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November 23, 2025
 

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U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo, on Oct. 28.
JAPAN / Politics
Japan set to lean on U.S. allies for support if China escalates
For now, Tokyo has stuck to its usual playbook: avoiding tit-for-tat retaliation, keeping communication channels open and hoping tensions cool over time.
JAPAN / Politics
Takaichi rejects China's demand to retract Taiwan remarks
There is no change to Tokyo’s stance on how it would respond to a major regional security crisis, the prime minister says.
JAPAN / Politics
LDP and JIP agree to submit bill outlining reduction of Lower House seats
The two parties are postponing reaching a conclusion on the actual number of seats to be cut and whether to cut proportional seats.
In the first official comment from the State Department since tensions between Japan and China flared up, the U.S. said it would remain committed to Japan’s defense.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 21, 2025
U.S. remains committed to Japan’s defense, State Department says
It is the first official comment from the State Department since tensions between Japan and China flared up.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (center) in the parliament building earlier this month. Takaichi took office on Oct. 21.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 21, 2025
A month into her premiership, Takaichi's style proves to be double-edged sword
The prime minister's straight talk appears well received by the public, but other aspects of the way she works have caused a stir in other circles.
Itsunori Onodera, the chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party’s Research Commission on Security
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 21, 2025
LDP begins talks to update key national security documents
The party is expected to discuss how much to increase defense spending and how to finance the increase.
Hei Seki, member of the House of Councilors, speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 21, 2025
Japan should counter China threats with U.S. help, lawmaker says
By Yoshiaki Nohara
Washington has been asking Japan to join forces to cripple China’s ability to make advanced semiconductors, which are critical for economic security and defense capabilities.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks at a ministerial meeting on policies over foreign nationals at the Prime Minister’s Office on Nov. 4.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 20, 2025
Japan panel to discuss orderly coexistence with foreign nationals
Based on the results of the discussions at the panel, the government is expected to outline policies on foreign nationals as early as next January.
Toshihiro Nikai, then secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party (left), meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Beijing in December 2017.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 20, 2025
Tensions highlight lack of Japan lawmakers with China connections
"There's no one in the LDP-JIP coalition who can serve as a brake," a young Komeito lawmaker said.
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
By Jesse Johnson
China ratcheted up the pressure on Tokyo as a prolonged dispute with Beijing over the Japanese leader's remarks on Taiwan appeared inevitable.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to reporters Tuesday on the parliament grounds.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 19, 2025
Japan-South Korea defense drill unlikely to take place this month
Some observers say the South Korean move may be a response to Japan’s recent cancellation of refueling for aircraft from the South Korean Air Force.
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.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 18, 2025
Japan seeks to placate China as strained relations move beyond political realm
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
Tokyo has warned nationals living in China to be on alert for anti-Japanese sentiment, while a Japanese animated film's release date in the nation was postponed.
Economic security minister Kimi Onoda speaks during a group interview in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 18, 2025
Economic security minister stresses crackdown on rule-breaking foreign nationals
By Yukana Inoue
Kimi Onoda says she is committed to implementing stricter management of non-Japanese workers and land acquisitions by foreign nationals.
Ichiro Aisawa (second from right) of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, who heads the council on the all-important lower parliamentary chamber's electoral system, attends a meeting on Tuesday at the Diet building.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 18, 2025
Opposition lawmakers voice caution on proposed Lower House seat cut
The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan urged that a conclusion be reached at the council to better reflect the opinions of smaller parties.
(From left) Indonesian Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and Foreign Minister Sugiono, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi attend a joint press announcement after their meeting at Iikura Guest House in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 18, 2025
Japan and Indonesia zero in on maritime security as they agree to boost defense ties
By Gabriel Dominguez
The move could also open up opportunities for trilateral cooperation with Australia following Jakarta’s announcement of plans to upgrade a key defense agreement with Canberra.
Yoshihiko Isozaki (right), the LDP's Diet affairs chief in the House of Councilors, and his CDP counterpart, Yoshitaka Saito, ahead of a meeting on Monday at the Diet building
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 18, 2025
Takaichi's first Diet debate with opposition leaders set for Nov. 26
The upcoming debate will also be the first since Komeito left the LDP-led ruling coalition.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi shakes hands with his Indonesian counterpart, Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, during a visit to the Yokosuka naval base, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Monday in this image posted to Koizumi's X account.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 17, 2025
Indonesia’s defense chief inspects MSDF vessels as talk of exports grows
By Gabriel Dominguez
Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin met with Defence Minister Shinjuro Koizumi in Tokyo ahead of a third round of “two-plus-two” talks between both countries’ foreign and defense ministers.
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
By Gabriele Ninivaggi and Jesse Johnson
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.
Nagashima Akihisa (right), secretary-general of the Japan-Korea Parliamentary Friendship League, speaks at a bilateral meeting of nonpartisan lawmakers in Seoul on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 16, 2025
Japan and South Korea lawmakers agree to boost cooperation
In a statement adopted at their joint plenary meeting in Seoul, the two groups also denounced North Korea's nuclear and missile development.
Japan's National Diet Building in Tokyo on Oct. 21. The Takaichi administration is set to finalize an economic stimulus package exceeding ¥17 trillion for Cabinet approval on Friday, according to a report.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 16, 2025
Japan's finance minister says stimulus package to exceed ¥17 trillion, Nikkei reports
Since taking office in October, Takaichi has pledged to compile a sizeable package of spending measures to cushion the economic blow from rising living costs.
Akihisa Nagashima, a leader of the Japanese delegation, attended a joint meeting of Japanese and South Korean lawmakers in Seoul on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 16, 2025
Japanese and South Korean lawmakers hold joint meeting
The lawmakers held discussions on diplomacy, security, the economy and culture.
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
By Jesse Johnson
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
By Jesse Johnson
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.

