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Former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba takes a seat in the Liberal Democratic Party president's office in Tokyo after being elected to the post on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 27, 2024

Ishiba wins: An unusual result for an unusual election

The very lawmakers who long shunned former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba made him president in an unexpected twist to the Liberal Democratic Party leadership race.
A room in a temporary shelter in Kanagawa Prefecture for young people who have run away from home due to abuse and other reasons
JAPAN / Society
Sep 30, 2024

Japan's children's agency looks to set up shelters for runaways

The agency has launched a project offering subsidies to prefectures and major cities that set up runaway shelters.
Students hold posters of Hassan Nasrallah, the assassinated chief of Lebanon's Hezbollah, during a rally in Sanaa, Yemen, on Wednesday.
WORLD
Oct 3, 2024

Iran's Khamenei warned Nasrallah of Israeli plot to kill him, sources say

Iran is now deeply worried about Israeli infiltration of senior government ranks in Tehran, three Iranian sources said.
U.S. voters are increasingly concerned about misinformation spreading the good-old-fashioned way — through politicians sowing falsehoods.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 4, 2024

More than AI misinformation, U.S. voters worry about lying politicians

Politicians face almost no legal consequences for distorting the truth, researchers say.
Shigeru Ishiba's nascent administration is attracting something of a reputation for flip-flopping — and it hasn’t even been a week.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 4, 2024

Don’t take Japan's new leader literally. But should you take him seriously?

Ishiba will discover that his supply of capital with the public will run out quickly if he offers no break from his predecessor.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers his inaugural policy address to parliament in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 4, 2024

Ishiba omits divisive proposals in first policy speech as PM

He elaborated on his long-held ideas about creating a disaster-prevention agency and increasing grants for rural municipalities.
An electronic ticker displays stock figures in Pudong's Lujiazui Financial District in Shanghai on Aug. 14.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 7, 2024

China stock skepticism gets louder as world-beating run extends

Some are concerned many Chinese stocks are already reaching overvalued levels.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has floated an idea of creating an Asian version of the NATO security framework.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 8, 2024

Ishiba's 'Asian NATO' dead on arrival as new PM set for diplomatic debut

Many Asian countries maintain delicate ties with China, making the creation of any defense group aimed at countering Beijing's influence difficult.
People inspect the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Friday.
WORLD
Oct 12, 2024

After heavy Israeli blows, Hezbollah forges new command for crucial ground war

Friends and foes alike are now watching how effectively the Iran-backed group resists Israeli troops that have crossed into Lebanon.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump campaigns at the Dodge County Airport in Juneau, Wisconsin on Oct. 6. Even before he kicked off a comeback bid, foreign governments realized that Trump was still a force in American politics and  took him into account in their dealings with the United States.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 12, 2024

Much of the world treats Trump as a shadow president

The former U.S. president has remained a force in international politics, with governments taking him into account in their dealings with the U.S.
Israeli soldiers carry the body of a victim of the earlier Hamas attack at on a kibbutz in southern Israel, during clean-up operations on Oct. 10, 2023.
WORLD
Oct 13, 2024

Secret documents show Hamas tried to persuade Iran to join its Oct. 7 attack

Minutes of Hamas’ secret meetings obtained by The New York Times show Sinwar’s determination to persuade Hamas’ allies, Iran and Hezbollah, to join the assault.
Children at the site of an Israeli strike on a tent camp sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 16, 2024

U.S. tells Israel to improve situation in Gaza or risk military aid

It is Washington's strongest warning since Israel's war with Hamas began a year ago.
Chinese President Xi Jinping makes a toast during the National Day reception on the eve of the 75th founding anniversary of the People's Republic of China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sept. 30.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 16, 2024

Xi’s stronger grip on legislature shows lack of checks on power

Nearly 70% of laws made in China this year feature language explicitly affirming the party’s authority.
Donald Trump (left) greets billionaire Elon Musk at a campaign rally for the former president, who is the Republican presidential nominee, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 5.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 16, 2024

Elon Musk’s $75 million gift cements role as a top Trump donor

The Tesla and SpaceX chief executive officer made seven contributions between July 3 and Sept. 5, according to the Federal Election Commission.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 16, 2024

Bank of Japan policymaker calls for 'very moderate' pace of rate hikes

There are doubts about whether Japanese firms will keep sufficiently raising wages next year due to lingering global risks.
England coach Thomas Tuchel speaks during his introductory news conference at Wembley Stadium in London on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Oct 17, 2024

