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February 22, 2025
 

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Steve Holland
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.
Elon Musk, with his son, speaks to reporters alongside U.S. President Donald Trump during an executive order signing in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Tuesday. Musk stated that he was providing maximum transparency, while offering no evidence for his sweeping claims that the federal bureaucracy is corrupted by cheats and officials who have approved money for “fraudsters.”
WORLD / Politics
Feb 12, 2025
Flanked by Musk, Trump orders U.S. agencies to assist with government layoffs
With his 4-year-old son by his side, Musk stood alongside Trump in the Oval Office at the White House before the order was signed.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters while signing a variety of executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on Monday. Trump said on Monday that he could cut aid to Jordan and Egypt if they refused his demand to permanently take in most Palestinians from Gaza, substantially increasing the pressure on key allies in the region to back his audacious proposal to relocate the entire population of the territory in order to redevelop it.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 11, 2025
Trump says Hamas should free all hostages by Saturday or 'let hell break out'
Trump cautioned that Israel might want to override him on the issue and said he might speak to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A Palestinian sits among the rubble of buildings destroyed during an Israeli offensive in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 6, 2025
Trump aides defend Gaza takeover proposal but walk back some elements
Trump shattered decades of U.S. policy with a vaguely worded announcement saying he envisioned transforming Gaza into the "Riviera of the Middle East."
A gas flare on an Iranian oil production platform in 2005
WORLD / Politics
Feb 5, 2025
Trump reimposes 'maximum pressure' on Iran that aims for zero oil exports
Trump said he was open to a deal with Iran and expressed a willingness to talk to the Iranian leader.
Demonstrators protest outside the U.S. Agency for International Development headquarters in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 4, 2025
Elon Musk targets closure of U.S. humanitarian aid agency
The billionaire tasked with downsizing the federal government has been increasingly critical of USAID, calling it a left-wing agency unaccountable to the White House.
U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 1, 2025
Trump says Ishiba will visit him next week
"They’re coming in to speak to me and I’m looking forward to it," the U.S. president told reporters in the Oval Office.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers his farewell address to the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 16, 2025
Biden warns U.S. faces oligarchy as Trump looms over legacy
In a final Oval Office speech, Biden urged Americans to join together but quickly warned about a dangerous concentration of wealth in the U.S.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump gestures as he makes remarks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 8, 2025
Trump will not rule out force to take Panama Canal and Greenland
Donald Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, also floated the idea of turning Canada into a U.S. state.
U.S. President Joe Biden
WORLD
Dec 30, 2024
Biden announces $2.5 billion in fresh military aid to Ukraine
Biden's announcement includes $1.25 billion in military aid drawn from U.S. stockpiles and a $1.22 billion Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative package.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and then-U.S. President Donald Trump attend a welcoming ceremony in Beijing in November 2017.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 13, 2024
Trump inviting China's Xi to inauguration is 'diplomatic theater'
China experts said it was highly unlikely that Chinese President Xi Jinping would come to Washington for the inauguration.
Scott Bessent speaks at a campaign event for Donald Trump in Asheville in North Carolina in August.
WORLD
Nov 23, 2024
Trump taps Scott Bessent for U.S. Treasury
Bessent has advocated for tax reform and deregulation, particularly to spur more bank lending and energy production.
Susie Wiles, Republican Donald Trump's campaign manager, attends a rally in Kinston, North Carolina, on Nov. 3.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 12, 2024
In Susie Wiles, Trump picks quiet competence for chief of staff
The longtime Florida-based Republican strategist's shrewd strategies, low profile, and work ethic are credited with helping Trump stage a stunning political comeback.
Susie Wiles, 67, will be the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff.
WORLD
Nov 8, 2024
Trump picks Susie Wiles as his White House chief of staff
