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JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 15, 2024

Japan starts clinical trial of familial Alzheimer's treatment

The clinical trial is under way in 16 countries, with four people in their 30s to 50s participating in Japan.
Indian National Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi (center) with other party leaders of the I.N.D.I.A alliance in New Delhi in December 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 19, 2024

Anti-Modi alliance in India is faltering as election nears

Absent a clear vision that presents the Indian electorate with an alternative to the ruling BJP, the Congress-led alliance faces an uphill task in polls.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 21, 2024

Nikkei scales record high; yen rebounds as Fed out-doves BOJ

The Nikkei marked a record closing high of 40,815.66, up more than 2% on the day, after also setting a fresh all-time intraday peak of 40,823.32.
A Palestinian boy walks on the site of an Israeli strike in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on March 27.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Apr 2, 2024

How the Israel-Hamas war is changing the international security order

The divide within the international community over the conflict is set to become even more serious.
Shizuoka Gov. Heita Kawakatsu apologizes for his gaffe at a news conference in Shizuoka on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 3, 2024

Shizuoka governor's resignation may remove hurdle for maglev project

Heita Kawakatsu has long opposed the construction of a tunnel in the prefecture for the next-generation shinkansen, citing environmental concerns.
Palestinians flee an area in central Gaza City after Israeli bombardment in March. U.S. President Joe Biden said an "immediate” cease-fire is necessary to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 5, 2024

Biden tells Netanyahu U.S. support hinges on protecting civilians

The comment marks a shift in position for the U.S. leader, who has faced increased pressure to take a harder line against Israel amid mounting deaths.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attend an an arrival ceremony as part of a state visit by Kishida, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 11, 2024

Global ambitions? U.S. and Japan eye a boosted partnership, but the hurdles are high.

Can Japan truly be America's "global partner"? Experts are divided over the issue.
U.S. President Joe Biden escorts Philippine leader Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to their trilateral summit at the White House in Washington on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 12, 2024

Biden vows 'ironclad' defense of Philippines and Japan as China tensions rise

Biden reiterated Washington’s commitment to defending the Philippines from any attack in the South China Sea.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event at the Scranton Cultural Center in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2024

Biden seeks higher tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum

The president was set to reiterate that United States Steel should remain American-owned.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks as he announces a preliminary agreement with Intel for a major CHIPS and Science Act award, during a visit to the Intel Ocotillo Campus in Chandler, Arizona, on March 20.
BUSINESS / Tech / ANALYSIS
Apr 19, 2024

Latest Biden chip deal highlights U.S. semiconductor successes

Samsung is the latest beneficiary of Washington’s efforts to shore up precarious supply chains and protect its national security interests.
A Ukrainian serviceman fires a machine gun toward a Russian kamikaze drone in Kherson, Ukraine, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 20, 2024

Ukraine says it took down a bomber inside Russia for first time

Losing the plane signals a new vulnerability for Russia's military, which relies on aged bombers as the main tool in its campaign against Ukraine.
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.
Recent cases of alleged Chinese espionage in Germany and Britain are the latest reminder of Beijing's immense intelligence network and its ability to penetrate into the heart of European capitals.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 25, 2024

Europe ill-prepared to counter China's espionage push, analysts say

This week's cases of alleged Chinese spying in Germany and Britain are the latest reminder of Beijing's immense intelligence network.
Japan's stock market attention is shifting to whether domestic market-oriented firms can bring some bullishness back to the market.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 25, 2024

Revival in Japanese stock market hinges on domestic demand taking hold

Attention has shifted to whether domestic market-oriented laggards may be able to bring some bullishness back to the market.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump announces Jerome Powell as his nominee to become chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington in November 2017.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 29, 2024

Trump’s economic confidants battle for sway on taxes and Fed policy

For months, the Trump campaign has been trying to rein in proposals from various factions with limited success.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara takes part in an arrival ceremony with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon in Washington last October.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 30, 2024

