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March 01, 2025
 

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FOCUS

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Vice President JD Vance looks on in the Oval Office of the White House on Friday in Washington.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 1, 2025
How Trump and Zelenskyy’s Oval Office skirmish broke a deal
An account of a remarkable and heated Oval Office exchange that seems certain to color the course of world history for decades to come.
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan head Yoshihiko Noda speaks at the party's convention in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 26, 2025
Is time running out for CDP in budget talks with the ruling coalition?
Concerns have emerged that the main opposition party might have lost its bargaining chip after Nippon Ishin no Kai clinched a deal with the minority government.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at a news conference following the Group of 20 foreign ministers' meeting in Johannesburg on Feb. 20
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 26, 2025
Japan's soft power may hold key to African development as U.S. cuts aid
Businesses linked to Japanese food and anime, for example, may play an important role in investments to Africa from Japan.
Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attends the hearing of his impeachment trial over his short-lived imposition of martial law, at the Constitutional Court in Seoul on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 25, 2025
What happens next in South Korea as Yoon's impeachment trial wraps up?
Ousted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial is set to wrap up Tuesday.
Daiwa Securities has stationed "inheritance consultants" at its headquarters and all branch offices to advise clients on inheritance tax planning and the importance of having a will.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Feb 25, 2025
Japan's traditional brokers shift focus to inheritance business
As the population ages, a growing number of individuals are concerned about end-of-life planning.
Goods are transported through a business district in Dongguan, in China’s southern Guangdong province.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Feb 24, 2025
Trump tariffs shake up China's factory heartland
The U.S. president has targeted friend and foe alike since taking office a month ago, notably slapping additional 10% duties on products imported from China.
People visit the graves of relatives who were killed during Russia's attack on Ukraine, during a large-scale light installation Lights of Memory, as they mark the third anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion, at the Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 24, 2025
Ukraine hemmed in as U.S. backing frays three years after Russian invasion
Thousands of Ukrainian citizens have died and over 6 million live as refugees abroad since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion by land, sea and air.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba replies to a question from Nippon Ishin no Kai co-leader Seiji Maehara at a Lower House Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Feb. 17.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 23, 2025
Party heads' love of trains could keep budget talks from derailing
The leaders of Nippon Ishin no Kai and Komeito both share Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's passion for locomotives.
People demonstrate in support of Ukraine ahead of the third anniversary of the war with Russia, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 23, 2025
Trump shakes transatlantic alliance with Russia pivot
Fears are growing in European capitals that the bond forged from the ruins of World War II is on the verge of collapse.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in parliament on Friday
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 21, 2025
LDP and opposition lock horns over Japan budget
Mindful of how much the ruling coalition needs their support, Nippon Ishin no Kai and the Democratic Party for the People are digging their heels in.
An example of utilizing waterfront spaces, such as developing public waterfront embarkments and privately owned roads into a unified plaza, and operating moored ships as hotels. The land ministry views this as a reference case for a public-private partnerships system. The photo was taken in December, in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 20, 2025
Private funds tapped for revitalization of Japan's port green areas
Many local governments across the nation are inviting businesses to boost the appeal of port areas by developing commercial facilities and cafes.
The city government of Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, used corporate donations to create a volunteer tour, during which participants help farmers harvest apples and enjoy sightseeing in the city.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 20, 2025
Corporate hometown donations gain traction in Japan
Some local governments have been found to provide de facto rewards to donor companies, violating the system's rules and raising concerns about improper practices.
A gasoline blend containing bioethanol is sold at a gas station in Illinois in December. The United States and Brazil are keen to expand exports of bioethanol to Japan.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 19, 2025
With 2050 net-zero goal on horizon, momentum builds for biofuel in Japan
