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Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to the media after a meeting in Tokyo last month.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 19, 2025

Ishiba says Japan considering role in security guarantees for Ukraine

The “coalition of the willing,” which groups 30 nations backing Ukraine that includes Japan, has been working for months to craft a comprehensive package of security guarantees.
Students visit the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park in late April. Attitudes in Japan are shifting away from the traditional pacifist views that have held sway since the end of World War II.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Aug 20, 2025

Trump shock spurs Japan to think about the unthinkable: nuclear arms

There is a growing willingness to loosen the country’s decades-old pledge not to produce, possess or host nuclear weapons in its territory.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani takes part in a welcome ceremony with his Turkish counterpart, Yasar Guler, at Turkey's Defense Ministry in Ankara on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 20, 2025

Japan and Turkey defense chiefs pledge industry tie-ups as Tokyo eyes drones

While drones were not explicitly mentioned by either side in readouts of the meeting, they were believed to have featured prominently in discussions.
Jimmy Lai at the Next Digital offices in Hong Kong in 2020. The national security trial of the Hong Kong media mogul, which began in late 2023, entered its final stages on Aug. 14, as lawyers present closing arguments.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2025

Why Jimmy Lai’s persecution should worry Japan

The trial of 77-year-old publisher is showing how Beijing uses Hong Kong as a laboratory for silencing critics worldwide, from students to exiles.
First Lady Yoshiko Ishiba (center, in white and blue dress) hosts an event on Japanese culture with the first ladies of African leaders on the sidelines of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama on Aug. 21.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Aug 27, 2025

Confusion over Japan’s ‘hometown’ plan overshadows African development event

Social media and news have focused more on the misinformation that Japan is accepting a large number of immigrants from Africa.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during a joint news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2025

At Tokyo summit, India and Japan outline path forward for the coming decade

The leaders of the two countries outlined multiple areas of cooperation, including tech, the environment and health.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, British Defense Minister John Healey (center) and British Ambassador to Japan Julia Longbottom walk after the welcome ceremony upon arrival of Britain's Prince of Wales aircraft carrier at Tokyo International Cruise Terminal on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 30, 2025

British defense chief emphasizes close security ties with Japan

British Defense Secretary John Healey has underlined his country's close security ties with Japan amid the changing security environment.
Tokyo's Shin-Okubo district filled with Korean restaurants and shops. South Korean culture has increasingly been embraced as cutting-edge, especially among younger Japanese people.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 3, 2025

Mutual cultural acceptance underpins Japan-South Korea ties

Among those between the ages of 18 and 29, 66% in South Korea and 72.5% in Japan expressed favorable views of one another.
Foreign tourists visit a park near the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in August.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2025

Anger in Japan after Instagrammer drinks burial site offering

On Tuesday, the Australian Embassy warned on Facebook that travelers must ensure "appropriate behavior" while visiting Japan, without explicitly referring to the incident.
U.S. military personnel join Japanese officials and residents for a one-off joint nighttime patrol on the streets of the city of Okinawa in April, following sexual assault cases involving U.S. service members.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2025

Pentagon begins probe of crimes involving U.S. troops in Japan

The review will "examine the performance, training and criminal history of service members who committed violent crimes against Japanese nationals," according to a Pentagon memo.
Prime Minister Yoshio Mori declared in September 2000 that Japan must “grab the historic opportunity of the IT revolution."
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Sep 6, 2025

Japan Times 2000: Prime minister pitches ‘e-Japan’ as way of life

Japan must “grab the historic opportunity of the IT revolution,” Prime Minister Yoshio Mori declared as the final Diet session of the century opened in September 2000.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles (left) and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong (second from left) pose with Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (second from right) and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 5, 2025

After China’s military parade, Japan and Australia agree to elevate defense ties

The countries’ top diplomats and defense chiefs committed to deepening collective deterrence amid shared concerns over the security environment in the Indo-Pacific region.
Indian Ambassador to Japan Sibi George is interviewed in Tokyo in August.
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2025

Departing Indian envoy calls Japan 'steadfast partner'

He underscored the significance of the two nations revising a joint declaration on security cooperation for the first time in 17 years.
U.S. President Donald Trump visits the USS Wasp aircraft carrier in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in May 2019 during his first term as president. Trump is expected to demand that Japan boost its host-nation support spending for U.S. military when the current plan expires in March 2027.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 7, 2025

Japan braces for Trump push on U.S. troop funding

The financial support covers the salaries of workers at U.S. military bases, utilities costs and facility maintenance expenses.
Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani (left) and South Korean defense chief Ahn Gyu-back inspect an honor guard before their meeting in Seoul on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 8, 2025

Japan and South Korea defense chiefs agree to regular visits and tech cooperation

