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November 23, 2025
 

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SDF

Yoichiro Otsu, the suspect arrested in connection with the stabbing of a woman in Akasaka, Tokyo, enters the Akasaka Police Station on Saturday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 22, 2025
GSDF officer arrested over stabbing woman in Tokyo’s Akasaka area
The suspect, Lt. Col. Yoichiro Otsu, who belongs to the GSDF's Camp Asaka in Tokyo's Nerima Ward, has denied the allegations against him.
A densely populated residential area near the Saganoseki fishing port where a fire broke out, in the city of Oita on Wednesday morning
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2025
Massive fire engulfs more than 170 buildings in Oita
Fire crews were still working to control the blaze, which has left one resident missing, as of Wednesday morning.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to reporters Tuesday on the parliament grounds.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 19, 2025
Japan-South Korea defense drill unlikely to take place this month
Some observers say the South Korean move may be a response to Japan’s recent cancellation of refueling for aircraft from the South Korean Air Force.
(From left) Indonesian Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and Foreign Minister Sugiono, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi attend a joint press announcement after their meeting at Iikura Guest House in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 18, 2025
Japan and Indonesia zero in on maritime security as they agree to boost defense ties
The move could also open up opportunities for trilateral cooperation with Australia following Jakarta’s announcement of plans to upgrade a key defense agreement with Canberra.
Chinese tourists wear kimonos as they visit Sensoji temple in Tokyo's Asakusa district on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 15, 2025
China warns citizens not to visit Japan as row over Taiwan heats up
Beijing’s first retaliatory move against Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan could have a significant impact on tourism.
Police cars leave the Akita Prefectural Police headquarters to cull bears, in the city of Akita on Thursday.
JAPAN / Explainer
Nov 13, 2025
As attacks surge, who can cull bears in Japan?
In Japan, few people typically own guns, and the process to qualify for a license to hunt the animals takes time and effort.
A box trap is set up in Kazuno, Akita Prefecture, on Nov. 5 to capture bears.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2025
LDP proposes measures against bear attacks
The measures include employing those with hunting licenses as “government hunters” and procuring electric fences and traps.
The Fujian, China's third aircraft carrier, carries out sea trials at an unknown location in May last year.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Nov 11, 2025
China delivers warning to U.S. and Japan with third aircraft carrier
The new 316-meter warship will allow Beijing to keep at least one carrier at sea at all times, giving it more options to project air and naval power closer to its neighbors.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi responds to questions during a House of Representatives Budget Committee session in parliament on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 11, 2025
Takaichi doesn’t mince words on Taiwan, but dramatic policy shift unlikely
The prime minister’s remarks illustrate the gradual evolution of Japan’s relationship with Taiwan and its growing concern over China.
The U.S.' recent approval of South Korea’s nuclear submarine program may set a precedent for Japan, which could consider similar nuclear capabilities amid growing regional security threats.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 11, 2025
Japan should resist the temptation to go nuclear
Japan moving ahead on any nuclear options would be a mistake no matter what the United States, Russia or South Korea might do.
A U.S. Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarine arrives at port in Rockingham, Australia, in February.
JAPAN
Nov 10, 2025
Japan likely to discuss possessing nuclear subs
The Maritime Self-Defense Force currently possesses submarines powered by diesel engines and lithium-ion batteries.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi responds to questions during a session of the House of Representatives' Budget Committee in parliament in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 10, 2025
Takaichi stands firm on controversial Taiwan contingency remarks
While the prime minister says she has “no intention” of changing the government’s position, her remarks push the line further than those of her predecessors.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and others attend a Cabinet meeting on Friday at the Prime Minister's Office.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2025
Japan extends SDF deployment in Middle East
The SDF's antipiracy mission in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia is one of the missions that has been extended.
