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November 20, 2025
 

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Sakura Murakami
Reuters
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and other members of a government panel on economic growth strategy gather for their first meeting at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 11, 2025
Takaichi eyes stimulus package to jump-start growth plan
Takaichi has signaled a shift toward more expansionary fiscal policy and said that Japan remains only halfway toward achieving stable inflation supported by wage growth.
Japan Innovation Party co-leader Fumitake Fujita said on Wednesday that a Bank of Japan rate hike amid government calls for more corporate investment would likely send a mixed policy message.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 6, 2025
JIP cautions against mixed message of a BOJ hike
Such a move could seem contradictory amid calls for more investment in the private sector, Japan Innovation Party co-leader Fumitake Fujita says.
Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya (center) with other parliament members from the party
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 3, 2025
What’s driving the far-right voters who shook Japanese politics
Sanseito’s slogan is "Japanese First,” and it campaigned on a mix of tax cutting, vaccine skepticism and restrictions on immigration and foreign investment.
The Fujian aircraft carrier is seen in Shanghai in May 2024 as it leaves for its first sea trial.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2025
SDF spots China’s biggest aircraft carrier for first time
The Fujian, which has a displacement of more than 80,000 metric tons, was spotted in the East China Sea on Thursday.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba heads toward the Upper House hall in Tokyo on Aug. 1.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 5, 2025
Ishiba reaffirms intent to stay on after tariffs lowered
In a further sign of his intention to stay on, he also announced later in the day that his government will compile an economic package this autumn.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba meet in Sendai on Saturday during a trip in which they toured a chip factory belonging to Tokyo Electron.
BUSINESS
Aug 30, 2025
Indian PM Modi tours Miyagi chip plant with Ishiba
"We hope to work together to strengthen the semiconductor supply chain and enhance economic security,” Ishiba told reporters after the visit.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s top trade negotiator, said U.S. officials expressed regret that the stacking rule had been applied to Japan despite a verbal agreement, and said Washington would refund any overpaid levies.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 10, 2025
U.S. and Japan working to announce tariffs won’t stack
The United States is working to finalize an announcement that would end the stacking of universal tariffs on Japanese goods.
Only two months into his role as agriculture minister, Shinjiro Koizumi has become the face of a risky political bet by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 16, 2025
Japan’s ‘rice minister’ is ruling party’s biggest election gamble
Shinjiro Koizumi’s reformist drive is testing the loyalty of Japan's rural population — the LDP’s most dependable voter bloc.
Japan said on Tuesday that it had lodged a protest with China after observing a new structure in a natural gas field in the East China Sea.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2025
Japan protests new Chinese construction in East China Sea
In the latest development, Japan said on Tuesday it lodged a protest with China after observing a new structure in a natural gas field in the East China Sea.
A defiant U.S. President Donald Trump attend the 44th Group of Seven gathering in Charlevoix, Canada, in 2018.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 16, 2025
Trump returns to G7 he once loathed as Iran crisis intensifies
President Donald Trump arrives in Canada as the center of attention for a Group of Seven summit of world leaders whose main purpose will be to mollify him.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office after holding talks with opposition leaders Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jun 12, 2025
Japan and U.S. still far apart in tariff talks, Ishiba cited as saying
Ishiba is expected to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the Group of Seven leaders gathering in Canada starting Sunday, but a deal is far from certain.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at an Upper House Budget Committee meeting on Monday as agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi looks on.
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2025
Japan to set up minister-level meeting to address rice supplies
The government released a further 300,000 metric tons of stockpiled rice last week in a bid to bring down prices.
The government should "design a specific system by around fiscal 2026 to make standard childbirth expenses free of charge,” an expert panel said, as the aging nation seeks to reverse its declining population and shrinking pool of tax-paying workers.
JAPAN
May 15, 2025
Expert panel suggests Japan’s government make childbirth free
