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July 07, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
July 07, 2025
Japan elections
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Japan will experience a heat wave through mid-July on a “level only seen once in a decade,” the Meteorological Agency said on June 30.
JAPAN
Heatstroke alert issued for 19 prefectures as Japan enters 'once-in-a-decade' heat wave
By Tomoko Otake
Included among the alerts were the first of the year for central Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture.
Japan will experience a heat wave through mid-July on a “level only seen once in a decade,” the Meteorological Agency said on June 30.
Japan's top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, speaks to the press upon his arrival at Tokyo's Haneda Airport in April.
BUSINESS / Economy
Japan's top trade negotiator holds two phone meetings with U.S. commerce chief
Ryosei Akazawa held "in-depth exchanges" over the phone with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Thursday and Saturday.
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, in the Tokara chain, which has been hit by swarms of earthquakes in recent days, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday afternoon.
JAPAN
More residents evacuate quake-hit remote islands in Japan
The series of earthquakes with their epicenters in the seas around the Tokara chain — including two powerful quakes on Sunday — began on June 21.
Elon Musk looks on during a news conference with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on May 30.
WORLD / Politics
Elon Musk says he has created a new U.S. political party
It is not clear how much impact the new party would have on the 2026 midterm elections, or on the presidential vote two years after that.
A street in Suttsu, Hokkaido, with a sign put up by an anti-nuclear organization. The small community is considering hosting a facility that would hold nuclear waste.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Ainu land rights in crosshairs as Hokkaido communities debate nuclear waste
By Chermaine Lee
Some scholars and activists are raising concerns that Indigenous voices are not being heard amid the debate over whether to host nuclear waste storage facilities.
A street in Suttsu, Hokkaido, with a sign put up by an anti-nuclear organization. The small community is considering hosting a facility that would hold nuclear waste.

JAPAN

Former soldier Shuzo Yamada recounts his experience of being detained in Mongolia after World War II, in Nanto, Toyama Prefecture, in May.
Memory of detention in Mongolia still fresh for 107-year-old Japanese man
As they make a state visit to Mongolia, the imperial couple will offer flowers at a memorial for Japanese who were captured and detained in Mongolia after World War II.
Farmers spray herbicide at Kazuhachi Hosaka's rice farm in Joetsu, Niigata Prefecture, on June 19.
In reversal, Japan now wants rice farmers to produce more. Will it work?
By Kaori Kaneko
The new direction has taken on an unexpected urgency as Japan grapples with a shortage of the all-important staple.
Japan to export used destroyers to Philippines to deter China: report
Development project at historic Kamakura site raises concerns
Record 80% of Japanese mothers are employed
Government to release stockpiled rice for processed foods from August

BUSINESS

Matcha is added to beverages on offer at Kettl Tea in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles on May 20.
Global matcha 'obsession' drinks Japan's tea farms dry
By Romain FONSEGRIVES
The boom is having to contend with a declining number of tea plantations in Japan and the threat of tariffs from the United States.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Chinese Premier Li Qiang pose for a picture after a bilateral meeting Saturday ahead of the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro on July 5.
BRICS nations voice 'serious concerns' over Trump tariffs
The summit's impact will be depleted by the absence of Vladimir Putin as well as Xi Jinping, who is skipping the meeting for the first time in his 12 years as president.
Locker-to-hotel luggage delivery service expanding in Japan
AI robots fill in for weed killers and farm hands
By Glenn CHAPMAN
Powell's silence on his future complicates Trump Fed chair search
By Saleha Mohsin, Joshua Green and Amara Omeokwe
China urges caution — and speed — on assisted-driving technology

WORLD

Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol arrives at the Seoul High Prosecutor's Office to attend questioning as part of a probe into his botched attempt to declare martial law, in Seoul on June 28.
South Korea investigators seek to arrest former president Yoon again
Yoon was stripped of office in April, after being impeached and suspended over his December 3 attempt to subvert civilian rule, which saw armed soldiers deployed to parliament.
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama attends a long-life prayer offering ceremony at the Main Tibetan Temple in McLeod Ganj, near Dharamsala, India, on Saturday.
'Simple Buddhist monk' Dalai Lama marks landmark 90th birthday
Beijing condemns the Nobel Peace Prize winner — who has led a lifelong campaign for greater autonomy for Tibet.
China retaliates to EU ban with import restrictions on medical devices
Search for missing girls continues as Texas flood toll rises to at least 50
China's abandoned buildings draw urban explorers despite risks
By Agatha Cantrill
Cashing in on his comeback, Trump rescues frail finances
By Russ Buettner

Sports

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe scores his team's third goal during its win over Borussia Dortmund at the Club World Cup on Saturday in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Mbappe on target as Real Madrid downs Dortmund to reach Club World Cup semis
By Andy Scott
Mbappe, who did not play during the group stage due to illness, will hope to be at full fitness when Real takes on Paris Saint-Germain, his old club.
Former White Sox closer Bobby Jenks dies at 44
Mets' pitcher Kodai Senga makes Double-A rehab start
After Ohtani throws two scoreless frames, Astros use 4-run third to top Dodgers
France makes Euro 2025 statement against holders England
By Terry Daley

