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July 15, 2025
 

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Kaori Kaneko
Farmers spray herbicide at Kazuhachi Hosaka's rice farm in Joetsu, Niigata Prefecture, on June 19.
JAPAN
Jul 5, 2025
In reversal, Japan now wants rice farmers to produce more. Will it work?
The new direction has taken on an unexpected urgency as Japan grapples with a shortage of the all-important staple.
Arata Hirano, owner of the restaurant Shokudou Arata, pours California-grown Calrose rice into a rice cooker at his restaurant in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2025
More Japanese embracing foreign rice, even before it became a tariff topic
A change in mindset could allow Tokyo leeway to relax restrictions if rice becomes a thorny topic in tariff talks with U.S. President Donald Trump.
YouTuber Kazuki Nakata looks at his indoor farm at his home in Kawasaki on Monday. The 37-year-old now has nearly 90,000 subscribers eager to learn how to stretch out store-bought vegetables and grow new ones amid soaring produce prices.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 31, 2025
Japanese look for creative ways to fight soaring food prices
As the price of agricultural products has risen, Japanese have also been eating less of them.
Staff members of the Kyoto-based company Mitsufuji stand near a small-scale model of a prototype hangar tent for electromagnetic shielding and wearable gadgets at the Vietnam Defense Expo 2024 in Hanoi on Dec. 19.
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2025
Japan hunts for dual-use goods makers to aid military expansion
Cultivating a homegrown defense industry was a key plank of Japan's ¥43 trillion military build-up strategy launched in 2022.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara (third from left) attends a ceremony last month for the Ground Self-Defense Force's systems communications and cyber school.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 26, 2024
The glitch in Japan's plans to bolster U.S. defense
Japan has suffered high-profile hacks in recent years that have elevated concerns over whether Tokyo can fully support its security partners.
Kubura fishing port and Kubura district on the island of Yonaguni, Okinawa Prefecture
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2023
Frontier islanders decry lack of plan to aid fleeing Taiwanese
Concerned about the potential for a China-Taiwan conflict, Japan has embarked on its biggest defense buildup since World War II.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 12, 2023
Japan elevates Taiwan security ties in move likely to rile China
The defense ministry said it would only pursue "nongovernmental" ties with Taipei.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 7, 2023
Taiwanese presidential contender says he wouldn't meet Xi without agenda
Former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je has risen in the polls in recent weeks.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2023
U.S. seeking explosives in Japan for Ukraine artillery shells, sources say
Export rules ban Japanese companies from selling lethal items overseas, but the allies appear to have found a workaround to enable the TNT sale amid global shortages of munitions.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2023
Japan battles to persuade big brands to help with military expansion
A key part of Tokyo's strategy hinges on persuading commercial firms that for decades have quietly armed the SDF to ramp up production.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 30, 2022
Japan's October factory output fell on global slowdown and weak chip demand
The feeble business activity highlights challenges for the world's third-largest economy, which has been lagging behind peers in recovering from the pandemic.
JAPAN
Sep 18, 2022
Former members of Unification Church rail at politicians who embraced it
The assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July has opened a debate over the church and has shone a spotlight on its close ties with the ruling LDP.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 2, 2022
Japan consumer confidence edged up in April for first rise in six months
The government has kept its assessment of consumer confidence unchanged, as the improvement was relatively small, saying it appears weak.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 25, 2022
LDP's junior partner Komeito to propose economic relief package
Komeito chief Natsuo Yamaguchi also urged the Bank of Japan to maintain its massive stimulus program 'for a bit longer' to ensure a solid recovery in the economy.
JAPAN
Oct 30, 2020
Japan government set to stop buying Chinese drones
It must also navigate increasingly choppy waters between China and Japan's closest ally, the U.S., which is at odds with Beijing over a range of issues.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 16, 2020
Japan needs another extra budget to help ailing economy, experts say
Ruling-party lawmakers have likewise called for another stimulus package funded by a third extra budget.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 9, 2020
With apps and remote medicine, Japan offers glimpse of doctor visits in post-virus era
As virus cases spiked in April, Japan temporarily eased restrictions on remote medical care, allowing doctors to conduct first-time visits online or by telephone.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 8, 2020
Economy minister Yasutoshi Nishimura warns against deepening negative rates
The minister said Japan's priority should be on protecting jobs and businesses, not stimulating consumption and travel.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 3, 2020
Coronavirus threatens revival of Japan's deflationary nemesis
Years after Japan made a cautious recovery from its long deflationary spell, the world's third-largest economy may be headed back into a cycle of falling prices as the coronavirus threatens a deep downturn and policymakers struggle for options.
Japan Times
Rugby
Oct 31, 2019
Japanese fans deal with 'rugby loss' after team's quarterfinal exit from World Cup
Japanese captivated by their Brave Blossoms' historic run to the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals are suffering a new form of bereavement — "rugby loss" — after their team fell to South Africa.
U.S. urges clarity on Japan’s role in potential war over Taiwan, report says
A Ground Self-Defense Force member conducts a military drill with an anti-ship missiles unit, at the GSDF's base on Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture in April 2022.
Tourists in Japan have telemedicine options before calling 119
Foreign tourists at Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo. More than 1 million international visitors have a medical issue in Japan every year.
Tropical Storm Nari moves northward, with possible landfall Tuesday
Tropical Storm Nari's forecast path as of Monday morning
Nissan clinches $4.5 billion bond deal after orders soar
Nissan Motor has raised $4.5 billion through a junk bond sale in U.S. dollars and euros, part of which carries a record-high coupon rate.
Students in Japan struggle with Japanese language and math sections on national exam
The correct answer rate for the Japanese language section on a national test dropped to 67.0% from 67.8% the previous year among elementary school sixth-graders.
U.S. urges clarity on Japan’s role in potential war over Taiwan, report says
A Ground Self-Defense Force member conducts a military drill with an anti-ship missiles unit, at the GSDF's base on Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture in April 2022.
Tourists in Japan have telemedicine options before calling 119
Foreign tourists at Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo. More than 1 million international visitors have a medical issue in Japan every year.
Is Japanese skin really ‘too smooth’ for Hideo Kojima’s games?
Hideo Kojima, the leading auteur in Japanese video games, has skirted controversy in the wake of the release of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
An emoji used to say it all. Now it might say too much.
Apple’s Craig Federighi shows off a set of emoji at a conference on June 13, 2016. While the small pictures have proved helpful in conveying nuance in our texts, younger people are using them less often.
‘Our ultimate goal is to save every single Japanese video game’
After nearly shuttering earlier this year, the Tokyo-based Game Preservation Society continues its work to save the early history of Japanese gaming.

Podcast

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

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan
By Megha Wadhwa

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