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July 06, 2026
 

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U.K.

U.K. life expectancy has rebounded to pre-pandemic highs, but worsening health, inequality and a strained medical system are reducing the number of quality years.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 2, 2026
The British are living longer lives — and sicker
Britain’s healthy life expectancy has taken a nosedive; it’s now at its lowest level since the government started measuring it in 2011-2013.
Organic food is less common in Japan than in the U.K., with about 70% of what is available in the country being imported.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 1, 2026
In Japan, strong state-led certification key to boosting organic food uptake
Japanese and U.K. researchers have found that having a transparent government-certified system may help encourage more people to buy organic food products.
Military vehicles carrying intercontinental ballistic missiles drive past Tiananmen Square during a military parade in Beijing in 2019.
WORLD
Mar 27, 2026
States deploying more nuclear weapons, monitor warns
Nearly all of the nine nuclear-armed states have begun increasing their arsenals or have announced plans to do so, a report found.
Japan’s response to Chinese economic coercion shows other democracies that resilience requires diversifying supply chains, strengthening domestic capabilities and aligning economic policy with national security.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 25, 2026
The West should learn from Japan how to stand up to China
Trade policy and national security are no longer mutually exclusive. We live in an age where they are increasingly interconnected.
Famed British author Len Deighton, who died last week at 97, revolutionized spy fiction with his unnamed, working-class anti-heroes whose cynical realism and bureaucratic worlds offered a sharp contrast to glamorous spies, leaving a lasting mark on the genre.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 24, 2026
Six decades ago, Len Deighton created a man for our times
Unlike Ian Fleming and John le Carre, creators of James Bond and George Smiley, respectively, Deighton never worked for the British intelligence service.
Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos archipelago, is the site of a major United States military base in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
WORLD
Mar 22, 2026
Targeting Diego Garcia base, Iran sends message about capabilities
Until now, most had believed Iran — under U.S.-Israeli bombardment since Feb. 28 —was unable to strike at such distances.
Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, during a news conference on the party's plans to cut energy bills in London, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 19, 2026
Nigel Farage declares war on the old order in his blueprint for Britain
The Reform UK leader and his allies are betting that a powerful brand of populism can carry him to 10 Downing Street.
The private rocket company LandSpace's factory in Huzhou, China, on Dec. 17. China’s Military-Civil Fusion strategy integrates civilian and military capabilities, including space technologies.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2026
Take the China technology challenge seriously
China seeks to engage the rest of the world “to raise and strengthen its position within global technology ecosystems and markets.”
A British Union Jack flag flies on the Bank of England building in London's financial district on Nov. 7, 2025. The central bank says the next generation of pound notes will feature wildlife native to the U.K.
WORLD
Mar 11, 2026
Churchill to be removed from U.K. banknotes as cash gets new look
The next generation of pound notes will feature wildlife native to the U.K., according to the Bank of England.
A man shops in a supermarket in Chanverrie, France, on Oct. 16, 2024. When prices of food and other essentials rise, the first thing people cut spending on is fashion, says consultancy Simon-Kucher.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 10, 2026
Europe’s struggling retail sector looks ill-prepared for new energy price shock
The sector has barely recovered from the inflation cycle triggered by spiking gas prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Donald Trump and his MAGA followers’ time would be better spent examining how Britain struggled with the loss of global preeminence.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 9, 2026
British lessons about American decline
Trump and his followers’ time would be better spent examining how Britain struggled with the loss of global preeminence.
A U.S. Navy sailor signals an F/A-18E Super Hornet on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln during the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran from an undisclosed location Wednesday.
WORLD
Mar 8, 2026
U.S. Central Command denies Iranian claim of captured American soldiers
A spokesperson for U.S. Central Command, said: “The Iranian regime is doing everything it can to peddle lies and deceive. This is yet another clear example.”
Sony faces a lawsuit in the U.K. for allegedly breaching competition law by overcharging millions of PlayStation users.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 8, 2026
Sony faces $2.7 billion class-action suit from U.K. PlayStation users
The claimants’ website accuses Sony of “exploiting its U.K. customers” for nearly a decade by charging them “too much for PlayStation digital games and in-game content.”
The Houses of Parliament in London. The husband of a lawmaker from U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's ruling Labour party is one of three men to have been arrested on suspicion of spying for China.
WORLD
Mar 5, 2026
British lawmaker’s husband among three accused of spying for China
The case could potentially become awkward for U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer who visited Beijing recently as part of his resetting of relations with China.
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer makes a statement at the House of Commons, in London on Monday. Starmer says he does not believe in "regime change from the skies."
WORLD / Politics
Mar 4, 2026
Trump says U.K.’s Starmer is no Winston Churchill after rift over Iran strikes
U.S. President Donald Trump’s comment was his third broadside against Britain’s prime minister this week amid frustration over the U.K.’s limited support for U.S. strikes on Iran.
An aircraft prepares to land on a British sovereign base in Cyprus on Tuesday after it was hit by a drone the previous day, causing limited damage.
WORLD
Mar 4, 2026
Europe rushes to defend Cyprus as Iran war exposes vulnerability
Europe has found itself pulled into another war, scrambling to protect its eastern outpost at a moment of weakness.
U.K. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood arrives for a cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street in London on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 4, 2026
Britain to bar study visas for four nations and halt Afghan work visas
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government has sought to show it is tightening immigration as the populist Reform U.K. party gains ground in opinion polls.
Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Suzuki presents his credentials to King Charles at Buckingham Palace in May. Japanese diplomats like the ambassador are using social media, humor and local culture to win hearts and project soft power in ways traditional diplomacy cannot.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 2, 2026
Paddington, pints and the art of modern diplomacy
“48 times the Japanese ambassador made us proud to be British,” gushes one typical headline.
A bottle of Bowmore at a shop near Lausanne, Switzerland. Suntory acquired Bowmore in 1994.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2026
Suntory consolidates two scotch distilleries in Scotland as U.S. sales fall
The majority of revenue from scotch whisky comes from exports, which fell to the U.S. — one of the largest markets for the drink — following tariffs being introduced in April 2025.
Former U.K. ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, drives away from his residence in central London on Feb. 14.
WORLD
Feb 24, 2026
Former U.K. ambassador Mandelson arrested after Epstein revelations
Peter Mandelson was fired from the most prestigious posting in Britain’s diplomatic service in September, when the depth of his friendship with Epstein started to become clear.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
Thailand gets serious about chasing high-spending tourists
Chinese tourists at Wat Arun Ratchawararam Rathawaramahawihan in Bangkok
Murakami says his novels are ‘different’ from AI literature
Haruki Murakami's first book in three years hit shelves in Japan on Friday.
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
Okinawa’s prized seaweed under threat as oceans warm
Local harvesters gather <i>mozuku</i> during low tide at Hyakuna Beach in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture. As the planet warms, rising ocean temperatures are placing increasing pressure on the seaweed industry.
‘Defense,’ not ‘warfare,’ stressed as pacifist Japan beefs up capabilities
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi attends an annual training session near Mount Fuji at Higashifuji Training Field in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, on June 7.
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
X Games returns to Chiba with new team format
Skateboarder Sora Shirai practices at Makuhari Messe in Chiba on Friday afternoon. X Games Chiba begins on Saturday.
NU Festival tests Takanawa Gateway City complex’s culture cred
Veteran improvisers Kazuo Imai and Atsuhiro Ito brought some unruly energy to NU Festival, a three-day multimedia event held at the Takanawa Gateway City complex.  

Podcast

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

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