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May 16, 2025
 

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Eric Johnston

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Eric Johnston
A liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker is tugged toward a thermal power station in Futtsu, Chiba Prefecture, in 2017.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2025
Japan under pressure from U.S. to invest in Alaska LNG pipeline
Doubts over the pipeline's profitability and viability leaves Japan's participation in the $44 billion (nearly ¥6.7 trillion) project uncertain.
Clockwise from top left: Former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi, former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi, Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi
JAPAN / Politics
May 9, 2025
Who could become Japan's next prime minister?
Regardless of the outcome of July's Upper House election, the bar will be high for anyone seeking to unseat incumbent Shigeru Ishiba.
Joseph S. Nye (center), an advocate of stronger U.S.-Japan relations and father of "soft power," died Tuesday at the age of 88.
JAPAN / Politics
May 8, 2025
Joseph Nye, advocate of stronger U.S.-Japan relations, dies at 88
The former U.S. assistant secretary of defense, known for coining the term "soft power," coauthored reports that influenced the direction of U.S.-Japan ties.
U.S President Donald Trump meets with economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa at the White House during Akazawa's first trip to the U.S. to discuss tariffs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 30, 2025
Akazawa heads to Washington as Japanese automakers 'losing $1 million an hour' 
Speaking to reporters at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan’s chief trade negotiator remained polite but firm as he suggested that the pressure is on.
Prime Minister Shigaru Ishiba and CDP head Yoshihiko Noda at a parliamentary session in Tokyo on April 23.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 30, 2025
Ishiba hears advice from across the aisle on how Japan should handle Trump
A shared sense of national crisis and a desire to appeal to voters ahead of the July Upper House elections is pushing opposition parties to speak up.
Hiroshi Moriyama (left), secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, meets with Zhao Leji, the third-ranking official of the Chinese Communist Party, in Beijing on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 29, 2025
LDP’s Moriyama pushes for concrete results on China’s seafood import ban
China offered no specific promises, instead emphasizing the stability of Japan-China relations at a time of great international volatility.
A recently enacted ordinance aimed at respecting individual differences in Sapporo has not been without controversy.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Apr 28, 2025
Sapporo enacts ordinance to foster diversity and inclusion
The number of foreign residents in Sapporo has doubled over the past decade, despite an overall population decline in the city.
Former CDP executive Kenji Eda discusses a possible reduction of the consumption tax rate, in Tokyo on April 10.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 17, 2025
CDP divisions over proposed tax cut pose headache for Yoshihiko Noda
The nation’s largest opposition party is preparing for the Upper House poll in July, in which it hopes to win enough seats to make a CDP-led coalition government possible.
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura speaks during the opening ceremony of the 2025 Osaka Expo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 14, 2025
As Osaka Expo kicks off, Nippon Ishin continues to hold its breath
The Kansai-centered opposition party has a lot to lose if the six-month event being held in its stronghold turns out to be a flop.
Having had two meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is slowly building a personal relationship with him, which matters greatly to the U.S. president and in resolving bilateral issues.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 11, 2025
Can anyone deal with Trump better than Ishiba?
Trump’s shift on Japan tariffs offers relief, but Ishiba’s grip remains shaky amid internal discontent and challenging U.S. demands.
Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa, who Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has appointed Japan's tariff negotiator, is one of his closest allies and busiest ministers.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 9, 2025
Who is Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's tariffs negotiator?
The man tasked with convincing the U.S. drop its tariffs on Japanese goods is one of the prime minister's closest allies and busiest ministers.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a news conference in Tokyo on April 1. The approval rating for Ishiba's Cabinet fell to 30.6% over the weekend, according to a JNN poll.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 7, 2025
Ishiba under pressure to take stronger stance against U.S. on tariffs
Some opposition leaders are urging the prime minister to rally his party around a strategy before speaking with the U.S. president, but others are eyeing his removal.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Wednesday. The return of scandal-tainted Liberal Democratic Party members could make life tougher for Ishiba within the party.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 3, 2025
