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Enrique Tarrio, leader of the Proud Boys, lights a protective face mask on fire during a rally in support of President Donald Trump in Atlanta, in 2020.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 7, 2025

On anniversary of U.S. Capitol attack, Proud Boys ex-leader asks Trump for pardon

1,583 people have been charged with a crime connected to the siege of the Capitol, with about 1,100 of those cases fully adjudicated, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
A Tencent sign is seen at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 6, 2023. The gaming and social media company has been added to a U.S. Defense Department list of firms it says work with China's military.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 7, 2025

U.S. adds Tencent and CATL to list of firms allegedly aiding Chinese military

The companies described their addition to the annual list as a mistake.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba meets with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel at the Prime Minister's Official residence in Tokyo on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 8, 2025

Missteps highlight Ishiba’s foreign policy challenges

Japan faces a delicate balancing act between securing its economic future and ensuring its security, with Ishiba's policies leaving much to be desired in both areas.
Attendees sit in Xpeng's modular "flying car" during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 9, 2025

Trade war worries loom over Las Vegas tech show

The potential for Trump's trade policies to roil the global tech industry has loomed large over the Consumer Electronics Show.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Republican governors at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Thursday.
WORLD
Jan 10, 2025

U.S. Supreme Court lets Trump sentencing proceed in hush money case

The court turned down Trump's last-minute bid to prevent his sentencing, scheduled for Friday in New York state court in Manhattan.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump appears remotely for a sentencing hearing in front of New York State Judge Juan Merchan in the criminal case in which he was convicted in 2024 on charges involving hush money paid to a porn star, at New York Criminal Court in Manhattan on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 11, 2025

A sentence with no penalty assures Trump will take office as a felon

Justice Juan Merchan gave Donald Trump a symbolic punishment. The judge said that leniency was due the office of the president, not the man who will soon hold the title.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump meets with then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Group of 20 leaders summit in Osaka in June 2019.  Though Trump's first term in office was not as earth-shattering for Japanese companies as many feared, it would be a mistake to assume his second will be the same.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 13, 2025

Trump 2.0 presents new challenges for Japanese companies

Another challenge for Japanese firms will be that Trump, his Cabinet by and large and many key advisers are China hawks.
Smoke plumes rise from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 14, 2025

Final draft of Gaza truce deal shown to sides after 'breakthrough'

Both sides are "closer than we've ever been" to a deal, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
The flag of Greenland flutters at the Inussivik hall in Nuuk in 2021.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 15, 2025

Why does Trump want Greenland and could he get it?

Greenland's strategic location and resources could benefit the U.S.
Migrants wait to be processed on U.S. soil after crossing from Mexico in El Paso, Texas, in May 2023.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 15, 2025

Trump’s immigration crackdown will be swift and ugly. Here’s how.

U.S. President-elect Trump plans major immigration crackdowns, focusing on deportations, birthright citizenship, and humanitarian programs, marking a significant shift in policy.
The air-to-surface standoff missiles have a range of about 900 kilometers, enabling strikes from beyond enemy firing ranges.
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2025

U.S. approves sale of air-to-surface missiles to Japan

The move comes in response to the Japanese government's request to purchase up to 16 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles with Extended Range.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya shakes hands with his Australian counterpart, Penny Wong, in Washington on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 20, 2025

Australia says 'Quad' in Washington shows 'iron-clad' commitment

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she would meet Rubio and other members of the Trump administration while in Washington for the inauguration.
During his first term, U.S. President Donald Trump took a hard line against China. As Trump takes office again, this confrontation is likely to continue and potentially escalate over issues such as Taiwan and economic security interests.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jan 20, 2025

Politics and the economy: Bedfellows of U.S.-China relations

Since Trump's first term, China has shown its willingness to use aggressive economic measures in its confrontation with the U.S., setting the stage for a potential escalation.
Sakie Yokota speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Jan. 10 after meeting with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi.
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2025

Abductee families seek pressure on North Korea as Trump returns

A leader of a group of North Korean abductee families called on the government to deepen the bond between their leaders.
Donald Trump pardoned Jan. 6 participants, while Joe Biden granted clemency to family members and officials to avoid potential prosecutions, highlighting the personalization and politicization of U.S. presidential pardon power.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 22, 2025

Trump seriously abused his pardon power. Biden also indulged.

