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November 17, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
November 17, 2025
Sanae Takaichi
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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 / Politics
Japan sends senior official to China to cool boiling tensions
By Gabriele Ninivaggi - Jesse Johnson
Masaaki Kanai, a top Foreign Ministry official, will be looking to explain that there has been no change in Japan’s existing position on the Taiwan issue.
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.
U.S. tariffs are starting to take their toll in Japan, especially on companies manufacturing products for export.
BUSINESS / Economy
Japan's GDP drops as tariffs bite and domestic demand flags
By Francis Tang
The decline in the three quarters ending in September was less than forecast.
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 / Explainer
What you need to know about the shift to My Number health insurance cards
By Jessica Speed
By integrating health insurance with My Number cards, the government hopes to streamline administration processes, reduce paperwork and make it easier to treat patients.
A bear walks in front of a box trap set up at a park in the city of Akita on Nov. 2.
JAPAN / Society
Bears attacks and sightings continue in northern Japan
A woman was found dead in a rice field of a suspected bear attack in Akita Prefecture on Sunday while a bear made its way into an Aeon shopping mall in the prefecture.
Japan's Ryuhei Sotani pitches against South Korea at Tokyo Dome on Saturday night.
BASEBALL
Japan uses series against South Korea to prep for World Baseball Classic title defense
By Jason Coskrey
The chance to play with the pitch clock and PitchCom — neither of which is used in NPB — was the main takeaway for Japan.
Japan's Ryuhei Sotani pitches against South Korea at Tokyo Dome on Saturday night.

JAPAN

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a Lower House Budget Committee meeting on Nov. 7.
Announcement of Japan-China survey results postponed amid diplomatic spat
This is the second time that the announcement of the latest survey results has been postponed at the request of the Chinese side.
Metropolitan Police Department investigators examine a poster put up at a building where a woman was stabbed, in the capital’s Minato Ward on Sunday.
Suspect on run after stabbing woman in Tokyo’s Akasaka area
The victim, a woman in her 40s, was stabbed in her side and her left hand while in the basement of a building in the busy Akasaka area, according to police.
Indonesia’s defense chief inspects MSDF vessels as talk of exports grows
By Gabriel Dominguez
Wild bears attacked 196 people in Japan between April and October
Two plans proposed for runway extension at Sapporo’s Okadama Airport
By Eric Johnston
Princess Aiko leaves for official visit to Laos

BUSINESS

David Ha, CEO of Sakana AI, is one of the founders of the startup, which was established in 2023.
Sakana AI targets defense and banking markets after big funding round
By Himari Semans
The startup has achieved a ¥400 billion valuation and notes a “tailwind” from Japan’s new government.
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.
More Japanese firms relax rules in tussle for workers
By Satoshi Sugiyama
The country's labor shortage has led companies to ease up on various aspects, such as hair and nail polish color, to secure enough part-timers.
Nigo’s streetwear brand Human Made prices Tokyo IPO at top end
By Yasutaka Tamura
Why Africa pays the highest costs to borrow money
By Mpho Hlakudi — Robert Brand
Lawson taps AI and Asia growth as convenience store sector undergoes shift
Budget coffee start-up leaves bitter taste in Berlin
By Edouard MERLO

WORLD

U.S. President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House after arriving on Marine One in Washington on Sunday.
Trump reverses stance on Epstein files, urges Republicans to vote for releasing them
By Matt Spetalnick
House Speaker Mike Johnson said the release of the files should help put to rest allegations that Trump had any connection to Epstein’s abuse and trafficking of underage girls.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the plenum of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem on Nov. 10.
Netanyahu faces far-right backlash after U.S.-backed statement on Palestinian state
The Israeli leader spoke after the U.S. and many Muslim-majority nations endorsed a draft U.N. resolution backing a plan that offered a route to Palestinian statehood.
From pariah to power player: Saudi’s MBS reclaims world stage in U.S. visit
By Samia Nakhoul
India arrests suspected accomplice in Delhi suicide bombing
By Maria Paula — Mijares Torres — Santosh Kumar
Trump says U.S. may open talks with Venezuela's Maduro
By Joseph Tanfani — Matt Spetalnick
Thailand says U.S. trade talks separated from Cambodia border deal
By Suttinee Yuvejwattana

Sports

Japan's Ryuhei Sotani pitches against South Korea at Tokyo Dome on Saturday night.
Japan uses series against South Korea to prep for World Baseball Classic title defense
By Jason Coskrey
The chance to play with the pitch clock and PitchCom — neither of which is used in NPB — was the main takeaway for Japan.
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen earns Brazil's first Alpine Ski World Cup win
Sinner caps eventful year with ATP Finals triumph over great rival Alcaraz
Erling Haaland leads rout as Norway qualifies for first World Cup since 1998
Iranian girls use karate to kick down social barriers
By Majid SOURATI

Opinion

Ramen is a versatile global dish, ranging from traditional tonkotsu broth to innovative mazemen and whole-grain noodles, enjoyed for its endless variations and worldwide appeal.
How Japanese does that bowl of ramen need to be?
Howard Chua-Eoan
Ramen purist argue about what’s orthodox and what’s allowable, while cooks who love to experiment and improvise push those boundaries.
Who is cricket’s Shohei Ohtani?
By Salil Tripathi
Nuclear tests and a legacy of harm in the Asia-Pacific
By Maxime Polleri
ASEAN’s moment of truth
By Mari Elka Pangestu — Tan Sri Rebecca Fatimah Sta Maria
Xi’s balancing act: Competition abroad and discipline at home
By Naoko Eto

ENVIRONMENT

A technician works on solar power panels at the Atlantic Shrimpers farm in Lagos in 2022.
Made in Nigeria: Inside Africa’s push to be a solar superpower
By Bukola Adebayo
Among African nations, Nigeria aims to reduce its fossil-fuel dependence and generate 30% of its energy from renewables by 2030 as well as develop local manufacturing capacity.
Carbon capture promoters turn up in numbers at COP30, NGO says
By Benjamin Legendre — Laurent Thomet
China finds bigger role as U.S. sidesteps Brazil climate summit
By Valerie Volcovici — Lisandra Paraguassu
Deadly heat worldwide prompts $300 million for climate health research at COP30
By Simon Jessop - Lais Morais - Anna Portella
World's fossil fuel emissions to hit new record in 2025, study says
By Kelly Macnamara

CULTURE

This year's "Kohaku Uta Gassen" will be broadcast on NHK from 7:20 p.m. on Dec. 31.
Chanmina and aespa among 10 acts to debut on NHK’s ‘Kohaku Uta Gassen’
By Patrick St. Michel
The New Year’s Eve music spectacle on NHK will feature first-time acts such as idol group Fruits Zipper and long-awaited returns from bands like Okinawa’s Orange Range.
Pina Bausch’s 2008 masterpiece to be performed in Japan by the original cast
By Kris Kosaka
Kyoto gets its own teamLab, largest in Japan
By Fred Mery
At TIFF, East Asia’s veteran stars tread new territory with mixed results
By Mike Fu
Predictability weighs down ‘A Light in the Harbor’
By James Hadfield

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.
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 - Satoshi Sugiyama
PokePark Kanto set for February opening in Tokyo suburb
By Gendel Gento
Hearing colors and seeing sounds with Tetsuya Mizuguchi
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

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.
JAPAN
The challenges awaiting Japan’s new finance minister
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
Finance minister Satsuki Katayama answers questions from reporters in a group interview on Oct. 24.
LIFE
At Ginza’s newest hotel, luxury is a private treasure
By Owen Ziegler
At Fufu Tokyo, each guest room comes with its own private "onsen" (hot spring) — a luxury nearly unheard of in the heart of Tokyo's capital.
SPORTS
Japan fully enters sports streaming era as fans face new dilemmas
By Mai Yoshikawa
Sports fan Tadashi Yokoyama streams basketball and fencing on three screens.

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

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

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

LIFE
At Ginza’s newest hotel, luxury is a private treasure
By Owen Ziegler
At Fufu Tokyo, each guest room comes with its own private "onsen" (hot spring) — a luxury nearly unheard of in the heart of Tokyo's capital.
JAPAN
China warns citizens not to visit Japan as row over Taiwan heats up
By Jesse Johnson
Chinese tourists wear kimonos as they visit Sensoji temple in Tokyo's Asakusa district on Saturday.
WORLD
From France to Mali, a deportee's struggle far from home
By Sofia Christensen - Juliette Jabkhiro - Layli Foroudi
Moussa Sacko, a Malian deported from France — where he had lived since he was a young child — stands on a street in Bamako, Mali, in December. Compared with his home in France, Bamako feels like a different planet, Sacko said.
CULTURE
Kyoto gets its own teamLab, largest in Japan
By Fred Mery
Visitors wearing kimonos look at digital artwork at the newly opened teamLab Biovortex in Kyoto.
JAPAN
Ashfall warning in Japan as volcano erupts
View of Sakurajima from the mainland of Kagoshima Prefecture