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June 08, 2025
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June 08, 2025
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Students make a speech during a memorial service to mark the 24th anniversary of the deadly knife attack at Ikeda Elementary School in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Memorial held for victims of school stabbing 24 years ago
In the years since the incident, many local governments across the country have recruited former police officers to help keep students safe near school property.

More coverage

In tariff talks with the U.S., Japan may have blinked
Students make a speech during a memorial service to mark the 24th anniversary of the deadly knife attack at Ikeda Elementary School in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, on Sunday.
New data from the National Police Agency shows patterns in where dementia are found after going missing, and how best to locate them.
JAPAN / Society
491 dementia sufferers found dead in Japan in 2024
Many who were declared missing were later rescued thanks to GPS or other tracking devices attached to their clothing.
Akihiro Okuda, a superintendent at Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department, talks about his experience supporting the survivors and bereaved families of a deadly stabbing rampage in Tokyo's Akihabara district 17 years ago.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Police officer recounts fatal rampage in Akihabara 17 years on
After the incident, Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department established the first task force dedicated to supporting the survivors and bereaved families of crime victims.
A car burns on Atlantic Boulevard during a standoff by protesters and law enforcement, following multiple detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in the Los Angeles County city of Paramount, California, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Protesters rally against immigration agents for second day in Los Angeles
By Sandra Stojanovic and Omar Younis
The protests pit LA and its large Hispanic and foreign-born population against Trump, who has made an immigration crackdown on a top priority.
At the 2025 Osaka Expo, the Italian pavilion has a weekly rotating menu of regional dishes curated by Italian retail and dining chain Eataly.
LIFE / Food & Drink
From Belgian waffles to Nordic sushi: What to eat at the 2025 Osaka Expo
By Patrick St. Michel
With food diplomacy at stake, countries at the Expo are flaunting their culinary chops to win over attendees.
At the 2025 Osaka Expo, the Italian pavilion has a weekly rotating menu of regional dishes curated by Italian retail and dining chain Eataly.

JAPAN

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba visits Jins Park in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, on Saturday.
Ishiba vows to set up council for regional revitalization
He hopes to include the plan in a basic concept of his signature "Regional Revitalization 2.0" program.
Keita Ueno (right), the owner of Kiki Driving School and an instructor who supports both foreign nationals and Japanese citizens returning from abroad in getting their foreign driver’s licenses converted, is worried about the current lax system for the process.
Accidents raise concern over how Japan vets foreign drivers
By Karin Kaneko
A driving school owner points out that traffic signs could carry different meanings in other countries, and driving standards might vary significantly.
Junglia Okinawa theme park shown to press
Objectivity seen as key to screening AI weapons
Japanese professor given Ukrainian award for humanitarian efforts
Ishiba and Lee might have first meeting at G7 summit
By Jesse Johnson

BUSINESS

Tokyo's Asakusa district near Sensoji Temple. The Japanese government vowed to realize pay raises that exceed price increases in a stable way.
Japan highlights wage hikes as cornerstone of economic growth strategy
Seeing wage hikes as a key part of its growth strategy, the government vowed to realize pay raises that exceed price increases in a stable way.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in Osaka in June 2019.
Xi bets Trump detente leads to future wins on chips and tariffs
The Chinese leader hopes for tangible wins in the weeks and months ahead, including tariff reductions, an easing of export controls and a generally more civil tone.
Japan won’t wait for G7 summit for possible U.S. trade deal
Trump says China's Xi agreed to let rare earth minerals flow to U.S.
Bank of Japan considering smaller reductions in bond buying
Pressure mounts for Japan to adjust bond sales as soon as July
By Mia Glass and Masahiro Hidaka

