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U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen arrives to attend a meeting with university students at Beijing University National School on <i>Sunday</i>.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 8, 2024

Yellen advances U.S.-China ties despite tough criticism on exports

Yellen’s tough message hasn’t hurt progress made between the two sides.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda listens to a question during a news conference after a two-day monetary policy meeting at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo on March 19.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 8, 2024

Ueda's first year as BOJ chief marked by smooth handling of policy shift

But the central bank governor now has to balance various factors, including how further rate hikes might affect not just the yen but also households.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps speak during a news conference following an AUKUS defense ministerial meeting in Mountain View, California, last December.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 9, 2024

U.S., U.K. and Australia consider working with Japan on AUKUS security pact

The three countries said they were weighing inviting Tokyo to join the pact’s second stage, with talks with Japan and others set to begin this year.
Palestinian forensic and civil defense workers recover human remains at the grounds of Shifa hospital, Gaza's largest hospital, which was reduced to rubble by a two-week Israeli raid, on Monday.
WORLD
Apr 10, 2024

Families face 'unbearable' scenes to identify the dead at Shifa hospital

Gaza's largest hospital was reduced to rubble by a two-week Israeli raid. "The stench of death is everywhere," an emergency worker said.
U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron
WORLD / Politics
Apr 10, 2024

Cameron lobbies old adversary Trump to unlock Ukraine aid

Despite sparring in the past, the U.K.'s foreign secretary sees the former U.S. president as key to giving Ukraine more funding.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. The central bank will probably discuss revising up its projection for growth in consumer prices for the current fiscal year, sources said.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 10, 2024

BOJ said to mull raising inflation view on strong pay deals

Rising oil prices and the weak yen are spurring inflationary pressure that could fuel speculation of earlier moves by the BOJ.
Koichi Wakata holds his final news conference as a JAXA astronaut in Tokyo on March 29.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 10, 2024

Former ISS commander and astronaut Koichi Wakata joins U.S. space firm

Wakata, 60, left the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency at the end of March after staying in space for 504 days.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House in Washington on Wednesday
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 11, 2024

Biden and Kishida herald 'new era' for U.S.-Japan alliance

The leaders unveiled a historic upgrade of defense ties as they look to beef up Tokyo’s role in countering China’s growing assertiveness.
U.S. Steel's Edgar Thomson steel mill in Braddock, Pennsylvania
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 11, 2024

How the U.S. Steel takeover became about Biden and swing states

The turmoil threatens to strain U.S. relations with Japan while underscoring how the politics of winning swing-state voters influences business.
A branch of the Fast Retailing clothing brand Uniqlo in Tokyo
BUSINESS
Apr 12, 2024

Uniqlo operator upbeat on Europe and North America after Q2 profit miss

Fast Retailing left its full-year operating profit forecast unchanged at ¥450 billion.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike in Tokyo on April 1
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 12, 2024

Tokyo Gov. Koike denies claim she falsified academic credentials

The governor denied allegations published in a monthly magazine that she drafted a fake graduation document from Cairo University.
A family leaves the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping mall in Sydney after a stabbing incident on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Apr 13, 2024

Sydney knife attacker shot dead after killing six in Bondi mall

The assailant was shot by a police officer after he engaged with nine people in a busy shopping mall.
As of April 4, the bird flu virus had been confirmed in more than a dozen herds across six U.S. states, with Kansas, Idaho, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio and Texas all reporting infected cows.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 17, 2024

Bird flu in cows demands vigilance, not panic

Bird flu had been confirmed in herds across six U.S. states, with Kansas, Idaho, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio and Texas all reporting infected cows.
A reported strike against Iran by Israel on Friday came against the backdrop of Iran's support for the Palestinian Hamas militant group, whose assault into Israel on Oct. 7 triggered Israel's invasion of Gaza.
WORLD
Apr 19, 2024

Tehran signals no retaliation against Israel after drones attack Iran

Iran's response appeared to be gauged toward averting a region-wide war.
Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa poses for photos during a news conference ahead of the London Marathon on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Apr 19, 2024

Tigst Assefa ready to chase women's record at London Marathon

The 27-year-old Ethiopian smashed the world record when completing the Berlin Marathon in 2 hours, 11 minutes and 53 seconds.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks at a news conference in Washington on Thursday alongside Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 19, 2024

