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Russia isn’t a theocracy but Orthodox Christianity, the state religion, has become all-encompassing, with President Vladimir Putin claiming to have a divine mission.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 4, 2024

The demigods of populism

By claiming to represent the will of the divine, populist leaders like Putin, Modi, Erdogan — and even Trump — stake an otherworldly claim to political power.
The sun sets over Gaza on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 5, 2024

Truce talks between Israel and Hamas advance, U.S. official says

The movement was significant enough that Israel is sending a delegation to negotiate in Qatar, the U.S. official said.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event in Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 6, 2024

Crisis? What crisis? Biden rejects Democratic pessimism.

After last week’s devastating debate performance, the president’s prime-time interview with ABC News was an exercise in not just damage control but reality control.
Yoshihiro Uchida inside the San Jose State University building that was renamed after him in 1997, in San Jose, California, in 2012.
MORE SPORTS / Judo
Jul 7, 2024

Yoshihiro Uchida, peerless American judo coach, dies at 104

The son of Japanese immigrants, Uchida began coaching judo at San Jose State in the 1940s, while he was still a student there.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event in Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 7, 2024

As Biden digs in, more supporters look to push him out

Interviews with dozens of Democrats illustrated an imminent clash between a defiant president and those who question his ability to win.
Outgoing NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg addresses a meeting in Brussels last month.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 7, 2024

NATO turns 75 with Ukraine and future on line

Leaders will meet in Washington in the shadow of setbacks in Ukraine and electoral headwinds on both sides of the Atlantic.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer
WORLD / Politics
Jul 7, 2024

Untested Starmer is suddenly the West’s last man standing tall

Keir Starmer — who’s spent the last six weeks campaigning under the one-word banner of ‘change’ — is about to discover how in politics, it can come at you fast.
How policymakers have responded to past economic crises, such as the 2008-09 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, will shape their preparedness in dealing with future recessions. 
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 8, 2024

Policy lessons from recent economic crises

Eventually, the world will face another recession. How will policymakers use the lessons learned from the 2008-09 financial crisis and COVID-19 pandemic to respond?
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a news conference at the NATO Summit in Washington on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 12, 2024

At high-stakes news conference, Biden vows to ‘finish the job’

The U.S. president conceded for the first time that polls show "other people can beat Mr. Trump in the fall” but added that, "it’s hard to start from scratch.”
U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a Ukraine Compact meeting on the sidelines of NATO's 75th anniversary summit in Washington on Thursday
WORLD / Politics
Jul 12, 2024

Major hurdles await Ukraine's ‘irreversible path’ to NATO membership

Observers don't expect the alliance to extend a membership invitation to Kyiv until after the war in Ukraine is over.
The former chief of the World Anti-Doping Agency, Dick Pound, speaks during a news conference in Munich in 2016.
OLYMPICS
Jul 17, 2024

U.S. doping probe puts Olympic hosting at risk, former WADA chief says

Any country wanting to stage an international sporting event must be compliant with the anti-doping code and a U.S. probe may violate those rules, Dick Pound said.
Guo Wengui holds a news conference with Steve Bannon in New York in November 2018.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jul 17, 2024

Chinese tycoon Guo guilty in U.S. of $1 billion investor fraud

Convicted on nine of the 12 counts against him, he faces as many as 20 years in prison on the most serious charges when he is sentenced on Nov. 19.
Lara Trump, the co-chair of the Republican National Committee, speaks on the second night of the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 17, 2024

Daughter-in-law and party chief: Lara Trump’s dual roles

Lara Trump has become one of the campaign’s most visible defenders in the media, putting a smiling spin on some of the darkest aspects of Donald Trump's campaign.
U.S. President Joe Biden leaves after delivering remarks during an event at the College of Southern Nevada North Las Vegas Campus, in Las Vegas, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 19, 2024

Biden faces mounting speculation amid pressure to drop his bid

Conjecture over if, when, or how U.S. President Joe Biden might step aside has dominated the political conversation.
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy greets then-U.S. President Donald Trump during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2019.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 20, 2024

Trump says he spoke with Zelenskyy and pledges to 'end the war'

Zelenskyy said earlier this week that he and Trump would "work together" if the Republican won the White House.
An aerial view on Monday of the Butler Farm Show grounds in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a gunman attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally on July 13.
WORLD / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Jul 20, 2024

From honor student to the gunman who tried to kill Donald Trump

Thomas Crooks was a brainy and quiet young man who built computers and won honors at school, impressing his teachers. Then he became a would-be assassin.
The misinterpretation of data on guns and self-defense in the United States highlights how studies may overstate the benefits while downplaying risks and unintended consequences.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 21, 2024

