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November 18, 2025
 

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COMMENTARY

Japan

World
Japan
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara holds a news conference at the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday. Kihara is leading a new Cabinet-level panel to review foreign-national related issues.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Fixing immigration without sparking xenophobia
Don’t lump long-term, law-abiding foreign residents in with new arrivals.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Beware China’s strategic distortion of reality
The ancient strategy resurfaced after Prime Minister Takaichi said Japan might need to respond militarily if China forced Taiwan’s unification.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Will artificial intelligence turn Japan’s ‘irreplaceable treasures’ into slop?
AI’s threat gives Japan a second chance to do right by the workers propping up the $21 billion industry.
South African cricket legend Jacques Kallis plays a shot during the final day of a cricket test match against India in Johannesburg in December 2013.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 17, 2025
Who is cricket’s Shohei Ohtani?
By Salil Tripathi
A better question might be: Does cricket need its own Shohei?
Ramen is a versatile global dish, ranging from traditional tonkotsu broth to innovative mazemen and whole-grain noodles, enjoyed for its endless variations and worldwide appeal.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 17, 2025
How Japanese does that bowl of ramen need to be?
By Howard Chua-Eoan
Ramen purist argue about what’s orthodox and what’s allowable, while cooks who love to experiment and improvise push those boundaries.
JR East is retiring the beloved Suica penguin as part of a rebrand to transform the contactless payment platform, used for both transit and retail, into a mobile fintech powerhouse.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 16, 2025
A beloved Tokyo penguin’s end presages Suica’s shift to payments giant
By Gearoid Reidy
Since Suica’s introduction in 2001, the penguin has featured on transit cards and apps that are used daily by the tens of millions who traverse the world’s largest metropolis.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi talks with Japan’s then-leader, Shinzo Abe, her mentor, at the Lower House of Parliament in December 2014. Takaichi, under so-called Abenomics 2.0, must convert the nation’s asset boom into broad-based economic prosperity benefiting all. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 14, 2025
How Takaichi can make 'Abenomics 2.0' succeed
By Jesper Koll
For now, there is absolutely no evidence that the rise in Japanese asset prices — both stocks and real estate — is feeding a positive wealth effect.
China's "wolf warrior" diplomacy is like a relentless chess match, putting democracies like Japan on the defensive, forcing them to counter Beijing's aggressive moves and deceptive feints while executing a strong, coordinated defense.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 13, 2025
How Takaichi should navigate Beijing’s diplomatic threats
By Stephen R. Nagy
These incidents reveal a consistent pattern in Beijing’s diplomatic arsenal, the weaponization of progressive language, the inversion of victim and aggressor narratives.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's comments that a Chinese naval blockade of Taiwan would constitute a threat to Japan have drawn criticism from China and even in some circles domestically.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 13, 2025
Takaichi and a shift in 'strategic ambiguity' over Taiwan
By Kuni Miyake
Takaichi's statement points out the obvious: That if a conflict over Taiwan involves the use of force, it could become a "crisis situation" that threatens the nation's survival.
The U.S.' recent approval of South Korea’s nuclear submarine program may set a precedent for Japan, which could consider similar nuclear capabilities amid growing regional security threats.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 11, 2025
Japan should resist the temptation to go nuclear
By Henry Sokolski
Japan moving ahead on any nuclear options would be a mistake no matter what the United States, Russia or South Korea might do.

A beloved Tokyo penguin’s end presages Suica’s shift to payments giant
JR East is retiring the beloved Suica penguin as part of a rebrand to transform the contactless payment platform, used for both transit and retail, into a mobile fintech powerhouse.
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.
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.
Ashfall warning issued in southern Japan as volcano erupts
View of Sakurajima from the mainland of Kagoshima Prefecture
Japan uses series against South Korea to prep for World Baseball Classic title defense
Japan's Ryuhei Sotani pitches against South Korea at Tokyo Dome on Saturday night.
Good fortune, wrapped in fried tofu
Golden "age-fukuburo," a culinary take on Japan's new year "lucky bags," can be served on their own.
Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan celebrates 80 years at the forefront of press freedom
Located near the Imperial Palace, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan prides itself on the accessibility of its events and the support it offers to budding and established journalists. The club is currently headed by Dan Sloan, a former reporter for Reuters.
The challenges awaiting Japan’s new finance minister
Finance minister Satsuki Katayama answers questions from reporters in a group interview on Oct. 24.
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.

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

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