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November 15, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
November 15, 2025
Sanae Takaichi
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Bear attacks
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Representatives from the Japan Innovation Party hand over a proposal to designate Xue Jian, the Chinese consul-general in Osaka, as persona no grata, to a staff of the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
China warns of military response if Japan intervenes in Taiwan contingency
By Francis Tang — Gabriele Ninivaggi
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong hauled in Japan’s top envoy to China, lodging an angry protest and issuing a direct threat.
Representatives from the Japan Innovation Party hand over a proposal to designate Xue Jian, the Chinese consul-general in Osaka, as persona no grata, to a staff of the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Noritaka Okabe, CEO of JPYC, acknowledges a number of potential risks related to stablecoins.
BUSINESS / Tech
Stablecoins: Boring goes big, and now in Japan
By Kazuaki Nagata
They are designed not to fluctuate in value, and that's precisely what makes them attractive.
The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani was named National League MVP for the second straight season on Thursday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Shohei Ohtani collects fourth MVP Award with 2025 NL honor
By Jason Coskrey
Ohtani joined Barry Bonds as the only players to win at least four MVP awards.
The Asahi, along with the Nikkei and the Yomiuri Shimbun, filed a lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court against Perplexity in August.
JAPAN / Media
AI poses threat to journalism in Japan, news association chair says
By Elizabeth Beattie
Japan’s publishers are concerned about the impact generative artificial intelligence is having on the news business, Shiro Nakamura said.
Taiwanese Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s visited Brussels last week, telling lawmakers that “global prosperity depends on a strong and free Taiwan.”
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Taiwan makes inroads into Europe as China hits rough patch with West
By Gabriel Dominguez
The self-ruled, democratic island is circumventing diplomatic obstacles despite Beijing’s efforts to ostracize it.
Taiwanese Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s visited Brussels last week, telling lawmakers that “global prosperity depends on a strong and free Taiwan.”

JAPAN

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara (second from left) addresses a ministerial meeting on bear attacks at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday.
Government launches emergency bear attack prevention plan
By Yukana Inoue
Many of the proposed measures focus on increasing personnel and resources for bear management and culling.
A plane takes off from Haneda Airport.
Japan may triple departure tax to tackle overtourism
The specific size of the increase will be discussed during fiscal 2026 tax system reform talks at the end of the year.
Timeless tales throw the march of ‘progress’ into relief
By Michael Hoffman
Niigata governor inspects Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant
Imperial couple to visit disaster-hit northeast in 2026
LDP and JIP to advance talks over constitutional revision

BUSINESS

According to the labor and education ministries, 73.4% of job-hunting university students expected to graduate in March 2026 secured informal job offers, up 0.5 percentage point from a year earlier.
More university students in Japan get job offers
The rise in informal job offers comes amid a continued labor shortage.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Friday that Japanese businesses are focusing too much on shareholders, expressing frustration that companies are not using more capital to raise wages.
Takaichi pushes back against companies' focus on shareholders
By Sakura Murakami — Alice French
The Prime Minister's comments flicked at her frustration with firms for not using more capital to raise wages.
Berkshire Hathaway raises more than ¥210 billion from bond sale
By Atsuko Fukase - Takahiko Hyuga
Profitable firms cut jobs as activist investors and TSE seek stronger returns
By Kanoko Matsuyama
Japan Exchange looks at ways to curb crypto hoarding firms
By Alice French — Yasutaka Tamura
Japanese chip sector’s earnings show AI appetite and auto slump
By Reina Sasaki

WORLD

The Hanwha Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in July.
U.S. and South Korea discuss jointly building nuclear-powered submarines
By Josh Wingrove — Soo-Hyang Choi
The potential major shift in their alliance would go beyond the announcement made by the countries’ presidents two weeks ago.
Taiwanese Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s visited Brussels last week, telling lawmakers that “global prosperity depends on a strong and free Taiwan.”
Taiwan makes inroads into Europe as China hits rough patch with West
By Gabriel Dominguez
The self-ruled, democratic island is circumventing diplomatic obstacles despite Beijing’s efforts to ostracize it.
Doggie diversity in size and shape began at least 11,000 years ago
By Will Dunham
Meteorite hunters scour the Sahara for riches from outer space
By Souhail Karam
U.S. announces new military operation in Latin America
War-torn Myanmar embraces solar power due to necessity, not climate goals
By Shoon Naing — Sudarshan Varadhan

Sports

Sports fan Tadashi Yokoyama streams basketball and fencing on three screens.
Japan fully enters sports streaming era as fans face new dilemmas
By Mai Yoshikawa
Japan, where viewing habits have been slow to change, is now fully in the streaming era, though not everyone is ready to come along for the ride.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo
By Kathryn Wortley
Japanese fans express pride after Shohei Ohtani wins fourth MVP Award
MLS to change calendar to align with world's top leagues
Alcaraz beats Sinner to year-end world number one after defeating Musetti at ATP Finals

Opinion

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi talks with Japan’s then-leader, Shinzo Abe, her mentor, at the Lower House of Parliament in December 2014. Takaichi, under so-called Abenomics 2.0, must convert the nation’s asset boom into broad-based economic prosperity benefiting all. 
How Takaichi can make 'Abenomics 2.0' succeed
Jesper Koll
For now, there is absolutely no evidence that the rise in Japanese asset prices — both stocks and real estate — is feeding a positive wealth effect.
Chinese diplomat crosses the line
How Takaichi should navigate Beijing’s diplomatic threats
By Stephen R. Nagy
Takaichi and a shift in 'strategic ambiguity' over Taiwan
By Kuni Miyake
ASEAN hedges as the South China Sea bubbles over
By Brad Glosserman

