Rock and rule: Japan’s first female PM

Join The Economist’s Mike Bird, Alice Fulwood and Ethan Wu for award-winning reporting and discussion on the stories that move markets. They speak to top bosses, investors and analysts around the world for unmatched insight into global finance, business and economics. Published e ...  Show more

This weekend, America and Israel launched long-anticipated attacks on Iran, killing Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader. Our correspondents analyse what his death means for the country and the strategy behind Iran’s retaliation. We report how Gulf States are dealing with u ...  Show more

Takaichi Sanae, Japan’s new prime minister, rode motorbikes and plays heavy-metal drums. Will her political ambitions be as bold? America, a nation of immigrants, is turning against new arrivals. Our correspondent explains the consequences. And a fast-growing chain of coffee shop ...  Show more

Our correspondent interviews Sahra Wagenknecht, the popular leftist whose eponymous political party is now making the <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2024/09/05/germanys-party-system-is-coming-under-unprecedented-strain?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&u ...

The Liberal Democratic Party, which has dominated the country’s politics for seven decades, just got a pasting at the polls—again. We ask why staid politics are getting <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2025/07/14/japans-politics-is-entering-a-messy-new-era?utm_campaign= ...

Our correspondent meets Iraq’s prime minister Muhammad al-Sudani to discuss the country’s construction boom, its future aspirations and the obstacles that must still be overcome. Visit America’s YIMBYiest neighbourhood: the place where Americans actually want to increase the loca ...  Show more