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April 20, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
April 20, 2025
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Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's Economic Revitalization Minister and top tariff negotiator with the U.S., speaks to the press upon his arrival at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Japan mulls reviewing car safety rules to strike deal with Trump
By Hideyuki Sano
The report comes after Japan’s chief negotiator Ryosei Akazawa kicked off tariff discussions with U.S. counterparts in Washington last week.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's Economic Revitalization Minister and top tariff negotiator with the U.S., speaks to the press upon his arrival at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Friday.
Russian service members carry traditional cakes to distribute to local residents ahead of Orthodox Easter celebrations, in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Avdiivka in the Donetsk region, a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Putin is accused of violating the Easter Sunday truce he ordered
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cited 59 cases of shelling and five assault actions by Russian units in various front-line areas on Sunday morning.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife Mamiko Tanaka attend a Lakers game in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2024.
BASEBALL / MLB
Shohei Ohtani announces birth of daughter
By Jason Coskrey
Ohtani announced the birth of his first child in a post on social media.
Visitors walk atop the Grand Ring at Expo 2025 in Osaka on April 13.
JAPAN / Society
Digitalized Osaka Expo troubling elderly visitors
Under the Expo's digital and paperless policies, visitors are asked to use devices such as smartphones to make reservations and navigate the massive venue.
People walk down a street in the red-light entertainment area of Kabukicho in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo on March 31.
JAPAN / Society
Social media helps fuel growing 'sex tourism' in Japan
By Caroline Gardin
Only certain sexual services are prohibited in Japan, and it is the sex workers — not their clients — who face fines or prison, if caught.
People walk down a street in the red-light entertainment area of Kabukicho in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo on March 31.

JAPAN

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters at his official residence in Tokyo on Thursday.
No concessions over food safety in Japan-U.S. talks, Ishiba says
The prime minister also said that expanding LNG imports could be used as a bargaining chip.
According to the Saitama Prefectural Police, a body was discovered inside a metal drum at a recycling company in the city of Yoshikawa on Friday.
Body found in drum at recycling company in Saitama
Police are treating the case as abandonment of a corpse and are working to identify the body and cause of death.
Party of Tokyo governor race challenger Ishimaru to field 10 Upper House candidates
Protesters march for WWII relief for civilians and others who were overlooked
Digitalized Osaka Expo troubling elderly visitors
Osaka Expo struggles with drawing visitors and managing crowds

BUSINESS

Tariffs, and the risk they pose to both the economy and inflation, have been the focus of global attention.
First shock waves of Trump’s tariffs are about to hit the world economy
By Craig Stirling
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is set to lower its outlook for economic growth in new projections released on Tuesday.
A Boeing 737 MAX plane, intended for China's Xiamen Airlines, arrives at King County International Airport after returning from China due to ongoing tariff disputes, in Seattle, Washington, on Saturday.
Boeing jet returns to U.S. from China, a victim of Trump's tariff war
By Dan Catchpole and Lisa Barrington
The return of the 737 MAX is the latest sign of disruption to new aircraft deliveries from a breakdown in the aerospace industry's decades-old duty-free status.
Japan considering soybean and rice concessions in U.S. tariff talks: report
Japan tariff negotiator rules out quick U.S. deal despite push by Trump
Trump goes to war with the Fed
Wholesaler rice prices in Japan see first drop in eight months

WORLD

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on April 7.
Israel still eyeing a limited attack on Iran's nuclear facilities
By Erin Banco
Israel has not ruled out an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities in the coming months despite a lack of U.S. support for now.
A U.S. aircraft, carrying Venezuelan migrants after being deported from the United States, lands at the Simon Bolivar International Airport, in Maiquetia, Venezuela, on April 4.
U.S. Supreme Court orders temporary halt to deportations of Venezuelan migrants
The cases raise questions about the Trump administration's adherence to limits set by the Supreme Court, and risks a full-blown constitutional crisis.
Money, power, violence in high-stakes Philippine elections
By Cecil Morella
U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocks deportations of Venezuelan migrants under wartime law
By Andrew Chung, Luc Cohen, Kristina Cooke and Jack Queen
Israel's Netanyahu says military to increase pressure on Hamas
By Nidal al-Mughrabi, Jaidaa Taha and Alexander Cornwell
Iran says nuclear deal is possible if Washington is realistic

Sports

New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Citi Field in New York on Saturday.
Kodai Senga, Pete Alonso lead Mets past Cardinals
Senga (3-1) allowed just three hits, walked two and fanned four in an 89-pitch performance.
Comeback queen Liu leads U.S. to World Team Trophy win
Tennis doping watchdog defends supervised shower rule amid fan backlash
Celtics chase second straight NBA title in playoff field led by Thunder and Cavs
Tommy Edman and Yoshinobu Yamamoto lift Dodgers past Rangers

Opinion

Pro-Yoon Suk Yeol supporters gather on the side of a road as they wait for the arrival of the former South Korean president outside the Central District Court in Seoul on Monday.
New leadership in South Korea should stay the course on Japan ties
Democracy should be frustrating. It is intended to force compromise, a process that will inevitably be slow and exasperating.
Is this Canada’s moment?
By Thomas O. Falk
Will a 'low-altitude economy' make Chinese growth soar again?
By Hotaka Machida
What economists 'don’t get' about Trump tariffs
By Kuni Miyake
Can Trump’s tariffs restore U.S. manufacturing?
By Keun Lee

