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Cannabidiol products in New York in October 2014. Tetrahydrocannabinol, which gives the “high” often associated with marijuana, is illegal in Japan if it exceeds a certain amount.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Sep 5, 2025

Japan has ‘strictest standard in the world’ when it comes to CBD products

The country’s threshold for tetrahydrocannabinol, a compound derived from cannabis that gives the “high,” is just 10 parts per million, compared with 3,000 ppm in the U.S.
Members of the Japanese team for the World Athletics Championships pose for photos at Meiji Kinenkan on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Sep 5, 2025

Team Japan seeks ‘passionate support’ at World Athletics Championships

The World Athletics Championships kick off at Tokyo’s National Stadium on Sept. 13.
Japanese Economic Revitalization Minster Ryosei Akazawa speaks to members of the media at the Japanese Embassy in Washington on Thursday.
BUSINESS
Sep 7, 2025

Akazawa says U.S. trade deal not settled as Japan awaits pharma and chip orders

Akazawa said Japan would begin a full analysis of the economic impact of the U.S. auto tariff changes.
Japan flanker Iroha Nagata attempts to score a try against Spain during the Women's Rugby World Cup in York, England, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Sep 8, 2025

Japan bows out of Women's Rugby World Cup with comeback victory over Spain

Both sides were bidding for their first win of the tournament after defeats against world champion New Zealand and Ireland had ended their hopes of reaching the quarterfinals.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick argues that U.S. President Donald Trump has sole authority to invest Japan's promised $550 billion.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 8, 2025

Search is on for loopholes in Japan’s $550 billion investment pledge

The pledge was described over the weekend by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as essentially a blank checkbook for U.S. President Donald Trump.
Japan has hired energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie to assess a proposed $44 billion Alaska gas pipeline and LNG project backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, sources say.
BUSINESS
Sep 9, 2025

Japan hires Wood Mackenzie to assess Trump-backed Alaska LNG project: sources

The scope and cost of the deal with Wood Mackenzie is unclear, as is whether any resulting report will be made public.
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.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Sep 9, 2025

As Manila modernizes its military, new opportunities emerge for Tokyo

Japan has been assisting the Philippines in several ways, including by providing security equipment and training — and could soon offer up used warships.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump hold a news conference at the White House in Washington on Feb. 7. Ishiba's short-lived prime ministership underscores the challenges facing the Japan and U.S. alliance.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 10, 2025

What Japan’s political drift means for U.S.-Japan relations

Decisive political leadership is missing. Ambitious reforms and bold initiatives require political capital.
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.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2025

Japan's cutting-edge railgun successfully strikes target vessel

The defense ministry’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency says its test-firings marked the first time a ship-mounted railgun was successfully fired at a real vessel.
The Bank of Japan's wait-and-see approach is likely to continue given the political climate and the tariff situation.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 11, 2025

Rate increase in Japan less likely following Ishiba's resignation

Political uncertainty will make a move higher in October difficult.
South Korea’s lack of a free trade deal with Mexico puts it at a disadvantage to Japanese rival carmakers.
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2025

Mexican tariffs give Japan’s carmakers an edge over Korean rivals

Higher tariffs are expected to apply to a list of more than 1,400 categories of products coming from countries with which Mexico has no trade agreement.
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.
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 Maritime Self-Defense Force's Aegis destroyer Chokai at its Sasebo base in Nagasaki Prefecture
JAPAN
Sep 14, 2025

MSDF Aegis destroyer Chokai to test-fire Tomahawk missiles

If successful, the SDF would gain the ability to directly strike the territory of other countries using cruise missiles.
Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Sep 15, 2025

Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’

Young Japanese are saying no to booze — and yes to mocktails, gaming and sober nights out. Breweries are pivoting to meet them.
Proxy-shopping services — companies that ship Japanese products ranging from cosmetics and snacks to limited-edition stationery on behalf of customers abroad — are already feeling the impact of the U.S. suspending de minimis exemptions.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Sep 17, 2025

End of U.S. de minimis exemption causes headaches for some businesses in Japan

Companies that ship to the U.S. are hoping customers will tolerate higher costs or that the de minimis treatment will be restored, but many believe it's gone for good.
The Bank of Japan has maintained a wait-and-see approach for most of the year.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 17, 2025

Bank of Japan set to hold rates steady even as inflation remains high

It is expected to keep the policy rate at 0.5% at its meeting this week.
A scientist looks at scans of grains at the Memory Centre at the Department of Readaptation and Geriatrics of the University Hospital (HUG) in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 6, 2023.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Sep 17, 2025

Japan’s front-line researchers see bright path ahead for dementia treatment

Four scientists at the forefront of dementia research speak about what kind of future they envision for people with the condition.
Sorato Shimizu competes at a meet in Hiroshima in July. Over the past few years, Shimizu has been like a superhero among teenage track and field athletes in Japan.
SPORTS / Athletics
Sep 11, 2025

The sky is the limit for Sorato Shimizu, Japan's great sprinting hope

The 16-year-old has already run the 100 in 10 seconds flat and could be an X-factor for Japan’s World Athletics Championships relay hopes.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi, Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong at the State Department in January.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 17, 2025

Japan and India must anchor America in the Indo-Pacific

Neither Japan or India possess the military strength to counter China independently.
Tourists walk through a traditional alleyway near Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in August.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2025

Foreign visitors to Japan hit record 3.42 million in August

The tally was pushed higher by visitors from mainland China, Taiwan, Vietnam and the United States.
U.S. military personnel board the USS Wasp aircraft carrier at the U.S. naval base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in 2019.
JAPAN
Sep 18, 2025

U.S. State Department sees Japanese role in AUKUS defense pact

Japan "expressed interest in a range" of projects underway as part of the second leg of the pact, an assessment said.
While some American taxpayers assume they are ineligible to participate in Japan’s tax-deferred savings schemes, certified public accountant Rick Gundlach says that this is no longer the case.
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Sep 24, 2025

Tax-advantaged investments no lost cause for U.S. residents of Japan

Many U.S. taxpayers believe they should steer clear of Japanese investment vehicles due to stateside regulations — but a Japan-based certified public accountant advises otherwise.
A business class suite of an Airbus SE A350-1000 aircraft operated by Japan Airlines is seen during a media preview at the company's hangar at Tokyo's Haneda Airport in January last year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 20, 2025

Boom in business class travel from Japan fuels airlines profits

As tariffs change trade patterns and roil global supply chains, corporate Japan is dealing with it by getting executives in the air.
Japan's 4x100-meter relay team (from left, Yuki Koike, Hiroki Yanagita, Yoshihide Kiryu and Towa Uzawa celebrate after qualifying for the final at the world championships at National Stadium on Saturday night.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Sep 20, 2025

Japan qualifies for men's 4x100 relay final at world championships

Japan finished in a time of 38.07 seconds.
Japan head coach Eddie Jones during a training session in November last year.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Sep 21, 2025

Fiji beats Japan in Pacific Nations Cup rugby final

Fiji seized a 33-10 lead on Nasova's try early in the second half and then held off a furious Japan rally over the final minutes in a rematch of last year's final.
Paulina “Jedda” Puruntatameri with Antonia Burke and Tiwi fisher Clinton offshore of Melville Island, one of the Tiwi Islands, in Australia's Northern Territory. Together with other Tiwi, Jedda has been campaigning for years to stop Australian company Santos and its backers, including Japanese investors, from drilling for natural gas at the Barossa gas field.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Sep 21, 2025

As Japan keeps buying gas, Aboriginal Australians pay the price

Japan is Australia’s second-largest export market for energy and natural resources, giving Tokyo a certain political weight when it comes to Australian energy matters.
Bill Gates, chairman of the Gates Foundation, visits Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Aug. 19.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 21, 2025

The world needs Japan’s leadership in life sciences

For decades now, Japan has understood the value of global health investment better than almost any other country on the planet.
An offshore wind turbine off the coast of Goto in Nagasaki Prefecture
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2025

Floating wind power sets sail in Japan's energy shift

Still heavily reliant on imported fossil fuels, Japan has declared offshore wind energy a "trump card" in its drive to make renewables.
Japan has many positive qualities for German companies, but the market does face some challenges, such as talent acquisition and retention, particularly as demand for skilled workers grows, a survey by the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan showed.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 22, 2025

German companies choosing Japan as Asia manufacturing hub: survey

The country is valued for its stability, affordability and proximity to other major markets, according to the survey by the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes