Home page

 
Menu
Search
 
Menu
Search
Tokyo Weather 29℃
TOKYO
August 15, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
August 15, 2025
Shigeru Ishiba
Trade deal
WWII ANNIVERSARY
Latest News
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba lays a flower during the memorial service at the Nippon Budokan on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
As Japan marks 80 years since WWII surrender, Ishiba expresses remorse
By Himari Semans
The prime minister’s reflections about the war stood in contrast to those of his recent predecessors.

More coverage

When did WWII end? 1 in 4 Japanese can’t say, survey shows
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba lays a flower during the memorial service at the Nippon Budokan on Friday.
A screen displays share prices inside the Kabuto One building in Tokyo. The Nikkei 225 closed at a record high of 43,378.31 on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Tokyo stocks hit closing-price record as GDP surprises
By Francis Tang
The Japanese economy grew much faster than expected in the second quarter.
The Japan Boxing Commission's safety protocols have been thrust into the spotlight following the deaths of Shigetoshi Kotari and Hiromasa Urakawa, who suffered fatal brain injuries while fighting on the same card on Aug. 2.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
Recent deaths of Japanese boxers underline importance of emergency action plans
By Mai Yoshikawa
Such plans are crucial to minimize delays and increase a fighter’s chances of survival after sustaining a serious injury in the ring.
The Rausu mountain range at Hokkaido's Shiretoko National Park. A man in his 20s who went missing after being attacked by a bear while hiking on Mount Rausu has been found dead.
JAPAN
Hiker missing in Hokkaido after bear attack found dead
The man, in his 20s, went missing after a brown bear attacked him while he was descending a mountain in eastern Hokkaido on Thursday.
Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
JAPAN / History / Longform
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers
By Tomoko Otake
An decades-long effort to recover the remains of those who died during World War II, most of them abroad, may be entering its final phase.
Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.

JAPAN

Mitsuko Arakaki talks about life on Tinian Island and the situation after the U.S. military landing, on July 12 in the village of Nakagusuku, Okinawa Prefecture.
'Why do humans wage war?': Woman recalls escaping death on Tinian island in WWII
When U.S. air raids began in 1944, life changed overnight for the around 13,000 Japanese civilians living on Tinian.
Dried cannabis confiscated by police shown to media in Tokyo on Wednesday
Japan makes its biggest drug bust ever
Authorities have seized roughly a metric ton of dried cannabis smuggled by ship from Vietnam worth around ¥5.2 billion ($35.2 million).
Stateless man of Japanese descent in Philippines eager for Japan citizenship
Agriculture minister Koizumi visits Yasukuni Shrine
For the disabled, WWII was a terror of another level
South Korea’s Lee calls Japan indispensable partner before visit
By Soo-hyang Choi

BUSINESS

PayPay is the most popular payment app in Japan, with 70 million users.
SoftBank's PayPay prepares for listing on a U.S. exchange
By Francis Tang
It has filed registration documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange. Analysts say some cash-rich, big tech firms in Japan have failed to respond to the TSE’s yearslong campaign to improve valuations and capital efficiency.
Investors seek bigger payouts from Japanese tech firms’ cash hoard
By Kentaro Tsutsumi
Growth companies that had been getting a free pass amid the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s yearslong campaign to improve valuations and capital efficiency are now facing closer scrutiny.
Trump's attack on Goldman could prompt watering down of Wall Street's independent analysis
By Suzanne McGee and Saeed Azhar
Modi slams ‘economic selfishness’ in defiance of U.S. tariffs
By Swati Gupta
Japan brokers seek to identify hackers after fraud surges
By Takashi Nakamichi
Japan growth beats forecasts, boosting rate-hike case for BOJ
By Erica Yokoyama

