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New Japanese passports will be printed using laser technology based on banknote printing techniques, making forgery more difficult.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2025

Applications for forgery-proof passports start in Japan

Passports issued for applications submitted from Monday onward will feature a new design.
At the inauguration of a factory owned by Japanese power electronics manufacturer TMEIC in Tumakuru, India, in 2017. Although Japanese companies have become a significant presence in India, the flow of fresh investment has slowed down.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 23, 2025

Japan-India business ties can go the extra mile

After remarkable growth, Japan-India business ties are plateauing. Companies on both sides need help from their governments to promote more understanding and, hence, opportunities.
Supporters of the impeached South Korean president, Yoon Suk Yeol, protesting in Seoul on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 25, 2025

South Korea’s political drama is far from over

The potential for violence in the days ahead is still great. Still, that shouldn’t take away from the urgent and necessary reform of the political system.
A Maritime Self-Defense Force SH-60K "Super Auk" from JS Shiranui prepares to land on HMAS Brisbane during Exercise Malabar 2023 while off the coast of New South Wales, Australia.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2025

New SDF command will be key for contingency planning, Australian commander says

The framework will enable direct communication with counterparts in partner nations and speed up coordination, the Australian Defence Force's chief of joint operations says.
The "Infinite Paradise" main lantern takes center stage at the 2025 Taiwan Lantern Festival, held in the city of Taoyuan between Feb. 12 and 23.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2025

Lantern festival lights up skies in Taiwan with Japanese flair

Japanese municipalities added sparkle to the celebration in Taoyuan, with decorations featuring local mascots and icons.
A helicopter drops water as they prepare for the possibility of a wildfire advancing towards Gounsa Temple in Uiseong, South Korea, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 26, 2025

Death toll in South Korea wildfires rises to 16

The casualties included four people who were trying to escape the fire but their vehicle was overturned.
Tatsuo Hashida (second from right), head of a group representing victims who suffered from having given large donations to the Unification Church in Kochi Prefecture, speaks during a news conference in Kochi on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 26, 2025

Unification Church victims voice joy over stripping of group's legal status

The Tokyo District Court stripped the controversial group of its religious corporation status on Tuesday.
Potential buyers for a package of 7-Eleven and other convenience stores have until the end of March to express their interest, Alimentation Couche-Tard Chief Financial Officer Filipe Da Silva said.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 26, 2025

Couche-Tard sees strong interest in U.S. stores for Seven & I deal

The Canadian company has agreed with Seven & I to seek a buyer for overlapping retail outlets as a prerequisite for takeover talks to sidestep U.S. antitrust concerns.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (bottom center) and other Trump administration officials mishandled security by discussing a military strike on a commercially available messaging app, exposing vulnerabilities and raising questions about poor judgment.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 26, 2025

U.S. allies get a Signal chat’s worth of red flags

In the short term, that may have few real consequences. Although insulting, the administration’s assessment of Europe’s weak military capabilities is correct.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito bows during a news conference at the Hyogo prefectural government building in Kobe on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 26, 2025

Hyogo governor apologizes over harassment but denies breaking whistleblower law

Motohiko Saito denied the illegality of the actions to identify the whistleblower, saying that they were appropriate.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth addresses American service members assigned to Kane'ohe Bay, Hawaii, on Tuesday. Hegseth’s itinerary during his first visit to Asia in his new role will include visits to the Philippines and Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 27, 2025

Hegseth’s Asia tour won’t fix U.S. credibility crisis

The timing of Hegseth’s first Asian tour couldn’t be more awkward. U.S. President Donald Trump’s "America First” mantra is raising eyebrows.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks during a news conference on Thursday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 28, 2025

Japan unveils evacuation plan for Taiwan contingency

Under the plan, Fukuoka Prefecture will host the most evacuees, with 47,400 people.
Shogo Yamaguchi shares his love of traditional Japanese culture with an audience of nearly 2 million YouTube subscribers.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Mar 29, 2025

Shogo Yamaguchi: ‘Traditional culture thrives in a peaceful society’

The Kyoto-based content creator shares travel tips and reminisces on the path that led him to where he is today.
The Tokyo National Museum’s garden is open to the public in springtime, when 10 different varieties of cherry trees are blooming.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 28, 2025

Cherry blossom-themed art to see this weekend in Tokyo

With the cherry blossoms’ ephemeral beauty immortalized in art and literature for centuries, there's plenty of artworks to gaze upon on rainy days.
Aryna Sabalenka celebrates with the trophy after her triumph at the Miami Open on Saturday.
TENNIS
Mar 30, 2025

Powerful Sabalenka subdues Pegula to claim Miami Open crown

Sabalenka, who was runner-up in Indian Wells earlier this month and at January's Australian Open, refused to accept the consolation trophy this time.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (second from right) addresses a meeting of the International Group of Eminent Persons for a World without Nuclear Weapons (IGEP) in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 30, 2025

Experts start talks on proposals for NPT review conference

Participants include experts from nuclear powers such as the United States, China and Russia, as well as from non-nuclear states.
Christian worshippers take part in a Good Friday procession as they carry a cross with a Jesus statue in the town of Klayaa, in southern Lebanon, on March 29, 2024.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2025

Can the Jesus of history support the Christ of faith?

I would not expect a non-Christian writer to simply embrace the thesis that events in the New Testament did mostly happen as related.
Moore has seen firsthand the powerful impact that a Montessori learning environment has on students-including his own children.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Mar 31, 2025

Montessori head educates Tokyo’s children for life

British James Moore’s next goal is method’s first high school in Japan
Executives at the Special Committee on Political Reform of the House of Representatives meet in parliament on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 31, 2025

Diet panel forgoes Monday vote on political donation bills

The main opposition CDP opposed the vote, arguing that the committee should wait until Komeito and the DPP submit their own bill.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth chat after reviewing an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 31, 2025

On defense, Japan may avoid Trump's worst impulses — for now

In his first official trip to Japan, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared to have been looking to tamp down on concerns in Tokyo.
High school student Soa Ono, 17, assists an elderly woman during a recreational activity at a nursing care facility in Nagoya in late February.
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Apr 7, 2025

Caregiver apprenticeship for high school students expanding in Aichi

The program allows apprentices to earn an income while acquiring knowledge and skills through hands-on experience.
People inspect the debris of a collapsed building in Mandalay, Myanmar, on Friday after an earthquake.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 1, 2025

Signs of life detected in quake-hit Bangkok skyscraper as overall death toll tops 2,000

Civil war in Myanmar is complicating efforts to reach those injured by the country's biggest quake in a century.
A worker cuts Inada granite, which is used in various buildings in Tokyo.
ESG CONSORTIUM
Apr 1, 2025

Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones

In 2024, the Tsukuba massif granite of the Mt. Tsukuba Area Geopark was certified by the International Union of Geological Sciences as one of the first 55 IUGS Heritage Stones, which have been “used in significant architecture and monuments” and “recognized as integral aspects of human culture.”...
Takashi Shiraishi (center), honorable emeritus professor at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto and chair of the International Group of Eminent Persons for a World without Nuclear Weapons, speaks at a news conference after the group's meeting on Monday at the United Nations University in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2025

Global experts seek urgent action to prevent nuclear war

The experts warn that the risk of conventional warfare leading to the use of nuclear weapons is becoming serious.
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 1, 2025

Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses

The company is switching to paper cartons as a result of declining demand, environmental concerns and supply issues after its glass bottle supplier shut down.
America’s economic exceptionalism has traditionally been driven by its deep capital markets, culture of risk-taking, history of innovation and the dollar’s status as the world’s primary reserve currency.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 1, 2025

Is this really how American exceptionalism ends?

Uncertainty around trade and the future strength of the dollar has led some big European investors to retreat from American stocks.
People queue for food and relief supplies after a strong earthquake in Amarapura, Myanmar, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 2, 2025

U.N. urges aid to Myanmar quake survivors before monsoons hit as death toll nears 3,000

A civil war in Myanmar had already displaced more than 3 million people long before the quake struck.
The logo of Xiaomi is seen on a tire wheel of the SU7, the company's first electric vehicle, on display at a showroom in Beijing on March 25.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 2, 2025

Three reported dead after Xiaomi car with driver assistance crashes

The incident is likely to spark scrutiny over the smart driving software deployed in many of today’s cars.
Democratic-backed Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Judge Susan Crawford gestures to supporters after voters elected her to the state Supreme Court, at her election night headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 2, 2025

Liberal wins Wisconsin Supreme Court election in setback for Trump and Musk

The election was widely seen as an early referendum on Trump's presidency, and the campaign easily became the most expensive judicial contest in U.S. history.
Japanese cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama. The United States will start collecting new 25% import duties on cars and car parts from Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 2, 2025

Japan has some cards to play in trade war with the United States 

It could offer voluntary restraints on exports, or it could offer to buy more from the U.S. in order to reduce the trade surplus with that country.

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