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TOKYO
August 28, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
August 28, 2025
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Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, had been set to fly to Washington on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Akazawa's trip to Washington for tariff talks abruptly canceled
By Francis Tang
Japan's chief tariff negotiator was set to leave on Thursday for a 10th round of talks.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, had been set to fly to Washington on Thursday.
First Lady Yoshiko Ishiba (center, in white and blue dress) hosts an event on Japanese culture with the first ladies of African leaders on the sidelines of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama on Aug. 21.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Confusion over Japan’s ‘hometown’ plan overshadows African development event
By Yukana Inoue
Social media and news have focused more on the misinformation that Japan is accepting a large number of immigrants from Africa.
Palestinian families flee their homes in areas north of Gaza City on Monday after the Israeli army announced its intention to expand the scope of the military operation and focus on Gaza City.
WORLD / Politics
Israel ramps up pressure on Gaza City as Trump eyes postwar plan
Israel is under mounting pressure both at home and abroad to end its campaign in Gaza, where the United Nations has declared a famine.
Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, in Kyiv on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Ukraine sees 'priceless' digital battlefield data trove as key to West's support
By Max Hunder
Since Russia launched its 2022 invasion, Ukraine has collected reams of meticulously logged battlefield statistics.
Koryo High School players greet their cheering section after beating Hokkaido’s Asahikawa Shiho in the first round of Summer Koshien on Aug. 7. The school withdrew three days later as a bullying scandal enveloped the team.
BASEBALL / FOCUS
Koshien’s dark summer forces reckoning for high school baseball
By Mai Yoshikawa
A young player’s dream was to play in the National High School Baseball Championship. A series of bullying incidents this year changed all of that.
Koryo High School players greet their cheering section after beating Hokkaido’s Asahikawa Shiho in the first round of Summer Koshien on Aug. 7. The school withdrew three days later as a bullying scandal enveloped the team.

JAPAN

Kyushu Electric Power's Sendai nuclear power plant is seen from the shoreline in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture.
Court backs restart of nuclear reactors in Kagoshima Prefecture
Plaintiffs had questioned the rationality of a volcanic assessment guide used for safety screening.
Liberal Democratic Party's election panel chair Ichiro Aisawa speaks at a meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Lawmakers must come clean on stance over possible Ishiba ouster, LDP panel says
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
LDP party executives have put pressure on lawmakers to take a clear stance on the issue.
Never again, says woman orphaned by Tokyo air raid during World War II
Japan and others warn of Chinese government-backed hacker group
Japan to fund purchase of quake-sensitive breakers
Budget requests from Justice Ministry focus on foreign nationals

BUSINESS

Mitsubishi Corporation withdrew from three offshore wind projects in Japan, dealing a setback to the emerging industry as it faces slow development and escalating costs.
Mitsubishi withdraws from three offshore wind projects in Japan
By Shoko Oda
The dent to Japan’s nascent sector threatens to further derail the fossil fuel-dependent nation’s energy transition and climate goals.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is the world's largest contract maker of chips, used in everything from smartphones to missiles.
Taiwan prosecutors charge three with stealing TSMC trade secrets
The three people include a former TSMC engineer who went to work for Tokyo Electron's Taiwan subsidiary and two staff employed by the chipmaker.
BOJ board member reaffirms stance on raising interest rates
By Toru Fujioka
The backbone of the global auto supply chain is at risk from Trump’s tariffs
By River Akira Davis, Jin Yu Young, Melissa Eddy and Hisako Ueno
TikTok owner ByteDance sets valuation at over $330 billion in planned buyback
By Krystal Hu, Julie Zhu and Kane Wu
Chinese carmakers resist Beijing’s call to end brutal price war
By Linda Lew and Yasufumi Saito

