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July 20, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
July 20, 2025
Japan elections
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People vote during Japan's Upper House election at a polling station in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Polls open for key Upper House election that could shake Japanese politics
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
A variety of scenarios await the country should the ruling coalition lose its majority in the Upper House — from an enlarged coalition to an opposition-led government.

More coverage

Ishiba's future in balance as polls hint at rout in Upper House election
Japanese markets brace for triple whammy if opposition wins big
People vote during Japan's Upper House election at a polling station in Tokyo on Sunday.
A coral reef in Okinawa in July 2022. Some jurisdictions around the world have moved to ban certain sunscreens in a bid to protect coral reefs, but some say the impact on reefs is far from clear.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / OUR PLANET
Japan’s top brands get tied up in the great sunscreen debate
By Tomoko Otake
The debate over the damage sunscreens cause to the marine environment is heating up as some regions ban certain chemical ingredients.
U.S. President Donald Trump steps on stage to deliver remarks at the Salute to America Celebration at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines on July 3.
BUSINESS / Economy
Trump aims tariff double whammy at industries and nations by Aug. 1
By Joe Deaux, Jenny Leonard, Alicia Diaz and Josh Wingrove
In addition to measures on copper, the U.S. has discussed making announcements on lumber, chips, critical minerals and drugs in that order, though this may change.
Visitors play Hades 2, an upcoming independent game for Nintendo's Switch 2, during the BitSummit indie gaming expo in the city of Kyoto on Friday.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Indie game studios battle for piece of Switch 2 success
By Katie Forster
With Nintendo game sales long dominated by in-house franchises, it can be hard for outsiders to break through.
One of the entrances to Pao Compound, a nine-story Silk Road-inspired complex in Tokyo's Higashinakano neighborhood
LIFE / Lifestyle
Touring the Silk Road — without leaving Tokyo
By Kimberly Hughes
Located near Higashinakano Station, Pao Compound is an eclectic mix of restaurants, event spaces and an affinity for cultural exploration.
One of the entrances to Pao Compound, a nine-story Silk Road-inspired complex in Tokyo's Higashinakano neighborhood

JAPAN

People watch a campaign speech in Tokyo on July 13.
Record 21.45 million people vote early in Upper House poll
The figure represents 20.58% of all voters, with many people using the system given the long weekend.
Soil from the Fukushima No. 1 plant is delivered to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's office in Tokyo on Saturday.
Fukushima soil delivered to Ishiba's office for reuse
With few willing to take the contaminated earth, the government took it upon itself to reuse some of the soil to show it is not dangerous.
Astellas employee won't appeal spying conviction in China
Amid searing summer heat, eel restaurants draw crowds on Day of Ox
Japan's minority government faces election snub as economic storm brews
Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence — and Zen?
By Michael Hoffman

BUSINESS

A Dole Food Company worker rakes coffee cherries for them to dry at the company's Waialua coffee and cocoa farm on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, in November 2011.
Trump tariffs spell trouble for Hawaii’s few coffee farmers
By Ilena Peng
Coffee is more popular in the U.S. than even bottled water, with two-thirds of Americans drinking it every day.
The No. 2 (left) and No. 1 reactor buildings stand at Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Ohi nuclear power station in Ohi Town, Fukui Prefecture.
Kansai Electric eyes next-generation reactor at plant in Fukui Prefecture
This is the first concrete move toward building a new reactor in the country since the March 2011 disaster.
U.S. firms to develop Syria energy master plan after Trump lifts sanctions
By Timour Azhari
G20 communique delivers rare show of unity amid Trump trade war
Ishiba and Bessent say 'good' trade agreement still possible
By Francis Tang
Mizuho partners with SoftBank on AI to boost efficiency

WORLD

Torrential rains triggered a landslide in Sancheong, South Korea, on Saturday.
Death toll rises to 14 in South Korea as heavy rain triggers landslide and flooding
Two people have died and a further two were missing in the South Korean resort town of Gapyeong on Sunday amid heavy rainfall.
Members of emergency services work at the scene after a vehicle plunged into a crowd outside a nightclub, on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles on Saturday.
Driver charged after plowing into Los Angeles nightclub crowd, injuring 30
The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Fernando Ramirez, was charged on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.
Death toll from Vietnam tourist boat accident climbs to at least 38
Gaza civil defense says Israeli fire kills 39 near two aid centers
Syria believed it had green light from U.S. and Israel to deploy troops to Sweida
Trump's funding cut stalls water projects, increasing risks for millions
By Ammu KANNAMPILLY and Andy Sullivan

Sports

Oleksandr Usyk celebrates after winning his heavyweight title fight over Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday.
Usyk knocks out Dubois to become undisputed world heavyweight champion
By Julian Guyer
The victory saw Ukraine's Usyk extend his unbeaten professional record to 24 fights as the WBA, WBC and WBO champion added his British opponent's IBF belt to his collection.
Pacquiao held to draw by Barrios in world title return
Shota Imanaga and slugging Cubs overpower Red Sox
Thymen Arensman gives Ineos something to cheer about at Tour as doping cloud hangs
By Julien Pretot
Clark urges more pay for WNBA players as labor talks intensify
By Amy Tennery