Opinion

The rise of China’s DeepSeek-R1, a low-cost, high-performance open-source AI model, has challenged the belief that only nations with vast computational resources can lead in artificial intelligence, signaling a shift in global AI power dynamics.
A ‘Sputnik’ moment in the global AI race
Makoto Shiono
Much remains uncertain about DeepSeek’s LLM and its capabilities should not be overestimated — but its release nevertheless has sparked intense discussion.
China’s housing crisis is worse than it seems
By Yi Fuxian
Geoengineering’s risks need to be studied more
By F.D. Flam
Japan’s Do It Yourself Party: Who we are and where we are headed
By Sohei Kamiya
Sizing up the forthcoming Upper House election
By Michael MacArthur Bosack

ENVIRONMENT

Solar panels and wind turbines at the Huaneng Binzhou new energy power generation project in China's eastern Shandong province on June 11
China leading BRICS clean-energy boom with shift into solar, report shows
Most countries in BRICS remain major fossil fuel producers, but the group together produced 51% of the world’s solar energy in 2024 — up from 15% a decade earlier.
Europe’s climate resolve faces big test as EU unveils 2040 goal
By John Ainger and Ewa Krukowska
Europe bakes in summer's first heatwave as continent warms
Three Japanese nationals found guilty over PFAS pollution in Italy
How robotic hives and AI are lowering the risk of bee colony collapse
By Brian Kahn

CULTURE

“Fani Mani” marks Kom_I’s return to music, after leaving the genre-bending J-pop outfit Suiyoubi no Campanella in 2021.
‘Try first, figure it out later’: Kom_I and Foodman’s beautiful mess
By Patrick St. Michel
Part philosophy and part performance, the musicians' “Fani Mani” is all party.
The future is bright inside the visionary mind of architect Sou Fujimoto
By Zoria Petkoska
Queer-coded yakuza story wins prestigious U.K. crime writing award
By Thu-Huong Ha
‘Virgin Punk: Clockwork Girl’: Beautiful, brutal and bringing back ’90s anime energy
By Matt Schley
‘I Am Kirishima’ peels back the mystery of a fugitive radical
By Mark Schilling

LIFE

Karuizawa Distillers, which runs Komoro Distillery in Nagano Prefecture, has teamed up with the city of Furano and real estate developer Seibu Group to open a whisky distillery in Furano.
Beyond the lavender fields in Furano, a whisky distillery emerges
By Simon Daly
The region has teamed up with Karuizawa Distillers and property developer Seibu Group to build a state-of-the-art facility to make single malts.
Shintaro Awa appointed to head the kitchen of L’Ambroisie in Paris
By Kyoko Nakayama
What’s the first thing you think of when you think of a Japanese summer?
By Yuko Tamura
Come nightfall in Nakano, Thai eatery Orangutan opens its arms
By Kimberly Hughes
Cats, dogs, meerkats, goats: Interpets trade fair draws furry hordes
By Shawn B. Swinger

COMMUNITY

Miho Koshiba started her career in finance before she founded the Mirai Institute, a think tank that operates the Midori.so coworking space with an ever-growing cosmopolitan community across seven locations in Tokyo.
Miho Koshiba: ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if people looked forward to Mondays?’
By Carina Fushimi
The cofounder of the Midori.so coworking space shares her inspirations and aspirations for career and community.
A furry ball of sunshine
Japanese language is your gateway to seeing the world anew
By Damian Flanagan
Fine feline twosome on the hunt for a forever home
A singular ensemble: Indian food, science and Fukushima
By Trishit Banerjee

Editors' Picks

CULTURE
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
By Thu-Huong Ha
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
MORE SPORTS
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
By John Gunning
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
BUSINESS
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
By Elizabeth Beattie
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
LIFE
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
By Tan Pin Yen
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
ENVIRONMENT
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
By Anton L. Delgado
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

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

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

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WHAT’S TRENDING

JAPAN
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
JAPAN
Heatstroke alert issued for 19 prefectures as Japan enters 'once-in-a-decade' heat wave
By Tomoko Otake
Japan will experience a heat wave through mid-July on a “level only seen once in a decade,” the Meteorological Agency said on June 30.
JAPAN
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
By Tomoko Otake and Yukana Inoue
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
JAPAN
Tokyo and Kyoto feature among top ‘noctourism’ destinations
By Elizabeth Beattie
Tokyo ranked second after New York and ahead of Dubai and Singapore in a ranking of the top global cities for nighttime tourism.
WORLD
Elon Musk says he has created a new U.S. political party
Elon Musk looks on during a news conference with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on May 30.