BOJ's Ueda signals possible rate hike if weak yen boosts inflation

The BOJ will scrutinize how the yen's declines so far this year could affect the economy and prices, Ueda said.
CDP head Kenta Izumi speaks to reporters in Tokyo on April 13.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 19, 2024

Kishida and Izumi to campaign in must-win Shimane as by-election looms

For Kishida and the LDP, the Shimane race is a must-win contest, while the opposition is looking to gain ground in a ruling party stronghold.
Contact was lost with the two SH-60K helicopters, each carrying four crew, in an area east of Torishima in the Izu Island chain during anti-submarine warfare training Saturday night.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2024

At least one dead, seven missing after two MSDF helicopters crash off Izu Islands

The two aircraft were believed to have collided during a nighttime training anti-submarine drill, Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addresses a joint session of the U.S. Congress in Washington on April 11.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 21, 2024

Kishida must wish he’d stayed in Washington

At home, Kishida’s polling numbers near record lows, he faces never-ending political scandals and a public that is weary of him.
A street floods earlier this month in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, China. A 12-hour stretch of heavy rain, starting from 8 p.m. Saturday, battered the central and northern parts of nearby Guangdong province.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 21, 2024

Massive river flooding expected in China's Guangdong, threatening millions

Guangdong officials urged departments in all localities and municipalities to begin emergency planning to avert natural disasters.
Many U.S. lawmakers from both the Republican and Democratic parties and the Biden administration say TikTok poses national security risks because China could compel the company to share the data of its 170 million U.S. users.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 22, 2024

TikTok braces for U.S. divest-or-ban law — and a fresh legal fight

The legislation has been fast-tracked and tied to a crucial aid package for Ukraine and Israel, which the Senate is set to vote on in the coming days.
Chinese swimmer Zhang Yufei poses with her gold medal after winning the women's 200-meter butterfly during the Tokyo Games.
OLYMPICS
Apr 22, 2024

Chinese doping case sends swimming world into uproar and exposes bitter rifts

The disclosure of an incident that had been a secret for more than three years has drawn strong reactions from athletes, coaches and others.
Shohei Ohtani has been appointed as the new technology ambassador for Rapsodo, the company announced Monday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 22, 2024

Shohei Ohtani signs deal with sports technology company Rapsodo

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani has signed a deal to become the technology ambassador for Rapsodo, the company announced on Monday.
Missiles are launched during a simulated nuclear counterattack drill at an undisclosed location in North Korea in this image released Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 23, 2024

North Korea holds first 'nuclear trigger' drills as U.S. and South set for cost-sharing talks

Pyongyang said the exercises, which came ahead of U.S.-South Korea talks on cost-sharing for hosting troops, were “a clear warning” to the North's enemies.
Migrants travel in an inflatable boat across the English Channel, bound for Dover on the south coast of England.
WORLD / Society
Apr 24, 2024

U.K. Rwanda law sparks fear among migrants hoping to cross Channel

At least 15 people have died trying to cross this year so far, already more than in all of 2023.
The yen’s slide has pushed up import bills in Japan, keeping domestic consumer spending tepid, with analysts saying any gains in real wages may evaporate if the yen depreciates further.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 24, 2024

Investors loved weak yen boosting shares until it went too far

Concern is growing that the currency is becoming a liability for Japan’s economy and stocks.
Kenji Imata, mayor of Togo, Aichi Prefecture, speaks during a news conference in the town on Thursday after a third-party committee found he had continuously engaged in "power harassment" and sexual harassment against several town employees.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2024

Two town mayors in central Japan resign over harassment scandals

Kenji Imata of Togo, Aichi Prefecture, and Kazuo Okazaki of Ikeda, Gifu Prefecture, have stepped down.
Twenty-three Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned substance before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 26, 2024

WADA asks 'independent prosecutor' to examine its handling of China case

The United States Anti-Doping Agency branded WADA's announcement of an independent investigation "self-serving."
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and French President Emmanuel Macron deliver a joint statement in Paris in January 2023.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2024

Kishida to visit France, Brazil and Paraguay starting next week

In Paris on Thursday, Kishida plans to give a keynote speech at a ministerial council meeting of the OECD and meet with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Ukrainian guards patrol a stretch of land on the border with Romania. New guidance carries a clear message to Ukrainian men abroad who may be avoiding the draft: You don’t get the benefit of state services if you don’t join the fight.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 27, 2024

Ukraine is denying consular services to men outside the country

The drive to bring fighting-age men back to Ukraine, or keep them from leaving, is part of a broader effort to enlist new soldiers urgently.

Longform

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