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Yasuhiko Morine (left), Esperanza Morine (center left), Lydia Morine (center right) and Naoaki Morine on the island of Linapacan in the western Philippines on May 25
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2025

Some descendants of Japanese in Philippines still without Japan nationality

As this year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the government is strengthening support for those seeking Japanese nationality based on their ancestry.
The government plans to develop a shelter strategy for foreign armed attacks by the end of fiscal 2025, according to sources.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 5, 2025

Japan to decide plans for shelters from armed attacks within fiscal 2025

The government will also compile basic guidelines for evacuating residents in Okinawa Prefecture's Sakishima Islands, apparently with a possible Taiwan contingency in mind.
If Japan Post loses its general cargo vehicle license, it would be barred from reapplying for a new one for five years.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 5, 2025

Japan Post may lose cargo license over widespread driver check failures

A transport ministry audit in April revealed enough instances of missed checks in the Kanto region to surpass the threshold for license revocation.
Joseph Nye (left) joins then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as he speaks at Harvard’s Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in April 2015. The deaths of Nye and Richard Armitage, two giants in Japan-U.S. relations, will surely leave a lasting impact on the alliance they helped shape.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 5, 2025

A new generation of 'Japan hands' and a changing world

For decades, Joseph Nye and Richard Armitage helped shape a vision of U.S.-Japan ties grounded in shared values, strategic trust and mutual respect.
The Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning sails through the Miyako Strait near Okinawa on its way to the Pacific in April 2021.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2025

Chinese aircraft carrier enters Japan's economic waters, says Tokyo

China's growing military clout and use of naval and air assets to press disputed territorial claims have rattled the United States and its allies in the Asia-Pacific region.
Gen. Jennie Carignan, Canada’s Chief of the Defense Staff, attends an interview with The Japan Times on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2025

Japan ‘priority’ as Canada eyes bigger Asian footprint, military chief says

Ottawa's concerns about what it sees as growing challenges to the current world order are driving its Asia push.
As the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump does not respect multilateralism, former Japanese Ambassador to the United States Ichiro Fujisaki warned the president may start saying his country will no longer participate in the G7 summit.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 11, 2025

Former Japan envoy to U.S. calls for avoiding Trump's isolationist policies at G7

Former Japanese Ambassador to the United States Ichiro Fujisaki warned U.S. President Donald Trump may start saying his country will no longer participate in the summit.
Princess Kako pays a courtesy call to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday in Brasilia.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2025

Princess Kako helps mark 130 years of Japan-Brazil ties on official visit

The princess expressed gratitude to Brazil, home to the world's largest community of Japanese immigrants and their descendants.
First responders gather outside a building that was hit by an Israeli strike in Tehran on Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2025

Japan condemns Israeli strikes against Iran and urges restraint

Tokyo is concerned that further instability in the Middle East will have significant negative effects on the supply of oil.
Chinese aircraft carrier, the Liaoning. It crossed what is known as the second island chain, which links the Ogasawara Islands and the U.S. territory of Guam, on June 7.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2025

Japan suspects Chinese aircraft carriers conducted drills against U.S.

The two flattops may have conducted exercises for countering U.S. forces, with one playing the role of a U.S. aircraft carrier and the other practicing intercepting it.
A statue of Mohandas Gandhi in Tetsugakudo Park, Tokyo. The Indian nationalist saw lessons for humanity in the trajectory of modern Japan and the violence wrought by — and perpetrated upon — the nation.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Jun 21, 2025

Gandhi and Japan: Turning away from ‘brute force’ and toward love

“I did not move a muscle when I first heard that an atom bomb had wiped out Hiroshima.”
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shakes hands with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung ahead of their meeting on the sidelines of the Group of Seven leaders' summit in Kananaskis in Alberta, Canada, on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 18, 2025

South Korea's Lee touts ‘inseparable’ Japan ties after Ishiba meeting

Seeking to ride the momentum that has pushed the neighbors closer following years of chilly ties, the pair also reaffirmed their commitment to trilateral cooperation with the U.S.
Japan Post President Tetsuya Senda speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2025

