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Onosato will be making his <i>yokozuna</i> debut during the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament, which begins Sunday.
SUMO
Jul 11, 2025

Nagoya Basho shaping up to be another red-hot affair at new venue

With the IG Arena promising a far more pleasant viewing experience, anyone lucky enough to get tickets for the upcoming Nagoya tournament should be in for a treat.
People listen to stump speeches earlier this month in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, ahead of the Upper House election.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 11, 2025

Dual surnames for married couples in focus ahead of Japan poll

The U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has urged the Japanese government to introduce the system four times.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to reporters during Association of Southeast Asian Nations-related meetings in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 11, 2025

Rubio says Japan defense spending hike less about money, more about capabilities

The comments echoed the view of Ishiba, who has repeatedly said that what is most important is the substance of strengthened defense capabilities — not arbitrary figures.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un greets Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a meeting in Wonsan, North Korea, on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 14, 2025

Ukraine denies North Korea planning to send 30,000 more troops to Russia

Kyiv's military intelligence agency said Pyongyang will instead send 6,000 personnel for reconstruction operations in batches of 1,500 to 3,000 personnel this month and next.
U.S. soldiers man a checkpoint on a road outside Tikrit, Iraq, in November 2003. Airstrikes alone won’t truly eliminate Iran’s nuclear program — only a costly ground invasion like the one that took down Saddam Hussein could do that.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 14, 2025

What will it take to end Iran's nuke program? An army.

Trump’s claim that the U.S. “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program was widely disputed, with current estimates saying it was severely damaged and set back by 12 to 24 months.
Chelsea players celebrate with the FIFA Club World Cup trophy alongside U.S. President Donald Trump in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sunday.
SOCCER
Jul 15, 2025

Chelsea's Club World Cup triumph a 'statement,' but what might be the cost?

The side has pocketed a stunning $115 million in prize money from the Club World Cup, but its offseason has been drastically reduced.
A senior member of a Self-Defense Forces honor guard inspects a formation before the arrival of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba for a visit to the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on June 30.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 15, 2025

With China and Trump, Japan defense report says world entering ‘new era of crisis’

The annual defense white paper says that U.S. actions under Trump will “significantly impact” the Indo-Pacific region and “will require continued attention.”
AI-created images of Holocaust-related subjects displayed on a laptop and a smartphone screens
WORLD / Society
Jul 15, 2025

Holocaust AI fakes spark alarm

Critics say that AI-generated images, text and videos are offensive and contribute to Holocaust distortion by conjuring up a "fantasy-land Auschwitz."
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (center) meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 15, 2025

'Dialogue' must be at heart of China-Australia ties, PM tells Xi

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is on his second visit to China as PM, seeking to bolster recently stabilized trade ties even as geopolitical tensions remain high.
Firefighters work to tackle a wildfire spread at Les Pennes-Mirabeau, near Marseille, southern France, on July 8
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / EXPLAINER
Jul 15, 2025

How climate change is fueling wildfires in Europe

Wildfires have burnt 227,000 hectares of land since the beginning of the year — more than double the average for this time of year over the past two decades.
Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen in Gaza on Monday
WORLD
Jul 15, 2025

Amid heated debate, no real plan for Israel's 'humanitarian city' in Gaza

Planning was in a very initial phase only, one source said, and the goal was to help Palestinians who do not want to live under Hamas rule.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a Victory Day parade in Moscow in May. Despite U.S. President Donald Trump's threat of tariffs, Putin believes Russia's economy and its military are strong enough to weather any new Western measures over the war in Ukraine.
WORLD / FOCUS
Jul 15, 2025

Putin, unfazed by Trump, will fight on and could take more of Ukraine

Three Russian sources familiar with top-level Kremlin thinking said the Russian leader will not stop the war under pressure from the West.
The IPC Container Terminal at Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta in April last year
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 16, 2025

Trump says Indonesia goods to face 19% tariff under new pact

Indonesia also agreed to purchase $15 billion in U.S. energy, $4.5 billion worth of agricultural products and 50 Boeing jets, many of them 777’s.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s regime is supplying up to 40% of Russia’s ammunition, along with other military equipment, for Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, according to Ukraine's intelligence service.
WORLD
Jul 13, 2025

Ukraine spy chief says 40% of Russian ammunition is North Korean

Kim Jong Un’s regime is also sending other weapons to Russia, including ballistic missiles and artillery systems.
Elbridge Colby (center), then-nominee to be the Pentagon's undersecretary of defense for policy, is introduced by U.S. Vice President JD Vance (left), during a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing in Washington in March.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 16, 2025

Pentagon No. 3 praises Japan defense report, but vows to make alliance more 'equitable'

The Pentagon's top policy official Elbridge Colby labeled the defense white paper “an important, clear-eyed strategic assessment from our close ally."
Seven & I has sought to make a case for remaining independent and has enacted changes such as appointing a new CEO.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 17, 2025