WORLD

An Israeli armored personnel carrier near the Israel-Gaza border, as seen from Israel on Saturday
Israeli airstrikes kill 55; body of Thai hostage retrieved from Gaza
By Maayan Lubell and Jaidaa Taha
Thai agricultural worker Nattapong Pinta was abducted from a small Israeli community near the Gaza border during Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack.
Fire and smoke rise in the city after a Russian drone strike in Kyiv on Saturday.
U.S. says Russia response to Ukraine drone attack not over and to expect more strikes
By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali
The Kremlin denies the full impact of Kyiv's drone attack but Russian military bloggers cite serious damage, including to planes that carry nuclear weapons.
Trump’s China gambit belies rocky road ahead on tariff deals
By Josh Wingrove
U.K. and India discuss 'counterterrorism' cooperation after Pakistan ceasefire
By Krishna N. Das
Thailand tightens border security amid tensions with Cambodia
By Pathom Sangwongwanich
Ukraine denies postponing prisoner swaps as Russian strike on Kharkiv kills four
By Pavel Polityuk and Vitalii Hnidyi

Sports

Coco Gauff from the U.S. celebrates after winning the French Open women's singles final match against Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, on Court Philippe-Chatrier at the Roland-Garros Complex in Paris on Saturday.
Gauff continues American renaissance by stunning Sabalenka for French Open glory
By Shrivathsa Sridhar
The 21-year-old's victory helped her become the first American to capture the singles trophy in Paris since Serena Williams in 2015.
Panthers even series with Oilers on Brad Marchand's double OT goal
'Honoured' Djokovic hints at possible Roland Garros farewell after semifinal loss
Soccer surging in Canada a year from World Cup hosting
By Ben Simon
Haliburton's last-second shot lifts Pacers over Thunder in Game 1

Opinion

Japan is the world's biggest market for Iqos, a heat-not-burn tobacco product marketed by its maker Philip Morris as a less harmful alternative to traditional cigarettes — a claim not backed by independent scientific research.
Smoke and mirrors: How big tobacco manipulates science in Japan
Shiro Konuma
In Japan, not only does the tobacco industry have close ties to government, but universities are also vulnerable to its influence. In this equation, public health loses out.
A return to normalcy in South Korea, but hard work lies ahead
Mark Zuckerberg finally found a use for his Metaverse — war
By Dave Lee
A new generation of 'Japan hands' and a changing world
By Joshua W. Walker
South Korea's new president has a chance to clean up
By David Fickling

ENVIRONMENT

The small village of Blatten in the Swiss Alps was destroyed by a landslide after part of a glacier collapsed last week.
How Switzerland's Birch glacier collapsed
By Robin Millard
There are strong theories on the causes, and to what degree it is linked to climate change — but these are yet to be confirmed by scientific analysis.
Swiss glacier collapse is a lesson on climate disaster management
By Laura Millan
Octopus invasion in English Channel flags marine heat wave risks
By Joe Wertz
Half the world has faced an extra month of extreme heat, study finds
China is eroding Japan's LNG dominance. How does that affect Japanese buyers?
By Nithin Coca

CULTURE

Kenji Yanobe’s spacesuited cats are the main characters of “Ship’s Cat Island,” the inaugural exhibition at Hyper Museum Hanno in Saitama Prefecture.
What can Kenji Yanobe’s cosmic cats teach us about humanity?
By Jennifer Pastore
The spacesuited felines will be familiar to those who have visited the Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka or Tokyo’s Ginza Six shopping complex last year.
‘Kokuho’ finds riveting drama on and off the kabuki stage
By Mark Schilling
Studio Ghibli marks 40 years, but future looks uncertain
By Natsuko Fukue
‘Strangers in Kyoto’: Tea, tradition and passive-aggressive politeness
By James Hadfield
'Kokuho' illuminates the high price of becoming a national treasure
By Matt Schley

