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    Japanese F-2Bs fly with American F-35s over the Sea of Japan in June 2023. (U.S. Indo-Pacific Command/Airman 1st Class Alexis Redin)
    U.S. lawmaker Ami Bera, in an interview in Tokyo on Oct. 24, stressed the importance of speeding up arms sales to Taiwan that he said the Trump administration has held up. (Photo by Akira Kitado)
    Defense

    US lawmaker to press Trump to expedite Taiwan arms sales

    Ami Bera says president has slowed deal despite congressional approval

    Killer drone on display outside Russia's National Defense Management Center in Moscow. (Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via Reuters)
    Interview

    SF writer Daniel Suarez warns of AI-powered authoritarianism

    Leader armed with killer robots, mass surveillance could imperil democracy

    A North Korean customs building at the end of the newly opened New Yalu River Bridge, which links the country to China: The crossing is expected to ease logistics bottlenecks and boost economic ties.
    North Korea tensions

    North Korea's Kim Jong Un visits China via newly opened bridge

    Crossing over Yalu River expected to boost bilateral trade after years of disruption

    GMO Internet Group said on Oct. 24 that it is seeking help from the government in dealing with the threat posed by hackers. (Photo by Koji Uema)
    Cybersecurity

    Japan net provider GMO seeks 'active cyber defense' from government

    Company says unauthorized trades executed through FX-related services

    Christopher Landau, U.S. deputy secretary of state, speaks on the importance of the U.S.-Japan alliance to deterrence via video message at Mt. Fuji Dialogue on Oct. 24. (Photo by Shintaro Ino)
    Defense

    Stronger Japan alliance needed for deterrence: Senior US official

    PM Takaichi stresses partnership is cornerstone in time of regional instability

    24 October 2026
    From left: Heleina Zara, nabii and Gypsy Lee are among a new generation of Australian women taking indie pop in adventurous directions and finding listeners at home and abroad. (From the artists' Instagram pages)
    Arts

    Australian women bring fresh voices to indie pop

    Emerging artists cross genres and build audiences at home and abroad

    24 October 2026
    Yokkaichi's industrial waterfront in Mie prefecture, central Japan, glows after dark. Once known for pollution that sickened residents, the area now draws visitors on nighttime boat tours. (Photo by Stephen Mansfield)
    Tea Leaves

    Once-notorious Japanese chemical complex draws tourists after dark

    Night cruises in Yokkaichi reveal a 'fairy-tale' world of lights, pipes and towers

    24 October 2026
    Larry Fink, chairman and CEO of BlackRock.
    My Personal History

    Larry: Stephen Schwarzman (23)

    Parting ways with the future BlackRock founder was a costly mistake

    24 October 2026
    A color panel from the hit manga "One Piece" on display at the Brooklyn Museum in New York. (Photo by Hiroki Endo)
    Arts

    Manga is having its moment in the New York art scene

    Original Japanese works fetch prices well above estimates as overseas fandom grows

    24 October 2026
    Volkswagen vehicles painted in military olive green are displayed at the IAA trade show in Hanover, Germany, in September. The cars were produced at the company's factory in Osnabrueck, which is set to be converted into a plant for missile defense systems, preserving some jobs. (Photo by Jens Kastner)
    Big in Asia

    China's automaking rise spurs German industry's turn to arms

    Plants repurposed and manpower diverted as EU attempts trade rebalancing

    24 October 2026
    People inspect damage at a house reportedly hit by a Houthi missile in the southwestern city of Taiz, Yemen, on Oct. 21.
    Commodities

    Brent crude jumps to highest since April on Houthi attacks, UAE oil spill

    Tanker carrying Russian diesel heads to New York, data shows

    24 October 2026
    Mitsubishi Materials produces thermistors smaller than 1 millimeter for use in optical transceivers. (Mitsubishi Materials)
    Supply Chain

    Mitsubishi Materials to boost thermal sensor output on AI demand

    Japanese company to expand capacity by sixfold at Thai production site

    24 October 2026
    Companies have rushed to patch vulnerabilities in PHP, a programming language used by roughly 70% of websites.
    Cybersecurity

    PHP security flaws prompt Japan to take websites down while US keeps them up

    Japanese companies halt online services out of abundance of caution

    24 October 2026
    Micronesia President Wesley Simina, left, shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi Oct. 23 in Tokyo. (Photo by Ken Suzuki)
    Indo-Pacific

