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The defense chiefs of “the Squad” grouping, which brings together Japan, Australia, the U.S. and the Philippines, meet Saturday in Singapore for talks on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue regional security summit.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 31, 2025
‘Squad’ defense chiefs meet with eye on countering China
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the grouping the most “strategically positioned to manifest deterrence" amid “an unprecedented military buildup by China.”
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 31, 2025
Hegseth warns of Chinese threat to Taiwan, urging allies to upgrade defenses
In a speech to regional defense officials, U.S. defense chief Pete Hegseth also sought to ease concerns among those skeptical of America’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific.
Elon Musk boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland in March. As Musk became one of Donald Trump's closest allies last year, he was also using drugs far more intensely than previously known, according to people familiar with his activities.
WORLD / Politics
May 31, 2025
On the Trump campaign trail, Elon Musk juggled drugs and family drama
Musk’s drug consumption went well beyond occasional use and also came as he dealt with personal drama related to his growing number of children.
Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump during a news conference at the White House on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
May 31, 2025
Musk vows to stay Trump's 'friend' in bizarre black-eyed farewell
As the world's richest person bowed out of his role, Trump hailed Musk's "incredible service" and handed him a golden key to the White House.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani delivers an address at the Shangri-La Dialogue conference in Singapore on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 31, 2025
Nakatani urges closer defense tie-ups amid erosion of rules-based order
Without directly naming China, the Japanese defense chief had strong words for Beijing and its moves in the South China Sea and near Taiwan.
The Bayan Obo mine containing rare earth minerals, in Inner Mongolia, China.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 31, 2025
Carmakers warn China's rare-earth curbs could halt production
Auto executives are sounding the alarm on an impending shortage of rare-earth magnets from China that could force the closure of factories within weeks.
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline along the Dalton Highway near Stevens Village, Alaska
ASIA PACIFIC
May 31, 2025
Trump officials set for talks with Asia leaders on Alaska energy
Foreign officials from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, India and the United Arab Emirates are expected to be included in the talks.
U.S. President Donald Trump at the U.S. Steel Corporation Irvin Works facility in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, on Friday
BUSINESS / Companies
May 31, 2025
Trump to hike steel tariffs to 50% to aid Nippon-U.S. Steel
The U.S. president said the move would help protect American steelworkers during a visit to a United States Steel plant on Friday.
French President Emmanuel Macron gives the keynote address of the Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 30, 2025
Macron calls for Europe and Asia to unite and resist ‘spheres of coercion’
The French president used a keynote speech at Asia’s top regional security conference to call on European and Indo-Pacific nations to avoid picking sides between China and the U.S.
A concept model of the Global Combat Air Program's fighter jet during an exhibition at Makuhari Messe in Chiba on May 21
JAPAN
May 30, 2025
Japan frets over fighter rollout target and weighs stopgap options, sources say
The joint Global Combat Air Program is falling behind schedule due to a lack of urgency from Britain and Italy, one of the sources said.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, is in Washington again for a fourth round of high-level negotiations with the United States.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 30, 2025
Tariff talks with U.S. a mix of slow progress, ever-present uncertainty 
Japan's chief negotiator is back in Washington for another round of high-level negotiations.
Mako Komuro (right), the eldest daughter of Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, left the Imperial Family after marrying Kei Komuro, a former schoolmate at International Christian University in Tokyo, in October 2021.
JAPAN
May 30, 2025
Former Japanese princess Mako gives birth to first child
Mako, 33, left the Imperial Family after marrying Kei Komuro, 33, a former schoolmate at International Christian University in Tokyo, in October 2021.
The Taiwanese military conducts its first High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) live-fire test launch at the Jiupeng base in Pingtung, Taiwan, on May 12.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 30, 2025
Trump aims to exceed first term's weapons sales to Taiwan, officials say
If U.S. arms sales to Taiwan do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump's commitment to the island.
Nomura is in expansion mode in U.S. markets despite wider sentiments that are more worried about U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policies overshadowing global growth prospects.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 30, 2025
Nomura sees great opportunities to grow in U.S. despite turmoil
The firm plans to advance targets for its investment management and wholesale banking businesses by pursuing long-term growth in the Americas.
Pipelines at Jera's thermal power station in Futtsu, Chiba Prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies
May 30, 2025
Japan’s top LNG importer will explore buying from Alaska
Jera, which is also the nation’s largest power producer, inked the nonbinding pact ahead of a summit in the U.S. state next week.
The Trump administration's escalating campaign against Harvard — cutting billions in funding, blocking foreign students, and threatening its independence — marks an unprecedented attack on U.S. higher education.
EDITORIALS
May 30, 2025
U.S. soft power is a casualty in Trump’s war on Harvard
The fight against Harvard will do extensive and potentially irreparable injury. It is an extraordinary act of self-harm.
The United Nations is preparing to cut about 6,900 jobs, according to an internal memo.
WORLD
May 30, 2025
U.N. eyes budget and job cuts for 2026 as U.S. scales back aid
The U.N. Secretariat is preparing to cut its $3.7 billion budget by 20% and slash about 6,900 jobs, according to an internal memo.
AI is beginning to suppress white-collar job growth in high-cost, tech-heavy U.S. cities like San Francisco, signaling a potential structural shift in the labor market amid stagnant interstate migration.
COMMENTARY / World
May 30, 2025
The next great job churn is already starting
San Francisco’s sluggish labor market may signal the AI disruptions ahead.
Smoke billows in the Gaza Strip on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
May 30, 2025
U.S. says Israel accepts Gaza ceasefire plan; Hamas cool to it
A senior Hamas official says the plan does not contain commitments to end the war, withdraw Israeli troops or admit aid as the group has demanded.
Nippon Yusen, Japan's biggest shipper, believes there will probably not be another decline in bookings impacted by U.S. tariffs this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 30, 2025
Top Japan shipper sees orders recovering as trade tensions ease
Nippon Yusen saw a robust recovery in container shipping orders following an easing in tensions between the United States and some of its trading partners this month.

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