LIFE

The Eggplant, Trang Pepper and Mole dish encapsulates Igniv Bangkok's philosophy of weaving Thai ingredients into its creative Swiss food.
With Igniv Bangkok, the Thai capital’s fine dining scene gets a boost
By Phoebe Amoroso
The progressive Swiss restaurant is emblematic of the city’s evolution toward a diverse gourmet destination that includes choices from modern German to creative Japanese.
Japanese mollusks with a tangy lift
By Simon Daly
At a mountainside shrine, yuzu candy made by imperial decree
By Lance Henderstein
What’s in a name? With new guidelines, the Japanese government wants to know.
By Yuko Tamura
In Elden Ring Nightreign, the FromSoftware formula goes awry
By Owen Ziegler

COMMUNITY

Since moving to Tokyo from New York City in 2014, Hiraku Morilla has been promoting Keith Haring’s legacy in his professional life and advocating for LGBTQ+ community.
Hiraku Morilla: ‘Pride means respect for those who walked so we could run’
By Gendel Gento
The New York-raised director of the Nakamura Keith Haring Collection reflects on his queer, multiracial identity and LGBTQ+ rights in Japan.
‘A garden is a grand teacher’: The Kamakura Gardener nurtures via YouTube
By Alex Michael Dwyer
Mateusz Urbanowicz: ‘Miyazaki inspired me to put the audience first’
By Naomi Oren
This charming Shiba enjoys life’s simple pleasures
A moving meditation: Finding serenity in tea ceremony across space and time
By Michele Laudig

Editors' Picks

CULTURE
What can Kenji Yanobe’s cosmic cats teach us about humanity?
By Jennifer Pastore
Kenji Yanobe’s spacesuited cats are the main characters of “Ship’s Cat Island,” the inaugural exhibition at Hyper Museum Hanno in Saitama Prefecture.
JAPAN
From ridicule to redemption: Rice crisis returns Koizumi to the spotlight
By Eric Johnston
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to the media as he inspects a warehouse storing stockpiled rice in Kanagawa Prefecture on May 30.
CULTURE
New Naoshima museum bets on Asia, not the West
By Thu-Huong Ha
Detail of Takashi Murakami, “Rakuchu-Rakugai-zu Byobu: Iwasa Matabei RIP” (2023-25)
JAPAN
Japan’s prison reform focuses on rehabilitation
By Karin Kaneko
Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Friday. Suzuki said preparations for the changes that will focus more on rehabilitation are being actively made at each correctional facility.
JAPAN
Accidents raise concern over how Japan vets foreign drivers
By Karin Kaneko
Keita Ueno (right), the owner of Kiki Driving School and an instructor who supports both foreign nationals and Japanese citizens returning from abroad in getting their foreign driver’s licenses converted, is worried about the current lax system for the process.

Podcast

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

Longform

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic
By Alex K.T. Martin

JT Directory Service

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Ishii Iron Works remakes self for workers, new energy

WHAT’S TRENDING

JAPAN
Foreign tourists with unpaid medical bills in Japan to be denied entry
By Karin Kaneko
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during ministerial meeting meeting on foreign residents in Japan on Friday at the Prime Minister's Office.
JAPAN
Japan eyes tougher rules for foreign residents and tax hike for tourists
By Jessica Speed
A tax-free shop in Kyoto in April 2024. Last week, members of a Liberal Democratic Party study group drafted a proposal seeking to scrap the country's tax-free shopping system altogether.
JAPAN
Accidents raise concern over how Japan vets foreign drivers
By Karin Kaneko
Keita Ueno (right), the owner of Kiki Driving School and an instructor who supports both foreign nationals and Japanese citizens returning from abroad in getting their foreign driver’s licenses converted, is worried about the current lax system for the process.
BUSINESS
Japan won’t wait for G7 summit for possible U.S. trade deal
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's top negotiator in tariff talks with the U.S. speaks to reporters at the Japanese Embassy in Washington on Friday.
JAPAN
From ridicule to redemption: Rice crisis returns Koizumi to the spotlight
By Eric Johnston
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to the media as he inspects a warehouse storing stockpiled rice in Kanagawa Prefecture on May 30.