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May 15, 2025
 

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Himari Semans
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.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on April 17
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 23, 2025
Opposition slams Ishiba's gas price cut while calling to scrap provisional tax
Ishiba's decision would lower gas prices by ¥10 per liter starting May 22, but nixing the provisional gas tax would lower prices by ¥25.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba receives a gift from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the start of their meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 22, 2025
Nvidia CEO urges LDP to build up Japan’s AI infrastructure
Japan has pledged to increase government and corporate funding in AI to over ¥50 trillion ($350 billion) in the next 10 years.
A vegetable stand displays prices at a supermarket in Tokyo in 2023. Some lawmakers are proposing lowering the consumption tax on food to 0%, which is expected to result in a loss of up to ¥5 trillion in tax revenue annually.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 18, 2025
LDP and CDP lawmaker groups propose 0% consumption tax on food
Reducing the tax to 0% is expected to result in a loss of up to ¥5 trillion in tax revenue annually.
A night market in Taipei in April
JAPAN / Society
Apr 16, 2025
Japan is by far the favorite country among Taiwanese: survey
Japan has been the most popular country since the survey began in 2008.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Japanese Trade Union Confederation chief Tomoko Yoshino in a meeting Tuesday at the Prime Minister's Office
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 15, 2025
Why Ishiba became the first prime minister to hold talks with Rengo in 16 years
The last time an official meeting was held between a prime minister and Rengo to discuss labor policies was in 2009.
Sachiko Ishizuka, who was born via artificial insemination by donor (AID), tells her story to lawmakers from the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan on April 9.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Apr 15, 2025
Privacy and transparency clash in debate over bill on artificial insemination
At stake is the thorny question of when children conceived through artificial insemination by donor can access information on their biological parents, and to what extent.
Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Shinjiro Koizumi (center) meets with his counterparts from Komeito and the Democratic Party for the People in Tokyo on March 28.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 4, 2025
LDP reels in DPP to win political donation war against CDP
Partnering with the DPP gave the LDP much-needed momentum against the CDP this week, not to mention the votes to pass legislation.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a meeting of the Upper House Budget Committee on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 27, 2025
Ishiba’s remarks on inflation relief measures draw ire as budget deadline looms
Confusing messages about an economic package to counter rising prices came as negotiations were heating up on when to hold a vote on the budget.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said Wednesday that the government will continue to provide assistance in addressing humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip.
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2025
Japan takes in Palestinian woman injured in Gaza war for treatment
Tokyo plans to accept another injured Palestinian woman in the coming days, marking its first acceptance of patients from Gaza since the conflict broke out in October 2023.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waits for a session of the House of Councillors Budget Committee to begin at the Diet in Tokyo on March 14.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 25, 2025
Parties still at odds over corporate donations as deadline for agreement looms
The prospect of reaching a decision on whether to ban, restrict or continue to accept donations by the end of the month appears slim.
Shizue Takahashi offers flowers and pays tribute to the victims of the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin gas attack by the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult during a memorial service at Kasumigaseki Station on Thursday. Her husband, Kazumasa, who was working as an assistant stationmaster at Kasumigaseki Station, was killed in the attack.
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2025
Tokyo subway sarin gas attack remembered 30 years on
Many survivors of the attack by the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult still suffer from physical aftereffects and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waits for a session of the House of Councillors Budget Committee to begin in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Explainer
Mar 19, 2025
What's the fuss over Ishiba's gift vouchers?
The prime minister's standing has worsened following reports that he handed out gift vouchers worth ¥100,000 ($668) each to rookie lawmakers from his party.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba answers questions at a session of the Upper House Budget Committee in Tokyo. Approval ratings for Ishiba's government have dropped sharply, polls showed Monday, as the leader faces a backlash for distributing gift vouchers to rookie lawmakers in his ruling party.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 17, 2025
Approval rates for Ishiba's Cabinet plunge amid gift voucher snafu
Polls conducted by several newspapers over the weekend show public support tumbling to record lows.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends an Upper House Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 13, 2025
How Upper House pressure led to Ishiba's stunning reversal on medical cost caps
An unprecedented second amendment to Japan's budget shows opposition in the Lower House is not the only external pressure to which the government is exposed.
People observe a moment of silence at 2:46 p.m. on Tuesday in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, when the Great East Japan Earthquake hit 14 years ago. Behind them is a pine tree dubbed "the miracle tree" that survived the tsunami.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 11, 2025
Japan marks 14 years since 3/11 earthquake, with over 27,000 still displaced
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he will pass down the lessons of the disaster to future generations.
Transport ministry issues warning to Haneda Airport operator
The operator of Tokyo's Haneda Airport has been warned by the government over its inappropriate transactions.
Success of Chinese-made fighter jets against India raises alarm in Asia
Chinese J-10 fighter jets from the People's Liberation Army Air Force August 1st Aerobatics Team perform during a media demonstration at the Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, in November 2015.
One month on, Osaka Expo urged to boost heat and crowd control measures
A gate to the Osaka Expo site is crowded with visitors on Monday.
Xi defiance pays off as Trump meets most China trade demands
Then-Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping visits a school in South Gate, California, in February 2012. Experts say Xi won big in his standoff with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Japanese retailers turn to California rice for cheaper alternative
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass eats California rice at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on Tuesday along with Mitsuko Tsuchiya, vice president of retailer Aeon.
Sumo title contenders already emerging in early stages of Tokyo meet
Onosato (left) battles Abi on Day 3 of the Summer Basho in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Harmfully hot days for pregnant women in Japan nearly doubled over past five years
New research by a U.S. climate scientists’ group reveals that extreme heat has increased the risks of preterm births and other pregnancy complications in Japan, nearly doubling the number of days that are harmfully hot for pregnant women over the past five years.
Japanese automakers looking at a ¥1 trillion hit from Trump tariffs 
Cars on display at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama on Tuesday. The automaker posted a massive annual net loss and confirmed that it plans to cut thousands of jobs worldwide.
Tokyo Stock Exchange wants stocks to be affordable for the average investor
The Tokyo Stock Exchange building in Nihonbashi. The exchange wants companies to lower the entry cost of investing in their shares.
Consumption tax set to dominate Upper House election debate
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Tuesday.

Podcast

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What comes after 100?
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