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November 19, 2025
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November 19, 2025
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Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, speaks to reporters outside the Capitol as the House was voting in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
U.S. Congress passes measure to force release of Epstein files, sending it to Trump
Despite his changed position on the bill, the Republican president remains angry about the attention paid to the Epstein matter.
Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, speaks to reporters outside the Capitol as the House was voting in Washington on Tuesday.
Director-General of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Masaaki Kanai (left) and Chinese Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs Liu Jinsong depart after a meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Japan seeks to placate China as strained relations move beyond political realm
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
Tokyo has warned nationals living in China to be on alert for anti-Japanese sentiment, while a Japanese animated film's release date in the nation was postponed.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met for 25 minutes on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Bank of Japan independence holds during governor’s meeting with super-dovish prime minister
By Francis Tang
Any discussion about the movement of interest rates was kept general and vague.
Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is reportedly set to propose a stimulus package of about ¥17 trillion.
BUSINESS / Economy
Extra-big extra budget pushed by some Japanese lawmakers
By Kazuaki Nagata
Bonds and stocks sink as they ask for an additional $50 billion and say debt might be the answer.
Economic security minister Kimi Onoda speaks during a group interview in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Economic security minister stresses crackdown on rule-breaking foreign nationals
By Yukana Inoue
Kimi Onoda says she is committed to implementing stricter management of non-Japanese workers and land acquisitions by foreign nationals.
Economic security minister Kimi Onoda speaks during a group interview in Tokyo on Monday.

JAPAN

(From left) Indonesian Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and Foreign Minister Sugiono, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi attend a joint press announcement after their meeting at Iikura Guest House in Tokyo on Monday.
Japan and Indonesia zero in on maritime security as they agree to boost defense ties
By Gabriel Dominguez
The move could also open up opportunities for trilateral cooperation with Australia following Jakarta’s announcement of plans to upgrade a key defense agreement with Canberra.
Police officers examine a poster, marked with a large “X,” at a building where a woman was stabbed in Tokyo’s Minato Ward on Sunday.
Akasaka stabbing suspect carried out attack in under 30 seconds, police say
Footage captured near the commercial building’s entrance shows a man, believed to be the attacker, entering directly after the woman, then leaving about 30 seconds later.
Three men confirmed dead after plane crash in Fukuoka Prefecture
Eyeing waiting lists, Japan plans model project for after-school care at firms
Opposition lawmakers voice caution on proposed Lower House seat cut
Remains of Hiroshima atomic bomb victim to get DNA test

BUSINESS

Itsunori Onodera, chair of the Liberal Democratic Party's Tax System Research Commission said it is essential "to discuss the ideal form of our tax system from a perspective close to citizens, instead of presuming that tax increases are inevitable," at the party's headquarters in Nagatacho, Tokyo, on Monday.
LDP to consider adjustable income tax threshold
Itsunori Onodera, chair of the LDP's Tax System Research Commission, said it was "natural" to link the income tax threshold with consumer prices.
U.S. private equity firm General Atlantic has taken a minority stake in Japan's human resources software platform SmartHR.
General Atlantic enters Japan with investment in unicorn SmartHR
By Lisa Du
The New York-based private equity firm said it purchased a $96 million minority stake in human resources software platform SmartHR.
India’s chief kingmaker sees Google unleashing $1 trillion boom
By Siddhartha Singh
Taiwan to further tighten export controls for dual-use technology
World’s top aluminum producer adds markups as Trump tariffs drive up consumer costs
By Yvonne Yue Li
Jeff Bezos brings signature management style to $6 billion AI startup
By Jo Constantz

WORLD

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaks at the National Assembly in Seoul on Nov. 4.
South Korean sub deal with U.S. will trigger 'nuclear domino' effect, says North
A long-awaited security and trade agreement between Seoul and Washington, finalized last week, includes plans to move forward with developing atomic-powered vessels.
People watch a livestream of a press conference to discuss the Epstein Files Transparency bill, directing the release of the remaining files related to the investigations into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 3.
U.S. House to push forward on Epstein vote after Trump reversal
By Frankie TAGGART
Trump's reversal late on Sunday came days after a House petition gathered enough support to force a vote, a rare instance of House Republicans defying the president's wishes.
Pressure builds on Marcos as Philippine graft mess forces revamp
By Manolo Serapio Jr. and Ditas Lopez
Taiwan to give security handbook to all households as China threat rises
By Yimou Lee
Poland suspects 'foreign intelligence services' involved in rail sabotage
By Katarzyna SKIBA and Wojtek RADWANSKI
Saudi crown prince to visit U.S. with defense, AI and nuclear energy on agenda
By Timour Azhari and Matt Spetalnick

Sports

Japan's Keisuke Honda after a match against Belgium in the round of 16 at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, in July 2018.
Japan has potential to win 2026 World Cup, says veteran Honda
By Kane Wu
"They have the potential (to) become at least the best four in the World Cup next year, maybe champion," Honda said.
Olympic torch to crisscross Italy on 12,000 kilometer journey
Grateful Green primed for full-throttle Ashes opener
By Joel Dubber
Rugby chiefs unveil 'watershed' Nations Championship
Trump unveils fast-track visas for World Cup ticket holders

Opinion

Japan must act quickly to protect anime creators through stronger labor rights, transparency and fair compensation as AI threatens to exploit the industry’s creative work.
Will artificial intelligence turn Japan’s ‘irreplaceable treasures’ into slop?
Catherine Thorbecke
AI’s threat gives Japan a second chance to do right by the workers propping up the $21 billion industry.
Lessons from the past: The geopolitical significance of historical precedent
By Jacques Attali
Fixing immigration without sparking xenophobia
By Edo Naito
Beware China’s strategic distortion of reality
By Stephen R. Nagy
Nuclear tests and a legacy of harm in the Asia-Pacific
By Maxime Polleri

ENVIRONMENT

A truck transports timber across an Amazonian field during a Greenpeace flyover amid the U.N. Climate Change Conference, near Cachoeira do Piria, state of Para, Brazil, on Nov. 13.
With more heat and storms, can COP30 boost front-line resilience?
By Clar NiChonghaile
The question of how to make vulnerable communities more resilient in a hotter world is a key debate in the vast compound hosting the COP30 talks.
Clamor for change builds inside the world's COP30 climate negotiations
By Kate Abnett, Simon Jessop and Lisandra Paraguassu
COP30 delegates dig into toughest issues as climate talks enter final week
By Lisandra Paraguassu, Kate Abnett and Sudarshan Varadhan
Carbon capture promoters turn up in numbers at COP30, NGO says
By Benjamin Legendre and Laurent Thomet
Made in Nigeria: Inside Africa’s push to be a solar superpower
By Bukola Adebayo

CULTURE

Members of Band-Maid combine heavy riffs and maid-inspired visuals in their latest project, "Rock Is a Lady’s Modesty."
How Band-Maid brought anime energy into the hard-rock sound of ‘Scooooop’
By Patrick St. Michel
The hard-rock quintet push their creativity to new extremes on latest EP, “Scooooop.”
New ‘Demon Slayer’ film becomes first Japanese movie to break ¥100 billion
Pina Bausch’s 2008 masterpiece to be performed in Japan by the original cast
By Kris Kosaka
Kyoto gets its own teamLab installation, the largest in Japan
By Fred Mery
Chanmina and aespa among 10 acts to debut on NHK’s ‘Kohaku Uta Gassen’
By Patrick St. Michel

LIFE

Golden "age-fukuburo," a culinary take on Japan's new year "lucky bags," can be served on their own.
Good fortune, wrapped in fried tofu
By Elizabeth Andoh
Inspired by Japan’s lucky bags, these tofu pouches hold savory treasures that simmer into a small taste of good fortune.
At Ginza’s newest hotel, luxury is a private treasure
By Owen Ziegler
Japanese words of caution in the online world of cyberattacks and phishing
By Yuko Tamura
Tokyo's viral Muscle Girls bar flexes a brawny sort of beauty
By Kim Kyung Hoon and Satoshi Sugiyama
PokePark Kanto set for February opening in Tokyo suburb
By Gendel Gento

COMMUNITY

Located near the Imperial Palace, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan prides itself on the accessibility of its events and the support it offers to budding and established journalists. The club is currently headed by Dan Sloan, a former reporter for Reuters.
Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan celebrates 80 years at the forefront of press freedom
By Gendel Gento
Since its founding in 1945, the club has been an important professional hub and played host to a startling array of political and cultural figures from around the world.
Jon Homewood: ‘There’s beauty in what we throw away’
By Joseph Tame
Young Indonesians in Japan find their political voice
By Nadila
Wielding a weapon of yore at a community dojo
By Monique Bae
Florian Wiltschko: ‘Shinto helps me understand and live within Japanese culture’
By Samantha Seghers

Editors' Picks

CULTURE
How Band-Maid brought anime energy into the hard-rock sound of ‘Scooooop’
By Patrick St. Michel
Members of Band-Maid combine heavy riffs and maid-inspired visuals in their latest project, "Rock Is a Lady’s Modesty."
BASEBALL
Japan uses series against South Korea to prep for World Baseball Classic title defense
By Jason Coskrey
Japan's Ryuhei Sotani pitches against South Korea at Tokyo Dome on Saturday night.
COMMENTARY
Who is cricket’s Shohei Ohtani?
By Salil Tripathi
South African cricket legend Jacques Kallis plays a shot during the final day of a cricket test match against India in Johannesburg in December 2013.
LIFE
Good fortune, wrapped in fried tofu
By Elizabeth Andoh
Golden "age-fukuburo," a culinary take on Japan's new year "lucky bags," can be served on their own.
COMMUNITY
Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan celebrates 80 years at the forefront of press freedom
By Gendel Gento
Located near the Imperial Palace, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan prides itself on the accessibility of its events and the support it offers to budding and established journalists. The club is currently headed by Dan Sloan, a former reporter for Reuters.

Podcast

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

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo
By Kathryn Wortley

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SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Tokyo Gas lights the way to carbon neutrality
Tokyo Gas lights the way to carbon neutrality

COMFACTS

New Food Products Utilizing Tsunan Sake Brewery’s Sake Lees Unveiled at “TORANOMON JUST RIGHT NEW FOOD” Tasting Event
New Food Products Utilizing Tsunan Sake Brewery’s Sake Lees Unveiled at “TORANOMON JUST RIGHT NEW FOOD” Tasting Event
TSUNAN SAKE BREWERY

WHAT’S TRENDING

COMMENTARY
A beloved Tokyo penguin’s end presages Suica’s shift to payments giant
By Gearoid Reidy
JR East is retiring the beloved Suica penguin as part of a rebrand to transform the contactless payment platform, used for both transit and retail, into a mobile fintech powerhouse.
BUSINESS
More Japanese firms relax rules in tussle for workers
By Satoshi Sugiyama
Hinako Mori, 22, arranges products at a Don Quijote outlet in Tokyo in October. The Japanese retailer, which relaxed its rules concerning hair and nail polish three years ago, says nearly a quarter of its employees sport brightly colored hair.
JAPAN
Japan sends senior official to China to cool boiling tensions
By Gabriele Ninivaggi and Jesse Johnson
A Chinese tour group in the Ginza shopping district of Tokyo on Sunday. China has advised its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan, following a diplomatic feud sparked by remarks from Tokyo's new prime minister about a hypothetical attack on Taiwan.
JAPAN
What you need to know about the shift to My Number health insurance cards
By Jessica Speed
With the government's integration of health insurance with My Number cards, conventional health insurance cards will no longer be accepted at clinics and hospitals across Japan from Dec. 2.
JAPAN
Japan seeks to placate China as strained relations move beyond political realm
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
Director-General of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Masaaki Kanai (left) and Chinese Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs Liu Jinsong depart after a meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Tuesday.