 2025
Deadly quake gives junta a chance to tighten hold over Myanmar
Even as the damage of Friday’s quake was still being assessed, pro-democracy rebel groups reported fresh airstrikes in areas close to the epicenter.
Tokyo hit by torrential rainfall at rush hour
People line up at Shibuya Station in Tokyo as they try to avoid the heavy rain on Thursday.
Foreign drivers in Japan to face tougher license conversion rules from October
According to the National Police Agency, there were 75,905 people who converted their foreign driver’s license to a Japanese one in 2024, up from 48,885 in 2019.
Chinese fighters came within 30 meters of Japanese spy aircraft, Tokyo says
A Chinese JH-7 fighter jet makes an near an Air Self-Defense Force YS-11EB surveillance aircraft over the East China Sea this week in this image released Thursday.
Air India crash report to offer peek into last seconds
Members of the Indian Army's engineering arm prepare to remove the wreckage of an Air India aircraft in Ahmedabad on June 14.
What Japanese politics could look like after Upper House election
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (center) waves to attendees as he departs after delivering a campaign speech in Yokohama on Sunday.
New IG Arena set to dial down temperature at Nagoya Basho, in a good way
With IG Arena getting glowing early reviews as the Nagoya Basho’s replacement venue, it may be a while before fans wax nostalgic about the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.
Once a niche, anime is now mainstream content for Netflix and other streaming services
Though Netflix remains the dominant choice globally for anime viewers, Amazon Prime Video has also invested heavily in anime, steadily adding titles to their catalogue.
NGOs condemn rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric ahead of Upper House vote
Sanseito head Sohei Kamiya holds a board that reads "Japanese First" in Tokyo on July 2. In a joint statement on Tuesday, eight human rights nongovernmental organizations described the far-right party's stance as "hate speech."
Japanese dancers find a home abroad at Houston Ballet
“Giselle” lead Yuriko Kajiya (center), performing with Connor Walsh as Albrecht, is one of six Japanese dancers at Houston Ballet.
From the Abes to the Ohtanis: How siblings shape athletic development
Olympic judoka Uta Abe (second from left) and Hifumi Abe (second from right) with their brother Yuichiro (center) and their parents. “I’m always consciously trying to be a good older brother,” Yuichiro said.

Podcast

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

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
By Alex K.T. Martin

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