The proposal follows a child care policy package adopted in 2023 to reverse Japan’s declining birthrate by supporting families with young children.
As Japan gears up for the trade talks, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is also seeking to cushion the blow that the U.S. tariffs may have on the domestic economy.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 26, 2025
Japan to resist Trump efforts to form trade bloc against China
Any demands from Washington on Tokyo to downgrade its economic relationship with China would potentially deal Japan a major economic blow.
Former Foreign Minister Taro Kono
BUSINESS
Apr 23, 2025
Japan must correct Trump’s false data for trade talks, says Kono
Kono said matters related to regional security shouldn’t be discussed as part of the trade talks, nor should the question of how best to manage relationships with China.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping. A high-level Japanese delegation will deliver a letter from Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to Xi this week.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 22, 2025
Ishiba pens letter to Xi as Japan aims to avoid trade crossfire
The gesture highlights Japan’s desire to balance managing its relationships with China, its largest trading partner, and with the U.S., its sole formal security ally.
A Bank of Japan rate hike in May would likely be too early given the need to assess the impact of upcoming U.S. tariffs and ongoing wage talks, Kazuya Shimba, Secretary General of the Democratic Party for the People, said on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 2, 2025
A May BOJ hike would be too early given tariffs and wages, DPP says
Most economists see the next increase in borrowing costs coming in June or July, but many have said a May hike is possible.
Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Itsunori Onodera said on Tuesday that tariffs announced by the U.S. could result in a big economic crisis for Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 1, 2025
Trump tariffs may spell economic crisis for Japan, Onodera says
Auto tariffs in particular would have a huge impact given the breadth of the sector's supply chain in the country, the Liberal Democratic Party's policy chief says.
An economic dialogue between Japan and China will take place in Tokyo on Saturday, the same day as a meeting among top diplomats of the two countries plus South Korea.
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2025
Japan and China set for economic talks as U.S. tariff pressure rises
The scale and proximity of the Chinese market means it is in Japan’s interest to maintain stable relations despite ongoing tensions.
The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan wants to use the Bank of Japan’s exchange-traded funds to help cover the cost of making high school education free.
BUSINESS
Feb 19, 2025
CDP eyes BOJ’s exchange-traded funds to pay for free schooling
The Bank of Japan's exchange-traded funds have remained untouched even as Gov. Kazuo Ueda oversaw further rate hikes.
Beware of China’s strategic distortion of reality
China holds a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, in Beijing on Sept. 3. 
Economic security minister stresses crackdown on rule-breaking foreign nationals
Economic security minister Kimi Onoda speaks during a group interview in Tokyo on Monday.
Japan seeks to placate China as strained relations move beyond political realm
Director-General of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Masaaki Kanai (left) and Chinese Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs Liu Jinsong depart after a meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Tuesday.
China to reimpose ban on Japanese seafood imports amid row over Taiwan, reports say
A sign reading, "Suspend the sales of all fish products imported from Japan" is displayed in an area home to Japanese restaurants in Beijing in August 2023. China will reimpose a ban on imports of Japanese seafood, media reports in Tokyo said Wednesday, as a diplomatic spat between the two countries deepens.
Japanese court orders Cloudflare to pay $3.2 million over manga piracy
Cloudflare has been ordered to pay $3.2 million after four major publishing firms accused the firm of copyright infringement for its role in hosting sites that distribute pirated copies of manga titles.
Economic security minister stresses crackdown on rule-breaking foreign nationals
Economic security minister Kimi Onoda speaks during a group interview in Tokyo on Monday.
How Band-Maid brought anime energy into the hard-rock sound of ‘Scooooop’
Members of Band-Maid combine heavy riffs and maid-inspired visuals in their latest project, "Rock Is a Lady’s Modesty."
Japan uses series against South Korea to prep for World Baseball Classic title defense
Japan's Ryuhei Sotani pitches against South Korea at Tokyo Dome on Saturday night.
Who is cricket’s Shohei Ohtani?
South African cricket legend Jacques Kallis plays a shot during the final day of a cricket test match against India in Johannesburg in December 2013.
Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan celebrates 80 years at the forefront of press freedom
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.

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

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