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July 08, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
July 08, 2025
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Mourners pay their respects to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday in the city of Nara where he was shot to death while giving a stump speech three years ago.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / EXPLAINER
Three years after Abe's shooting, where do things stand?
By Kanako Takahara
The criminal trial against the alleged shooter is proceeding at a snail's pace due to the sensitivity, complexity and social impact of the case.
Mourners pay their respects to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday in the city of Nara where he was shot to death while giving a stump speech three years ago.
U.S. President Donald Trump (left) and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at Morristown Airport, New Jersey, on Sunday. Trump on Monday sent letters to 12 countries notifying them of new "reciprocal" tariff rates effective Aug. 1.
BUSINESS / Economy
Japan stands its ground after Trump letter delivers 25% U.S. tariff shock
By Francis Tang
Tokyo holds the line on its negotiating position, especially when it comes to auto exports.
A video by the National Police Agency warns about fake scams.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Scams involving police impersonation surge
By Jessica Speed
Victims lost over ¥30 billion to such fraud cases in the first five months of 2025.
An English conversation test paper and bubble answer sheet. A Chinese graduate student from Kyoto University is suspected of having attempted to use a small microphone under a mask to tell other takers of a popular English-language proficiency test the correct answers.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Over 800 people found to be involved in TOEIC cheating scheme
By Yukana Inoue
For those identified as having cheated, their scores have been nullified and their accounts for the exam have been suspended.
Olympic judoka Uta Abe (second from left) and Hifumi Abe (second from right) with their brother Yuichiro (center) and their parents. “I’m always consciously trying to be a good older brother,” Yuichiro said.
MORE SPORTS
From the Abes to the Ohtanis: How siblings shape athletic development
By Mai Yoshikawa
Sibling dynamics — whether it’s rivalry, support, or a mix of both — can have a profound impact on an athlete’s development and success.
Olympic judoka Uta Abe (second from left) and Hifumi Abe (second from right) with their brother Yuichiro (center) and their parents. “I’m always consciously trying to be a good older brother,” Yuichiro said.

JAPAN

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Japan to set up 'control tower' for crimes by foreign residents
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said the organization at the Cabinet Secretariat will work "to realize an orderly and inclusive society with foreign residents."
A concept model of the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) fighter jet is displayed during the DSEI Japan forum in the city of Chiba in May.
Japan, U.K., Italy open to Saudis joining next-gen fighter program
By Gabriel Dominguez
The three partners have tacitly agreed to such a move — but only once the project is underway and all outstanding points have been cleared.
Emperor and empress attend welcome ceremony in Mongolia
Almost three quarters of Japan looks online first for news, white paper reports
Many wounds found on women killed in Hamamatsu girls bar, police say
In Upper House election, Nippon Ishin faces key test in birthplace Osaka

BUSINESS

Yamanashi Chuo Bank's Tokyo office. The regional bank has set up an "investment advisory firm” to get around internal salary limits and attract talent.
Rural bank in Japan finds novel way to attract talent with higher pay
By Taiga Uranaka
Yamanashi Chuo Bank has set up an "investment advisory firm” to get around internal salary limits, showing the lengths it's willing to go to bolster its ranks.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt holds a trade letter sent by the White House to Japan during a news conference at the White House in Washington on Monday.
Trump announces new tariff rate on Japan — and extension of deadline to Aug. 1
By Francis Tang
The United States will raise its “reciprocal tariff” on Japan to 25% effective Aug. 1, President Donald Trump said in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Monday.
Japan's current account surplus sets record for May as trade deficit shrinks
Despite leadership changes Kobayashi Pharma still struggling with reform
Japanese agency's affirmation of top U.S. credit rating helps Hong Kong funds
By Takahiko Hyuga and Issei Hazama
Meiji Yasuda Life to shun superlong Japanese debt for year or more
By Masahiro Hidaka

WORLD

BRICS leaders including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (front row left), Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (second left), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (center), Chinese Premier Li Qiang (second right) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov join hands during a group photo at the bloc's summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday.
BRICS fills soft-power vacuum as Trump-led U.S. retreats
By Gabriel Dominguez
The 10-nation BRICS grouping of major emerging economies has stepped up its efforts on issues such as AI, health care and climate change.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 20
Trump's latest tariffs cast shadow on Rubio's first Asia trip as top U.S. envoy
By Daphne Psaledakis and David Brunnstrom
Rubio is expected to seek to firm up U.S. ties with partners unnerved by Trump's global tariff strategy, but the tariff announcements seem certain to make that task harder.
After the revolution, Bangladesh warms to China as India fumes
By Sheikh Sabiha ALAM and Arunabh SAIKIA
China risks global heavy rare-earth supply to stop Myanmar rebel victory
By Naw Betty Han, Devjyot Ghoshal, Shoon Naing and Poppy McPherson
Hopes fade for missing Texas flood victims as death toll hovers around 100
By Sergio Flores and Evan Garcia
U.S. to send 'more weapons' to Ukraine, Trump says

