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Campaign posters in Tokyo. Voters in Japan put immediate economic issues ahead of longer-term concerns about the effects of tariffs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 17, 2025

Trump tariffs fail to register with Japanese voters ahead of key election

Only 8% of voters surveyed by NHK rated tariffs as their top priority.
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.
“As the first party in parliament, we have to fulfill our responsibility with the public so as to prevent politics from stagnating or drifting away,” Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said at a news conference at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 21, 2025

Ishiba clings to leadership after election setback

In the wake of another electoral setback, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s political capital has plunged.
A worker places blank guitar picks into a tray at D'Addario's production facility in Farmingdale, New York, on July 10.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 23, 2025

Inside a U.S. guitar string-maker's strategy to navigate the trade war

While the company makes nearly all its music accessories in the U.S., its supply chain and distribution are global, with its biggest foreign market being Japan.
A video screen shows images related to the Jeffrey Epstein files at Times Square in New York on Wednesday. Some Donald Trump supporters for years have fanned conspiracy theories about Epstein's clients and the circumstances of his 2019 death in prison.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 24, 2025

Trump was told he is in Epstein files, Wall Street Journal reports

The disclosure about U.S. President Donald Trump's appearance in the Justice Department's records on the case could deepen the political crisis surrounding his administration.
Shintaro Suzuki stands by a stone monument that marks the beginning of the pole-and-line bonito fishing method in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Aug 4, 2025

Miyagi city marks 350 years of bonito fishing method

In 1675, fishermen from what is now called Shingu, Wakayama Prefecture, taught a village in present-day Miyagi Prefecture a revolutionary technique to catch bonito.
Oita Prefectural Kusu Miyama High School in the town of Kusu, Oita Prefecture
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Aug 4, 2025

Two Oita towns to launch program to nurture aspiring local teachers

As the towns are facing population decline, there are few young aspiring teachers there.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (center) responds to questions during the China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing, China, on July 17. Nvidia is one of the companies at the heart of the global artificial intelligence movement.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 25, 2025

DeepSeek and Trump’s plan steer agenda at China’s premier AI forum

This year's edition of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference takes place at a critical juncture in the U.S.-Chinese tech rivalry.
Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, promises a rent freeze that’s easy to deliver but it remains to be seen if it will solve the city’s deeper housing problems.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 28, 2025

Freezing rent is easy. Making NYC housing affordable isn’t.

Zohran Mamdani’s campaign pledge would be simple to put into effect but wouldn’t do much to solve the underlying problem.
A container ship approaches the Busan Port Terminal in Busan, South Korea, on July 23. Seoul's trade agreement with the U.S. brings one of the world’s biggest exporters into Washington’s emerging trade framework just a day before the deadline.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 31, 2025

U.S. sets South Korea tariff rate at 15% with energy and shipbuilding investment

The agreement brings one of the world’s biggest exporters into Washington’s emerging trade framework just a day before the deadline.
Michi Saito touches a piece of a dummy atomic bomb that took away her brother's life in 1945, during an interview at Zuiryu Temple in Fukushima on July 14.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Aug 18, 2025

98-year-old woman recalls brother's death from dummy atomic bomb

A U.S. military unit dropped dummy bombs in various parts of Japan as part of exercises aimed at training forces to gain the high skills required to drop nuclear weapons.
Despite topping physical health rankings, Japan’s children face a worsening mental health crisis due to limited early education, inconsistent counseling support and poor awareness of their rights.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 3, 2025

It’s time to take children’s mental health seriously

Given these disparities, it is clear the government needs to build a consistent school system with appropriate emotional support mechanisms
KIA vehicles are parked to be exported at a port in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, on July 31.
BUSINESS
Aug 5, 2025

South Korea and U.S. prepare for summit with details of trade deal unresolved

U.S. President Donald Trump may use the summit with counterpart Lee Jae Myung to seek more concessions on defense costs and corporate investments, left out of the deal.
Giants quarterback Russell Wilson looks to pass during training camp in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Monday.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Aug 7, 2025

New Giants QB Russell Wilson praises coach Brian Daboll’s 'beautiful mind'

