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September 13, 2025
 

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A police officer stands in front of a tent after U.S. right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Sep 12, 2025
Trump says suspect in Charlie Kirk murder in custody
Kirk's killer had eluded police and federal agents after Wednesday's shooting, in which a sniper fired a single gunshot that killed the right-wing activist.
Planes at Narita Airport in Chiba Prefecture in 2021.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2025
Two people injured after United Airlines flight makes emergency landing in Osaka
The Boeing 737 aircraft, which departed from Narita Airport in Chiba Prefecture, made an emergency landing in Osaka after 7 p.m.
Oil pump jacks outside Almetyevsk, Russia, in July.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2025
Japan expands sanctions against Russia
Tokyo will freeze the assets of 14 individuals and 51 organizations, including Russian officials, company executives and pro-Russian figures in Ukraine.
Agricultural minister Shinjiro Koizumi is planning to run in the Liberal Democratic Party's upcoming presidential poll, sources said.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 12, 2025
Koizumi plans to run for LDP president, sources say
Koizumi plans to inform his supporters in his electoral district about the decision on the weekend and hold a news conference next week to formally announce his bid.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (center) speaks at the first meeting of the government's headquarters for promoting the use of artificial intelligence and strengthening related risk management, on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 12, 2025
Japan starts discussing basic plan for AI use and development
The Japanese government hopes to finalize the basic plan by the end of this year with the aim of creating the best environment in the world for such efforts.
Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and their daughter, Princess Aiko, offer flowers at a monument marking the hypocenter of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki in Nagasaki Peace Park on Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2025
Emperor Naruhito and family pay their respects in Nagasaki
The family is slated to meet with people living in a special elderly nursing home for atomic bomb survivors on Saturday.
A novel type of fraud has been reported in Osaka Prefecture in which scammers send smartphones to elderly individuals before swindling them via the devices.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 12, 2025
Novel smartphone scam targeting elderly emerges in Osaka
Scammers would send elderly people smartphones before swindling them using the devices, according to the Osaka Prefectural Police.
Juan Ansotegui walks on his property in Villalibado, a hamlet in the Odra-Pisuerga comarca of Burgos, Castile, Spain.
WORLD / Society
Sep 12, 2025
Spain wants to save rural areas — and it's finding creative ways to do it
Public and private actors are experimenting with ways to reverse demographic decline and save the centuries-old histories, traditions and cultures of Spain's rural communities.
Sheremetyevo international airport in Moscow. Japan has partially eased its travel restrictions to Russia, allowing unavoidable travel.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2025
Japan partially eases travel restrictions to Russia
Tokyo says unavoidable travel — such as those for humanitarian, business, study, research, education, or artistic purposes — are allowed.
Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi speaks in Tokyo on Thursday. He is attempting to become Liberal Democratic Party president for the second time.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 12, 2025
Will a more conservative leader emerge from the LDP presidential election?
Conservative members of the party are looking to elect such a leader, but there is a possibility that their votes might be split between two presidential hopefuls.
Forbes and Unforgettable Travel Company have ranked Shirakawago in Gifu Prefecture as Asia's most beautiful village.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2025
‘Fairytale’ Shirakawago ranked one of the world’s most beautiful villages
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Shirakawago is famed for its verdant landscape and gasshō-zukuri farmhouses, which are hundreds of years old.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato reaffirmed in a joint statement their commitment to allowing markets to determine currency exchange rates and not targeting them for competitive advantage.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 12, 2025
U.S. and Japan pledge not to manipulate forex for competitive advantage
Tokyo has spent close to $150 billion in the last three years trying to prop up the yen with the last move in July last year.
The Fujian aircraft carrier is seen in Shanghai in May 2024 as it leaves for its first sea trial.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2025
SDF spots China’s biggest aircraft carrier for first time
The Fujian, which has a displacement of more than 80,000 metric tons, was spotted in the East China Sea on Thursday.
A U.S. Air Force serviceman in Okinawa Prefecture has appealed to the Supreme Court against a high court ruling that upheld a five-year sentence for abducting and sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 16 in the prefecture, it was revealed on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 12, 2025
U.S. airman appeals to top court in Okinawa assault case
Brennon Washington filed the appeal Wednesday after receiving the ruling by the Fukuoka High Court's branch in Naha that day.
"We will not give in to Russia's increasing intimidation," said French President Emmanuel Macron, who has been leading diplomatic efforts internationally to end Russia's war on Ukraine.
