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Michael McMahon, a retired New York City police sergeant working as a private investigator, arrives for the start of his trial at the Brooklyn federal court in New York on May 31, 2023. McMahon was sentenced to 1½ years in prison on Wednesday for acting as an illegal Chinese agent.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 17, 2025
Ex-New York cop sentenced to 1½ years' jail for acting as Chinese agent
A jury found Michael McMahon guilty of interstate stalking and of acting as an agent of China without notifying the U.S. attorney general.
The crude oil tanker New Odyssey arrives at the port in Qingdao, in China's eastern Shandong province on April 15. The U.S. has issued new sanctions targeting Iran's oil exports, including against a China-based independent oil refinery.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 17, 2025
U.S. issues new sanctions targeting Chinese importers of Iranian oil
The move comes as Washington seeks to ramp up pressure on Iran as it reentered talks with Tehran over its nuclear program this month.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, speaks to reporters in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 17, 2025
Japan and the U.S. begin tariff talks on good terms, but without breakthroughs
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said there are still gaps between the respective stances of Japan and the U.S.
A drone view shows a cargo ship at Kwai Tsing Container Terminals in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 17, 2025
U.S. looks to box in China by recruiting other trading partners
Dozens of nations are seeking reductions or exemptions from President Donald Trump’s historic import taxes.
A U.S. security report cites DeepSeek’s ties to Chinese government interests as "significant.”
WORLD / Politics
Apr 17, 2025
DeepSeek poses ‘profound’ security threat, U.S. house panel claims
The committee urged Nvidia to hand over information on sales of chips that the Chinese startup may have used to develop its breakthrough chatbot model.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks as Vice President JD Vance looks on during a meeting with President Donald Trump and President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador in the White House in Washington on April 14. Rubio and his aides shut down a State Department office on Wednesday that tracks and counters global disinformation from foreign actors, including the governments of China, Russia and Iran, U.S. officials said.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 17, 2025
U.S. State Department closing office targeting foreign disinformation
The GEC had come under intense criticism from some Republicans who said it was straying from its mission, accusing it of disfavoring opinions by conservative media in particular.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Thursday in Washington.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 16, 2025
Trump calls the U.S.-Japan alliance ‘one-sided.’ Tokyo says otherwise.
Some observers believe the U.S. president’s worldview is stuck in the 1980s, a time when trade deficits with Japan captured the attention of U.S. policymakers.
Honda has said that it will shift production of its hybrid Civic to the United States in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imported cars.
BUSINESS
Apr 16, 2025
Honda to shift production of Civic from Japan to U.S. due to tariffs
Production of the five-door hybrid model will be relocated around June or July to Honda’s plant in Indiana.
Ilia Malinin skates during an exhibition in Boston on March 30.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 16, 2025
Skating 'Quad God' Malinin ready for Olympic favorite tag
The American, known as the "Quad God," for his dazzling arsenal of quadruple jumps, will be competing in Tokyo this week for the World Team Trophy.
Under the Economic Security Promotion Act, the government implements a range of measures to secure vital supply chains, from providing subsidies and low-interest loans to coordinating regulations, stockpiling essential goods and protecting advanced technologies.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 16, 2025
METI may list undersea cables and satellites as critical for economic security
The move comes amid an increasingly uncertain geo-economic climate, with global powers becoming more protectionist.
Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, responds to a question at Haneda Airport in Tokyo ahead of his visit to the United States on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 16, 2025
Akazawa, Japan’s tariff czar, jets to Washington for mission impossible 
Tokyo realizes that achieving a satisfactory meeting of the minds with Washington will be a real challenge.
Stacked parcels are seen as an employee stands at a service counter at a post office in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 16, 2025
Hong Kong postal service halts U.S. parcels over tariff ‘bullying'
The move comes as Trump’s tariff offensive on China increasingly affects the former British colony.
The building of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia in Phnom Penh. The court, which ended proceedings in 2022, tried former Khmer Rouge officials for crimes committed during the regime, reinforcing global norms against impunity.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 16, 2025
Japan should challenge Washington in defense of justice
Japan played a key role in trying the Khmer Rouge for their crimes in Cambodia. Half a century on from the genocidal regime, Tokyo must renew its commitment to international law.
Samples of rare earth minerals on display at the Molycorp Mountain Pass Rare Earth facility in California in 2015
WORLD / Politics
Apr 16, 2025
Seven rare earth metals that China is weaponizing against the U.S.
China’s dominance of both mining and processing rare earth minerals means these niche metals have become a cudgel to use against opponents.
Men painted like skeletons pose in Lagos to warn on the deadly disease prior to the World Malaria Day on April 25, 2015. The sudden dismantling of USAID, the country's main foreign development arm, is unraveling health care systems across Africa.
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 16, 2025
USAID cuts rip through African health care systems
The sudden dismantling of USAID is unraveling health care systems across Africa that were built from a complicated web of national health ministries, companies and nonprofits.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 16, 2025
Trump’s tariffs may spur policy response from BOJ, Sankei reports
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda's policy comments reinforce speculation that authorities aren’t likely to consider a near-term rate hike.
Facing a new round of U.S. tariffs, China may devalue the yuan — possibly by as much as 20% — if fiscal stimulus falls short, risking a global currency war as it fights to meet its growth target.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 16, 2025
When will China start to devalue the yuan?
One way to think about China’s currency policy is its fiscal stance. Unless Beijing brings out the stimulus bazooka, devaluing the yuan might be the most expedient option.
The Canton Fair in Guangzhou, China, on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 16, 2025
Ground zero of China trade boom reckons with decoupling from U.S.
"The China-U.S. relation is beyond salvation — this change of gears is irreversible,” said the China director at a political risk consultancy.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has sent a delegation to Washington for high-stakes tariff talks, as other nations watch to see if Tokyo can secure favorable terms from the Trump administration.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 16, 2025
If Japan can’t get a good trade deal, can anyone?
The Asian nation is the canary in the tariff coal mine. If it can’t secure a good deal, there’s little hope for others.
The trade war is ratcheting up tensions between Beijing and Washington. Taipei needs to be more prepared. 
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 15, 2025
Taiwan is under siege with or without tariffs
Taiwan must urgently strengthen defenses and unite politically to counter rising threats from China, despite Trump’s trade war.

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Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.