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September 19, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
September 19, 2025
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BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda said it would take a century for the bank to sell all its ETFs at the pace proposed.
BUSINESS / Economy
Bank of Japan to start unloading ETFs in surprise move that rattles market
By Francis Tang
After the announcement, the Nikkei 225 fell from a record high and the yen strengthened.
BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda said it would take a century for the bank to sell all its ETFs at the pace proposed.
Veteran lawmaker Sanae Takaichi outlines her policy platform at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday as she makes another bid for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party presidency.
JAPAN / Politics
Takaichi works to soften her image in LDP presidential bid
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
A long-time conservative champion, the former economic security minister had long worked to present herself as the poster child of the more hawkish wing of the LDP.
While not specifying what percentage of foreign residents should make up the total population, “we conveyed the message that the ratio should be kept as low as possible and that the current rapid pace of increase must be properly curbed,” said Nippon Ishin no Kai co-leader Fumitake Fujita.
JAPAN / Politics
Nippon Ishin urges cap on foreign residents in Japan
By Yukana Inoue
In its proposal to the government, it warns that Japanese society is at risk of being fundamentally altered if the proportion of foreign nationals exceeds 10%.
Phishing emails posing as major securities firms spiked in Japan between March and May, topping 70,000 in May alone.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Police look to crack down harder on phishing scams amid record surge
Online banking fraud surged to about ¥4.22 billion in the first half of this year, a roughly 73% jump from last year.
Otherwise common sights in Japan's supermarkets, the country's fruit and veggie boxes can hide surprising symbols of local pride.
LIFE / Style & Design
Behold the glory of Japan’s fruit boxes
By Thu-Huong Ha
Watermelon mountains and onion parades: The everyday cardboard containers for fruits and veggies are a designer’s delight.
Otherwise common sights in Japan's supermarkets, the country's fruit and veggie boxes can hide surprising symbols of local pride.

JAPAN

Visitors at the Osaka Expo on Thursday.
Osaka Expo visitors top 20 million as crowds surge
Ahead of the Oct. 13 closing of the event, the Osaka Expo is attracting visitors at a rapid pace, with the daily turnout exceeding 200,000.
The Izumo destroyer docks at a port in Singapore after completing a mission to escort a U.S. vessel under Japan's security laws, in May 2017.
10 years on, security laws continue to boost Japan-U.S. defense ties
The laws, enacted in 2015, allow Japan to exercise its right to collective self-defense and have helped the SDF expand its activities with like-minded countries.
Man gets nine years after fatal drunken driving crash in Saitama
ASDF plane strays off runway at Niigata Airport
Japan completes full records of Empress Kojun
Rice demand for year through June estimated to be up to 7.1 million tons

BUSINESS

A view of the city skyline in Shanghai. Threats to the global economic order have come at a furious pace during U.S. President Donald Trump's first eight months in office, but the global economy has kept growing.
Global economy takes Trump shocks in stride, for now
By Howard Schneider and Mark John
While many players worry that things could still unravel given the right spark, it is a far cry from the most dour predictions early in Trump's term.
Tours are being offered in Tokyo using a shoulder-mounted robot equipped with a camera, speaker and microphone. The robot twitches its wing-like arms, which it can fold together as if in prayer when visiting a temple.
Robot tour guides in Tokyo offer way for those with disabilities to work
By Elizabeth Beattie
OriHime, a robot remotely controlled by people with disabilities, is offering tours in Tokyo’s Nihonbashi district.
Apple iPhone 17 launches in Japan
Sumitomo Mitsui mulls raising stake in Jefferies to 20%
By Cathy Chan, Katherine Doherty, Manuel Baigorri and Hideki Suzuki
SoftBank's Vision Fund mulls 20% job cuts after Son’s pivot to AI
By Min Jeong Lee, Ed Ludlow and Anto Antony
LG Energy was using U.S. visa workarounds before Trump, documents show
By Hyunjoo Jin and Heekyong Yang

WORLD

Smoke rises following Israeli strikes during a military operation, in Gaza City, on Thursday. Israeli troops have begun to advance toward the city center.
Gaza hit by telecoms blackout as Israeli tanks and infantry advance
By Dawoud Abu Alkas, Nidal al-Mughrabi and Edmund Blair
Large numbers of Israeli troops have begun moving toward the center of Gaza City as the families of Israeli hostages implore authorities to stop the offensive and negotiate.
ChatGPT owner OpenAI says it "actively works to identify and disrupt scam-related misuse of ChatGPT.”
ChatGPT was used ‘to help scammers do their thing’ at Asia fraud compound
By Poppy McPherson
Scammers used the artificial intelligence tool to craft convincing messages designed to trick people into parting with their money.
U.S. vetoes U.N. demand for ceasefire, aid access in Gaza
By Michelle Nichols
U.S. and Israel criticize U.N. staff over Gaza war stance amid protests
By Emma Farge and Olivia Le Poidevin
Brazil's Bolsonaro is going to prison, but he might not stay long
By Luciana Magalhaes and Manuela Andreoni
As U.S. Senate goes 'nuclear,' dozens of Trump nominees are confirmed
By Patricia Zengerle

Sports

Yuki Joseph Nakajima after finishing sixth in the men's 400-meter final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Thursday.
How Yuki Joseph Nakajima turned failures into breakout success at Tokyo worlds
By Sam Byford
Nakajima was the first Japanese runner to make the 400 final since Susumu Takano in 1991 and he even managed to finish one place higher than his senior compatriot.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto has strong outing as Dodgers edge Giants
Josh Allen tosses three TDs as Bills take charge late to beat Dolphins
Anti-doping work helping more countries medal in World Athletics, AIU chief says
By Mitch Phillips
Australian teen sensation Gout Gout hails learning experience at debut worlds
By Jason Coskrey

