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US

Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (left) and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio meet at the U.S. State Department in Washington on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 2, 2025
Rubio urges Japan to beef up defenses, but leaves out spending target
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said that no specific spending figure was broached in talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 2, 2025
Trump hammers away at Japan for a third day, threatening 35% duties 
The U.S. president said he might simply end negotiations and set a tariff rate for Japanese products.
Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (left), Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong (second from left), Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (second from right) and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stand together at the start of a meeting of "the Quad" at the U.S. State Department in Washington on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 2, 2025
‘Quad’ nations announce critical minerals initiative amid China concerns
A joint statement was carefully crafted not to directly mention China, but the four Indo-Pacific countries made clear a goal of reducing dependence on Beijing.
A Self-Defense Forces tank unit takes part in parade at Camp Asaka, near Tokyo, in October 2018. The percentage of GDP spent on defense is a politically convenient but flawed metric that oversimplifies the complex realities of alliance management.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 2, 2025
In the Trump era, how much should countries really be spending on defense?
In truth, the “percentage of GDP” approach is a political one, not a practical one
A 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander at the Chicago Auto Show in 2023. Last month, Toyota sold 11,577 Grand Highlander SUVs, which its head of brand sales in the U.S. said was the "fastest-turning product in the lineup.”
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 2, 2025
Toyota delays EV plans to boost gas-fueled SUV output
The postponement comes amid softening demand for EVs in the U.S.
A damaged flat in a multistory residential building after a Russian drone attack in Odesa, Ukraine, on June 28.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 2, 2025
U.S. halting some shipments of military aid to Ukraine
The curtailment of military aid signals a possible shift in U.S. President Donald Trump's priorities.
The Federal Trade Commission has opened an in-depth investigation of SoftBank Group's acquisition of semiconductor designer Ampere Computing.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 2, 2025
SoftBank’s Ampere deal now faces a more in-depth review by FTC
SoftBank’s acquisition of semiconductor designer Ampere Computing is facing a potentially lengthy probe by the U.S. government.
A satellite image provided by NOAA shows Tropical Storm Florence (upper left) in the Atlantic Ocean on Sept. 11, 2018.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 2, 2025
NOAA budget cuts to gut U.S. climate research and slash jobs
Critics say the reductions will diminish the ability to predict weather and erode the quality of weather models.
The remains of an Iranian missile launched during the 12-day Israel-Iran war lie on a road near Tekoa in the occupied West Bank on Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 2, 2025
Nuclear proliferation cannot just be bombed away
The most powerful deterrent for any state is possession of nuclear weapons or membership in an alliance that offers a nuclear umbrella (like NATO).
Rep. Jim McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts and ranking member of the House Rules Committee (center left) speaks during a hearing in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 2, 2025
Trump tax bill hits Republican resistance in House ahead of vote
Trump, the GOP’s most forceful whip, quickly turned his attention from the Senate to the House, putting public pressure on Republicans to back the bill.
The Iranian shores and the island of Qeshm are seen in the Strait of Hormuz on Dec. 10, 2023. Two U.S. officials said Tehran was gearing up to blockade the strait following Israel's strikes on sites across Iran last month.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 2, 2025
Iran made preparations to deploy mines in Strait of Hormuz, U.S. sources say
About one-fifth of global oil and gas shipments pass through the strait, and a blockage would likely have spiked world energy prices.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 2, 2025
Trump doubles down on Japan again by threatening 35% tariff
Japan is currently subject to 25% auto tariffs and a 50% tariff on steel and aluminum, as well as a 10% reciprocal tariff that could return to 24% if no deal is struck by July 9.
According to the welfare ministry, the number of hibakusha survivors of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki almost 80 years ago has fallen below 100,000 for the first time.
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2025
Number of hibakusha atomic bomb survivors falls below 100,000
According to the welfare ministry, the number of hibakusha with victim certificates stood at 99,130 as of the end of March, down by 7,695 from a year before.
The Bank of Japan's latest <i>tankan</i> survey beat consensus forecasts as the economy held up better than expected.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 1, 2025
Large Japanese companies surprisingly optimistic as U.S. tariffs bite 
In the tankan survey, automakers and smaller companies were relatively pessimistic.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s chief tariff negotiator, leaves for Washington on Thursday for his seventh round of trade talks with the United States.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 1, 2025
Japan-U.S. trade negotiations stall as Trump fumes 
The two sides remain far apart, and no new talks are scheduled.
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons hopes the online memorial will "spur action for the total abolition of nuclear weapons."
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2025
Anti-nuclear group creates online memorial for children who died in atomic bombings
The online memorial features more than 400 profiles with details of the children's lives.
A malnourished child reacts while a health care worker takes his vitals at Tudun Gambo Primary Health Care Center, Tudun Gambo, Nigeria, in May. Programs funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development are estimated to have helped prevent more than 91 million deaths over the past two decades, including 30 million among children.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 1, 2025
Trump’s plan for USAID cuts risks 14 million additional deaths, study warns
Researchers project 1.8 million excess deaths in 2025 alone if the cuts continue.
Hackers linked to Iran who go by the pseudonym Robert said they had roughly 100 gigabytes of emails from the accounts of U.S. White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, among others.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 1, 2025
Iran-linked hackers threaten to release more emails from Trump's circle
The hackers raised the possibility of selling the material but otherwise did not provide details of their plans.
A wind turbine at CS Wind in Pueblo, Colorado, in 2023
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 1, 2025
Solar and wind industries see existential threat in U.S. tax bill
The moves by the Senate, as it seeks to cut spending to offset trillions of dollars in tax cuts, "came out of left field” and shocked the industry.
A crop field in Oxnard, California, on June 18
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 1, 2025
Immigration raids leave crops unharvested and California farms at risk
In the vast agricultural lands north of Los Angeles, farmers and field supervisors have said that ICE raids have led a majority of workers to stop showing up.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes