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October 16, 2024
The Independent Voice in Asia
October 16, 2024
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A board for election posters in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on Monday
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Election to test Ishiba's ability to build a strong political base
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
The PM must mitigate the reputational damage caused by the LDP's recent funds scandal and persuade voters that the party is still their best choice.

More coverage

General election campaigning to kick off Tuesday
A board for election posters in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on Monday
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during a debate session with other political party leaders at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Saturday
BUSINESS
Japan’s sales tax likely to remain 10% as big parties avoid third rail
By Kazuaki Nagata
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba aims to fund social security programs without changing the current tax rate of 10%.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends the East Asian Summit in Vientiane, Laos, on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Ishiba openness to nuke ban treaty involvement puts pact in spotlight
By Francis Tang and Himari Semans
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said his government will “seriously consider” participating as an observer in a conference of signatories to the U.N. treaty.
Over the past 10 years, the athletic performance of women in their 40s showed a decline in the total score as well as in individual categories, according to the Japan Sports Agency.
JAPAN / Science & Health
40% of Japanese women in their 30s and early 40s don't exercise at all
By Kathleen Benoza
The trend reflects the fact that women in this age group tend to be busy with child rearing or work, according to the Japan Sports Agency.
The Iron Dames car shared by Rahel Frey, Sarah Bovy and Michelle Gatting is pushed into the garage during the World Endurance Championship race in Austin, Texas, earlier this year.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
While motorsports' inclusivity has improved, there's still work to be done
By Joel Tansey
The Iron Dames team is among those battling for a more welcoming motorsports environment for women.
The Iron Dames car shared by Rahel Frey, Sarah Bovy and Michelle Gatting is pushed into the garage during the World Endurance Championship race in Austin, Texas, earlier this year.

JAPAN

Iwao Hakamata (left) gestures beside his older sister, Hideko, at a gathering with supporters on Monday in the city of Shizuoka, his first public appearance since his exoneration over a 1966 murder case.
Ex-boxer Hakamata set to vote for the first time in decades
By Kanako Takahara
Efforts are being made to allow the world's longest-held death row inmate, who has been exonerated over a 1966 murder case, to vote in the Oct. 27 general election.
Nobuyuki Baba, leader of Nippon Ishin no Kai, says the party aims to secure seats in single-seat constituencies outside the Kansai region.
Nippon Ishin may cooperate with LDP coalition if it loses majority
In a recent interview, Nippon Ishin leader Nobuyuki Baba hinted at the possibility and said he will decide after seeing the results of the Oct. 27 election.
Japanese utility to restart Shimane nuclear reactor in December
By Shoko Oda
Emperor and Empress visit Gifu for cultural festivals
LDP says it will abolish policy activity funds in the future
Biden congratulates Nihon Hidankyo on winning Nobel Peace Prize

BUSINESS

The success of Seven & I's major restructuring plan depends on the retailer's ability to roll out a new store format in Japan, and improve profit margins overseas, analysts say.
7-Eleven's turnaround plan requires heavy lifting to stop takeover bid
By Ritsuko Shimizu
Much depends on the retailer's ability to roll out a new store format in Japan and improve profit margins overseas.
Tokyo Metro priced its shares at ¥1,200 apiece. It is expected to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Oct. 23.
Tokyo Metro raises $2.3 bln in Japan's biggest IPO in 6 years
By Miho Uranaka and Sam Nussey
The subway operator priced its shares at the top of its provisional range of ¥1,100 to ¥1,200, a regulatory filing from the company showed on Tuesday.
CEATEC begins near Tokyo as humanity enters 'a new era' with AI
Global banks want to monetize biodiversity
By Natasha White
Intervention back on investors’ radars as yen weakens against dollar
By Mia Glass and Daisuke Sakai
Japanese company shareholders increasingly challenge management
By Anton Bridge

WORLD

China's Liaoning aircraft carrier takes part in the Joint Sword-2024B military drills east of Taiwan, in this screenshot from video released Monday.
China says it won't rule out use of force to take Taiwan as war games end
By Jesse Johnson
Japan and the U.S. condemned the large-scale Chinese military exercises around Taiwan as Beijing hinted that more could come.
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (center), with Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly (right), and Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc, takes part in a news conference about the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's investigation into "violent criminal activity in Canada with connections to India," on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday.
Canada expels top India diplomats, linking them to murder of Sikh leader
By Krishn Kaushik, Sakshi Dayal and Promit Mukherjee
India retaliated by ordering the expulsion of six high-ranking Canadian diplomats.
Stateless speak up as world misses its #Ibelong deadline
By Emma Batha
North Korea blows up parts of inter-Korean roads, Seoul says
Israel strikes Lebanon after Netanyahu vows no mercy for Hezbollah
How Indonesia's outgoing president steered his son to the vice presidency
By Kate Lamb and Ananda Teresia

Sports

Fighters manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo celebrates his team's defeat of the Marines in the first stage of the Pacific League Climax Series on Monday.
Tsuyoshi Shinjo’s high-stakes gamble pays off in the Climax Series
By Jason Coskrey
Not every manager would willingly go into a three-game playoff series without planning for his best pitcher to throw.
Scotland lock Gray signs for Toyota Verblitz
Italy outclass Israel 4-1 to inch closer to Nations League quarterfinals
Germany advances as Leweling debut goal secures 1-0 win over Dutch
Vientos grand slam propels Mets in series-tying win over Dodgers

Opinion

With projections indicating a population drop in Japan from around 125 million to 63 million by 2100, traditional solutions like immigration and labor reforms are unlikely to be effective in time.
Japan should master, not resist, its demographic destiny
Brad Glosserman
Japan needs a strategic reorientation toward accepting and mastering its demographic changes rather than resisting them.
Google's DeepMind Nobel Prize showcases AI’s medical potential
By Lisa Jarvis
Earthquakes, hurricanes and other disasters will shape our future cities
By Matthew Brooker
A dangerous dance for Israel and Iran
By Abbas Milani
A battle over the kebab’s nationality
By Howard Chua-Eoan

