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May 31, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
May 31, 2025
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U.S. President Donald Trump at the U.S. Steel Corporation Irvin Works facility in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, on Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Trump celebrates Nippon Steel 'deal' with rally at Pennsylvania plant
By Jeff Mason, Alexandra Alper and Trevor Hunnicutt
Proponents of the deal are hoping his visit to the state will cap a tumultuous 18-month effort by Nippon Steel to buy the iconic American company.
U.S. President Donald Trump at the U.S. Steel Corporation Irvin Works facility in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, on Friday.
A seafood market in Beijing. China has agreed to lift a ban on Japanese seafood imports that has lasted for 21 months.
BUSINESS / Economy
China agrees to lift ban on Japanese seafood imports
By Francis Tang
The prohibition was imposed in response to the release of treated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the ocean.
Stockpiled rice arrives Thursday at a rice-milling factory operated by a subsidiary of household appliance company Iris Ohyama in the town of Watari, Miyagi Prefecture.
JAPAN / Politics
Some retailers hesitant to buy stockpiled rice on quality concerns
By Jessica Speed
Smaller shops in Japan are worried that older batches might not taste as good, which could cause customers to take their business elsewhere.
Takanori Nishiyama, Japan manager of Keeper Security. Password managers can help thwart phishing attacks.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Online brokerage account hijacks in Japan highlight need for login vigilance
By Kazuaki Nagata
Portfolios are being commandeered to manipulate the market for the benefit of the hacker.
Anime director Shunsuke Nakashige accepts the anime of the year award for “Solo Leveling” at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards.
CULTURE / Film
Anime's big night out is getting bigger — and more surreal
By Patrick St. Michel
The soft-power spectacle at Crunchyroll's awards ceremony in Tokyo underscores anime's expanding global influence.
Anime director Shunsuke Nakashige accepts the anime of the year award for “Solo Leveling” at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards.

JAPAN

A concept model of the Global Combat Air Program's fighter jet during an exhibition at Makuhari Messe in Chiba on May 21.
Japan frets over fighter rollout target and weighs stopgap options, sources say
By Tim Kelly and Nobuhiro Kubo
The joint Global Combat Air Program is falling behind schedule due to a lack of urgency from Britain and Italy, one of the sources said.
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.
Farm ministry starts accepting applications for older rice from small buyers
By Himari Semans
Smaller retailers and rice shops can buy rice stockpiled from the 2021 harvest from the government via no-bid contracts.
Former Japanese princess Mako gives birth to first child
Some LDP lawmakers wary of Koizumi's aggressive price policy
Nomura’s smoking ban leads to less staff lighting up
By Gabrielle Ng
Government blames rice price surges on procurement route changes

BUSINESS

Tokyo’s consumer price index that serves as a leading indicator for national inflation trends posted in May the biggest year-on-year rise since January 2023.
Tokyo prices rising most in two years keeps BOJ on hike path
By Erica Yokoyama
The food price gains are a worrisome sign for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba ahead of a summer election expected to be held by July.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters after his phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday night.
Ishiba and Trump talk tariffs in second phone call this month
By Francis Tang
Ishiba described his 25-minute call with Trump as “a very meaningful conversation” that allowed them to deepen their "mutual understanding."
Dai-ichi Life to buy $1.1 billion M&G stake in partnership
Tariff talks with U.S. a mix of slow progress, ever-present uncertainty 
By Francis Tang
Nippon Steel plans $6 billion investment in its Japanese mills
By Martin Ritchie
Japanese life insurers cut bullish yen hedges to 14-year low
By Masaki Kondo and Hidenori Yamanaka

WORLD

French President Emmanuel Macron gives the keynote address of the Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on Friday.
Macron calls for Europe and Asia to unite and resist ‘spheres of coercion’
By Gabriel Dominguez
The French president used a keynote speech at Asia’s top regional security conference to call on European and Indo-Pacific nations to avoid picking sides between China and the U.S.
The Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Trump aims at Chinese students and tech in threat to truce with Xi
Just weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump declared a "total reset” with China following a trade truce in Geneva, tensions are rising again between the world’s biggest economies.
Trump aims to exceed first term's weapons sales to Taiwan, officials say
By Michael Martina, Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard
China sets up international mediation body in Hong Kong
By Joyce Zhou and Farah Master
Second group of Hong Kong democrats freed after 4 years in jail
Pressure mounts on a reluctant Trump to impose sanctions on Russia
By Steve Holland and Gram Slattery

Sports

Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembele controls the ball during the first leg of the team's Champions League semifinal against Arsenal in London on April 29.
New-look Paris Saint-Germain on brink of long-coveted Champions League glory
Luis Enrique, who took charge last year, said his team had long targeted this moment, which comes after it won the domestic double of Ligue 1 and the French Cup.
League backed by Nets owner looks to raise profile of college basketball in Asia
By Jason Coskrey
Lewis Hamilton labels rumors of friction with Ferrari engineer as 'noise'
Oilers beat Stars to set up rematch against Panthers in Stanley Cup Final
Knicks rout Pacers to keep season alive and force Game 6

Opinion

Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi’s push to slash rice prices could either mark a populist gesture or ignite a political revolution that challenges the entrenched agricultural lobby and the foundations of postwar conservative power.
Can the 'rice man,' Koizumi, save the day?
Kuni Miyake
Late last week, newly appointed farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi announced that he aimed to bring the rice price range down to around ¥2,000 per 5 kilograms.
U.S. soft power is a casualty in Trump’s war on Harvard
South Korea faces a triple challenge ahead of its election
By Lee Jong-wha
Western businesses will not return to Russia
By Thane Gustafson
The next great job churn is already starting
By Conor Sen

