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U.S.

Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi along with his Indonesian counterpart, Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, inspect an honor guard during a welcome ceremony in Jakarta on Monday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 8, 2026
Indonesia-Japan defense pact reshapes Indo-Pacific security
The implications for the Indo-Pacific are significant. A more capable Indonesia could strengthen deterrence and help maintain open sea lanes, reinforcing regional stability.
With U.S. President Donald Trump desperately seeking a deal to end the Iran war before he lands in Beijing for his May 14 to 15 visit, China could seek to use his weakened position to extract concessions on key issues.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 8, 2026
Trump heads for Xi summit overshadowed by Iran war
With U.S. President Donald Trump seeking a deal to end the Iran war before he lands in Beijing, China may seek to use his weakened position to extract concessions on key issues.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda (center) attends a monetary policy meeting with other high-ranking officials in Tokyo on April 28.
EDITORIALS
May 8, 2026
Japan pulls out the stops to halt the yen’s slide
While the yen’s dive has been abetted by speculators, the real causes of the currency’s weakness are structural.
Pacific Container Terminal in Long Beach, California, on Jan. 14.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 8, 2026
U.S. trade court rules Trump tariffs illegal, but issues narrow block
The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled in favor of two businesses and Washington ‌state ‌that challenged the tariffs.
An oil refinery in Germany on Thursday. Oil supplies are set to tighten further even if the U.S. and Iran reach a deal to end their war.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
May 8, 2026
Oil supply shock to worsen as inventories fall further even if conflict ends
The rapid depletion of commercial stockpiles and emergency reserves has come at a time when ‌stockpiles are typically ‌built in preparation for the Northern Hemisphere summer.
The Nikkei stock average rose 5.6% to close at a record high of 62,833.84 Thursday, ending above 62,000 for the first time.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 7, 2026
Japan’s Nikkei soars to a record on U.S.-Iran deal optimism
The tech-heavy Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 5.6% to close at a record high of 62,833.84, ending above 62,000 for the first time ever.
Taiwan National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (left, front desk) attends a parliament session in Taipei, in 2024.
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2026
China may try ‘maneuvering’ over Taiwan issue at Trump meeting, Taipei official says
U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit Beijing next week.
Pope Leo XIV shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Vatican on May 19, 2025.
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2026
Rubio to meet Pope Leo as Trump keeps up attacks on pontiff
The U.S. secretary of state’s Thursday visit at the Vatican is the first between the pope and a Trump cabinet official in nearly a year.
People chant during a rally in Tehran on May 6.
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2026
U.S. and Iran inch towards short-term deal to end fighting
The emerging plan centers on a short-term memorandum rather than a comprehensive peace deal.
The Port of Fujairah has become one of the United Arab Emirates' economic lifelines since the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
BUSINESS
May 7, 2026
Gulf’s fragile trade lifeline hangs on two eastern UAE ports
They are now handling the bulk of the UAE’s seaborne trade in place of ​the major terminals on the western coast inside the Gulf.
The West must look beyond caricatures and recognize that China’s aggressive actions are driven by insecurity, misperception and a calculated strategy to manage its rivals.
COMMENTARY / World
May 7, 2026
To counter China, the West must first understand its phobias
For a regime built on these institutional genes, the ultimate imperative is survival.
Asia’s budget airlines are struggling under soaring jet-fuel costs, facing flight cuts and higher fares, while governments are urged to intervene to prevent failures similar to the collapse of U.S.-based Spirit Airlines.
COMMENTARY / World
May 7, 2026
Asian budget carriers need help to avoid Spirit’s fate
Unlike the region’s flagship carriers, low-cost providers aren’t backed by sovereign wealth funds.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is ‌arranging a ‌three-day visit to Japan starting Monday, according to a source familiar with the matter.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 7, 2026
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to meet Takaichi and others next week
Bessent will speak individually with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama and BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda during his three-day visit, sources have said.
The semiconductor industry and related electronics sector together account for around 17% of Taiwan’s economy.
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
May 7, 2026
Hormuz crisis shows gaps in Taiwan’s high-tech ‘silicon shield’
The factors that make Taiwan an economic powerhouse — its successful technology industry and artificial intelligence-driven chipmaking — are also the ones making it vulnerable.
Honda vehicles at an auto show in Detroit in January. Honda is reviewing its strategy for its North American operations, shifting its focus from EVs to prioritize hybrid vehicles.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 7, 2026
Honda reconsiders Canada plant as U.S. demand for EVs slows
Honda is reviewing its strategy for its North American operations, shifting its focus from EVs to prioritize hybrid vehicles.
U.S., Japanese and South Korean naval vessels take part in combined anti-submarine exercises in waters off South Korea's Jeju Island in April 2023.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
May 7, 2026
Shifting costs to allies won’t ‘restore’ U.S. maritime dominance
Since the early 2020s, however, concerns about China’s dominance in the maritime sector have become widespread in the policy community.
In this courtroom sketch, Cole Tomas Allen, a suspect in the White House Correspondents' Association dinner shooting, sits in the courtroom during a hearing after being charged with attempting to assassinate U.S. President Donald Trump, in Washington on April 30.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 7, 2026
Iran war possible motive for Trump shooting suspect: U.S. intelligence report
The assessment sheds new light on the U.S. government’s search for a motive in the foiled attack on the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on April 25.
Ted Turner in Time Warner’s headquarters in Manhattan, on July 15, 1998.
WORLD
May 7, 2026
Ted Turner, former owner of Braves and CNN, dies at 87
Turner Enterprises, in a news release, confirmed Turner ⁠died Wednesday surrounded by family and friends.
Vessels anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off southern Iran on Monday
WORLD
May 6, 2026
Iran says safe transit of Strait of Hormuz will be possible with U.S. ending threats
⁠Safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz will be ensured ​with ‌U.S. threats ‌coming to ​an end and new procedures in ⁠place, the Revolutionary ⁠Guard’s navy said Wednesday.
U.S. Navy warships sail in an undisclosed location on April 27. A one-page memorandum of understanding reportedly under discussion between the U.S. and Iran has been described by sources as requiring both sides to lift restrictions around transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
WORLD
May 6, 2026
U.S. and Iran closing in on memorandum to end war, sources say
The memorandum was disclosed hours after U.S. President Donald Trump paused a three-day-old naval mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, citing progress in peace talks.

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The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
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