Ishiba to face more political headaches with return of scandal-hit LDP members
For an already-unpopular administration, the return of party members implicated in a slush funds scandal will create further political headaches.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 31, 2025
Who among the opposition would join the ruling coalition?
Concerns over the stability of the LDP-Komeito minority government are fueling talk of a possible new arrangement, and maybe even a new prime minister.
A poster calling for the earlier extension of the Hokkaido Shinkansen line to Sapporo is seen in the city's Chuo Ward in May.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Mar 31, 2025
Hokkaido's rail network faces tough challenges
Falling ridership is putting pressure on JR Hokkaido to close underutilized local lines even as it struggles to complete the Hokkaido Shinkansen.
The latest results are likely to increase doubts within the party about Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s leadership going into the Upper House election in the summer.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 24, 2025
Ishiba’s approval ratings continue to fall amid gift voucher backlash
The latest results are likely to increase doubts within the party about Ishiba’s leadership going into the Upper House election.
Orix Buffaloes pitcher Taisuke Yamaoka speaks to reporters in the city of Osaka on Friday for the first time since he was reported to have participated in a poker tournament run by a foreign casino website.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 21, 2025
Cabinet approves strategy to battle illegal online casinos
A National Policy Agency survey released earlier this month showed that nearly 3.37 million Japanese are estimated to have used overseas online casinos to illegally gamble.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a session of the Upper House Budget Committee in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 18, 2025
Why ousting Ishiba could be a tricky task
Passing a no-confidence motion could result in the dissolution of the Lower House within 10 days, triggering another election the opposition might lose.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (second from left) cheers along with other members of the Liberal Democratic Party during the party's annual convention in Tokyo on March 9.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 16, 2025
As it turns 70, LDP struggles to find its fountain of youth
Having lost 60,000 members in 2024 amid a slush funds scandal, the party is under pressure to seek out new blood, but its old ways may be a turnoff for many.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (left) and U.S. President Donald Trump arrive for a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on Feb. 7.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 7, 2025
Tokyo responds to Trump remarks on 'interesting' Japan-U.S. security pact
Japan's top government spokesperson underlined the agreement's cooperative element after the U.S. president complained the deal was one-sided.
Success of Chinese-made fighter jets against India raises alarm in Asia
Chinese J-10 fighter jets from the People's Liberation Army Air Force August 1st Aerobatics Team perform during a media demonstration at the Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, in November 2015.
Japan to recognize Taiwan as place of origin in family registration system
Masataka Yuhara, secretary-general of the Friends of Lee Teng Hui Association in Japan, which has been calling for "Taiwan" to be permitted as a place of origin in family registers.
Japanese retailers turn to California rice for cheaper alternative
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass eats California rice at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on Tuesday along with Mitsuko Tsuchiya, vice president of retailer Aeon.
Japanese automakers looking at a ¥1 trillion hit from Trump tariffs 
Cars on display at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama on Tuesday. The automaker posted a massive annual net loss and confirmed that it plans to cut thousands of jobs worldwide.
Two crew feared dead after ASDF training jet crashes in Aichi
Self-Defense Forces personnel collect apparent parts of an Air Self-Defense Force T-4 training jet from a reservoir in Inuyama, Aichi Prefeture, on Thursday. The jet crashed shortly after takeoff a day earlier.
Sumo title contenders already emerging in early stages of Tokyo meet
Onosato (left) battles Abi on Day 3 of the Summer Basho in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Harmfully hot days for pregnant women in Japan nearly doubled over past five years
New research by a U.S. climate scientists’ group reveals that extreme heat has increased the risks of preterm births and other pregnancy complications in Japan, nearly doubling the number of days that are harmfully hot for pregnant women over the past five years.
Japanese automakers looking at a ¥1 trillion hit from Trump tariffs 
Cars on display at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama on Tuesday. The automaker posted a massive annual net loss and confirmed that it plans to cut thousands of jobs worldwide.
Tokyo Stock Exchange wants stocks to be affordable for the average investor
The Tokyo Stock Exchange building in Nihonbashi. The exchange wants companies to lower the entry cost of investing in their shares.
Consumption tax set to dominate Upper House election debate
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Tuesday.

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