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August 01, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
August 01, 2025
Shigeru Ishiba
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Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba arrives at a news conference at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Ishiba’s time as LDP chief and PM might not be over just yet
By Eric Johnston
The lack of obvious successors who can unite the party and raise public support, coupled with a cautious opposition, puts him in a stronger position than expected.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba arrives at a news conference at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Monday.
A person records images of waves following a tsunami advisory generated by local authorities after an earthquake struck off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, prompting warnings and evacuations stretching across at the South Pacific, in Vina del Mar, Chile, on Wednesday.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / EXPLAINER
Why did such a powerful earthquake produce such a weak tsunami?
By Katrina Miller
Part of the reason the waves were weaker than anticipated may have to do with the size of the quake off the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks about recognizing Palestinian statehood at a news conference in Ottawa on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Canada plans to recognize Palestinian state, raising allies' pressure on Israel
By Maayan Lubell, Nidal al-Mughrabi and David Ljunggren
"Canada condemns the fact that the Israeli government has allowed a catastrophe to unfold in Gaza," said Prime Minister Mark Carney.
U.S., Japanese and Australian staff work in the JJOC Cooperation Team office at the U.S. Army’s Hardy Barracks in central Tokyo in this image posted to the Australian Embassy's X account on July 25.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Coordination office marks first step in U.S. Forces Japan’s shift to ‘warfighting’ command
By Gabriel Dominguez
The launch of the new joint command team is the fruit of a multiyear effort to reshape and streamline U.S.-Japan operations.
Hiroyuki Goto, president of GTN. The company started after Goto personally co-signed leases for around 20 non-Japanese people, including some friends and friends of friends.
BUSINESS / Companies
GTN takes a chance on newcomers to Japan
By Kazuaki Nagata
People said GTN President Hiroyuki Goto was "a bit crazy" guaranteeing leases for foreign residents.
Hiroyuki Goto, president of GTN. The company started after Goto personally co-signed leases for around 20 non-Japanese people, including some friends and friends of friends.

JAPAN

The total number of gas stations across Japan as of the end of fiscal 2024 fell for the 30th consecutive year, according to the industry ministry.
Number of gas stations in Japan fell for the 30th consecutive year, data shows
The total is now less than half of its peak, marked at the end of fiscal 1994, due to vehicle electrification and improved fuel efficiency.
Japan's oldest person, Miyoko Hiroyasu, died Tuesday at the age of 114, according to the health ministry.
Japan's oldest person dies at 114
Miyoko Hiroyasu, from the city of Nakatsu in Oita Prefecture, was born in January 1911. She died on Tuesday.
Japan lifts tsunami advisory nationwide
Government employees in Japan to see higher bonus pay on top of salary raise
Self-Defense Forces to discontinue annual review ceremony
Hiroshima schoolboy keeps memories of war alive with guided tours​ in English
By Rikako Maruyama — Fred Mery

BUSINESS

Nippon Steel had pledged to ensure that more than half of members of the U.S. Steel board are American citizens.
Nippon Steel names three American directors to U.S. Steel board
The move fulfills a pledge that the Japanese steelmaker made under a national security agreement reached with the U.S. government.
Mizuho Financial Group now expects net income to reach a record ¥1.02 trillion ($6.9 billion) in the year ending March 31, up from ¥940 billion projected earlier, it said Thursday.
Mizuho and Sumitomo see strong results as Japan banks beat estimates
By Taiga Uranaka and Hideki Suzuki
Japan’s three biggest banks in May predicted another year of record profits, even as the nation’s export-driven economy was at risk from U.S. tariff threats.
U.S. sets South Korea tariff rate at 15% with energy and shipbuilding investment
By Heesu Lee, Soo-hyang Choi and Jennifer A Dlouhy
1,010 food and beverage prices to rise in Japan in August
BOJ keeps rates unchanged and lifts price view after U.S. trade deal
By Toru Fujioka
Japan's forex special account logs record-high surplus

