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Nov. 22, 2025, 6:00 AM ESTBy Arata Yamamoto and Jay GanglaniTOKYO — As Japan’s first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi has broken new ground in a country that struggles with gender equality. But she has quickly run up against a tradition that may be immovable.Trophies for sumo wrestling, Japan’s national sport, are sometimes presented by the country’s top leader — most recently in January, when Shigeru Ishiba, the prime minister at the time, awarded the winner’s trophy at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo.But awkward questions arose ahead of the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament, which concludes Sunday in the Japanese city of Fukuoka. Takaichi is prohibited from entering the ring according to the rules of sumo, which consider women impure.Takaichi will have a chance to sidestep the issue as the Japanese leader is expected to attend the G20 summit in South Africa this weekend amid a diplomatic spat with China. But the dilemma could resurface during the New Year’s tournament in Tokyo.In Japan, sumo is not just a sport but a 1,500-year-old tradition that is held sacred in the nation of over 100 million people. It has deep roots in Shinto, Japan’s Indigenous religion.Experts suggested Takaichi, a hard-line conservative elected last month whose policies are not seen as particularly pro-women, is likely to avoid the issue altogether so as not to challenge tradition, and send another high-ranking government official instead.“She doesn’t want to upset her supporters or conservatives,” said Hiromi Murakami, an expert on Japanese politics at Temple University in Japan.“They don’t want to even see a discussion around the topic,” she said.Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in South Korea on Nov. 1.SeongJoon Cho / Bloomberg via Getty ImagesMinoru Kihara, the Japanese government’s top spokesperson, said last week that Takaichi “holds the view that Japan’s sumo culture is a traditional art form that should be cherished.” She “intends to respect the traditions of sumo culture,” he later told reporters in Tokyo.Reached for comment this week, the Japan Sumo Association said it had not received any request from Takaichi’s office regarding her involvement. The association told the Asahi Shimbun newspaper this month, “We believe it is our mission to pass down the traditional culture of sumo.”This is not the first time there have been questions as to whether a high-ranking female official would be allowed to enter the sumo ring, also known as the dohyo.In 1990, Mayumi Moriyama became Japan’s first female chief Cabinet secretary, who often represents the government at sumo trophy ceremonies. The sumo association did not allow her to do so.The association rejected another request in 2000 by Japan’s first female governor, Fusae Ohta, to enter the sumo ring at a tournament in the city of Osaka. She ultimately presented the trophy on a walkway next to the dohyo.In 2018, a female mayor, Tomoko Nakagawa of the city of Takarazuka, was denied a request to make a speech in the ring. That same year, the association apologized after two women were ordered out of the ring when they rushed to the aid of a mayor who had collapsed inside it.Such incidents underscore the challenges that continue to face women in Japan, which ranked 118th out of 148 countries in the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Global Gender Gap Report.Sumo wrestling has also proved popular on the rare occasion a competition is held outside Japan. Last month, tickets sold out for the Grand Sumo Tournament at London’s Royal Albert Hall, which hosted the event for the first time in 34 years.“It’s quite interesting that they went to the U.K.,” Murakami said. “If there’s a female political leader who wants to give the trophy, what would happen then?”Arata Yamamoto reported from Tokyo, and Jay Ganglani from Hong Kong.Arata YamamotoArata Yamamoto has been an NBC News producer in Tokyo since 1993.Jay GanglaniJay Ganglani is NBC News’s 2025-26 Asia Desk Fellow. Previously he was an NBC News Asia Desk intern and a Hong Kong-based freelance journalist who has contributed to news publications such as CNN, Fortune and the South China Morning Post.

- Latest News - November 23, 2025

TOKYO — As Japan’s first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi has broken new ground in a country that struggles with gender equality.

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Nov. 22, 2025, 6:00 AM ESTBy Doha MadaniThe National Women’s Soccer League final is set to be a grudge match between NY/NJ Gotham FC and the Washington Spirit, a fierce regional rivalry known for its high-energy play on the field. The East Coast opponents will meet at PayPal Park in San Jose, California, at 8 p.m. ET Saturday (CBS/Paramount+) in the culmination of a highly competitive season for the women’s league. It’s their fourth matchup this year, in what fans have dubbed the “District v. Empire” feud. Spirit defender Tara McKeown said after the semifinal that every time her team faces NY/NJ, “something crazy happens.”Emily Sonnett of NJ/NY Gotham FC clears the ball against Trinity Rodman of the Washington Spirit on Aug. 9.Rich Graessle / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images fileFor the Spirit, it is a chance at redemption after having fallen short in the championship game last year. Gotham, meanwhile, aims to prove the naysayers wrong after a major offseason shake-up. It will also look to avenge its loss to a Spirit team that knocked it out of contention last year in a nail-biting playoff semifinal that ended in a penalty shootout. Gotham defeated the Spirit 3-0 this season, and the following two matches this year ended in draws.The Spirit moved on from Gotham last year to play the championship game against the Orlando Pride after a strong season that ended riddled with injuries. It ended up as a Cinderella story for the Pride, which won its first title, but a devastating blow for the capital city’s squad. A roster full of talent has allowed the team to remain consistent even though it started its season without its 2024 NWSL Rookie of the Year, Croix Bethune, and with star forward Trinity Rodman struggling with injury through the year. Forward Gift Monday, who signed a three-year deal with the Spirit in March, has been an unexpected star for the team as she has led the squad with 10 goals in the regular season. Monday, 23, rejoined the team for the playoffs this month after having attended her father’s funeral in Nigeria. She scored in both of the team’s playoff games, dedicating the goals to her late father. Gotham’s road to the NWSL finals was paved with bumps as it navigated the loss of stars such as Lynn Biyendolo, Crystal Dunn, Yazmeen Ryan and Jenna Nighswonger during the offseason. It also started the year without national star Rose Lavelle and lost its captain, Tierna Davidson, to an ACL tear in the third game of its season. But the team was buoyed by Spanish national Esther Gonzalez, who was second in the NWSL’s golden boot race, and 2024 NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year Ann-Katrin Berger. Reconfiguring both its attack and its defense, Gotham has had something of an erratic year as it jumped up and down the standings. Though the team was third in the league in September, it dropped to eighth — the last spot for the playoffs — in November. Gotham defeated the Kansas City Current, the top NWSL team this year, in a shocking quarterfinal upset and went on to defeat the Pride on Sunday. Both games featured goals by midfielder Jaedyn Shaw, whom Gotham acquired from the North Carolina Courage in September in a record-setting $1.25 million transfer deal. Shaw called out Gotham’s doubters, saying “underdogs my ass” at a team news conference after the Current game. She told ESPN on Sunday after she scored a game-winning free kick that she was happy to be going to the finals with Gotham. “This team is so gritty; this team fights to the very end,” she said. “This team plays for each other, and it’s contagious.” Doha MadaniDoha Madani is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News. Pronouns: she/her.

- Latest News - November 22, 2025

The National Women’s Soccer League final is set to be a grudge match between NY/NJ Gotham FC and Washington Spirit, a fierce regional rivalry.

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Nov. 22, 2025, 6:43 AM ESTBy Yuliya TalmazanDozens of young people wave their phone flashlights and sing along with a teen as she belts out lyrics and plays her keyboard outside a subway station.It’s a scene that regularly plays out in cities around the world. But the singer in this widely shared video is now behind bars.Diana Loginova, the 18-year-old student and street musician, has emerged as an unlikely — and perhaps unwilling — voice of defiance in wartime Russia.Known by her stage name Naoko, the teen gained popularity over the summer with viral videos taken around St. Petersburg of her band Stoptime performing songs by musicians who have spoken out against Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. Inevitably, in a country where nearly all forms of dissent have been crushed, Russian authorities quickly took notice.Diana Loginova sits near the courtroom before the start of a hearing on Oct. 16.Andrei Bok / SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesNaoko was first detained last month for organizing a “mass simultaneous gathering of citizens” during a performance, which authorities said disrupted public order, and was sentenced to 13 days behind bars. She has since been rearrested twice on the same charges, as well as for petty hooliganism, and put back in prison. Her fellow band members have also served back-to-back sentences, although one has since been released.“What is happening is what we call carousel arrests,” Dmitrii Anisimov, a human rights activist and spokesperson for the OVD-Info protest monitoring group, told NBC News. “Theoretically, it can continue forever,” he said. In practice, it could mean months in detention, and there is legal precedent for this, he added.“It looks like Russian authorities want to use the persecution of Naoko, as with many other public cases, to intimidate others,” said Anisimov.Loginova’s lawyer, Maria Zyryanova, told NBC News she wouldn’t discuss the case while the singer is behind bars. Her current sentence expires Sunday.Naoko’s case has been extensively covered by Russian state news agencies and exiled independent media, while supporters have spread leaflets calling for her freedom.Aleksandr Orlov, guitarist of the street band Stoptime, in court in St. Petersburg on Nov. 11.Andrei Bok / SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesIn an interview published in August, months before her imprisonment, Naoko said she was “scared” to be detained but felt she “had to do it.”“I understand that art is now the only language — at least in Russia — through which you can express your thoughts. I’ve chosen it and don’t want to speak any other,” she told St. Petersburg news outlet Bumaga.Others have taken up that language in Loginova’s absence.On a bench near the Kiyevskaya metro station in central Moscow, musician Vasily told NBC News that Naoko’s case had “lit a fire” in him, inspiring his own street performances as a way to support the jailed singer.“Her freedom was taken away for her singing,” said Vasily, whose last name NBC News chose not to reveal for his safety. “That got me mad.”Street musicians perform in central St. Petersburg on Oct. 27.Olga Maltseva / AFP via Getty ImagesValentina, a professional musician from the city of Yaroslavl, about 380 miles southeast of St. Petersburg, has been singing on both the streets and social media in support of Naoko.Inspired after seeing Naoko’s performances on TikTok, she has been posting videos where she performs the same songs. One gained more than 600,000 views on Instagram, which scared her because she did not want to get on authorities’ radar, said Valentina, who did not want her last name revealed for fear of repercussions. “When I saw the news about Naoko, it felt like my last hope was taken away,” she said. “I did not feel sorry for myself. I just really wanted to help. I thought, ‘Why do I berate people who keep silent and don’t say anything in our country when I am also remaining silent and scared?’”Loginova is still a child, noted Vasily — himself only 19. “That’s what’s touched people, that this little girl is not afraid to get on the streets and sing the songs of foreign agents.”He’s referencing the status of exiled singer Monetochka and rapper Noize MC, both slapped with the official designation often reserved for public figures whose views have set them at odds with the Kremlin.It was a song by Noize MC, who has openly spoken out against the war and Putin’s regime, that Loginova performed before she first landed in jail.A bookshop in central St. Petersburg called Vse Svobodny, or “Everyone Is free,” on Thursday.Olga Maltseva / AFP via Getty ImagesThe rapper’s lyrics that appear to have gotten her in the most trouble appear innocuous on the surface: “I want to watch a ballet, let the swans dance.”It’s a reference to the failed 1991 coup attempt against the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, during which state TV showed the “Swan Lake” ballet on a continuous loop. It has since come to symbolize something dangerous in Putin’s Russia — change.A video of the band’s cover of the song, which Loginova has said they performed rarely and not for the cameras, drew the ire of war supporters who questioned why the band was allowed to perform the songs of “traitors” and whether their performances were, in fact, concealed protests.A representative for Noize MC said in an email that the rapper “prefers not to give interviews or public comments regarding this case — primarily to avoid any risk of unintentionally affecting those directly involved.”Monetochka, whose songs the band also performed, hailed them as “heroes” in a statement on social media, saying that Loginova was bringing “music and freedom” into the world rather than “violence and war.” She did not respond to NBC News’ request for comment.NBC News has reached out to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov for comment on the case.Kremlin critic Boris Nadezhdin, who was barred from running against Putin in last year’s election, said he had been in communication with Loginova’s mom, Irina, and was fundraising to cover the band’s legal costs.He has also been raising awareness on social media and said people’s emotional reactions were palpable. “She is young, she is a female, and she is not at all a politician or journalist. People are used to repressions against opposition politicians and journalists, but this is a new low,” said Nadezhdin.The people who came to listen to the band were also young, he added, a red flag for the Kremlin because of its predominantly older support base. “So they need to have an exemplary reprisal against some young singer,” he said, “so that others get fearful.”While she garners sympathy at home and abroad, Loginova remains behind bars for her singing. Nadezhdin said he was not optimistic about her chances of performing again anytime soon.“They won’t leave her alone quickly,” he said. “I am telling them to get ready for a long ride ahead.”Yuliya TalmazanYuliya Talmazan is a reporter for NBC News Digital, based in London.

- Latest News - November 22, 2025

Dozens of young people wave their phone flashlights and sing along with a teen as she belts out lyrics and plays her keyboard outside a subway station

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Savewith a NBCUniversal ProfileCreate your free profile or log in to save this articleNov. 22, 2025, 4:06 PM ESTBy Julie Tsirkin, Gordon Lubold, Megan Shannon and Alexandra MarquezPresident Donald Trump on Saturday said that his administration’s peace proposal for Ukraine and Russia is “not my final offer,” telling reporters after a question from NBC News, “One way or the other, we have to get it ended.”Trump added that if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy doesn’t agree to the peace plan, “then he can continue to fight his little heart out.”Earlier this week, Trump said that he wants Zelenskyy — who has hesitations about the proposal — to accept the peace plan by Thanksgiving.Trump’s new Thanksgiving deadline for Ukraine peace plan01:35Key points of the proposal include allowing Russia to keep more Ukrainian territory than it currently holds, forcing Ukraine to limit the size of its army and agreeing that Ukraine will never join NATO.Ukrainian lawmakers have criticized the plan as conceding too much to Russia’s demands, though the Trump administration has said that the plan, which has 28 points, was drafted with input from both sides of the conflict.“Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice, either losing its dignity or the risk of losing a key partner, either the difficult 28 points, or a very difficult winter,” Zelenskyy said in a video about the plan earlier this week.Several U.S. lawmakers, including in Trump’s own party, have also expressed concerns about the plan.“While there are many good ideas in the proposed Russia-Ukraine peace plan, there are several areas that are very problematic and can be made better. The goal of any peace deal is to end the war honorably and justly — and not create new conflict,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., wrote in a post on X Saturday morning. Later, the South Carolina senator posted that he was confident Trump would garner a peace deal by pushing both countries and would ensure Ukraine remains free and able to defend itself from future aggression.Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., wrote in his own X post on Friday that “this so-called ‘peace plan’ has real problems, and I am highly skeptical it will achieve peace.”He added, “Ukraine should not be forced to give up its lands to one of the world’s most flagrant war criminals in Vladimir Putin. The size and disposition of Ukraine’s armed forces is a sovereign choice for its government and people. And any assurances provided to Putin should not reward his malign behavior or undermine the security of the United States or allies.”The proposal includes a security guarantee with a commitment that U.S. and European allies to Ukraine would treat any future attack on Ukraine as an attack on the broader trans-Atlantic community, a U.S. official told NBC News, with few additional details about what the commitment would entail.Ukrainian leaders aren’t the only ones voicing concerns about the plan. On the sidelines of the G20 summit in South Africa, European leaders have said the proposal, if agreed to, could “leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack.”That was a key point in a statement signed by the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and Norway.Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Geneva on Sunday to meet with a Ukrainian delegation to move peace talks forward with an eye to ending the war in Ukraine, according to two U.S. officials.A separate meeting with a Russian delegation in another location in coming days is under consideration, according to those officials.Rubio and Witkoff will join Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, who arrived earlier Saturday along with the top U.S. diplomat to Ukraine, Ambassador Julie Davis. Driscoll this past week traveled to Kyiv to meet with Zelenskyy.“Secretary Driscoll and team just landed in Geneva to work on the next steps toward achieving peace in Ukraine,” a U.S. official said.Zelenskyy confirmed the details of the meeting in a post on X, saying he’d spoken to U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday.“Tomorrow, our advisers will work in Switzerland — representatives from Ukraine, the United States, and the E3 format, namely the UK, France, and Germany. The vast majority of European leaders are ready to assist and get involved. Consultations are ongoing at various levels, and the efforts of everyone who seeks a genuine and lasting peace matter,” Zelenskyy wrote.Trump made quickly ending the ongoing war in Ukraine a key promise of his 2024 campaign. So far this year, he’s met with Zelenskyy multiple times and hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin for a summit in Alaska.Russian leaders, including Putin, have praised the peace proposal, with Putin saying that if Ukraine doesn’t sign the agreement, Russia would end the war “through military means, through armed struggle.”Julie TsirkinJulie Tsirkin is a correspondent covering Capitol Hill.Gordon LuboldGordon Lubold is a national security reporter for NBC News.Megan ShannonMegan Shannon is a White House researcher for NBC NewsAlexandra MarquezAlexandra Marquez is a politics reporter for NBC News.

- Latest News - November 22, 2025

President Donald Trump said that his administration’s peace proposal for Ukraine and Russia is “not my final offer.”

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Savewith a NBCUniversal ProfileCreate your free profile or log in to save this articleNov. 22, 2025, 1:52 PM ESTBy Kate ReillyTatiana Schlossberg, the daughter of Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Schlossberg and granddaughter of John F. Kennedy, has revealed her terminal cancer diagnosis in an essay published by The New Yorker on Saturday.The 35-year-old has acute myeloid leukemia, with a rare mutation called Inversion 3.Schlossberg said she was diagnosed on May 25, 2024, the same day she gave birth to her second child. Hours after delivery, her doctor noticed her abnormally high white-blood-cell count and moved her to another floor for further testing. She initially dismissed the possibility of cancer and was stunned when the diagnosis was confirmed, saying she had considered herself “one of the healthiest people” she knew. “This could not possibly be my life,” she wrote.Schlossberg spent five weeks at Columbia Presbyterian after her daughter’s birth before her blast-cell count dropped enough for her to begin chemotherapy at home. Her care later moved to Memorial Sloan Kettering, where she underwent a bone-marrow transplant and spent more than 50 days before returning home for more treatment.In January, Schlossberg joined a clinical trial for CAR T-cell therapy. She wrote that much of the treatment unfold from her hospital bed as her cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was nominated and confirmed as secretary of health and human services, a role she believes he was unqualified for.Schlossberg thanked her husband and her family for their support for countless days spent at her bedside.“My parents and my brother and sister, too, have been raising my children and sitting in my various hospital rooms almost every day for the last year and a half,” she added.Her brother, Jack Schlossberg, announced earlier this month that he is running for Congress. The 32-year-old is running for the New York City seat which has long been held by Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler, who in September announced he will not seek re-election.Despite all of Schlossberg’s treatments, she said, the cancer continued to return.“During the latest clinical trial, my doctor told me that he could keep me alive for a year, maybe,” she wrote. “My first thought was that my kids, whose faces live permanently on the inside of my eyelids, wouldn’t remember me.”Schlossberg is now trying her best to be in the present with her children.By profession a writer, for several years Schlossberg was a reporter for the Science section of The New York Times where she covered climate change and the environment. Schlossberg’s essay comes on the 62nd anniversary of her grandfather’s assassination, adding her diagnosis to a long history of tragedy within the Kennedy family. JFK’s son, John F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy died in a plane crash in 1999.Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Robert F. Kennedy who was assassinated in 1968, died in Oct. 2024 from complications from a stroke. She was 96.Kate ReillyKate Reilly is a news associate with NBC News.

- Latest News - November 22, 2025

Tatiana Schlossberg, the daughter of Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Schlossberg and granddaughter of John F. Kennedy, has revealed her terminal cancer diagnosis in an essay published by The New Yorker.

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