WORLD

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (right) and his daughter Kim Ju Ae attend a ceremony to celebrate the completion of the Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone, in Wonsan, in North Korea, on June 24.
How North Korea promotes Kim’s ‘Dear Daughter’ as a worthy heir
By Pablo Robles and Choe Sang-Hun
Kim Jong Un introduced his daughter to the world in November 2022 with a show of affection and menace, holding her hand in front of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
Thailand's suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra gestures as she arrives at the Constitutional Court in Bangkok on Aug. 21.
Powerful Thai court again to decide fate of Thaksin-aligned prime minister
By Patpicha Tanakasempipat
The case against Paetongtarn Shinawatra shows how the country’s conservative establishment can thwart governments and engineer military-backed rule.
Hong Kong wraps up pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai's security trial
By Jessie Pang and James Pomfret
Expecting on the front lines: Motherhood in Ukraine’s military
By Cassandra Vinograd and Oleksandr Chubko
Shooter kills two children in Minneapolis church and injures 17 others
By Tom Baker and Daniel Stublen
Starving Gaza children too weak to cry, Save the Children head says

Sports

Wrestlers approach the ring during a regional sumo tour in Misato, Saitama Prefecture in April 2016.
Sumo’s grueling summer tour reveals wrestlers' true condition
By John Gunning
The heat and length makes the summer tour by far the most physically taxing in sumo, giving fans greater clarity regarding the health of their favorite rikishi.
Mondo Duplantis soars to fifth Diamond League crown
Naomi Osaka hoping to recapture old magic at U.S. Open
India faces world soccer ban for second time in three years
Giants waive quarterback DeVito as Patriots cut 2022 first-rounder Strange

Opinion

Jet fighters from the North American Aerospace Defense Command intercept a Chinese long-range H-6 bomber operating in the Alaska air defense identification zone in July 2024.
Joint Sino-Russian patrols push Japan to rethink defense posture
Jonathan Berkshire Miller
Over the past two years, joint China-Russia overflights have become increasingly sophisticated and extended.
Al and our brave new world of ‘weaponized interdependence’
By Brad Glosserman
Microsoft hack victims need to be on alert for sleeper cells
By Dave Lee
How humanity can avoid starting World War III
By Tobin Harshaw
How much does faith influence British politics?
By Rosa Prince

ENVIRONMENT

A wildfire burns in Garano, northwestern Spain, on Monday.
Record wildfires burn more than 1 million hectares of EU land this year
By Kate Abnett
Spain and Portugal have been worst hit and together accounted for around two-thirds of the EU's burnt area.
Are bridges near you safe? This MRI-like scan may prevent disaster
By Coco Liu
'Restoring dignity': Kenya slum exchange offers water for plastic
Spain's 16-day heat wave is 'most intense on record'
Egyptian farmers behind world's perfumes face climate fight alone
By Menna Farouk

CULTURE

Virtual singer Kaf got her start in 2018 by posting songs and covers to YouTube. Now, after having performed live shows at major venues including Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan, she is turning to voice acting and starring in the new anime series “Kamitsubaki City Under Construction.”
Virtual singer Kaf's music becomes magic in 'Kamitsubaki City Under Construction'
By Alicia Haddick
After evolving from an online presence into a live performer, Kaf has now stepped into voice acting as part of a multimedia project built around a supergroup of virtual artists.
From foil to fan favorite, Kuromi embodies Sanrio’s darker side of cute
By Patrick St. Michel
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announce engagement after two-year romance
By Lisa Richwine
Healing Oshima Island's history of disease with a touch of art
By Uliana Dobrova
'The Face of Jizo': Hisashi Inoue's play staged in Sydney commemorates WWII victims
By Kris Kosaka

LIFE

A boy looks at samples of Pokemon toys available with the McDonald's Happy Meal set in Tokyo earlier this month.
How to complain politely: Lessons from the McDonald’s Pokemon debacle
By Yuko Tamura
In Japan, the right phrasing can mean the difference between a request and harassment.
Sega's ninja-themed Shinobi series is back from the dead
By Owen Ziegler
Retired Tokyo trains live on as upcycled table lamps
By Joanna Kawecki
Behind Tanikoretani’s quiet facade, a lively world of sake-fueled food
By Robbie Swinnerton
Character-crazed Japan has little appetite for Labubu
By Yuko Tamura

