Tag - focus

 
Menu
Search
 
November 17, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

FOCUS

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
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.
Finance minister Satsuki Katayama answers questions from reporters in a group interview on Oct. 24.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 16, 2025
The challenges awaiting Japan’s new finance minister
Satsuki Katayama’s shattering of another glass ceiling last month puts her in charge of selling Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s “responsible and proactive fiscal policy.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's failure to deliver on a number of core issues has not only helped energize far-right parties like the Alternative for Germany, it’s also stoked speculation that Merz’s government may suffer the same fate as that of his predecessor.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 16, 2025
Germans are running short on patience with their stumbling chancellor
Only 16% of Germans want to see Merz, who has just turned 70, as a candidate in the next federal election, according to a recent poll by RTL/n-tv.
The Japan Innovation Party has long sought to get Osaka designated as Japan's backup capital.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 13, 2025
What would a ‘backup capital’ look like for Japan?
The concept faces tough questions on its substance and whether its true purpose is to realize the Japan Innovation Party's goal of making its Osaka base the natural choice.
Ernesto Katsunori Suzuki holds a cacao fruit at his farm in Tome-Acu in northern Brazil last month.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Nov 13, 2025
Japanese immigrants gain attention with farming method in the Amazon
Anticipation is rising that the agricultural method, involving nurturing a forest to grow crops there, can help the rainforest bounce back.
A farmer harvests rice in a field in Chikusei, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Oct. 9. Prices will most likely remain in the ¥4,000 range for 5 kilograms of the grain at least until the 2026 harvest is released next summer.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Nov 12, 2025
New Cabinet searches for effective rice policy amid resurging prices
Officials are considering the distribution of “rice tickets” to make the nation’s staple grain more affordable for certain households.
Public hospitals in Japan are struggling to sustain regional health care systems, with more than 80% of them posting losses.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Nov 12, 2025
Public hospitals in Japan face severe financial strain
More than 80% of public hospitals are posting losses as medical service expenses rise faster than revenues.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Japan Innovation Party head Hirofumi Yoshimura in Tokyo on Oct. 21. An agreement between the two parties included a promise, at the JIP's insistence, to introduce legislation in the current parliamentary session that reduces the number of Lower House seats.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 11, 2025
LDP-JIP coalition faces friction over parliamentary seat-reducing bill
Differences over the measure to reduce parliamentary seats could weaken the ruling minority coalition’s unity and test its ability to compromise.
Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, attends an extraordinary session of the Lower House in Tokyo on Oct. 21.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 10, 2025
DPP finds itself on the outside after failing to join ruling coalition
Yuichiro Tamaki’s indecisiveness is seen as having contributed to his party’s drop in popularity.
Satellites photographed from the International Space Station. Decommissioned satellites are adding to hazardous orbital debris, but a Japanese company called Kami Shoji is aiming to tackle the problem with a wood-derived material called Amorcell, engineered to help satellites burn up completely in the atmosphere.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Nov 6, 2025
Japanese firm offers wood-derived material to help reduce space debris
An estimated 28,000 pieces of space debris orbited Earth in 2024, or about 80% more than in 2009, according to NASA, increasing the risk of collisions.
Kirin Holdings employees with disabilities attend a session held in September on the use of IT support tools.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Nov 5, 2025
Japanese firms boost support for workers with disabilities
Most public programs prioritize job placement for those with disabilities, leaving gaps in ongoing workplace support that analysts say is crucial for long-term employment.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and then-Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa shake hands on the day they visit the U.S. pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka in July.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Nov 4, 2025
The top U.S. court can't stop all of Trump's tariffs. Deal with it, officials say.
Under one legal authority or another, Trump's tariffs are expected to stay in place long-term.
Pressed on his claims that Russia and China have been testing their nuclear weapons, U.S. President Donald Trump said that a global monitoring system that employs state-of-the-art technology had somehow failed to detect the tests.
