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November 19, 2025
 

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Jesse Johnson
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.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 19, 2025
China to reimpose ban on Japanese seafood imports amid row over Taiwan, reports say
China ratcheted up the pressure on Tokyo as a prolonged dispute with Beijing over the Japanese leader's remarks on Taiwan appeared inevitable.
A Chinese tour group in the Ginza shopping district of Tokyo on Sunday. China has advised its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan, following a diplomatic feud sparked by remarks from Tokyo's new prime minister about a hypothetical attack on Taiwan.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 17, 2025
Japan sends senior official to China to cool boiling tensions
Masaaki Kanai, a top Foreign Ministry official, will be looking to explain that there has been no change in Japan’s existing position on the Taiwan issue.
Two Chinese tourists wearing kimonos take a selfie as they visit Sensoji temple in Tokyo's Asakusa district on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 16, 2025
Fears rise of rupture in Japan-China ties in wake of Taiwan remarks
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi broke years of precedent by hinting that Japan could offer military support for Taiwan under certain “worst-case” scenarios such as a Chinese attack.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (left) and Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby attend a meeting at the Pentagon in Washington on July 21.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 16, 2025
Pentagon No. 3 praises Seoul's defense budget hike as eyes turn to Tokyo
South Korea has become the first U.S. treaty ally outside of NATO to hike defense spending to 3.5% of GDP — a move expected to impact Japan’s own spending plans.
Chinese tourists wear kimonos as they visit Sensoji temple in Tokyo's Asakusa district on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 15, 2025
China warns citizens not to visit Japan as row over Taiwan heats up
Beijing’s first retaliatory move against Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan could have a significant impact on tourism.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during an Upper House Budget Committee session on Wednesday in Tokyo
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 12, 2025
Takaichi sidesteps commitment to decades-old nonnuclear principles
The prime minister refrained from saying her government would maintain Japan’s Three Non-Nuclear Principles, leaving the door open for a revision.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi responds to questions during a House of Representatives Budget Committee session in parliament on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 11, 2025
Takaichi doesn’t mince words on Taiwan, but dramatic policy shift unlikely
The prime minister’s remarks illustrate the gradual evolution of Japan’s relationship with Taiwan and its growing concern over China.
People watch a TV news report on North Korea firing ballistic missiles toward the sea off its east coast, at the main railway station in Seoul on Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2025
North Korea fires ballistic missile into waters outside Japan’s EEZ
In brief remarks to reporters, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that the missile had likely landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listens as South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back speaks during a joint news conference following talks at the Defense Ministry in Seoul on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 4, 2025
Hegseth says ‘flexibility’ needed for U.S. forces in South Korea
The U.S. defense secretary hinted that U.S. troops stationed in South Korea could be used in the event of a “regional contingency.”
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Saturday. Takaichi said she is prepared to “act boldly” to create a breakthrough and resolve the abductions issue with North Korea “without ruling out any options.”
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 3, 2025
Takaichi says she told North Korea of desire for summit with Kim
The new Japanese leader’s remarks echo those of her predecessors and come as time runs out for families of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang decades ago.
Pressed on his claims that Russia and China have been testing their nuclear weapons, U.S. President Donald Trump said that a global monitoring system that employs state-of-the-art technology had somehow failed to detect the tests.
WORLD / FOCUS
Nov 3, 2025
Trump claims that China and Russia secretly conduct nuke tests
The U.S. leader alleged that the nation's rivals "test way underground, where people don't know exactly what's happening."
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping talk after a meeting at Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea, on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 3, 2025
Trump says China’s Xi aware of ‘consequences’ of attacking Taiwan
The U.S. president also again claimed that Chinese leader Xi Jinping would not invade democratic Taiwan as long as Trump remains in office.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi looks on during an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) defense ministers' meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 2, 2025
Koizumi builds ties with partners and airs concerns with China defense chief
The defense minister also said that Tokyo had "identified a concrete demand" for Japanese defense gear from a number of countries.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung shakes hands with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi after taking a group photo during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 1, 2025
South Korea's Lee says 'worries vanished' after meeting Takaichi
At a news conference, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said that he believed the bilateral relationship would continue to improve.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi shakes hands with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung ahead of their talks at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 30, 2025
Japanese and South Korean leaders agree to boost ties in first meeting
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held her first in-person talks with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on the sidelines of the APEC regional summit Thursday evening.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier during a visit to the U.S. Navy's Yokosuka base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 29, 2025
Takaichi buys time and builds trust with ‘near-perfect’ Trump summit
Experts called the PM’s meeting with the U.S. president an “overwhelming success,” especially considering the tumult and uncertainty in bilateral relations over the past year.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi shake hands at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 29, 2025
Hegseth says U.S. never demanded Japan defense spending hike
In his first meeting with Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, U.S. defense chief Pete Hegseth called Japan's current defense spending plans “wonderful.”
People watch a TV news report on North Korean missile launches at the main railway station in Seoul on Oct. 22.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 29, 2025
North Korea answers Trump entreaties with nuclear-capable missile test
U.S. President Donald Trump appeared resigned that a grand summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un was probably not in the cards during his trip to Asia this week.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi raises her fist as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a speech in front of U.S. Navy personnel on board the U.S. Navy's USS George Washington aircraft carrier at the American naval base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 28, 2025
At first summit with Trump, Takaichi pledges 'new golden age' for alliance
The meeting was a crucial test of Takaichi’s diplomatic chops as she seeks to elevate the Japan-U.S. alliance while staving off pressure from the U.S. on defense spending.
Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Takayuki Kobayashi answers questions during the LDP presidential election candidates' joint news conference at party headquarters in Tokyo on Sept. 23.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 27, 2025
LDP policy chief ramps up moves to ease rules on exporting lethal defense gear
The LDP's Takayuki Kobayashi said that he intends to push for relaxing the regulations in order to “contribute to world peace” and strengthen Japan’s defense industry.
A beloved Tokyo penguin’s end presages Suica’s shift to payments giant
JR East is retiring the beloved Suica penguin as part of a rebrand to transform the contactless payment platform, used for both transit and retail, into a mobile fintech powerhouse.
More Japanese firms relax rules in tussle for workers
Hinako Mori, 22, arranges products at a Don Quijote outlet in Tokyo in October. The Japanese retailer, which relaxed its rules concerning hair and nail polish three years ago, says nearly a quarter of its employees sport brightly colored hair.
Japan sends senior official to China to cool boiling tensions
A Chinese tour group in the Ginza shopping district of Tokyo on Sunday. China has advised its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan, following a diplomatic feud sparked by remarks from Tokyo's new prime minister about a hypothetical attack on Taiwan.
What you need to know about the shift to My Number health insurance cards
With the government's integration of health insurance with My Number cards, conventional health insurance cards will no longer be accepted at clinics and hospitals across Japan from Dec. 2.
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.
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.
Good fortune, wrapped in fried tofu
Golden "age-fukuburo," a culinary take on Japan's new year "lucky bags," can be served on their own.
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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We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.

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