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August 05, 2025
 

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Himari Semans
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (left) and Economic Revitalization Minister and chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa attend a budget committee session on the U.S. tariff issue in the Lower House in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 4, 2025
Opposition parties fume over U.S. trade deal not being put in writing
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said issuing a joint document with the U.S. will not serve the nation’s interests and may instead jeopardize the agreement.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters on Thursday at the Prime Minister's Office.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 25, 2025
Various tactics to force Ishiba out of power emerge within the LDP
The LDP has been thrown into a political power game between those who want Ishiba ousted immediately and those supporting him staying on.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas attends a meeting in Brussels on July 14.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 23, 2025
China singled out at EU-Japan summit
The two sides reiterated their opposition to “any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion” in the East and South China seas.
Prime Minister and Liberal Democratic Party President Shigeru Ishiba speaks at a news conference at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Monday, a day after the Upper House election.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 22, 2025
Frustration simmers in LDP as Ishiba clings to post after election defeat
The Liberal Democratic Party is expected to have a meeting on July 31 where the key focus will be on whether the party's leadership can dispel concerns about staying on.
Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya in Tokyo on Sunday night
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 21, 2025
‘Japanese First’ Sanseito emerges as powerful force after Upper House poll
The small rightwing populist party led by firebrand Sohei Kamiya won 14 seats in Sunday’s Upper House election.
Mayu Ushida, a former NHK newscaster running for election in the Tokyo electoral district on the Democratic Party for the People ticket, signs an autograph for a voter after a public rally at Shinjuku Station in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 17, 2025
From stalking to death threats, female candidates still face harassment
As Japan aims to increase the number of women in politics, addressing the issue of unwanted attention from men remains a challenge.
Sanseito supporters applaud Saya, Sanseito candidate for the Upper House election from Tokyo, and Manabu Matsuda, a candidate from proportional representation, at a public rally at Tsukiji Market on June 28.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 1, 2025
Sanseito touts 'Japanese First' rhetoric to gain support
Some observers say conservative voters who left the Democratic Party for the People are turning to the fledgling opposition party by default.
A voter takes a photograph of a candidate running for a Tokyo assembly seat, in Tokyo on June 21.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 27, 2025
Lawmaker hints at new social media regulations as misinformation taints elections
Under a new law, social media sites can remove posts defaming political candidates if creators don't respond within two days, but lawmakers say that's too long.
Upper House lawmaker Hirofumi Yanagase in his office on June 9. Last month in parliament, he urged the criteria for naturalization to be revised.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 20, 2025
Calls to make naturalization more difficult emerge in parliament talks
Naturalization requires applicants to have lived in Japan for at least five consecutive years, or half of the duration required for permanent residency.
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 17, 2025
Farm ministry says farmers 'misunderstand' rice statistics
The farm ministry's position lacks accountability, an expert from the University of Tokyo has said.
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi talks to rice farmers in Fukushima Prefecture on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 16, 2025
Agriculture ministry aims to stop publishing rice index amid accuracy concerns
A gap between the rice crop situation index and farmers’ testimonies about actual yields occurred because the agriculture ministry was using outdated sampling numbers.
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks in a news conference after a Cabinet meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 10, 2025
Japan to release extra 200,000 tons of stockpiled rice as prices fall
The average price of a 5-kilogram bag of rice at supermarkets in the week through June 1 was ¥4,223, down ¥37 from the previous week.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass visits the Northrop Grumman booth during the Defence and Security Equipment International Japan trade show at Makuhari Messe in the city of Chiba last month.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 6, 2025
U.S. envoy plays down Washington-Tokyo trade row
