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July 23, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
July 23, 2025
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Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a news conference at Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on Monday.
Breaking News
JAPAN / Politics
Ishiba denies reports he will resign next month, as PM's fate remains unclear
By Kanako Takahara and Gabriele Ninivaggi
Some media outlets had reported earlier that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was poised to step down in the coming weeks.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a news conference at Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on Monday.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Japan on Tuesday, saying the agreement would create "hundreds of thousands of jobs."
BUSINESS / Economy
Japan and U.S. reach tariff deal with ‘reciprocal’ rate at 15%
By Francis Tang
The U.S. president did not mention sector-specific tariffs currently in place, but NHK reported the overall tariff rate on autos will be 15%.
Kansai Electric Power Company's Mihama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture
JAPAN
Kepco to build Japan’s first new nuclear reactor since Fukushima meltdown
By Yukana Inoue
Kepco’s plan for a new reactor comes after the government adopted the Seventh Strategic Energy Plan in February, declaring policies to maximize the use of nuclear power.
A protester holds a sign outside the White House demanding the release to all files related to Jeffrey Epstein in Washington on July 18.
WORLD / Politics
Trump claims Obama 'coup' as Epstein questions mount
By Sebastian Smith
The coup accusation centers on claims that fly in the face of multiple high-level official probes by the U.S. government but resonate with President Donald Trump's far-right base.
McKinsey’s 2025 Technology Trends Outlook, published Wednesday, says that the use of “sovereign AI” is a trend gaining significant global traction, including in Japan.
BUSINESS / Tech
Japan leans into homegrown AI amid rising competition
By Elizabeth Beattie
Japan is among the countries aiming to develop localized artificial intelligence models to target national priorities.
McKinsey’s 2025 Technology Trends Outlook, published Wednesday, says that the use of “sovereign AI” is a trend gaining significant global traction, including in Japan.

JAPAN

Supporters of the Sanseito party leader react during the party’s rally in Tokyo on Monday, a day after the Upper House election.
DPP backers abandoned party for Sanseito in Upper House poll, analysis shows
By Eric Johnston
An analysis of voter trends in both parties in the months leading up to the election has indicated a significant shift to Sanseito by those who once voted for the DPP.
A police officer wears a neck cooler in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on July 10.
Tokyo police embrace cooling gear to protect officers from extreme heat

The number of days when temperatures in Tokyo exceed 35 degrees Celsius continues to rise each year, prompting the need to protect police officers.
Interpol removes anti-whaling activist Paul Watson from wanted list
As Japan grays, government looks to aid public-private cooperation in nursing care
Hiroshima teens describe World War II atomic bombing horror through art
By Tomohiro Osaki
Evacuees from quake-hit Tokara Islands to return

BUSINESS

McKinsey’s 2025 Technology Trends Outlook, published Wednesday, says that the use of “sovereign AI” is a trend gaining significant global traction, including in Japan.
Japan leans into homegrown AI amid rising competition
By Elizabeth Beattie
Japan is among the countries aiming to develop localized artificial intelligence models to target national priorities.
Car dealerships in Tokyo. Some of Japan's automakers are raising loan rates amid higher costs for servicing loans.
Japan carmakers put squeeze on households with higher loan rates
By Nicholas Takahashi and Masatsugu Horie
More than a year after the Bank of Japan’s first interest rate increase in 17 years, the volatile march higher in superlong bonds is raising the cost of servicing loans.
Trump's Golden Dome looks for alternatives to Musk's SpaceX
By Mike Stone
Inside a U.S. guitar string-maker's strategy to navigate the trade war
By Timothy Aeppel
AI should run on 100% renewable energy by 2030, U.N. chief says
By Laura Millan
SpaceX warns investors Elon Musk could return to U.S. politics
By Dana Hull, Loren Grush and Ed Ludlow

WORLD

Palestinians, mostly children, attempt to receive a hot meal at a charity kitchen in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday.
More than 100 aid groups warn of 'mass starvation' spreading across Gaza
Israel is facing mounting international pressure over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory.
U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the entrance to the West Wing of the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
U.S.-Philippines trade talks yield modest tariff shift after Trump-Marcos meeting
U.S. President Donald Trump announced a new 19% tariff rate for goods from the Philippines after what he said was a "beautiful visit" by the Philippine leader.
Stalin makes a comeback in Putin’s wartime crackdown on dissent
Trump claims Obama 'coup' as Epstein questions mount
By Sebastian Smith
Russia passes law punishing searches for 'extremist' content
By Alexander Marrow
Gaza hospital says 21 children died from malnutrition and starvation in 72 hours

Sports

Ichiyamamoto (left) defeats Gonoyama to secure a winning record at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament, at IG Arena on Monday.
Disappointing start to Nagoya tournament turns into fascinating final stretch
By John Gunning
Sumo’s schedule makers will almost certainly ensure that if Ichiyamamoto is going to taste glory for the first time, he’ll have to do it the hard way.
Jonas Valanciunas sets record straight: he will play for Nuggets
Brisbane 2032 Olympics on track seven years out but with little wiggle room
By Nick Mulvenney
Qatar bids to host 2036 Olympic Games in Doha
Venus Williams wins in singles return as Osaka lines up Raducanu match