ENVIRONMENT

Ernesto Katsunori Suzuki holds a cacao fruit at his farm in Tome-Acu in northern Brazil last month.
Japanese immigrants gain attention with farming method in the Amazon
Anticipation is rising that the agricultural method, involving nurturing a forest to grow crops there, can help the rainforest bounce back.
Deadly heat worldwide prompts $300 million for climate health research at COP30
By Simon Jessop - Lais Morais - Anna Portella
World's fossil fuel emissions to hit new record in 2025, study says
By Kelly Macnamara
Nearly half of all refugees to face extreme climate hazards by 2040, says UNHCR
Jamaicans have been turning to solar power. It paid off after the storm.
By Hiroko Tabuchi

CULTURE

Rockon Social Club is set to support special "Kohaku Uta Gassen" guest Masaaki Sakai at this year's extravaganza.
Chanmina, aespa, among 10 acts to debut on NHK’s ‘Kohaku Uta Gassen’
By Patrick St. Michel
The New Year’s Eve music spectacle on NHK will feature first-time acts such as idol group Fruits Zipper and long-awaited returns from bands like Okinawa’s Orange Range.
At TIFF, East Asia’s veteran stars tread new territory with mixed results
By Mike Fu
Predictability weighs down ‘A Light in the Harbor’
By James Hadfield
‘Tokyo Taxi’: A simple fare becomes a voyage through time
By Mark Schilling
Renowned Japanese actor Tatsuya Nakadai dies at 92
By Weiwen Lin

LIFE

Industry professionals gathered in Kyoto to discuss sake at the Sake Samurai Summit.
Industry experts weigh sake’s global future at Kyoto summit
By Cindy Bissig
Participants at the Sake Samurai Summit in Kyoto discussed how global enthusiasm and domestic headwinds are reshaping Japan’s sake trade.
At Ginza’s newest hotel, luxury is a private treasure
By Owen Ziegler
Japanese words of caution in the online world of cyberattacks and phishing
By Yuko Tamura
Tokyo's viral Muscle Girls bar flexes a brawny sort of beauty
By Kim Kyung Hoon - Satoshi Sugiyama
PokePark Kanto set for February opening in Tokyo suburb
By Gendel Gento

COMMUNITY

After a peripatetic childhood around the world, teacher and artist Jon Homewood ended up coming to Japan in 2012 for a professional opportunity.
Jon Homewood: ‘There’s beauty in what we throw away’
By Joseph Tame
Using aluminum cans as his medium, the Tsukuba-based British artist creates intricate sculptures that take months or longer to complete.
Young Indonesians in Japan find their political voice
By Nadila
Wielding a weapon of yore at a community dojo
By Monique Bae
Florian Wiltschko: ‘Shinto helps me understand and live within Japanese culture’
By Samantha Seghers
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.
By Thu-Huong Ha — Mike Fu

Editors' Picks

SPORTS
Japan fully enters sports streaming era as fans face new dilemmas
By Mai Yoshikawa
Sports fan Tadashi Yokoyama streams basketball and fencing on three screens.
CULTURE
Tatsuya Nakadai: A masterful leading man and postwar icon
By Mark Schilling
Tatsuya Nakadai had the look of a leading man in his youth, but his large and searching eyes suggested the pain and loneliness of an old soul.
SUMO
As Japan’s female leader rises, can she cross sumo’s sacred line?
By Mai Yoshikawa
Japan Sumo Association Chairman Hakkaku (front center) delivers a speech on the first day of the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament at the Fukuoka Kokusai Center on Sunday. Centuries of belief and tradition still underpin the all-male association's stance of excluding women.
JAPAN
Takaichi doesn’t mince words on Taiwan, but dramatic policy shift unlikely
By Jesse Johnson
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi responds to questions during a House of Representatives Budget Committee session in parliament on Tuesday.
LIFE
Florist Nicolai Bergmann flourishes outside the box
By Elizabeth Beattie
Florist Nicolai Bergmann shops for fresh flowers at the Ota flower market in Tokyo on Friday.

Podcast

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

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo
By Kathryn Wortley

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SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Tokyo Gas lights the way to carbon neutrality
Tokyo Gas lights the way to carbon neutrality

COMFACTS

New Food Products Utilizing Tsunan Sake Brewery’s Sake Lees Unveiled at “TORANOMON JUST RIGHT NEW FOOD” Tasting Event
New Food Products Utilizing Tsunan Sake Brewery’s Sake Lees Unveiled at “TORANOMON JUST RIGHT NEW FOOD” Tasting Event
TSUNAN SAKE BREWERY

WHAT’S TRENDING

WORLD
From France to Mali, a deportee's struggle far from home
By Sofia Christensen - Juliette Jabkhiro - Layli Foroudi
Moussa Sacko, a Malian deported from France — where he had lived since he was a young child — stands on a street in Bamako, Mali, in December. Compared with his home in France, Bamako feels like a different planet, Sacko said.
JAPAN
Descendants in Philippines denied Japanese citizenship
JAPAN
China warns of military response if Japan intervenes in Taiwan contingency
By Francis Tang — Gabriele Ninivaggi
Representatives from the Japan Innovation Party hand over a proposal to designate Xue Jian, the Chinese consul-general in Osaka, as persona no grata, to a staff of the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
As attacks surge, who can cull bears in Japan?
By Yukana Inoue
Police cars leave the Akita Prefectural Police headquarters to cull bears, in the city of Akita on Thursday.
JAPAN
Japan may triple departure tax to tackle overtourism
A plane takes off from Haneda Airport.