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February 23, 2025
 

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US CONGRESS

Scott Bessent, then nominee for U.S. treasury secretary, arrives for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 16.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 28, 2025
Billionaire financier Bessent confirmed as Trump's treasury chief
The new treasury secretary will be the chief economic spokesman for President Donald Trump and his sweeping agenda of tax cuts, deregulation and trade rebalancing.
More than a dozen Justice Department lawyers were fired after Acting Attorney General James McHenry, a Trump appointee, concluded they "could not be trusted to faithfully implement the President’s agenda because of their significant role in prosecuting the President," a Justice Department official said.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 28, 2025
Trump administration fires team of lawyers who prosecuted him
The officials were fired after the administration concluded they "could not be trusted to faithfully implement the President’s agenda."
U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One upon departure from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 26, 2025
Trump's firing of independent watchdog officials draws criticism
Donald Trump's late-night firing of inspectors general was called illegal by Democrats and others and drew concern from at least one fellow Republican.
Pete Hegseth, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for defense secretary, testifies during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill on Jan. 14 Washington. U.S. Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote to confirm Hegseth, a former Fox News personality, as U.S. defense chief late Friday — despite allegations of alcohol abuse, sexual misconduct and other concerns about his qualifications to lead the Pentagon.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 25, 2025
Pete Hegseth confirmed in knife-edge vote to be new U.S. defense chief
In a mostly party-line result that saw no Democrats vote for Hegseth, three Republicans — including former GOP leader Mitch McConnell — also voted no.
Pete Hegseth, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon, during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Jan 15, 2025
Trump nominee Pete Hegseth weathers Democrat grilling largely unscathed
Hegseth, a former Fox News host and decorated veteran, is one of the most controversial figures ever nominated to be secretary of defense.
Pete Hegseth, U.S. secretary of defense nominee for President-elect Donald Trump, arrives for a meeting with Sen. Chuck Grassley, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 11, 2025
With hearings imminent, partisan fight escalates over Trump Cabinet
Democrats are demanding that Republicans slow consideration of picks for the new administration until they can review background checks.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson holds the gavel after winning reelection to his post at the Capitol in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 4, 2025
Johnson reelected as U.S. House speaker after putting down GOP revolt
Republican U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson persuaded enough holdouts on the right to keep his post, but the vote reflected the steep challenge he faces.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks to reporters following the passage of spending legislation to avert a government shutdown, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 21, 2024
U.S. Congress passes bill to avert shutdown
After weeks of tense negotiations that went down to the wire, U.S. lawmakers passed a bill to fund federal agencies through mid-March.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has, in rapid-fire fashion, named a spate of ideological warriors, conspiracy theorists and now even family members to senior government positions.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 3, 2024
Trump doubles down on defiance after collapse of Matt Gaetz selection
Trump, in rapid-fire fashion, has kept naming more ideological warriors, conspiracy theorists and now even family members to senior government positions.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks during a rally for Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden in New York on Oct. 27.
WORLD
Nov 16, 2024
Senators ask Pentagon and U.S. attorney general to probe Musk's alleged Russia calls
Musk, who has been appointed to a senior government role by Trump, oversees billions of dollars in Pentagon and intelligence-community contracts.
Campaign spending in the U.S. has surged, with dark money and Super PACs dominating elections.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 13, 2024
Dark money is a cancer on U.S. lawmakers — but it’s curable
Nearly three-fourths of Americans voters say lobbyists and special interests wield too much influence compared to constituents.
DJI has said that it has no ties to the Chinese military, saying "the unfounded accusations against our agricultural drone technology are putting U.S. farmers at risk by potentially depriving them of the tremendous benefits that DJI spray drones offer."
WORLD / Politics
Sep 7, 2024
Lawmakers want U.S. to address risks posed by Chinese agriculture drones
The lawmakers asked for a briefing by Sept. 30, citing the large number of drones produced by Chinese drone manufacturer DJI as a security concern.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a commemoration ceremony for soldiers killed during the 2014 Gaza war, also known as Operation Protective Edge, at the Memorial Hall on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 21, 2024