Opinion

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a news conference at Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on Monday, a day after his coalition lost its Upper House majority.
Ishiba loses his ‘mandate from heaven’
Gearoid Reidy
After Sunday’s humiliation at the polls, whatever mandate from heaven Ishiba once commanded is lost.
The AI arms race with China demands scale. The West must think bigger.
By Brad Glosserman
Scientists can’t stay in their ivory tower
By Yuko Kakazu
Why there isn’t a best chef in the world
By Howard Chua-Eoan
The Middle Ages are making a political comeback
By Adrian Wooldridge

ENVIRONMENT

Polymetallic nodules — bulbous lumps of rock that are rich in battery metals such as cobalt and nickel which carpet huge tracts of Pacific Ocean seabed — in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands on June 12.
Trump’s critical minerals obsession reignites deep-sea mining
By Todd Woody
President Donald Trump has issued an executive order expediting U.S. licensing of seabed mining, departing from international law.
Trump staff cuts force firefighters to clean toilets, critics say
By Andrew Hay
Restoring sea floor after mining may not be possible, researchers warn
By Amelie Bottollier-Depois
Pakistan's quiet solar rush puts pressure on national grid
By Zain Zaman Janjua
How schools are being built for extreme heat — without air conditioning
By Emma Batha

CULTURE

Ozzy Osbourne performs with Black Sabbath as part of "The End" tour at Madison Square Garden in New York in 2016.
Heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne dead at 76
By Peter HUTCHISON
Ozzy Osbourne, the legendary frontman of heavy metal group Black Sabbath, died just weeks after he had played a farewell concert.
JT picks: What not to miss at Fuji Rock 2025
By Johan Brooks, Alyssa I. Smith, Patrick St. Michel, Mark Thompson and Philip Brasor
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
Kawaii Lab redefines idol pop for the TikTok generation
By Patrick St. Michel

LIFE

You don't need an oven to make Kenji Morimoto's easy and delicious Miso Sticky Toffee Crepe Cake.
In microbes we trust: Embracing the nature of fermented food
By Simon Daly
With simple, fuss-free recipes, Kenji Morimoto's debut cookbook effortlessly guides home cooks into the unpredictable but rewarding world of fermentation.
Touring the Silk Road — without leaving Tokyo
By Kimberly Hughes
In Gaza-made obi, Palestinian embroidery meets Japanese kimono
By Anna Sakamoto
Dancers, festivals and one very useful Japanese grammar point
By Yaeko Kabe
Cool to be square: A block of tofu with veggies to chill your summer
By Elizabeth Andoh

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.
The mothers holding up Japan's Vietnamese community
By Nguyen Bao Anh
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

Editors' Picks

BASEBALL
Induction of Ichiro has Cooperstown fretfully preparing
By Evan Drellich
Ichiro Suzuki will soon become the first Japanese player to be enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
JAPAN
Ishiba clings to leadership after election setback
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
“As the first party in parliament, we have to fulfill our responsibility with the public so as to prevent politics from stagnating or drifting away,” Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said at a news conference at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on Monday.
ENVIRONMENT
Japan’s top brands get tied up in the great sunscreen debate
By Tomoko Otake
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.
WORLD
Pentagon looks to unleash ‘military drone dominance’
By Gabriel Dominguez
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth hosts a drone demonstration at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on July 10.
CULTURE
‘Noto Democracy’ and the slow work of civic change
By Moe Shimizu
Yukio Iokibe’s “Noto Democracy" centers on Motoyuki Takii, a former junior high school teacher who publishes a handwritten newspaper every month to encourage the residents of Anamizu, Ishikawa Prefecture, to engage in local politics.

Podcast

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

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan
By Alex K.T. Martin

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WHAT’S TRENDING

BUSINESS
Japan and U.S. reach tariff deal with ‘reciprocal’ rate at 15%
By Francis Tang
U.S. President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Japan on Tuesday, saying the agreement would create "hundreds of thousands of jobs."
JAPAN
Foreign residents closely follow Japan's election and party pledges
By Jessica Speed
A police officer walks past posters of Liberal Democratic Party candidates, as well as one showing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, outside the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Sunday. As Japan’s foreign population continues to rise, one of the talking points during Sunday’s election was how the country should deal with the increase of international residents.
JAPAN
‘Japanese First’ Sanseito emerges as powerful force after Upper House poll
By Himari Semans
Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya in Tokyo on Sunday night
JAPAN
Ishiba denies reports he will resign next month, as PM's fate remains unclear
By Kanako Takahara and Gabriele Ninivaggi
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a news conference at Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan
By Alex K.T. Martin
In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.