Menu
Search
 
July 09, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

JAPAN

Politics

Politics
Crime & Legal
Science & Health
Society
Explainer
History
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Japan to set up 'control tower' for crimes by foreign residents
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said the organization at the Cabinet Secretariat will work "to realize an orderly and inclusive society with foreign residents."
JAPAN / Politics
Ishiba thanks outgoing South Korean envoy
Park Cheol-hee said he hopes that cooperation will continue under the administration of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung.
JAPAN / Politics
In Upper House election, Nippon Ishin faces key test in birthplace Osaka
One senior Nippon Ishin no Kai official said the party leader's goal of six seats in the July 20 election can't happen without two seats from Osaka.
Maki Takubo, mayor of Ito, Shizuoka Prefecture, holds a news conference Monday evening to announcer her intention to resign and seek re-election.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 8, 2025
Scandal-hit mayor in Shizuoka to resign and seek reelection
Maki Takubo, who has admitted that she did not graduate from Toyo University but was actually expelled, was elected as mayor in May.
Wakako Yata, former special adviser to the prime minister, leads a consortium to help promote women as digital experts, in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 8, 2025
Japan launches group to help more women become digital experts
The public-private consortium will work to help women acquire digital skills to raise their wages, among other actions.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Abukuma-class destroyer Chikuma (front) and the Australian Navy's Hobart-class guided-missile destroyer Brisbane sail in formation during a military exercise in the Pacific Ocean in November 2023.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 7, 2025
Japan eyes used warship transfer to Philippines in bid to counter China
By Gabriel Dominguez
Sending the Abukuma-class vessels to Manila would mark Tokyo’s first export of an entire major naval platform in decades.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers a campaign speech next to a Liberal Democratic Party candidate for the Upper House (top center left) in Yokohama on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 7, 2025
Foreign nationals' presence in Japan emerges as key issue in Upper House poll
By Eric Johnston
In their campaign promises, parties are offering different solutions to problems caused by the record number here to visit, work and invest in real estate.
A house in Suzu City, Ishikawa Prefecture, after it collapsed due to the Noto earthquake, in January 2024.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 5, 2025
Debates on disaster management lacking steam ahead of Upper House vote
References to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's project to establish a disaster management agency are scarce among political parties.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba gives a speech in Naha on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 4, 2025
Japanese parties' election campaigning swings into gear
In speeches on the second day of the official campaign period for the Upper House election, party leaders focused on issues such as inflation and rice shortages.
A voter casts a ballot for the Upper House election at the Japanese Embassy in Beijing on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 4, 2025
Overseas voting for Upper House election begins
This marks the first time that Japanese living in Taiwan could vote at polling stations on the self-governed island.
People listen to an election campaign speech in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 4, 2025
Maximum vote-value gap rises to 3.126 times for Upper House election
The figure was up from 3.03 times in the previous Upper House election in 2022.
Voters listen to a stump speech in Tokyo on Thursday as campaigning for the July 20 Upper House election kicked off.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 4, 2025
Women make up fewer than 30% of candidates in upcoming Upper House election
Japan's law for promoting gender equality in politics calls on political parties to make the number of male and female candidates as equal as possible.
Social Democratic Party leader Mizuho Fukushima speaks during an interview on Jun. 27 at the Diet building.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 3, 2025
SDP campaign to focus on inflation and opposing military expansion, leader says
The SDP exists to prevent people from starving and the country from going into war, said party leader Mizuho Fukushima.
People listen to an election campaign speech in Miyazaki Prefecture on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 3, 2025
Ishiba government’s survival may be at stake in July Upper House election
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
Election campaigning for the pivotal vote officially kicked off Thursday, with all eyes on how the ruling Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito coalition will perform.
Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the Democratic Party for the People, speaks during an interview on Tuesday at the parliament building.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 2, 2025
DPP pledges to increase take-home pay ahead of Upper House election
The opposition party is looking to raise its seat count in the chamber to 21, which would enable it to independently submit bills needing budgetary measures.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (left) and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio meet at the U.S. State Department in Washington on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 2, 2025
Rubio urges Japan to beef up defenses, but leaves out spending target
By Jesse Johnson
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said that no specific spending figure was broached in talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (left), Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong (second from left), Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (second from right) and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stand together at the start of a meeting of "the Quad" at the U.S. State Department in Washington on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 2, 2025
‘Quad’ nations announce critical minerals initiative amid China concerns
By Jesse Johnson
A joint statement was carefully crafted not to directly mention China, but the four Indo-Pacific countries made clear a goal of reducing dependence on Beijing.
Sanseito supporters applaud Saya, Sanseito candidate for the Upper House election from Tokyo, and Manabu Matsuda, a candidate from proportional representation, at a public rally at Tsukiji Market on June 28.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 1, 2025
Sanseito touts 'Japanese First' rhetoric to gain support
By Himari Semans
Some observers say conservative voters who left the Democratic Party for the People are turning to the fledgling opposition party by default.
German Ambassador to Japan Petra Sigmund says that Tokyo and Berlin "face similar security challenges," and that they must "invest in defense, deterrence and diplomacy alike."
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 1, 2025
‘No time to lose’: Germany aims to boost defense-industrial ties with Japan
By Gabriel Dominguez
Berlin’s ambassador to Tokyo says her country is looking to quickly ramp up cooperation amid a growing Russian threat.
The average income of the prefectural governors rose by over 4 million yen from the previous year owing to an increase in revenue from real estate rentals, as well as stock disposals and increased bonuses.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 1, 2025
Japanese prefectural governors earned average of ¥24.13 million in 2024
Okayama Gov. Ryuta Ibaragi recorded the highest total income, at ¥122.22 million.
Among Cabinet members, Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato was the top earner, at ¥225.93 million.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 30, 2025
Lawmakers' average income flat at ¥25.13 million
Four lawmakers earned over ¥100 million, and all of them were LDP members.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at a conference in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 30, 2025
Party leaders skeptical of three-party ruling coalition after Upper House vote
By Eric Johnston
If the ruling coalition wins fewer than 50 seats, it will either need to work with at least one opposition party for each piece of legislation or invite one to join.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Monday. Inflation in Tokyo slowed in June for the first time in four months as a result of government steps to reduce utility and gasoline prices.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 29, 2025
Measures to ease inflation must be speedy, says Prime Minister Ishiba
Ishiba has opposed lowering the sales tax ahead of an Upper House election where voters will vote on the performance of his minority government.

