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September 23, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
September 23, 2025
LDP Race
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Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi, former Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, former Internal Affairs Minister Sanae Takaichi and Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi pose after delivering speeches at the kickoff of campaigning for the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election in Tokyo on Monday. The five lawmakers are running to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba as LDP president.
JAPAN / Politics
LDP race commences with mix of youth and experience
By Eric Johnston
Whoever wins faces the task of rebuilding public trust in the 70-year-old LDP at a time of low public approval ratings as smaller opposition parties resonate with many voters.

More coverage

Who’s who in the LDP presidential race?
Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi, former Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, former Internal Affairs Minister Sanae Takaichi and Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi pose after delivering speeches at the kickoff of campaigning for the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election in Tokyo on Monday. The five lawmakers are running to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba as LDP president.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during a meeting of the Supreme People's Assembly at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang in this photo released Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
North Korea’s Kim open to talks with Trump, as South’s Lee backs nuke freeze
By Jesse Johnson
Kim said talks could reopen if the U.S. drops its denuclearization demand, remarks that came as South Korea's leader said he'd back a deal to freeze Pyongyang's nuke program.
Jared Baeten, Gilead Sciences' senior vice president and virology therapeutic area head, hopes regulatory approval elsewhere for lenacapavir as a preexposure prophylaxis — for reducing the risk of contracting HIV — could lead to real discussions toward ending HIV in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Twice-a-year injection could make HIV prevention easier, developer argues
By Francis Tang
Without the need to take a daily pill, adherence could improve, says an executive from Gilead Sciences, which developed such an injection.
Japan has many positive qualities for German companies, but the market does face some challenges, such as talent acquisition and retention, particularly as demand for skilled workers grows, a survey by the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan showed.
BUSINESS / Companies
More German companies choosing Japan as Asia manufacturing hub: survey
By Elizabeth Beattie
The country is valued for its stability, affordability and proximity to other major markets, according to the survey by the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan.
Yuki Joseph Nakajima after placing sixth in the men's 400-meter final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Thursday
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
World championships bring few medals but win big with the crowds
By Jason Coskrey
Japan is now looking ahead to the Asian Games in Nagoya in 2026, the next world championships in Beijing in 2027 and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Yuki Joseph Nakajima after placing sixth in the men's 400-meter final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Thursday

JAPAN

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi says it is a matter of when, not whether, Japan will recognize a Palestinian state.
Japan to take comprehensive approach for timing of recognizing Palestinian state
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said it is "a matter of when, not whether, to recognize" Palestinian statehood.
A street in Naha in August. In entertainment districts in southern Okinawa, a drug known as "laughing gas vape" is being abused at nightclubs and bar. Now, some establishments have put up warning notices.
Abuse of 'zombie cigarettes' among Okinawa youths raises alarm
"Laughing gas vape," inhaled using devices resembling e-cigarettes, can cause its users to lose control.
Memories of man's WWII mining experience are hazy, but pain persists
Fossils unearthed in Hokkaido revealed to be of new whale species
Nippon Foundation's Sasakawa meets head of Russian Orthodox Church
Under-40 population plummets in disaster-hit area in Ishikawa Prefecture

BUSINESS

Nissan’s ProPilot navigates traffic while under human supervision during a test drive in Tokyo last week.
Nissan revamps ProPilot to rival Tesla's driver-assist technology
By Nicholas Takahashi
The next version will be able to take on complex city streets using fewer cameras and monitors thanks to artificial intelligence software.
SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son’s bets on artificial intelligence have fueled a 146% surge in the stock since the fiscal year began in April.
SoftBank’s heavy weight forces skeptical stock investors to buy
By Hideyuki Sano
SoftBank shares provided almost 10% of the increase in the Topix’s market capitalization since the end of March.
Buffett raises Mitsui stake in bet on Japan’s trading houses
By Stephen Stapczynski
Trump’s $100,000 visa targets a $280 billion India success story
By Sankalp Phartiyal and Anup Roy
H-1B workers abroad race to U.S. as Trump order sparks dismay and confusion
By Aditya Soni and Echo Wang
Lachlan Murdoch, Michael Dell, Ellison involved in TikTok deal, Trump says
By Dawn Chmielewski and David Shepardson