The low-key Wiles, 67, will be the first woman to serve in the post.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Aug. 20 and former U.S. President Donald Trump in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Aug. 15
WORLD / Politics
Nov 4, 2024
Harris makes last-minute appeals while Trump embraces violent rhetoric
Opinion polls show Donald Trump and Kamala Harris locked in a tight presidential race.
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during a campaign rally at the Madison Square Garden in New York on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 28, 2024
Trump headlines New York rally after vulgar, racist remarks from allies
The Republican presidential candidate hoped to use the event at the iconic Madison Square Garden to deliver his closing argument against Democratic rival Kamala Harris.
Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump are seen in a combination of file photographs taken in Chandler, Arizona, on Oct. 10 and in Evans, Georgia, on Oct. 4.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 22, 2024
Harris and Trump pick up the pace two weeks before Election Day
The frenzied campaign schedules of both candidates underlining the importance of small pockets of voters in the U.S. who could put either over the top.
Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz speaks during a debate with Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance in New York on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 2, 2024
Walz and Vance clash at policy-heavy vice presidential debate
The two rivals, who have savaged each other on the campaign trail, struck a cordial tone, instead saving their fire for the candidates at the top of their tickets.
A tugboat passes shipping containers being unloaded and stacked on a pier at Port Newark, New Jersey, in 2021.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 30, 2024
U.S. East Coast port strike set to start on Tuesday, union says
If union members walk off the job, it would be the first coast-wide strike since 1977, affecting ports that handle about half of the U.S.' ocean shipping.
Rescuers work at the site of an apartment building hit by a Russian airstrike in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 27, 2024
Biden announces $8 billion in military aid for Ukraine
The funds will provide Ukraine with additional air defense, unmanned aerial systems and air-to-ground munitions.
Yen advances past ¥150 per dollar as BOJ rate-hike bets ramp up
The Japanese currency climbed as much as 1% to ¥149.95 against the dollar on Thursday, a level it hasn’t touched since Dec. 9.
Japan release of Shiori Ito's documentary in limbo
Shiori Ito, who won a civil suit over a rape case against a TV reporter, in 2018. Her former lawyers claim her documentary includes footage used without the consent of sources.
Record percentage of Japanese firms plan wage hikes, survey shows
Some 61.9% of over 11,000 surveyed companies intend to pledge pay increases as part of annual wage negotiations culminating in March, according to a survey by Teikoku Databank.
Japan’s inflation speeds up, keeping BOJ on rate hike path
A customer visits a store along the Togoshi Ginza shopping street in Tokyo on Jan. 23. Rising fresh food prices contributed to the acceleration in overall inflation in January, as vegetable prices, including cabbage, soared.
Victor Wembanyama expected to miss remainder of regular season with blood clot
Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (right) is expected to miss the rest of the NBA season, the team announced on Thursday.
Japan release of Shiori Ito's documentary in limbo
Shiori Ito, who won a civil suit over a rape case against a TV reporter, in 2018. Her former lawyers claim her documentary includes footage used without the consent of sources.
Abdul Hakim Sani Brown ready to sprint past Paris disappointment
Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (center) runs during a 100-meter heat at the Paris Olympics on Aug. 3, 2024.
What is the ceiling for sumo’s newest yokozuna?
Newly promoted grand champion Hoshoryu (center) performs a dedication ceremony at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo on Jan. 31.
‘Yasuko, Songs of Days Past’ puts overlooked star in the spotlight
“Yasuko, Songs of Days Past” centers on a real-life love triangle between poet Chuya Nakahara (Taisei Kido, left), actor Yasuko Hasegawa (Suzu Hirose, center) and literary critic Hideo Kobayashi (Masaki Okada).
Japan’s English-language education doesn’t pass the test
One-third of elementary school students in Japan do not like learning English, according to a 2021 poll, an 8% rise since 2013. The pressure of taking proficiency tests is eroding children's engagement with studying English and its benefits.

Podcast

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

Longform

Tokyo Koon stands at the forefront of tackling the so-called 2025 issue, also known as the “Magnetic Tape Alert.”
The race to save 20th-century history
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Challenging spirit and teamwork keep ANA flying high
Challenging spirit and teamwork keep ANA flying high

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