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April 11, 2025
 

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COMMENTARY

World

World
Japan
One thing is clear: The era of global interdependence, built on efficiency and mutually beneficial arrangements before U.S. President Donald Trump returned to power, has come to an end.
COMMENTARY / World
Navigating the Trump storm
Trump's second term aims to reshape the global trade system, challenging the current world order with rising tariffs and economic uncertainty.
COMMENTARY / World
A conversation of the deaf after Trump’s tariffs
Trump likes win-win scenarios, but his version is different from those of his trade partners.
COMMENTARY / World
Le Pen ruling unleashes wave of hypocrisy on populist right
Across the globe, far-right populists have gained popularity as protectors of law and order, but Le Pen's conviction in France reveals the shaky foundations of this commitment.
With Trump's tariffs, countries with lower labor costs like China will continue to outcompete the United States and gain stronger footholds in global markets.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 9, 2025
Trump’s tariffs will accelerate America’s economic decline
By Kaushik Basu
Trump’s critics rightly point out that the tariff will raise U.S. car prices, but that is just one of its many drawbacks.
Social engineering scams thrive on poorly monitored social media platforms, and while the UK is pushing tougher laws to hold tech companies accountable, the U.S. resists stricter rules, believing individuals should bear responsibility for avoiding fraud.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 9, 2025
The U.K. is trying to fight social scams. The U.S. not so much.
By Paul J. Davies
Social engineering is one of the hardest parts of the trillion-dollar online scam industry to block or disrupt.
While AI-generated simulations of deceased loved ones may offer comfort, they raise ethical concerns about consent, reality distortion and the human experience of grief.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 9, 2025
AI resurrecting the dead threatens our grasp on reality
By Parmy Olson
Experts warn that AI-driven digital immortality could distort reality and emotional well-being, requiring safeguards against unhealthy dependence.
Wall Street banks, under political pressure and tempted by short-term gains, are abandoning climate commitments and pouring billions into fossil fuels, risking both environmental catastrophe and massive future economic losses.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 7, 2025
Wall Street will regret helping the world burn
By Mark Gongloff
For an industry in the business of money, it sure has a funny way of ensuring its destruction. 
Beards, once symbols of rebellion and counterculture, are making a comeback among elites, reflecting shifting cultural norms even as biases persist in professional settings.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 7, 2025
What does your beard say about you?
By Stephen L. Carter
During the 19th century, the European monarchies associated beards with dangerous radicals. So did the dangerous radicals.
To sustain growth, emerging and developing economies must boost productivity, increase labor-force participation (especially among women) and build stronger social support systems.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 7, 2025
Emerging economies must get rich before they get old
By Anu Madgavkar and Marc Canal Noguer
To sustain growth, emerging economies must boost productivity, increase labor-force participation — especially among women — and build stronger social support systems.
Hong Kong's real estate sector is slumping, putting the government's development plans at risk and signaling a wider economic malaise that may become a spanner in the works of Beijing's plans to transform the territory's economy.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Apr 7, 2025
Will China succeed in remaking Hong Kong in its own image?
By Toru Kurata
Beijing can control Hong Kong politically, but to impose its economic vision on the territory it needs businesses to get on board as these face an economic and real estate plunge.

Takayasu’s latest heartbreak makes sumo history
Takayasu during the one-day Annual Sumo Tournament at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on Feb 9, 2020
Trump's tariff gambit leaves Asia stunned and scrambling
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he attends the National Republican Congressional Committee dinner in Washington on Tuesday. Trump allowed new tariffs — including a 24% levy on Japan — to go into effect as scheduled on Wednesday.
Tokyo cheers Trump’s tariff U-turn with second-biggest market gain ever
U.S. President Donald Trump looks on after signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday in Washington.
Banks freeze withdrawals for foreign nationals upon expiration of visas
Foreign residents who fail to renew their residential statuses before their expiry may find that they won’t be able to withdraw cash from their bank accounts.
Japanese badminton ace Shida blasts 'stalker' Chinese fans
Chiharu Shida of Japan in action during the bronze medal match with Nami Matsuyama against Pearly Tan and Muralitharan Thinaah of Malaysia at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France on Aug. 03, 2024
Takayasu’s latest heartbreak makes sumo history
Takayasu during the one-day Annual Sumo Tournament at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on Feb 9, 2020
Who is Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's tariffs negotiator?
Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa, who Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has appointed Japan's tariff negotiator, is one of his closest allies and busiest ministers.
After a tumultuous buildup, a first look at the Osaka Expo
A large statue of Osaka Expo mascot Myaku Myaku sits near the east entrance of the event's venue in Yumeshima island, Osaka, on Wednesday.
Japan gets a new U.S. ambassador — and he has his work cut out for him
George Glass, U.S. President Donald Trump's pick to be ambassador to Japan, attends a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing in Washington on March 13.
Online art scene eager to go offline, at least for the moment
Digital artist Polygon1993 revels in the physicality of nostalgic technology, making art out of materials such as miniature CDs, holographic prints layered with plexiglass shards and a giant custom-made floppy disk.

Podcast

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

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.
By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)
BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)

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