Experts hope the increasing push for use of biofuels in gasoline-powered vehicles may help shift public awareness on environmental issues.
Former digital minister Taro Kono has long counted reform of social security and pensions among his pet policies.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 17, 2025
It’s time to get serious on the pension system, ex-digital minister says
The pension study group offers Taro Kono an opportunity to tentatively step back into the limelight after an unusually quiet period.
An F-35B stealth fighter jet loaded in the hangar of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Kaga destroyer
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 17, 2025
SDF's biggest ships are being converted into de facto aircraft carriers
The Izumo and Kaga, each about 248 meters in length and 38 meters in width, are the largest vessels in the MSDF.
Steelworks of South Korea's largest steelmaker POSCO are seen over a residential area in Pohang on Feb. 13. Smoke billows from chimneys as factories churn in South Korea's steelmaking heartland, now under threat from Washington's new tariffs on the port city's largest export.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Feb 16, 2025
Trump tariffs loom large in South Korea's 'steel city'
South Korea was the fourth largest exporter of the metal to the United States last year, accounting for 13% of its total steel imports.
The top lid of a tank at the "J9" area is removed at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings' Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, on Friday.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 15, 2025
Tepco takes on challenge of making space for Fukushima nuclear debris
Workers at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant have started dismantling water storage tanks to free up space for tons of nuclear debris.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during family photo session with other leaders and attendees at the Group of 20 summit in the city of Osaka in June 2019.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 15, 2025
Saudis spearhead Arab scramble for alternative to Trump's Gaza plan
Draft ideas will be discussed at a meeting in Riyadh this month of countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has a video conference with the Sevastopol governor in Moscow on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 15, 2025
Putin assembles team of heavyweights to negotiate Ukraine deal
U.S. President Donald Trump’s team by contrast lacks the same depth of background on Ukraine and has little experience negotiating directly with Russia.
Ukrainian soldiers from the Shkval Special Forces Assault Battalion during training exercises in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine on Thursday
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 15, 2025
Trump team makes confused start to Ukraine diplomacy
This was a disorienting week for those anxious over how the new Trump administration will fulfill Donald Trump's vow to end the Ukraine war.
Standoff in the skies: Witnessing an unsafe intercept over the South China Sea
A Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy helicopter is seen from aboard a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) aircraft in the skies above Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on Feb. 18.
Six-time Olympic gold medalist and WNBA great Diana Taurasi retires
Diana Taurasi celebrates after winning her sixth Olympic gold medal with Team USA at the Paris Olympics on Aug. 11, 2024,
Itochu drops Seven & I buyout, putting Couche-Tard back in limelight
Itochu dropping its Seven & I Holdings buyout plan would place Alimentation Couche-Tard’s offer back in the limelight.
Prince Hisahito's coming-of-age ceremony set for Sept. 6
Prince Hisahito in the city of Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture, on Feb. 12
Japan records fewest births on record, deepening demographic crisis
The number of newborns in 2024 fell 5% from the previous year to 720,988, extending a nine-year streak of declines, according to preliminary population data released Thursday by the health ministry.
Nils Nielsen's vision for Nadeshiko Japan comes to life at SheBelieves Cup
Nadeshiko Japan celebrates after winning the SheBelieves Cup in San Diego on Wednesday.
Famed artist Takashi Murakami partners with MLB for Tokyo Series
A model wears items that are part of Takashi Murakami's collaboration with MLB.
Oscar-nominated documentaries put Japan under the microscope
Journalist and filmmaker Shiori Ito made the documentary “Black Box Diaries” about her years-long battle to find justice following her sexual assault.
Jose Ando's rapid rise from first pages to the Akutagawa Prize
Jose Ando purposefully wrote his Akutagawa Prize-winning novel “Dtopia” to be accessible to an audience beyond Japan and to spark conversations about race, gender and the effects of modern entertainment.
Standoff in the skies: Witnessing an unsafe intercept over the South China Sea
A Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy helicopter is seen from aboard a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) aircraft in the skies above Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on Feb. 18.

Podcast

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

Longform

The building of new high-rise residential buildings has some alarmed that they could empty and fall into disrepair as Japan's population shrinks.
The high cost of letting Japan's condos crumble
By Tomoko Otake

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