Wilson has also expressed his eagerness to play alongside talented second-year receiver Malik Nabers.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at the Liberal Democratic Party's plenary meeting in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 8, 2025

LDP panel to decide whether to hold party poll that could oust Ishiba

The prime minister, who has long shown a strong appetite to stay in government, has said he will remain despite calls for him to resign.
At Yawata Junior High School in Nagoya, there are no more rules on clothing and hairstyles. Students are free to wear either the school's uniform or clothes of their own choosing.
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Aug 18, 2025

Schools get students involved in revision of unreasonable ‘black rules’

Positive outcomes have emerged from such revisions, including greater student confidence and stronger trust between students and teachers.
Chen Yani (right), nicknamed "Keke," eats lunch with friends and guests in a female co-living space she founded called "Keke's Imaginative Space" in Hangzhou, in eastern China's Zhejiang province, on July 14.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Aug 18, 2025

Women-only communities flourish in China

A growing number of co-living spaces in the country are providing their exclusive clientele with a haven from social pressures and male judgment.
Female students are given a tour of U.S. chip giant Nvidia's office in Tokyo in July.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 18, 2025

Firms host female high school students to tout science and technology

Through company tours, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government hopes to encourage female students to pick science and technology when pursuing higher education.
A third-party probe into the Fuji TV scandal had reported about a dinner hosted by an executive attended by “a powerful male cast member,” since revealed to be singer and actor Masaharu Fukuyama.
JAPAN / Media
Aug 19, 2025

Masaharu Fukuyama admits to attending Fuji TV dinner

The singer-actor said he was the “powerful male cast member” referenced by a third-party panel investigating the broadcaster, but denied involvement in any harassment.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks about the economy in the Oval Office on Aug. 7. From immigration to the Fed, Trump is making risky moves that could undo his wins while Democrats double down on policies that so far are not working.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2025

On economic policy, the White House is its own worst enemy

The White House needs to calm down and choose consolidation over controversy and chaos while the Democratic Party must dump, not just downplay, its plainly unpopular positions.
Members of the student club Neo at Shuri High School receive words of gratitude from Haebaru Junior High School students after their workshop on June 6. They are Mei Nakazato (far left), Nanoka Hirata (second left), Yuzuyu Oyakawa (center), Hinano Yagi (second right) and Honomi Taira.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Aug 25, 2025

Okinawa high school students bring new approach to peace education

A high school group that held a workshop for junior high school students aims to bring a new approach to peace education by turning “passive learning” into something more personal.
A-Style President Kenichiro Kawakami applies a heat-shielding film to a window.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Aug 25, 2025

For this Fukuoka company president, preventing heatstroke is personal

Kenichiro Kawakami lost his mother to heatstroke in 2017, inspiring him to launch the service of applying heat-shielding films to windows.
Hiroyuki Adachi, managing director of Shelter, a wooden architecture construction firm in Yamagata, speaks during a seminar in Sendai in July.
BUSINESS / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Sep 1, 2025

Wooden high-rise buildings increasing in Tohoku amid decarbonization trend

Major real estate developers and construction companies are focusing on wood, pushed by legislation and systems encouraging the use of domestically produced lumber.
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.
Virtual singer Kaf got her start in 2018 by posting songs and covers to YouTube. Now, after having performed live shows at major venues including Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan, she is turning to voice acting and starring in the new anime series “Kamitsubaki City Under Construction.”
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Aug 28, 2025

Virtual singer Kaf's music becomes magic in 'Kamitsubaki City Under Construction'

After evolving from an online presence into a live performer, Kaf has now stepped into voice acting as part of a multimedia project built around a supergroup of virtual artists.
“Sympathy Tower Tokyo” is centered around Sara Machina, a star architect designing  a new experimental prison in central Tokyo.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 30, 2025

ChatGPT controversy is the least interesting part of 'Sympathy Tower Tokyo'

In Rie Qudan’s futuristic Tokyo, AI and architects take on the prison system.
Network School’s co-working space in Johor Bahru, Malaysia
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 1, 2025

Techno-utopia rises in Malaysia's $100 billion Forest City flop

Entrepreneurs experiment with "startup societies” defined less by historical territory than shared beliefs in technology, cryptocurrency and light regulation.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight