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Prime Minister Fumio Kishida holds a news conference in Sao Paulo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 5, 2024

Kishida talks up bolstered Latin American ties as China cements position

While the visit may improve ties, observers doubt countries like Brazil will jeopardize relations with Beijing, their most important trading partner.
U.K. Prime Minister Sunak is hearing calls to consider policies including an immigration cap and a withdrawal from the European Court of Human Rights.
WORLD / Politics
May 6, 2024

Tories press Sunak to move to right after local election rout

Sunak's team said they will respond with upcoming media appearances and policy announcements on the economy, migration and healthcare.
Recent losses faced by the Conservative Party in local British elections indicate there are greater challenges ahead for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government in the upcoming national poll.
COMMENTARY
May 6, 2024

Can the Tories rebuild their train wreck of a party?

If you’re a centrist British voter, today’s Conservatives aren’t for you.
Displaced Palestinians who fled Rafah ride atop a car in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2024

Saying cease-fire plan falls short, Israel continues attacks on Rafah

Israel’s war Cabinet unanimously rejected the truce as "far from Israel’s necessary demands,” dashing hopes for an immediate pause in the fighting.
A U.S. Naval Special Warfare Operator fires a Switchblade 300 loitering munition during training exercises in Fallon, Nevada, last July. The U.S. Defense Department plans to use small drones — known in the Pentagon as “all-domain attritable autonomous systems” — to help counter Chinese military systems and tactics.
WORLD
May 7, 2024

Pentagon reveals drone types for Replicator program to counter China

The first tranche will include uncrewed surface vehicles, uncrewed aerial systems and counter-uncrewed aerial systems of various sizes and payloads.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Kaga destroyer has undergone the first stage of modifications to turn it into a de facto aircraft carrier for F-35B stealth fighter jets.
JAPAN / Politics / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
May 13, 2024

MSDF’s Kure base expanding mission as it marks 70th anniversary

The unit has increased its activities not only in national defense, but also in disaster relief operations and overseas missions.
If Donald Trump were to win a second term, his aggressive stance toward China and inclination for protectionist measures could complicate the situation for Southeast Asian nations.
COMMENTARY / World
May 8, 2024

What a second Trump term could mean for Southeast Asia

Donald Trump has made bold promises about U.S.-China policy that, if enacted, would transform the world.
The growing divide between U.S.-led and China-aligned blocs is taking a toll on the global economy as trade and investment flows are redirected along geopolitical lines in ways not seen since the Cold War.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 9, 2024

Cold War-type divide puts trade and investment at risk, top IMF official warns

After years of shocks, countries are reevaluating their trading partners, an IMF official has said.
SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son in 2019. Son is said to be selling off assets from the Vision Fund’s portfolio as he prepares for possible forays into AI and related hardware.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 10, 2024

SoftBank's Vision Fund lightens asset load as Son pivots to AI and chips

Son has moved on to new obsessions, inspired in part by the success of Arm — which has soared in value to around $106 billion since its market debut.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese leader Xi Jinping review troops at the Tarbes Airport in southern France on Tuesday. Some experts believe Xi wants to drive a wedge between Europe and the United States with his European tour.
EDITORIALS
May 10, 2024

It’s ‘divide and conquer’ as Xi courts Europe

Xi wants to drive a wedge between Europe and the United States, or at least inhibit their convergence on a policy that identifies China as a threat.
Japan’s custody system may soon change with the introduction of joint custody, though issues like a lack of protection against domestic violence and abuse must also be tackled.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 10, 2024

Joint custody alone won’t fix Japan’s flawed system

Japan could be on the verge of adopting joint custody. While to some this is a step in the right direction, it may not be enough to protect families.
A new era in Japan-U.S. military cooperation is set to begin after Japan's parliament enacted new laws to establish a joint command headquarters for the nation’s Self-Defense Forces.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 14, 2024

Let the real work on Japan’s defense modernization begin

Scheduled to go into effect in March 2025, the Japan Joint Operations Command will centralize command of the country’s military services.
Israeli army battle tanks move near the border with the Gaza Strip at a location in southern Israel on Monday.
WORLD
May 15, 2024

Israeli tanks push deeper into Rafah as battles rage in northern Gaza

Israel's international allies and aid groups have repeatedly warned against a ground incursion into Rafah.
A pro-Palestinian supporter in Tokyo takes part in a protest against Israeli attacks on Gaza. Japanese universities are also experiencing their share of pro-Palestinian student demonstrations similar to those elsewhere in the world.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 15, 2024

What the campus Gaza protests lack — in Japan, too

Students are right to be distressed over the suffering of Palestinians. But are they applying cognitive empathy to understand the other side, too?
A German Navy frigate takes part in the BALTOPS 22 exercise in Baltic Sea in June 2022. Russia will push back against NATO's Baltic drills, although the correlation of forces at sea is now weighted heavily against it. 
COMMENTARY / World
May 10, 2024

Putin’s next target may be the ‘NATO lake’

Some say the argument that Putin would invade the Baltic states is overblown; but just three years ago, no one believed he would invade Ukraine.
Japan's digital trade deficit in 2023 was up about 2.6 times over nine years since 2014, as smartphones have become ubiquitous tools and the digital services sector is dominated by U.S. information technology giants.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 20, 2024

Japan's digital trade deficit continues to expand

The deficit in Japan's balance of payments in digital services continues to expand steadily.
People in Tehran demonstrate in support of Iran's attack on Israel on April 15. After the helicopter crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the question is whether his successor will take a similar foreign policy path by keeping slivers of communication open and avoiding direct conflict with the United States.
WORLD / Politics
May 21, 2024

Aggression or caution: The choice facing Iran’s next leaders

After the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister it will be possible to maintain communications between Washington and Tehran?
Ecuador has sought funding to fight the effects of climate change, including a June 2023 flood that followed heavy rains in Esmeraldas. So far, the developed world has offered the debt-strapped nation more loans than grants.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 23, 2024

Rich nations reap climate finance dividend, benefiting from rates and terms

Developed nations have pledged to send $100 billion a year to poorer countries to aid adaptation, but money from the deals is being funneled back into rich economies.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, soaked in rain,  pauses as he delivers a speech to announce July 4 as the date of the U.K.'s next general election, at 10 Downing Street in London on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 23, 2024

Sunak gambles on July 4 election as Tories struggle in polls

The leading opposition party holds a poll lead of about 20 points that Sunak has been unable to shift since he took over from Liz Truss in late 2022.
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan attends a meeting with Venezuela's National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez (not pictured) at the Federal Legislative Palace, in Caracas, Venezuela April 22, 2024.
WORLD / Politics
May 23, 2024

Why a prosecutor went public with arrest warrant requests for Hamas and Israeli leaders

ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan accused Netanyahu and his defense minister of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Chinese military vessels sail in an unknown location around Taiwan on Thursday amid joint military drills aimed at punishing the self-ruled island and its new president.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 24, 2024

China says Day 2 of Taiwan drills tests ability to 'seize' key areas

The Chinese military said the exercises test its ability “to jointly take control of (the) battlefield and launch joint strikes, and to seize control of crucial areas.”
South Korean leader Yoon Suk-yeol (left), U.S. President Joe Biden (center) and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida walk during the Camp David summit on the outskirts of Washington last August. South Korea and Japan will be going into the summit with China more aligned than before following the Camp David meeting.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 24, 2024

At Japan-South Korea-China trilateral summit, a chance to manage tensions

Just holding the summit is an accomplishment amid the considerable issues that divide the three countries.
In the digital age, it will get harder for institutions such a the British Museum to keep looted cultural possessions as communities in Africa and elsewhere learn about what was taken from them.
COMMENTARY / World
May 24, 2024

How are museums still justifying keeping stolen artifacts?

As much as 90% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s cultural artifacts are outside of the continent, according to a 2018 report commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te is sworn into office during the inauguration ceremony in Taipei on Monday. The global community should stand firm in their support for Taiwan and not be intimidated by China's aggressive tactics.
EDITORIALS
May 24, 2024

Taiwan and its new president deserve our support

Taiwan is not an independent country, but neither is it a “renegade province” as the Chinese leadership insists.
Lexi Thompson watches her shot from the 12th tee on Day 2 of the 2023 Women's British Open in Walton-on-the-Hill, England, in August 2023.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
May 29, 2024

Lexi Thompson to retire from golf at season end

Thompson is an 11-time LPGA tour winner, a major champion, a two-time Olympian and a six-time U.S. Solheim Cup team member.
Protestors rally against capital punishment in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington in June 2022.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 29, 2024

Number of executions in 2023 highest in nearly a decade, Amnesty says

The 1,153 known executions that took place last year were the most recorded by the global rights monitor since 2015.
Chinese President Xi Jinping at the first China-Arab States forum in Riyadh in 2022
WORLD / Politics
May 29, 2024

Xi hosts Arab leaders as China-Mideast ties widen beyond trade

As the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden backs Israel in its war in Gaza, China sees eye-to-eye with Arab nations.
A man watches a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a train station in Seoul on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 30, 2024

In unusual move, North Korea fires off barrage of at least 10 ballistic missiles

While the North has in the past launched multiple missiles in a single volley, the sheer number fired Thursday pointed to training for so-called saturation strikes.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (right) meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Riyadh on Dec. 8, 2022.
WORLD / Politics
May 30, 2024

Xi lays out vision for greater cooperation with Arab states

China has been stepping up its diplomatic efforts in the Middle East in recent years to win new allies in its global contest for influence with the U.S.
With brightly colored hair and equally colorful attire, the 48-year-old Maaya Orii certainly stands out in a crowd.
LIFE / Style & Design
Jun 1, 2024

Paging Dr. Maaya, the neurosurgeon doubling as a fashion designer

Maaya Orii works as a neurosurgeon in Tokyo on weekdays and as a doctor in Kushiro, Hokkaido, on weekends. In her spare time, she’ll shift gears and focus on fashion.

Longform

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