Michelle Ye Hee Lee

Frustration mounts as Japan questions details of Trump’s trade ‘deal’ The prime minister defended the vague deal by saying dealings with Trump were “not normal,” while another senior Japanese politician described increasing arrogance.

For Japan, the most difficult phase of negotiating with the U.S. is only just beginning, one Japanese analyst said, likening the current moment to a popular gathering spot on the hike up Mount Fuji before the daunting ascent to the summit.
wapo.st/3J4xJaQ

Frustration mounts as Japan questions details of Trump’s trade ‘deal’ The prime minister defended the vague deal by saying dealings with Trump were “not normal,” while another senior Japanese politician described increasing arrogance.

“Compared to that time [Trump’s first term], I feel Trump has become more arrogant. Even just looking at the Trump tariffs, he now imposes U.S. policies more unilaterally,” Itsunori Onodera, policy chief for Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said in an interview.

Free link:
wapo.st/3J4xJaQ

Frustration mounts as Japan questions details of Trump’s trade ‘deal’ The prime minister defended the vague deal by saying dealings with Trump were “not normal,” while another senior Japanese politician described increasing arrogance.

Frustration is mounting in Japan after it became clear this week that Tokyo and Washington have different interpretations of a key component of their new trade deal, with lawmakers pushing for clarity and Japan’s negotiator flying halfway around the world to resolve the discrepancy.

wapo.st/3J4xJaQ

The hibakusha and their families hope for a world free of nuclear weapons. But today, with multiple conflicts brewing around the world and more proliferation than ever, the world is moving rapidly in the other direction.

After the bombing, skin melted off people’s bodies like zombies. Black rain fell, carrying radioactive ash and causing radiation burns, leaving permanent deformities in those who survived it.

In both cities, survivors of the bombing — called hibakusha — have dedicated their lives to making sure the world doesn’t forget the horrors of nuclear war. Like Yasuko Kondo, 84, who was 4 when the bomb fell. She was just 3.5 km from the hypocenter in Hiroshima. www.hiroshimapeacemedia.jp?p=139875

Eighty years ago today, the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Three days later, the U.S. destroyed Nagasaki with a second bomb. It was the first & only time a nuclear weapon was used in warfare, vaporizing the cities and instantaneously killing tens of thousands, mostly civilians, in each.

80 years after Hiroshima, hopes for nuclear disarmament mix with fear Polls show weaker US support for 1945 bombings, worries about future use

It's Aug. 6 in Japan, 80 years on since the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Geopolitical tensions stoke fear that nuclear weapons could be deployed again.
asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/so...

Behind Japan's political battles, a war over history A guest essay from Daniel Sneider

The fight over Ishiba's survival has become entangled with the question of how to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. In a guest essay, @dcsneider.bsky.social explains the politics of memorial statements and Ishiba's thinking.

open.substack.com/pub/observin...

a cartoon girl stands in front of a sign that says lvlint ALT: a cartoon girl stands in front of a sign that says lvlint

Watched "KPop Demon Hunters" on Saturday and I just can *not* get the songs out of my head. So catchy!

Column | A top U.S. ally reckons with an age of ‘turbulence’ South Korea’s new foreign minister Cho Hyun traveled to the United States at a delicate moment in the two countries’ relationship.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun sits down with my colleague @ishaantharoor.bsky.social in Washington:
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

“마스가 없었으면 협상 평행선”… 트럼프 마음 움직인 빨간 모자 공개 마스가 없었으면 협상 평행선 트럼프 마음 움직인 빨간 모자 공개

The baseball cap South Korea stitched up to pitch MASGA—Make American Shipbuilding Great Again—during tariff talks, reportedly a hit with U.S. Commerce Secretary Lutnick.

@glennkessler.bsky.social hired me to WaPo in 2014 to join The Fact Checker. To work alongside Glenn - to learn from and witness his unwavering dedication to fairness and rigorous truth-seeking - was a masterclass in accountability journalism. I'm forever grateful. Read his final column:

South Korean presidential office says it plans to schedule a summit with the United States within the next two weeks, as Trump mentioned.

Trump says he has trade deal with South Korea as Friday deadline nears Economic data out Wednesday showed trade turmoil wasn’t holding back the U.S. economy, but the Federal Reserve left rates unchanged, citing fear of inflation.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he had reached a trade deal with South Korea ahead of a self-imposed Aug. 1 deadline, though he also cast doubt on striking a deal with India, another of the United States’ largest trading partners. Our story:
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

-South Korean auto industry will face 15% tariffs, according to South Korean presidential office.
-The presidential office says they studied the U.S.-Japan investment fund closely (to the extent they can) to make South Korea's equitable with Japan's.

Shipbuilding had emerged as a key point in negotiations, as South Korean officials pitched their nation’s advanced shipbuilding industry as key to revitalizing the declining U.S. shipbuilding industry and help it keep up with China’s. South Korea is the world’s 2nd largest shipbuilder behind China.

-South Korean Pres Lee Jae Myung said $350B fund would help S. Korean countries enter U.S. market in key areas, including shipbuilding, semiconductors, biotechnology, energy.
-Of that, $150B will go toward shipbuilding cooperation and help Korean companies enter the U.S. industry, Lee said.

U.S. and South Korean officials say the allies have reached a trade agreement.
-South Korean imports will face a 15% tariff rate (down from 25%)
-South Korea will invest $350 billion in the U.S. and purchase $100 billion in American energy.
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The WaPa headline says: 60,000 Gazans were killed. 18,500 of them were children. These are some of their names. Then follows an enormous list of small print names

Thousands of small print names interspersed with some photos of some of the child victims

NEW: 18,500 children have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza.

The Washington Post has just published every single known name.

A seminal moment.

60,000 Gazans have been killed. 18,500 were children. These are their names. Palestinian children have been killed at a rate of more than one per hour since the war began.

Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed 60,000 people. 18,500 were children. Here are their names. www.washingtonpost.com/world/intera...

The Washington Post’s “Fact Checker” leaves newspaper with future of column uncertain A Q&A with Glenn Kessler about his 14-year run fact-checking for the WaPo

The Post has not named a replacement for Kessler, nor did it respond to my questions about what is next for The Fact Checker.

indicator.media/p/the-washin...

Live updates: Tsunami alerts issued for U.S. West Coast and Japan after 8.8-magnitude quake The strongest earthquake of the year erupted off Russia’s Kamchatka region, triggering tsunami warnings for Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, Japan, Russia and the U.S. West Coast.

We’re reporting live updates on the 8.8-magnitude Russia earthquake. Follow along: www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

(We’re okay and out of the way of the warning areas right now)

Japan has issued a tsunami warning along the eastern coast, after an 8.7 magnitude earthquake off of Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. The Japanese government expects tsunami as high as 3 meters and is issuing evacuation orders. Hoping all the affected communities will be safe.

It’s officially Imabari towel time of year in Japan 🥵 super sweat-absorbent!

Newbie?

I can't count the number of layoffs, furloughs, buyouts I've seen in the pat 15 years. You'd think I'd have developed some immunity but I find they get tougher to witness, because no one seems to have answers on how the industry can not just survive but thrive in this rapidly changing info lanscape.

But watching dozens of colleagues take buyouts thru yet another newsroom restructure never gets easier. Even when I know many of them are moving on to passion projects, exciting new jobs and well-earned retirement, it's always tough to see hundreds (thousands?) of years of experience leave at once.

I started working full-time in journalism in 2010, just after the recession. I was still receiving bankruptcy letters from the Tribune Co. after having interned there in 2009. I knew this was an industry going thru transformation and I wanted to be a part of change. I still do.

But... (continued)