WORLD / FOCUS
Nov 3, 2025
Trump claims that China and Russia secretly conduct nuke tests
The U.S. leader alleged that the nation's rivals "test way underground, where people don't know exactly what's happening."
Jensen Huang, chief executive officer of Nvidia, poses for a photo on the sidelines of the APEC CEO Summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Friday.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Nov 3, 2025
Nvidia is worth $5 trillion. Here’s what it means for the market
The chipmaker at the heart of the artificial intelligence revolution is not only the biggest company on Earth, it also may be the most influential stock in Wall Street history.
Philippine and Australian troops fire an M777 howitzer during live fire exercises as part of joint military drills in Laur, Nueva Ecija, the Philippines, in August.
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Nov 2, 2025
A narrow Pacific waterway at heart of U.S. plans to choke China’s vast navy
Batanes province in the Philippines is on the front line of the great power competition between the United States and China.
U.S. President Donald Trump raises his fist as he boards Air Force One before traveling to South Korea, from Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 2, 2025
Trump plays nice with Asian allies stung by repeated threats
While allies in Asia have ample reason to be wary of U.S. President Donald Trump, the message from his regional tour appeared to be that America isn't going anywhere.
Executives of six ruling and opposition parties discuss scrapping the add-on levy for gasoline during their meeting in the parliament building on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 2, 2025
Japan sees no stable funding for costly policy plans
Six ruling and opposition parties broadly agreed Friday to scrap the add-on levy for gasoline on Dec. 31 and for gas oil on April 1 next year.
A SpaceX Super Heavy booster carrying the Starship spacecraft lifts off on its 11th test flight at the company's launch pad in Starbase, Texas, on Oct. 13.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Oct 31, 2025
International collaboration seen as key to commercial space tourism in Japan
When it comes to furthering the potential of future space travel, Japan is behind countries like the U.S., making collaboration essential.
Two robots automating tasks at Arikawa Seisakusho in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Oct 31, 2025
Government to help rural businesses adopt robots amid labor shortage
Aimed at boosting productivity despite labor shortages, a new group will train advisers to help companies introduce and use robotics effectively.
Satoru Tezuka, chair of the Personal Information Protection Commission, advocates revising the personal information protection law as part of an effort to balance stronger enforcement with greater flexibility for data utilization.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Oct 30, 2025
Japan weighs fines to strengthen personal data protection
Under the current framework, there is no mechanism to claw back profits obtained through illegal data practices, allowing malicious operators to retain their illicit gains.
At Ginza’s newest hotel, luxury is a private treasure
At Fufu Tokyo, each guest room comes with its own private "onsen" (hot spring) — a luxury nearly unheard of in the heart of Tokyo's capital.
China warns citizens not to visit Japan as row over Taiwan heats up
Chinese tourists wear kimonos as they visit Sensoji temple in Tokyo's Asakusa district on Saturday.
From France to Mali, a deportee's struggle far from home
Moussa Sacko, a Malian deported from France — where he had lived since he was a young child — stands on a street in Bamako, Mali, in December. Compared with his home in France, Bamako feels like a different planet, Sacko said.
Japan may triple departure tax to tackle overtourism
A plane takes off from Haneda Airport.
Fears rise of rupture in Japan-China ties in wake of Taiwan remarks
Two Chinese tourists wearing kimonos take a selfie as they visit Sensoji temple in Tokyo's Asakusa district on Saturday.
At Ginza’s newest hotel, luxury is a private treasure
At Fufu Tokyo, each guest room comes with its own private "onsen" (hot spring) — a luxury nearly unheard of in the heart of Tokyo's capital.
Japan fully enters sports streaming era as fans face new dilemmas
Sports fan Tadashi Yokoyama streams basketball and fencing on three screens.
Stablecoins: Boring goes big, and now in Japan
Noritaka Okabe, CEO of JPYC, acknowledges a number of potential risks related to stablecoins.
Shohei Ohtani collects fourth MVP Award with 2025 NL honor
The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani was named National League MVP for the second straight season on Thursday.
As Japan’s female leader rises, can she cross sumo’s sacred line?
Japan Sumo Association Chairman Hakkaku (front center) delivers a speech on the first day of the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament at the Fukuoka Kokusai Center on Sunday. Centuries of belief and tradition still underpin the all-male association's stance of excluding women.

Podcast

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

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo
By Kathryn Wortley

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

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER