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Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk region has potentially enhanced Kyiv's bargaining power, though it may not lead to immediate changes in either country’s strategic goals.
EDITORIALS
Aug 23, 2024

Ukraine makes gains, but the war won’t stop

Continued support for Ukraine is crucial to maintaining pressure on Russia and upholding international order.
A Palestinian walks past destroyed residential buildings in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday.
WORLD
Aug 25, 2024

Gaza cease-fire talks resume in Cairo, with no sign of progress

The talks came as the humanitarian situation in Gaza deteriorated, with malnutrition soaring and polio discovered in the Palestinian enclave.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto speaks during an interview with The Japan Times in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 26, 2024

Interoperability with Japan ‘crucial,’ Italian defense chief says

Engagement between the two partners is already paying dividends, including in terms of lessons for the future deployment of F-35Bs from MSDF carriers.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda "predictably unpredictable" actions and policy shifts highlight the need for improved communication, reflecting modern central banking practices.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 28, 2024

How long can the BOJ get away with rate shocks?

The BOJ’s shifting policies and Kazuo Ueda’s unpredictable approach reflect the need for better alignment with modern central banking practices.
A U.S. cybersecurity firm has reported that a hacking group in Iran operated fake HR companies to target individuals in the Middle East who were willing to sell secrets to Israel and other Western governments.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 29, 2024

Iran used fake HR firms to root out unfriendly spies, researchers say

Hackers lured security officials across Iran, Syria and Lebanon who were willing to sell state secrets to Israel and the West into a cyber espionage trap.
A Palestinian woman reacts as she walks along a street damaged during a raid in the Nur Shams camp near the city of Tulkarem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Wednesday.
WORLD
Aug 29, 2024

Israeli conducts deadly raids in West Bank as Gaza war rages

Israel launched coordinated raids across four northern West Bank cities where the military has focused much of its recent operations.
A poll shows that many Israelis support expanding the war to confront Hezbollah in Lebanon, though this poses risks of involving Iran and other international actors.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 29, 2024

Should Israel want a bigger conflict with Iran now?

A poll shows that many Israelis support expanding the war to confront Hezbollah, though this poses risks of involving Iran and other international actors.
Nippon Steel Vice Chairman Takahiro Mori
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 30, 2024

Nippon Steel, peers urge Tokyo to curb steel imports from China

China's steel exports rose 24% to 53.4 million tons in the first half of 2024, on track for 100 million tons for the year.
Cars are assembled at a Maruti Suzuki manufacturing plant in Manesar, India, in September 2023. Suzuki is one of the success stories for Japanese manufacturers trying to establish joint ventures in India, having become a household name in the country.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 29, 2024

For Japanese companies in India, local staff are an invaluable resource

The roots of Japanese investment in India go far back, to 1958, when the latter became the first country to receive official development assistance from Japan.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris at a campaign event at the Throwback Brewery, in North Hampton, New Hampshire, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 5, 2024

Harris' debate plan: Call out Trump and create social media moments

Vice President Kamala Harris' team believes many will watch the debate as video clips on social media platforms like TikTok and X.
Chinese President Xi Jinping applauds as he delivers his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the China-Africa summit in Beijing on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 5, 2024

Xi courts Africa with $50 billion pledge and military support

The support is a sweeping effort to deepen China’s relations with a continent seen as key to the Chinese leader's geopolitical ambitions.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol during a meeting at the Presidential Office in Seoul on Friday
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 6, 2024

Kishida and Yoon reaffirm importance of sustained cooperation

Kishida highlighted the need to continue efforts to advance bilateral ties, once again expressing sympathy for Koreans who suffered during Japanese colonial rule.
A woman walks along a road in Kabul, Afghanistan, on April 20, 2023. Three years into its rule, the Taliban has codified its harsh Islamic decrees into law that now includes a ban on women’s voices in public.
WORLD / Society
Sep 9, 2024

With new Taliban manifesto, Afghan women fear the worst

A large majority of the prohibitions have been in place for much of the Taliban’s three years in power, squeezing Afghan women out of public life.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un used a speech Monday marking the 76th anniversary of his country's founding to reiterate a pledge to exponentially increase the number of nuclear weapons Pyongyang possesses.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 10, 2024

North Korea's Kim says 'no limit' on number of nukes country builds

The policy is a response to the “grave threat” posed by an expanding U.S.-led “nuclear-based military bloc” surrounding his country, he said.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland sits between FBI Director Christopher Wray and Lisa Monaco, deputy attorney general, during a meeting of the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force, in Washington on Sept. 4. Federal prosecutors say Russia secretly paid the American company Tenet Media to push pro-Kremlin messages from social media influencers including Benny Johnson, Tim Pool and Dave Rubin.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 10, 2024