WORLD

A policeman walks on a street in Yangon on July 19, 2025, on the 78th Martyrs' Day marking the anniversary of the assassination of independence leaders, including Gen. Aung San, the father of the currently deposed and imprisoned leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Myanmar junta ends 4½-year state of emergency in election run-up
Opposition groups have pledged to boycott the election, which monitors say will be used to consolidate the military's power.
Military attaches and diplomats from 13 countries observe the implementation of the Cambodia-Thailand ceasefire agreement next to a destroyed building by the An Ses border checkpoint in Cambodia's Preah Vihear province on Wednesday.
Thailand and Cambodia trade allegations of truce-breaking
By Montira Rungjirajittranon
U.N. rights chief Volker Turk urged the neighboring nations to implement their ceasefire deal in full and take rapid steps to build confidence and peace.
Could the Palestinians gain full membership at the United Nations?
By Michelle Nichols
Cambodia's Hun Sen at the helm in border conflict with Thailand
By Devjyot Ghoshal, Francesco Guarascio and Poppy McPherson
Israeli rights groups break taboo with accusations of genocide
By Charlotte Greenfield
On Gaza malnutrition ward, a child’s arm is as wide as mother’s thumb
By Dawoud Abu Alkas and Hatem Khaled

Sports

The Angels David MacKinnon runs to first after recording an RBI single for his first MLB hit on June 22, 2022.
Former Seibu player David MacKinnon hopes to connect baseball world with new podcast
By Jason Coskrey
MacKinnon decided to retire earlier this year after playing in MLB, NPB and KBO during his career.
Eugenie Bouchard wraps up career on home soil at Canadian Open
German Olympic champion Laura Dahlmeier dies after mountaineering accident
World Aquatics to review rules as 12-year-old makes waves at world championships
Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas arrested in connection with illegal poker games

Opinion

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba meets with Hungarian President Tamas Sulyok in Tokyo on May 22.
Japan’s strategic blind spot in the heart of Europe
Stephen R. Nagy
Central Europe may hold the key to increased strategic autonomy without the geopolitical baggage of the superpowers.
Taiwan’s president is running out of options
By Karishma Vaswani
As China advances and the U.S. retreats, Japan-India ties grow stronger
By Manoj Joshi
China’s AI strategy relies on frenzy and frenemies
By Catherine Thorbecke
ASEAN+3 in an age of global uncertainty
By Yasuto Watanabe

ENVIRONMENT

The NISAR satellite is encapsulated in its payload fairing at the Indian Space Research Organization’s Satish Dhawan Space Center on July 18.
When Earth’s surface shifts, a new satellite will see it
By Kenneth Chang
The satellite is a joint mission between NASA and India’s space agency and will track tiny shifts across almost all of Earth’s land and ice regions.
In the Philippines, informal e-waste dismantling poses health risks
By Pam Castro
Rising seas and shifting sands attack ancient Alexandria from below
By Heba Fouad and Ahmed Fahmy
New Zealand farmers battle pine forests to 'save our sheep'
By Ben Strang
Amid fossil fuel shift in U.S., hope emerges for India and Japan tie-up on solar
By Nithin Coca

CULTURE

“Memory of Lines” is Chiharu Shiota’s second art installation on Teshima as part of the Setouchi Triennale.
Artist Chiharu Shiota weaves a hidden marvel on Teshima
By Thu-Huong Ha
The artist cherished for her red-thread installations creates a new work in one of Japan’s famed art islands.
'Stigmatized Properties: Possession': Layered lead faces ghosts and show business
By Mark Schilling
'Army on the Tree': World War II film leans into absurdist theater
By James Hadfield
How Japan made techno its own
By Arjan Rietveld
‘Demon Slayer’ movie slashes its own box office records
By Matt Schley

LIFE

Mika Horii (left) and Jane Su record an episode of “Over the Sun” at TBS Broadcasting Center in Tokyo’s Akasaka area. The show draws 1.5 million monthly plays.
'Over the Sun': A podcast for Japanese women who’ve lived a little
By Yuko Tamura
In their hit podcast “Over the Sun,” hosts Jane Su and Mika Horii turn everyday chats into a cultural phenomenon.
A language built on the wind, from mountain gusts to wind chimes
By Eric Margolis
Communal knead: A Turkish baker in Kamakura draws queues
By Alex Michael Dwyer
As summer soars, the tomato offers a lesson in staying bright and cool
By Makiko Itoh
Traditional Japanese swordsmanship — with modern matches
By Johan Brooks