ENVIRONMENT

The Northern Lights Carbon Capture and Storage facility in Bergen, Norway.
Big bets on speculative carbon capture tech ignore today’s solutions
By Michelle Ma and Dave Merrill
Companies from Occidental Petroleum to Microsoft are among the investors throwing billions at carbon capture startups.
Clean streets versus business woes: Pollution charge divides Londoners
By Akshata Kapoor
AI surge to double data center electricity demand by 2030, report says
By Nathalie ALONSO
Once-dying Mexican river delta slowly nursed back to life by conservationists
By Daniel Rook
As Chile revs up lithium plans, Indigenous people demand more control
By Daina Beth Solomon

CULTURE

Palestinian American photographer Adam Rouhana’s exhibition at this year’s Kyotographie festival shows Palestinian life, not death and rubble.
Kyotographie 2025 opts for laughter and levity in the face of global strife
By Thu-Huong Ha
Artists at the 13th edition of the international photography festival find humor and heart in their portrayals of humanity.
The floor is art: Takuro Tamayama transforms mundanity
By Kim Kahan
Japan wanted a cultural do-over. Ado gave it one.
By Patrick St. Michel
Actor Hiroyuki Sanada among Time's 100 most influential people
‘Ya Boy Kongming! The Movie’: J-pop spectacle goes heavy on performances
By Mark Schilling

LIFE

Crow meat, shaped into a ball and attached to a foot of the bird, is one of the peculiar offerings of game at Mauvaise Herbe.
Crow meat, goat tartare: Mauvaise Herbe raises its game
By Andrew Lee
Taking an unconventional approach to sourcing, chef Keiji Ojima is out to showcase the little-known wild flavors of Okinawa in his French-inspired Okinawan fare.
Thumbprint cookies with a tangy Japanese filling
By Simon Daly
Japan’s first Waldorf Astoria brings art deco luxury to Osaka
By Tan Pin Yen
Calling all Potterheads: ‘The Goblet of Fire’ comes to Tokyo
By Gendel Gento
Voicing intentions and a peek into a traditional Japanese engagement ceremony
By Yaeko Kabe

COMMUNITY

Customers line up patiently for some early-afternoon baked goods outside Truffle, which is located close to Hiroo Station on the Hibiya Line.
How to spend the perfect day in Hiroo, Tokyo’s expat enclave
By Eric Margolis
A stroll through Hiroo reveals both the comforts of expat luxury and the quiet intrusions of a changing Tokyo.
Noriko Shakti: ‘Music reflects my journey and learnings’
By Miikka J. Lehtonen
Tokyo Humanities Cafe feeds hungry minds
By Jessica Kozuka
Montessori head educates Tokyo’s children for life
By Louise George Kittaka
How to navigate Japan’s e-commerce platforms and online flea markets
By Jessica Speed

Editors' Picks

BASEBALL
Nothing sells like Shohei Ohtani, MLB’s marketing megastar
By Mai Yoshikawa
People walk past an advertisement featuring Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani outside Tokyo Dome on March 18.
BUSINESS
Tokyo stock picker advises Trump-proofing portfolios with Godzilla creator Toho
By Kazuaki Nagata
The head of Godzilla, a Japanese monster movie character, is seen on a building of Toho Cinema in Tokyo. Toho is one tariff-defensive stock being recommended by brokers.
JAPAN
LDP and CDP lawmaker groups propose 0% consumption tax on food
By Himari Semans
A vegetable stand displays prices at a supermarket in Tokyo in 2023. Some lawmakers are proposing lowering the consumption tax on food to 0%, which is expected to result in a loss of up to ¥5 trillion in tax revenue annually.
JAPAN
Tokyo hotel operators face possible warnings over suspected price cartel
By Karin Kaneko
Foreign tourists gather on a platform at Kyoto Station on Wednesday.
CULTURE
Kyotographie 2025 opts for laughter and levity in the face of global strife
By Thu-Huong Ha
Palestinian American photographer Adam Rouhana’s exhibition at this year’s Kyotographie festival shows Palestinian life, not death and rubble.

Podcast

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

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.
By Tomoko Otake

JT Directory Service

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SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)
BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)

WHAT’S TRENDING

JAPAN
Magnitude 5.0 earthquake jolts Nagano
A map showing the location of an earthquake that hit Nagano Prefecture on Friday evening, with the numbers indicating the seismic intensity on the shindo scale to 7.
JAPAN
Japan bus driver steals $7, loses $84,000 pension
The Supreme Court ruled that the man's conduct could undermine public trust in the system and the sound operation of the bus service.
BUSINESS
In a first, Japan issues cease-and-desist order against Google
By Yukana Inoue
The Google logo is seen at the company's Bay View campus in Mountain View, California. Japanese authorities on Tuesday issued a cease-and-desist order to Google over an alleged violation of the country's anti-monopoly law.
JAPAN
Nude photos of deceased singer Aki Yashiro spark row in Japan
Singer Aki Yashiro in Tokyo in 2012
BUSINESS
Japan tariff negotiator rules out quick U.S. deal despite push by Trump
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's top tariff negotiator with the U.S., speaks to reporters upon his arrival at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Friday, a day after talks in Washington.