    Japan, Micronesia affirm cooperation on free and open Indo-Pacific

    Tokyo to explore giving the Pacific island country a cargo-passenger ship

    24 October 2026
    Since Alexandr Wang joined Meta last year, the Facebook owner has turned its focus back to developing open-weight artificial intelligence models in addition to closed architectures. (Source photos by Ryotaro Yamada and Reuters)
    Interview

    As Muse personal AI agent debuts in Japan, Meta exec says it won't have ads

    AI head Wang explains strategy of keeping some models open to counter China

    24 October 2026
    Japan's financial system would "maintain overall stability" the BOJ said in its report released on Oct. 23. (Photo by Nanami Sato)
    Finance

    Japan banks prepared to weather AI crash, global rate spike: BOJ stress test

    Central bank report finds institutions would keep sufficient capital ratios

    24 October 2026
    A member of Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force uses a drone during a joint exercise with France in September.
    Defense

    Japan weighs rebranding energy, AI as defense spending under Trump pressure

    Proposals would be a step closer to achieving 3.5% of GDP

    24 October 2026
    Park24 detected unauthorized access into the systems of its Times Car car-sharing service in September. (Photo by Hikaru Yagi)
    Cybersecurity

    Japan car-sharing operator to offer users $19 each after data breach

    ID data for 1.46m accounts believed sent outside company systems

    24 October 2026
    A steelworks in India operated by a joint venture formed by JFE Steel and India's JSW Steel. (JFE Steel)
    Materials

    Japan's JFE Steel to build huge blast furnace in India with JSW Steel

    Joint venture with local partner aims to double production by 2030

    23 October 2026
    The bodies of two Japanese climbers have been recovered from mountains in northwest Nepal and are being taken to Kathmandu for post mortem. (Handout via Reuters)
    Natural disasters

    Two Japanese climbers die on a Himalayan peak in Nepal

    Bodies of pair missing since Oct. 15 recovered from Gangapurna West peak

    23 October 2026
    Shiga Bank and the parent company of Ikeda Senshu Bank are in talks for a merger, which would make them the largest such entity by combined assets in Japan's western Kansai region.
    Business deals

    Japan's regional banks in merger talks to form largest in nation's west

    Joining of Shiga Bank and Senshu Ikeda Holdings follows trend ahead of law expiring in 2030

    23 October 2026
    Waves generated by Typhoon Champi crash over a breakwater in Keelung, Taiwan, on Oct. 23.
    23 October 2026
    An electronic board in Shanghai's Lujiazui financial district shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock prices. Intense competition in China's industrial sectors and weak domestic demand are sapping the value of Chinese stocks.
    Markets

    China's 'national team' comes to rescue as stocks flash bearish signs

    State investment buoys indexes amid weak consumption, thin profits and AI concerns

    23 October 2026
    Turkish manufacturer Aselsan's Steel Dome, a multilayered integrated air and missile defense system, and Korkut, a very short range air defense system on display at a trade show in Istanbul in May. 
    Aerospace & Defense Industries

    Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, Qatar pact complements Mecca alliance

    Nations see growing need for defense ties to diversify from US, as Houthis attack Saudi

    23 October 2026
    Quadruped robots walk past a South Korean soldier on the sidelines of the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield drills in Seoul, South Korea, on Aug. 19. The U.S. and South Korea cut short the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise.
    Opinion

    South Korea should resist nuclear populism

    The lesson of the Trump era is that not every country should imitate Trump

    23 October 2026
    Asian markets on Oct. 23 reflected a "flight to quality," with investors growing increasingly wary of tech stock risks.
    Markets

    Investors turn to JGBs as a safe haven as stock risks rise

    Concerns over US tech debt spill over into Asian stock markets

    23 October 2026
    Hideki Matsui, pictured at Tokyo Dome in 2002. 
    Sports

    Ex-Yankees slugger Hideki Matsui to manage Tokyo's Yomiuri Giants

    Japanese baseball player earned World Series MVP honors in 2009

    23 October 2026
    Volvo Cars' assembly line in Gothenburg, Sweden. Controlled by China's Geely, the Swedish automaker has warned of an increasingly challenging market and deteriorating near-term outlook.
    Automobiles

    Volvo Cars to cut 2,500 jobs as third quarter swings to loss

    Tariffs, weaker EV demand and high development costs hit majority Geely-owned automaker

    23 October 2026
    Grab delivery riders parked in front of a noodle restaurant in Bangkok on May 13. Grab is one of Southeast Asia's best known homegrown startups but its valuation has fallen in recent years. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
    23 October 2026