Defiant Benjamin Netanyahu to face U.S. Congress amid Gaza tensions
Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving premier, will become the first foreign leader to address a joint meeting of the two chambers four times.
David DePape (left) assaults Paul Pelosi, husband of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, at their San Francisco home on Oct. 28, 2022 in still screen shot from a police bodycam. DePape, convicted in 2023 of breaking into the couple's San Francisco home and bludgeoning Paul Pelosi with a hammer, was jailed Friday for 30 years.
WORLD / Politics
May 18, 2024
Nancy Pelosi's husband's attacker jailed for 30 years
Jurors in his trial heard how David DePape — a Canadian former nudist activist who supported himself with occasional carpentry work — had initially planned to target Nancy Pelosi.
A rally in support of Ukraine outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Saturday, the same day the House of Representatives approved a $61 billion aid package supporting Kyiv's war effort.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 22, 2024
Ukraine aid shows MAGA hasn’t cowed Johnson
The U.S. House speaker rejected the isolationism that has come to dominate his party, extending a lifeline to Kyiv by approving a long-debated aid package.
Ukrainian gunners from the 14th Separate Mechanized Brigade fire at the enemy from a position near the town of Kupyansk, in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 22, 2024
U.S. aid gives Kyiv respite but battlefield shift remains far off
Much will depend on how quickly U.S. assistance can get to the front line.
Taiwanese flags are seen at the island's Defense Ministry in Taipei in December 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 21, 2024
Taiwan says it will discuss with U.S. how to use new funding
The funds were part of a $95 billion legislative package mostly providing security aid to Ukraine and Israel passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's summit in Washington showed that Japan's evolving defense policy reflects a changing security landscape. It will also require increased defense spending and commitments to international engagement.
EDITORIALS
Apr 12, 2024
Japan steps up to become a 'full global partner'
One U.S. official described the results of the Japan-U.S. talks as probably the largest set of substantial, significant deliverables ever seen.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addresses a joint meeting of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 12, 2024
'The world needs the United States': Kishida warns Congress over risk of American retreat
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida became just the second Japanese leader to address a joint meeting of Congress, pledging to stand side-by-side with the U.S.
An image taken from video of a U.S. Navy F/A-18 jet crew’s encounter with an unexplained anomalous phenomena
WORLD / Politics
Mar 9, 2024
Pentagon review finds no evidence of alien cover-up
But the new report suggests that the public’s belief that the government is hiding what it knows will probably continue.
Japan's Prince Hisahito to hold first news conference on March 3
Prince Hisahito heads to greet the Emperor and Empress on the occasion of his 18th birthday in Tokyo on Sep. 6.
Special website created 30 years after Tokyo subway sarin attack
Ahead of the 30th anniversary of the 1995 sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system by Aum Shinrikyo, the Public Security Intelligence Agency launched a special website Friday.
LDP and opposition lock horns over Japan budget
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in parliament on Friday
Japanese nationals returned from Myanmar as scam probe continues
Multinational victims of scam centers, who were allegedly trafficked into working in Myanmar and were sent to Thailand on Feb. 12 amid a mounting crackdown on scam centers operating along a porous border, queue to get food at a shelter in Tak province, Thailand, on Wednesday.
Over 80% of Japanese say death penalty system is 'unavoidable'
Former death row inmate Iwao Hakamata (left) and his sister, Hideko, attend a gathering of his supporters after his acquittal in a retrial over a 1966 murder case was finalized in October last year.
As Ukraine rift emerges, Kyiv's envoy says Japan must take on bigger global role
Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky speaks during an interview at the Ukrainian Embassy in Tokyo on Monday.
Japan release of Shiori Ito's documentary in limbo
Shiori Ito, who won a civil suit over a rape case against a TV reporter, in 2018. Her former lawyers claim her documentary includes footage used without the consent of sources.
Abdul Hakim Sani Brown ready to sprint past Paris disappointment
Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (center) runs during a 100-meter heat at the Paris Olympics on Aug. 3, 2024.
What is the ceiling for sumo’s newest yokozuna?
Newly promoted grand champion Hoshoryu (center) performs a dedication ceremony at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo on Jan. 31.
‘Yasuko, Songs of Days Past’ puts overlooked star in the spotlight
“Yasuko, Songs of Days Past” centers on a real-life love triangle between poet Chuya Nakahara (Taisei Kido, left), actor Yasuko Hasegawa (Suzu Hirose, center) and literary critic Hideo Kobayashi (Masaki Okada).

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Tokyo Koon stands at the forefront of tackling the so-called 2025 issue, also known as the “Magnetic Tape Alert.”
The race to save 20th-century history
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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