Japan Post to accept loss of truck transport business permit

The transport ministry is expected to revoke the permit by the end of this month at the earliest.
A J-15 fighter jet from the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong makes an unusual approach to a Maritime Self-Defense Force P-3C patrol aircraft that was conducting surveillance above the Pacific Ocean on June 8.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2025

In rare move, Japan releases map showing Chinese aircraft carrier activities

The decision to release the map comes as concerns grow over Beijing’s apparent efforts to alter the status quo in the region.
South Korea's F-15K fighters were involved in a joint aerial exercise with Japanese and U.S. fighters off South Korea's Jeju island Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 19, 2025

Japan, U.S. and South Korea conduct joint aerial drill

It was the first three-way joint training since the administration of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung was inaugurated on June 4.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani attend the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on May 31.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2025

Pentagon says Japan must meet ‘global standard’ and spend 5% of GDP on defense

Both allies had been mum on whether the U.S. would press Japan specifically to hit the 5% target amid political sensitivities over the issue.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers a speech at a reception hosted by the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo on Thursday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two neighboring countries.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 20, 2025

Ishiba calls for expanding Japan-South Korea exchanges

The prime minister said he had very good discussions with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung when they met in Canada on Tuesday.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth review an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo on March 30.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 21, 2025

Japan scraps ‘two-plus-two’ meeting with U.S. over defense spending demand, report says

The talks’ cancellation reportedly came after the U.S. asked Japan to hike its defense budget to 3.5% of gross domestic product.
Members of the Japan Coast Guard prepare to toss a dummy into the sea for a rescue operation simulation during a maritime exercise with the Philippine Coast Guard ship Teresa Magbanua, the United States Coast Guard cutter Stratton and the Japan Coast Guard ship Asanagi in the waters around the southern city of Kagoshima on Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2025

Japan, U.S. and Philippine coast guards simulate crisis amid China threat

The joint coast guard exercises held off Japan's southwest shore follow a warning from the three countries about Chinese activity in disputed regional waters.
South Korean Ambassador to Japan Park Cheol-hee attends an interview on June 17 in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 22, 2025

South Korean envoy calls ties with Japan best ever

The ambassador called for closer relations in the face of deepening cooperation between North Korea and Russia and pressure from China and the current U.S. administration.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung shake hands in Canada last week.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 22, 2025

Japan and South Korea mark 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties

The future of the bilateral relationship now appears to depend on Japan policies chosen by new South Korean President Lee Jae-myung.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 23, 2025

Japan denies U.S. directly asked it to hike defense spending to 5% of GDP

Tokyo’s top government spokesman also said it was untrue that Japan had postponed a key bilateral security meeting over the issue.
Japan has already told the EU that the Japanese eel is at no risk of extinction due to international trade.
JAPAN
Jun 24, 2025

Japan opposes EU moves toward eel trade regulation under CITES

Japan plans to collaborate with countries including China and South Korea to urge signatories to reject the proposal.
Trucks parked at Japan Post's post office in Tokyo's Koto Ward earlier this month
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2025

Japan Post stripped of truck transport business license

The company will not be allowed to operate its approximately 2,500 trucks and other vehicles for five years.
Japan said on Tuesday that it had lodged a protest with China after observing a new structure in a natural gas field in the East China Sea.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2025

Japan protests new Chinese construction in East China Sea

In the latest development, Japan said on Tuesday it lodged a protest with China after observing a new structure in a natural gas field in the East China Sea.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said at a news conference Monday that there are "various arguments from the viewpoint of international law" regarding U.S. strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 26, 2025

U.S. strikes against Iran create dilemma for Japan

After criticizing Israel's attacks on Iran, Japan would have been accused of adopting a double standard if it did not decry the U.S.' actions.
During his expected visit to Japan in July, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is likely to meet with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya.
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2025

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio set to visit Japan in July

Rubio is likely to visit Japan and South Korea before or after he attends a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Malaysia in July.
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.
A front-page article from July 1950 reported that Kyoto's historic Kinkakuji had been "totally razed" in a fire.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Jul 5, 2025

Japan Times 1950: Kyoto’s ‘Golden Temple’ burns to the ground

The historic Kinkakuji was destroyed in an act of arson in July 1950, a shocking event that would serve as the inspiration for a novel by Yukio Mishima.
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.

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan