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Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato holds a virtual meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 2, 2025

Japan to closely monitor impact on yen of Trump tariffs, Kato says

Kato spoke as the world braces for first salvo in Trump's tariff war, with general levies of 25% on Canada and Mexico and 10% on China.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (left) speaks during an executive order signing ceremony with U.S. President Donald Trump and Howard Lutnick, chief executive officer of Cantor Fitzgerald and U.S. commerce secretary nominee, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
BUSINESS
Feb 4, 2025

Trump orders creation of U.S. sovereign wealth fund and says it could buy TikTok

The text of the executive order was sparse on details, and simply directed the Treasury and Commerce Departments to submit a plan for such a fund within 90 days.
A Ukrainian serviceman fires a howitzer toward Russian troops, in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, on Jan. 11.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 4, 2025

Ukraine's politics warms up as U.S. focuses on war's endgame

In the past week, one Ukrainian political camp has accused President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's team of caring more about elections than the war.
While it's unclear whether U.S. President Donald Trump will follow through with his promised 25% levies on Mexico and Canada after agreeing to a 30-day pause on Monday, the blowback would be profound for Nissan.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Feb 4, 2025

Trump tariffs will only add to the pain for hard-hit Nissan

The blowback from potential tariffs on Mexico and Canada would be profound for Japan's No.3 carmaker, which is struggling to turn itself around.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters in Washington in 2023. Groups with EPA grants say they have been unable to access funds from the agency.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Feb 5, 2025

Trump’s freeze on climate money sows fear and confusion

A federal judge temporarily blocked the spending pause days later but uncertainty persists, with the full impact of the disruption still coming into view.
Toyota is investing in increased capacity for electric vehicles and has unveiled plans to establish a subsidiary in Shanghai.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 5, 2025

Toyota raises annual profit guidance despite quarterly income drop

The automaker now expects a profit of ¥4.7 trillion ($31 billion) for the fiscal year ending March, up from its previous forecast of ¥4.3 trillion.
U.S. President Donald Trump's imposed and since paused tariffs on Canada and Mexico, coupled with his broad levies on China — and possibly others soon — pose risks of economic retaliation, supply chain disruptions and long-term damage to U.S. influence.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2025

The tariff man is making a risky bet

The optimal tariff argument ignores the substantial risks that Trump is taking. A generalized trade war will make everyone worse off.
A cargo ship full of shipping containers at the port of Oakland in Oakland, California, as trade tensions escalate over U.S. tariffs on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 6, 2025

Economists brace for Trump's new trade war to rekindle inflation worldwide

Stubborn growth in consumer prices was bothering much of the world even before U.S. President Donald Trump entered the White House.
China, under President Xi Jinping, is resisting Donald Trump’s trade tariffs, but may need to respond with major fiscal stimulus, currency devaluation or allowing TikTok’s sale to navigate economic challenges.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2025

China’s Mr. Big Won’t Cave in to Trump for Nothing

Does Xi Jinping have a trade war game plan? He’ll need to make hard choices.
Far from making America great again, Donald Trump’s actions since assuming the presidency are giving a giant boost to China’s attempts at world leadership.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 7, 2025

‘America First’ in action

Far from making America great again, Trump is giving a giant boost to China’s claims to world leadership.
U.S. President Donald Trump (right) and Russian President Vladimir Putin talk during a bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Osaka in 2019.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 11, 2025

Russia seen playing hardball with Trump on Ukraine peace discussions

Donald Trump, who has repeatedly stated he wants to end the war in Ukraine, said he thought he was making progress, though he has not shared how he hopes to end the conflict.
Firefighters work at a site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 11, 2025

Trump funding freeze threatens Ukraine probe of alleged Russian war crimes

At stake are six U.S.-funded projects at the Prosecutor General's Office valued at $89 million, according to a Ukrainian document on the U.S. funding and cuts.
Rory McIlroy celebrates on the 18th hole after winning the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in Pebble Beach, California, on Feb. 2.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Feb 13, 2025

Rory McIlroy had conversation with Donald Trump about PGA-LIV deal

McIlroy said he played golf with Trump in early January and felt Trump supported the PGA over Saudi-backed LIV.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump meet while attending the Group of 20 summit during Trump's first term, in Osaka in June 2019.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 16, 2025

U.S. and Russian officials to meet in Saudi Arabia for Ukraine war talks

The meeting could pave the way for a potential leaders’ summit as soon as the end of the month to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacts during the Munich Security Conference in the German city on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 16, 2025

