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The U.S. dollar was back at multiyear lows against a basket of other major currencies on Thursday, erasing a brief respite provided by safe-haven flows related to Middle East tensions earlier in the week.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 27, 2025

No love for the dollar as markets fret about Fed independence

Respect for independent institutions such as central banks has long been viewed as a key attraction of major economies, helping anchor economic stability.
Japan is mad about pets, and the Interpets trade fair showed to what lengths some owners will go for their furry friends.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 28, 2025

Cats, dogs, meerkats, goats: Interpets trade fair draws furry hordes

From June 19 to 21, a veritable animal kingdom (and their owners) descended on the Intex Osaka convention center to try new foods and meet new friends.
Australian singer Donna Burke in Tokyo on May 29. People comment on how familiar her voice is when footage of Burke performing shinkansen announcements go viral online.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 27, 2025

A trained star: The Australian singer who became the voice of the shinkansen

The “JR voice” has built a career that encompasses voice work for prominent game franchises including Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy.
Investigators say the group chat members were using pseudonyms to hide their identities, suggesting they were largely unaware of each other’s true backgrounds.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 27, 2025

Teachers sharing indecent photos of girls in a group chat elicits outrage in Japan

The coordinated voyeurism of the teachers came as a strong shock, undermining people's confidence in those in the role.
Major department stores are doing their best to cater to foreign customers, but it’s unclear if it will lead to more sales.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 27, 2025

Department stores' tax-free sales drop as tourists' shopping patterns change

Greater foreign tourist diversity has led to a change in shopping priorities, the executive of the Japan Department Stores Association said.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference during the 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague on Wednesday. He expressed anger and threatened to sue over media reports claiming the U.S. strike on Iran delayed its nuclear program by only a few months.
EDITORIALS
Jun 27, 2025

Airstrikes won’t end Iran’s nuclear ambitions — diplomacy might

The consensus of the U.S. intelligence community earlier this year was that Iran was up to three years away from being able to deliver a nuclear weapon to a target of its choosing.
Workers build a scaffolding platform during construction at the Yamal LNG plant, operated by Novatek, in Sabetta, Russia, in August 2018.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2025

Russia tries again to expand LNG exports upended by sanctions

Since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russian gas pipeline exports to Europe have dwindled, and shipping more fuel via seaborne LNG tankers provides an attractive revenue stream.
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.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jun 30, 2025

What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji

Mount Fuji’s deadliest weekend still echoes today. Luckily, area rescue squads have leveled up their game.
Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg's controlling interest in the tech titan frees him to have the company invest heavily in artificial intelligence efforts.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 30, 2025

Meta spending big on AI talent but will it pay off?

OpenAI boss Sam Altman recently lamented that Meta has offered $100 million bonuses to engineers who jump to Zuckerberg's ship, where hefty salaries await.
Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, in Washington on June 24. The question of how to handle the fallout from White House decisions may loom large as Powell is set to speak on a panel with peers from the euro zone, Japan, South Korea and the U.K.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 30, 2025

Powell and Lagarde count cost of Trump’s turbulence

At the halfway point of 2025, global policy is almost paralyzed by the need to navigate risks posed both to inflation and growth in the wake of Trump’s actions.
A banner announces the construction of a photovoltaic solar farm in Cabaiguan, Cuba, on May 21.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 1, 2025

China is quietly supplanting Russia as Cuba's main benefactor

Where many of Russia's most recent promises to Cuba have fizzled, China has discreetly stepped up to fill the void.
Palestinian women react amidst the rubble of a school in the Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City following overnight Israeli strikes.
WORLD
Jul 1, 2025

Israel acknowledges Palestinian civilians harmed at Gaza aid sites

The United Nations says more than 400 Palestinians have been killed while seeking handouts of aid.
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

Berlin’s ambassador to Tokyo says her country is looking to quickly ramp up cooperation amid a growing Russian threat.
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons hopes the online memorial will "spur action for the total abolition of nuclear weapons."
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2025

Anti-nuclear group creates online memorial for children who died in atomic bombings

The online memorial features more than 400 profiles with details of the children's lives.
Coco Gauff reacts as she plays against Dayana Yastremska during their match on the second day of Wimbledon on Tuesday.
TENNIS
Jul 2, 2025

Gauff ousted on day of Wimbledon shocks as Djokovic launches history bid

Instead of building on her success at the French Open, 21-year-old Gauff suffered her earliest Grand Slam exit since another first-round loss at Wimbledon in 2023.
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

Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said that no specific spending figure was broached in talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Workers take a break near a ship under construction at China State Shipbuilding Corp.'s Longxue Shipyard in Guangzhou, China, in November 2011.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jul 2, 2025