ENVIRONMENT

A few remaining houses are seen after a massive rock and ice slide covered most of the village of Blatten, Switzerland, on Thursday.
Swiss residents in shock after glacier debris buries village
By Dave Graham
Scientists suspect the deluge is a dramatic example of climate change's impact on the Alps.
Nickel rush for stainless steel guts Indonesia tribe's forest home
By Jack Moore and Bagus Saragih
Do Japan's trees no longer occupy the sacred space they used to?
By Eric Margolis
Are microplastics hurting our fertility?
By Tomoko Otake
'Serious problem': Afghan capital losing race against water shortages
By Susannah Walden

CULTURE

Atsuko Okatsuka tries out some of the jokes from her new special, “Father,” at the Tokyo Comedy Bar in Shibuya in January.
Atsuko Okatsuka brings big 'dad' energy to new special
By Zoria Petkoska
The comedian’s upcoming special, titled “Father,” blends whimsical comedy and family drama — just in time for Father's Day.
‘I Have a S/e/c/r/e/t’ gives teen angst a whimsical twist
By Mark Schilling
Japan's Seto wins International Critics Award at Cannes
Truth is slippery in ‘Suspicion,’ a detective story based on a true crime
By Kris Kosaka
Iranian filmmaker Panahi urges 'freedom' as he wins top prize at Cannes
By Adam PLOWRIGHT and Fiachra Gibbons

LIFE

As humidity rises in the rainy season, it’s a good idea to get some moisture absorbers and place them around the home.
How to talk about change in Japanese — one forecast at a time
By Yuko Tamura
Use the changing seasons as a springboard to learn how Japanese expresses cause-and-effect shifts.
Brewed from rice, water and tomatoes: The growth of ‘craft sake’
By Weiwen Lin
Tokyo's top bites — in a suburban mall food court
By Robbie Swinnerton
As spring unfolds, sea bream turns into a prized catch
By Makiko Itoh
Jeremy Strong brings male power-dressing to Cannes
By Adam PLOWRIGHT

COMMUNITY

Drawn to tea ceremony while volunteering at a Japanese garden in Phoenix, Arizona, Michele Laudig (right) came to learn a “common language of movement and ritual” that brought her into new communities in New York City and Tokyo.
A moving meditation: Finding serenity in tea ceremony across space and time
By Michele Laudig
After an American writer ventured into the world of tea ceremony, its lessons transformed her relationship to Japan and brought her into communities bonded by movement and ritual.
This charming Shiba enjoys life’s simple pleasures
Joshua Thomson: ‘Comedy is a pill that’s easier to swallow’
By Laura Pollacco
Detroit-Nagoya network empowers women-owned businesses around the world
By Jessica Kozuka
Ayano Kikuchi: ‘People need to take care of themselves holistically’
By Olivia Boissel

Editors' Picks

ASIA PACIFIC
Hegseth to face questions on U.S. commitment at top Asian defense conference
By Jesse Johnson
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivers remarks at the National Memorial Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on Monday.
CULTURE
Songs, stars and strategy: Japan debuts its newest awards ceremony
By Alyssa I. Smith
Rock band Mrs. Green Apple performed an emotional rendition of hit song “Darling” on the final night of the Music Awards Japan.
ENVIRONMENT
Eagle nest discovery sparks opposition to megasolar project
By Eric Johnston
The white-tailed eagle's wintering grounds include Hokkaido, northern Honshu, the Russian coast, the southern Kamchatka Peninsula and the Kuril Islands.
BASEBALL
Fighters already showing last season's playoff run was no fluke
By Jason Coskrey
Fighters starter Hiromi Ito pitches against the Hawks in Fukuoka on April 29.
COMMUNITY
A moving meditation: Finding serenity in tea ceremony across space and time
By Michele Laudig
Drawn to tea ceremony while volunteering at a Japanese garden in Phoenix, Arizona, Michele Laudig (right) came to learn a “common language of movement and ritual” that brought her into new communities in New York City and Tokyo.

Podcast

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

Longform

Construction equipment sits idle in a park near Shiba Toshogu shrine in Tokyo's Minato Ward. While Japan has a history of treating its trees with reverence, green coverage is said to be lacking in most of the major cities.
Do Japan's trees no longer occupy the sacred space they used to?
By Eric Margolis

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WHAT’S TRENDING

COMMENTARY
Lessons from India-Pakistan war: Were China's arms overrated?
By Brahma Chellaney
A Chinese J-10B fighter jet is put on display at the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, China, in October 2016. The short May conflict between India and Pakistan became a live trial for Chinese arms, exposing vulnerabilities in its fighter aircraft and air defense systems.
JAPAN
Chinese parents are fueling Tokyo’s education race
By Takehiro Masutomo
More Chinese families are clustering in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, a district renowned for having the finest educational environment in Japan.
JAPAN
Halt of U.S. visa process puts Japanese students' futures in question
By Tomoko Otake and Karin Kaneko
People hold up signs during a rally in support of international students at the Harvard University campus in Boston on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Japan Post launches 'digital address' system
Under the "digital address" system launched by Japan Post, users can input seven-digit combinations of numbers and letters on online shopping and other websites, and their addresses will automatically appear on the sites.
BUSINESS
Trump's tariffs to remain in effect after appeals court grants stay
By Dietrich Knauth and Sarah Marsh
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on tariffs at the White House in April.