Japanese court orders Cloudflare to pay ¥500 million over manga piracy
Cloudflare has been ordered to pay ¥500 million after four major publishing firms accused the firm of copyright infringement for its role in hosting sites that distribute pirated copies of manga titles.
Japan plans higher visa fees for foreign residents
Along with planned higher fees for foreign residents to stay, Japan is looking to raise the ¥3,000 single-entry visa fee for inbound tourists to Western standards in the next fiscal year.
Two men suspected of smuggling 1 ton of gold into Japan from South Korea
U.K. gold bullion bars and coins are displayed at Baird & Co. in Hatton Garden in London.
Takaichi rejects China's demand to retract Taiwan remarks
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has rejected China's demands for her to retract her comments on Taiwan, saying Tokyo's stance on a major regional security crisis remains unchanged.
Japan set to lean on U.S. allies for support if China escalates
U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo, on Oct. 28.
First foreign president of Hosei University looks abroad for change
Hosei University President Diana Khor, who herself was an international student, aims to encourage students to look outward and cultivate a global mindset.
Japanese companies advised to change mindset about investment in Africa
Bernard Laurendeau, chief of Enkopa Lab Japan, in Tokyo last month
Munetaka Murakami headlines quartet looking to move to MLB via posting system
The Swallows' Munetaka Murakami has 246 career home runs in eight NPB seasons.
The reality of human trafficking in Japan
A view of Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward at night. Last year in Japan, 66 people were put in protective custody as victims of human trafficking. Among them, 58 — including all 41 minors — were Japanese nationals. International pressure to act on human trafficking led Japan to make efforts to crack down on the crime, such as a tightening of conditions in 2005 for entertainer visas.
Why we can’t get enough of the sham of the rental family
“Rental Family,” directed and co-written by the single-named Hikari, follows out-of-work actor Phillip (Brendan Fraser), who is hired as the “token white guy” at a Tokyo agency called Rental Family.

Podcast

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

Longform

Juzo Itami’s “Tampopo” was released Nov. 23, 1985, and though it wasn’t a hit at the time, it has gained a cult following in the years since.
Eat, slurp, love: 'Tampopo' turns 40
By Weiwen Lin

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.

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