ENVIRONMENT

Serhiy Tsapok (left) and a firefighter extinguish the remains of a fire in a forest near Yarova, Sviati Hory National Park, Donetsk region, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, July 29.
Ukraine's vast forests devastated in hellscape of war
By Max Hunder
Both Russian and Ukrainian armies blast thousands of shells at each other every day, shredding the earth in grinding combat that echoes World War I.
Amazon prefers renewables in Asia as nuclear still elusive
By Sing Yee Ong and Ishika Mookerjee
How climate change is contributing to the intensity of hurricanes
By Todd Woody
Japan pushes fossil fuel tech in Asia carbon neutrality initiative
By Tomoko Otake
Top of the COPs: The key U.N. climate summits
By Laurence COUSTAL

CULTURE

South Korean author Han Kang, the winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature, attends a press conference, in Seoul in November.
Han Kang’s Nobel win underscores essential role of translators as literary tastemakers
By Mike Fu
The trailblazing South Korean author was virtually unknown in the West just 10 years ago — then came Deborah Smith’s translation of "The Vegetarian."
Kazuhiro Soda embraces the wisdom of street cats
By James Hadfield
Long-time 'Doraemon' voice actor Nobuyo Oyama dies at 90
By Yukana Inoue
Peter Barakan’s Live Magic! takes its final bow
By Matt Schley
South Korean author Han Kang wins Nobel Prize in literature
By Thu-Huong Ha

LIFE

The Specialty Coffee Association of Japan's World Specialty Coffee Conference and Exhibition runs through Oct. 12 at Tokyo's Big Sight convention center, where Ogawa Coffee Laboratory is one of many companies showing off advances in coffee roasting and brewing.
On the ground at Japan's biggest coffee conference
By Zoria Petkoska
The biggest impact the java-centric event will have on most people might be how their local brewers make their lattes and pour-overs in the near future.
Can't stop tossing and turning at night? Perhaps a bedtime story would help.
By Tomoko Otake
Can't choose a Kansai hotel? Perhaps a wellness screening will help you decide.
By Melinda Joe
Studying Japanese is like exercise: The more you do it, the better you'll feel.
By Yuko Tamura
Sega's ninja game Shinobi to get the movie treatment

COMMUNITY

Performers at Stand Up Indonesia Tokyo shows crack plenty of jokes, but the main purpose behind the group, organizers say, is to provide a space where Indonesian expats can express themselves about any struggles they may have about living abroad.
Tokyo’s Indonesians get through life abroad with a couple of laughs
By Yohana Belinda
Stand Up Indonesia Tokyo is a community of comedians, comedy fans and others with connections to Indonesia seeking a reminder of home.
Named for an opera, Lauretta is more adorable than dramatic
Jonathan Dunnett: ‘The ocean is far bigger than we are, and it will humble us.’
By Justin Randall
The forgotten Japanese naturalist who created a U.S. national park
By Drew Damron
What’s a mother to do when your non-Japanese child is bullied in school?
By Harriet Ocharo

Editors' Picks

JAPAN
Amid skepticism, CDP faces once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in Oct. 27 polls
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) leader Yoshihiko Noda speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Thursday.
ENVIRONMENT
Where does Shigeru Ishiba stand on the climate issue?
By Eric Johnston
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba chairs an Asia Zero Emission Community meeting in Vientiane, Laos, on Friday.
COMMUNITY
Tokyo’s Indonesians get through life abroad with a couple of laughs
By Yohana Belinda
Performers at Stand Up Indonesia Tokyo shows crack plenty of jokes, but the main purpose behind the group, organizers say, is to provide a space where Indonesian expats can express themselves about any struggles they may have about living abroad.
LIFE
As Japan shuns stiff drinks, cider aims for a bigger share of the market
By Louise George Kittaka
Cider in Japan doesn't have as long a history as other alcoholic beverages, but with consumer preferences shifting, it might be just the easy sip for drinkers sick of stiff tipples.
JAPAN
Kyoto partners with e-gift service company to let tourists Donate & Go
By Yukana Inoue
The city of Kyoto boasts historic artifacts and cityscapes that millions are willing to travel thousands of kilometers to see, but such treasures are not cheap to maintain, prompting the city to ask foreign tourists for a helping hand.

Podcast

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

Longform

Capsule hotels were created as a way to deal with the amount of overwork employees tend to do in Japan. Can't commute home? Then spend the night in an tiny, affordable sleeping space.
Japan wakes up to the market for a proper sleep
By Alex K.T. Martin

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WHAT’S TRENDING

JAPAN
General election campaigning to kick off Tuesday
By Eric Johnston
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (center right) makes a speech Sunday in Soka, Saitama Prefecture, along with Komeito leader Keiichi Ishii (center left).
JAPAN
Israeli envoy criticizes Japanese atomic survivor's Gaza comparison
The co-chair of the Nihon Hidankyo atomic bomb survivors' group, Toshiyuki Mimaki, who lived through the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, attends an online news conference from the city on Saturday.
JAPAN
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
By Karin Kaneko
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
ASIA PACIFIC
China’s ‘new great wall’ casts a shadow on Nepal
By Hannah Beech and Bhadra Sharma
A Nepali paramilitary police force office in the village Hilsa, Nepal, on Oct. 12, 2023
JAPAN
Aging A-bomb survivors face challenges in passing on their stories
Toshiyuki Mimaki, the co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo, offers flowers Sunday at the cenotaph for those who died in and after the atomic bombing in the city of Hiroshima.