George Glass dismissed concerns that tensions over unilateral U.S. tariffs could lead to a repeat of the trade war between the two countries in the 1980s.
A rice shop owner listens to an online briefing by the farm ministry on the no-bid contract method of purchase for small retailers looking to buy stockpiled rice from the government, on Thursday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
May 30, 2025
Farm ministry starts accepting applications for older rice from small buyers
Smaller retailers and rice shops can buy rice stockpiled from the 2021 harvest from the government via no-bid contracts.
Sakana AI Chief Operating Officer Ren Ito (left) and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group President Hironori Kamezawa in Tokyo on Friday. The companies have entered into a ¥5 billion ($34 million) deal to automate the creation of banking documents.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 19, 2025
Sakana AI and MUFG sign agreement to automate creation of banking documents
The AI Scientist, which was originally designed for automating scientific discovery, including manuscript writing and peer review, will be used.
Sakana AI CEO David Ha speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 13, 2025
Japan should produce its own AI defense solutions, Sakana AI CEO says
Sakana AI CEO David Ha said that as U.S. foreign policy becomes more U.S.-centric, AI services could serve as “a bargaining chip for countries.”
Takahiro Anno, 34, announced Thursday that he will run in the Upper House election this summer as president of his newly founded party, Team Mirai.
JAPAN / Politics
May 8, 2025
After Tokyo election bid, AI engineer Takahiro Anno to run in Upper House race
Anno described entering the race without backing as a ‘baseless, fameless and fundless’ challenge, but said he thinks he has a good chance of winning.
The imperial family attends a spring garden party at the Akasaka Imperial Gardens in Tokyo on April 22.
JAPAN
May 5, 2025
Imperial Household Agency’s YouTube channel surpasses 100,000 subscribers
Launched on April 1, the channel surpassed 100,000 subscribers in just a week.
A screenshot from the website for Alt's AI conference, which was canceled after the company disclosed an investigation into its sales figures.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 1, 2025
Don't send in the clones: AI event nixed as Alt accounts get reality check
An artificial intelligence conference set for May 16 that was to introduce digital clones has been canceled after the company involved was accused of accounting irregularities.
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan head Yoshihiko Noda speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 28, 2025
CDP's about-face piles pressure on LDP to cut consumption tax on food
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan chief Yoshihiko Noda pledged that the party will abolish the consumption tax on food products for a year.
How Pakistan shot down India's cutting-edge fighter using Chinese gear
An Indian Air Force pilot gets out of a Rafale fighter jet during its induction ceremony at an air force station in Ambala, India, September 2020.
China and Russia start joint military drills in Sea of Japan
Russian and Chinese naval officers take part in a ceremony Thursday ahead of the start of joint naval drills in the Sea of Japan, following the arrival of Chinese military vessels in Vladivostok, Russia.
Kamchatka quake may have awakened volcano dormant for 600 years, Russia says
Kamchatka. Krasheninnikov Bay
Italy's fast fashion hub becomes Chinese mafia battlefield
Signs for fast-fashion factories in Prato, Italy, on Friday. Chinese crime groups in the district thrive on the "Prato system" rife with corruption in the fast-fashion sector.
Extreme heat in Japan set to peak this week
People shield their eyes from the sun as they walk through a street on a hot day in Tokyo on July 26.
Fuji Rock's weekend of surprises was one of its best yet
Radwimps lead singer Yojiro Noda threw himself into the rock band’s Green Stage performance ahead of headliner Vampire Weekend.
How Trump is gaslighting on climate change — with Japan’s help
The Bishu Maru LNG tanker, owned by Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, next to the Freeport LNG terminal in Texas
With a new distillery, Suntory makes a spirited move on gin market
A staff inspects a distillation pot still at Suntory's new Osaka Spirits & Liqueurs Craft Distillery, which will focus on gin production and help Suntory capture a bigger slice of the fast-growing gin market.
Junglia brought dinos back to Okinawa. But will it bring tourists?
At Panorama Dining, one of Junglia’s two proper restaurants that also doubles as the rooftop Inifinity Terrace overlook, guests can pay extra to sit in balcony tables made to look like birds’ nests overlooking the park grounds.
From Osaka to the NHL: Jordan Spence hopes to inspire young Japanese hockey players
Ottawa Senators defenseman Jordan Spence helps lead the Dreamskate Japan hockey camp in Tomakomai, Hokkaido, on July 5.

Podcast

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

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear
By Jason Coskrey

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