Zelenskyy says draft U.S. minerals deal 'does not protect' Ukraine

The negotiations illustrate the pitfalls Zelenskyy faces as he seeks to win Donald Trump's backing and secure post-war security guarantees.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Chernyshov (center left), German Head of the Federal Chancellery and Minister for Special Tasks Wolfgang Schmidt and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attend the Munich Security Conference in Munich on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 18, 2025

Security demands cast new shadow on Europe's finances

Some fear a political backlash if governments simply slash social spending to buy more soldiers and guns.
Newly manufactured cars ready for shipping. U.S. President Donald Trump said he is likely to impose new 25% tariffs on imported cars, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals in the coming months.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 19, 2025

Trump floats 25% tariffs on U.S. auto, drug and chip imports

The U.S. president has also threatened other streams of tariffs, all part of an effort to reconfigure the country's trading relationships across the globe.
Kash Patel, who was approved on a 51-49 mostly party line vote, takes over the Federal Bureau of Investigation at a turbulent time.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 21, 2025

Kash Patel confirmed to lead reshaping of FBI under Trump

Patel overcame intense opposition during his confirmation process, especially from Democrats who argued he isn’t qualified.
U.S. President Donald Trump is seen on a TV screen in Kabul. Trump’s first term resulted in talks that eventually led to the Taliban’s return to power, but this time around, Afghans hope that the president will take a tough stance against the brutal regime.  
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 21, 2025

What Trump’s return could mean for Afghanistan

Despite Afghan refugees being denied admission to the U.S., at least for now, there is hope that the new Trump administration will undermine the brutal Taliban regime in Kabul.
Elon Musk listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Feb. 11.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 23, 2025

Musk orders U.S. federal workers to report on work by Monday or resign

It is unclear what legal basis Musk has to terminate federal workers if they fail to respond or what would happen to employees that cannot detail confidential work.
A makeshift memorial for Ukrainian soldiers who died fighting invading Russian forces and the Monument to Independence in Kyiv on Feb. 14
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 2025

Ukraine can survive with the ‘least worst’ peace deal

Clearly the main issue and unfortunately it looks like Trump’s idea of ending the war fast means doing very little for the people who were actually invaded.
Demonstrators rally in support of USAID in Boston on Feb 17. Women and children are the main beneficiaries of humanitarian assistance, so they are the biggest victims of what is unfolding with the agency’s closure.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 20, 2025

Mr. President, foreign aid does put America first

Women and children are the main beneficiaries of humanitarian assistance, so they are the biggest victims of what is unfolding with USAID's closure .
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba addresses Group of Seven leaders during a teleconference from the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo late Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 25, 2025

Japan urges G7 to avoid 'wrong lessons' in Ukraine peace process

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has urged leaders to be careful in backing any Ukraine peace process that could validate the use of force to change borders.
U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron look at each other during a press conference at the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 25, 2025

Macron and Trump rekindle Le Bromance with a touch of tension

Strains over Trump's sudden pivot to Russia over the Ukraine war bubbled up to the surface, even if Macron softened the blow with yet another physical gesture.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt (center) takes questions during a daily briefing at the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 26, 2025

White House takes control of picking media who cover Trump

The move came amid an escalating battle between the White House and the Associated Press news agency, which Trump has barred from presidential events.
Elon Musk holds up a chainsaw onstage during the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, on Feb. 20.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 26, 2025

Musk's new ultimatum spurs fresh confusion among U.S. government workers

President Donald Trump said workers who did not respond would be "sort of semi-fired," adding to the uncertainty.
A Chinese H-6 bomber flies between Okinawa’s main island and Miyako Island in October 2013. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned that Japan must strengthen its defenses in case of a Taiwan contingency.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 26, 2025

As Ukraine endgame intensifies, don’t forget Taiwan

The scale of China’s air and naval exercises around Taiwan has grown from fewer than a dozen planes and ships a few years ago to over 250 in the December exercise alone.
U.S. President Donald Trump hosts his first cabinet meeting with Elon Musk in attendance in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 27, 2025

White House bars reporters from covering Trump cabinet meeting

The White House denied access to an Associated Press photographer and three reporters from Reuters, HuffPost and Der Tagesspiegel, a German newspaper.
A scientific officer works in the research lab at the University of Cape Town's Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, in Cape Town, South Africa on Feb. 17.
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 28, 2025

Services to millions of people collapse as USAID cuts contracts worldwide

Among those to get termination notices were major U.N. health programs, which might have different sources of funding, and smaller groups that relied mostly on U.S. grants.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba answers questions during a Lower House Budget Committee meeting at parliament on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 3, 2025

Ishiba says Japan won't take sides in U.S. row with Ukraine

The Japanese leader sought to strike a balance for Japan, the sole Asian G7 member, in its alliance with the U.S. and its longstanding support for Kyiv.

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