WORLD

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaks during an interview at the Presidential Office in Seoul on Friday.
South Korea's President Lee says U.S. investment demands would spark financial crisis
By Josh Smith, Hyunjoo Jin and Heejung Jung
In an interview on Friday, Lee also spoke about Seoul's neighbors, its relations with the U.S. and the immigration raid that detained hundreds of Koreans.
U.S. President Donald Trump with Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk and the new CEO of Turning Point USA, onstage during the memorial for her late husband at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Sunday
At Charlie Kirk memorial, Trump rallies MAGA against political opponents
U.S. President Donald Trump's speech at the event was the most openly divisive, repeatedly attacking the "radical left" and leaning into campaign-style grievances.
In Sudan, 'never again' has proved untrue, UNHCR chief says
By Amelie Bottollier-Depois
What would wider recognition of Palestine mean for Palestinians and Israel?
Trump administration to link Tylenol to autism, report says
By John Tozzi
Trump aide Homan accepted $50,000 in bribery sting operation, sources say
By Sarah N. Lynch

Sports

Japan's Mebuki Suzuki in action with Uganda's Oscar Chelimo in the men's 10,000 meter final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Sept. 14
The Japanese face and body patches that have had the world wondering
By Mai Yoshikawa
Some athletes at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo swear by the products.
Aces center Wilson claims record fourth WNBA MVP award
By Amy Tennery and Angelica Medina
Ukraine must invest in young sporting talent, athletics chief says
By Pirate IRWIN
Swiatek recovers from slow start to win Korea Open title
Paolini takes Italy to Billie Jean King Cup triumph

Opinion

James Baker speaks at the funeral service for former U.S. President George Bush in Houston in December 2018. As Treasury secretary in 1985, he was the key U.S. negotiator of the Plaza Accord, the landmark deal to weaken the dollar and realign global currencies.
Why the Plaza Accord is still the gold standard
Daniel Moss and Gearoid Reidy
Rather than grieve Plaza, salute it. The deal reflected a confluence of national interest, diplomatic nous and a sense that common interests dictated collaboration.
Vladimir Putin’s ‘negotiations’ are a trap
By Yuriy Gorodnichenko, Mats Marcusson and Ilona Sologoub
America’s friends will never trust the U.S. again
By Andreas Kluth
South Korea’s baby bust threatens its demographic future
By Lee Jong-wha
The world needs Japan’s leadership in life sciences
By Bill Gates

ENVIRONMENT

Paulina “Jedda” Puruntatameri with Antonia Burke and Tiwi fisher Clinton offshore of Melville Island, one of the Tiwi Islands, in Australia's Northern Territory. Together with other Tiwi, Jedda has been campaigning for years to stop Australian company Santos and its backers, including Japanese investors, from drilling for natural gas at the Barossa gas field.
As Japan keeps buying gas, Aboriginal Australians pay the price
By Mara Budgen
Japan is Australia’s second-largest export market for energy and natural resources, giving Tokyo a certain political weight when it comes to Australian energy matters.
NASA scientist starts food crisis hotline with tech giant funding
By Agnieszka de Sousa
International treaty protecting world's oceans to take effect
Climate change led to at least 16,500 heat deaths in Europe this summer
By Emma Court
Malaysia's largest island state aims to be region's 'green battery'
By Jan HENNOP

CULTURE

“Between Currents and Bloom,” an eye-popping crocheted seascape by Indonesian artist Mulyana, dazzles with Instagram-ready cuteness while recalling a vibrant ocean now threatened by warming seas.
Aichi Triennale’s message from the world: Free Palestine
By Thu-Huong Ha
At Aichi Triennale 2025, Hoor Al Qasimi, the festival’s first foreign artistic director, takes a stand in support of Palestine.
Why Japan’s most melancholic writer speaks to today’s youth
By Kris Kosaka
A bucket becomes a house in the hands of craftsman Shuji Nakagawa
By Thu-Huong Ha
Park Chan-wook’s sharp satire ‘No Other Choice’ opens Busan festival
By Erik Augustin Palm
‘Ranshima Bound’: Family fractures and buried truths collide in Hokkaido chill
By Mark Schilling