WORLD

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich speaks at a news conference regarding the E1 settlement scheme, near the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on Thursday.
Far-right Israeli minister announces plan to 'bury' idea of Palestinian state
By Rami Amichay and Alexander Cornwell
The Palestinian government, allies and campaign groups have condemned the plan to divide the West Bank and cut it off from East Jerusalem, calling it illegal.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a visit to the Kennedy Center in Washington on Wednesday.
Which Donald Trump will negotiate with Putin in Alaska?
By Steve Holland
A tough negotiator or a conciliatory one — the world is waiting to see which version of Trump shows up in Anchorage on Friday.
Online cockfighting thrives in Philippines despite ban and murders
By Pam Castro
Desperate Myanmar villagers scavenge for food as hunger bites
Why is Putin talking about a new nuclear weapons treaty with the U.S.?
By Mark Trevelyan
Gaza's young musicians sing and play in the ruins of war
By Dawoud Abu Alkas

Sports

Masahiro Tanaka walks off the field after the end of the fifth inning during the Giants' game against the Dragons at Tokyo Dome on Wednesday.
Masahiro Tanaka still two giant steps away from Meikyukai
By Jason Coskrey
The Giants pitcher's pursuit of 200 career victories between NPB and MLB remains stuck at 198.
U.S. legend Michael Phelps slams USA Swimming and calls for overhaul
Michael Phelps makes a splash with Ravens' swimming lessons
Wales' Louis Rees-Zammit returns to rugby after NFL dream ends
Los Angeles Olympics to sell naming rights to venues in first

Opinion

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is considering issuing a formal statement on the 80th anniversary of WWII’s end. There is no shortage of opposition to the idea in his own party.
Why Ishiba shouldn’t issue a WWII 80th anniversary statement
Kuni Miyake
I’m not saying Japan shouldn’t have apologized, but rather that Japan has sincerely worked to resolve international issues, especially in the past 30 years.
Operation Highmast reinforces claims that ‘security is indivisible’
Precautionary Osprey landings signal safety, not alarm
By Robert D. Eldridge
The real nuclear moonshot is here on Earth
By Liam Denning
Dispelling the myth of Yasukuni Shrine
By Edo Naito

ENVIRONMENT

Delegates rest outside of the assembly hall in Geneva on Friday after talks aimed at striking a landmark treaty on tackling the scourge of plastic pollution ended without a deal.
'Bad actors' blamed as plastic pollution treaty talks end again without deal
By Robin Millard
Countries said they wanted further negotiations despite six rounds of talks over three years having failed to find agreement.
With waters at 32 C, Mediterranean tropicalization shifts into high gear
By Remi BANET
Climate heat extremes driving tropical bird decline: study
By Julien MIVIELLE
The airline industry's dirty secret: Clean jet fuel failures
By Joanna Plucinska, Joe Brock, Marleen Kaesebier and Paul Carsten
Hedge funds flip on green energy and start betting against oil
By Natasha White, Liza Tetley and Ishika Mookerjee

CULTURE

Filmmakers interview the general manager of a Bald Men's club for an upcoming Flix Oven documentary that will be available via the streaming platform Samansa.
Samansa bets on commuter cinema
By Ryne Hisada
As attention spans get shorter, a Japanese startup is banking on short films as easily digestible entertainment.
Osaka Asian Film Festival gets an expo boost
By Matt Schley
‘Yukikaze’ turns fabled warship into floating snoozefest
By James Hadfield
The early bird gets the bangers at this year’s Summer Sonic
By Patrick St. Michel
‘Natasha’ distills global zeitgeist on the opera stage
By Kris Kosaka

LIFE

Chef Kei Kobayashi is France's only Japanese chef with three Michelin stars.
In Paris, chefs Chizuko Kimura and Kei Kobayashi make their mark
By Kyoko Nakayama
One is the world’s first Michelin-starred female sushi chef, while the other is France’s only three-Michelin-starred Japanese chef.
Reading the Japanese clock: Are times a-changin'?
By Peter Backhaus
In a coffee-mad neighborhood, a gin distillery is a clear alternative
By Melinda Joe
A walk through Kokura, the city spared nuclear destruction
By Edward J. Taylor
Tokyo’s WWII museums hold diverse views on war and peace
By Mark Schreiber