Rising bear attacks in Japan, driven by climate change, population decline and a shortage of hunters, have prompted intervention by the Self-Defense Forces as urban areas face growing threats from wildlife.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 7, 2025
Along with Japan’s urban bears comes fur and loathing
What’s unusual is that the majority of these incidents are happening not to unlucky hikers or mountain foragers, but to people in residential areas going about their daily lives.
Officials set up traps to capture bears in the city of Kazuno, Akita Prefecture, on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2025
GSDF deployed to Akita Prefecture amid rise in bear attacks
Troops will assist in the setting up of traps in the prefecture, though they are not permitted to help cull the bears themselves.
Ground Self-Defense Force personnel unload a box trap during a training exercise on wildlife damage control.
JAPAN
Nov 2, 2025
SDF to provide logistical aid for bear capture efforts
There have been over 8,000 reported bear sightings in the prefecture this fiscal year, and 50 people have suffered injuries, including three fatalities.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi looks on during an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) defense ministers' meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 2, 2025
Koizumi builds ties with partners and airs concerns with China defense chief
The defense minister also said that Tokyo had "identified a concrete demand" for Japanese defense gear from a number of countries.
Japan is deploying two officers to Lithuania for demining training in support of Ukraine, marking a key step in its evolving security strategy and the maturation of its defense policy.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 31, 2025
Japan’s demining deployment is a security milestone
This deployment is the latest in demining support that Japan has delivered to Ukraine since Russia’s full scale invasion began in February 2022.
A bear roams around a field in the town of Kuzumaki, Iwate Prefecture, on Oct. 12.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 30, 2025
Japan’s government ramps up bear control efforts amid rise in attacks
With the move, which pulls together more agencies than have previously been involved, authorities hope to cull bears that enter residential areas more quickly and accurately.
Ikken Yamamoto plays a shell-shocked Self-Defense Force veteran whose past comes back to haunt him in “Flames of a Flower.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 29, 2025
‘Flames of a Flower’: A bold interrogation of Japan’s pacifist identity
Oudai Kojima’s PTSD drama turned politically charged thriller takes aim at Japan’s postwar contradictions.
Japanese court orders Cloudflare to pay ¥500 million over manga piracy
Cloudflare has been ordered to pay ¥500 million after four major publishing firms accused the firm of copyright infringement for its role in hosting sites that distribute pirated copies of manga titles.
Japan plans higher visa fees for foreign residents
Along with planned higher fees for foreign residents to stay, Japan is looking to raise the ¥3,000 single-entry visa fee for inbound tourists to Western standards in the next fiscal year.
Two men suspected of smuggling 1 ton of gold into Japan from South Korea
U.K. gold bullion bars and coins are displayed at Baird & Co. in Hatton Garden in London.
Takaichi rejects China's demand to retract Taiwan remarks
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has rejected China's demands for her to retract her comments on Taiwan, saying Tokyo's stance on a major regional security crisis remains unchanged.
¥21.3 trillion stimulus package approved by Cabinet
The Cabinet is expected to submit an extra budget bill to finance the package to parliament, which is in session until Dec. 17.
First foreign president of Hosei University looks abroad for change
Hosei University President Diana Khor, who herself was an international student, aims to encourage students to look outward and cultivate a global mindset.
Japanese companies advised to change mindset about investment in Africa
Bernard Laurendeau, chief of Enkopa Lab Japan, in Tokyo last month
Munetaka Murakami headlines quartet looking to move to MLB via posting system
The Swallows' Munetaka Murakami has 246 career home runs in eight NPB seasons.
The reality of human trafficking in Japan
A view of Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward at night. Last year in Japan, 66 people were put in protective custody as victims of human trafficking. Among them, 58 — including all 41 minors — were Japanese nationals. International pressure to act on human trafficking led Japan to make efforts to crack down on the crime, such as a tightening of conditions in 2005 for entertainer visas.
Why we can’t get enough of the sham of the rental family
“Rental Family,” directed and co-written by the single-named Hikari, follows out-of-work actor Phillip (Brendan Fraser), who is hired as the “token white guy” at a Tokyo agency called Rental Family.

Podcast

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

Longform

Juzo Itami’s “Tampopo” was released Nov. 23, 1985, and though it wasn’t a hit at the time, it has gained a cult following in the years since.
Eat, slurp, love: 'Tampopo' turns 40
By Weiwen Lin

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