LIFE

Filled with red bean paste and covered in "kinako" soy flour, green "zunda" soybean mash and black sesame, "o-hagi" sticky rice balls offer a delicious interplay of sweet and savory flavors.
Celebrating autumn with timeless sticky rice balls
By Elizabeth Andoh
Filled with red bean paste and sheathed in various coatings, the spherical sweets evoke the gentle mood of the season.
‘Pluriversal’ Singapore Design Week brings solution-oriented works
By John L. Tran
How Japanese captures the subtle shift into autumn
By Yaeko Kabe
From tofu to teriyaki: Japanese essentials for the home cook
By Simon Daly
An aesthetic escape to Hakone’s art-drenched hills
By Erik Augustin Palm

COMMUNITY

"Shake hands with Lima-chan," a statue that shares the name of the Peruvian capital looks in the direction of Peru, where a sister statue, "Sakura-chan," is located. Erected in Yokohama's Rinko Park in 1999, it commemorates Peruvian-Japanese friendship.
The journey of Peru’s Nikkei: Finding identity in Japan
By Christoph Sponsel
From sugar plantations in Peru to factory floors in Japan, the Nikkei story is one of migration, resilience and identity.
When a typhoon isn’t really a typhoon, I’ll be there to tell you about it
By Daniel Traylor
Calisthenic companions bridge cultures and generations
By Swastika Jajoo
Melos Han-Tani: ‘Figuring out what you value is valuable for any artist’
By Gendel Gento
Gentle care is the key to Cymbal’s heart

Editors' Picks

LIFE
Behold the glory of Japan’s fruit boxes
By Thu-Huong Ha
Otherwise common sights in Japan's supermarkets, the country's fruit and veggie boxes can hide surprising symbols of local pride.
CULTURE
YouTuber Gigguk shifts from talking anime to making anime
By Patrick St. Michel
The process of making “Baan” was personal and enlightening for Maneetapho, who spent years talking about anime on his YouTube channel and podcast before making the jump to becoming an anime creator himself.
MORE SPORTS
How Yuki Joseph Nakajima turned failures into breakout success at Tokyo worlds
By Sam Byford
Yuki Joseph Nakajima after finishing sixth in the men's 400-meter final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS
Robot tour guides in Tokyo offer way for those with disabilities to work
By Elizabeth Beattie
Tours are being offered in Tokyo using a shoulder-mounted robot equipped with a camera, speaker and microphone. The robot twitches its wing-like arms, which it can fold together as if in prayer when visiting a temple.
MORE SPORTS
World Athletics stars relish Tokyo atmosphere after COVID-hit Olympics
By Jason Coskrey
Organizers of the World Athletics Championships said over 500,000 tickets had been sold and that they are expecting to end the event in front of large crowds this weekend.

Podcast

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

Longform

"Shake hands with Lima-chan," a statue that shares the name of the Peruvian capital looks in the direction of Peru, where a sister statue, "Sakura-chan," is located. Erected in Yokohama's Rinko Park in 1999, it commemorates Peruvian-Japanese friendship.
The journey of Peru’s Nikkei: Finding identity in Japan
By Christoph Sponsel

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Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo
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WHAT’S TRENDING

BUSINESS
40 years after Plaza Accord, Japan still at mercy of forex swings
The Plaza Hotel in New York, where finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the Group of Five countries met and struck the Plaza Accord on Sept. 22, 1985.
ENVIRONMENT
As Japan keeps buying gas, Aboriginal Australians pay the price
By Mara Budgen
Paulina “Jedda” Puruntatameri with Antonia Burke and Tiwi fisher Clinton offshore of Melville Island, one of the Tiwi Islands, in Australia's Northern Territory. Together with other Tiwi, Jedda has been campaigning for years to stop Australian company Santos and its backers, including Japanese investors, from drilling for natural gas at the Barossa gas field.
JAPAN
Abuse of 'zombie cigarettes' among Okinawa youths raises alarm
A street in Naha in August. In entertainment districts in southern Okinawa, a drug known as "laughing gas vape" is being abused at nightclubs and bar. Now, some establishments have put up warning notices.
BUSINESS
Boom in business class travel from Japan fuels airlines profits
A business class suite of an Airbus SE A350-1000 aircraft operated by Japan Airlines is seen during a media preview at the company's hangar at Tokyo's Haneda Airport in January last year.
MORE SPORTS
The Japanese face and body patches that have had the world wondering
By Mai Yoshikawa
Japan's Mebuki Suzuki in action with Uganda's Oscar Chelimo in the men's 10,000 meter final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Sept. 14