Sports

Kawasaki Frontale's Kota Takai (right) in action with Al-Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo in an Asian Champions League semifinal match in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on April 30
Tottenham signs Japan defender Takai from Kawasaki Frontale
British media reports said Europa League champion Tottenham paid a fee of £5 million for the 20-year-old.
Wimbledon changes line-calling system after embarrassing blunder
By John WEAVER
Mbappe and PSG set for Club World Cup reunion as Real Madrid eyes final
By Andy Scott
Relentless Spain reaches Euro 2025 quarters after thumping Belgium
By Terry Daley
Sinner wins Wimbledon reprieve as Djokovic survives
By Steven Griffiths

Opinion

Despite months of negotiations and Japan’s key role as a U.S. ally and investor, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba faces frustration as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats persist — damaging trust and complicating relations.
Donald Trump’s ‘copy-and-paste’ tariffs will no doubt rile ‘Mr. Japan’
Gearoid Reidy
Trump's copy-and-paste wording sent to world leaders was virtually identical, including telling Tokyo to open its "heretofore closed trading markets” — whatever that means.
EU-CPTPP talks highlight shared goals and stubborn obstacles
By Brad Glosserman
Unchecked and unbalanced: The future of U.S. economic policymaking
By Paul Nadeau
RFK Jr. is playing with babies’ lives
By Mihir Sharma
Central Asia changes its playbook
By Djoomart Otorbaev and Brian Wong

ENVIRONMENT

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.
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.
China leading BRICS clean-energy boom with shift into solar, report shows
Europe’s climate resolve faces big test as EU unveils 2040 goal
By John Ainger and Ewa Krukowska
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
By Anton L. Delgado
Europe bakes in summer's first heatwave as continent warms

CULTURE

Author Minae Mizumura strolls through the garden of her cottage in Oiwake, Karuizawa, in a photograph taken by her friend and collaborator Toyota Horiguchi.
Between reality and fiction: A summer’s day in Karuizawa with Minae Mizumura
By Hanako Lowry
The author speaks on the Nagano Prefecture town's unique positioning between Japan and the West, literary tradition and artificial intelligence.
Queer-coded yakuza story wins prestigious U.K. crime writing award
By Thu-Huong Ha
‘Try first, figure it out later’: Kom_I and Foodman’s beautiful mess
By Patrick St. Michel
‘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

Once a way to transport lumber from the mountains to the coast, log rafting is now Kitayama's biggest attraction.
A tiny mountain hamlet keeps traditional log rafting afloat
By Louise George Kittaka
Log rafting was once a means of transporting timber, but now it’s the tourist draw of a tiny Wakayama village.
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
Beyond the lavender fields in Furano, a whisky distillery emerges
By Simon Daly
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
By Tan Pin Yen

COMMUNITY

Dog ownership may seem daunting in Japan, but with the right tools and logistical knowledge, you can ensure a healthy, happy life for your pet.
A furever friend: Tips for responsible dog ownership in Japan
By Kat Joplin
Owning a dog in Japan may seem daunting, but having these tools and tips in mind can ease your journey and bring you lots of joy.
Japanese language is your gateway to seeing the world anew
By Damian Flanagan
Miho Koshiba: ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if people looked forward to Mondays?’
By Carina Fushimi
Fine feline twosome on the hunt for a forever home
A singular ensemble: Indian food, science and Fukushima
By Trishit Banerjee

Editors' Picks

JAPAN
Foreign nationals' presence in Japan emerges as key issue in Upper House poll
By Eric Johnston
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers a campaign speech next to a Liberal Democratic Party candidate for the Upper House (top center left) in Yokohama on Sunday.
JAPAN
Lawson to let visitors use larger parking lots as paid car campsites
By Yukana Inoue
A Lawson convenience store in Yachiyo, Chiba Prefecture. A new service from the company comes amid the rise in inbound tourists, making hotels and inns harder to book and more expensive.
CULTURE
The future is bright inside the visionary mind of architect Sou Fujimoto
By Zoria Petkoska
The exhibition of Fujimoto’s architecture surveys his career to date, as well as looks ahead as shown in his proposal of a future floating city designed in collaboration with data scientist Hiroaki Miyata.
LIFE
A tiny mountain hamlet keeps traditional log rafting afloat
By Louise George Kittaka
Once a way to transport lumber from the mountains to the coast, log rafting is now Kitayama's biggest attraction.
COMMUNITY
A furever friend: Tips for responsible dog ownership in Japan
By Kat Joplin
Dog ownership may seem daunting in Japan, but with the right tools and logistical knowledge, you can ensure a healthy, happy life for your pet.

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

JT Directory Service

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SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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Muji has been sustainable from the beginning

WHAT’S TRENDING

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
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
Foreign nationals' presence in Japan emerges as key issue in Upper House poll
By Eric Johnston
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers a campaign speech next to a Liberal Democratic Party candidate for the Upper House (top center left) in Yokohama on Sunday.
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.
BUSINESS
Trump announces new tariff rate on Japan — and extension of deadline to Aug. 1
By Francis Tang
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt holds a trade letter sent by the White House to Japan during a news conference at the White House in Washington on Monday.