The agreement emerged during a visit by Defense Minister Gen Nakatani to South Korea, the first by a Japanese defense chief in a decade.
The 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force conducts the first Typhon midrange missile system live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States on July 16, successfully sinking a maritime target during the Talisman Sabre exercises in Australia's Northern Territory.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Sep 10, 2025

High-tech U.S. missile systems come to Japan amid policy shifts and China concerns

Long wary of such a move, Tokyo’s acquiescence — and its own planned missile deployments — highlights a gradual but monumental shift in defense policy.
Former Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen speaks at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit in the Danish capital in May.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 10, 2025

China complains as former Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen visits Japan

The visit to Japan, which does not have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, was the first known trip to the country by Tsai since she left office in May 2024.
A Philippine Navy soldier observes Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Takanami from a Philippine ship in the South China Sea, on June 14.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2025

Japan-Philippines visiting-forces pact comes into force as defense ties blossom

The pact will serve as the legal basis for Japanese and Philippine forces operating in each other’s countries, paving the way for greater cooperation amid tensions with Beijing.
Five members of the Japan Foundation's Nihongo Partners program (front) gather at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi on Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2025

Japan dispatches five language education 'partners' to India

This is the first time that Nihongo Partners under a program run by the Japan Foundation are dispatched to a South Asian country.
The Izumo destroyer docks at a port in Singapore after completing a mission to escort a U.S. vessel under Japan's security laws, in May 2017.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 19, 2025

10 years on, security laws continue to boost Japan-U.S. defense ties

The laws, enacted in 2015, allow Japan to exercise its right to collective self-defense and have helped the SDF expand its activities with like-minded countries.
"Shake hands with Lima-chan," a statue that shares the name of the Peruvian capital looks in the direction of Peru, where a sister statue, "Sakura-chan," is located. Erected in Yokohama's Rinko Park in 1999, it commemorates Peruvian-Japanese friendship.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / Longform
Sep 22, 2025

The journey of Peru’s Nikkei: Finding identity in Japan

From sugar plantations in Peru to factory floors in Japan, the Nikkei story is one of migration, resilience and identity.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio shakes hands with Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (left) and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun (right) at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 23, 2025

Japan, U.S. and South Korea reaffirm commitment to ridding North Korea of nukes

The countries’ top diplomats poured cold water on the chances of the U.S. ditching its denuclearization policy, after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hinted he is open to talks.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya makes a speech at the U.N. headquarters in New York on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 23, 2025

Japan's recognition of Palestine state is a matter of 'when,' Iwaya says

The foreign minister says Japan will continue to play a realistic and proactive role toward achieving a two-state solution for Palestine and Israel.
U.S. President Donald Trump will visit Japan in October, according to media reports.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 25, 2025

Trump may visit Japan during upcoming Asia trip

With Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba stepping down, the U.S. president’s visit to Japan would come at a politically shaky time for the nation.
Sanseito party leader Sohei Kamiya speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Sept. 25.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 1, 2025

Japan's far-right party courts Trump allies and vows not to get 'wacky'

Sanseito has set up an international arm to court Trump's allies, betting that conservative recognition will help it shake up staid Japanese politics.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung before their meeting in Busan, South Korea, on Tuesday
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 1, 2025

Japan and South Korea tout stable ties, but concerns rise over Ishiba’s replacement

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung looked to regularize “shuttle diplomacy,” but much may hinge on Japan’s next leader.
Air Self-Defense Force F-15Js arrive at RAF Coningsby in England on Sept. 18.
JAPAN
Oct 1, 2025

Japan shows NATO support with first fighter jet deployment to Canada, Europe

The mission, which involved four F-15Js along with two refueling and two transport aircraft, demonstrates the Air Self-Defense Force’s long-distance operational capabilities.
Sanae Takaichi, the newly elected leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, gives a news conference after the LDP presidential election in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 7, 2025

Trump hails 'wisdom and strength' of Japan's incoming prime minister

Media reports have said that Trump is expected to visit its key Asian ally in late October.
A Ground Self-Defense Force member conducts a military drill with an anti-ship missiles unit at the GSDF's Camp Miyako on Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture in April 2022.
JAPAN
Oct 8, 2025

Top Pentagon nominee says Japan has 'long underemphasized' defense spending

John Noh, the White House's nominee to be the Defense Department's top Asia official, said Tokyo “has long underemphasized spending for its own defense.”
U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS George Washington during a trilateral exercise including the United States, Japan and South Korea in the East China Sea in November last year
JAPAN
Oct 11, 2025

Japan and U.S. leaders may tour U.S. aircraft carrier

According to sources, the two sides plan to have their leaders visit the Yokosuka base during U.S. President Donald Trump's upcoming trip to the Asian nation later this month.

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.