COMMUNITY

Musical act Petalhead, comprised of Jaime Alise (left) and Riku Ogura, performs at More Than Music’s beachside event in Zushi, Kanagawa Prefecture.
More Than Music makes space for creative communion
By Shyam Bhardwa
Since 2018, Tokyo-based duo Justin Sachs and Atsuko Sunaga have been organizing live shows and curating a community with shared passions.
Tosca turns a new leaf in a new home
Seri Yanai: ‘We mix modern and analog to create something new’
By Ayako Nakano
Carl J. Green, mentor to a generation of ‘Japan hands,’ dies at 85
By Matthew Goodman
Handsome cat looking for brighter days ahead

Editors' Picks

JAPAN
Is Kishida plotting a return of the king? Or would he rather stay a kingmaker?
By Eric Johnston
Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida chairs a plenary session at the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama on Aug. 21.
BUSINESS
Japanese prefectures break with labor ministry on minimum wage
By Kazuaki Nagata
The ministry of labor has suggested a 6% minimum wage increase, but most prefectures reporting so far are opting to go slightly higher.
ASIA PACIFIC
Philippines quietly deepening ‘unofficial’ defense ties with Taiwan
By Gabriel Dominguez
Filipino soldiers take part in a flag-raising ceremony on Mavulis Island during a visit by the Philippines' Armed Forces chief of staff, in Batanes, the Philippines, in June 2023. Batanes, a group of idyllic islands at the country’s northernmost tip, sits about 160 kilometers from Taiwan.
ENVIRONMENT
Are 'coolcations' the answer for Japan's heat-weary tourists?
By Tomoko Otake
Hikers on a trail in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture. As extreme heat continues to grip Japan, a tectonic shift may be underway in the nation’s summer tourism scene as more people gravitate toward cooler destinations.
LIFE
Germany's first sakemaker offers a bold brew of ideas
By Weiwen Lin
Reigen, Germany's first sake brewery, makes a diverse, nontraditional range of sake that includes fruit-flavored sips and wine barrel-aged renditions.

Podcast

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

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

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SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Muji has been sustainable from the beginning
Muji has been sustainable from the beginning

COMFACTS

Tsunan Sake Brewery Launches Limited-Edition “Yukigesho Castella” Featuring Sake Lees at “Tsunan Sake Brewery Sunflower Festival 2025”
Tsunan Sake Brewery Launches Limited-Edition “Yukigesho Castella” Featuring Sake Lees at “Tsunan Sake Brewery Sunflower Festival 2025”
TSUNAN SAKE BREWERY

WHAT’S TRENDING

JAPAN
Philippine bid to acquire used Japanese warships gains steam
By Gabriel Dominguez
Tokyo is looking to transfer Abukuma-class vessels to the Philippines as part of broader efforts to boost the defense capabilities of like-minded neighbors amid growing Chinese military assertiveness in the region.
BUSINESS
Japan Post to stop accepting some parcels for shipment to the U.S.
By Francis Tang
Japan Post's UGX will still be available for many rejected packages.
BUSINESS
Japan aims to tighten rules for business manager visas from October
By Francis Tang
The number of foreign residents with business management residency status had reached a record 41,615 as of the end of 2024.
JAPAN
Tokyo releases AI-generated video of Mount Fuji erupting
By Yukana Inoue
A screenshot from an AI-generated video showing what could happen to Tokyo if Mount Fuji erupted
LIFE
Character-crazed Japan has little appetite for Labubu
By Yuko Tamura
A pop-up advertisement for the newly opened Chiikawa Park in Tokyo's Ikebukuro neighborhood demonstrates how the country is chockful of cute characters — to the detriment of trends like Labubu.