COMMUNITY

Francisco Villarreal moved to Japan in 2014 to attend a teacher training program and has forged deep ties to the kindergarten in Tokyo's Asakusa district where he has worked since 2018.
Kindred spirits, kindergarten connections: From Buenos Aires to east Tokyo
By Francisco J. Villarreal
An Argentinian teacher finds echoes of his hometown in the working-class neighborhoods of eastern Tokyo.
A campaign to preserve Hiroshima’s historic trees for another 1,000 years
By Patrick Parr
Briton brings artistic view to Japanese buildings
By Louise George Kittaka
The international artists supporting Japan’s craft legacy
By Laura Pollacco
Boys’ love dramas from Thailand make waves in Japan
By Agnese Dionisio

Editors' Picks

JAPAN
The indelible memory of being a part of Unit 731
By Tomoko Otake
Hideo Shimizu, 95, says he cannot forget seeing the prisoners' bloody wills scribbled on the walls of prison cells at Unit 731 in 1945.
JAPAN
Will Ishiba's critics be able to garner enough support for a leadership race?
By Eric Johnston
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's political survival likely hinges on whether a leadership race will take place within the Liberal Democratic Party following its decision to have its election committee canvass the opinions of party members and prefectural chapters on the subject.
JAPAN
Hidden rosters and the legacy of Japan’s germ warfare
By Tomoko Otake
Katsutoshi Takegami, 77, in his storehouse attic where he discovered his father's Unit 1644 documents
ENVIRONMENT
Osaka Expo highlights the challenge of holding events in Japan's scorching summer
By Joel Tansey
People huddle near a large fan blowing icy-cold mist at the Osaka Expo on July 12. Amid Japan's relentless summer heat, organizes have put myriad measures in place in order to keep guests safe.
LIFE
At Himawari Shokudo 2, Italian food with a Japanese soul
By Robbie Swinnerton
At Himawari Shokudo 2, chef Hozumi Tanaka serves Italian-inspired fare with a focus on Toyama produce, such as this appetizer of lightly blanched "hotaru ika" (firefly squid) served atop mixed wild plants and a crepe prepared from "yamato-imo" yam.

Podcast

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

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers
By Tomoko Otake

JT Directory Service

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

Ex.Portal By Synergy Media Specialists

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after
Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

COMFACTS

Tsunan Sake Brewery Launches New Label “GO TERRACE” on August 4, 2025, to Address Rice Supply and Demand
Tsunan Sake Brewery Launches New Label “GO TERRACE” on August 4, 2025, to Address Rice Supply and Demand
TSUNAN SAKE BREWERY

WHAT’S TRENDING

JAPAN
The indelible memory of being a part of Unit 731
By Tomoko Otake
Hideo Shimizu, 95, says he cannot forget seeing the prisoners' bloody wills scribbled on the walls of prison cells at Unit 731 in 1945.
SUMO
Will Wakatakakage bring balance to the banzuke?
By John Gunning
Wakatakakage during a ring entering ceremony in February 2020
JAPAN
Taiwanese drama 'Zero Day Attack' on Chinese invasion to stream in Japan
A scene from the Taiwanese television drama "Zero Day Attack," which will stream in Japan from Friday.
JAPAN
Japanese star convicted of indecent assault in Hong Kong
J-pop idol Kenshin Kamimura leaves the West Kowloon Law Courts on bail in Hong Kong on Wednesday, after he was found guilty of indecent assault of a woman who worked as his interpreter at a restaurant in Mong Kok district in March this year.
WORLD
Ukraine war has transformed North Korean military: Kyiv’s military intel chief
By Gabriel Dominguez
An explosion of a drone lights up the sky over Kyiv during a Russian drone strike, on July 30. Moscow has dispatched military specialists to train the Korean People’s Army on how to use combat drones and air-defense systems.