Opinion

Once seen as an unlikely prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba has struggled to deliver on promises, mishandled ties with U.S. President Donald Trump and now faces an election where the odds don’t look good for his party to come out victorious.
A trade deal fumble could be Ishiba’s last mistake
Gearoid Reidy
Ishiba already leads a coalition that lacks a majority in the Lower House, and another bad showing Sunday will likely mean Japan is looking for its third leader in as many years.
The 'Trump Doctrine' is wishful thinking
By Melanie W. Sisson
In Japanese politics, rice is the 'third rail'
By Edo Naito
Japan must be ready for an increasingly dangerous world
In uncertain times, Japan needs responsible leadership

ENVIRONMENT

A student leaves the secondary school building built by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Francis Kere, in Kere's home village of Gando, Burkina Faso, on June 3, 2022.
How schools are being built for extreme heat — without air conditioning
By Emma Batha
With techniques such as cross-ventilation and materials such as clay, architects around the world are adapting schools to climate change without the use of air conditioning.
Pakistan's quiet solar rush puts pressure on national grid
By Zain Zaman Janjua
World risks up to $39 trillion in losses from vanishing wetlands: report
By Duncan Miriri
How climate change is fueling wildfires in Europe
By Kate Abnett
When it’s this hot, ‘We are enduring, not living’
By Zia ur-Rehman

CULTURE

Mod's memoir “Things Become Other Things” chronicles his walking trips across the Kii Peninsula, surveying “a graceful end to a certain life cycle.”
Craig Mod's life in motion in a disappearing Japan
By James Hadfield
In “Things Become Other Things,” the longtime resident of Japan captures that grace that lingers in slowly vanishing countryside towns.
‘Noto Democracy’ and the slow work of civic change
By Moe Shimizu
What to pack if you are heading to the Fuji Rock Festival
The self as a muse: Leonard Foujita's world in paintings and photos
By Jennifer Pastore
Akutagawa and Naoki award decision marks rare absence of literary prizewinners
By Alyssa I. Smith

LIFE

A man takes part in Tokyo’s Sanja Matsuri by helping to carry a "mikoshi" (portable shrine). Many Japanese festivals are open to foreign residents and tourists to participate in.
Dancers, festivals and one very useful Japanese grammar point
By Yaeko Kabe
From Kyoto’s Gion Matsuri to Tokyo’s Sumida fireworks, Japan’s summer festivals offer history, spectacle — and a chance to learn some vocabulary.
In microbes we trust: Embracing the nature of fermented food
By Simon Daly
In Gaza-made obi, Palestinian embroidery meets Japanese kimono
By Anna Sakamoto
Cool to be square: A block of tofu with veggies to chill your summer
By Elizabeth Andoh
Sega’s first Japan store signals ‘immersive entertainment’ push
By Gendel Gento

COMMUNITY

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan
By Megha Wadhwa
Remote work is reshaping how Indian professionals navigate life, family and identity in a post-pandemic Japan.
Lilimi settles into a new life
Tobias Bieker: ‘A good interviewer helps the guest shine’
By Gendel Gento
A furever friend: Tips for responsible dog ownership in Japan
By Kat Joplin
Japanese language is your gateway to seeing the world anew
By Damian Flanagan

Editors' Picks

JAPAN
Japan's rice farmers are confounded by Shinjiro Koizumi’s policies
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
Kiyoshi Shibata stands in front of one of the rice paddies in Murayama, Yamagata Prefecture, where he produces the prefecture's signature rice brand Tsuyahime.
JAPAN
From stalking to death threats, female candidates still face harassment
By Himari Semans
Mayu Ushida, a former NHK newscaster running for election in the Tokyo electoral district on the Democratic Party for the People ticket, signs an autograph for a voter after a public rally at Shinjuku Station in Tokyo on Tuesday.
CULTURE
Kawaii Lab redefines idol pop for the TikTok generation
By Patrick St. Michel
Misa Kimura is the main producer for Kawaii Lab, a project by entertainment agency Asobisystem whose groups have found success by pairing a social media-first strategy with a fresh perspective on traditional idol-pop tropes.
CULTURE
Craig Mod's life in motion in a disappearing Japan
By James Hadfield
Mod's memoir “Things Become Other Things” chronicles his walking trips across the Kii Peninsula, surveying “a graceful end to a certain life cycle.”
JAPAN
With China and Trump, Japan defense report says world entering ‘new era of crisis’
By Jesse Johnson
A senior member of a Self-Defense Forces honor guard inspects a formation before the arrival of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba for a visit to the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on June 30.

Podcast

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

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan
By Megha Wadhwa

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WHAT’S TRENDING

BUSINESS
Japanese markets brace for triple whammy if opposition wins big
By Kazuaki Nagata
A Sanseito campaign van in Shinjuku. The populist party is gaining ground and challenging the more centrist parties.
JAPAN
Sunken WWII Japanese warship Teruzuki found off Solomon Islands
The Solomon Islands. A team from the U.S. nonprofit Ocean Exploration Trust has discovered the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer Teruzuki on the deep seabed off the Solomon Islands as the 80th anniversary of the war's end approaches.
BUSINESS
Living conditions index hits lowest level in 15 years in Japan
The share of respondents to a Bank of Japan quarterly survey in June who said they have become worse off came to 61.0%, up 5.1 percentage points from the previous survey.
JAPAN
In Upper House race, younger voters in Tokyo turn to DPP for new direction
By Yukana Inoue
The Tokyo district has the highest number of candidates in the 2025 Upper House election with 32 people in the running for seven seats.
JAPAN
Concerns grow in Japan over possible Russian interference in Sunday’s election
By Yukana Inoue
A think tank researcher said anti-government propaganda by Russian bot accounts was what has made the small far-right party Sanseito so popular leading up to the Upper House election.