‘Collective capacity’ to top agenda at four-way defense talks in Hawaii

One thing will be on Defense Minister Minoru Kihara's mind: how to deepen military and security cooperation with allies to counter China.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
WORLD / Politics
May 5, 2024

Russia puts Ukraine's Zelenskyy on wanted list

Russia's Tass news agency reported that the Russian Interior Ministry database showed the Ukrainian leader was on a wanted list but gave no other details.
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.
British opposition leader Keir Starmer speaks at a Welsh Labour general election campaign event in Abergavenny, Wales, Britain, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 3, 2024

Starmer campaigns on U.K. security ahead of key debate with Sunak

The Labour Party head is trying to win the election by campaigning on the political center ground, and by showing how the party has shifted since its historic 2019 defeat.
Brexit architect Nigel Farage said he'll stand as a candidate for Reform U.K. in Britain’s general election on July 4, an about-turn that threatens to destabilize the campaign for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s governing Conservatives.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 4, 2024

Nigel Farage barrels into U.K. campaign in gut punch to Conservatives

With trademark chutzpah, Farage convened what he called an "emergency” press conference to tell reporters that he would, in fact, be standing as a candidate.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks at the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore on Saturday.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2024

Upgrade for U.S. military's command in Japan gains steam

U.S. defense chief Lloyd Austin has said that basing a four-star commander in Japan is something the Pentagon is “looking at very closely.”
The cast of “Megalopolis” joins director Francis Ford Coppola on the red carpet at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 6, 2024

‘Megalopolis’ got the Hollywood treatment. The bad kind.

The real issue is that the American film industry, in its current condition, cannot make heads or tails of a movie like "Megalopolis."
Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 6, 2024

Alphabet taps Eli Lilly executive as new CFO replacing Porat

Anat Ashkenazi will replace Ruth Porat who announced last year she planned to step down.
Sharp's LCD production site in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, in 2009
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 9, 2024

Sharp's LCD plant in Osaka set to be transformed into massive AI data center

The new large-scale facility will support SoftBank’s generative AI and other AI-related businesses.
While the government aims to supply all public elementary school pupils with an electronic device for learning in school, communication between parents and teachers is still largely paper-based.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 17, 2024

Parents need digital tools to cope with 'first-grade barrier'

More flexibility and efficiency would lighten the load put on the families of public elementary school children, where paper-based communication is still too prevalent.
Robert O’Brien speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas in 2021.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 18, 2024

Ex-Trump adviser urges him to cut ties with China, restart nuclear tests

Former national security adviser Robert O'Brien's article offers the most detailed account of what foreign policy may look like in a second Trump term.
Nintendo announced several new games that will be released on the Switch later this year, ahead of the expected launch of a new console in early 2025.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 19, 2024

Nintendo surprises fans by announcing new 'Zelda' game

Last year's Zelda game, Tears of the Kingdom, sold 10 million copies in just three days, according to Nintendo.
A Ukrainian national flag is pictured in front of the NATO emblem, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in central Kyiv, in July last year.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 6, 2024

NATO allies at summit to unveil Ukraine 'bridge to membership'

A senior U.S. official described the plan as quite substantial, saying that it will include training coordination, logistics and force development.
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Historic Greenbrier Farms in Chesapeake, Virginia, on June 28.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 6, 2024

Trump distances bid from second-term agenda pushed by allies

Project 2025 is an effort proposing a sweeping shake-up of government and a slew of conservative policies if Trump defeats President Joe Biden in the November election.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Sept. 16, 2022. This was the two leaders’ last meeting.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 8, 2024

Putin to host Modi after hailing ‘best in history’ ties with China

Diplomats say the Indian prime minister’s visit is meant to send a signal that both sides remain close despite Moscow’s deepening embrace of New Delhi’s rival, Beijing.

Longform

It's back to the classroom for some residents as municipal governments across the country conduct lessons to learn how to use new technologies.
Can aging Japan go digital without leaving anyone behind?