Foreign nationals' presence in Japan emerges as key issue in Upper House poll
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers a campaign speech next to a Liberal Democratic Party candidate for the Upper House (top center left) in Yokohama on Sunday.
Trump announces new tariff rate on Japan — and extension of deadline to Aug. 1
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt holds a trade letter sent by the White House to Japan during a news conference at the White House in Washington on Monday.
China’s housing crisis is worse than it seems
Residential buildings under construction in Shanghai in July 2022. The Chinese government risks long-term decline by repeating Japan’s policy mistakes in handling its real estate and demographic crises.
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Japan stands its ground after Trump letter delivers 25% U.S. tariff shock
U.S. President Donald Trump (left) and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at Morristown Airport, New Jersey, on Sunday. Trump on Monday sent letters to 12 countries notifying them of new "reciprocal" tariff rates effective Aug. 1.
Foreign nationals' presence in Japan emerges as key issue in Upper House poll
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers a campaign speech next to a Liberal Democratic Party candidate for the Upper House (top center left) in Yokohama on Sunday.
Lawson to let visitors use larger parking lots as paid car campsites
A Lawson convenience store in Yachiyo, Chiba Prefecture. A new service from the company comes amid the rise in inbound tourists, making hotels and inns harder to book and more expensive.
The future is bright inside the visionary mind of architect Sou Fujimoto
The exhibition of Fujimoto’s architecture surveys his career to date, as well as looks ahead as shown in his proposal of a future floating city designed in collaboration with data scientist Hiroaki Miyata.
A tiny mountain hamlet keeps traditional log rafting afloat
Once a way to transport lumber from the mountains to the coast, log rafting is now Kitayama's biggest attraction.
A furever friend: Tips for responsible dog ownership in Japan
Dog ownership may seem daunting in Japan, but with the right tools and logistical knowledge, you can ensure a healthy, happy life for your pet.

Podcast

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

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after
Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

Latest News

AI video becomes more convincing, rattling creative industry
10 hours ago
Musk faces a daunting path in challenging U.S. two-party system
10 hours ago
Japan to set up 'control tower' for crimes by foreign residents
Japan stands its ground after Trump letter delivers 25% U.S. tariff shock
Ishiba thanks outgoing South Korean envoy