A torrent of U.S. reprieves signals democratic decline and the rise of a monarchical presidency.
Shipping containers at an industrial port in the Keihin Industrial Zone in Kawasaki. Japanese businesses see a larger role for Japan if global trade breaks down and multilateral trade institutions become less effective without U.S. participation.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 23, 2025

Japan contemplates global free-trade leadership as U.S. goes protectionist

Tokyo could find opportunity in the turmoil while avoiding direct confrontation with Washington.
TikTok boasts 170 million monthly U.S. users and has become a major driver of culture and politics among young Americans.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 24, 2025

TikTok’s possible buyers, from Elon Musk to MrBeast

There will be no shortage of interested acquirers for the popular video service, which boasts 170 million monthly U.S. users.
Then-U.S. President-elect Donald Trump addresses the America First Policy Institute gala at Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, in November. REUTERS
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 23, 2025

'America First' didn't just return — it has always been there

The Trump administration is no different from previous administrations and remains as inherently "America First" as ever.
Supporters of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol protest in Seoul on Tuesday. The previous leaders of the U.S. and Japan, along with Yoon, focused on strengthening alliances and regional stability through cooperation whereas newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump’s approach to foreign policy may prioritize transactional relationships.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 24, 2025

Japan and South Korea were stable U.S. allies. Not anymore.

Political paralysis in the U.S., Japan and South Korea has left a leadership vacuum in the Indo-Pacific.
The P4 laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China, in April 2020
WORLD
Jan 26, 2025

CIA now favors China lab leak theory to explain COVID’s origins

A new analysis that began under the Biden administration is released by the C.I.A.’s new director, John Ratcliffe, who wants the agency to get “off the sidelines” in the debate.
US Steel’s Mon Valley facility in Pennsylvania. Activist investor Ancora Holdings Group has nominated nine candidates for U.S. Steel’s board and is pushing for the company to abandon a takeover by Nippon Steel.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 27, 2025

Ancora seeks U.S. Steel board revamp and end to Nippon Steel deal

The Cleveland-based activist investor intends to push U.S. Steel to end litigation aimed at rescuing the Nippon Steel deal and instead collect a $565 million breakup fee.
U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that he was in talks with multiple people over buying TikTok and would likely have a decision on the popular app's future in 30 days.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 28, 2025

Trump says Microsoft is in talks to acquire TikTok

Microsoft emerged as a top bidder in 2020, but the talks soon collapsed, and a divestment push by Trump ended a few months later when his first term ended.
The preserved Atomic Bomb Dome is seen behind the Cenotaph for the victims of the atomic bombing at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park last October.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 28, 2025

Hiroshima and Nagasaki mayors invite Trump to visit on 80th anniversary of atomic bombing

The mayors emphasized Washington’s key role in reining in the proliferation of nuclear weapons as “tensions continue to worsen” across the globe.
The rush to curry Trump’s favor makes clear just how much global leaders learned their lesson from his first term.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 30, 2025

Trump’s transactional foreign policy leads to flurry of pledges

The rush to curry Trump’s favor makes clear just how much global leaders learned their lesson from his first term.
Donald Trump’s rapid use of tariffs, disregard for conventional diplomacy and fixation on strength risk undermining the global economic order, isolating the U.S. and triggering widespread economic harm.
EDITORIALS
Jan 31, 2025

The Trump test begins: Tariffs, power plays and economic risk

The speed with which the U.S. president reached for this tariff tool — against an ally no less — is proof that his threats are not empty words.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s reluctance to engage with newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump while strengthening ties with China raises concerns about Japan’s strategic priorities.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 31, 2025

Ishiba nudges his ‘little Japan’ closer to China

Prime Minister Ishiba’s reluctance to engage with Trump while strengthening ties with China raises concerns about Japan’s strategic priorities and its alliance with the U.S.
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a briefing on Thursday about the midair crash in Washington.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 31, 2025

From anguish to aggression: Trump goes on offense after midair collision

In the wake of this week’s midair collision near Washington, Trump was more than happy to jump to conclusions and pull the United States apart rather than together.
A container ship at Lianyungang Port in China on Wednesday
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 2, 2025

China vows measures against U.S. tariffs and threatens WTO action

While the 10% levy falls short of Trump's earlier threats, the tariffs target a nation already battling a grinding slowdown.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio addresses employees and families during a meet-and-greet at the United States Embassy in Panama City, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 3, 2025

Rubio tells Panama to end China's influence of canal or face U.S. action

Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino signaled he would review agreements involving China and Chinese businesses.
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looks on during a press conference while responding to U.S. President Donald Trump's orders to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian imports, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 3, 2025

Trump’s ‘tariff thrashing’ spurs crisis response from Canada

The U.S. tariffs are expected to create job losses in Canada and may even cause it to tip into a recession if they last for a number of months.

Longform

Wealthier women in the prewar era had been the targets of various media-related health campaigns that mistakenly encouraged them to avoid everything from riding bicycles to reading novels when their monthly cycles came around.
Menstruation in Japan: Breaking the silence, slowly