WORLD
Sep 12, 2025
France to deploy three jets to 'help protect Polish airspace,' Macron says
Poland had gathered its NATO allies for urgent talks after it said Russian drones flew into Polish airspace during an attack on Ukraine.
Orix's real estate investment unit has increased the target size of one of its funds by 33%, reflecting a rebound in Japanese institutional investor demand for property market deals.
BUSINESS
Sep 12, 2025
Top Japan leaser Orix plans to boost property fund size by 33%
Investor demand in Japan for alternative assets including real estate has climbed in part due to their resilience against inflation.
Qatar's Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani addresses delegates during an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council at U.N. headquarters in New York City on Thursday.
WORLD
Sep 12, 2025
U.N. Security Council condemns strikes on Qatar, without naming Israel
Qatar's prime minister welcomed the council's statement of support and reiterated his country's commitment to acting as a mediator in the conflict.
Palestinians transport their belongings as they evacuate Gaza City toward southern areas of the Gaza Strip, on Thursday.
WORLD
Sep 12, 2025
Palestinians displaced in Gaza return to a city under Israeli assault
Many are arriving to find no space for shelter, even in an area designated by Israel as a humanitarian zone.
A Mitsubishi-led consortium had planned to construct offshore wind turbines with a combined output of about 1.7 million kilowatts of electricity in three areas off Akita and Chiba prefectures.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2025
Government reviews Mitsubishi-led group's exit from offshore power projects
Noting construction costs would more than double from the initial estimate, Mitsubishi and Chubu Electric announced the consortium's pullout from the projects last month.
A screen displays share prices outside a securities firm in Tokyo. Some activists believe Japan’s corporate governance reforms will touch more firms, especially smaller ones.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2025
Activist AVI poised to boost holdings of Japan small-cap shares
The plan is an example of how activists are shaking up corporate Japan as they plow capital into the country given the Tokyo bourse telling firms to raise their enterprise value.
Jose Munoz, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2025
Hyundai battery plant faces startup delay after U.S. raid, CEO says
The plant, part of a $7.6 billion factory complex to make battery-powered models, was slated to come online later this year.
Julien Alfred celebrates after winning the women's 100-meter final at the Diamond League Final in Zurich on Aug. 28.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Sep 12, 2025
Saint Lucia's Julien Alfred looking to add world title to Olympic gold in 100
Alfred convincingly beat reigning world champion Sha'Carri Richardson in the women's 100-meter sprint at the Paris Olympics last year.
Police issued third arrest warrants on Thursday for two elementary school teachers involved in an online chat group that shared secretly taken images and videos of girls.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 12, 2025
Teachers arrested for allegedly sharing images of girls face more charges
The total number of children victimized by the group has risen to at least 25, according to the police.
Japan's cutting-edge railgun successfully strikes target vessel
The Defense Ministry’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) conducted a ship-board railgun shooting test from June to early July this year with the support of the Maritime Self-Defense Force.
Thousands without power in Tokyo as heavy rain batters Kanto region
Heavy rain hit Tokyo and surrounding areas Thursday afternoon, causing thousands to lose power, prompting flood warnings, grounding flights and causing transportation issues.
Why more hotels in Japan are offering room-only service
Nipponia Hotel Ise Kawasaki Merchant Town in Ise, Mie Prefecture
JAL reprimand over drunken pilots adds to airline’s woes
Japan Airlines President Mitsuko Tottori (right) bows in apology Wednesday in Tokyo over the company's pilots causing flight delays due to drinking alcohol.
‘Fairytale’ Shirakawago ranked one of the world’s most beautiful villages
Forbes and Unforgettable Travel Company have ranked Shirakawago in Gifu Prefecture as Asia's most beautiful village.
Niinami’s ouster quick but not unusual as corporations protect reputation
Takeshi Niinami resigns as chairman and CEO of Suntory Holdings.
As Manila modernizes its military, new opportunities emerge for Tokyo
A Brahmos missile system is displayed during a rehearsal for a military parade in New Delhi in January. The Philippines will soon receive its second batch of the supersonic cruise missiles from India.
Shizuoka farmers fight to preserve sustainable tea method that’s steeped in tradition
As of August 2024, the number of confirmed chagusaba farmers had fallen to 302, just over half the 582 reported in 2015, according to the Shizuoka Chagusaba Farming Method Promotion Council.
Search is on for loopholes in Japan’s $550 billion investment pledge
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick argues that U.S. President Donald Trump has sole authority to invest Japan's promised $550 billion.
In rural Hokkaido, the stops and starts of tourism revival on full display
Redevelopment plans for Kawayu Onsen have hit some snags — an example of how bringing tourists back to declining rural communities is far from easy work.

Podcast

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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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.

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

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SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight
By Mai Yoshikawa