Opinion

Candidates take part in the Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership race in September 2024 at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo, including many of the contenders for next month’s contest. 
LDP candidates through a 'Japanese conservative' lens
Edo Naito
The three key elements of Japanese conservatism are preserving national identity and traditions, sustaining the imperial succession and affirming the Self-Defense Forces’ role.
Netanyahu’s impunity threatens Israel
Anime’s ‘Demon Slayer’ hit is a watershed for Japan
By Gearoid Reidy
Nepal’s Gen Z protests and humanity’s shared future
By Brabim Karki
Why is Trump killing programs designed to prevent terrorism?
By Michael Duffin

ENVIRONMENT

A resident navigates a flooded road in Masiphumelele, Cape Town, South Africa, on May 20. Climate change impacts Africa the most of any continent despite it contributing less than 10% to global carbon emissions, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
Military spending eats into Africa's climate finance
By Kim Harrisberg and Joanna Gill
Climate change impacts Africa the most of any continent despite it contributing less than 10% to global carbon emissions, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
Climate change led to at least 16,500 heat deaths in Europe this summer
By Emma Court
Malaysia's largest island state aims to be region's 'green battery'
By Jan HENNOP
Rising oceans to threaten 1.5 million Australians by 2050, report says
By Laura Chung
U.S. moves to scrap emissions reporting by polluters

CULTURE

Shuji Nakagawa, a third-generation woodworking craftsman, studied contemporary art at university in addition to learning the family’s craft.
A bucket becomes a house in the hands of craftsman Shuji Nakagawa
By Thu-Huong Ha
At Go for Kogei 2025, a third-generation woodworker envisions new forms for a humble vessel.
YouTuber Gigguk shifts from talking anime to making anime
By Patrick St. Michel
Park Chan-wook’s sharp satire ‘No Other Choice’ opens Busan festival
By Erik Augustin Palm
‘Ranshima Bound’: Family fractures and buried truths collide in Hokkaido chill
By Mark Schilling
‘Prism of the Real’ makes two turbulent decades tangible with art
By Jennifer Pastore

LIFE

Filled with red bean paste and covered in "kinako" soy flour, green "zunda" soybean mash and black sesame, "o-hagi" sticky rice balls offer a delicious interplay of sweet and savory flavors.
Celebrating autumn with timeless sticky rice balls
By Elizabeth Andoh
Filled with red bean paste and sheathed in various coatings, the spherical sweets evoke the gentle mood of the season.
How Japanese captures the subtle shift into autumn
By Yaeko Kabe
From tofu to teriyaki: Japanese essentials for the home cook
By Simon Daly
An aesthetic escape to Hakone’s art-drenched hills
By Erik Augustin Palm
In Bali, the Ritz-Carlton’s ultraluxury Mandapa hotel marks 10 years
By Owen Ziegler

COMMUNITY

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Swastika Jajoo (fourth from right) began attending the daily radio calisthenics routine at Sendai’s Kitasanbancho Park and struck up unexpected friendships with a group of elderly residents.
Calisthenic companions bridge cultures and generations
By Swastika Jajoo
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a doctoral student in Sendai found friendship in unexpected places.
Melos Han-Tani: ‘Figuring out what you value is valuable for any artist’
By Gendel Gento
Gentle care is the key to Cymbal’s heart
Canadian-born politician tackles Ibaraki’s issues big and small
By Gendel Gento
Smiley, spirited Hampen will run into your arms

Editors' Picks

MORE SPORTS
World Athletics stars relish Tokyo atmosphere after COVID-hit Olympics
By Jason Coskrey
Organizers of the World Athletics Championships said over 500,000 tickets had been sold and that they are expecting to end the event in front of large crowds this weekend.
JAPAN
Japan’s front-line researchers see bright path ahead for dementia treatment
By Tomoko Otake
A scientist looks at scans of grains at the Memory Centre at the Department of Readaptation and Geriatrics of the University Hospital (HUG) in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 6, 2023.
MORE SPORTS
Still plenty to fight for, says Japan’s team leader at worlds
By Jason Coskrey
Race walker Hayato Katsuki earned bronze for Japan on the opening day of the World Athletics Championships on Saturday.
BUSINESS
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
By Elizabeth Beattie
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
MORE SPORTS
Japanese athletes inspired by raucous home fans at World Athletics Championships
By Sam Byford
Fans cheer on the home favorites during the women's marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Sunday.

Podcast

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

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’
By Alex K.T. Martin

JT Directory Service

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SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo
Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo
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WHAT’S TRENDING

BUSINESS
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
By Elizabeth Beattie
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
JAPAN
Japan dispatches five language education 'partners' to India
Five members of the Japan Foundation's Nihongo Partners program (front) gather at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi on Monday.
BUSINESS
End of U.S. de minimis exemption causes headaches for some businesses in Japan
By Jessica Speed
Proxy-shopping services — companies that ship Japanese products ranging from cosmetics and snacks to limited-edition stationery on behalf of customers abroad — are already feeling the impact of the U.S. suspending de minimis exemptions.
JAPAN
Over 90% of low-income families in Japan struggling to feed children
By Yukana Inoue
Save the Children Japan domestic program chief Sonoko Kawakami speaks at a news conference in Tokyo in July. A survey conducted by the group in June has found that over 90% of low-income households with children face food insecurity.
BUSINESS
Struggling train firm in Chiba Prefecture turns to self-deprecating humor
"Laughter is important when you're in a difficult situation," said Katsunori Takemoto, president of Choshi Electric Railway, on Aug. 5 in Choshi, Chiba Prefecture.