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Michael D. Shear
Attendees wave the U.S. flag after Vice President Kamala Harris spoke on the last day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 23, 2024
Democrats taste victory in November. But are they too confident?
In a series of speeches during the party's convention, several people issued stern warnings for anyone believing the happy talk that November's election will be easy.
U.S. President Joe Biden walks to board Marine One at Hagerstown Regional Airport, in Hagerstown, Maryland, on June 20.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 22, 2024
Inside the weekend when Biden decided to withdraw
U.S. President Joe Biden did not tell most of his staff until a minute before making his announcement to the world on social media on Sunday.
U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama attend a campaign fundraiser at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on June 15.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 20, 2024
Secluded at beach house, Biden stews at allies’ pressure to drop out
He considers former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as the main instigator but is irritated at ex-President Barack Obama, seeing him as a puppet master behind the scenes.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a news conference at the NATO Summit in Washington on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 12, 2024
At high-stakes news conference, Biden vows to ‘finish the job’
The U.S. president conceded for the first time that polls show "other people can beat Mr. Trump in the fall” but added that, "it’s hard to start from scratch.”
President Joe Biden boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Tuesday, en route to Paris for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion in France.
WORLD
Jun 5, 2024
Traveling to Europe, Biden will find both solidarity and isolation
Critics of Biden said he has no one to blame for his diplomatic challenges in Europe but himself for an inconsistent approach to international crises.
A protest for the return of the hostages on a main street in Tel Aviv on Saturday. The Biden administration has advised Israel to delay a ground invasion of Gaza, hoping to buy time for hostage negotiations and to allow more humanitarian aid to reach Palestinians in the sealed-off enclave, according to several U.S. officials.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 23, 2023
U.S. advises Israel to delay Gaza invasion, officials say
The U.S. has suggested that more time is needed for hostage negotiations, the delivery of aid and mapping out ways to avoid more civilian casualties.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 22, 2023
Biden has held the fewest news conferences since Reagan. Any questions?
As the U.S. president prepares to announce his bid for a second term as soon as Tuesday, his decision to keep the news media at arm’s length is part of a deliberate strategy.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 15, 2023
Biden issues executive order to strengthen background checks for guns
The visit is Biden’s latest attempt to express his horror over the continued loss of life and to demonstrate his administration’s effort to reduce the chance of another mass shooting.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 30, 2022
A more muscular NATO emerges as West confronts Russia and China
The approach marks a fundamental shift for an alliance that was born in the Cold War but came to view a post-Soviet Russia as a potential ally, and did not focus on China at all.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 29, 2022
Gun massacres test whether Washington can move beyond paralysis
Emerging details of the massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, suggest that few of the proposals under discussion would have made much of a difference.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Mar 27, 2022
Biden’s barbed remark about Putin: A slip or a veiled threat?
Biden's aides quickly insisted that the remark — delivered in front of a castle that served for centuries as a home for Polish monarchs — was not intended as an appeal for regime change.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 27, 2022
In a fiery speech rallying allies, Biden denounces Putin and seemingly calls for his ouster
Ending a diplomatic trip with a speech in Warsaw, Biden described the Russian invasion of Ukraine as the 'test of all time” in the struggle between democracy and autocracy.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 24, 2022
Biden’s pandemic fight: Inside the setbacks of the first year
The administration has gotten much right, but its response has been hampered by confusing messaging, a lack of focus on testing, fear of political blowback and the virus' unpredictability.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 15, 2021
Beneath Biden’s folksy demeanor, a short fuse and an obsession with details
As Biden settles into the office he has chased for more than three decades, aides say he demands hours of debate from scores of policy experts.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 21, 2021
From day one, Biden moves to undo Trump’s legacy
Biden took a series of executive actions on issues including immigration and criminal justice. He also moved to rejoin the Paris climate accord.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 4, 2021
Trump, in taped call, pressured Georgia official to ‘find’ votes to overturn election
The president vaguely warned of a “criminal offense” as he pressured Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in the call, according to an audio recording.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 16, 2020
Trump, trying to cling to power, fans unrest and conspiracies
More than a week after President-elect Joe Biden was declared the winner, Trump continues to block his successor's transition.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 7, 2020
Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows has COVID-19
Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff who abided by U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to play down the coronavirus throughout the summer, has contracted the virus himself, a senior administration official said Friday night.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 4, 2020
With Trump still in charge until at least January, virus experts fear the worst
Trump has largely shuttered the White House task force and doubled down on anti-science language, telling voters that the U.S. is 'rounding the corner” in the pandemic.

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Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?