Couche-Tard abandons $46 billion bid to acquire 7-Eleven operator

Seven & I stock, up more than 25% since Couche-Tard’s interest became public 11 months ago, will likely decline due to the withdrawn proposal.
At the Asia's 50 Best Bars 2025 awards ceremony, 20 new entries were added to the list, reflecting the increasing diversity and creativity of Asia's bar scene.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 17, 2025

Tokyo nabs four spots on Asia’s 50 Best Bars list

Two of the city’s bars, Bar Benfiddich and Virtu, drop ranks while this year’s list showcases a wider diversity with several new entries from places like Jakarta and Bengaluru.
The Tokyo district has the highest number of candidates in the 2025 Upper House election with 32 people in the running for seven seats.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 18, 2025

In Upper House race, younger voters in Tokyo turn to DPP for new direction

Many younger voters, especially in the capital, are drawn to the party's idea that the working generation must be supported for the sake of everyone.
Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito takes part in a debate with the heads of other political parties at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on July 2.
COMMENTARY / Japan / From Party Leaders
Jul 17, 2025

Komeito hears those hit hardest by rising prices

“To stand forever with common citizens.” Our party has faithfully abided by that founding principle for over six decades
One of the entrances to Pao Compound, a nine-story Silk Road-inspired complex in Tokyo's Higashinakano neighborhood
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jul 19, 2025

Touring the Silk Road — without leaving Tokyo

Located near Higashinakano Station, Pao Compound is an eclectic mix of restaurants, event spaces and an affinity for cultural exploration.
The Palestinian Embroidery Obi Project brings together a traditional Japanese garment and age-old designs from the Middle Eastern region.
LIFE / Style & Design
Jul 19, 2025

In Gaza-made obi, Palestinian embroidery meets Japanese kimono

Kimono sashes from the Palestinian Embroidery Obi Project combine Japanese materials with Middle Eastern designs.
Just 17% of Americans approve of U.S. President Donald Trump's handling of the Jeffery Epstein case, a weaker rating than the president received on any other issue in the poll.
WORLD
Jul 18, 2025

Trump faces backlash as 69% believe Epstein details concealed, poll finds

Close to two-thirds of Republicans surveyed think the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is hiding details on Jeffrey Epstein's business.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 3.3% from a year earlier in June, according to the internal affairs ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 18, 2025

Inflation stays elevated after easing from two-year high

Japan’s key price measure cooled a tad more than expected while remaining well above the Bank of Japan’s target.
A member of staff works on a production line that manufactures small metal coils at Mitsuwa Electric in Tokyo on July 11.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 18, 2025

Japan's smaller firms say they are ready to adapt to Trump tariffs

Millions of small- and medium-sized firms that make up 99.7% of Japan's companies are world-class in their specialist niche, giving rise to confidence about weathering tariffs.
Members of Japan's Self-Defense Forces stand in formation during a review at Camp Asaka in October 2018. The government’s latest Defense White Paper warns of growing threats from China, Russia and North Korea.
EDITORIALS
Jul 18, 2025

Japan must be ready for an increasingly dangerous world

If there is a complaint to be issued against this year’s Defense White Paper, it is its reluctance to fully address the impact of Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency.
A think tank researcher said anti-government propaganda by Russian bot accounts was what has made the small far-right party Sanseito so popular leading up to the Upper House election.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 18, 2025

Concerns grow in Japan over possible Russian interference in Sunday’s election

A blog post from a member of the Japan Institute of Law and Information Systems went viral for stating Russian bots were interfering in the upcoming Upper House election.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a news conference with President Donald Trump in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington on June 27.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 19, 2025

Trump sues Wall Street Journal over Epstein report, seeking $10 billion

The newspaper said that Trump in 2003 sent Jeffrey Epstein a birthday greeting that included a sexually suggestive drawing and a reference to secrets they shared.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who serves concurrently as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, waves to voters from atop an election campaign van during a rally Friday in Yokohama for Sunday's Upper House election.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 19, 2025

Ishiba's future in balance as polls hint at rout in Upper House election

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba likes the nitty gritty of policy, cigarettes and making models, but his dream job as Japanese leader could go up in smoke this weekend.
Members of emergency services work at the scene after a vehicle plunged into a crowd outside a nightclub, on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles on Saturday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jul 20, 2025

Driver charged after plowing into Los Angeles nightclub crowd, injuring 30

The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Fernando Ramirez, was charged on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.
A coral reef in Okinawa in July 2022. Some jurisdictions around the world have moved to ban certain sunscreens in a bid to protect coral reefs, but some say the impact on reefs is far from clear.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / OUR PLANET
Jul 20, 2025

Japan’s top brands get tied up in the great sunscreen debate

The debate over the damage sunscreens cause to the marine environment is heating up as some regions ban certain chemical ingredients.

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell