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September 21, 2025
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September 21, 2025
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The Plaza Hotel in New York, where finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the Group of Five countries met and struck the Plaza Accord on Sept. 22, 1985.
BUSINESS / Economy
40 years after Plaza Accord, Japan still at mercy of forex swings
Monday marks the 40th anniversary of the accord, struck between Japan, the U.S., the U.K., France and what was then West Germany.
The Plaza Hotel in New York, where finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the Group of Five countries met and struck the Plaza Accord on Sept. 22, 1985.
Yasuhiro Tsuyuki, former commissioner-general of Japan's National Police Agency, speaks during an interview on Aug. 12 in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Ex-police chief pins hopes on new 'tokuryu' measures
Conventional methods do not work against such groups because they recruit using encrypted social media apps, making it difficult to identify the ringleaders.
Paulina “Jedda” Puruntatameri with Antonia Burke and Tiwi fisher Clinton offshore of Melville Island, one of the Tiwi Islands, in Australia's Northern Territory. Together with other Tiwi, Jedda has been campaigning for years to stop Australian company Santos and its backers, including Japanese investors, from drilling for natural gas at the Barossa gas field.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
As Japan keeps buying gas, Aboriginal Australians pay the price
By Mara Budgen
Japan is Australia’s second-largest export market for energy and natural resources, giving Tokyo a certain political weight when it comes to Australian energy matters.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with European leaders at the White House in Washington on Aug. 18.
WORLD
After diplomatic blitz on Ukraine and Gaza, Trump moves to passenger seat
By Gram Slattery
In recent weeks, Trump has allowed and in some cases pressed allies to take the lead, with only distant promises of U.S. help.
Yuki Joseph Nakajima after finishing sixth in the men's 400-meter final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
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.
Yuki Joseph Nakajima after finishing sixth in the men's 400-meter final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Thursday.

JAPAN

A security officer stands guard at an entrance gate to the Ministry of Justice in Tokyo.
Japan requires prison officers to display ID numbers on uniforms
Officers are required to display their numbers above the rank badges on the right chest of their uniforms so that inmates can identify them.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya speaks during a news conference at the ministry in Tokyo on Friday.
Japan will not recognize Palestinian statehood for now
The decision is believed to have been made in light of Israel hardening its stance against Palestinian statehood, as well as U.S. opposition to such recognition.
Sweetness dulls salt aversion and may lead to excessive intake: study
Government to step up heatstroke prevention for elderly
Japan government to support domestic digital content overseas
Koizumi makes economic growth top priority in bid for LDP presidency
By Himari Semans

BUSINESS

Travelers wait at Brussels airport after a cyberattack at a service provider for check-in and boarding systems disrupted operations at several major European airports on Saturday.
Cyberattack disrupts European airports including London's Heathrow and Brussels
A "cyber-related disruption" at a provider of check-in and boarding systems has disrupted operations at several airports including London's Heathrow.
Rengo President Tomoko Yoshino at a symposium in Tokyo on Friday.
Japan's top union group advised to seek 5% pay hike during spring talks
An expert panel report stressed that the 2026 shunto will be a crucial opportunity to firmly establish a healthy cycle of rising wages and prices.
Boom in business class travel from Japan fuels airlines profits
Trump officials used 'golden share' to block U.S. Steel from stopping work at plant
Trump’s economic team is short some key players amid staff churn
By Nancy Cook
Apple iPhone 17 launches in Japan

WORLD

A displaced Palestinian boy carries a tent on his head as he moves south in the central Gaza Strip on Saturday.
'Shocked and devastated': Gaza City assault leaves Palestinians traumatized
Israel has pummeled Gaza City with air strikes and tank fire in its bid to seize what it describes as one of Hamas' last strongholds.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media at the White House on Saturday.
Trump shapes immigration gilded age with $100,000 H-1B fee
By Josh Wingrove and Spencer Soper
The U.S. president also unveiled a "Gold Card” visa program — where for the price of $1 million, individuals could get U.S. residency.
Trump publicly urges U.S. Justice Department to charge his enemies
Pentagon limits journalists’ access to military information
By Tony Czuczka
Trump to return to the U.N. as Gaza and Ukraine conflicts rage
Trump to impose $100,000 fee per year for H-1B visas, in likely blow to tech

Sports

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden celebrates with fans after winning the women's 200-meter final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Friday.
How the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo delivered on the fan experience
By Sam Byford
After the Olympics, the fan experience at World Athletics Championships was arguably more important than any other event. So how did National Stadium fare with its big do-over?
Fiji beats Japan 33-27 in Pacific Nations Cup rugby final
Shohei Ohtani's 53rd homer caps Dodgers' slugfest in win over Giants
Mike Trout hits 400th homer as Angels win
Manchester United breathes life into season with Chelsea victory
By Peter Hall

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

Workers operate heavy machinery to stabilize Wamberal Beach as a low-pressure cyclone lashes Australia's Central Coast, forcing residents to evacuate beachfront homes amid growing erosion fears, in July.
International treaty protecting world's oceans to take effect
The move by Morocco and Sierra Leone to join the U.N. treaty on the high seas clinched the threshold needed to enact it as international law.
NASA scientist starts food crisis hotline with tech giant funding
By Agnieszka de Sousa
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

CULTURE

Shuji Nakagawa created a teahouse using the same technique for making traditional wooden buckets.
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.
‘Pluriversal’ Singapore Design Week brings solution-oriented works
By John L. Tran
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

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

LIFE
Behold the glory of Japan’s fruit boxes
By Thu-Huong Ha
Otherwise common sights in Japan's supermarkets, the country's fruit and veggie boxes can hide surprising symbols of local pride.
MORE SPORTS
How Yuki Joseph Nakajima turned failures into breakout success at Tokyo worlds
By Sam Byford
Yuki Joseph Nakajima after finishing sixth in the men's 400-meter final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS
Robot tour guides in Tokyo offer way for those with disabilities to work
By Elizabeth Beattie
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.
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.

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

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WHAT’S TRENDING

BUSINESS
Bank of Japan to start unloading ETFs in surprise move that rattles market
By Francis Tang
BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda said it would take a century for the bank to sell all its ETFs at the pace proposed.
JAPAN
Nippon Ishin urges cap on foreign residents in Japan
By Yukana Inoue
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
Japan may see its first female PM despite limited progress on gender gap
By Erica Yokoyama
Hard-line conservative lawmaker Sanae Takaichi has consistently been a public favorite in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership election scheduled for Oct. 4.
JAPAN
Osaka Expo visitors top 20 million as crowds surge
Visitors at the Osaka Expo on Thursday.
BUSINESS
Boom in business class travel from Japan fuels airlines profits
A business class suite of an Airbus SE A350-1000 aircraft operated by Japan Airlines is seen during a media preview at the company's hangar at Tokyo's Haneda Airport in January last year.