Thomas Tuchel takes England job with visions of winning 2026 World Cup

England head coach Thomas Tuchel strode confidently into Wembley Stadium on Wednesday with a single-minded vision to win the 2026 World Cup for the success-starved soccer nation.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 20, 2024

Japan and U.S. defense chiefs voice 'sense of crisis' amid China military moves

Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also agreed to work toward bolstering their command-and-control frameworks.
An attendee walks past a picture of Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump holding a gun and the words "Merry MAGA you filthy animal!" at the Rod of Iron Freedom Festival, which the organizers call "the largest open carry rally in America," in Greeley, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 12.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 22, 2024

New cases of political violence roil U.S. before contentious election

There have been at least 300 cases of political violence since Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Neither Kamala Harris nor Donald Trump has outlined a comprehensive platform on climate, an issue that remains far from the center of the U.S. campaign despite the country being the world's second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, after China.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 25, 2024

Trump vs. Harris: Competing visions for a warming world

The U.S. is the world's second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, after China.
Amit Chhetri opened Yeti Roastery Coffee in Tokyo's Todoroki neighborhood in 2020 as a way to promote Nepalese coffee in Japan.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 27, 2024

Yeti Roastery Coffee is elevating Nepalese java in Japan

“Nepal has rich soil and a huge potential for growing coffee in its mountains, which are also unbelievably gorgeous,” says Yeti Coffee Roastery's Amit Chhetri.
A billboard in Tehran depicts missiles over Tel Aviv on Saturday, after Israel targeted multiple Iranian military facilities with airstrikes overnight.
WORLD
Oct 27, 2024

Israel’s limited attack on Iran may help spur regional deal

The restraint on Saturday allows Iran to dismiss it as ineffective, possibly setting the stage for a limited response or no response at all.
A woman takes photos of a gate in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Monday. Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, at a Donald Trump event on Sunday, called Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage."
WORLD / Politics
Oct 29, 2024

Trump-allied comedian blasted for calling Puerto Rico 'garbage'

Tony Hinchcliffe, who also employed racist tropes about Black Americans and Jews at a Trump event on Sunday, played down the offensive nature of his comments.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba bows to Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers during a news conference at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Monday, a day after the party recorded disappointing results in the Lower House election.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 29, 2024

A disastrous poll puts Japan politics on shaky path

The Japanese public was crying out for change, but Ishiba entirely failed to offer it, instead using warmed-over catchphrases from Kishida.
The Liberal Democratic Party's panel meets at the party headquarters in Tokyo in April to discuss measures to ensure stable imperial successions.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 30, 2024

U.N. panel urges Japan to revise imperial succession rules

The panel also urged Japan to implement a law revision toward introducing a selective dual surname system for married couples.
Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley leaves after attending a press conference hosted by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors to release its first annual report, at the Vatican on Tuesday.
WORLD / Society
Oct 30, 2024

Church must act faster against abusive priests, papal commission says

The detailed global report from the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors was the first since the body was set up by Pope Francis in 2014.
A man at a rail station in Seoul watches a news broadcast on Thursday with file footage of a North Korean missile test.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 31, 2024

North Korea fires off ICBM with longest flight time yet

The missile, which flew for 86 minutes, fell outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, landing in waters some 300 kilometers west of Hokkaido's Okushiri Island.
Max Verstappen sits in his car while preparing for the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Nov 1, 2024

Red Bull's Max Verstappen hits back at critics

The 27-year-old, who has not won in 10 races after dominating last season, said he listened to those who were objective and close to him and "not just there to stir."
Akira Oishi (left) and Shinichi Okanobori have taken on the responsibility of surveying the flora and fauna of Mount Tenran and Mount Tonosu in Saitama Prefecture.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / Longform
Nov 2, 2024

Inside Japan's 100-year project to monitor its deteriorating biodiversity

With researchers and an army of volunteers on its side, the Monitoring Sites 1,000 project aims to bring attention to our fragile ecosystems.
Paris Saint-Germain players pose for a group picture prior to the start of a UEFA Champions League match against PSV Eindhoven in Paris on Oct. 22.
SOCCER
Nov 5, 2024

With Mbappe gone, misfiring PSG are under pressure in Champions League

PSG have just four points from three games, despite starting with kind home fixtures against Girona and PSV Eindhoven either side of a trip to Arsenal.
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris concluded their presidential campaigns on Monday with closing arguments that mirrored, in tone and in substance, the competing visions they have offered a deeply divided nation.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 5, 2024

Harris and Trump conclude historic campaign with dueling rallies

Their closing arguments mirrored, in tone and in substance, the competing visions they have offered a deeply divided nation.

Longform

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