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August 23, 2025
 

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Francis Tang
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who serves concurrently as president of the Liberal Democratic Party, leaves at the party's headquarters following announcement of Upper House election result projections in Tokyo early Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 21, 2025
Japan ruling bloc loses majority in Upper House after election drubbing
The ruling LDP-Komeito coalition's devastating loss in Sunday’s poll could lead to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s resignation or political gridlock in parliament.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent before a meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 19, 2025
Ishiba and Bessent say 'good' trade agreement still possible
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba urged U.S. Treasury chief Scott Bessent to continue talks with Japan’s chief negotiator to achieve a win-win deal.
Campaign posters in Tokyo. Voters in Japan put immediate economic issues ahead of longer-term concerns about the effects of tariffs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 17, 2025
Trump tariffs fail to register with Japanese voters ahead of key election
Only 8% of voters surveyed by NHK rated tariffs as their top priority.
U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum (left) and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 16, 2025
Trump signals the end of the road for Japan tariff negotiations
U.S. President Donald Trump's 25% "reciprocal" rate might simply be allowed to go into effect on Aug. 1
Takeshi Niinami, Suntory Holdings CEO and chairperson of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 10, 2025
Japan's united front on tariffs begins to crack as doubts raised
A senior business leader has questioned the effectiveness of the government in negotiating with the U.S.
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
Jul 8, 2025
Japan stands its ground after Trump letter delivers 25% U.S. tariff shock
Tokyo holds the line on its negotiating position, especially when it comes to auto exports.
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.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 8, 2025
Trump announces new tariff rate on Japan — and extension of deadline to Aug. 1
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.
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to just decide tariff rates himself and send out letters.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jul 4, 2025
Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations enter uncharted territory
A deal seems impossible as both sides refuse to budge just days ahead of the deadline.
A container is loaded onto a cargo ship at Hai Phong port in Vietnam. A trade deal secured by Vietnam with the U.S. sets a high bar for Japan's tariff talks.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 3, 2025
Vietnam steals a march and leaves Japan in a tough spot on U.S. tariffs
The deal sets a high bar for Japan and other countries still negotiating with the United States.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 2, 2025
Trump hammers away at Japan for a third day, threatening 35% duties 
The U.S. president said he might simply end negotiations and set a tariff rate for Japanese products.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 2, 2025
Trump doubles down on Japan again by threatening 35% tariff
Japan is currently subject to 25% auto tariffs and a 50% tariff on steel and aluminum, as well as a 10% reciprocal tariff that could return to 24% if no deal is struck by July 9.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s chief tariff negotiator, leaves for Washington on Thursday for his seventh round of trade talks with the United States.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 1, 2025
Japan-U.S. trade negotiations stall as Trump fumes 
The two sides remain far apart, and no new talks are scheduled.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick met with Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s chief tariff negotiator, on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 30, 2025
Japan-U.S. trade negotiations deadlocked after months of fruitless talks
Trump's comments on Sunday suggest he is in no mood to compromise on tariffs.
U.S. President Donald Trump receives a gold helmet with his name on it during a visit to U.S. Steel in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 27, 2025
Trump himself will wield U.S. Steel ‘golden share’ superpowers
After the U.S. president leaves office, the authority will move to executive branch departments.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s chief tariff negotiator (left), meets with Nippon Steel Chairman and CEO Eiji Hashimoto.
BUSINESS
Jun 24, 2025
Japan needs a big, beautiful trade deal with the United States
A creative solution along the lines of the U.S. Steel "golden share" has been suggested.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 23, 2025
Ishiba to skip key NATO summit following Iran strikes
Two other invitees — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and new South Korean President Lee Jae-myung — have also decided not to attend the gathering.
Chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa has said that his U.S. counterparts are open to an extension of the July 9 deadline for countries that are making an effort toward a deal.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 20, 2025
Japan hopes good-faith negotiations will buy it some time in U.S. tariff talks
U.S negotiators have said that the July 9 deadline is flexible and that extensions might be granted.
Nippon Steel Chairman and CEO Eiji Hashimoto (left) and Nippon Steel Vice Chairman and Executive Vice President Takahiro Mori. The Japanese company is still undecided about a civil suit filed against a U.S. competitor.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 20, 2025
Nippon Steel drops lawsuit against U.S. government after acquiring U.S. Steel
The Japanese company had challenged the legality of U.S. President Joe Biden's rejection of the acquisition.
Nippon Steel Chairman and CEO Eiji Hashimoto leaves a news conference, at which he discussed the acquisition of United States Steel, on Thursday
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 19, 2025
Nippon Steel completes U.S. Steel acquisition after 18-month slog
The firm now owns all the stock of the American steel-maker, other than a "golden share" that gives the U.S. government a degree of control
U.S. President Donald Trump (left) speaks with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the Group of Seven summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 17, 2025
No breakthrough on tariffs at Ishiba-Trump meeting in Canada
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump met for 30 minutes on Monday during the annual Group of Seven gathering in Alberta.
Japan to revise romanization rules for first time in 70 years
The Agency for Cultural Affairs is recommending replacing the government’s long-standing Kunrei system with more widely used Hepburn-style spellings.
JR East cancels luxury train run over crew's boozing
East Japan Railway said Thursday that it will cancel one trip of a luxury overnight sleeper service, which was originally scheduled to depart from Ueno Station in Tokyo on Aug. 30, after crew members were found to have been drinking alcohol on duty.
Demystifying the manufacturing success of China
China’s massive scale, strong education system and competitive local governance have enabled it to reach the technological frontier and dominate high-tech manufacturing despite its low per capita gross domestic product.
Infectious diseases to watch for in Japan this summer amid surge of cases
An illustration of a colony of the Bordetella pertussis bacterium that causes pertussis, or whooping cough. As of Aug. 10, there were 64,467 cases reported this year, according to the latest data from the Japan Institute for Health Security.
103-year-old remembers Soviet attack right after WWII
Shoichi Takahashi holds a photo of himself when he was younger, in Otaru, Hokkaido, on May 17.
Alicia Keys closed Summer Sonic, but J-pop owned it
Summer Sonic’s 2025 lineup demonstrated its strength, showcasing the latest in J-pop, including “new kawaii” act Fruits Zipper.
Big burgers and bigger ambitions for Japan's Burger King
Kazuhiro Nomura, president of BK Japan Holdings, which operates Burger King in Japan
Tokyo crowned No.1 'workation' spot
Workations were a burgeoning trend in the corporate world for years before the COVID-19 pandemic turbocharged it.
Atsushi Kitagawara’s exhibition finds poetry in architecture
The inverted cone, one of Atsushi Kitagawara’s six signature elements in architecture, is a key feature of the Nakamura Keith Haring Collection museum building.
Candidates preparing to make final pitches for Sawamura Award
Hawks pitcher Livan Moinelo has a 1.13 ERA in 19 starts this season.

Podcast

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

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

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