Tag - u.s.

 
Menu
Search
 
July 03, 2026
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

U.S.

The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson leads Japanese destroyers JS Ashigara (left) and JS Samidare during a transit of the Philippine Sea on April 26, 2017. Tokyo fears growing uncertainty as rivalry between Washington and Beijing deepens.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 21, 2026
Japan caught in the U.S.-China geoeconomic crossfire
For Japan, this creates a precarious environment. More than 80% of its energy imports — and much of its trade — passes through waters around Taiwan and the South China Sea.
The Strait of Hormuz crisis is exposing a new era of geopolitical coercion in which access to critical trade routes is selectively controlled, deepening economic insecurity in Asia and accelerating doubts about the reliability of the U.S.-led global order.
COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2026
How China and U.S. navigate the Strait of Hormuz stranglehold
The Strait of Hormuz has evolved into a laboratory for a new form of geopolitical coercion where access itself becomes currency.
Former economics professor and Bank of Japan board member Junko Koeda is the second among members who voted in favor of holding settings steady at bank's last policy meeting to have since signaled the likelihood of rate hikes to come. But she has also hinted at caution, saying it’s important to assess the impact stemming from the Middle East conflict.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 21, 2026
BOJ should raise policy rate at appropriate pace, says board member Junko Koeda
Koeda was among those who voted with the majority in favor of holding settings steady at the last policy meeting on April 28.
Members of the M23 rebel group guard a laboratory in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Tuesday, as provincial authorities visit the facility where suspected Ebola samples are being tested.
COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2026
Containing Ebola is hard. The U.S. made it worse
One thing is certain: The decimation of USAID will make containing the spread much more difficult.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump arrive at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14. Pool / via REUTERS
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 21, 2026
Why the Trump-Xi summit ended in an impasse
Given Xi’s reluctance to address Trump’s Iran concerns, he should be unsurprised that the U.S. has not fully endorsed his new framework for U.S.-China relations.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping greets U.S. President Donald Trump during an event at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14.
COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2026
China’s messaging is as important as its policy
That gap between public understanding of what China is doing and why and the reality of Beijing’s policy speaks to a broader failure that deserves more attention.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to journalists as he makes his way to board Marine One before departing from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on May 8.
WORLD / Politics
May 21, 2026
Trump’s $1.776 billion ‘weaponization’ fund sparks outrage, but court challenges will be tough
Congressional Democrats have derided what is known as the Anti-Weaponization Fund as a slush fund to steer taxpayer dollars to Trump’s political allies.
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets with Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi, secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, at Downing Street in London on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 21, 2026
Britain clinches $5 billion Gulf trade deal in shadow of Iran war
The deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council comes after U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran prompted Iranian attacks on countries in the region, straining energy and food supplies.
Vessels sail through the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, on Monday.
WORLD
May 21, 2026
Iran is consolidating control of Hormuz with checkpoints and diplomatic deals
With Iran now in de facto control of the strait, the system can involve intense vetting by the Iranian government and sometimes fees in exchange for safe passage.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he was ready to resume attacks on Iran, but added that he could wait a few days to "get the right answers."
WORLD / Politics
May 21, 2026
Trump says willing to wait for a few days to get ‘right answer’ on Iran peace deal
The ceasefire has yielded little progress, and soaring gasoline prices continue to ​weigh on the president’s approval ratings.
Group of 20 leaders hold a working lunch at the group’s summit in Osaka in June 2019. Japan is facing growing economic and geopolitical challenges as globalization gives way to a more fragmented world. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 20, 2026
Japan’s challenge in a world moving beyond old alliances
The emerging world order is likely to be more fragmented, more competitive and more uncertain.
Shipping containers are stacked while semitrucks are parked at Yangshan Port outside Shanghai on May 7.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 20, 2026
U.S. indicts seven Chinese over shipping container conspiracy
The indicted companies manufacture about 95% of the world’s standard dry shipping containers, and the alleged scheme impacted some $35 billion in commerce, officials said.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te delivers an address on the second anniversary of his taking office at the Presidential Office in Taipei on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 20, 2026
If they spoke, Taiwan president would tell Trump China was undermining stability
A conversation between the two ​presidents has not taken place since Washington shifted diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taipei in 1979.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping greets U.S. President Donald Trump outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing during their two-day summit on May 14.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 20, 2026
How will Japan react to Trump’s China pivot?
For Tokyo, the critical issue is whether the U.S. is fundamentally rethinking its approach toward China — and whether that shift could leave Japan dangerously exposed.
A reporter tries out a Kindle tablet at a news conference in New York in 2011.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 20, 2026
Kindle loyalists scramble as Amazon turns page on old e-readers
For longtime users, the end of support for devices released in 2012 or earlier feels like “complete betrayal.”
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he believes China will accept prior U.S. tariff rates being restored through new Section 301 duties as long as they don't go higher.
WORLD
May 20, 2026
U.S. not in a hurry to extend China trade truce, Bessent says
The U.S.-China truce negotiated over several months last year averted a total collapse of trade between the world’s two largest economies.
Ships and boats in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, on April 22
WORLD / Politics
May 20, 2026
NATO not drawing up plans for Hormuz mission, top commander says
Any decision to launch ​a mission would require the approval of all NATO’s 32 members and several have already signaled opposition.
A subsidiary of Itochu will take over the Japan sales operations of U.S. medical equipment maker SunMed Group Holdings, which does business in the country as AirLife.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 20, 2026
Itochu expands healthcare business with takeover of AirLife’s sales
The move comes as Japan’s trading houses cement healthcare as a key pillar of their businesses, placing it alongside traditional mainstays such as oil, gas and metals.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (left) speaks with Roland Lescure, France's economy, finances and industry minister, prior to a meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bank governors, in Paris on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 20, 2026
G7 finance ministers urge action on economic imbalances; some point to China
G7 finance ministers and central bank governors have met in Paris to discuss the fallout from the Iran war and volatility on ​global markets but were light on concrete measures.
A SkyFall P1-Sun interceptor drone during trials in Ukraine in March. Through a combination of new technology and tactics, Kyiv’s forces have been able to strike deep into Russian territory, to slow and in some cases even reverse battlefield gains by Moscow’s bigger army and inflict significant damage on oil facilities that help finance the Kremlin’s war machine.
WORLD / Politics
May 20, 2026
U.S. seeking transfer of intellectual property rights in drone deal, Kyiv says
Washington appears interested in getting access to critical technologies and rights that would allow it to replicate the equipment, a source said.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Why is the yen so weak and what can Japan do about it?
Japan spent ¥11.7 trillion ($73 billion) between late April and late May to prop up the weak yen.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.

Podcast

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

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Digital marketer Netyear zeros in on generative AI
Digital marketer Netyear zeros in on generative AI

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER