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Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's top negotiator in tariff talks with the U.S. speaks to reporters at the Japanese Embassy in Washington on Friday.

BUSINESS / Economy

Japan won’t wait for G7 summit for possible U.S. trade deal

Trade discussions between Japan and the U.S. have "progressed” but have not yet reached a consensus on a deal to revisit sweeping U.S. tariffs, Tokyo's top negotiator said.

In tariff talks with the U.S., Japan may have blinked

Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's top negotiator in tariff talks with the U.S. speaks to reporters at the Japanese Embassy in Washington on Friday.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a forum in Tokyo on May 29.

JAPAN / Politics

Ishiba and Lee might have first meeting at G7 summit

By Jesse Johnson

New South Korean leader Lee Jae-myung will attend the G7 summit in Canada for three days starting June 15, and could meet Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

The Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library at Harvard University. U.S. President Donald Trump has barred Harvard from accepting international students, prompting Japanese universities to offer support.

JAPAN / Society

Japanese universities step up to help international students after Harvard ban

Eighty-seven universities have announced support measures for international students in the U.S. who face difficulties continuing their studies.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a Lower House Budget Committee meeting on Friday.

JAPAN / Politics

Japan to hold WWII panel discussions after summer Upper House election

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's administration was considering setting up the panel as early as April.

Kenji Yanobe’s spacesuited cats are the main characters of “Ship’s Cat Island,” the inaugural exhibition at Hyper Museum Hanno in Saitama Prefecture.

CULTURE / Art

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.

Kenji Yanobe’s spacesuited cats are the main characters of “Ship’s Cat Island,” the inaugural exhibition at Hyper Museum Hanno in Saitama Prefecture.

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.

Japanese professor given Ukrainian award for humanitarian efforts

My Number Card functions to be available on iPhones

Japan law comes into force to extend nuclear plant lifespans

Philippines detains leader of 'JP Dragon' crime ring

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.

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

Soaring rice prices take a bite out of Japan's beloved curry shops

By Ryotaro Nakamaru

U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk speak in the Oval Office before departing the White House in March.

Republican lawmakers try to dodge Trump-Musk crossfire

By Bo Erickson and Richard Cowan

Their buddy-movie dynamic evaporated this week as Musk and Trump openly feuded over a sweeping tax-cut and spending bill.

Police detain a protester blocking the garage entrance of the Los Angeles Federal Building following multiple detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in downtown Los Angeles on Friday.

Rifles, stun grenades, armored trucks in ICE raids spur tensions

By Alicia A. Caldwell

The Trump administration is intensifying efforts to round up migrants. It’s also doing so with increasingly aggressive tactics.

China demonstrates coast guard capability with move toward high seas patrols

By Kirsty Needham

South Korea's Lee, Trump agree to work toward swift tariff deal

Trump can bar AP from some White House events for now, U.S. appeals court says

Trump signs orders to bolster U.S. drone defenses and boost supersonic flight

Novak Djokovic waves to the crowd after his semifinal defeat at the French Open in Paris on Friday.

'Honoured' Djokovic hints at possible Roland Garros farewell after semifinal loss

Following his loss to Sinner, Djokovic stopped briefly on his way off Court Philippe Chatrier and took a moment to "show his gratitude" to the Paris crowd.

Panthers even series with Oilers on Brad Marchand's double OT goal

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

Moriyasu mourns end of unbeaten run after loss to Australia

By Nick Mulvenney

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

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

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.

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

Six months into 2025, J-pop is having a full-on identity crisis (and a great time)

By Patrick St. Michel

Descendents of the original "Gonin Byakushō" families are the only vendors allowed inside the gates of Kotohira Shrine, where they sell "kamiyoame," a golden-hued, yuzu-flavored candy meant for good fortune.

At a mountainside shrine, yuzu candy made by imperial decree

By Lance Henderstein

Located in the mountains of western Kagawa Prefecture, Kotohira has yet to suffer — or benefit — from Japan’s overtourism rush.

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

Waves of umami: Awaji Island's culinary trove

By Kathryn Wortley

The empanada that’s secretly a ‘gyōza’ inside

By Simon Daly

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

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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

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