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Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda holds a news conference at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday. The bank raised rates to 0.25% in just the second hike since 2007.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 1, 2024

Ueda’s big day was lost in a communication black hole

The BOJ should improve its information release process, including fixing leaks and setting fixed release times, to avoid similar issues in the future.
While the Pentagon dismisses UFO evidence as inconclusive, the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee has pushed back and demanded further investigation.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 1, 2024

The real government conspiracy isn’t about UFOs

As the Pentagon dismisses UFO evidence, the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee pushes back and demands further investigation.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks about the release of Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, who were detained in Russia, as she departs to return to Washington, at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 4, 2024

Surging Harris spars with Trump over debate dates

Trump's proposal to confront Harris on Fox, a network that has long supported him, was his latest effort to recapture momentum.
Takayuki Kobayashi has been elected to the Lower House four times and served in Cabinet posts, including as the country's first economic security minister.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 4, 2024

Some in LDP pushing Takayuki Kobayashi, 49, to enter leadership race

Could the youthful former economic security minister help convince voters that the party is making efforts to reform itself following a high-profile scandal?
Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes Russian nationals, including Artyom Dultsev, Anna Dultseva, convicted of spying in Slovenia, and their children at 
an airport in Moscow on Thursday following a prisoner exchange with Western countries.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2024

Russia’s prisoner trade says all you need to know about Putin

Among those released to Russia were people convicted by independent courts of cybercrimes, insider trading and breaking sanctions.
The International Boxing Association holds a news conference in Paris on Monday, with the association's president, Umar Kremlev, appearing on a video feed from Moscow.
OLYMPICS
Aug 6, 2024

A chaotic news conference offers little clarity on an Olympic boxing dispute

The International Boxing Association’s Russian president delivered wild accusations, personal attacks and used questionable language when detailing the two women's cases.
A Google logo at the company's campus in Mountain View, California, on May 2. Google acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in online search, a federal judge ruled on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 6, 2024

Google illegally monopolized search options, judge rules

The judge's decision will "lay the blueprint for other tech cases going forward,” an antitrust professor said.
Despite China’s advocacy for “no first use” as a global standard and its call for inclusion in international law for nuclear weapons, many analysts view it as a political statement rather than a practical strategy.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 6, 2024

China’s 'no first use' nuclear policy rings hollow for many

Critics argue that China's NFU policy is less credible due to its expanding nuclear arsenal and the secrecy surrounding
U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her newly chosen vice presidential running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz wave to supporters during a campaign rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 7, 2024

Kamala Harris bypasses bigger names for Tim Walz's broad appeal

Walz’s task is clear: Bring back Democratic blocs who drifted from Biden, while sharpening the party’s message on the economy.
Music designer Linda Feki in Naples, Italy, on July 12
WORLD / Society
Aug 7, 2024

Italy's abortion divisions sharpen under Meloni's leadership

A musician from Naples, Italy, recalls her experience seeking an abortion after her online post about it drew support and criticism.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at a meeting of a Liberal Democratic Party panel on constitutional reform in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 7, 2024

Kishida looks to constitutional reform to win over LDP conservatives

The prime minister has strengthened his tone on constitutional revision ahead of the party's presidential election.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, Defense Minister Minoru Kihara, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin attend the Japan-U.S. Extended Deterrence Dialogue in Tokyo on July 28.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 7, 2024

Japan-U.S. alliance transforms with concrete 'two-plus-two' talks

Despite the long and challenging history of Japan-U.S. two-plus-two meetings, this year's Tokyo meeting was truly groundbreaking.
U.S. Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, and her just-announced running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, greet supporters on Tuesday at Temple University in Philadelphia, the first day of their "Battleground State Tour."
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 7, 2024

Harris VP pick is a regular guy — exactly what she needs

Walz is the perfect counterbalance to Harris. He brings deep experience as a governor, House contacts as a former congressman and an everyman back story.
Masahiro Nimura’s “Mommy” features interviews with family members of Masumi Hayashi (right), who was convicted of killing four people and poisoning over 60 others with arsenic-laced curry.
CULTURE / Film
Aug 8, 2024

‘Mommy’: A flawed but fascinating dive into a notorious murder case

Masahiro Nimura’s documentary raises reasonable doubts about a crime that gripped the nation over 20 years ago.
A demonstrator carries a cross during the annual "March for Life" in Washington on Jan. 19.
WORLD / Society
Aug 8, 2024

U.S. public schools are becoming the new religious battleground

The religious movement is fueled by opposition to what conservatives call liberal curricula in school, including a focus on diversity and LGBTQ rights.
New Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar's ascension to power, combined with Netanyahu’s refusal to agree to a cease-fire unless the group capitulates, makes finding a resolution in Gaza difficult.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 8, 2024