Guns aren’t as good for self-defense as America thinks

Like other public health crises, gun violence has been studied and scientists have data pointing to ways the carnage can be reduced.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich at Sverdlovsk Regional Court in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on June 26
WORLD / Politics
Jul 23, 2024

Russia convicted second U.S. journalist on same day as WSJ's Evan Gershkovich

Alsu Kurmasheva was found guilty of publicly disseminating false information about Russia’s military, the state-run Tass news service reported.
U.S. gymnastics superstar Simone Biles takes part in a training session in Le Bourget, France, on Monday.
OLYMPICS / Gymnastics
Jul 25, 2024

Biles targets 'redemption' as she reenters the spotlight at Paris Olympics

The U.S. gymnastics star is once again eyeing the top of the podium after she prioritized her mental health at the Tokyo Games.
A medical technician selects eggs for an in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure Paris in 2019.
WORLD / Society
Jul 25, 2024

IVF mistakes are opening a new front in the fight over reproductive rights

The $40 billion U.S. industry is expected to triple in size over the next decade as more people delay having babies until later in life.
Though some in the country rejected their wartime associations, the Japanese government made the Hinomaru flag and "Kimigayo" anthem official 25 years ago.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Aug 1, 2024

Japan Times 1999: Flag, anthem now official

After some controversy, the Hinomaru flag was made official alongside the country's national anthem, "Kimigayo."
Demonstrators hold a rally in Tbilisi, Georgia, in May against a bill labeling organizations that receive foreign funding as spies. The passing of the so-called Russia law has been a setback for Georgia's democracy.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jul 29, 2024

Democracy is on tenuous ground this ‘election year’

From former Soviet countries to India and even the U.S., democracies are backsliding and authoritarianism is gaining ground, with far-reaching global implications.
Katie Ledecky with her first gold medal of the Paris Games and eight overall.
OLYMPICS
Aug 1, 2024

Ledecky admits it is 'not getting easier' after another Olympic masterclass

The 27-year-old was untouchable, surging home in an Olympic record and more than 10 seconds ahead of France's Anastasiia Kirpichnikova in second.
Jailed Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza stands behind a glass wall of an enclosure for defendants during a court hearing to consider an appeal against his prison sentence, in Moscow, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 1, 2024

Signs of major prisoner exchange between Russia and the West multiply

Many major figures jailed in Russia have suddenly disappeared in a sign they might be being gathered for a swap.
Simone Biles reacts after her balance beam routine during the women's all-around final at the Paris Olympics on Thursday.
OLYMPICS / Gymnastics
Aug 2, 2024

Peerless Simone Biles wins second Olympic all-around title

Brazilian Rebeca Andrade earned silver for the second straight Games and defending champion Sunisa Lee of the United States finished with bronze.
U.S. President Joe Biden holds the arm of Elizabeth Whelan, sister of Paul Whelan, as he delivers remarks on a prisoner swap that included the release of Paul Whelan from Russia, in the East Room at the White House in Washington, on Thursday.
WORLD
Aug 2, 2024

The Russia prisoner swap was years in the making for the U.S.

Talks that led to the prisoner exchange started more than two years ago and almost didn't happen.
Investors are grappling with the possibility that the Federal Reserve may need to loosen its tight grip on the economy much faster than anticipated to avoid a recession.
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Aug 3, 2024

U.S. recession scare fuels searing rally in bonds and puts yield curve flip in view

Investors are grappling with the possibility the Federal Reserve may need to loosen its grip on the economy faster than anticipated to avoid a recession.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington in April 2019.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 3, 2024

Alongside the Trump-Russia inquiry, a lesser-known look at Egyptian influence

The Justice Department investigated whether a Trump adviser was part of an Egyptian plan, never proven, to funnel $10 million to the 2016 Trump campaign.
South Korean Ambassador to Japan Yun Duk-min is interviewed in Tokyo on July 19.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 4, 2024

South Korea's outgoing envoy pushes for joint declaration on history recognition

Yun Duk-min reiterated that a declaration could be announced in 2025 to mark the 60th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral diplomatic ties.
Americans Simone Biles (left) and Jordan Chiles (right) bow toward Brazil's Rebeca Andrade after Andrade won gold in the floor exercise event at the Paris Olympics.
OLYMPICS / Gymnastics
Aug 6, 2024

Brazil's Rebeca Andrade gets her moment of glory after long wait

After playing second fiddle to American superstar Simone Biles for the past week, Brazil's Rebeca Andrade finally rose to the top of the podium.

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