COMMUNITY

Wakana, a Japanese fan of Thai BL, visits a temple in Thon Buri, Bangkok featured in the Thai adaptation of the Japanese series “Cherry Magic.” Her media consumption kindled an interest in Thai culture and language, and ultimately led her to relocate to Thailand. “I fell in love with the whole country,” she says.
Boys’ love dramas from Thailand make waves in Japan
By Agnese Dionisio
Thailand has become a top producer of BL (boys’ love) dramas — and audiences in Japan are among the most ardent consumers.
Charming Chikuwa has a zest for life
A big, beautiful Bengal cat named Pupu
Ayaka Ohira: ‘Being outside of the traditional path gave me more freedom’
By Zoria Petkoska
The mothers holding up Japan's Vietnamese community
By Nguyen Bao Anh

Editors' Picks

CULTURE
Artist Chiharu Shiota weaves a hidden marvel on Teshima
By Thu-Huong Ha
“Memory of Lines” is Chiharu Shiota’s second art installation on Teshima as part of the Setouchi Triennale.
JAPAN
How the Japanese TV industry is changing
By Yukana Inoue
Fuji TV headquarters in Tokyo's Minato Ward. Fuji TV came under fire over the manner in which it handled a case of “sexual trouble” involving former boy band member Masahiro Nakai and a female announcer.
JAPAN
Last soldiers of Imperial Japanese Army have a warning for younger generations
By Martin Fackler
Kunshiro Kiyozumi, 97, who was the youngest crew member of the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-58 in World War II, on his way to a restaurant to have lunch in Matsuyama, Japan, on April 29.
JAPAN
Why Ishiba refuses to quit even amid intense pressure for him to go
By Eric Johnston
Supporters of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba take part in a rally across the street from the Prime Minister's Office on Friday.
BASEBALL
Behind the scenes at the Baseball Hall of Fame's new Yakyu/Baseball exhibit
By Joshua Mellin
“Yakyu / Baseball: The Transpacific Exchange of the Game” is set to remain on display in Cooperstown for at least five to 10 years — and possibly indefinitely.

Podcast

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

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear
By Jason Coskrey

JT Directory Service

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SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Ishii Iron Works remakes self for workers, new energy
Ishii Iron Works remakes self for workers, new energy

COMFACTS

Tsunan Sake Brewery Develops “Yukigesho Castella” as Part of Sake Upcycling Project
Tsunan Sake Brewery Develops “Yukigesho Castella” as Part of Sake Upcycling Project
TSUNAN SAKE BREWERY

WHAT’S TRENDING

JAPAN
Japan on edge but prepared for tsunami after huge Kamchatka earthquake
By Tomoko Otake, Gabriele Ninivaggi, Francis Tang and Alex K.T. Martin
Police officers ask a man to evacuate from an empty beach following a tsunami warning, in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Last soldiers of Imperial Japanese Army have a warning for younger generations
By Martin Fackler
Kunshiro Kiyozumi, 97, who was the youngest crew member of the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-58 in World War II, on his way to a restaurant to have lunch in Matsuyama, Japan, on April 29.
JAPAN
80 years on, former teacher conveys history of hidden island in World War II
Masayuki Yamauchi explains about the history of Okunoshima, an island in Takehara, Hiroshima Prefecture, to junior high school students visiting in May.
JAPAN
Japan to start new residency system for foreign workers
Students hoping to work in Japan attend a Japanese class at a job placement company in Hanoi in October 2022.
JAPAN
Japan marks highest-ever temperature of 41.2 C in Hyogo
By Tomoko Otake
Japan's temperature soared to a record 41.2 degrees Celsius in Tanba, Hyogo Prefecture, on Wednesday, surpassing the previous high of 41.1 C.