Russia focusing on American social media stars to covertly influence voters

The approach is widely viewed by American security agencies as one of Russia’s preferred tactics this cycle.
Novak Djokovic reacts during his third-round match against Alexei Popyrin during the U.S. Open in New York on Aug. 30.
TENNIS
Sep 10, 2024

Djokovic shut out as young guns usher in new Grand Slam era

This year, Djokovic endured a lackluster Grand Slam campaign by his lofty standards.
Signage in the spin room ahead of the second presidential debate at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Monday
WORLD / Politics
Sep 10, 2024

What to watch for during the Harris-Trump presidential debate

Most opinion polls show Kamala Harris to be slightly ahead nationally and in the majority of battleground states, but Donald Trump is close behind.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for November's presidential election, speaks during a debate with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday in Philadelphia.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 12, 2024

Trump faces blowback for repeating lie about migrants and pets

The episode highlighted the risk for political candidates of embracing conspiracy theories that don’t survive the light of day off social media.
Pedestrians cross an intersection in the Shibuya district of Tokyo. Japan has experienced a postpandemic travel boom, with tourists pouring back in after restrictions closed the country’s borders to travelers.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 12, 2024

Japan jumps to No. 2, from sixth place, in Best Countries index

It jumped from 6th place on the 2023 list as a post-COVID boom and reforms helped bump it up on the subindexes used to calculate the overall score.
A model displays a creation by Japanese designer Norio Surikabe during a runway show on Sept. 6 for the latest edition of Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo.
LIFE / Style & Design
Sep 14, 2024

Tokyo’s top fashion showcase pushes rising stars to the world stage

Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo celebrated industry veterans while shining a spotlight on emerging talent.
Pope Francis holds a news conference aboard the papal plane on his flight back to Rome after his 12-day journey across Southeast Asia and Oceania, on Friday.
WORLD / Society
Sep 14, 2024

Pope says Trump and Harris 'against life' as Asia tour ends

The comments on the U.S. presidential hopefuls came as he defied health concerns to connect with believers from Papua New Guinea to Singapore.
Japan's export growth slowed sharply in August as shipments to the United States dropped for the first time in three years.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 18, 2024

Japan’s export growth slows as external demand moderates

Imports climbed 2.3%, falling short of the 15% gain forecast by economists, with trade deficit widening to ¥695.3 billion.
French Ambassador Philippe Setton says that, despite previous differences over whether Japan should host a NATO liaison office, Paris aims to deepen ties with Tokyo "in all security areas."
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 18, 2024

France-Japan military pact expected by year-end, envoy to Tokyo says

Concerns over the worsening security situation in the Indo-Pacific are speeding up negotiations on a visiting-forces pact between France and Japan.
One of the coffins is carried during the funeral of Mohammed Bilal Kanj, Mohamed Hassan Nour al-Din, Abbas Fadel Yassin and Mohammad Mahdi Ammar, son of Hezbollah member of the Lebanese parliament, Ali Ammar, who were killed amid the detonation of pagers across Lebanon, in Beirut on Wednesday.
WORLD
Sep 19, 2024

Hezbollah devices explode again in Lebanon, raising fears of wider Israel conflict

Lebanon's health ministry said 20 people were killed on Wednesday, while Tuesday's explosions killed 12 and injured 3,000.
Bulk carriers float offshore from Singapore, on Feb. 19.
WORLD
Sep 19, 2024

The shadow fleet transporting sanctioned gas for Russia

In the short term it could provide some wartime profit, but Moscow's ultimate goal is to triple LNG exports by 2030.
The Shenzhen Japanese School in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 20, 2024

Xi’s nationalism faces a reckoning after the murder of a Japanese boy

The Chinese government is now grappling with online hatred spilling over into real-life violence.
Yurin Fujii was among the Japanese athletes to compete at X Games Chiba over the weekend at Makuhari Messe.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 23, 2024

Japan to remain in X Games mix for ‘foreseeable future’

Japanese athletes likely hope the X Games continue to come to Japan, as the event has become special for many.
A migrant from Mali, who said he is from the Fulani community and escaped the war in his country and arrived in El Hierro Island a year ago, speaks to  journalist in Barcelona on Friday,
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 24, 2024

West Africa becomes global terrorism hotspot as Western forces leave

Western powers that previously invested in trying to beat back the jihadists have very little capacity left on the ground.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Sazanami arrives in Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean during a scheduled port visit in July. The Sazanami became the first Japanese warship to sail through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 26, 2024

Japan MSDF warship sails through Taiwan Strait for first time

The transit on Wednesday, which follows a spate of Chinese military moves near Japan, drew a strongly worded warning from Beijing.
Funafuti, Tuvalu’s most populous island, on Sept. 6
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Sep 26, 2024

Tuvalu fights to retain its maritime rights amid climate change inundation

Tuvalu's economic zone is rich in tuna, but few foreign jurisdictions that fish in the Pacific have supported efforts to safeguard its maritime boundaries.

Longform

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