New Hamas chief is an arsonist in a desert tinderbox

Yahya Sinwar fills a post that opened with the July 31 killing of Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s politburo chairman, while on a visit to Tehran.
Former Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba answers reporters' questions at parliament on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2024

Shigeru Ishiba remains public's favorite for next LDP leader, poll shows

In the August poll, Shigeru Ishiba was backed by 18.7% of respondents, followed by former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi with 12.5%.
Blistering heat is becoming a fixture of summer in Japan, but a few tweaks to your routine can make your outdoor runs bearable — if not enjoyable — until cooler temperatures return.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Boiling Point
Aug 10, 2024

Ice bandanas, convenience store breaks: Running under Japan’s summer sun

There are easily affordable ways to work some more cooling elements into your runs.
A Goku balloon from the “Dragon Ball” anime series takes part in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Manhattan in November 2018. Japan’s creative industries are under threat as AI tools make it easy to mimic anime, manga and other forms of the nation’s artistic output.
COMMENTARY
Aug 9, 2024

Japan’s soft AI stance is betraying its anime artists

From Studio Ghibli to Pokemon, the country’s creatives have driven its influence and must be protected.
A man makes his way along an earthquake-damaged street in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in January. With last week's tremors in Kyushu and the nature of the Nankai Trough, some experts believe that the omens of a disaster can be seen.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 11, 2024

Japan is living in the shadow of the megaquake

People tend to view the quake threat in the abstract. It’s kind of like thinking about death — I know I’ll die someday, but I hope it won’t be today.
The destruction left behind by the Borel Fire near Lake Isabella, California, on July 29
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 13, 2024

Wildfires are getting weirder. Case in point: 'firenados.'

Sometimes fire thunderstorms even create their own lightning, which spawns new blazes miles away.
The only surprise about Ukraine's offensive into Russian territory is that it came so late into the war, and that’s primarily because of Western restrictions on the use of donated weapons.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 14, 2024

Want peace for Ukraine? Let it strike in Russia

The only surprise is that it came so late — 2½ years into President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba (left) and Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te at the presidential office in Taipei on Tuesday
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 14, 2024

Is it fifth time's the charm for Shigeru Ishiba?

Ahead of the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential race, a short trip to Taiwan is allowing the former defense minister to burnish his foreign policy chops.
A return to the world with interest will almost certainly mean an increase in the bifurcation of Japan's haves and have-nots.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 5, 2024

Is Japan ready for a ‘world with interest?’

Ever since Ueda arrived at the central bank 15 months ago, economists have been debating what the "world with interest” will look like.
Henry VIII had to deal with xenophobic mobs in England too — and he did so harshly and imperfectly. But there’s an abiding lesson to be learned.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 14, 2024

The U.K. riots and an evil day 500 years ago in London

The enmity focused on the foreign-born may have been sparked by misinformation, but that doesn’t disguise the fact that the tinder was waiting to be lit in Britain.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s decision to step down as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader has thrown the race for his successor into uncertainty.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 15, 2024

Kishida’s resignation opens the door to a chaotic era

With Fumio Kishida's resignation, the LDP faces a crucial election next month with no clear front-runner to become its next leader.
The beauty of 'kaiseki' (Japanese haute cuisine), chef Shinichiro Takagi says, is that it represents the best elements of Japan's culinary traditional all working in tandem.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 18, 2024

Shinichiro Takagi sees a way forward for fine dining in Japan

The two-Michelin-starred chef sees two ways forward for fine dining in Japan: fostering domestic talent and adapting to international diners.
The refrain from linking the ruble's fall to the events unfolding just 530 kilometers southwest of Moscow illustrates a push within Russia to prevent bad economic news from reaching the wider public.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 16, 2024

Silence reigns in Russia over linking ruble fall to Ukrainian attack

The ruble touched a 10-month low against the dollar and the lowest level against the yuan since June 24 in the Aug. 13 session.
South Africa's 49-year-old skateboarding Olympian, Dallas Oberholzer, competes in the men's prelims during the Paris Games on Aug. 7.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 16, 2024

The oldest Olympians might hold the key to slowing down aging

As we age, the number of mitochondria in our cells declines, but that happens much more slowly in people who continue to do strenuous exercise.
New gene-edited crops could address climate change and agricultural challenges; however, high regulatory barriers and safety concerns limit innovation.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 18, 2024

It’s time to embrace a new era of gene-edited food

New crops may improve our health or help us mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Longform

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