China’s shipyard dominance leads to geoeconomic risks

According to 2024 data from the Chinese government, the country ranks first worldwide in ship completions, new orders and order backlogs.
Ex-serviceman Izumi Murakami speaks of his experience during World War II, when he was still a child, in an interview in Kasuga, Fukuoka Prefecture, in May.
JAPAN / History / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Jul 14, 2025

Man inspired as a boy by WWII-era commando questions Japan's past actions

Izumi Murakami, now 92, joined the Air Self-Defense Force, but he concedes now that "there is nothing good that comes out of war."
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends tactical training by military special forces and a firing drill by tank units at an unknown location in North Korea on May 13.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 3, 2025

Russia could soon get up to 30,000 more North Korean troops, reports say

The addition would almost triple the total number of North Korean soldiers directly fighting alongside Russia in its war against Ukraine.
“Fani Mani” marks Kom_I’s return to music, after leaving the genre-bending J-pop outfit Suiyoubi no Campanella in 2021.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 4, 2025

‘Try first, figure it out later’: Kom_I and Foodman’s beautiful mess

Part philosophy and part performance, the musicians' “Fani Mani” is all party.
Karuizawa Distillers, which runs Komoro Distillery in Nagano Prefecture, has teamed up with the city of Furano and real estate developer Seibu Group to open a whisky distillery in Furano.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 4, 2025

Beyond the lavender fields in Furano, a whisky distillery emerges

The region has teamed up with Karuizawa Distillers and property developer Seibu Group to build a state-of-the-art facility to make single malts.
Supporters of candidates put up campaign posters on a bulletin board in Tokyo on Thursday, as the official campaigning for the July 20 Upper House election begins. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 4, 2025

The dilemma facing Japan’s rising (and falling) populist parties

A working relationship with ruling parties is key to achieving their policy goals, but at the risk of losing their populist brand and voters.
People carry a portable shrine at Sensoji temple during the Sanja Festival in May. The festival is one of the three largest in Tokyo.
LIFE / Language
Jul 5, 2025

What’s the first thing you think of when you think of a Japanese summer?

Fireworks and festivals are part of the traditional Japanese summer, but what do people associate with the season these days?
A street in Suttsu, Hokkaido, with a sign put up by an anti-nuclear organization. The small community is considering hosting a facility that would hold nuclear waste.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Jul 6, 2025

Ainu land rights in crosshairs as Hokkaido communities debate nuclear waste

Some scholars and activists are raising concerns that Indigenous voices are not being heard amid the debate over whether to host nuclear waste storage facilities.
Private companies are rushing into risky, profit-driven geoengineering projects to fight climate change without clear regulations, raising fears of dangerous unintended consequences.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 6, 2025

Geoengineering’s risks need to be studied more

With for-profit organizations already releasing chemicals into the oceans, it’s important for scientists with no financial stake in this industry to collect data.
A person wears a mask depicting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on the back of the head during the Budapest Pride March on June 28.
WORLD / Society
Jul 7, 2025

Inside Budapest Pride: How organizers defied Orban's ban

The team behind the parade in Budapest went offline, meeting in private behind closed doors with everyone leaving their laptops and phones outside.
Mexico players celebrate after defeating the United States in the 2025 Gold Cup Final in Houston on Sunday.
SOCCER
Jul 7, 2025

Mexico beats United States 2-1 to win 10th Gold Cup title

Despite Mexico's first-half dominance, the team struggled to capitalize on numerous golden opportunities.
Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends the EU-Japan summit in Brussels in July 2023. Economic cooperation between the EU, Japan and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership is showing promise but faces political and structural hurdles that could limit progress.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 8, 2025

EU-CPTPP talks highlight shared goals and stubborn obstacles

EU economic cooperation with Japan and the CPTPP shows promise but could face political and structural hurdles that limit progress.
Though Netflix remains the dominant choice globally for anime viewers, Amazon Prime Video has also invested heavily in anime, steadily adding titles to their catalogue.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 9, 2025

Once a niche, anime is now mainstream content for Netflix and other streaming services

Today, more than half of Netflix’s global users watch anime on its service, with shows such as “Sakamoto Days” proving to be massive hits.
China’s economy shows signs of a possible recovery despite structural challenges and imperfect GDP data, but its future growth and global impact hinge on trade relations with the U.S. and how economic progress is measured.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 10, 2025

Taking GDP out of the China equation

There are problems with looking at China’s vitality through the GDP lens — the data is widely perceived to be finessed by officials

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